ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 15 -- United States Patent no. 12,661,940, issued on June 23, was assigned to Volkswagen AG (Wolfsburg, Germany).
"Vehicle trailer coupling mechanism and vehicle support" was invented by Armin Fatic (Foster City, Calif.), David Roh (San Francisco), Rodrigo Castaman (Walnut Creek, Calif.) and Gladys Leung (Union City, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A coupling/locking mechanism, that includes a first and second coupling/locking portion, each having their respective housing that includes (i) first/second prongs comprising first/second cavities and tapered engaging ends, (ii) first/second semi-spherical ball locks configured in the cavities, and (iii) first/second ope...