Patents Examined by Laurie K. Cranmer
  • Patent number: 9931996
    Abstract: In certain embodiments, a mobile entertainment system includes a screen assembly with a display and a signal generating device. A housing pivotally coupled to the screen assembly can have a lower portion, an upper portion, and a housing cavity sized and shaped to receive the screen assembly. The upper portion can receive at least a portion of the signal generating device. At least a portion of the screen assembly can rotate through an opening in the lower portion. A shell can receive the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: Johnson Safety, Inc.
    Inventor: Chung Lung Chang
  • Patent number: 9706844
    Abstract: Provided is a reclining device that prevents a seat back from falling rearward all at once when reclined rearward. The reclining device has an external gear (63), which has a cylinder (63c) at the center, an internal gear (61), which has internal teeth that engage with the external gear (63) and a circular hole (61e) in which the cylinder (63c) is inserted, and a first wedge-shaped member (71) and a second wedge-shaped member (73), which are provided between the inner surface of the circular hole (61e) and the outer surface of the cylinder (63c). The reclining device is configured such that a load from the seat back is simultaneously applied to the first wedge-shaped member (71) and second wedge-shaped member (73).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: SHIROKI CORPORATION
    Inventor: Noriyuki Sakurai
  • Patent number: 9682781
    Abstract: In one aspect, a side-facing seat assembly is provided. The seat assembly includes a seat portion, a back portion having an upper surface extending along the width of the back portion, and an arm restraint assembly coupled to the back portion. The arm restraint assembly includes a rotating bar rotatable between a stowed position oriented with the back portion upper surface and a deployed position. In the deployed position the rotating bar extends from the back portion and facilitates restraining an occupant seated in the seat assembly. The seat assembly further includes a leg restraint assembly coupled to the seat portion. The leg restraint assembly includes an extension bar extendable between a stowed position oriented with the seat portion and a deployed position. In the deployed position the extension bar extends from the seat portion and facilitates restraining an occupant seated in the seat assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Michael David Brandt, Christopher Erin Mathena
  • Patent number: 9675179
    Abstract: Novel Seats having a plurality of defined zones for supporting the human anatomy are disclosed. Seats including one or more recoil shields and/or inserts to assist in supporting or isolating certain desired portions of the human anatomy, as well as seats including both seat back structures and seat pan structures, with one or both including zoned configurations designed to support and stabilize specific structures of the human anatomy in a defined manner are also disclosed. The novel seats are useful, inter alia, for individually supporting certain anatomical areas and provide seat zones that collectively support, cradle and permit the human anatomy to be supported in a comfortable manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: Trac Tec, Ltd.
    Inventor: Brock Walker
  • Patent number: 9676305
    Abstract: A vehicle seat with integrated child seat comprising: a passenger seat backrest and a seat cushion configured to seat a front-facing adult, the passenger seat backrest further configured to be foldable onto the seat cushion; a child seat backrest integrated with the passenger seat backrest, the child seat backrest configured to be raisable from the passenger seat backrest when the passenger seat backrest is folded onto the seat cushion so as to form a rear-facing child seat.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: TUM CREATE LIMITED
    Inventors: Rahul Gujarathi, Sebastian Bender, Stephan Jin Siong Schickram, Andreas Herbert Schwab
  • Patent number: 9669741
    Abstract: A vehicle seat is provided with a seat-mounted cover that includes a side panel. Provision is made that at least one predetermined breaking point is formed, at least in a critical region of the side panel in which a high crash force acts in the event of a possible crash.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Matthias Kramer
  • Patent number: 9663006
    Abstract: A vehicle seat provided in a vehicle includes a headrest with a pad in which an insert member is provided at a portion at which a head of an occupant is received. The insert member has rigidity that is higher than rigidity of the pad. When a rear-side collision occurs in the vehicle in a state in which the head of the occupant is away from the headrest and an inertia force applied to the occupant, the insert member allows the head of the occupant to sink into the headrest after the head of the occupant comes in contact with the headrest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignees: TOYOTA BOSHOKU KABUSHIKI KAISHA, TOKAI CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Nasu, Koki Uemura
  • Patent number: 9663008
    Abstract: A first member (back board 50) is provided with: a first plate-like portion 81 protruding in a first direction from the first member; a second plate-like portion 82 protruding in the first direction from the first member and located opposite the first plate-like portion in a second direction that is orthogonal to the first direction; a first engagement portion 81a protruding from a distal end portion of the first plate-like portion 81 toward the second plate-like portion 82 at a position shifted to a first side in a third direction that is orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction; and a second engagement portion 82a protruding from a distal end portion of the second plate-like portion 82 toward the first plate-like portion 81 at a position shifted to a second side that is opposite to the first side in the third direction, and the second member (main side frame 21) is provided with a first rod-like portion 91 configured to be disposed between the first plate-like portion 81 and the second pla
