Patents by Inventor Thomas Hessdorfer

Thomas Hessdorfer 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: 9751436
    Abstract: An arm rest for a vehicle seat includes a console part and an arm support mounted at the console part so as to be swivelable about a swivel axis between a use position and a rest position. Latching teeth fixedly arranged at the console part or at the arm support engage a latching engagement member mounted at the arm support or at the console part so as to be shiftable. An inertia member mounted so as to be shiftable between at least one release position and at least one blocked position. The inertia member, in the blocked position, prevents unlatching of the latching engagement member from a latched status, wherein inertia member is shifted from the release position into the blocked position upon an acceleration of the arm rest due to the inertia of the inertia member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Thomas Hessdörfer
  • Patent number: 9630535
    Abstract: An arm rest for a vehicle seat includes an injection molded plastic console part and an arm support mounted at the console part so as to be swivelable about a swivel axis between a use position and a rest position. The console part includes a mounting sleeve on opposing sides of the console part. One mounting stud of the arm support is mounted in each sleeve. A metal bearing ring injected in each mounting sleeve encloses the mounting stud annularly, wherein a radially outwardly extending bearing surface is arranged at each of the mounting sleeves is borne by a tab integrally molded to the bearing ring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: F. S. FEHRER AUTOMOTIVE GMBH
    Inventor: Thomas Hessdörfer
  • Patent number: 9533608
    Abstract: An armrest of a vehicle seat or a seat bench includes an arm support attached to a console element. A bearing arrangement enables swivel movement of the arm support between a support element of the arm support and the console element. In a preferred embodiment, the bearing arrangement is formed by at least three sliding bearings which are disposed so as to be distributed across the width of the armrest and which, in turn, are formed by the console element and the support element, which are made of a plastic material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignee: F.S. FEHRER AUTOMOTIVE GMBH
    Inventors: Eberhard von Rothkirch und Panthen, Thomas Hessdörfer
  • Publication number: 20160052429
    Abstract: An arm rest for a vehicle seat includes an injection molded plastic console part and an arm support mounted at the console part so as to be swivelable about a swivel axis between a use position and a rest position. The console part includes a mounting sleeve on opposing sides of the console part. One mounting stud of the arm support is mounted in each sleeve. A metal bearing ring injected in each mounting sleeve encloses the mounting stud annularly, wherein a radially outwardly extending bearing surface is arranged at each of the mounting sleeves is borne by a tab integrally molded to the bearing ring.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 18, 2015
    Publication date: February 25, 2016
    Inventor: Thomas Hessdörfer
  • Publication number: 20160052428
    Abstract: An arm rest for a vehicle seat includes a console part and an arm support mounted at the console part so as to be swivelable about a swivel axis between a use position and a rest position. Latching teeth fixedly arranged at the console part or at the arm support engage a latching engagement member mounted at the arm support or at the console part so as to be shiftable. An inertia member mounted so as to be shiftable between at least one release position and at least one blocked position. The inertia member, in the blocked position, prevents unlatching of the latching engagement member from a latched status, wherein inertia member is shifted from the release position into the blocked position upon an acceleration of the arm rest due to the inertia of the inertia member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 18, 2015
    Publication date: February 25, 2016
    Inventor: Thomas Hessdörfer
  • Patent number: 9139117
    Abstract: The invention relates to a center arm rest (01) for use in a vehicle with a console part (03), which can be directly or indirectly attached to the vehicle body, and with an arm rest (05), which is mounted on the console part so as to be swivelable about a swivel axis between a lower use position and an upper rest position, the arm rest (05) having a top side (07) for resting an arm thereon, which is padded at least in sections, and a bottom side (08) on the opposite side, which is padded at least in sections and forms part of a back rest, comprising a tray device (11), which is swivelably mounted in the center arm rest (01) and which is in an upper non-use position behind the arm rest (05) when the arm rest (05) is in the rest position, and which is swivelable about a hinge axis (12) between the non-use position and a lower use position having the tray device (11) resting on the top side of the arm rest (05) when the arm rest (05) is in the use position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2015
    Assignee: F.S. Fehrer Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Eberhard von Rothkirch und Panthen, Thomas Hessdorfer, Manfred Dehn
  • Patent number: 9050916
    Abstract: Embodiments relate to a center arm rest for use in a vehicle having a console part which can be attached to the vehicle body, and having an arm rest which is mounted at the console part so as to be swivelable about a swivel axis between a lower use position and an upper rest position, and having an actuating element which is arranged at the arm rest for swiveling the arm rest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2015
    Assignee: F.S. Fehrer Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Eberhard von Rothkirch und Panthen, Thomas Hessdorfer, Manfred Dehn
  • Publication number: 20140319868
    Abstract: Embodiments relate to a center arm rest for use in a vehicle having a console part which can be attached to the vehicle body, and having an arm rest which is mounted at the console part so as to be swivelable about a swivel axis between a lower use position and an upper rest position, and having an actuating element which is arranged at the arm rest for swiveling the arm rest.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2014
    Publication date: October 30, 2014
    Applicant: F.S. Fehrer Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Eberhard von Rothkirch und Panthen, Thomas Hessdorfer, Manfred Dehn
  • Publication number: 20140319867
