Automotive Technologies International, Inc.

Other

Energy Innovations, Inc.

Anthony Stanley Pruszenski, Jr

David S Breed

Vittorio R Castelli

Karl F Milde, Jr

Joseph John Wagner

Alexander R Thomas

Chingyao Chan

Side impact airbag system for a vehicle includes a side airbag arranged to deploy along a left or right side of the vehicle and an electronic crash sensor. The electronic crash sensor includes a housing, a mass arranged within the housing to be movable in a lateral direction relative to the housing in response to lateral accelerations of the housing, and a control mechanism for controlling deployment of the side airbag and which is responsive to the motion of the mass only in the lateral direction. The housing is mounted in such a position and a direction as to sense an impact into a side of the vehicle resulting in lateral acceleration of the housing. The electronic crash sensor may generate a signal representative of the movement of the mass.

Side impact sensor systems

Vehicle including an occupant protection apparatus for protecting an occupant during an impact into a side of the vehicle, and a side impact, electronic crash sensor assembly for detecting impact into the side of the vehicle and controlling the occupant protection apparatus responsive to the detected impact. The sensor assembly includes a sensor housing arranged in a door or between inner and outer side panels along a side of the vehicle, a movable sensing mass arranged within and movable in the lateral direction relative to the sensor housing in response to lateral accelerations thereof, a micro-processor containing an algorithm which generates a time-varying signal representative of lateral movement of the mass, analyzes the signal and generates a deployment signal based thereon, and a control unit for receiving the deployment signal from the micro-processor and controlling deployment of the occupant protection apparatus based thereon.

Vehicle including a side impact sensor system having a longitudinally extending outer skin arranged on a side of the vehicle, a system housing arranged inward of the outer skin and having an opening facing a portion of a passenger compartment, an inflatable airbag arranged in the system housing, an inflator arranged in connection with the system housing, and a sensor system for detecting an impact into a side of the vehicle. The sensor system includes a sensor housing and a mass arranged therein and movable relative thereto housing in response to acceleration in excess of a threshold value. Movement of the mass relative to the sensor housing provides an indication of a side impact for which deployment of the airbag is desired. The inflator is actuated in response to a side impact by the sensor system in order to expel the airbag through the opening into the passenger compartment.

A vehicle including a side impact crash sensor, a transfer structure interposed between the side of the vehicle and the sensor and an occupant restraint system such as a side impact airbag system. When an object strikes the side of the vehicle or vice versa, the transfer structure serves to transfer the lateral force from the side of the vehicle to the sensor and is designed so that it does not distort upon the application of the lateral force. The side impact crash sensor detects the force or acceleration applied to the side of the vehicle, and the airbag system connected to the sensor deploys an airbag based on the detected force or acceleration. The transfer structure may be constructed to account for mismatch between the point of impact of an object on the side of the vehicle and the location of the sensor.

Side airbag system including an airbag arranged to deploy in the event of an impact into a side of the vehicle, a side impact crash sensor arranged to sense an impact into a side of the vehicle, and an inflator for inflating the airbag. The crash sensor is an electrical sensor which includes a movable sensing mass which moves when the side of the vehicle is impacted and a signal generating mechanism for generating a time-varying signal representative of movement of the sensing mass, analyzing the signal representative of the movement of the sensing mass and generating a deployment signal based thereon. The inflator is coupled to the crash sensor and receives the deployment signal therefrom and inflates the airbag upon receipt of the deployment signal.

The present invention includes a method and system for producing radiation of a desired frequency with temperature invariance. Two or more radiation sources that produce an output are included. A temperature difference between the sources is sensed and a temperature difference signal is produced. A control unit controls a heat flux to one or more or between two or more of the sources based on the temperature difference signal. The control unit may provide the heat flux by self-heating by a supplied current or by heater/coolers. The outputs of the two or more radiation sources are mixed in or on a nonlinear medium. The mixing of the outputs produces beat frequencies and a desired beat frequency or frequencies may be selected by a resonant structure. The beat frequencies are invariant with fluctuations in ambient temperature.

Producing radiation of a desired frequency with multiple sources

A personal aircraft (PAC) capable of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) comprises a fixed wing and a fuselage with a passenger compartment having a front, a rear and two sides, and a plurality of independently powered thrusters, preferably integrated into the wing, on each side of the fuselage. The aircraft has a lift to drag ratio equal to or greater than 2. The thrusters, which are ducted fan units capable of providing a vertically upward force to the aircraft, are provided with such redundancy that the aircraft can hover with at one thruster inoperative on each side of the fuselage. At least one thruster on each side of the fuselage preferably comprises a 'levitator' which creates lift from the airfoil-like air inlet as well as from the acceleration of air from inlet to outlet.

VTOL personal aircraft

A side impact crash sensor for a vehicle including a housing and a mass within the housing movable relative to the housing in response to accelerations of the housing. The mass moves upon acceleration of the housing and when this movement is in excess of a predetermined threshold value, it is possible to control an occupant protection apparatus (such movement being indicative of a crash involving the vehicle). The housing is mounted in such a position and a direction as to sense an impact into a side of the vehicle. Possible mounting locations of the housing include inside a door of the vehicle, between inner and outer panels not associated with a door of the vehicle, a seat in the vehicle and remote from the side of the vehicle. In the latter case, the vehicle includes a sufficiently strong member connecting the sensor to the vehicle side such that there is little or no plastic deformation between the sensor and the side of the vehicle.

