Abstract: Wire thread insert consisting of a body with a plurality of helically wound windings, in which the plurality of helically wound windings comprises a first end winding and a second end winding which define the body at opposite axial ends, the first end winding has a first integral form-fitting means in a first end section and the second end winding has a second integral form-fitting means in a second end section, so that in an installed state of the wire thread insert a form-fit rotation-inhibiting connection with an adjacent component structure can be produced via the first and the second integral form-fitting means respectively.

Abstract: Disclosed are safety improvements for vehicles, including methods and systems of child seat detection in collaboration with a seat occupancy classification system. Corresponding systems, vehicles, and computer programs are also presented. In an aspect, a method includes receiving a current image showing a region of a vehicle seat currently captured inside the vehicle and retrieving one or more reference images, wherein at least one reference image is a previously stored first reference image of the vehicle seat being unoccupied. The method further includes determining a seat state of the vehicle seat by processing the current image and one or more reference images with a pre-trained machine learning classification network and determining, based on an output from the network, the seat state indicating at least whether the vehicle seat in the current image includes a mounted child seat. Finally, the method forwards the seat state to the seat occupancy classification system.

Abstract: Disclosed are methods, apparatuses and computer program products configured for estimating a height of a passenger seated at a vehicle seat. In an aspect, one or more images of a portion of a vehicle interior are received. The images show at least a part of the passenger seated on the vehicle seat and/or at least a part of the vehicle seat, but at least one of the images shows at least the part of the passenger seated on the vehicle seat. Based on the images, a number of body keypoints indicative of the location of defined body portions of the passenger are determined and a number of seat keypoints indicative of the location of defined points of the vehicle seat is determined. Based at least on a correlation of the determined body and seat keypoints, the height of the passenger is estimated and outputted to a seat occupancy classification system.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a system for manufacturing a fully impregnated thermoplastic prepreg includes a mechanism for moving a fabric or mat and a drying mechanism that removes residual moisture from at least one surface of the fabric or mat. The system also includes a resin application mechanism that applies a reactive resin to the fabric or mat and a press mechanism that presses the coated fabric or mat to ensure that the resin fully saturates the fabric or mat. The system further includes a curing oven through which the coated fabric or mat is moved to polymerize the resin and thereby form a thermoplastic polymer so that upon exiting the oven, the fabric or mat is fully impregnated with the thermoplastic polymer. During at least a portion of the process, humidity in the vicinity of the coated fabric or mat is maintained at substantially zero.

Abstract: Wire thread insert consisting of a body with a plurality of helically wound windings, in which the plurality of helically wound windings comprises a first end winding and a second end winding which define the body at opposite axial ends, the first end winding has a first integral form-fitting means in a first end section and the second end winding has a second integral form-fitting means in a second end section, so that in an installed state of the wire thread insert a form-fit rotation-inhibiting connection with an adjacent component structure can be produced via the first and the second integral form-fitting means respectively.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a system for manufacturing a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) prepreg includes a mechanism for continuously moving a fabric or mat and a resin application component that applies a methyl methacrylate (MMA) resin to the fabric or mat. The system also includes a press mechanism that presses the fabric or mat during the continuous movement subsequent to the application of the MMA resin to ensure that the MMA resin fully saturates the fabric or mat. The system further includes a curing oven through which the fabric or mat is continuously moved. The curing oven is maintained at a temperature of between 40° C. and 100° C. to polymerize the MMA resin and thereby form PMMA so that upon exiting the curing oven, the fabric or mat is fully impregnated with PMMA.

