Patents by Inventor Andrew Frank Raczkowski
Andrew Frank Raczkowski has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 11931472Abstract: A system for disinfecting an autonomous vehicle includes a light assembly having LEDs configured to emit UVC light into a passenger compartment of the autonomous vehicle. The light assembly includes a heat sink to dissipate heat generated by the LEDs. In examples, the heat sink is disposed in the path of forced air associated with a climate control system of the vehicle. The climate control system may be controlled based on a temperature proximate the LEDs and/or the heat sink. In some examples, the light assembly is integrated into the ceiling of the vehicle and can further include visible light emitters and/or other features.Type: GrantFiled: December 18, 2020Date of Patent: March 19, 2024Assignee: Zoox, Inc.Inventors: Chang Gi Samuel Hong, James Michael Eccleston, Andrew Frank Raczkowski, Goutham Shanmuga Sundaram, Andrew Mark Stieber
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Patent number: 11897411Abstract: An occupant protection system for a vehicle may include an expandable curtain and/or an expandable bladder configured to be expanded from a stowed state to a deployed state. The system may also include a transverse ceiling trim panel and one or more side ceiling trim panels configured to be coupled to a ceiling of the vehicle, with the transverse ceiling trim panel extending substantially transversely with respect to the one or more side ceiling trim panels. Portions of the ceiling trim panels may be configured to deflect and allow expansion of the expandable curtain and/or the expandable bladder to the deployed state. The system may also include a deployment controller and one or more inflators configured to cause deployment of the expandable curtain at a first time and deployment of the expandable bladder at a second time after the first time.Type: GrantFiled: April 7, 2023Date of Patent: February 13, 2024Assignee: ZOOX, INC.Inventors: Josh Alexander Jimenez, Markus Jost, Andrew John Piper, Andrew Frank Raczkowski
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Patent number: 11840190Abstract: A vehicle includes an expandable curtain disposed in a roof of the vehicle and is configured to selectively deploy from a stowed configuration to a deployed configuration. An expandable bladder is configured to inflate at least partially during deployment of the expandable curtain. The expandable bladder includes a neck portion mechanically coupled to the expandable curtain and a head portion extending from the neck portion.Type: GrantFiled: April 29, 2022Date of Patent: December 12, 2023Assignee: Zoox, Inc.Inventors: Michal Jan Swiniarski, Markus Jost, Andrew Frank Raczkowski
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Patent number: 11772535Abstract: A system and method for determining whether a passenger is seated in a seating area and, based at least in part on detecting the passenger, engaging or disengaging a flap in a headrest. Such a headrest may span multiple seats so that a single headrest is used by multiple passengers. Each of one or more flaps in the single headrest may then be configured by the passenger to provide each passenger with their own privacy and comfort. By actively controlling the state of the flap, a uniform passenger experience may be created so that the flap is in the same state upon a passenger entering the vehicle. Further, examples of the headrest are designed and configured to couple directly, or indirectly, to a vehicle body, such that the headrest does not couple directly to a seat or passenger seating area.Type: GrantFiled: December 28, 2020Date of Patent: October 3, 2023Assignee: Zoox, Inc.Inventors: Nahuel Elias Battaglia, Anke Christine Bodack, Felix Jacob Lorsignol, Andrew Frank Raczkowski, Herman Francisco Delos Santos, Christopher John Stoffel, Bryan Scot Thompson, Timothy David Kentley-Klay
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Patent number: 11730844Abstract: Methods and system for disinfecting an autonomous vehicle includes one or more LEDs coupled to the autonomous vehicle to emit UVC light into a passenger compartment of the autonomous vehicle. The autonomous vehicle can include sensors to confirm that the passenger compartment is empty and can be configured to prevent ingress of passengers into the passenger compartment while the UVC light is being emitted. Moreover, visible light indicators in the vehicle can be controlled to provide different visual indicators during the disinfecting cycle and when the vehicle is available to a passenger. In examples, the disinfecting cycle can be performed while the autonomous vehicle is in use, e.g., while the autonomous vehicle is traversing to a location to retrieve a passenger. The methods and systems can provide improved cleaning and disinfection of autonomous vehicles without the need to take the vehicles out of operation.Type: GrantFiled: December 18, 2020Date of Patent: August 22, 2023Assignee: Zoox, Inc.Inventors: Chang Gi Samuel Hong, James Michael Eccleston, Andrew Frank Raczkowski, Andrew Mark Stieber, Goutham Shanmuga Sundaram
