ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 6 -- United States Patent no. 12,459,351, issued on Nov. 4, was assigned to The Heil Co. (Chattanooga, Tenn.).
"Tailgate with structurally integrated CNG system" was invented by Bobby Ray McKinney (Fort Payne, Ala.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A refuse vehicle has a tailgate. The tailgate has a framework to secure CNG tanks. A cover overlays the frame work to provide an aesthetic appearance to the vehicle."
The patent was filed on March 3, 2025, under Application No. 19/068,648.
*For further information, including images, charts and tables, please visit: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f...