Patents Examined by Matthew Joseph Ganci
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Patent number: 12221052Abstract: An impact protection device for an occupant of a motor vehicle in a vehicle interior, in which a display device with a display is arranged, with which an airbag arrangement is associated, the impact protection device including at least one airbag which is filled with gas and deploys when the impact protection device is activated. The airbag arrangement is configured and arranged such that the airbag surrounds at least one edge on the display facing the occupant of the motor vehicle when the impact protection device is activated.Type: GrantFiled: January 10, 2024Date of Patent: February 11, 2025Assignee: DR. ING. H.C. F. PORSCHE AKTIENGESELLSCHAFTInventors: Christian Rommelfanger, Philipp Bolay
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Patent number: 12208837Abstract: Some examples relate to the configuration or management of an integrated component that provides structural component functionality for a vehicle, such as a cross member that absorbs loads placed on the vehicle. Additionally, the integrated component illustratively further provides air reservoir functionality that for one or more additional vehicle components. In some examples, an integrated component can provide structural component functionality associated with a cross member mounted between shock towers and air reservoir functionality to provide compression air such as for active or semi-active vehicle suspension systems.Type: GrantFiled: June 8, 2022Date of Patent: January 28, 2025Assignee: Tesla, Inc.Inventors: Marcus Stack, Mitchell Heinzmann, Ismael Pinsonneault
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Patent number: 12202427Abstract: The present disclosure provides a vehicle occupant restraint structure including a vehicle seat that includes a cushion pan configuring a bottom portion of a seat cushion and supporting a seat pad, and that is provided at a floor of a vehicle cabin, and an airbag that is provided at a lower surface of a front end portion of the cushion pan, and that inflates and deploys toward the floor when a front collision of a vehicle occurs.Type: GrantFiled: November 30, 2023Date of Patent: January 21, 2025Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Yoshiki Takahira
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Patent number: 12195077Abstract: A steering column device includes a column shaft to which a steering wheel is fixed, and a steering column that rotatably supports the column shaft. The steering column includes a housing that is configured to be supported by a vehicle body, a column tube that is accommodated in the housing so as to be movable in an axial direction, and a contact pad that is disposed between the housing and the column tube. The contact pad is fixed to the column tube, and is also configured to press against the housing from an inner side.Type: GrantFiled: June 25, 2021Date of Patent: January 14, 2025Assignee: JTEKT CORPORATIONInventors: Takuya Suzuki, Hiroyuki Asakura, Yuka Ikeda, Kanki Doi
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Patent number: 12194956Abstract: A system for determining correct usage of a seat belt by a user on a seat of a machine includes an occupancy sensor, a seat belt sensor, a sensory tag, a first detector, a second detector, and a controller. The controller is configured to determine seat occupancy based on a first signal received from the occupancy sensor and also determine a coupling of a tongue of the seat belt with a buckle based on a second signal received from the seat belt sensor. The controller is configured to determine a correct usage of the seat belt from absences of a third signal from the first detector and a fourth signal from the second detector. The controller is configured to transmit a first control signal to a prime mover of a machine to allow starting of the prime mover upon determining that the seat belt is correctly used by the user.Type: GrantFiled: January 26, 2024Date of Patent: January 14, 2025Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.Inventors: Vijeendra Nadgir, Aswak Shanavaz, Gowtham Kumar
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Patent number: 12179686Abstract: A method of manufacturing a chute panel of an airbag assembly. The method comprises forming a substrate from a material with the substrate comprising a plurality of projections projecting from a first surface of the substrate. A living hinge including a plurality of apertures is secured to the substrate with at least portion of the apertures mating with a portion of the projections of the substrate to secure the hinge to the substrate. A chute door is formed onto the substrate and onto the hinge secured to the substrate. A chute is formed onto the substrate with a portion of the chute interacting with a portion of the plurality of projections of the substrate, thereby forming a chute panel of an airbag assembly.Type: GrantFiled: July 13, 2023Date of Patent: December 31, 2024Assignee: INOAC USA, Inc.Inventors: Bradley W. Harris, Michael J. Aittama
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Patent number: 12179858Abstract: A shaft arrangement for a steering gear has an input shaft, an output shaft and a torsion rod. The torsion rod is connected in a rotationally secure manner to the input shaft in an input-side connection region of the shaft arrangement. The torsion rod is connected in a rotationally secure manner to the output shaft in an output-side connection region of the shaft arrangement. The input-side connection region is spaced apart from the output-side connection region. The shaft arrangement has a rotation prevention member, wherein the rotation prevention member limits a rotation of the input shaft relative to the output shaft to a maximum rotation angle and, when the maximum rotation angle is reached, can transmit a torque from the input shaft to the output shaft.Type: GrantFiled: July 5, 2021Date of Patent: December 31, 2024Assignee: KNORR-BREMSE Systeme fuer Nutzfahrzeuge GmbHInventors: Dimitri Epstein, Dirk Lettow, Sven Kirschbaum
