ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 17 -- United States Patent no. 12,311,743, issued on May 27, was assigned to NISSAN NORTH AMERICA INC. (Franklin, Tenn.).

"Vehicle door structure" was invented by Debraj Dey (Novi, Mich.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A vehicle door structure includes inner and outer door panels, a door handle assembly and an impact pad. The inner door panel has an access opening that extends from an inboard surface to an outboard surface. The door handle assembly has a base portion overlaying an inboard surface of the outer door panel within a door cavity and a lever portion extending along an outboard surface of the outer door panel. The impact pad has a block portion and a projecting ...