ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,496,980, issued on Dec. 16, was assigned to Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Inc. (Plano, Texas) and Toyota Jidosha K.K. (Toyota, Japan).
"Storage systems" was invented by Thomas S. Hawley (Ann Arbor, Mich.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A storage system for a vehicle is provided. The storage system includes a cover including a section operable to move between a folded position and an unfolded position, a crossmember disposed on an underside of the section, and a rail system disposed on the underside of the cover and configured to slidably support a bin. The crossmember obstructs sliding movement of the bin when the...