Patents by Inventor Maria V. Villegas

Maria V. Villegas 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: 6361064
    Abstract: This present invention provides a device for retaining an inflator within an air bag module housing in a sealing manner. In a first embodiment, the device comprises an inflator seal member and an inflator seal retainer. The inflator seal member is disposed about an outer surface of the inflator by disposing the inflator through a central opening formed in the inflator seal member. The inflator seal member further has a flange which is received within a retaining groove formed in the module housing for partially locating the inflator within an internal cavity formed in the module housing. The inflator seal retainer is designed to provide high quality seal retention between the inflator and the module housing. In a broad sense, the inflator seal retainer comprises a symmetric star shaped member having spring-like properties. The inflator seal retainer is formed so that it includes a plurality of peaks radially disposed about an opening defined by the inflator seal retainer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2002
    Assignee: Delphi Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Philip Wendel Hopf, Maria V. Villegas, Bernd Uwe Zimmerbeutel, William Thomas Shaw