Patents by Inventor Franco Tosco

Franco Tosco 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).

  • Patent number: 9840174
    Abstract: A seat backrest for a motor vehicle has a structure, which supports a padding covered by a cover; the structure has a rear plate provided with a coupling portion, to which an end of the cover is fixed along a peripheral edge of the plate itself; the plate is fixed to a front frame by means of a snap-on connecting device having a plurality of deformable appendages, which are carried by the plate in positions that are spaced apart from one another; the appendages are part of respective brackets, which are fixed to the plate and have respective stiffening portions, which are arranged at the coupling portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: C.R.F. Societa' Consortile per Azioni
    Inventors: Franco Tosco, Giorgio Luigi Masoero, Alberto Caruso, Stefano Bernard, Ivan Emanuel Murru, Maurizio Giani
  • Publication number: 20160297339
    Abstract: A seat backrest for a motor vehicle has a structure, which supports a padding covered by a cover; the structure has a rear plate provided with a coupling portion, to which an end of the cover is fixed along a peripheral edge of the plate itself; the plate is fixed to a front frame by means of a snap-on connecting device having a plurality of deformable appendages, which are carried by the plate in positions that are spaced apart from one another; the appendages are part of respective brackets, which are fixed to the plate and have respective stiffening portions, which are arranged at the coupling portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 11, 2016
    Publication date: October 13, 2016
    Applicant: C.R.F. Societa' Consortile Per Azioni
    Inventors: Franco Tosco, Giorgio Luigi Masoero, Alberto Caruso, Stefano Bernard, Ivan Emanuel Murru, Maurizio Giani
  • Patent number: 9120402
    Abstract: A motor vehicle cup holder with a support made of a rigid material and having a receptacle, which extends along a vertical axis and is radially delimited by a side surface, having at least one retaining seat. The cup holder has a lining device, separate from the support and having a liner, which lines at least part of the side surface and defines a seat for housing a container. The lining device has an elastically deformable inner protuberance to grip the container and an outer protuberance to engage the retaining seat of the support and is elastically deformable to enable disengagement of this outer protuberance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2015
    Assignee: C.R.F. Società Consortile per Azioni
    Inventors: Alberto Caruso, Franco Tosco
  • Patent number: 9067520
    Abstract: A seat backrest for a motor vehicle is provided with a framework, supporting a padding covered with upholstery and has an upper crossbar, to which are attached two coupling members supporting respective rods of a headrest; the coupling members have respective guides, which are made of plastic material, have respective guide holes to be slidingly engaged by the rods, and are fixed to the upper crossbar directly by way of adhesive material; in particular the coupling members have respective holding portions snap coupled to the upper crossbar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2015
    Assignee: C.R.F. Societa' Consortile Per Azioni
    Inventor: Franco Tosco
  • Publication number: 20140361576
    Abstract: A motor-vehicle door comprises a structure including an inner panel (3), a carrier (5) fixed to the inner panel (3), for supporting a plurality of auxiliary members of the door, and a trimming panel (6, 7) which covers the carrier (5) and the inner panel (3) on the inner side of the door. The carrier (5) is made of fibre-reinforced synthetic material and it is rigidly connected to the inner panel (3) and it is configured to also serve as a structural reinforcement for said inner panel. The carrier (5) also has at least one portion (50, 52) exposed to view, not covered by said trimming panel (6, 7) and having a structure and a configuration such to directly serve the function of trimming panel at the exposed portions thereof. In a variant, the inner panel is constituted by a quadrangular framework constituted by one or more C-section elements defining an upper crosspiece, a lower crosspiece and two uprights which connect the ends of said crosspieces to each other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2012
    Publication date: December 11, 2014
    Inventors: Angelo Storgato, Giorgio Masoero, Andrea Caroli, Marco Biasiotto, Franco Tosco
  • Patent number: 8870257
    Abstract: A vehicle is provided with a luggage compartment that houses an additional support unit having a loading floor, height-adjustable between a lowered position and at least one raised position; when in the raised position, the loading floor is supported, but can rotate upwards about a horizontal axis of rotation; the unit has two levers, which are hinged to a fixed structure about a first horizontal axis and to the loading floor about a second horizontal axis, which is set apart from the first horizontal axis by a variable distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2014
    Assignee: C.R.F. Societa' Consortile per Azioni
    Inventors: Franco Tosco, Giorgio Masoero, Alberto Caruso, Angelo Storgato
  • Patent number: 8851545
    Abstract: A vehicle is provided with a luggage compartment that houses an additional support unit having a loading floor, height-adjustable between a lowered position and at least one raised position; the unit has two levers hinged to a fixed structure about a first horizontal axis and to the loading floor about a second horizontal axis, parallel to the first one; when placed in the raised position, the loading floor is supported, but can be rotated upwards about the second horizontal axis; the levers carry respective appendages, which rest on fixed brackets to support the loading floor in the raised position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2014
    Assignee: C.R.F. Societa' Consortile per Azioni
    Inventors: Franco Tosco, Giorgio Masoero, Alberto Caruso, Angelo Storgato
  • Publication number: 20140158848
    Abstract: A motor vehicle cup holder with a support made of a rigid material and having a receptacle, which extends along a vertical axis and is radially delimited by a side surface, having at least one retaining seat. The cup holder has a lining device, separate from the support and having a liner, which lines at least part of the side surface and defines a seat for housing a container. The lining device has an elastically deformable inner protuberance to grip the container and an outer protuberance to engage the retaining seat of the support and is elastically deformable to enable disengagement of this outer protuberance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2013
    Publication date: June 12, 2014
    Applicant: C.R.F. Societa' Consortile per Azioni
    Inventors: Alberto Caruso, Franco Tosco
  • Patent number: 8727446
    Abstract: A seat backrest for a motor vehicle is provided with a supporting structure having a rear plate and a front element, which is ring-shaped and is arranged on the front surface of the rear plate; a padding is arranged on the supporting structure and is covered at the front by a cover, one edge of which is attached to the rear plate; the front element is snap-coupled to the rear plate by means of elastically deformable portions, which constitute part of the rear plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2014
    Assignee: Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A.
