Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Autoliv Asp, Incorporated

Mangala Ambalangodage Jayasuriya

Robert William McCoy

Mark Allan Lippman

Manoharprasad K Rao

James Chih Cheng

Allan Roy Gale

Linh Ngoc Doan

Mark Anthony Cuddihy

Brian Robert Spahn

Kenneth S Laird

Saeed David Barbat

Richard Edward Ruthinowski

Jaeho Cho

Frank Herzenstiel

Mohammad Omar Faruque

S M Iskander Farooq

David W Schneider

Jayanthi Rao

Bhavani Thota

Donald James Paxton

Krishnakanth E Aekbote

Parakrama Valentine Weerappuli

Eric H Wingfield

Philip Thomas Koneda

Nripen Kumar Saha

Amit Chakravarty

Wayne Paul Woodside

Thomas J Joseph

Kristin Marie Schondorf

Carrie Ann Bittick

Jialing Le

Jailiang Le

The present disclosure describes a roof-mounted airbag apparatus in a vehicle. The vehicle includes a roof, an instrument panel, and two passenger seats in a front row. The airbag apparatus includes an inflator and an airbag that is fluidly coupled to the inflator. The airbag is inflatable and deployable from the roof in an interior of the vehicle between the passenger seats and the instrument panel, and includes a cavity.

Roof mounted airbag for protection of front row mid and outboard passengers in frontal, offset, and oblique crash modes

A seatbelt webbing includes an auxetic portion elongated along an axis. The auxetic portion includes a plurality of segments rotatably connected to each other at hinges. The hinges are spaced along the axis and are transverse to the axis. The auxetic portion includes a plurality of strands. Each strand is embedded in at least two of the hinges. When tensile force above a predetermined level is applied to the auxetic portion by a vehicle occupant, e.g., the chest of the vehicle occupant, the auxetic portion both stretches along the axis and widens transverse to the axis, i.e., has a negative Poisson ratio.

Seatbelt webbing including auxetic portion

A seatbelt payout measuring device with a rewind spring having a first end connected to a center spool and a second end connected to a rewind spring housing. A dielectric material layered immediately adjacent to the rewind spring forming a first layer and an electrolytic coil with dielectric material layered on both sides forming a second layer, isolating the rewind spring from the electrolytic coil. A capacitive measuring device having a first lead connected to the first end of the rewind spring and a second lead connected to a first end of the electrolytic coil. The capacitive measuring device measuring capacitance with belt pullout.

Seatbelt payout measuring device and system

A collapsible vehicular armrest substrate includes load-bearing strips extending across a gap defined within a support frame. A first tunable element secures the load-bearing strips in a support position on the support frame. A first tension-adjusting portion sets a predetermined first tension limit of the first tunable element. The load-bearing strips disengage from the support position when the first tunable element experiences an actual tension greater than the predetermined first tension limit.

Fully collapsing armrest insert with tunable tensioning elements

A vehicle includes a roof. The vehicle includes a front seat and a rear seat facing each other. The vehicle includes an airbag inflatable from the roof to an inflated position between the front seat and the rear seat. The airbag, in the inflated position, includes a first inflated leg, a second inflated leg spaced from the first inflated leg, and an inflated arced member extending from the first inflated leg to the second inflated leg, the inflated arced member including a top panel and a bottom panel spaced from each other and each arcing downwardly.

Vehicle airbag

An assembly includes a seat. The assembly includes a housing. The assembly includes an airbag inflatable to an inflated position having a first inflatable leg and a second inflatable leg extending from the housing, and an inflatable member extending from the first inflatable leg to the second inflatable leg. The assembly includes a tether having a first end fixed to the first inflatable leg and a second end spaced from the first end and the airbag.

Vehicle airbag system

An alarm system for a vehicle, such as a bicycle, includes a touch sensor electrically connected to a vehicle frame. The touch sensor outputs an alarm signal based on a proximity of a person to the vehicle frame. A communication module receives signals from a remote device. A controller is programmed to selectively enable and disable the touch sensor in response to signals received from the remote device.

Proximity-based bicycle alarm

A system includes an injector including a robotic arm and a heated chamber. The injector includes a material feed and a heating element. The robotic arm is arranged to deposit the material feed onto a vehicle component in the heated chamber.

Vehicle component fabrication

Inflatable frontal restraint air cushions, or frontal curtain airbags, are disclosed herein. An occupant impact zone is formed by an opening at an inner area of the frontal restraint air cushion extending from a rearward surface to a forward surface, the opening defining a free end of the occupant impact zone and a fixed end of the occupant impact zone such that the free end is pivotable relative to the fixed end. The occupant impact zone is to deflect forward with impact of the head of the vehicle occupant.

Frontal airbag assemblies

A vehicle armrest includes a unitary frame defining a horizontal portion having a thinner pliable body and a thicker stiffer perimeter surrounding the body, and first and second vertical portions extending in opposite directions from ends of the horizontal portion. The first vertical portion abuts an inner doorframe, and the horizontal and first vertical portions define a cavity configured to retain a cushion over the body. The vehicle armrest further includes a cover layer over the cushion and frame.

Armrest for a vehicle

A steering wheel assembly for a vehicle includes a steering wheel and an airbag that is supported by the steering wheel. The airbag is inflatable away from the steering wheel in an inflation direction. An airbag tether includes a first end coupled to the steering wheel, and a second end spaced from the first end and coupled to the steering wheel. The airbag is disposed between the steering wheel and the airbag tether. During a frontal impact of the vehicle, the airbag tether may be positioned independent of steering wheel position to restrict inflation of the airbag adjacent a thorax of a driver of the vehicle.

Steering wheel assembly including an airbag tether

A method may be performed by a sensor arrangement and a controller. The method may include capturing, by the sensor arrangement, data indicative of anthropometric characteristics of an expected 3rd row passenger prior to the passenger entering a vehicle. The method may also include deploying, by a controller, a 3rd row seat and moving a 2nd row seat prior to the expected 3rd row passenger entering the vehicle to a riding position that is based on the characteristics and 2nd row passenger data. The sensor arrangement may include an optical sensor arrangement such as used in a blind-spot detection system for a vehicle.

Vehicle 2nd and 3rd row seat adjustment based on anthropometric characteristics of 2nd and 3rd row rear passenger

A vehicle system includes a front row seat and at least one controller. The front row seat may be a driver seat or a front passenger seat. The at least one controller may respond to a signal, for example, a signal transmitted from a key fob or a signal indicative of movement of a rear door handle. In response to the signal, the controller may move the front row seat based on data indicative of a size of a rear passenger expected to be seated behind the front row seat before the expected rear passenger enters the vehicle. The size of the rear passenger may be determined via data from an external object sensor such as a blind spot detection optical sensor, lidar sensor or ultrasonic sensor.

Growing community of inventors

Bloomfield Hills, MI, United States of America

Mangala Ambalangodage Jayasuriya