ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 19 -- United States Patent no. 12,331,504, issued on June 17, was assigned to Simpson Strong-Tie Co. Inc. (Pleasanton, Calif.).
"Yield link brace connector" was invented by Mary Nunneley (Danville, Calif.) and Patrick McManus (Fort Collins, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A lateral bracing system incudes a frame and a brace assembly. The brace assembly may include at least one diagonal brace affixed to the frame by gusset plates. The diagonal brace may be affixed to the gusset plates at one or both ends by a yield link assembly. The yield link assembly may include various numbers of stacked fuse plates, depending on the required design strength of the lateral braci...