Patents by Inventor James J. Sommer

James J. Sommer 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: 6904848
    Abstract: A roof assembly mounted on a composite box structure with an air plenum assembly attached to and extending from an interior surface of the roof assembly. The composite box structure includes a pair of end wall assemblies, a pair of side wall assemblies, a floor assembly and the roof assembly. An opening may be formed in one end of the end wall assemblies to allow installing a temperature control system. An airflow management system may be incorporated into the composite box structure. The composite box structure may be assembled on a railway car underframe to form a temperature controlled railway car or an insulated box car.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2005
    Assignee: TRN Business Trust
    Inventors: Allen E. Norton, Stephen W. Smith, William A. Knapp, Alex K. Hoover, Ronald J. Zupancich, James J. Sommer
  • Publication number: 20040173119
    Abstract: A roof assembly mounted on a composite box structure with an air plenum assembly attached to and extending from an interior surface of the roof assembly. The composite box structure includes a pair of end wall assemblies, a pair of side wall assemblies, a floor assembly and the roof assembly. An opening may be formed in one end of the end wall assemblies to allow installing a temperature control system. An airflow management system may be incorporated into the composite box structure. The composite box structure may be assembled on a railway car underframe to form a temperature controlled railway car or an insulated box car.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 16, 2004
    Publication date: September 9, 2004
    Applicant: TRN Business Trust
    Inventors: Allen E. Norton, Stephen W. Smith, William A. Knapp, Alex K. Hoover, Ronald J. Zupancich, James J. Sommer
  • Patent number: 6722287
    Abstract: A roof assembly mounted on a composite box structure with an air plenum assembly attached to and extending from an interior surface of the roof assembly. The composite box structure includes a pair of end wall assemblies, a pair of side wall assemblies, a floor assembly and the roof assembly. An opening may be formed in one end of the end wall assemblies to allow installing a temperature control system. An airflow management system may be incorporated into the composite box structure. The composite box structure may be assembled on a railway car underframe to form a temperature controlled railway car or an insulated box car.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2004
    Assignee: TRN Business Trust
    Inventors: Allen E. Norton, Stephen W. Smith, William A. Knapp, Alex K. Hoover, Ronald J. Zupancich, James J. Sommer
  • Publication number: 20020157565
    Abstract: A roof assembly mounted on a composite box structure with an air plenum assembly attached to and extending from an interior surface of the roof assembly. The composite box structure includes a pair of end wall assemblies, a pair of side wall assemblies, a floor assembly and the roof assembly. An opening may be formed in one end of the end wall assemblies to allow installing a temperature control system. An airflow management system may be incorporated into the composite box structure. The composite box structure may be assembled on a railway car underframe to form a temperature controlled railway car or an insulated box car.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2002
    Publication date: October 31, 2002
    Applicant: TRN Business Trust
    Inventors: Allen E. Norton, Stephen W. Smith, William A. Knapp, Alex K. Hoover, Ronald J. Zupancich, James J. Sommer
  • Patent number: 5544912
    Abstract: A passenger-side supplemental inflation restraint and door arrangement is provided including an air bag housing mounted in a forward portion of the vehicle, an inflator positioned within the housing, an air bag and an instrument panel covering the air bag. The instrument panel includes a rigid self-supporting polymeric base having a preform defining a door and a door opening, a generally non-supporting polymeric skin covering the base and spaced therefrom, a molded polymeric foam with a density lower than that of the base and the skin supporting the skin on the base, and a self-supporting foam border material joined to the base on the door opening portion on a side of the base adjacent the polymeric skin generally adjacent to the preform along the door opening and the self-supporting foam border material extending toward the skin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 13, 1996
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventor: James J. Sommer
  • Patent number: 5308111
    Abstract: An improved supplemental inflatable restraint for use in an automobile is disclosed having a single tether for hingeably securing a cover door in a deployment aperture of an instrument panel. The tether comprises a pair of folded portions defined by a plurality of predetermined fold lines including at least two non-parallel fold lines. The tether controls the deployment of the cover door such that it is deployed in a predetermined direction and at a predetermined velocity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 3, 1994
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventor: James J. Sommer