Abstract: Methods of making fiber reinforced composite articles are described. The methods may include treating fibers with a sizing composition that includes a polymerization compound, and introducing the treated fibers to a pre-polymerized composition. The combination of the treated fibers and pre-polymerized composition may then undergo a temperature adjustment to a polymerization temperature at which the pre-polymerized composition polymerizes into a plastic around the fibers to form the fiber-reinforced composite article. Techniques for introducing the treated fibers to the pre-polymerized composition may include pultrusion, filament winding, reactive injection molding (RIM), structural reactive injection molding (SRIM), resin transfer molding (RTM), vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM), long fiber injection (LFI), sheet molding compound (SMC) molding, bulk molding compound (BMC) molding, a spray-up application, and/or a hand lay-up application, among other techniques.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a system for manufacturing a fully impregnated thermoplastic prepreg includes a mechanism for moving a fabric or mat and a drying mechanism that removes residual moisture from at least one surface of the fabric or mat. The system also includes a resin application mechanism that applies a reactive resin to the fabric or mat and a press mechanism that presses the coated fabric or mat to ensure that the resin fully saturates the fabric or mat. The system further includes a curing oven through which the coated fabric or mat is moved to polymerize the resin and thereby form a thermoplastic polymer so that upon exiting the oven, the fabric or mat is fully impregnated with the thermoplastic polymer. During at least a portion of the process, humidity in the vicinity of the coated fabric or mat is maintained at substantially zero.

Abstract: Computer implemented method for detecting an occupancy of a seat, comprising capturing, by means of an imaging device, a first image of a seat, the image comprising depth data, determining, by means of a processing device, a first height profile along a first line in the first image from the depth data, and comparing, by means of the processing device, the first height profile with a first reference height profile taken along the same first line to determine whether the seat is occupied.

Abstract: Computer implemented method for detecting a type of seat occupancy, comprising capturing, by means of an imaging device, an image of a seat, the image comprising depth data and intensity data, performing, by means of a processor device, a classifier algorithm on the captured image to determine a level of occupancy, wherein, if the determination indicates that the level of occupancy is above a predetermined threshold, the method comprises processing, by means of the processor device, the depth data with a convolutional neural network, to determine a type of occupation and wherein, if the determination indicates that the level of occupancy is below a predetermined threshold, the method comprises processing, by means of the processor device, the intensity data with a convolutional neural network to determine a type of occupation.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a system for manufacturing a fully impregnated thermoplastic prepreg includes a mechanism for moving a fabric or mat and a drying mechanism that removes residual moisture from at least one surface of the fabric or mat. The system also includes a resin application mechanism that applies a reactive resin to the fabric or mat and a press mechanism that presses the coated fabric or mat to ensure that the resin fully saturates the fabric or mat. The system further includes a curing oven through which the coated fabric or mat is moved to polymerize the resin and thereby form a thermoplastic polymer so that upon exiting the oven, the fabric or mat is fully impregnated with the thermoplastic polymer. During at least a portion of the process, humidity in the vicinity of the coated fabric or mat is maintained at substantially zero.

Abstract: Methods of making fiber reinforced composite articles are described. The methods may include treating fibers with a sizing composition that includes a polymerization compound, and introducing the treated fibers to a pre-polymerized composition. The combination of the treated fibers and pre-polymerized composition may then undergo a temperature adjustment to a polymerization temperature at which the pre-polymerized composition polymerizes into a plastic around the fibers to form the fiber-reinforced composite article. Techniques for introducing the treated fibers to the pre-polymerized composition may include pultrusion, filament winding, reactive injection molding (RIM), structural reactive injection molding (SRIM), resin transfer molding (RTM), vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM), long fiber injection (LFI), sheet molding compound (SMC) molding, bulk molding compound (BMC) molding, a spray-up application, and/or a hand lay-up application, among other techniques.

Abstract: The invention relates to a new binder composition which is particularly suitable for the manufacture of composite materials utilizing such new binder composition in the required nonwoven materials. Composite materials using such new binder composition in their nonwoven part are suitable, in particular, for composites materials for interior construction, for linings, floor coverings, and for the manufacture of furniture and similar products.

