US Patent Issued to Northwest River Supplies on Nov. 18 for "Inflatable kayak" (South Korean Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 18 -- United States Patent no. 12,473,056, issued on Nov. 18, was assigned to Northwest River Supplies Inc. (Moscow, Idaho).

"Inflatable kayak" was invented by HeeJae Lee (Incheon, South Korea) and Lee Young Lim (Incheon, South Korea).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An inflatable kayak constructed of drop-stitch material. When inflated, the drop-stitch members form a rigid, planar structure. To form a non-planar contour in one of the surfaces of a drop-stitch member, the opposing surface is folded over onto itself and a strip of glue along the fold adheres the opposing surface along the glue strip, thereby forming a V-fold extending into the interior of the drop-stitch mem...