Ford Motor Company Limited

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

John Kim

Gordon M Platto

Joel Piaskowski

Moray S Callum

Bradley Alan Richards

Darrell Paul Behmer

Melvin Betancourt

William K Moore

Jeremiah Thomas Hammer

Bruce P Williams

Garen Nicoghosian

Keith Rogman

Robert J Gelardi

Brian L Tew

Dong H Park

Jonathan Richard Young

Mark D Clauser

Anthony Lee Meyer

Richard L Howard

Masahiro Onoda

Shinpei Matsumoto

Palani Palaniappan

Donald Federico

Suk Jae Ham

Yosuke Ota

Toshiyuki Kasai

Sato Koki

Preston Jerome Lemanski

MaryEllen Claire Hunt

Kristofer L Karch

Nikhil V Bhosale

Yuuichi Tsunoda

Isao Kohno

Disclosed is a vehicle having a breakaway tie rod. The tie rod has a longitudinal axis oriented substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, and includes a rod portion and a receiver portion. The rod portion includes a proximal ball joint disposed at the proximal end and a male coupling section disposed at the distal end. The receiver portion includes a female coupling section disposed at the proximal end, a distal ball joint disposed at the distal end, and a narrowing feature disposed between the proximal end and distal end. The male coupling section of the rod portion is received into the female coupling section of the receiver portion, forming a connection, and the distal end of the rod portion is disposed proximate to the narrowing feature. The narrowing feature is configured to fracture when subjected to a threshold force substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

Breakaway automotive steering tie rod for controlled wheel motion during crash

Disclosed is a device for distributing crash energy within a vehicle. The device includes a member insertable into an end of a bumper beam of a vehicle, where a first portion of the inserted member occupies an unsupported end of the bumper beam. A second portion of the inserted member is fixedly attached to the bumper beam and to a left frame rail or a right frame rail of the vehicle, and a third portion of the inserted member occupies a portion of the bumper beam between the left frame rail and the right frame rail.

Structural reinforcement insert for a vehicle bumper

Systems and methods for controlling wheel motion during a collision are provided. A retaining member may be connectable between a vehicle frame and a wheel assembly to control motion of the wheel assembly during a collision of a vehicle with an object. The retaining member may include one or more of a first attachment point connecting the retaining member to the vehicle frame, a second attachment point connecting the retaining member to the wheel assembly, a retaining member routing, and/or one or more break-away connections attaching the retaining member to the vehicle frame and/or to the wheel assembly. The first and second attachment points, retaining member routing, and/or break-away connections may be selected to control motion of the wheel assembly within a preferred path to control loading between the object and the vehicle.

Systems and methods for controlling wheel motion during a collision

Disclosed is an apparatus for improving lateral crash pushing and distributing crash energy within a vehicle. The apparatus comprises a first frame cross member extending laterally between a left hand frame rail and a right hand frame rail of a vehicle, and a second frame cross member, aft of the first frame cross member, extending laterally between the left hand frame rail and the right hand frame rail. The apparatus further comprises an outrigger projecting outward laterally from the first frame cross member and an impact member selected from the left hand frame rail or right hand frame rail; and a connection arm projecting diagonally from a distal end of the outrigger to a connection point on the second frame cross member, beneath the impact member, such that when an impact force travels longitudinally into the outrigger, the impact force is distributed to both the first frame cross member through the outrigger and the second frame cross member through the connection arm.

Vehicle structural member for improved lateral loading

A seat assembly includes a seat cushion frame, a seat back frame, a bracket, a pin actuator, a sensor, and an electronic control unit. The seat back frame is pivotally connected to the seat cushion frame about a pivot axis. The bracket is fixed to the seat cushion frame. The bracket includes a cam surface, and a distance between the cam surface and the pivot axis varies along the cam surface. The pin actuation includes a pin. The pin actuator is fixed to the seat back frame. The pin actuator is configured to move the pin from a disengaged position to an engaged position. The electronic control unit determines whether the sensor detects the front collision of the vehicle and controls the pin actuator to move the pin from the disengaged position to the engaged position.

Seat assembly for absorbing energy from a rear occupant in front collision

A vehicle including a side support extending in a vehicle longitudinal direction, a cross member extending transverse to the side support, and a reinforcement gusset coupled to the side support and the cross member, where the cross member and the reinforcement gusset define an interrupted interface in which one of the cross member or the reinforcement gusset includes a recessed portion and the opposite of the cross member or the reinforcement gusset includes an extended portion, and the recessed portion and the extended portion have complementary shapes and are detached from one another.

Vehicles having side support reinforcement gussets

Vehicle structures for dissipating energy associated with a collision are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a vehicle includes a side support that extends between a front suspension mount and a rear suspension mount of the vehicle. The side support includes a targeted energy absorption portion that defines a high-strength region of the side support. The vehicle also includes a cab mounting bracket coupled to the side support and extending outward from the side support. The cab mounting bracket includes a rearward attachment position on the side support and the rearward attachment position of the cab mounting bracket is positioned proximate to the high-strength region of the side support. The vehicle further includes a wheel assembly that is coupled to the front suspension mount and is positioned forward of the cab mounting bracket in a vehicle longitudinal direction.

Growing community of inventors

Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America

John Kim