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Publication number: 20230242062Abstract: An occupant protection system for a vehicle may include an expandable curtain and/or an expandable bladder configured to be expanded from a stowed state to a deployed state. The system may also include a transverse ceiling trim panel and one or more side ceiling trim panels configured to be coupled to a ceiling of the vehicle, with the transverse ceiling trim panel extending substantially transversely with respect to the one or more side ceiling trim panels. Portions of the ceiling trim panels may be configured to deflect and allow expansion of the expandable curtain and/or the expandable bladder to the deployed state. The system may also include a deployment controller and one or more inflators configured to cause deployment of the expandable curtain at a first time and deployment of the expandable bladder at a second time after the first time.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 7, 2023Publication date: August 3, 2023Inventors: Josh Alexander Jimenez, Markus Jost, Andrew John Piper, Andrew Frank Raczkowski
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Patent number: 11623602Abstract: An occupant protection system for a vehicle may include an expandable curtain and/or an expandable bladder configured to be expanded from a stowed state to a deployed state. The system may also include a transverse ceiling trim panel and one or more side ceiling trim panels configured to be coupled to a ceiling of the vehicle, with the transverse ceiling trim panel extending substantially transversely with respect to the one or more side ceiling trim panels. Portions of the ceiling trim panels may be configured to deflect and allow expansion of the expandable curtain and/or the expandable bladder to the deployed state. The system may also include a deployment controller and one or more inflators configured to cause deployment of the expandable curtain at a first time and deployment of the expandable bladder at a second time after the first time.Type: GrantFiled: September 13, 2021Date of Patent: April 11, 2023Assignee: Zoox, Inc.Inventors: Josh Alexander Jimenez, Markus Jost, Andrew John Piper, Andrew Frank Raczkowski
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Patent number: 11603019Abstract: A seat of a vehicle is designed for safety to reduce risk of injury to an occupant of the seat in the event of an abrupt movement or a collision involving the vehicle from the rear. The seat may have seatback geometry designed to promote coupling an occupant to the seat, thereby minimizing a gap between an occupant and the seatback and, therefore, the impact forces to the occupant in a rear-facing collision by reducing a relative velocity between the occupant and the seat, as well as absorbing energy of the occupant over a longer distance. The seat may include one or more materials that plastically deform under a force imparted on the seat by the occupant accelerating relative to and toward the seat during a vehicle collision. Cavities in the seat can be used, in some examples, to create a particular compressibility for optimizing impact.Type: GrantFiled: June 17, 2019Date of Patent: March 14, 2023Assignee: Zoox, Inc.Inventors: Markus Jost, Andrew Frank Raczkowski, Kern Rameshwar Sharma, Daria Di Costanzo
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Patent number: 11584441Abstract: A wet dry barrier support system for a vehicle includes a support structure portion with mounting locations for mounting suspension components of a vehicle, mounting locations for coupling to a body of the vehicle, and a barrier portion to provide an environmental barrier to separate a first area of the vehicle from a second area of a vehicle. The support structure portion may provide a stiff mounting interface between the body and the suspension components by transferring loads therebetween and may define a through-cavity configured to pass a vehicle component through the through-cavity. The barrier portion may plastically deform upon receiving an energetic input from an impact of the vehicle and may prevent the wet dry barrier support system from entering a passenger compartment during the impact.Type: GrantFiled: December 11, 2020Date of Patent: February 21, 2023Assignee: Zoox, Inc.Inventors: Ramanjaneya Reddy Butukuri, Markus Jost, Nirmal Muralidharan, Andrew Frank Raczkowski, Paolo Ruscitti, Samantha Schoell, Thomas Andrew Stoddart, Ashley Williams
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Patent number: 11505130Abstract: A component tray assembly for a vehicle. For example, the component tray assembly may be installed between a body of the vehicle and a seat bulkhead of the vehicle. The component tray assembly may include at least a component shelf, a cover disposed over the component shelf, and one or more components. In some examples, the component shelf includes three openings and the one or more components include three speakers respectively disposed within the openings. The component shelf may further include notches located proximate to the side of the component shelf where the component shelf attaches to the seat bulkhead. The positions and shapes of the openings and the notches may create a weakened region of the component shelf that is configured to deform the component tray assembly during a collision. By deforming, the component tray assembly is configured to minimize the amount of force that is imparted to the seat.Type: GrantFiled: April 29, 2020Date of Patent: November 22, 2022Assignee: Zoox, Inc.Inventors: Mikael Jarsaeter, Markus Jost, Andrew Frank Raczkowski, Goutham Shanmuga Sundaram
