US Patent Issued to Faurecia Interior Systems on March 25 for "Vehicle interior panel with folded hinge layer" (Mexican Inventor)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 26 -- United States Patent no. 12,257,970, issued on March 25, was assigned to Faurecia Interior Systems Inc. (Auburn Hills, Mich.).

"Vehicle interior panel with folded hinge layer" was invented by Carlos Gerardo Lopez Martinez (Puebla, Mexico).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A vehicle interior panel for use over an airbag includes a hinge layer with a folded portion having nested folds. The folded portion interconnects a first portion embedded in an airbag door region of a panel substrate with a second portion embedded in the panel substrate outside the airbag door region. The nested folds are simpler and faster to form than other types of folds and contribute to improve...