ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 10 -- United States Patent no. 12,409,398, issued on Sept. 9, was assigned to GROHE AG (Hemer, Germany).
"Screen having variable circumference for a thermostatic valve" was invented by Tanja Schwartpaul (Neuenrade, Germany) and Ole Benedikt Kostorz (Menden, Germany).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The present invention relates to a screen. The screen a) is annular, b) is designed to filter water in a thermostatic valve, c) can be transferred from a first state into an additional state, d) has a first circumference in the first state, and e) has an additional circumference in the additional state. The screen is characterized in that the additional circumference is greater ...