ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 11 -- United States Patent no. 12,546,148, issued on Feb. 10, was assigned to Illinois Tool Works Inc. (Glenview, Ill.).
"Locking device for locking charging, fueling, or service flaps" was invented by Matthias Hegwein (Ippesheim, Germany), Zsolt Wilke (Bad Mergentheim, Germany), Andreas Rudolf (Wurzburg, Germany), Roland Och (Rottendorf, Germany), Thomas Lechner-Watzlik (Aub, Germany) and Matthias Kapaun (Gaukonigshofen, Germany).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A locking device enables locking a charging, fueling, or service flap on a compartment. The flap is reversibly movable between a closed position and an open position. The locking device includes a flap lock for loc...