Patents Examined by Karen Amores
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Patent number: 7445238Abstract: First and second lateral flaps depending from the central portion of a panel of air bag material are folded inwards towards the central portion so as to form a duct of a deflector which is closed along a top portion thereof. The duct is located inside an air bag between an inflator mounted from the outside of the air bag, and a retaining structure located within the duct, wherein the outlet end of the inflator extends through the openings in the air bag, the duct, and the retaining structure so as to provide for discharging inflation gas into the duct, which directs the gas downwardly into the airbag through an outlet proximate to a bottom edge of the panel. Holes in the lateral flaps are aligned so as to receive inflator mounting fasteners of the retaining structure, and so as to form the duct.Type: GrantFiled: August 26, 2005Date of Patent: November 4, 2008Assignee: TK Holdings Inc.Inventor: Brandon Scott Marriott
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Patent number: 7445074Abstract: An engine control system correctly determines when a vehicle overturns and includes a vehicle inclination angle detector arranged to detect an inclination of a vehicle relative to a horizontal plane, a cumulative-duration-of-inclination detector arranged to detect a cumulative duration for which an inclination angle detected by the vehicle inclination angle detector is greater than a predetermined angle, a rider's operation detector arranged to detect whether or not a rider is operating the vehicle, and an engine cut off device arranged to stop an engine of the vehicle when it has been determined that the vehicle has overturned, based on an output of the cumulative-duration-of-inclination detector indicating the cumulative duration for which the inclination angle detected by the vehicle inclination angle detector is greater than the predetermined angle, and an output of the rider's operation detector indicating that the rider is operating the vehicle.Type: GrantFiled: April 28, 2006Date of Patent: November 4, 2008Assignee: Yamaha Hatsudoki Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Hideyuki Oohashi
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Patent number: 7434837Abstract: The knee-protecting airbag device includes an airbag that protrudes rearward from a housing and deploys upward when fed with inflation gas. The airbag includes an upstream part located toward lower end of the completely inflated airbag and located upstream of inflation gas, and a downstream part located toward upper end of the completely inflated airbag and located downstream of inflation gas. The downstream part is adapted to protect an area from shins to knees of an occupant when the airbag is completely inflated. In the course of airbag inflation, internal pressure of a shin-protecting area, which is part of the downstream part for protecting shins, peaks 5 to 15 ms later than a peak time of internal pressure of the upstream part.Type: GrantFiled: November 3, 2005Date of Patent: October 14, 2008Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.Inventors: Naoki Hotta, Yoshio Mizuno, Atsushi Nagata, Hiroki Tanaka
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Patent number: 7434829Abstract: An interior panel for a motor vehicle provides a deployment door for an airbag assembly supported behind the panel. The deployment door has a peripheral end surface connected to the surrounding panel substrate, the connection being formed by a knit line. In this manner, a seamless deployment door for an airbag assembly is provided with a clean and consistent appearance, while at the same time quickly and easily breaking free from the surrounding panel.Type: GrantFiled: April 22, 2005Date of Patent: October 14, 2008Assignee: Visteon Global Technologies, Inc.Inventor: Donald James Cvengros
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Patent number: 7431325Abstract: The steering wheel adapter for a motor vehicle has, for connection to a steering wheel, a rotatable retaining plate (10) with at least three retaining elements (11, 12, 13) that are displaceable within a circular segment formed by the upper region of the steering wheel (50) and whereby the steering wheel (50) is frictionally connectable to said retaining plate (10). This upper circular segment is used as a free space for coupling the steering adapter to the steering wheel, with all retaining elements that serve to clamp the steering wheel to said retaining plate being disposed within this free space so that their retaining force is generated against the steering wheel from the inside. In the steering wheel plane outside the steering wheel rim, no components are therefore required that could come into conflict with other components of the motor vehicle in the vicinity of the steering wheel.Type: GrantFiled: July 12, 2005Date of Patent: October 7, 2008Inventor: Kurt Stähle
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Patent number: 7429054Abstract: The present invention discloses a vehicle lift kit that allows a vehicle to be lifted or raised from the ground without moving the stock torsion bar bracket and assembly. The present lift kit has a drop bracket having a front pivot point, a rear pivot point, and a torsion bar socket for receiving a torsion bar of the vehicle. The lift kit also provides a link attached to the front pivot point of the drop bracket and a stock control arm and a bracket attachable to the rear pivot point of the drop bracket and the stock control arm. The drop bracket may have a bump stop pad. The link attaches to a shock mount of the stock control arm. The bracket is attaches to a pivot point of the stock control arm. The link has a body joining an upper hole and a lower hole.Type: GrantFiled: December 14, 2005Date of Patent: September 30, 2008Assignee: Heckethorn Products, Inc.Inventor: Mark Turner
