Patents by Inventor Herbert Meingast

Herbert Meingast 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: 20240051613
    Abstract: A truck includes a passenger cabin and a truck bed located rearward of the passenger cabin in a vehicle longitudinal direction. The truck bed includes a deck floor. The deck floor includes ridges that extend outward on an underside of the deck floor and extend lengthwise in a vehicle longitudinal direction. The deck floor further includes reinforcing ribs that extend outward from the ridges and along lengths of the ridges at the underside of the deck floor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 15, 2022
    Publication date: February 15, 2024
    Applicants: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kelly L. Harbison, Rajesh Chennagowni, Herbert Meingast, Ronald T. Rogers, Wasim Ukra, Robert Chi-Ong Tam
  • Patent number: 11136071
    Abstract: A vehicular body structural arrangement includes a unitarily-formed polymeric bed box including a bulkhead panel, an elongate reinforcement including a spine, and a row of rivet nuts securing the reinforcement to the bulkhead panel in an unconcealed manner. The reinforcement is backed against the bulkhead panel from outside the bed box. The rivet nuts are installed to the bulkhead panel against the reinforcement facing inside the bed box.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher M. Higgins, Matthew A. Jansma, Herbert Meingast, Naoya Ashida
  • Patent number: 11014617
    Abstract: A side wall of a vehicle bed can be configured to provide support against vertical loads, such as step loading, imposed on a lateral side wall of the bed. The bed can be defined in part by a first lateral side wall and a second lateral side wall. The first and/or second lateral side wall can include an inner wall member, an outer wall member, and a top protector. The top protector can being operatively connected to the inner and outer wall members. The top protector can define a top surface of the respective lateral side wall. The inner wall member can include a transverse portion that extends to an innermost end. The innermost end can be substantially adjacent to an inner side of the top protector. Thus, the inner and outer wall members can support the top protector across substantially its entire width.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2021
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Herbert Meingast, Matthew A. Jansma, Wei Jiang
  • Patent number: 10926812
    Abstract: A tailgate for a vehicle having structural strength and stiffness may include an outer panel, an inner panel facing the outer panel, a top boundary extending between the outer panel to the inner panel, a bottom boundary extending between the outer panel to the inner panel, a left boundary extending between the outer panel to the inner panel, a right boundary extending between the outer panel to the inner panel, and a volume of space defined within the inner panel, bottom boundary, outer panel, top boundary, left boundary, and right boundary. A plurality of bulkheads may be disposed within the volume of space, each bulkhead of the plurality of bulkheads extending in a linear direction a complete distance between the bottom boundary and the top boundary of the inner panel in a manner providing strength and stiffness to the outer and inner panels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Wasim Ukra, Joshua L. Walsh, Erik R. Andersen, Herbert Meingast
  • Patent number: 10906594
    Abstract: A vehicular body structure includes a polymeric deck panel. The deck panel includes adjacent ridges and valleys with legs shared therebetween, crossbeam footprints crosswise to the adjacent ridges and valleys, and ribs extending along the adjacent ridges and valleys between the crossbeam footprints and ending short thereof. The ribs project normally to the deck panel past the ridges, and have elongate cross-sectional shapes, with cross-sectional thicknesses substantially the same as or greater than the cross-sectional thicknesses of the adjacent ridges and valleys.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew A. Jansma, Christopher M. Higgins, Herbert Meingast, Wei Jiang, Naoya Ashida, Yuki Yoshimura
  • Publication number: 20200377156
    Abstract: A vehicular body structure includes a polymeric deck panel. The deck panel includes adjacent ridges and valleys with legs shared therebetween, crossbeam footprints crosswise to the adjacent ridges and valleys, and ribs extending along the adjacent ridges and valleys between the crossbeam footprints and ending short thereof. The ribs project normally to the deck panel past the ridges, and have elongate cross-sectional shapes, with cross-sectional thicknesses substantially the same as or greater than the cross-sectional thicknesses of the adjacent ridges and valleys.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 30, 2019
    Publication date: December 3, 2020