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Patent number: 11407347Abstract: A headrest may be fixed relative to a seat or a bank of seats in a vehicle and can provide multiple stages of deformation in response to a collision event. The headrest can include a resilient member that deforms in response to a first force caused by the collision event. The headrest can also include a frame that deforms in a first manner in response to a second force greater than the first force and in a second manner in response to a third force greater than the second force. Such a headrest can provide improved impact mitigation for occupants, regardless of height and/or weight such that occupants ranging from the 5th to 95th percentile in height and/or weight are afforded similar impact mitigation despite a fixed headrest structure. In some examples, multiple such headrests may be conjoined.Type: GrantFiled: June 14, 2019Date of Patent: August 9, 2022Assignee: Zoox, Inc.Inventors: Mikael Jarsaeter, Markus Jost, Andrew John Piper, Marcos Puerta Terron, Andrew Frank Raczkowski, Daria Di Costanzo
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Patent number: 11318868Abstract: A side-impact crash structure for a vehicle seat may be positioned in the side wall of a passenger seat to reduce impact forces imparted to an occupant during a side collision. The side-impact crash structure for the vehicle seat may include energy absorbers positioned between the seating surface and the outer sidewall of the vehicle. The energy absorbers may be positioned to engage the shoulder and/or lower abdomen area of the passenger. The energy absorbers may be configured to absorb impact forces over a limited ride-down distance (the distance over which the deceleration occurs) to prevent injury to occupants.Type: GrantFiled: December 4, 2020Date of Patent: May 3, 2022Assignee: Zoox, Inc.Inventors: Mark Alan Bates, Solomon Andrew Hafer, Mikael Jarsaeter, Markus Jost, David Maurice Libeaut, Andrew Frank Raczkowski
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Patent number: 11235689Abstract: An occupant protection system for a vehicle may include a seat-back actuator system, including a seat-back actuator configured to move a portion of a seat toward a back of an occupant of the vehicle during a collision in which the occupant is facing opposite a direction of travel of the vehicle. The seat-back actuator system may also include an actuator controller configured to receive a triggering signal indicative of one or more of an actual change in velocity of the vehicle, a predicted change in velocity of the vehicle, a collision, or a predicted collision, and cause the seat-back actuator to move the seat toward the back of the occupant. By moving the seat toward the back of the occupant, a maximum rate of change of velocity of the back of the person may be reduced, reducing the likelihood or severity of injury to the occupant due to the collision.Type: GrantFiled: March 29, 2019Date of Patent: February 1, 2022Assignee: Zoox, Inc.Inventors: Markus Jost, Andrew John Piper, Andrew Frank Raczkowski, Kern Rameshwar Sharma
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Publication number: 20220001828Abstract: An occupant protection system for a vehicle may include an expandable curtain and/or an expandable bladder configured to be expanded from a stowed state to a deployed state. The system may also include a transverse ceiling trim panel and one or more side ceiling trim panels configured to be coupled to a ceiling of the vehicle, with the transverse ceiling trim panel extending substantially transversely with respect to the one or more side ceiling trim panels. Portions of the ceiling trim panels may be configured to deflect and allow expansion of the expandable curtain and/or the expandable bladder to the deployed state. The system may also include a deployment controller and one or more inflators configured to cause deployment of the expandable curtain at a first time and deployment of the expandable bladder at a second time after the first time.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 13, 2021Publication date: January 6, 2022Inventors: Josh Alexander Jimenez, Markus Jost, Andrew John Piper, Andrew Frank Raczkowski
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Patent number: 11117543Abstract: An occupant protection system for a vehicle may include an expandable curtain and/or an expandable bladder configured to be expanded from a stowed state to a deployed state. The system may also include a transverse ceiling trim panel and one or more side ceiling trim panels configured to be coupled to a ceiling of the vehicle, with the transverse ceiling trim panel extending substantially transversely with respect to the one or more side ceiling trim panels. Portions of the ceiling trim panels may be configured to deflect and allow expansion of the expandable curtain and/or the expandable bladder to the deployed state. The system may also include a deployment controller and one or more inflators configured to cause deployment of the expandable curtain at a first time and deployment of the expandable bladder at a second time after the first time.Type: GrantFiled: March 28, 2019Date of Patent: September 14, 2021Assignee: Zoox, Inc.Inventors: Josh Alexander Jimenez, Markus Jost, Andrew John Piper, Andrew Frank Raczkowski
