Patents Examined by Nicole T Verley
  • Patent number: 11186133
    Abstract: This disclosure relates to a suspension thrust bearing device, for use with a suspension spring in an automotive suspension strut of a vehicle. The device comprises a bearing having upper and lower annular bearing members in relative rotation, and a damping element made of resilient material and interposed between the lower annular bearing member and the suspension spring. The damping element comprising at least one deflecting flange for reducing any ingress of water and other pollutants between the upper and lower annular bearing members. The damping element is provided with an annular groove open axially towards the suspension spring, said annular groove radially defining a spring support surface on inner side, and the said deflecting flange on outer side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignees: SKF KOREA LTD.
    Inventors: Francois De Lemps, Tommy Jullien, Bruno Montboeuf, Heedong Oh
  • Patent number: 11167616
    Abstract: This stabilizer link includes a metal support bar, and ball joints that are provided at both ends of the support bar. Each ball joint includes a ball stud one end of which is fastened to a suspension device or a stabilizer, and which has a ball part at the other end thereof, and a housing that rotatably supports the ball part of the ball stud. The support bar includes: a body part extending in a nearly linear shape, and reinforcement parts each having a nearly annular shape and each provided at both ends of the body part. The reinforcement parts of the support bar are each embedded in the housing so as to surround the ball part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Shigeru Kuroda
  • Patent number: 11155229
    Abstract: A device for removably mounting an airbag module includes at least two hooks connected to one of the airbag module or the steering wheel. The hooks cooperate with insertion elements located on the other of the airbag module or the steering wheel. A resilient ring forms elements for holding the hooks in zones of interaction. The resilient ring includes: first portions that extend in the interaction zones, and a second portion. The mounting device further includes elements for guiding the resilient ring that cause displacement of the first portions out of the zones of interaction, during displacement of the second portion in a direction away from an axis of rotation of the steering wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2021
    Assignee: Autoliv Development AB
    Inventors: Antoine Ducardonnet, Fabrice Moinard, Frederic Tarte, Rene Fliegner
  • Patent number: 11148631
    Abstract: A vehicle includes a front bulkhead. The vehicle includes an airbag inflatable from an uninflated position to an inflated position adjacent the bulkhead. The vehicle includes a track fixed relative to the bulkhead. The vehicle includes a slider fixed to the airbag and slidable along the track between a first position when the airbag is in the uninflated position and a second position when the airbag is in the inflated position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Dean M. Jaradi, S. M. Iskander Farooq, Mohammad Omar Faruque, Anil Kalra
  • Patent number: 11148630
    Abstract: An airbag device for preventing a collision between passengers may include: a base mounted in a vehicle; a cushion mounted on the base, and deployed between passengers when a vehicle collision occurs; and a cover mounted on the base, configured to cover the cushion, and broken when the cushion is deployed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: HYUNDAI MOBIS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Sang Won Hwangbo, Hae Kwon Park, Seok Hoon Ko, Seok Min Lee
  • Patent number: 11142156
    Abstract: A driver airbag mounting verification system comprises a portion of an electrical circuit configured to connect a vehicle horn to a vehicle-mounted power source. The portion of the electrical circuit includes two electrical contacts resiliently biased into contact with one another so as to complete electrically the electrical circuit and thereby to actuate the vehicle horn. The portion of the electrical circuit including both of the electrical contacts is mounted on one of a driver airbag module and a vehicle steering wheel. At least one of the electrical contacts is mounted such that said at least one of the electrical contacts is moved and held out of contact with the other of the electrical contacts when the driver airbag module is securely mounted on the vehicle steering wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: TRW VEHICLE SAFETY SYSTEMS INC.