Side impact sensors and airbag system

This invention includes crash sensors designed to be used for side impact sensing and the strategies of using these sensors. If is analyzed and shown that velocity sensing or damped sensors are desirable for side impact sensing. Inertially damped sensors, with a damping force proportional to the square of velocity, is most appropriate. Such sensor can be made of plastic and in the shape of short round or rectangular cylinders. It is further concluded that these sensors should be installed on the side door structure of a vehicle. Other sensing strategies include installing sensors on three locations: one at the center of the side door, one just before the A-pillar, and one just after the B-pillar; and Safing (arming) sensors for side impact applications could be crush sensing switches.

Side impact sensors

This invention includes crash sensors designed to be used for frontal impact sensing and the strategies of using these sensors. It is analyzed and shown that velocity sensing or damped sensors are desirable for frontal impact sensing. Inertially damped sensors, with a damping force proportional to the square to velocity, is most appropriate. Such sensors can be made of plastic and in the shape of short round or rectangular cylinders. The particular shape the these sensors minimizes the chance that the sensors will be rotated during the crash. It is further concluded that these sensors should be installed on the frontal radiator structure or at such similar location near the front of the vehicle. A typical crash sensor includes a hinged plastic mass attached to the housing. The mass activates a contact assembly after a predetermined movement of the mass. The gap existing between the movable mass and the interior wall of the housing enhances the damping function of the crash sensor.

Frontal impact crush zone crash sensors

This invention includes crash sensors designed to be used for frontal impact sensing and the strategies of using these sensors. It is analyzed and shown that velocity sensing or damped sernsors are desirable for frontal impact passenger compartment sensing. inertially damped sensors, with a damping force proportional to the square of velocity, is preferred for some applications. In other cases a viscous damped sensor is appropriate and in a few cases an undamped spring mass sensor will suffice. Such sensors can be made of plastic and in the shape of short housings. A preferred embodiment of this invention utilizes a swinging mass hinged to a housing as the sensing mass. Different geometries of the mass and the housing are disclosed and used to improve the performance of such sensors. These flapper mass sensors are useful for sensing frontal impacts in the passenger compartment both as primary sensors and as single or dual contact arming sensors. A method of manufacturing these sensors is also disclosed, in which the contacts are treated to become adhesive to plastic and then molded with the remaining plastic parts of the sensors. The plastic parts are then welded to form a hermetically-sealed interior of the sensor.

Passenger compartment crash sensors

An attitude sensor device for sensing deviations from a reference orientation which includes a sensor cup having a capacitor and a damped dielectric fluid with a bubble disposed between the electrodes of the capacitor. When the sensor cup is tilted, the bubble is displaced within the damped dielectric fluid and a capacitance change results. A controller circuit detects this capacitance change and outputs a warning signal to an LED and/or a speaker. In an alternate embodiment, the attitude sensor device is mounted to the inner housing of a gyroscope, which is insensitive to movement in two dimensions, thereby allowing the sensing of deviations of rotational movement.

Attitude indicator device utilizing capacitance measurement

An end stop is disclosed for limiting the maximum displacement of a flexible member so as to minimize stress on this member and thus provide an extended surface life. The flexible member is rigidly supported at at least two spaced-apart points such that the flexible member can flex in the region between these points. The end stop includes a support member for clamping the flexible member at the two supporting points and a wall surface arranged in opposed, facing relationship to the flexible member in the region between the two points. The curvature of the wall surface is defined by first and second curves that form a continuous curvature and have first and second derivatives of the local angle .phi. of the tangent to the curve with respect to the distances along the curve which are zero.

Free-piston heat pump

A ground-air-water craft comprises a fuselage body with a passenger compartment mounted thereon, a box-type main wing connected to the fuselage and extending outwardly on both sides thereof, the main wing comprising an upper wing and a lower wing which are substantially horizontal and which have a total wing span in the range of 5 to 10 feet, as well as a right side member and a left side member, each side member extending substantially vertically and connected between the lateral ends of the upper and lower wings on the respective right and left sides of the craft. The craft also comprises a control or canard wing connected to the fuselage and extending outwardly on both sides of the fuselage with a wing span no greater than 10 feet. The craft also comprises front and rear wheels with balance wheels mounted therebetween, air propelling means which may constitute a propeller or a jet engine mounted on the craft, water propelling means driven by a hydraulic or electric drive motor, and fuel tanks mounted in the upper wing. The control wing is pivotable about its longitudinal axis, and all of the wings have moveable control surfaces comprising flap means for controlling the lift as well as air spoiler means disposed on the upper surfaces thereof. The front and rear wheels may be retractable and the body portion of the fuselage is water tight and includes a hydroplane bottom surface for a reduced resistance to water.

Ground-air-water craft

A solar greenhouse roof includes a plurality of relatively large sunlight reflectors which direct and receive sunlight to one or more relatively small focusing light reflectors. The light reflected from the focusing light reflectors is directed downward into the edges of plate glass pipe which are simply panes of plate glass mounted within the base of the roof. The glass pipes serve as a filter for blocking the transmission of ultraviolet and infrared light therethrough, thus allowing only visible light to reach such objects as plants located below the glass pipes. A protective Tedlar film or coated glass may be mounted atop the roof, the glass pipes may be aluminized on their planar surfaces to improve the internal reflectivity to visible light. Heat generated in the small reflector as well as in the glass light pipes due to the absorption of infrared light is carried away by coolant passing through the relatively small focusing light reflectors and through tubes which are in abutting relationship to the plane surfaces of the glass pipes.

Growing community of inventors

Newburyport, MA, United States of America

Anthony Stanley Pruszenski, Jr