ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,668,974, issued on June 30.
"Wheelchair ramp" was invented by Richard Hoffberg (West Harrison, N.Y.), Nicholas Peterson (Crystal Lake, N.Y.), Matthew Swain (Buffalo, N.Y.), Paula Zubiri (Tustin, Calif.), Berk Alper (Pittsburgh) and Ashwini Ganpule (Templeton, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A ramp transportation system for a wheelchair enables transportation, deployment, and retrieval of a portable ramp by a single wheelchair occupant in the absence of external aid. The device comprises: a platform, configured to support the width of a wheelchair for crossing the platform, having a sufficient stiffness to support a wheelchair and o...