    Inventor: Michael D. Kolosick
  • Patent number: 11142159
    Abstract: A cover apparatus of a driver airbag may include: a housing disposed in a mounting plate, and having an airbag installed therein; a cover installed over the housing so as to cover the top of the housing; and a tear line tearably formed on the housing such that the cover is opened when the airbag is deployed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: HYUNDAI MOBIS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Oh Koang Kwon
  • Patent number: 11130465
    Abstract: Airbag modules comprising inflator mounting openings and/or slots. Some embodiments may comprise a cover having an inflator coupled thereto and may further comprise a fastener used to couple the inflator with the housing. A mounting opening may be configured to receive the fastener, wherein the mounting opening is configured to allow material defining the mounting opening to flex during installation of the fastener to reduce a force required to advance the fastener through the mounting opening. The mounting opening may be further configured to resist withdrawal of the fastener after being fully seated in the mounting opening such that a greater amount of force is required to withdraw the fastener from the mounting opening than is required to advance the fastener through the mounting opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Autoliv ASP, Inc.
    Inventor: Kenneth G. Barry
  • Patent number: 11124150
    Abstract: An air bag 2, an inflator 3, and a diffuser 30 are attached to a retainer 10. The diffuser 30 has a main surface portion 31, leg piece portions 32 extending in four radiating directions, and flap portions 34. The main surface portion 31 covers a head side of the inflator 3. The leg piece portion 32 passes through a mounting ring 20 and an inflator opening 12 and passes between the retainer 10 and a flange portion 3b of the inflator 3. A bolt 21 of the mounting ring 20 is inserted through a small hole 33 of the leg piece portion 32.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: JOYSON SAFETY SYSTEMS JAPAN K.K.
    Inventors: Keisuke Onohara, Hiroki Takehara
  • Patent number: 11097767
    Abstract: A steering system includes a steering column, a column bracket, a distance bracket, a rod, and an elastic member. The steering column supports an input shaft coupled to the steering wheel. The column bracket has a long hole therethrough and supports the steering column. The distance bracket includes: two vertical plates provided on an outer circumferential surface of the steering column and extending along the column bracket; and a horizontal plate coupling together the two vertical plates. The rod penetrates the long hole and the vertical plates. The elastic member is positioned between the horizontal plate and the rod and presses the rod toward the steering column.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: NSK LTD.
    Inventor: Youhei Nakazato
  • Patent number: 11091187
    Abstract: One steering column assembly includes a jacket, a bearing, and a steering spindle rotatably supported by the bearing and at least partially extending inside the jacket. The spindle includes a hollow outer tube and a hollow inner tube. The outer tube has lengthening and attachment sections, and the attachment section has transition and connection portions. The lengthening section adjoins the attachment section at an end of the transition portion, and the transition portion is between the lengthening section and the connection portion. The lengthening section has first and second portions, with the second portion being between the first and transition portions, and the outer tube terminates at an end of the connection portion. The inner tube is press-fit into the outer tube, and an end of the inner tube is adjacent the transition portion end. The inner tube does not extend into either the attachment section or the first portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignees: THYSSENKRUPP PRESTA AG, THYSSENKRUPP AG
    Inventors: Justin Yoho, Thomas Geiselberger, Christian Pichonnat
  • Patent number: 11091113
    Abstract: An airbag for a vehicle, such as a side airbag, may be mounted to or proximate to a seat assembly on which a passenger may sit. The side airbag may include a chamber and an inflator configured to cause the chamber to expand toward the passenger to slow an acceleration of the passenger upon impact of the vehicle with another object or surface. Upon deployment of the chamber, the side airbag may cause a portion of the seat assembly (a seat tub, seat pan, and/or cushion coupled thereto) to deform toward the passenger seated thereon while remaining occluded from the passenger by the assembly. In some examples, the chamber may be stored in an unfolded position to allow for a more rapid deployment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: Zoox, Inc.
