Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.

Maurice P Silva

Jonathan Richard Young

Naipaul Deo Ramoutar

Adam D Holmstrom

Carlos M Briceno

Nicholas Earl Merkel

A sideview mirror assembly for a vehicle can comprise a body including a sideview mirror housing. The sideview mirror assembly can include a camera located in the body about the sideview mirror housing. The camera can have a field-of-view including an above-horizontal region directed rearward toward an overhead target position past the sideview mirror housing. The camera can be mounted for movement relative to the body between a normal position, in which the sideview mirror housing intersects the camera and the overhead target position in the above-horizontal region, and an extended position, in which the sideview mirror housing does not intersect the camera and the overhead target position in the above-horizontal region. Movement of the camera from the normal position to the extended position can unblock camera visibility of the overhead target position by the sideview mirror housing.

Sideview mirror assembly with an extendable camera

Vehicle structures for dissipating energy associated with a collision are described herein. In one embodiment, a vehicle includes a first side support extending in a vehicle longitudinal direction, a second side support extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction and spaced apart from the first side support in a vehicle lateral direction that is transverse to the vehicle longitudinal direction, and a cross-vehicle stabilizing structure extending between the first side support and the second side support, the cross-vehicle stabilizing structure including a first joint portion coupled to the first side support, the first joint portion including a stiffness-reducing portion positioned within a perimeter of the first joint portion, a second joint portion coupled to the second side support, and a cross-vehicle stabilizer portion coupled to the first joint portion and the second joint portion.

Vehicles having a cross-vehicle stabilizing structure

Vehicle structures for dissipating energy associated with a collision are described herein. In one embodiment, a vehicle includes a first side support extending in a vehicle longitudinal direction, a second side support extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction and spaced apart from the first side support in a vehicle lateral direction that is transverse to the vehicle longitudinal direction, and a cross-vehicle stabilizing structure including a cross-vehicle stabilizer portion extending between the first side support and the second side support, the cross-vehicle stabilizer portion including a first stabilizer portion coupled to the first side support at a first securement location, and a second stabilizer portion coupled to the second side support at a second securement location, where the second stabilizer portion is pivotally coupled to the first stabilizer portion.

Growing community of inventors

Gaithersburg, MD, United States of America

Maurice P Silva