ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 31 -- United States Patent no. 12,508,976, issued on Dec. 30, was assigned to Tarplock LLC (Kalispell, Mont.).
"Hooking and tarp anchoring system and methods" was invented by Charles Weiss Sutliff II (Kila, Mont.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A system of devices is provided to cooperate to tie-down a load and to cover the load with a tarp or cover. A knob with an optional locking base provides an anchor point to wrap and tie a tarp in the tarp anchoring system. The knob has numerous variations to accommodate attaching points and accessory characteristics. A compressing device secures the tarp over the knob. Two pieces move and lock within one another with sufficient cle...