    Inventor: Markus Jost
  • Patent number: 11091000
    Abstract: An actuator system for a vehicle suspension system includes: an actuator having a piston and a first fluid chamber separated from a second fluid chamber by the piston; a hydraulic pump having a first port connected by a first hydraulic circuit to the first chamber via a first valve, the first valve being a damper valve operable to variably restrict flow of hydraulic fluid out of the first chamber; a first hydraulic accumulator connected to the first hydraulic circuit between the first port and the first valve; and a second hydraulic accumulator connected to the first port by a second valve, the second valve being a variable pressure relief valve operable to variably restrict flow of hydraulic fluid from the first port to the second hydraulic accumulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: JAGUAR LAND ROVER LIMITED
    Inventors: Luke Birch, Robert Neilson, James Robertson, Sam Brown
  • Patent number: 11084371
    Abstract: A motor drive device includes: a trailing arm that extends in a vehicle front-rear direction and includes a vehicle body-side attachment portion and wheel-side support portion, the vehicle body-side attachment portion formed on a forward portion side of the trailing arm and coupled to a vehicle body via a rubber bush, the wheel-side support portion formed on a rear side of the trailing arm and supporting a rear wheel; and a motor that is supported by the trailing arm and drives the rear wheel. The motor and the rubber bush are disposed in such a way that motor and the rubber bush are seen as being substantially aligned in a vehicle up-down direction when viewed in a vehicle width direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignees: SHOWA CORPORATION, HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD., F-TECH INC.
    Inventors: Kenji Fukasawa, Kenji Kato, Hiroyuki Takahashi, Yutaka Hozumi, Sumitaka Ito, Junichi Midorikawa, Masayuki Sasaki
  • Patent number: 11072302
    Abstract: A knee airbag for vehicles is provided. The knee airbag includes a lower crash pad that has a panel shape to block a steering column to prevent exposure of the steering column to an indoor space of a vehicle, and includes a housing unit having recesses dented toward the steering column such that the housing unit is spaced apart from the steering column by a designated distance. An airbag module of the knee airbag includes an inflator and a cushion and contained in the housing unit of the lower crash pad to deploy the cushion toward a driver's knee outside the lower crash pad when the cushion is deployed by explosion of the inflator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2021
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corporation, Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jun Ho Bang, Ji Yong Yim, Seok Hoon Ko, Do Hyung Kim
  • Patent number: 11052760
    Abstract: A vehicle control device incorporating a plurality of vehicle control elements, at least one control apparatus to alter a functionality of the vehicle control elements, each of the vehicle control elements adapted in use to control a valve in a hydraulic line, in which each vehicle control element incorporates a vehicle control display element, the vehicle control display element indicating whether the functionality of the vehicle control element may be altered. This allows a driver when looking at the vehicle control element easily to see from the vehicle control display element whether the functionality of the vehicle control element may be changed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2021
    Assignee: AGCO International GmbH
    Inventors: Daniel Vonroth, Jan Weigand, Markus Ehrl
  • Patent number: 11046279
    Abstract: In a vehicle having a display mounted forward of a passenger seat on a dashboard and angled toward a driver seat adjacent the passenger seat, the display is moveable from the angled position to a position flush with the dashboard, and an airbag system is configured to deploy an airbag cushion that displaces the display from the angled position to the position flush with the dashboard to ensure that the airbag cushion has an adequate backup or support surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Assignee: NIO USA, Inc.
    Inventor: Jeffrey D. Rupp
  • Patent number: 11040689
    Abstract: An inflatable blanket for a vehicle includes a first blanket layer, a second blanket layer coupled to the first blanket layer, and an airbag disposed between the first blanket layer and the second blanket layer. The airbag has a deflated configuration and an inflated configuration to protect a vehicle occupant when the vehicle is subjected to an external force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2021
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Chin-Hsu Lin, Louis D. Thole, Mark O. Neal, David Acosta
  • Patent number: 11041521
    Abstract: The nut according to the present invention includes: a cylindrical portion having a female screw portion provided with spiral shaped thread grooves on an inner circumferential surface thereof; and a slit provided at one location in a circumferential direction of the cylindrical portion and opening to an outer circumferential surface and an inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion. The slit extends in an extending direction orthogonal to a direction of a lead angle in a portion of the thread grooves crossed by the slit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2021
    Assignee: NSK, LTD.
    Inventor: Takeshi Saito
  • Patent number: 11040691
    Abstract: An assembly includes a seat back having a top end. The assembly includes an airbag supported by the seat back and inflatable to an inflated position including an inner panel and an outer panel defining an inflation chamber therebetween. The assembly includes a plurality of support tubes inflatable to inflated positions extending from the seat back along the outer panel, at least one of the support tubes in the inflated position extending from the top end of the seat back.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2021
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Mohammad Omar Faruque, S. M. Iskander Farooq, Dean M. Jaradi