ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 25 -- United States Patent no. 12,337,790, issued on June 24, was assigned to Tesla Inc. (Austin, Texas).
"Vehicle hood hinge assembly" was invented by Rafath Rahman (Tracy, Calif.), Jarad Hutchinson (Grosse Pointe, Mich.), Norman Tieu (Sewell, N.J.), Tyron Francois (Newark, N.J.) and Daniel Wood (Palo Alto, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A hinge assembly is provided to lift a hood of a vehicle relative to a vehicle body in anticipation of, during, or right after a collision has occurred to cushion contact with a pedestrian. The hood selectively covers a compartment of the vehicle when in a secured position. The hinge assembly includes a hinge configured to guide ...