ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,496,944, issued on Dec. 16, was assigned to TS TECH Co. LTD. (Saitama, Japan).
"Latch for locking vehicle seat back" was invented by Andrew J. Simms (Royal Oak, Mich.), Justin Schrand (Ferndale, Mich.) and Dean Vandenheede (Franklin, Mich.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A latch including a frame having a receiving groove in which a striker is receivable, and a hook rotatably supported by the frame, the hook having an engaging groove with which the striker is engageable. The engaging groove is a single groove having a first groove part extending from a part of an outer edge of the hook and a second groove part bent from the first groove p...