ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 30 -- United States Patent no. 12,372,340, issued on July 29, was assigned to Hardcore Storage Solutions LLC (Macon, Ga.).

"Vertical interlocking storage system" was invented by Leo Blake Segelman (Smyrna, Ga.) and Kerry Warren Hatcher (Macon, Ga.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A storage system is disclosed. The system may include a bottom receptacle configured to hold a first set of items and a top receptacle configured to hold a second set of items. The top receptacle is configured to be stacked over the bottom receptacle. The system may further include a connector having a tubular body. The tubular body may have a connector distal portion and a connector proximal port...