ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,246,865, issued on March 11, was assigned to TOYOTA JIDOSHA K.K. (Aichi-ken, Japan).
"Takeoff and landing assist apparatus" was invented by Hiroaki Kiyokami (Nisshin, Japan) and Masao Tajima (Toyota, Japan).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A stage has a takeoff and landing surface. The takeoff and landing surface has an opening through which loading and unloading to and from a flying object is carried out. The takeoff and landing surface has a plurality of markers formed thereon. Each marker is a figure or the like for identifying a relative position between the flying object and the stage. The opening is formed in the takeoff and landing ...