ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 30 -- United States Patent no. 12,371,935, issued on July 29, was assigned to NISSAN NORTH AMERICA INC. (Franklin, Tenn.).
"Tailgate assembly" was invented by Adam Miller (Novi, Mich.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A tailgate assembly includes a tailgate frame and a sliding door. The tailgate frame has a first portion and a second portion. The first portion has a rearward facing tailgate panel that covers at least half of the tailgate frame. The second portion defines a door opening and a lower track. The sliding door is supported by the lower track such that the sliding door is movable between a closed orientation and an open orientation."
The patent was filed on Jan. ...