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Patent number: 12172593Abstract: An occupant protection device includes a first side airbag disposed at an outer side in a width direction of a first seat, a second side airbag disposed at an outer side in the width direction of a second seat, and a far-side airbag disposed at an inner side in the width direction of the first seat and near the first seat, wherein when a side collision toward the first seat is detected, deployment of the far-side airbag is started after a first delay time has elapsed after deployment of the first side airbag is started, when a side collision toward the second seat is detected, deployment of the far-side airbag is started after a second delay time has elapsed after deployment of the second side airbag is started, and the first delay time is greater than the second delay time.Type: GrantFiled: October 26, 2023Date of Patent: December 24, 2024Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Isao Kobayashi, Masato Kunisada, Kazushi Furumaya
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Patent number: 12163366Abstract: An active hinge including a body bracket for attachment to a vehicle body. A hood bracket is provided for rotational attachment to a vehicle hood. An actuator is provided for selectively transitioning the active hood hinge from a normal mode where the rotation of the hood bracket is restricted, to an active pedestrian mode where the rotation of the hood bracket is unrestricted.Type: GrantFiled: September 10, 2021Date of Patent: December 10, 2024Assignee: Magna Closures, Inc.Inventors: Thomas Wood, Andrew R. McIntyre
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Patent number: 12115924Abstract: A vehicle seat has a seatback and a seat bottom defining an occupant-seating area. An inflatable device is fixed to the seatback and is inflatable from the seatback vehicle-forward along the occupant-seating area from an uninflated position to an inflated position. The inflatable device has an inflation chamber. The inflatable device is a thermoplastic elastomer. The vehicle includes a computer including a processor and a memory storing instructions executable by the processor to: detect a removeable child-restraint system on the occupant-seating area; and based on the detection of the removeable child-restraint system on the occupant-seating area, inflate the inflatable device in response to detection of certain vehicle impacts.Type: GrantFiled: May 26, 2023Date of Patent: October 15, 2024Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLCInventors: Mohammad Omar Faruque, S.M. Iskander Farooq, Dean M. Jaradi
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Patent number: 12103351Abstract: A rear suspension structure includes left and right trailing arms, left and right hub carriers, and a lateral beam. Each hub carrier includes a front arm portion extending in a direction inward in the vehicle width direction and frontward of an axis of the rear wheels, and a rear arm portion extending rearward of the front arm portion. Each trailing arm has a rear end portion coupled to the hub carrier or the lateral beam via a first coupling portion that is a bushing. The lateral beam includes a left beam extending inward in the vehicle width direction from the rear arm portion disposed on a left side of the vehicle, a right beam extending inward in the vehicle width direction from the rear arm portion disposed on a right side of the vehicle, and left and right second coupling portions displaceably coupling the left beam and the right beam.Type: GrantFiled: September 22, 2023Date of Patent: October 1, 2024Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.Inventor: Akihiko Koike
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Patent number: 12090944Abstract: An occupant protection device protects an occupant seated on a seat, in which an airbag is held in a holding body disposed in a periphery of a hip portion of the occupant. The airbag has a bag main body, and a conduit portion that causes an inflating gas discharged from an inflator to flow into the bag main body. The bag main body is held in the holding body as a completely folded body, folded using a front-rear reduction folding such that a width dimension in a front-rear direction is reduced from a preliminary folded bag. The completely folded body is formed by a lower side rolled region, formed by a lower side region of the preliminary folded bag being wound from a lower edge side, being stacked on an upper side rolled region, formed by an upper side region of the preliminary folded bag.Type: GrantFiled: July 27, 2023Date of Patent: September 17, 2024Assignee: TOYODA GOSEI CO., LTD.Inventors: Yuji Matsuzaki, Akira Yasuda, Yuto Noda, Motoyuki Tanaka
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Patent number: 12077120Abstract: An anti-rollover system and method for mitigating vehicle rollover. The system having a plurality of anti-rollover devices positioned around the vehicle chassis and being operable to calculate the likelihood of a vehicle rollover and determine the attitude of rollover there by actuating the anti-rollover device to counter roll thereby preventing a rollover collision.Type: GrantFiled: July 29, 2022Date of Patent: September 3, 2024Inventors: Taylor Elliott, Marcus Ramey, Victoria Ramey, Audrey Ramey
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Patent number: 12077125Abstract: An airbag venting device (10) comprises a housing (24) which includes a first flow orifice (18) facing away from the airbag (12) and a second flow orifice (20) facing the airbag (12). The housing (24) has an axial total length (26), the first flow orifice (18) has a first axial opening length (34) and the second flow orifice (20) has a second axial opening length (34). An adjustable closure element (22) assigned to the housing (24), in an open position, releases at least one of the two flow orifices (18, 20). An actuator device (30) interacts with the closure element (22) to release and/or to close the flow orifice (18, 20), and, in doing so, the axial total length (26) of the housing (24) is less than 3 times the length of the longer axial opening length (34) of the two flow orifices (18, 20).Type: GrantFiled: May 5, 2020Date of Patent: September 3, 2024Assignee: ZF AUTOMOTIVE GERMANY GMBHInventors: Gerd Zischka, Jürgen Scherr, Rolf Ruckdeschel
