ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,497,891, issued on Dec. 16, was assigned to Sandvik Mining and Construction Australia (Production/Supply) Pty Ltd (Milton, Australia).
"Rock bolt" was invented by Mietek Rataj (New South Wales, Australia) and Bradley Darlington (New South Wales, Australia).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A rock bolt includes a central rod, a tubular outer body provided around the central rod, and an expansion mechanism arranged for radially expanding the leading portion of the outer body. The rock bolt is arranged such that the outer body at installation is pulled into a bore of a formation from the leading portion of the outer body using a driving force a...