Patents Examined by Darlene P Condra
  • Patent number: 11173763
    Abstract: A component part for a motor vehicle having a hollow profile portion of a fiber-reinforced plastic and a load introduction element of a metal material. The hollow profile portion and the load introduction element are connected in a common connection portion via a nondetachable, glued plug-in connection in which an end portion of the load introduction element and an end portion of the hollow profile portion engage in one another by positive engagement. The end portion of the load introduction element has a spline with teeth extending in longitudinal direction of the common connection portion so that the stiffness of the end portion of the load introduction element reduced in longitudinal direction of the common connection portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: ZF Friedrichshafen AG
    Inventors: Andre Stieglitz, Thomas Schwarz, Ingolf Müller
  • Patent number: 11162462
    Abstract: An air intake system for a vehicle has a conduit having an internal wall forming an air passage. A deflector is disposed within the air passage. A restricting structure is disposed within the air passage between the deflector and a conduit outlet. The restricting structure defines at least in part an opening substantially laterally aligned with the deflector. The restricting structure has a lateral wall disposed downstream of the deflector and extending within the air passage. The lateral wall has a front surface generally facing a conduit inlet, and a plurality of surface-increasing features provided on the front surface. Each of the surface-increasing features has a length of at least 1 mm measured from the front surface in a direction normal thereto. An air intake system having a collector connected to the deflector and positioned to collect at least some moisture from air flowing past the deflector is also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: BOMBARDIER RECREATIONAL PRODUCTS INC.
    Inventor: Thomas Driant
  • Patent number: 11148722
    Abstract: A trailer frame is disclosed that comprises a panel with a plurality of inserts installed at certain hard point locations where external components and equipment may be attached. In one embodiment, the inserts are two-piece formed hard points, whereas in other embodiments, the inserts are one piece solid hard points. In some embodiments, the panel is a sandwich panel. The inserts may be installed in the panel in a variety of manners, for example, they may be set flush within shallow pockets machined or routed into the panel's outer skins. Also, brackets may be utilized to interconnect components or equipment to the hard point inserts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: NORCO INDUSTRIES, INC.
    Inventor: Bernard F. Garceau
  • Patent number: 11142235
    Abstract: A steering system includes an operation member; a first movement mechanism configured to move the operation member between a normal position at which the operation member is operated by a driver, and a storage area located forward of the normal position; and a control unit configured to control the first movement mechanism. The storage area is located inward of an opening of a vehicle member located in front of a driver's seat in the vehicle. The control unit is configured to control, in a case where the operation member is retracted into the storage area, the first movement mechanism to move the operation member forward at a first speed, and to move the operation member forward at a second speed that is lower than the first speed when a distance between the operation member and the vehicle member becomes equal to or less than a predetermined distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: JTEKT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takeshi Watanabe, Yasuyuki Nozawa
  • Patent number: 11136087
    Abstract: An increase in the size of a leaning vehicle that has a double wishbone-type link mechanism is suppressed. A caliper is supported by a vehicle body frame. A disk includes: a disk contact part with which pads are allowed to be brought into contact; and a disk support part that, when the vehicle body frame is in an upright state, is supported by a support arm at a position that is further upward in an upward direction than an arm central shaft. When seen from a frontward direction, the disk support part supports the disk contact part so that an arm passing region through which a portion located between the arm central shaft in the support arm and a second end part of a left shock absorber and a second end part of a right shock absorber passes overlaps with the pads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: YAMAHA HATSUDOKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hiroshi Takimoto
  • Patent number: 11135884
    Abstract: A suspension device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is equipped with: an upper arm; a lower arm; a leaf spring positioned so as to extend in the vehicle widthwise direction in a manner such that an end section thereof is provided on the lower arm; a first bracket configured in a manner such that a shock absorber connected to the lower arm is connected to the outside of a side member in the vehicle widthwise direction; an upper bushing capable of transmitting force between the leaf spring and a suspension cross member; and a second bracket which is independent from the first bracket and is positioned below the side member between the side member and the leaf spring so as to be capable of transmitting the elastic force of the leaf spring to the side member via the upper bushing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: ISUZU MOTORS LIMITED
    Inventors: Daisuke Senoo, Atsushi Itou
  • Patent number: 11135991
    Abstract: [Issue] An objective of providing an airbag device enabling efficiently suppressing injury of the occupant during an emergency. [Resolution Means] A representative structure of the airbag device 100 according to the present invention includes an inflator 112 that is installed on a vehicle and is able to supply gas, an airbag cushion 104 that expands and deploys in front of the seating position of the vehicle occupant based on the gas, and at least one internal tether 116 with a first end 122 connected to the seating position side inside the airbag cushion 104 and a second end 124 connected to the vehicle front side inside the airbag cushion 104. The airbag cushion 104 is characterized by a recessed concave part 114 formed through pulling of the internal tether 116 on the center of the seating position side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Autoliv Development AB
    Inventor: Ryota Ishigaki
  • Patent number: 11123241
