ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 17 -- United States Patent no. 12,311,714, issued on May 27, was assigned to Ford Global Technologies LLC (Dearborn, Mich.).
"Tension leaf with auxiliary spring" was invented by Shane Edward Foley (Milford, Mich.) and Steven Scott Allen (Ann Arbor, Mich.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A tension leaf assembly includes an S-shaped leaf member, an auxiliary spring, and a coupling assembly. The leaf member includes a first end, a second end, and a longitudinal center disposed between the first and second ends, and also includes a suspension portion extending from the first end past the longitudinal center and a bend portion extending from the suspension portion to the second...