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Patent number: 7422237Abstract: The present invention provides an air bag device in which an airbag member can be quickly and positively inflated and expanded, with its central portion instantaneously inflated. The present invention describes an air bag device 10 in which an intermediate cloth of a polygonal shape, having a gas inlet port leading to an inflator, is disposed between a front-side cloth and a reverse-side cloth which are sewn together at their peripheral edge portions. Part of a peripheral edge portion of the polygonal intermediate cloth is sewn to the front-side cloth, and gas outlet ports are provided respectively at those portions or this peripheral edge portion which are not sewn to the front-side cloth. With this construction, an airbag member can be quickly and positively inflated and expanded, with its central portion instantaneously inflated.Type: GrantFiled: July 27, 2006Date of Patent: September 9, 2008Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.Inventors: Takeshi Kai, Daiei Tonooka
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Patent number: 7419178Abstract: A draw gear has a drawbar space formed in a rear part of a counterweight of a industrial vehicle. A drawbar is installed in the drawbar space. An upper section positioning portion is provided in the drawbar space for allowing the drawbar to be moved in a first direction in which the drawbar is drawn and also for positioning the drawbar in a second direction opposite to the first direction. A middle section positioning portion is provided in the drawbar space for allowing the drawbar to be moved in the second direction and also for positioning the drawbar in the first direction. A lower section positioning portion is provided in the drawbar space for positioning the drawbar at least in the second direction. An opening is formed at least on an upper side of the drawbar space for allowing the drawbar to be drawn out of the counterweight.Type: GrantFiled: March 24, 2006Date of Patent: September 2, 2008Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota JidoshokkiInventor: Daisuke Inoue
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Patent number: 7410027Abstract: The invention relates to a device for reducing the impact for a pedestrian relative to a vehicle, which vehicle is provided with windshield and a hood covering an engine compartment or a similar compartment in front of the windshield, which hood is provided with at least one hinge adjacent its rear section. The device may comprise at least one actuating mechanism for displacing the rear section of the hood from a rest position to a raised impact position, at least one airbag module being operative to inflate the airbag, causing the airbag to extend out from the rear section of the hood, and an airbag module associated with each actuating mechanism, whereby the reaction force of an operative airbag causes the actuating mechanism to assume the impact position. The invention further relates to a vehicle provided with such a device.Type: GrantFiled: May 4, 2005Date of Patent: August 12, 2008Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLCInventor: Mark Howard
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Patent number: 7393006Abstract: An airbag device for protecting motor vehicle occupants is disclosed. The airbag device comprises an airbag, which is accommodated folded-up in the roof area of the vehicle prior to inflation. The airbag unfolds downwards curtain-like when triggered, with a first section of the folded-up airbag extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle from its roof frame. A second airbag section is arranged within the roof strut above the windshield, which runs at right angles to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The second section of the airbag is bent inwards around a folding point and disposed above the windshield. A fastening means arranged in the vicinity of the folding point fastens the first section of the folded airbag running along the roof frame to the roof frame.Type: GrantFiled: June 22, 2007Date of Patent: July 1, 2008Assignee: Autoliv Development ABInventors: Henrik Ohrvall, Andreas Melander
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Patent number: 7390002Abstract: In a suspension system (20) for use in a vehicle including a body, left and right front wheels (10), and left and right rear wheels (12), a front-wheel-associated cylinder device (52) which controls a relative displacement of the left and right front wheels, and a rear-wheel-associated cylinder device (62) which controls a relative displacement of the left and right rear wheels are associated with each other with a working fluid. A first-chamber-associated valve (190) is provided in a first-chamber-associated passage (90) which connects between respective first chambers (74) of the front-wheel-associated cylinder device and the rear-wheel-associated cylinder device, such that the first-chamber-associated valve is located between the first chamber of the front-wheel-associated cylinder device and a first fluid accommodating device (200).Type: GrantFiled: March 4, 2004Date of Patent: June 24, 2008Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Akira Kasamatsu