    Abstract: A vehicle seat includes a seatback, a seat cushion, and a wheelchair fixing device. The seat cushion is switchable to a tip-up state where the seat cushion has been tipped up so as to extend along the seatback. The seat cushion includes a seating surface and a rear surface that is on the opposite side of the seat cushion from the seating surface. The wheelchair fixing device is provided on the rear surface-side. The wheelchair fixing device is configured to fix a wheelchair to the seat cushion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuya Mori
  • Patent number: 11124032
    Abstract: A method for producing motor vehicle controls from extruded profiles and a motor vehicle control. A length section of an extruded profile strand is provided and this is either processed by cutting technology and divided into several extrusion profiles or is first divided into several extruded profiles and they are then processed via shear cutting. By means of a mechanical processing of the extrusion profiles, the motor vehicle controls are formed. The length section has a double T-shaped cross-section with a brace and two belts aligned perpendicular to the brace, wherein the end-side of the belts are connected to flanges. During manufacturing, a motor vehicle control is produced with a steering element, which comprises a middle part and two side arms. In the middle part as well as in the side arms, bearing housings are configured.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: BENTELER AUTOMOBILTECHNIK GMBH
    Inventors: Frode Paulsen, Marco Füllgräbe, Arne Schnieders, Stephan Meyer
  • Patent number: 11117610
    Abstract: A steering column is disclosed for a motor vehicle, including an actuating unit, in which a steering spindle is rotatably mounted about a longitudinal axis. The actuating unit includes a casing unit which has at least three casing tubes which are arranged so as to be axially telescopable relative to one another. One of the casing tubes forms an outer casing tube in which at least one intermediate casing tube, in which an inner casing tube is accommodated, is accommodated. Rolling bodies are arranged between the casing tubes such that they are able to roll in the axial direction. First rolling bodies are arranged between the outer casing tube and the intermediate casing tube, and second rolling bodies are arranged between the intermediate casing tube and the inner casing tube, the first rolling bodies being arranged offset in the circumferential direction relative to the second rolling bodies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignees: THYSSENKRUPP PRESTA AG, THYSSENKRUPP AG
    Inventors: Tim Bayer, Sebastian Huber, Daniel Kreutz, Arne Schacht
  • Patent number: 11104196
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing a vehicular hybrid suspension arm and a hybrid suspension arm manufactured using the same. The method of manufacturing a hybrid suspension arm includes preparing an assembly of a ball stud and a bearing; preparing a suspension arm body; attaching a ball joint pipe and bush pipes to the suspension arm body; manufacturing a suspension arm main body by inserting the assembly of the ball stud and the bearing into the ball joint pipe; inserting the suspension arm main body into a mold in which a plurality of fixing pins are formed; injecting an insert molding into a ball joint portion comprising the ball joint pipe and the ball stud in a direction of an upper surface of the ball joint pipe through the mold; and inserting and assembling bushes into the bush pipes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: ILJIN CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Tae Sung Kwon
  • Patent number: 11104292
    Abstract: Problem: To provide a side airbag device that can improve restraint performance by efficiently suppressing oscillation of an airbag cushion. Resolution Means: A side airbag device 100 is provided with: a vertically long rear chamber 116, a front chamber 118 that is inflated and deployed forward and upward from the rear chamber 116, an inflator 108 contained within a rear part of the rear chamber 116, and a cloth-like first tether 112 that is provided outside of the rear chamber 116, has a front end 122 connected to a front edge portion 124 of the rear chamber 116, and has a rear end 126 connected to the rear part of the rear chamber 116, and which is tensioned when the rear chamber 116 is inflated and deployed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: AUTOLIV DEVELOPMENT AB
    Inventors: Makoto Fuma, Yuto Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 11104383
    Abstract: A vehicle front portion structure includes: a motor unit disposed at a vehicle front part; a suspension member disposed at the vehicle front part, the suspension member extending in a vehicle front-rear direction and deforming toward a vehicle lower side at a time of vehicle frontal collision; a left-right pair of front side motor mounts connecting a front part of the motor unit with the suspension member; a rear side motor mount connecting a central part, in a vehicle width direction, of a rear part of the motor unit with the suspension member; and a break mechanism that causes the rear side motor mount, which moves toward a vehicle rear side at a time of vehicle frontal collision, to break in the vehicle width direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Ryosuke Chikazawa, Hiroyuki Kurata
  • Patent number: 11097603
    Abstract: An emergency egress system for a multi-passenger vehicle such as a school bus (10) includes a housing (30) that operatively supports a ramp (34) in movable connection therewith. Opening an emergency exit door (18) of the bus causes a housing door (24) to open and the ramp to move outwardly from a retracted position toward an extended position. Opening the emergency exit door also causes the suspension of the bus to be automatically lowered to place the emergency exit opening (16) closer to the ground (166).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Inventor: Michael A. Lillo
  • Patent number: 11097586
    Abstract: A damper and spring unit includes a damper having a cylinder and a rod extending along a first axis (z), a spring plate arranged around the cylinder and slidable with respect to the cylinder along the first axis (z), a spring resting at its bottom on the spring plate, and an electro-mechanical adjustment device interposed between the cylinder and the spring plate for adjusting in a continuous and controlled manner the vertical position of the bottom end of the spring and the height of the vehicle from the ground. The adjustment device includes an electric motor generating a rotary motion and a motion conversion mechanism having one screw extending along a second axis (z?) parallel to the first axis (z), but spaced therefrom, and driven into rotation by the electric motor about the second axis (z?), and a nut meshing with the screw and drivingly connected for translation with the spring plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: MARELLI SUSPENSION SYSTEMS ITALY S.P.A.
