Patents by Inventor James R. Chinni

James R. Chinni has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7976092
    Abstract: A vehicle safety seat may comprise, among other things, a vehicle seat having a seat base configured to be mounted to a support surface of a motor vehicle, and a roll sensor mounted to the seat base. The vehicle seat may be a suspension seat. The vehicle seat may have other sensors, event detection systems or the like mounted thereto. The vehicle seat may include a number of vehicle/occupant safety mechanisms integral therewith.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2011
    Assignee: Indiana Mills & Manufacturing Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffery W. Meredith, James R. Chinni
  • Publication number: 20110018316
    Abstract: A vehicle safety seat may comprise, among other things, a vehicle seat having a seat base configured to be mounted to a support surface of a motor vehicle, and a roll sensor mounted to the seat base. The vehicle seat may be a suspension seat. The vehicle seat may have other sensors, event detection systems or the like mounted thereto. The vehicle seat may include a number of vehicle/occupant safety mechanisms integral therewith.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2010
    Publication date: January 27, 2011
    Inventors: Jeffery W. Meredith, James R. Chinni
  • Patent number: 6412863
    Abstract: A vehicle seat has a back portion deformable forwardly when impacted from the rear by a passenger. A horizontally movable seat platform is slidably mounted to the seat frame and has restraint belts. The seat platform is normally held in an aft position until forward passenger force is applied through the lap belts to the movable platform during a crash.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2002
    Assignee: Indiana Mills & Manufacturing, Inc.
    Inventors: David D. Merrick, James R. Chinni
  • Publication number: 20020030391
    Abstract: A vehicle seat has a back portion deformable forwardly when impacted from the rear by a passenger. A horizontally movable seat platform is slidably mounted to the seat frame and has restraint belts. The seat platform is normally held in an aft position until forward passenger force is applied through the lap belts to the movable platform during a crash.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 4, 2001
    Publication date: March 14, 2002
    Inventors: David D. Merrick, James R. Chinni
  • Patent number: 6328379
    Abstract: A vehicle seat having a back portion bent or deformed forwardly when impacted from the rear by a passenger. A horizontally movable seat platform is slidably mounted to the seat frame and has lap belts secured thereto. The seat platform is normally held in an aft position by fastening devices which break under forward passenger force applied through the lap belts to the movable platform during a crash. The movable platform includes a plurality of sleeves affixed thereto which are slidably mounted to the main frame of the seat.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2001
    Assignee: Indiana Mills and Manufacturing, Inc.
    Inventors: David D. Merrick, James R. Chinni
  • Patent number: 5622327
    Abstract: An emergency locking seatbelt retractor. The retractor includes a pivoting lock plate which can pivot through a limited arc during activation of a webbing sensor or a vehicle sensor. When the lock plate is in its quiescent position, a pin thereon operates to hold a lock bar out of engagement with ratchet teeth on the webbing spool, thereby allowing free rotation of the spool. If either or both of the webbing sensor and vehicle sensor are activated, the lock plate is caused to pivot, drawing the pin away from the lock bar and allowing the lock bar to engage the ratchet teeth, thereby locking the retractor. Additionally, the locking initiation mechanism (the lock plate) and the sensors are isolated from webbing withdrawal forces and may therefore be constructed of lightweight, inexpensive materials. The retractor includes a vehicle sensor which is effective in substantially eliminating any vertical motion of the sensor ball.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 1995
    Date of Patent: April 22, 1997
    Assignee: Indiana Mills and Manufacturing, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert B. Heath, James R. Chinni, Steven H. Wallen, James R. Anthony
  • Patent number: 5511856
    Abstract: A retractor for controlling the withdrawal of a belt therefrom operated by the locking engagement of a buckle and buckle tongue. A retractor frame having a spring biased rotatably mounted spool wrappingly receives one end of a belt harness, with the opposite end of the belt harness having fixed thereto either a buckle or a buckle tongue. Attached to a seat is either a buckle or a buckle tongue that receives the corresponding mating part of the buckle tongue combination which is attached to the belt harness. A locking bar is engagable with the ratchet shaped end plates of the spool to prevent further withdrawal of the belt harness. The locking engagement of the buckle and tongue causes movement of the locking bar into contact with the ratchet shaped end plates, which prevents the spool from rotating to allow any further withdrawal of the belt harness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 30, 1996
    Assignee: Indiana Mills & Manufacturing, Inc.
    Inventors: David D. Merrick, Allan R. Lortz, James R. Chinni, Jeffrey E. Peterson
  • Patent number: 5283933
    Abstract: A pair of interactive tongues are for latching to a dual-tongue belt buckle. The belt buckle includes false latching features that only permits the latching mechanism to trigger when both of the tongues are fully inserted into the buckle. The contact surfaces of the first and second tongues include interactive features that prevent the tongues from sliding past one another in the direction of the tongue bars when the contact surfaces are meshed. The interactive features of the contact surfaces are shaped and configured so that the contact surfaces can be meshed by moving the tongues toward each other in a plurality of different directions that are perpendicular to the direction defined by the tongue bars.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 1993
    Date of Patent: February 8, 1994
    Assignee: Indiana Mills & Manufacturing, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael A. Wiseman, James R. Chinni
  • Patent number: D359710
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 1994
    Date of Patent: June 27, 1995
    Assignee: Indiana Mills & Manufacturing, Inc.
    Inventors: James R. Chinni, Vance P. Voorhis