ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 31 -- United States Patent no. 12,509,873, issued on Dec. 30, was assigned to Sekisui House Ltd. (Osaka, Japan).
"Building" was invented by Mitsuharu Yachi (Osaka, Japan), Makoto Ochiai (Osaka, Japan) and Kazuki Ichikawa (Osaka, Japan).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A building includes a structural body having a floor projecting outside. The structural body includes base members, a cross member extending between the base members, a base portion supported by the cross member, props arranged on the base portion, a floor member supported by the props, and a reinforcement member that reinforces the structural body. The reinforcement member is arranged at a lower position than...