US Patent Issued to Magna Exteriors on April 14 for "Tailgate accessibility" (Michigan Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 15 -- United States Patent no. 12,600,417, issued on April 14, was assigned to Magna Exteriors Inc. (Aurora, Canada).

"Tailgate accessibility" was invented by Robert A. Selle (Rochester, Mich.), Robert M. Horner (Ferndale, Mich.) and Larry R. Erickson (Birmingham, Mich.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An articulating tailgate assembly with improved accessibility into a cargo bed of a vehicle, incorporating at least one door. The tailgate system provides a tailgate with a combination of predetermined plurality of functions for accessibility into the cargo bed of the vehicle and to improve functionality of the tailgate assembly."

The patent was filed on June 3, 2024, unde...