ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 2 -- United States Patent no. 12,486,707, issued on Dec. 2, was assigned to MOLTENI & C. S.P.A. (Monza e Brianza, Italy).
"Flap" was invented by Stefano Invernizzi (Monza e Brianza, Italy).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A flap including a structure and a door hinged to the structure by means of a hinge, where the hinge defines a hinge axis around which the door is rotationally movable with respect to the structure, where the door is movable from a vertical closing position to a horizontal opening position under the action of the force of gravity, where the flap further includes damping means configured to dampen the rotation motion of the door with respect to the structur...