ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,359,422, issued on July 15, was assigned to Simpson Strong-Tie Co. Inc. (Pleasanton, Calif.).
"Column cap" was invented by Sam Thomas Hensen (Pleasanton, Calif.), Emmet J Mielbrecht (Danville, Calif.), Timothy M. Stauffer (Pleasant Hill, Calif.) and Jin-Jie Lin (Livermore, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A column cap connector for mounting and securing a beam to a post of a building including a central web portion and upwardly extending walls disposed along longitudinal edges thereof, wherein a lower portion of the beam fits within the walls, downwardly extending legs formed from the seat and alternatively from the seat and the wal...