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: TS TECH CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takeshi Akutsu, Hiroshi Izawa
  • Patent number: 9649955
    Abstract: Vehicle child safety seat including: a seat main body on which an occupant sits; a seat belt for restraining the occupant to the seat main body, the seat belt including a shoulder harness having a belt shape and facing a shoulder of the occupant; a harness cover formed in an elongated pouch shape and slidably attached to the shoulder harness in a longitudinal direction such that the shoulder harness is passed through paired insertion holes formed on respective end portions of the harness cover in the longitudinal direction; and a shoulder pad formed in an elongated shape, accommodated in the harness cover, placed between the shoulder and the shoulder harness along the longitudinal direction of the shoulder harness, and including paired connection portions provided on respective end portions of the shoulder pad in the longitudinal direction so as to be connected to the shoulder harness slidably in the longitudinal direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignees: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, TAKATA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tetsu Mitsuo, Osamu Nakagawa, Masayuki Sakumoto
  • Patent number: 9648956
    Abstract: According to the present invention a back for a seating unit is provided. The back comprises a plurality of flexible finger elements. Each of the plurality of flexible finger elements has a distal end. The back further comprises a retainer connecting at least two of the flexible finger elements proximate their distal ends. When a load is applied to a flexible finger element, the retainer distributes at least a portion of the load to at least one adjacent flexible finger element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: STEELCASE, INC.
    Inventors: Gordon J. Peterson, Christopher J. Norman, Russell Holdredge, Bruce Smith, Luke Pearson, Thomas Overthun, Kara Johnson
  • Patent number: 9649956
    Abstract: A vehicle seat, particularly a motor vehicle seat, has a seat cushion and a backrest, and a seat mechanism connecting the seat cushion and/or the backrest to at least one seat rail pair. The seat rail pair has two seat rails that can be displaced relatively to one another and which can be locked together by a rail locking mechanism. The vehicle seat can be shifted by the seat mechanism from a use position to a non-use position. A coupler couples the seat mechanism and the seat locking mechanism together in such a way that a least one seat rail pair is locked in the use position and the non-use position of the vehicle seat and is unlocked in an intermediate position of the vehicle seat located between the use position and the non-use position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: JOHNSON CONTROLS COMPONENTS GMBH & CO. KG
    Inventors: Marcel Lehmann, Lars Kramm, Matthias Klein, Thomas Hässel
  • Patent number: 9643520
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a combined car seat cover and infant seat, which is normally used as a seat cover for improving a riding comfort and can be transformed into an infant seat when an infant or a child is a passenger, wherein a seat fixing means for fixing a seat cover to a car seat is formed at the back of the seat cover including a seat sheet and a backrest sheet in which a cushioning material is accommodated therein, a safety belt is provided on both sides of the seat cover, a foldable shielding member is formed on the seat sheet, and the seat cover can be used as an infant seat by using the shielding member and the safety belt, and even in the case of an impact, a seat cover having this structure effectively prevents damage to the seat cover and disperses the impact by means of the safety belt and a reinforcing band, thereby preventing injuries.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Inventor: Nam-Jin Lee
  • Patent number: 9637033
    Abstract: A neck injury is improved with a structure having a lifting mechanism part only on one side. While a lifting driving part is provided on a side of one side frame, a coupling driving rod is coupled to a rotation center of a drive gear a driving link is disposed on a side of the other side frame, and the driving link is coupled to the coupling driving rod. A driving force in the lifting driving part operates on the side of one side frame having the drive gear, but on the side of the other side frame, the driving link rotates together with the drive gear via the coupling driving rod, so as to perform a lifting or lowering operation. The shape of a virtual square coupling contact points of the driving link, the side connectors, the coupling driving rod, and the drive gear does not collapse, and thus an external input is dispersed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignee: DELTA TOOLING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Etsunori Fujita, Yumi Ogura, Seiji Kawasaki, Katsuhiro Inoue, Eiji Sugimoto, Minoru Nakamura, Ryuji Kuwano, Atsushi Nishida
  • Patent number: 9630536
