ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 31 -- United States Patent no. 12,509,157, issued on Dec. 30, was assigned to Hyundai Motor Co. (Seoul, South Korea) and Kia Corp. (Seoul, South Korea).
"Vehicular center pillar" was invented by Kyung Bum Kang (Hwaseong-si, South Korea).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A vehicular center pillar includes a pillar outer panel including an upper outer portion and a lower outer portion divided by a beltline, a pillar inner panel including an upper inner portion and a lower inner portion divided by the beltline, and an upper reinforcing member disposed between the upper outer portion and the upper inner portion, and having a flange extending toward a door opening, wherein the up...