Patents Examined by Nicole T Verley
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Patent number: 11186133Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: December 10, 2019Date of Patent: November 30, 2021Assignees: SKF KOREA LTD.Inventors: Francois De Lemps, Tommy Jullien, Bruno Montboeuf, Heedong Oh
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Patent number: 11167616Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: August 23, 2017Date of Patent: November 9, 2021Assignee: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.Inventor: Shigeru Kuroda
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Patent number: 11155229Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: June 27, 2019Date of Patent: October 26, 2021Assignee: Autoliv Development ABInventors: Antoine Ducardonnet, Fabrice Moinard, Frederic Tarte, Rene Fliegner
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Patent number: 11148631Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: October 2, 2019Date of Patent: October 19, 2021Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLCInventors: Dean M. Jaradi, S. M. Iskander Farooq, Mohammad Omar Faruque, Anil Kalra
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Patent number: 11148630Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: January 13, 2020Date of Patent: October 19, 2021Assignee: HYUNDAI MOBIS CO., LTD.Inventors: Sang Won Hwangbo, Hae Kwon Park, Seok Hoon Ko, Seok Min Lee
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Patent number: 11142156Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: August 29, 2016Date of Patent: October 12, 2021Assignee: TRW VEHICLE SAFETY SYSTEMS INC.Inventor: Michael D. Kolosick
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Patent number: 11142159Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: October 30, 2019Date of Patent: October 12, 2021Assignee: HYUNDAI MOBIS CO., LTD.Inventor: Oh Koang Kwon
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Patent number: 11130465Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: September 12, 2019Date of Patent: September 28, 2021Assignee: Autoliv ASP, Inc.Inventor: Kenneth G. Barry
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Patent number: 11124150Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: October 9, 2018Date of Patent: September 21, 2021Assignee: JOYSON SAFETY SYSTEMS JAPAN K.K.Inventors: Keisuke Onohara, Hiroki Takehara
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Patent number: 11097767Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: April 21, 2017Date of Patent: August 24, 2021Assignee: NSK LTD.Inventor: Youhei Nakazato
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Patent number: 11091187Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: December 9, 2019Date of Patent: August 17, 2021Assignees: THYSSENKRUPP PRESTA AG, THYSSENKRUPP AGInventors: Justin Yoho, Thomas Geiselberger, Christian Pichonnat
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Patent number: 11091113Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: September 24, 2018Date of Patent: August 17, 2021Assignee: Zoox, Inc.Inventor: Markus Jost
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Patent number: 11091000Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: September 18, 2018Date of Patent: August 17, 2021Assignee: JAGUAR LAND ROVER LIMITEDInventors: Luke Birch, Robert Neilson, James Robertson, Sam Brown
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Patent number: 11084371Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: December 28, 2017Date of Patent: August 10, 2021Assignees: SHOWA CORPORATION, HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD., F-TECH INC.Inventors: Kenji Fukasawa, Kenji Kato, Hiroyuki Takahashi, Yutaka Hozumi, Sumitaka Ito, Junichi Midorikawa, Masayuki Sasaki
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Patent number: 11072302Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: August 20, 2019Date of Patent: July 27, 2021Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corporation, Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd.Inventors: Jun Ho Bang, Ji Yong Yim, Seok Hoon Ko, Do Hyung Kim
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Patent number: 11052760Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: December 17, 2018Date of Patent: July 6, 2021Assignee: AGCO International GmbHInventors: Daniel Vonroth, Jan Weigand, Markus Ehrl
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Patent number: 11046279Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: December 17, 2019Date of Patent: June 29, 2021Assignee: NIO USA, Inc.Inventor: Jeffrey D. Rupp
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Patent number: 11040689Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: December 11, 2018Date of Patent: June 22, 2021Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLCInventors: Chin-Hsu Lin, Louis D. Thole, Mark O. Neal, David Acosta
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Patent number: 11041521Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: July 27, 2018Date of Patent: June 22, 2021Assignee: NSK, LTD.Inventor: Takeshi Saito
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Patent number: 11040691Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: June 13, 2019Date of Patent: June 22, 2021Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLCInventors: Mohammad Omar Faruque, S. M. Iskander Farooq, Dean M. Jaradi