Abstract: The installation tool for a wire thread insert includes: a drive unit which provides a switchable rotation movement between a first and a second direction, a mandrel body with a drive section for rotating the mandrel body and with a drive section for rotating the mandrel body and with a thread section onto which the wire thread insert can be screwed or rotated on, an installation blade as well as a torque clutch consisting of a form-fit and force-fit clutch upper and lower parts engaging each other, of which the upper part is connected with the drive unit in a torque-proof manner and the lower part is connected with the mandrel body in a torque-proof manner. With a decoupled relative rotation between the clutch parts, caused by exceeding a limit torque between the clutch parts, relative movement between the mandrel body and the installation blade can be generated.

Abstract: The present disclosure describes a method for occupancy class prediction, such as for occupancy class detection in a vehicle. In aspects, the method includes determining, for a plurality of points of time, measurement data related to an area and determining, for a plurality of points of time, occlusion values based on the measurement data. The method further includes selecting, for a present point of time, one of a plurality of modes for occupancy class prediction based on the occlusion values for at least one of the present point of time and a previous point of time and/or based on one of the plurality of modes for occupancy class prediction selected for the previous point of time. The method additionally includes determining, for the present point of time, one of a plurality of predetermined occupancy classes of the area based on the selected mode for the present point of time.

Abstract: A computerized method of determining seat occupancy of a vehicle is presented. The method comprises obtaining an image of a vehicle cabin showing at least one seat of the vehicle, determining objects in the image and assigning objects to the at least one seat, determining probabilities for seat occupancy states of the at least one seat, and determining a seat occupancy state of the at least one seat based on the assigned objects and the probabilities.

Abstract: The present disclosure describes a method for occupancy class prediction, such as for occupancy class detection in a vehicle. In aspects, the method includes determining, for a plurality of points of time, measurement data related to an area and determining, for a plurality of points of time, occlusion values based on the measurement data. The method further includes selecting, for a present point of time, one of a plurality of modes for occupancy class prediction based on the occlusion values for at least one of the present point of time and a previous point of time and/or based on one of the plurality of modes for occupancy class prediction selected for the previous point of time. The method additionally includes determining, for the present point of time, one of a plurality of predetermined occupancy classes of the area based on the selected mode for the present point of time.

Abstract: Methods of making fiber-containing prepregs are described. The methods may include the steps of providing a plurality of fibers, and applying a reactive resin composition to the plurality of fibers to make a mixture of the plurality of fibers and the resin composition. The reactive resin composition may include at least one of monomers and oligomers capable of polymerizing into a polymerized resin matrix. The mixture may be heated to a polymerization temperature where the monomers, oligomers, or both polymerize to form a fiber-resin amalgam that includes the polymerized resin matrix. The fiber-resin amalgam may be formed into the fiber-containing prepreg. Also described are methods of forming a fiber-reinforced composite that includes the prepreg.

Abstract: A method for classifying a capture taken by a sensor includes receiving a sequence of a plurality of captures taken by a sensor, each of the captures comprising a plurality of elements; generating, per capture, a plurality of raw probability values, each of the raw probability values being linked to a respective one of a plurality of predetermined classes and indicating the probability that the capture or an element of the capture is associated with the respective class; determining, for a respective one of the captures, a plurality of consolidated probability values in dependence of a plurality of base probability values and a plurality of context probability values, wherein the base probability values represent the raw probability values of the respective capture and the context probability values represent the raw probability values of at least one further capture of the sequence other than the respective capture, the context probability values being normalised according to a normalisation rule; and classi

Abstract: An assembly locking device adapted to a normalized standard or fine thread of a thread shaft of a thread bolt, so that the locking device is positionable in a loss-proof manner on the thread of the thread shaft. The locking device includes: a cylindrical turn comprised of a plurality of helically wound turns, of a wire, a transition turn and adjacent to the second end of the helix is a blocking turn which has a negative pitch PB compared to the holding turn, so that at least an end portion of the blocking turn is elastically displaceable in the axial direction of the central longitudinal axis between an insertion position and a blocking position. The end portion of the blocking turn forms the second end of the helix and in the blocking position is arranged radially outwardly of the transition turn and/or the holding turn.