Patents Issued the Week of December 15-19

12.27.25

Patent Protection & Registration

Patents grant property rights on new and useful inventions, allowing the patent holder to prevent others from using, making, or selling that invention without permission for a limited time. U.S. patents are permitted by the U.S. Constitution and are designed to promote scientific progress and invention. By allowing inventors to profit from licensing or selling their patent rights, inventors can recoup their research and development costs and benefit financially from their inventing efforts. There are three main types of patents utility, plant, and design. Utility and plant patents can last up to 20 years, while design patents can last up to 15 years. When a patent expires, the patented material enters the public domain, making it free to use by anyone without a license. U.S. patents are issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

U.S. Patent NO. 12,497,741 issued December 16^th 2025 to Wirtgen GmbH of Windhagen, Germany. Invented by Stefan Abresch of Dierdorf, Germany and Marcel Joisten of Neuwied, Germany. Abstract: The present invention relates to a mounted earth removal device (10), comprising: a work drive (16), which is designed for rotation about a work axis (A), and a device housing (12) having a support part (14), on which the work drive (16) is accommodated, the device housing (12) having a base structure (30), of which the support part (14) forms at least a section, the device housing furthermore having a first side plate (18) and a second side plate (70) running crosswise to the work axis (A), the first side plate (18) and the second side plate (70) respectively have a first and a second ground contact section (76), each ground contact section (36, 76) contacting the earth during earth removal work, and being accommodated relative to the base structure (30) so as to be translatorily displaceable crosswise to the work axis (A) and swivable about a swivel axis (P1, P2). The invention provides that at least one side plate (18, 70) includes a lift component (32, 72) displaceable relative to the base structure (30) in translatory fashion crosswise to the work axis (A) and a swivel component (34, 74) that is displaceable together with the lift component (32, 72) in translatory fashion and that is swivable relative to the lift component (32, 72) about the swivel axis (P1, P2), the ground contact section (36, 74) of the side plate (18, 70) being indirectly connected to the lift component (32, 72).