ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 21 -- United States Patent no. 12,441,416, issued on Oct. 14, was assigned to FCA US LLC (Auburn Hills, Mich.).
"Body mounted spare tire tailgate" was invented by Gregory Vandervoord (Clarkston, Mich.), Dan M Zimmermann (West Bloomfield, Mich.), Mark C Trostle (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) and Michael S Sullivan (Washington, Mich.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A tailgate frame for a vehicle with a tubular cross bar and the frame pivotally attach with the vehicle. A spare tire support pivot tube is rotatably mounted on the tubular cross bar to enable the spare tire support to move between a first inboard and a second outboard position on the vehicle. A spare tire mounting br...