    Inventors: Matthew A. Jansma, Christopher M. Higgins, Herbert Meingast, Wei Jiang, Naoya Ashida, Yuki Yoshimura
  • Publication number: 20200369198
    Abstract: A side wall of a vehicle bed can be configured to provide support against vertical loads, such as step loading, imposed on a lateral side wall of the bed. The bed can be defined in part by a first lateral side wall and a second lateral side wall. The first and/or second lateral side wall can include an inner wall member, an outer wall member, and a top protector. The top protector can being operatively connected to the inner and outer wall members. The top protector can define a top surface of the respective lateral side wall. The inner wall member can include a transverse portion that extends to an innermost end. The innermost end can be substantially adjacent to an inner side of the top protector. Thus, the inner and outer wall members can support the top protector across substantially its entire width.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 24, 2019
    Publication date: November 26, 2020
    Inventors: Herbert Meingast, Matthew A. Jansma, Wei Jiang
  • Publication number: 20200324832
    Abstract: A vehicular body structural arrangement includes a unitarily-formed polymeric bed box including a bulkhead panel, an elongate reinforcement including a spine, and a row of rivet nuts securing the reinforcement to the bulkhead panel. The reinforcement is backed against the bulkhead panel from outside the bed box. The rivet nuts are installed to the bulkhead panel against the reinforcement facing inside the bed box.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2019
    Publication date: October 15, 2020
    Inventors: Christopher M. Higgins, Matthew A. Jansma, Herbert Meingast, Naoya Ashida
  • Publication number: 20200247483
    Abstract: A tailgate for a vehicle having structural strength and stiffness may include an outer panel, an inner panel facing the outer panel, a top boundary extending between the outer panel to the inner panel, a bottom boundary extending between the outer panel to the inner panel, a left boundary extending between the outer panel to the inner panel, a right boundary extending between the outer panel to the inner panel, and a volume of space defined within the inner panel, bottom boundary, outer panel, top boundary, left boundary, and right boundary. A plurality of bulkheads may be disposed within the volume of space, each bulkhead of the plurality of bulkheads extending in a linear direction a complete distance between the bottom boundary and the top boundary of the inner panel in a manner providing strength and stiffness to the outer and inner panels.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 31, 2019
    Publication date: August 6, 2020
    Inventors: Wasim Ukra, Joshua L. Walsh, Erik R. Andersen, Herbert Meingast
  • Patent number: 10479246
    Abstract: Seats in vehicles may include a seat cushion having a seating surface, a vibration isolation structure and a foam structure, with the seating surface configured to support an occupant. The seat cushion may include either a seat bottom or a seat back, with the vibration isolation structure configured to evenly distribute forces exerted by the occupant. The vibration isolation structure may include a plurality of individual lattice blocks. The plurality of individual lattice blocks may occupy a pattern based on a spatial weight distribution of an average-sized occupant or a pattern based on a spatial weight distribution tailored for a specific occupant. The plurality of individual lattice blocks may cooperate to provide the even pressure distribution against forces exerted by the occupant. The vibration isolation structure may isolate vibration in a range from about 0.5 Hz to about 5.0 Hz.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Herbert Meingast, Recep M. Gorguluarslan, Umesh Gandhi, Brian J. Pinkelman
  • Publication number: 20180312086
    Abstract: Seats in vehicles may include a seat cushion having a seating surface, a vibration isolation structure and a foam structure, with the seating surface configured to support an occupant. The seat cushion may include either a seat bottom or a seat back, with the vibration isolation structure configured to evenly distribute forces exerted by the occupant. The vibration isolation structure may include a plurality of individual lattice blocks. The plurality of individual lattice blocks may occupy a pattern based on a spatial weight distribution of an average-sized occupant or a pattern based on a spatial weight distribution tailored for a specific occupant. The plurality of individual lattice blocks may cooperate to provide the even pressure distribution against forces exerted by the occupant. The vibration isolation structure may isolate vibration in a range from about 0.5 Hz to about 5.0 Hz.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 28, 2017
    Publication date: November 1, 2018
    Inventors: Herbert Meingast, Recep M. Gorguluarslan, Umesh Gandhi, Brian J. Pinkelman