Patents by Inventor Merete Östman

Merete Östman 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: 11260815
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a method performed by an occupant protection system of a vehicle for supporting protection of a vehicle occupant in the event of an ongoing or imminent collision. The occupant protection system comprises an airbag panel arrangement arranged in connection with a dashboard of the vehicle, which airbag panel arrangement comprises an inflatable airbag adapted to upon deployment protect lower body parts of a vehicle occupant seated in a vehicle seat facing the dashboard. The occupant protection system determines a distance in a predeterminable direction between the airbag panel arrangement or the dashboard and the vehicle seat or an occupant seated in the vehicle seat; determines that the distance exceeds a predeterminable maximum threshold value; determines that one or more conditions for deployment of the airbag is fulfilled; and displaces the airbag panel arrangement outwardly from the dashboard by means of a panel displacing system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: Volvo Car Corporation
    Inventors: Jianfeng Yao, Katarina Bohman, Bo Svanberg, Merete Östman
  • Publication number: 20200114852
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a method performed by an occupant protection system of a vehicle for supporting protection of a vehicle occupant in the event of an ongoing or imminent collision. The occupant protection system comprises an airbag panel arrangement arranged in connection with a dashboard of the vehicle, which airbag panel arrangement comprises an inflatable airbag adapted to upon deployment protect lower body parts of a vehicle occupant seated in a vehicle seat facing the dashboard. The occupant protection system determines a distance in a predeterminable direction between the airbag panel arrangement or the dashboard and the vehicle seat or an occupant seated in the vehicle seat; determines that the distance exceeds a predeterminable maximum threshold value; determines that one or more conditions for deployment of the airbag is fulfilled; and displaces the airbag panel arrangement outwardly from the dashboard by means of a panel displacing system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 9, 2019
    Publication date: April 16, 2020
    Inventors: Jianfeng Yao, Katarina Bohman, Bo Svanberg, Merete Östman