Patents by Inventor Andrew John Piper

Andrew John Piper 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).

  • Publication number: 20200307495
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2019
    Publication date: October 1, 2020
    Inventors: Josh Alexander Jimenez, Markus Jost, Andrew John Piper, Andrew Frank Raczkowski, Goutham Shanmuga Sundaram
  • Publication number: 20200307496
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2019
    Publication date: October 1, 2020
    Inventors: Josh Alexander Jimenez, Markus Jost, Andrew John Piper, Andrew Frank Raczkowski
  • Patent number: 10737652
    Abstract: A safety system in a vehicle may be activated by receiving information indicating a physical change, such as a pressure, of an interval cavity associated with a tire or tire guard. The safety system may be activated based at least in part on the physical change (e.g. an increase in a pressure by at least a threshold amount, an increase of a pressure to a threshold pressure, or a rate of change of a pressure), in addition to other, external, information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: Zoox, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew John Piper, Josh Alexander Jimenez
  • Patent number: 10703323
    Abstract: 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. In the deployed state, the expandable curtain may include first and second sides configured to extend along respective portions of first and second interior sides of the vehicle. The expandable curtain may also include a transverse portion extending between the first and second sides, and the first and second sides, and the transverse portion of the expandable curtain may form a contiguous barrier. The expandable bladder when deployed may be supported by the expandable curtain during contact by an occupant. The occupant protection system may also include a deployment control system configured to cause the expandable curtain and/or the expandable bladder to expand to the deployed state. The occupant protection system may be used in vehicles having a carriage-style seating arrangement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: Zoox, Inc.
    Inventors: Markus Jost, Timothy David Kentley-Klay, Josh Alexander Jimenez, Andrew John Piper
  • Patent number: 10471923
    Abstract: 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. In the deployed state, the expandable curtain may include first and second sides configured to extend along respective portions of first and second interior sides of the vehicle. The expandable curtain may also include a transverse portion extending between the first and second sides, and the first and second sides, and the transverse portion of the expandable curtain may form a contiguous barrier. The expandable bladder when deployed may be supported by the expandable curtain during contact by an occupant. The occupant protection system may also include a deployment control system configured to cause the expandable curtain and/or the expandable bladder to expand to the deployed state. The occupant protection system may be used in vehicles having a carriage-style seating arrangement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignee: Zoox, Inc.
    Inventors: Josh Alexander Jimenez, Timothy David Kentley-Klay, Andrew John Piper
  • Publication number: 20190193666
    Abstract: 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. In the deployed state, the expandable curtain may include first and second sides configured to extend along respective portions of first and second interior sides of the vehicle. The expandable curtain may also include a transverse portion extending between the first and second sides, and the first and second sides, and the transverse portion of the expandable curtain may form a contiguous barrier. The expandable bladder when deployed may be supported by the expandable curtain during contact by an occupant. The occupant protection system may also include a deployment control system configured to cause the expandable curtain and/or the expandable bladder to expand to the deployed state. The occupant protection system may be used in vehicles having a carriage-style seating arrangement.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 1, 2017
    Publication date: June 27, 2019
    Inventors: Markus Jost, Timothy David Kentley-Klay, Josh Alexander Jimenez, Andrew John Piper
  • Publication number: 20190193665
    Abstract: 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. In the deployed state, the expandable curtain may include first and second sides configured to extend along respective portions of first and second interior sides of the vehicle. The expandable curtain may also include a transverse portion extending between the first and second sides, and the first and second sides, and the transverse portion of the expandable curtain may form a contiguous barrier. The expandable bladder when deployed may be supported by the expandable curtain during contact by an occupant. The occupant protection system may also include a deployment control system configured to cause the expandable curtain and/or the expandable bladder to expand to the deployed state. The occupant protection system may be used in vehicles having a carriage-style seating arrangement.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 1, 2017
    Publication date: June 27, 2019
    Inventors: Josh Alexander Jimenez, Timothy David Kentley-Klay, Andrew John Piper