ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 28 -- United States Patent no. 12,692,905, issued on July 28, was assigned to HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY (Seoul, South Korea) and KIA Corp. (Seoul, South Korea).
"Universal joint" was invented by Jong Min Kim (Gwangmyeong-si, South Korea) and Tae Kyun Kim (Hwaseong-si, South Korea).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A universal joint configured to reduce the steering friction by decreasing the bending torque of a yoke. The universal joint includes a body portion formed at one end of a yoke for a shaft to be coupled thereto, a wing portion formed at the other end of the yoke for a bearing to be pressed thereinto, and a rigidity-weakening portion formed in a shape of a reduced cross...