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Publication number: 20210221263Abstract: An occupant protection system for a vehicle may include a seat-back actuator system, including a seat-back actuator configured to move a portion of a seat toward a back of an occupant of the vehicle during a collision in which the occupant is facing opposite a direction of travel of the vehicle. The seat-back actuator system may also include an actuator controller configured to receive a triggering signal indicative of one or more of an actual change in velocity of the vehicle, a predicted change in velocity of the vehicle, a collision, or a predicted collision, and cause the seat-back actuator to move the seat toward the back of the occupant. By moving the seat toward the back of the occupant, a maximum rate of change of velocity of the back of the person may be reduced, reducing the likelihood or severity of injury to the occupant due to the collision.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 29, 2019Publication date: July 22, 2021Inventors: Markus Jost, Andrew John Piper, Andrew Frank Raczkowski, Kern Rameshwar Sharma
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Publication number: 20210114495Abstract: A system and method for determining whether a passenger is seated in a seating area and, based at least in part on detecting the passenger, engaging or disengaging a flap in a headrest. Such a headrest may span multiple seats so that a single headrest is used by multiple passengers. Each of one or more flaps in the single headrest may then be configured by the passenger to provide each passenger with their own privacy and comfort. By actively controlling the state of the flap, a uniform passenger experience may be created so that the flap is in the same state upon a passenger entering the vehicle. Further, examples of the headrest are designed and configured to couple directly, or indirectly, to a vehicle body, such that the headrest does not couple directly to a seat or passenger seating area.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 28, 2020Publication date: April 22, 2021Inventors: Nahuel Elias Battaglia, Anke Christine Bodack, Felix Jacob Lorsignol, Andrew Frank Raczkowski, Herman Francisco Delos Santos, Christopher John Stoffel, Bryan Scot Thompson, Timothy David Kentley-Klay
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Patent number: 10960844Abstract: An occupant protection system for a vehicle may include an expandable curtain and/or an expandable bladder configured to be expanded from a stowed state to a deployed state. The system may also include a transverse ceiling trim panel and one or more side ceiling trim panels configured to be coupled to a ceiling of the vehicle, with the transverse ceiling trim panel extending substantially transversely with respect to the one or more side ceiling trim panels. Portions of the ceiling trim panels may be configured to deflect and allow expansion of the expandable curtain and/or the expandable bladder to the deployed state. The system may also include a deployment controller and one or more inflators configured to cause deployment of the expandable curtain at a first time and deployment of the expandable bladder at a second time after the first time.Type: GrantFiled: March 28, 2019Date of Patent: March 30, 2021Assignee: Zoox, Inc.Inventors: Josh Alexander Jimenez, Markus Jost, Andrew John Piper, Andrew Frank Raczkowski, Goutham Shanmuga Sundaram
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Patent number: 10875435Abstract: A system and method for determining whether a passenger is seated in a seating area and, based at least in part on detecting the passenger, engaging or disengaging a flap in a headrest. Such a headrest may span multiple seats so that a single headrest is used by multiple passengers. Each of one or more flaps in the single headrest may then be configured by the passenger to provide each passenger with their own privacy and comfort. By actively controlling the state of the flap, a uniform passenger experience may be created so that the flap is in the same state upon a passenger entering the vehicle. Further, examples of the headrest are designed and configured to couple directly, or indirectly, to a vehicle body, such that the headrest does not couple directly to a seat or passenger seating area.Type: GrantFiled: September 27, 2017Date of Patent: December 29, 2020Assignee: Zoox, Inc.Inventors: Nahuel Elias Battaglia, Anke Christine Bodack, Felix Jacob Lorsignol, Andrew Frank Raczkowski, Herman Francisco Delos Santos, Christopher John Stoffel, Bryan Scot Thompson, Timothy David Kentley-Klay
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Publication number: 20200391637Abstract: A headrest may be fixed relative to a seat or a bank of seats in a vehicle and can provide multiple stages of deformation in response to a collision event. The headrest can include a resilient member that deforms in response to a first force caused by the collision event. The headrest can also include a frame that deforms in a first manner in response to a second force greater than the first force and in a second manner in response to a third force greater than the second force. Such a headrest can provide improved impact mitigation for occupants, regardless of height and/or weight such that occupants ranging from the 5th to 95th percentile in height and/or weight are afforded similar impact mitigation despite a fixed headrest structure. In some examples, multiple such headrests may be conjoined.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 14, 2019Publication date: December 17, 2020Inventors: Mikael Jarsaeter, Markus Jost, Andrew John Piper, Marcos Puerta Terron, Andrew Frank Raczkowski, Daria Di Costanzo