ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 21 -- United States Patent no. 12,686,976, issued on July 21.

"Electronic patch and crack sealing device and assembly" was invented by Douglas Williams (Colfax, N.C.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Electronic patch and crack sealing devices, assemblies, and methods. In one embodiment, a device for surface repair includes an application arm having an electrically-heated torch heating element and an interconnect end adjacent the electrically-heated torch heating element. The device may include at least one applier. In particular embodiments the applier is an interchangeable applier removably coupled to the interconnect end. The result may be an improved electrically-heated ...