Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.

Matthew C Tier

Paxton Steven Williams

Scott Louis Frederick

Jonathan Richard Young

Jakin C Wilson

Robert Anthony Porcs

Donald E Maynard

Stephen E Freeman

Brian L Tew

Ryan A Mikolaizik

Valerie Schnabelrauch

Michael Camilleri

Greg Bernas

Ziwei Zeng

Koh Mizutani

Marc Siciliano

Jason T Huang

A system for reducing the likelihood of a battery short during a collision of a vehicle includes a metallic structure coupled to a portion of the vehicle. The system further includes a battery located proximate to the metallic structure and having a positive terminal. The system further includes an insulator coupled to the metallic structure such that it is located between the metallic structure and the positive terminal of the battery and configured to resist contact between the metallic structure and the positive terminal of the battery in response to the collision of the vehicle.

Battery pillar protector

A vehicle includes a vehicle body including a quarter panel assembly. The quarter panel assembly includes an inner quarter panel and an outer quarter panel located outboard of the inner quarter panel forming a volume therebetween. The outer quarter panel has a vent opening extending therethrough. A quarter vent assembly is connected to the outer quarter panel covering the vent opening. An exterior fascia covers the quarter vent assembly such that an air gap is provided between the quarter vent assembly and the exterior fascia. A service hole cover is located in the volume between the inner quarter panel and the outer quarter panel. The service hole cover includes a cover body and a noise reduction flange at a bottom of the cover body that extends inboard toward the inner quarter panel at the vent opening.

Quarter panel assemblies including service hole covers with noise reduction flanges

Described herein are various embodiments associated with a bracket for mounting a snorkel to one or more roof rack attachment points of a vehicle. In one embodiment, the bracket comprises a vehicle mounted portion and a snorkel mount portion. The vehicle mounted portion comprises one or more mounting holes. Additionally, values for one or more characteristics of the mounting holes are selected based, at least in part, on the one or more roof rack attachment points. The snorkel mount portion is coupled to the vehicle mounted portion. The snorkel mount portion comprises one or more snorkel attachment holes.

Snorkel roof drip attachment

A vehicle utility light assembly is disclosed in which an elongated body portion functions to be stowable in a first position within a vehicle body panel. The elongated body portion further functions to be vertically-releasable from the first position to a second position, and being operable to selectively illuminate the vehicle body panel from above by a light source of the elongated body portion.

Vehicle utility light assembly

A device and process for a vehicle accessory lock are disclosed. The vehicle accessory lock includes a plunger housing defining a plunger bore and mountable through a door jamb. A security plunger, being spring-loaded, is received by the plunger housing. The security plunger, responsive to a closing force imparted by a hinged door surface against the security plunger, being operable to extend and engage a plunger receiver defined by a vehicle accessory to produce a locked vehicle accessory state.

Vehicle accessory lock

A rear corner vehicle roof structure includes a rear structural pillar and a small cap-like reinforcement member. The rear pillar includes a vertically elongated base portion which transitions into a bifurcated upper end portion forming a longitudinally extending stub arm which is affixed to an associated side roof rail and a laterally extending stub arm which is affixed to an associated rear roof header. The reinforcement member includes a central bridge portion trifurcated to form extensions conforming to the pillar upper portion, the longitudinally extending stub arm and the laterally extending stub arm. The reinforcement member further includes peripherally flanged web segments disposed between circumferentially adjacent pairs of the pillar base portion, longitudinal and lateral stub arms. The flanged web segments are affixed to opposed continuous flange portions of the upper end portion and configured to support the central bridge portion in a spaced relation from the upper end portion.

Vehicle pillar reinforcement member

Growing community of inventors

South Lyon, MI, United States of America

Matthew C Tier