ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 19 -- United States Patent no. 12,227,910, issued on Feb. 18, was assigned to Valtir LLC (Dallas).
"Crash cushion" was invented by Sean Thompson (Elk Grove, Calif.) and Patrick Leonhardt (Loomis, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A crash cushion includes overlapping first and second rail sections coupled with a fastener. The first rail section is moveable relative to the second rail section from a pre-impact position to an impact position in response to an axial impact to the guardrail assembly. The first rail section includes an elongated slot aligned with the fastener and having a first length. A support post is releasably connected to the first rail section and is...