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Patent number: 12065097Abstract: A control device for a gas generator for controlling a volumetric flow of a fluid, which is stored under pressure, for filling an airbag of a motor vehicle, with a valve arrangement. To reduce a response time of a main valve piston, the valve arrangement has a means for controlling a fluid pressure in a control chamber, wherein the means for controlling a fluid pressure is configured to bring or hold the fluid pressure in the control chamber to/at a pressure which lies in a predefined tolerance range around an activation pressure of the main valve piston.Type: GrantFiled: July 9, 2020Date of Patent: August 20, 2024Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbHInventors: Andreas Müller, Matthias Bleeck
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Patent number: 12054028Abstract: A system that a crossbar that is pivotally connected to a first structure and is pivotally connected to a second structure. The system also includes a first actuator that is located near the first structure and is connected to the crossbar. The system also includes a second actuator that is located near the second structure and is connected to the crossbar.Type: GrantFiled: May 17, 2022Date of Patent: August 6, 2024Assignee: APPLE INC.Inventors: Troy A. Carter, James J. Dowle, Jonathan L. Hall
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Patent number: 12043080Abstract: A front suspension device comprises a suspension arm, one end of which has a front-wheel support portion to support a front wheel of a vehicle and the other end of which is positioned on an inward side, in a vehicle width direction, of the front-wheel support portion and has a vehicle-body attachment portion to be attached to a vehicle-body member of the vehicle and a damper supported at a damper support portion which is provided at a portion of the suspension arm which is positioned in the vicinity of the front-wheel support portion at a lower portion thereof and connected to the vehicle-body member at an upper portion thereof. The damper support portion of the suspension arm has a breakage ease portion to cause breakage of the suspension arm.Type: GrantFiled: February 23, 2023Date of Patent: July 23, 2024Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Shohei Yoshida, Koshi Takahashi, Hiroyuki Takahashi, Kota Okano, Yosuke Sawada, Hiromasa Honji, Kosuke Mukaigawa, Ichiro Tanabe, Ryota Hanate
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Patent number: 12036837Abstract: A recreational vehicle includes a frame, left and right air suspensions, a front jack, a tilt sensor configured to measure lateral and longitudinal tilt data associated with the frame, and a controller. The controller is configured to receive the lateral and longitudinal tilt data to thereby level the frame laterally via operation of the left and right air suspensions and level the frame longitudinally via operation of the left and right air suspensions and the front jack. Methods for performing a leveling operation include utilizing left and right air suspensions of the recreational vehicle in combination with operating a front jack of the recreational vehicle until the recreational vehicle is level along lateral and longitudinal axes.Type: GrantFiled: September 21, 2022Date of Patent: July 16, 2024Assignee: MORRYDE INTERNATIONAL, INC.Inventors: David E. Heitzmann, Ryan Mason, Ben Kauffman
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Patent number: 12037049Abstract: A trailer chassis having multiple wheels attached to one or more axels and a bed area. A main gate movably attached to the chassis at the rear edge portion of the bed area and being movable between elevated and lowered positions The main gate having upper and lower edge portions and left and right gate side edges. A cutout or open portion of the main gate providing a gap or recess or opening for enabling carriage of elongated articles above the load carrying area that are longer than the bed length. An auxiliary gate that is smaller than the main gate, the auxiliary gate being movable between an auxiliary gate closed position that covers the gap or recess or opening and an auxiliary gate open position that enables articles to occupy the gap or recess or opening.Type: GrantFiled: November 7, 2022Date of Patent: July 16, 2024Inventor: Brian Wright
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Patent number: 12030583Abstract: A three-wheeled electric vehicle in accordance with EU vehicle classification L2e-U, which has two electric-motor-driven rear wheels, each of which is driven by one wheel-hub motor. A hydraulically actuatable rear-wheel disc-brake system is mounted on each rear wheel which brake system is also fitted with an integrated electromechanical parking brake, the activation of which shifts each rear wheel into a parking-brake mode in which wheel rotation is prevented. In a rear portion, the vehicle body forms a support structure on which an optionally present, exchangeable transport container can be supported and secured with the aid of a quick-release fastening system. The quick-release fastening system includes one or more connection device(s), wherein each connection device includes a bar that protrudes from a bottom wall of the transport container; and a locking device, which is permanently attached to the support structure, is fitted with a movable blocking element.Type: GrantFiled: November 21, 2022Date of Patent: July 9, 2024Inventor: Robert Virant