ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 26 -- United States Patent no. 12,397,846, issued on Aug. 26, was assigned to NSK STEERING SYSTEMS AMERICA INC. (Ann Arbor, Mich.).
"Steering column shroud break away interface" was invented by David Ray Hartman (Brighton, Mich.) and Simon Read (Dexter, Mich.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A portion of a shroud (30) is adapted to be secured to a steering column assembly (10). The portion of the shroud (30) includes a slot (46) for receiving a portion of a fastener (36) and an opening (48) of sufficient size that at least a portion of the fastener (36) is permitted to fit through to allow the shroud (30) to break away from the steering column assembly (10) upon an impact ...