ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,305,741, issued on May 20, was assigned to TSUBAKIMOTO CHAIN Co. (Osaka, Japan).
"Sprocket" was invented by Shoichiro Shimizu (Osaka, Japan) and Yuta Watanabe (Osaka, Japan).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "To provide a sprocket that not only reduces impact and hitting noise caused by contact and seating of a chain when it meshes with the sprocket, but also simplifies a setting of process conditions for securing a cushion ring on a side face of a sprocket body. The sprocket includes the sprocket body formed with a plurality of teeth on a circumferential surface thereof, and the cushion ring provided to at least one side face of the sprocket...