    Inventor: Franco Tosco
  • Publication number: 20140054917
    Abstract: A vehicle is provided with a luggage compartment that houses an additional support unit having a loading floor, height-adjustable between a lowered position and at least one raised position; the unit has two levers hinged to a fixed structure about a first horizontal axis and to the loading floor about a second horizontal axis, parallel to the first one; when placed in the raised position, the loading floor is supported, but can be rotated upwards about the second horizontal axis; the levers carry respective appendages, which rest on fixed brackets to support the loading floor in the raised position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 16, 2013
    Publication date: February 27, 2014
    Applicant: C.R.F Societa' Consortile Per Azioni
    Inventors: Franco Tosco, Giorgio Masoero, Alberto Caruso, Angelo Storgato
  • Publication number: 20140049065
    Abstract: A vehicle is provided with a luggage compartment that houses an additional support unit having a loading floor, height-adjustable between a lowered position and at least one raised position; when in the raised position, the loading floor is supported, but can rotate upwards about a horizontal axis of rotation; the unit has two levers, which are hinged to a fixed structure about a first horizontal axis and to the loading floor about a second horizontal axis, which is set apart from the first horizontal axis by a variable distance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 16, 2013
    Publication date: February 20, 2014
    Applicant: C.R.F. Societa' Consortile per Azioni
    Inventors: Franco Tosco, Giorgio Masoero, Alberto Caruso, Angelo Storgato
  • Publication number: 20130015693
    Abstract: A set of different backrests of motor vehicle rear seats is manufactured with standardized features; each backrest has a structure supporting a padding and defined by a plate and a frame, fixed onto a front surface of the plate; the frame is defined by a tube extending along a ring-shaped path and has an upper horizontal crossbar, a lower horizontal crossbar and two uprights arranged at the sides; the shape and external dimensions of the cross-section of the tube are the same for different backrests; the shape and external dimensions of at least one of the two uprights are the same for the different backrests; the different frames have the same height distance between the upper horizontal crossbar and the lower horizontal crossbar; possible differences in height between the different backrests are due to different heights of the padding above the upper horizontal crossbar and/or below the lower horizontal crossbar.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 13, 2012
    Publication date: January 17, 2013
    Inventor: Franco Tosco
  • Publication number: 20130015694
    Abstract: A seat backrest for a motor vehicle is provided with a framework, supporting a padding covered with upholstery and has an upper crossbar, to which are attached two coupling members supporting respective rods of a headrest; the coupling members have respective guides, which are made of plastic material, have respective guide holes to be slidingly engaged by the rods, and are fixed to the upper crossbar directly by way of adhesive material; in particular the coupling members have respective holding portions snap coupled to the upper crossbar.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 13, 2012
    Publication date: January 17, 2013
    Inventor: Franco Tosco
  • Patent number: 8256815
    Abstract: A raisable load shelf for a luggage compartment of a motor vehicle is provided with a panel, which defines an upper surface on which items can be placed and is provided with a handle that a user can grasp to raise or maneuver the load shelf in the luggage compartment; the load shelf has at least two appendages, which are arranged along respective edges of the panel and are hinged to the panel about respective axes parallel to the edges to rotate downwards from a horizontal position to a substantially vertical position in order to reduce a dimension of the load shelf; in the horizontal position, the appendages project horizontally with respect to the panel so as to rest, in use, on respective brackets of the luggage compartment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2012
    Assignee: Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A.
    Inventor: Franco Tosco
  • Publication number: 20120200137
    Abstract: A seat backrest for a motor vehicle is provided with a supporting structure having a rear plate and a front element, which is ring-shaped and is arranged on the front surface of the rear plate; a padding is arranged on the supporting structure and is covered at the front by a cover, one edge of which is attached to the rear plate; the front element is snap-coupled to the rear plate by means of elastically deformable portions, which constitute part of the rear plate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2012
    Publication date: August 9, 2012
    Inventor: Franco Tosco
  • Publication number: 20100116763
    Abstract: A raisable load shelf for a luggage compartment of a motor vehicle is provided with a panel, which defines an upper surface on which items can be placed and is provided with a handle that a user can grasp to raise or maneuver the load shelf in the luggage compartment; the load shelf has at least two appendages, which are arranged along respective edges of the panel and are hinged to the panel about respective axes parallel to the edges to rotate downwards from a horizontal position to a substantially vertical position in order to reduce a dimension of the load shelf; in the horizontal position, the appendages project horizontally with respect to the panel so as to rest, in use, on respective brackets of the luggage compartment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2009
    Publication date: May 13, 2010
    Applicant: Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A.
    Inventor: Franco Tosco