US Patent Issued to TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, TOYOTA JIDOSHA on June 23 for "Apparatus, system, and method for tire catchers for frame based vehicle" (Michigan Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 15 -- United States Patent no. 12,662,196, issued on June 23, was assigned to TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA INC. (Plano, Texas) and TOYOTA JIDOSHA K.K. (Japan).

"Apparatus, system, and method for tire catchers for frame based vehicle" was invented by Blaine C. Benson (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Erin L. Twombly (Ypsilanti, Mich.) and Mark C. Kulik (Ann Arbor, Mich.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Apparatuses, systems, and methods for accommodating relative movement between a vehicle body and a vehicle frame. An apparatus includes a flexible member attaching a tire catcher cover to a fender liner. The flexible member surrounds a perimeter of the tire catche...