    Inventors: Walter Bruno, Piero Antonio Conti, Giordano Greco, Nicola Amati, Renato Galluzzi, Sanjarbek Ruzimov, Andrea Tonoli
  • Patent number: 11097680
    Abstract: A restraint system is provided for helping to protect at least one occupant of a vehicle having a floor and a cabin with at least one seat for receiving each occupant. The restraint system includes an airbag extending from a first end mounted in the vehicle floor to a second end. The airbag includes a first airbag portion curved away from the at least one occupant and a second airbag portion extending towards the at least one occupant. The airbag has a stored condition and is inflatable to a deployed condition aligned with the at least one occupant. A tether is connected to the airbag and the floor for limiting relative forward-rearward movement of the airbag in response to occupant penetration into the airbag.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: ZF PASSIVE SAFETY SYSTEMS US INC.
    Inventors: Hylus Ranjit Raj Jayakar, Wael Youssef-Agha
  • Patent number: 11090994
    Abstract: A front lower arm is tiltably supported, in a cantilever manner, by an outer surface of each of side-rails provided in right and left vehicle regions and extending in a vehicle front-rear direction. The front lower arm includes: a lower arm body; an inner pivot provided at an inner end of the lower arm body in a vehicle right-left direction and supported by the side-rail; and an attachment portion to which a lower end of a shock absorber is attached, and which is joined to an intermediate section of a front upper corner portion of the lower arm body. The intermediate section is an intermediate section of the front upper corner portion in the vehicle right-left direction. A ball joint to which a knuckle is connected is attached to an outer end of the front lower arm in the vehicle right-left direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shinpei Matsumoto, Yukihiro Akiyama
  • Patent number: 11084347
    Abstract: A motor vehicle independent rear-wheel suspension system including a left-hand and a right-hand transverse link, each articulated at an inner end on a chassis of the motor vehicle and fixedly connected at an outer end to a wheel carrier. The suspension system having a left-hand and a right-hand trailing arm unit. Each trailing arm unit articulated a front end on the chassis of the motor vehicle and at a rear end on a wheel carrier. Open installation space is formed between the trailing arm units and the transverse links for at least a partial accommodation of an electrical drive train.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Friedrich Peter Wolf-Monheim
  • Patent number: 11084549
    Abstract: The invention describes a vehicle (100) having three or more tilting wheels comprising a main frame (2) provided with a suspension group (3) for at least two wheels (25). The suspension group (3) is joined to the main frame (2) through a hinge (8) that allows the free rotation of the main frame (2) with respect to the suspension group (3) along the axis of the hinge (8). The suspension group (3) comprises a pivoting arm (6) for each wheel (25). Each pivoting arm (6) is constrained to the suspension group (3) through the interposition of one or more elastic elements (9) consisting of elastomers. The elastic elements (9) operate as suspension or damping means, or with both of the associated functions. Each elastic element (9) is compressed and works under pressure inside a cavity obtained between one or more pins (7) having a closed polygonal section, operatively associated with the hinge (8), and one or more channels (32) having a closed polygonal section, obtained in the suspension group (3).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: G.P. DI GHEZZI GIUSEPPE
    Inventor: Giuseppe Ghezzi
  • Patent number: 11084348
    Abstract: A two-piece limit strap clamp for use with a shock absorber and a limit strap retention device is provided. The pieces couple together around the upper end of a shock absorber. The clamp has a protrusion that extends outwardly and is adapted for attachment of the top end of a limit strap. The lower end of the limit strap may be attached to a mounting tab that is coupled to the lower mounting bracket of the shock absorber. Also disclosed is a limit strap with a tether coupled to a spring of the shock absorber to prevent the limit strap from bowing out when the shock absorber is compressed. A method of use of a limit strap with a tether is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: J & J Holdings and Investments, LLC
    Inventor: Justin Smith