    Abstract: The invention relates to a center arm rest (01) for use in a vehicle with a console part (03), which can be directly or indirectly attached to the vehicle body, and with an arm rest (05), which is mounted on the console part so as to be swivelable about a swivel axis between a lower use position and an upper rest position, the arm rest (05) having a top side (07) for resting an arm thereon, which is padded at least in sections, and a bottom side (08) on the opposite side, which is padded at least in sections and forms part of a back rest, comprising a tray device (11), which is swivelably mounted in the center arm rest (01) and which is in an upper non-use position behind the arm rest (05) when the arm rest (05) is in the rest position, and which is swivelable about a hinge axis (12) between the non-use position and a lower use position having the tray device (11) resting on the top side of the arm rest (05) when the arm rest (05) is in the use position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 4, 2014
    Publication date: October 30, 2014
    Applicant: F.S. Fehrer Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Eberhard von Rothkirch und Panthen, Thomas Hessdorfer, Manfred Dehn
  • Patent number: 8789881
    Abstract: An arm rest for arrangement at a seat or a seat bench in a vehicle, includes at least one bracket fastenable to the seat or the seat bench. A bearing shaft is swivelably mounted to the bracket in at least one swivel bearing. The bearing shaft is supported at the bracket so as to be displaceable along a trajectory between an upper functional position and a lower functional position. A support element is connected to the bearing shaft at least at one fastening point in a rotationally fixed manner. The support element can be swiveled between a swiveled-up rest position and a swiveled-down support position. A transmission mechanism is arranged between the support element and the bracket, wherein a swiveling movement of the support element is transmitted via the transmission mechanism to a displacing movement of the bearing shaft along the trajectory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2014
    Assignee: F.S. Fehrer Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Eberhard von Rothkirch und Panthen, Thomas Hessdörfer, Daniel Seger, Thomas Achtelstetter
  • Patent number: 8585150
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a device (01, 22) for use in the interior of a vehicle, comprising a first and a second carrier element (02, 23, 03, 24) and a connecting linear guide, wherein the first carrier element (02, 23) features two linearly extending first guiding surfaces (06, 07, 27, 28) and the second carrier element (03, 24) features two first abutment surfaces (12, 13, 33, 34), wherein the carrier elements (02, 23, 03, 24) are longitudinally displaceable relative to each other when the abutment surfaces (12, 13, 33, 34) slide along the guiding surfaces (06, 07, 27, 28), and wherein the linear guide produces a clamping effect which prevents self-actuated displacement of a carrier element (02, 23, 03, 24) due to vehicle movements, wherein the linear guide further features a second guiding surface (08, 29) being associated with the first carrier element (02, 23) and features a second abutment surface (14, 35) being associated with the second carrier element (03, 24), wherein, when the first and the
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2013
    Assignee: F.S. Fehrer Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Eberhard von Rothkirch und Panthen, Thomas Hessdörfer, Michael Winterstein
  • Publication number: 20120267933
    Abstract: An armrest of a vehicle seat or a seat bench includes an arm support attached to a console element. A bearing arrangement enables swivel movement of the arm support between a support element of the arm support and the console element. In a preferred embodiment, the bearing arrangement is formed by at least three sliding bearings which are disposed so as to be distributed across the width of the armrest and which, in turn, are formed by the console element and the support element, which are made of a plastic material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2012
    Publication date: October 25, 2012
    Inventors: Eberhard von Rothkirch und Panthen, Thomas Hessdörfer
  • Publication number: 20120049601
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a device (01, 22) for use in the interior of a vehicle, comprising a first and a second carrier element (02, 23, 03, 24) and a connecting linear guide, wherein the first carrier element (02, 23) features two linearly extending first guiding surfaces (06, 07, 27, 28) and the second carrier element (03, 24) features two first abutment surfaces (12, 13, 33, 34), wherein the carrier elements (02, 23, 03, 24) are longitudinally displaceable relative to each other when the abutment surfaces (12, 13, 33, 34) slide along the guiding surfaces (06, 07, 27, 28), and wherein the linear guide produces a clamping effect which prevents self-actuated displacement of a carrier element (02, 23, 03, 24) due to vehicle movements, wherein the linear guide further features a second guiding surface (08, 29) being associated with the first carrier element (02, 23) and features a second abutment surface (14, 35) being associated with the second carrier element (03, 24), wherein, when the first and the
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 5, 2011
    Publication date: March 1, 2012
    Inventors: Eberhard von Rothkirch und Panthen, Thomas Hessdörfer, Michael Winterstein
  • Publication number: 20110115275
    Abstract: An arm rest for arrangement at a seat or a seat bench in a vehicle, includes at least one bracket fastenable to the seat or the seat bench. A bearing shaft is swivelably mounted to the bracket in at least one swivel bearing. The bearing shaft is supported at the bracket so as to be displaceable along a trajectory between an upper functional position and a lower functional position. A support element is connected to the bearing shaft at least at one fastening point in a rotationally fixed manner. The support element can be swiveled between a swiveled-up rest position and a swiveled-down support position. A transmission mechanism is arranged between the support element and the bracket, wherein a swiveling movement of the support element is transmitted via the transmission mechanism to a displacing movement of the bearing shaft along the trajectory.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 3, 2010
    Publication date: May 19, 2011
    Inventors: Eberhard von Rothkirch und Panthen, Thomas Hessdörfer, Daniel Seger, Thomas Achtelstetter