Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

First Technology Safety Systems, Inc.

Edward A Jedrzejczak

David Charles Viano

Joseph G Smrcka

Joseph D McCleary

Jenne-Tai Wang

James G Gobart

Stephen William Rouhana

William E Thomas

Qing Zhou

William L Gobart

Richard A McCormick

Mark J Sawade

A new and improved seat belt retractor system having an electronic control unit which is adapted to receive a signal from a sensor responsive to the buckling of the seat belt and causes an electric motor acting through a chain drive to drivingly rotate a reel in one direction for providing a predetermined seat belt loading on the seat occupant and that is responsive to the braking of the vehicle under emergency conditions to increase the tensioning of the seat belt to a level that exceeds the predetermined seat belt loading.

Seat belt retractor system

A belt tension and energy absorbing apparatus for a motor vehicle seat belt including a stationary tube attached to a body of the motor vehicle, a piston slidable in the stationary tube, a connecting member between the seat belt and the piston, a source of gas at elevated pressure, and an energy absorber. A bulkhead in the stationary tube between the ends thereof cooperates with the piston in defining a pressure chamber in the stationary tube. When sensors on the motor vehicle detect rapid deceleration, gas from the source of gas at elevated pressure is introduced into the pressure chamber and propels the piston through a tension stroke in a first direction. After the tension stoke, the thrust of an occupant on the seat belt propels the piston in a second direction through an energy absorbing stroke during which the piston displaces the bulkhead a fraction of the occupant's kinetic energy is converted into work. Because the volume of the pressure chamber can be made relatively small without compromising the length of the energy absorbing stroke of the piston, the required volume of gas at elevated pressure and the expense attributable to producing that volume of gas are reduced.

Belt tension and energy absorbing apparatus

A vehicle body has front and rear door openings defined by front, middle and rear pillars and by the vehicle roof. A bi-fold door includes upper and lower door portions, each of which extends full length from the front pillar to the rear pillar. An upper hinge acts between the roof and the upper edge of the upper door portion. A door panel hinge acts between the adjacent edges of the upper and lower door portions. A track extends vertically along the middle pillar and a track follower is carried by the lower door portion at the lower edge adjacent the bottom thereof and is engaged in the track. A door beam is mounted within the lower door portion and extends the full length of the door from the front to the rear pillar. A first door latch is mounted on the front pillar and a second door latch is mounted on the rear pillar. Latch strikers are mounted respectively on the front and rear ends of the lower door portion to engage with the first and second door latches. A telescopic spring strut acts between at least one of the pillars and the upper door portion to assist in lifting the upper door portion about the upper hinge. As the upper panel pivots upwardly about the roof hinge, the upper and lower panels hinge relative one another at the door panel hinge and the bottom edge of the lower panel follows the track in the middle pillar so that the door assumes a folded-in-half position stored above the vehicle roof.

Bi-fold gull wing vehicle door

A lower leg assembly includes laceration indicators at a knee joint and at a front of a tibia. The tibia is connected to a thigh of a dummy by a pivot arm and a potentiometer is provided for measuring relative motion between the tibia and the pivot arm. A damper is positioned between the tibia and the pivot arm. A load cell is connected between the tibia and a lower leg to ankle connector. The connector is pivotally connected to an ankle joint and the ankle joint has a ball which cooperates with a socket formed in a foot assembly to simulate the range of motion of a human foot-ankle joint. Cushions are provided at the connector to ankle joint connection and the ball to socket connection to return the ankle and foot to a neutral position.

Lower leg for crash test dummy

A seat belt assembly in a vehicle for restraining an occupant includes a lap-shoulder belt assembly and an lap-shoulder belt extender assembly. The lap-shoulder belt includes a shoulder belt having an upper end mounted to the vehicle and a lap belt having a first end mounted to the vehicle and a second end joined to the lower end of the shoulder belt to form a lap-shoulder belt junction. The extender belt includes an extender shoulder belt and an extender lap belt. The extender shoulder belt has an upper extender end adjustably coupled to the shoulder belt. The extender lap belt has a first lap extender end releasably connected to the lap-shoulder belt junction and a second lap extender end connected to a lower extender end of the extender shoulder belt to form an extender junction. The extender junction is releasably connected to the vehicle at the normal location of the lap-shoulder belt junction.

Lap-shoulder belt extender

An apparatus for simulating a pregnant female human during a crash test includes a torso having an abdominal cavity formed therein. A fetal insert assembly includes a fetal body simulating a human fetus with a head portion connected to a chest portion and a fetal insert defining a fetal cavity for retaining the fetal body. The fetal insert and fetal body are removably retained in an insert cavity in an abdominal shell which is removably retained in the abdominal cavity. A wall of the fetal cavity has an elongated slit formed therein can be deformed to separate the abutting sides and form an opening through which the fetal body is inserted into and removed from the fetal cavity. A first triaxial accelerometer is mounted in the head portion and a second triaxial accelerometer is mounted in chest portion of the fetal body for sensing acceleration in each of the three predetermined directions when force applied to the abdominal shell causes the fetal body to move. A mounting plate, bracket means attached to the lower abdominal portion of the torso and a plurality of load cells mounted on the bracket means are used to sense force applied to the abdominal shell. A jacket covers a chest flesh assembly, the torso and at least a portion of the abdominal shell and has zippers extending between an open bottom end and a neck opening, a right arm opening and a left arm opening.

Female crash test dummy having fetal insert

An externally visible indication of incipient automotive vehicle motion is displayed based on information from the vehicle operator, the engine and the transmission, as interpreted by the vehicle controller, wherein acceleration information is selectively provided during throttle tip-in while the transmission is in a low gear, and wherein brake information is provided when the brake pedal is depressed. Unique external displays of the incipient motion, sensitive to ambient light levels, are provided in forward areas of the vehicle.

Growing community of inventors

Brown City, MI, United States of America

Edward A Jedrzejczak