Patents by Inventor Ed C. Pendergrass

Ed C. Pendergrass 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: 20240399990
    Abstract: A reinforcement beam for a vehicle has an outer beam profile and an inner beam profile. The outer beam profile define an elongated hollow body and includes a front wall portion and a rear wall portion. The outer beam profile may include upper and lower flanges that formed in planar extension of the font wall portion. The inner beam profile may include a C-shape defining an upper shear wall and a lower shear wall that each extend between the front wall portion and the rear wall portion. The outer beam profile and the inner beam profile may be formed from a single sheet material through a roll-forming process. The inner beam profile may be present over a central section of the elongated hollow body and have a length that is less than half the length of the elongated hollow body.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 30, 2024
    Publication date: December 5, 2024
    Inventors: Jeffrey A. McHenry, Joseph R. Matecki, Aniruddha S. Parab, Ed C. Pendergrass
  • Publication number: 20240149816
    Abstract: A reinforcement beam for a vehicle has an outer beam and an inner beam. The outer beam spans laterally between crush cans of the vehicle. The outer beam forms an elongated hollow body that has a front wall and a rear wall extending along the length of the reinforcement beam. The inner beam is disposed along an intermediate section of the outer beam. The inner beam further includes an upper wall and a lower wall that each extend between the front wall and the rear wall of the outer beam. The front wall and the rear wall may include at least one rib that extends along the length of the outer beam.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 1, 2023
    Publication date: May 9, 2024
    Applicant: Shape Corp.
    Inventors: Joseph R. Matecki, Jeffrey A. McHenry, Ed C. Pendergrass
  • Patent number: 11214137
    Abstract: A battery support structure for a vehicle includes a plurality of side reinforcement members and front and rear reinforcement members. The plurality of side reinforcement members are configured to extend longitudinally relative to an associated vehicle frame, and the front and rear reinforcement members are configured to extend laterally relative to the associated vehicle frame. A plurality of module nodes are attached between adjacent ends of the side reinforcement members and the front and rear members to together form a containment wall that generally surrounds a battery containment area. The plurality of module nodes comprise corner sections of the containment wall, such that a length of the side reinforcement members or the front and rear reinforcement members is selected to provide a desired respective length or width of the battery containment area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: Shape Corp.
    Inventors: Mark Charles Stephens, Joseph Robert Matecki, Ed C. Pendergrass
  • Publication number: 20180186227
    Abstract: A battery support structure for a vehicle includes a plurality of side reinforcement members and front and rear reinforcement members. The plurality of side reinforcement members are configured to extend longitudinally relative to an associated vehicle frame, and the front and rear reinforcement members are configured to extend laterally relative to the associated vehicle frame. A plurality of module nodes are attached between adjacent ends of the side reinforcement members and the front and rear members to together form a containment wall that generally surrounds a battery containment area. The plurality of module nodes comprise corner sections of the containment wall, such that a length of the side reinforcement members or the front and rear reinforcement members is selected to provide a desired respective length or width of the battery containment area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 4, 2018
    Publication date: July 5, 2018
    Inventors: Mark Charles Stephens, Joseph Robert Matecki, Ed C. Pendergrass
  • Patent number: 9682674
    Abstract: The present bumper impact beam includes pultruding polymer (e.g. thermoset polymer, preferably polyurethane) into continuous reinforcement (preferably carbon fibers or glass fibers), the reinforcement including fabrics selectively positioned and extending around corners for improved impact strength. The beam preferably has a 50%-70% fiber volume fraction that is relatively uniform throughout the part. A curved cooling support and/or beam design may be used to cause the cooled beam to have a sweep.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: Shape Corp.
    Inventors: Cort C. Corwin, Toby K. Jacobson, Joseph R. Matecki, Ed C. Pendergrass
  • Publication number: 20160167609
    Abstract: The present bumper impact beam includes pultruding polymer (e.g. thermoset polymer, preferably polyurethane) into continuous reinforcement (preferably carbon fibers or glass fibers), the reinforcement including fabrics selectively positioned and extending around corners for improved impact strength. The beam preferably has a 50%-70% fiber volume fraction that is relatively uniform throughout the part. A curved cooling support and/or beam design may be used to cause the cooled beam to have a sweep.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 2, 2015
    Publication date: June 16, 2016
    Inventors: Cort C. Corwin, Toby K. Jacobson, Joseph R. Matecki, Ed C. Pendergrass