ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 10 -- United States Patent no. 12,409,804, issued on Sept. 9, was assigned to GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC (Detroit).
"Stowable belt buckle" was invented by Fernando Mercuri (Macomb, Mich.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A device for engaging a seat belt in a vehicle includes a buckle configured to engage the seat belt, and a base fixedly disposed relative to a seat in the vehicle, where the buckle is moveable relative to the base between a stowed position and an engagement position. The device also includes a latch mechanism including a latch member, and a receiving component fixedly positioned relative to the base. The latch member is configured to be retained i...