Patents by Inventor Jeffrey E. Peterson

Jeffrey E. Peterson 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: 5560565
    Abstract: A dual spool retractor. A pair of belt spools are rotatably mounted to a frame having the same axis of rotation. Springs urge the spools to retract each belt. A single pawl is engageable with teeth of each spool to limit spool rotation and belt extension. The pawl is spaced apart from the teeth by belt followers until both belts are extended from each spool. The retractor is combined with a vehicle child seat.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 1, 1996
    Assignee: Indiana Mills & Manufacturing, Inc.
    Inventors: David D. Merrick, Jeffrey E. Peterson
  • Patent number: 5511856
    Abstract: A retractor for controlling the withdrawal of a belt therefrom operated by the locking engagement of a buckle and buckle tongue. A retractor frame having a spring biased rotatably mounted spool wrappingly receives one end of a belt harness, with the opposite end of the belt harness having fixed thereto either a buckle or a buckle tongue. Attached to a seat is either a buckle or a buckle tongue that receives the corresponding mating part of the buckle tongue combination which is attached to the belt harness. A locking bar is engagable with the ratchet shaped end plates of the spool to prevent further withdrawal of the belt harness. The locking engagement of the buckle and tongue causes movement of the locking bar into contact with the ratchet shaped end plates, which prevents the spool from rotating to allow any further withdrawal of the belt harness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 30, 1996
    Assignee: Indiana Mills & Manufacturing, Inc.
    Inventors: David D. Merrick, Allan R. Lortz, James R. Chinni, Jeffrey E. Peterson
  • Patent number: 5308148
    Abstract: A seat belt assembly includes a tongue, a buckle, a frame mountable to a vehicle seat, linking articles for linking the tongue and buckle to the frame, a retractor assembly operable to pay out and retract linking articles connected with said tongue, the tongue thereby extendable from a retracted position to an extended position lockingly engaged with said buckle. The tongue, buckle, linking articles and retractor assembly are all mounted in operable combination to the frame, the resulting frame means combination being mountable as a unit to a vehicle seat. The seat belt assembly also includes tongue and buckle sleeve assemblies which are mountable to the frame and which cover the linking articles in the retracted position, and which support the tongue and the buckle in a desired user access position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 1992
    Date of Patent: May 3, 1994
    Assignee: Indiana Mills and Manufacturing, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey E. Peterson, Niels Dybro, Ronald F. Homeier, Allan R. Lortz
  • Patent number: 4911377
    Abstract: An automatic locking retractor for a vehicle seat belt has a pawl which is held for limited pivoting movement within a floating pawl retention cradle. The cradle is mounted within the frame of the retractor for limited sliding movement within a pair of aligned arcuate slots, the pawl and cradle combination sliding within the slots to permit limited retraction of the seat belt when the pawl is lockingly engaged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 1989
    Date of Patent: March 27, 1990
    Assignee: Indiana Mills & Manufacturing, Inc.
    Inventors: Allan R. Lortz, Ronald F. Homeier, Jeffrey E. Peterson
  • Patent number: D537141
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2007
    Inventor: Jeffrey E. Peterson