    Abstract: A vehicle seat includes a seatback, a support installed on the seatback, and a headrest having a stay inserted into the support. The support has a flanged head disposed outside the seatback and into which the stay is inserted, and a body disposed inside the seatback, and when the support is installed on the seatback, the head of the support depresses the seatback. The head has an overhang part, and a narrowed part that is provided between the overhang part and the body and that is narrower than the overhang part. A degree of narrowing of the narrowed part is set in such a way that, when the narrowed part of the head of the support depresses the seatback with the support installed on the seatback, the overhang part is in contact with a depressed surface of the seatback.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: TOYOTA BOSHOKU KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shinji Hirai, Shinsuke Yamano
  • Patent number: 9630539
    Abstract: A tiltable vehicle seat has a seat frame, a pad formed in a mold associated with the seat frame and a bracket attaching a seatback to the seat frame. The pad is formed through foaming to expand and engulf the seat frame and is integrated with the seat frame. The bracket allows for the seat frame and the pad contained therein to be tilted relative to the seatback to provide multiple vehicle seat modes. The bracket is formed separately from the seat frame and attached to the seat frame thus allowing for the pad to be formed from a relatively compact mold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignees: TOYOTA BOSHOKU KABUSHIKI KAISHA, TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Satoshi Yokoyama, Keisuke Yamamoto, Tomohiro Muramatsu, Kazuyuki Shiga
  • Patent number: 9611041
    Abstract: A seat headrest is provided that includes a mounting plate for attachment to a seat back of the seat. First and second side wings are mounted on opposite ends of the mounting plate. The side wings are mounted for pivotal movement between a retracted position against the mounting plate and a deployed position extending outwardly away from the mounting plate, and for sliding movement between the retracted position against the mounting plate and a further deployed position extending outwardly away from the mounting plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignee: B/E AEROSPACE, INC.
    Inventors: Cameron Baker, Martin Darbyshire
  • Patent number: 9610871
    Abstract: A vehicle seat includes: a seatback frame of a resin-formed seatback, including a plate-shaped back face panel portion; a headrest; a seatback pad; a lattice-shaped spring member formed from wire arranged in a lattice shape, attached to the seatback frame at a front side of the back face panel portion, and that resiliently supports the seatback pad from a rear side, with a space formed between the back face panel portion and the lattice-shaped spring member; and a load transmission section provided at one of the lattice-shaped spring member or the back face panel portion and disposed inside the space so as to project out toward the side of the other one of the lattice-shaped spring member or the back face panel portion, such that a gap is formed between the load transmission section and the other one of the lattice-shaped spring member or the back face panel portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignee: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kenzo Yasuda, Hiroshi Kushiku
  • Patent number: 9604555
    Abstract: A vehicle seat includes anchors to engage with engagement members provided on a child seat; a pad having recesses provided either at a rear edge of a seat cushion or a lower edge of a seatback; a trim cover covering the pad and having openings above the pad recesses; and bezels covering and hiding the pad recesses. Each of the anchors may comprise left and right side bars and a front bar connecting front ends of the side bars and is U-shaped, each of the bezels is box-shaped, has an upper and lower flaps formed integral and defining a bottom wall of the bezel, and covers the pad recess, providing a space in the pad recess located behind the flaps, each front bar is located in front of or behind the flaps, and each of the engagement members provided on the child seat is able to engage with the anchor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2017
    Assignee: TACHI-S CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tsutomu Fujikake, Yutaka Sodeno
  • Patent number: 9599146
    Abstract: Provided is a vehicle including a vehicle body. The vehicle includes an operating member to be pressed so that the operating member performs an operation, and a wire having a first end and a second end. The first end is closer than the second end to the operating member. The vehicle includes a wire cover slidably covering the wire and slidable relative to the wire. The vehicle includes an actuating section that supports a first portion of the wire cover and that moves the wire cover in a direction away from the first end of the wire in accordance with the operation. The vehicle includes a non-actuating section supporting the first end so that an operation amount of the first end with respect to the vehicle body is smaller than an operation amount of the actuating section with respect to the vehicle body when the operating member performs the operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: YAMAHA HATSUDOKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masaki Nagaoka, Yasushi Aoki
  • Patent number: 9591926
    Abstract: A cushion and method provide relief of pain or discomfort in the pelvic/genital/rectal region of a person. The person is supported on a resilient cushion construct which conforms to the person's posterior profile contour configuration, while locating a gap beneath the pelvic/genital/rectal region of the person. An airway is extended to the gap, through a basal construct located beneath the cushion construct and an air mover moves ambient air through the airway and into the gap to provide cooling to the pelvic/genital/rectal region of the person supported on the cushion construct.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2017
    Inventor: Glenn W. Harte