US Patent Issued to TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, TOYOTA JIDOSHA on July 14 for "Apparatus, system, and method for vibration damped cup-holder" (Michigan Inventor)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 14 -- United States Patent no. 12,679,265, issued on July 14, was assigned to TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA INC. (Plano, Texas) and TOYOTA JIDOSHA K.K..

"Apparatus, system, and method for vibration damped cup-holder" was invented by Matthew K. Killeen (Ypsilanti, Mich.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A grommet extends between a container receptacle and a vehicle panel. As the vehicle panel moves, the grommet is designed to flex (e.g., stretch and/or compress) to mitigate and/or eliminate movement of the container receptacle. Hence, the container receptacle is isolated from the vehicle panel via the grommet."

The patent was filed on Sept. 19, 2023...