Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Ford Motor Company Limited

Rasik N Patel

Saeed David Barbat

Francis Joseph Wickenheiser

Glen Paul Ursaki

Guy Allen Breckenridge

Jay Douglas Blackson

Lee A Walker

Syed A Shahab

Praful J Patel

Jeffrey Alan Chickola

Randy Craig Linn

An inflatable occupant restraint for protecting occupants seated in the third row of an automotive vehicle and includes a plurality of inflatable restraint devices mounted approximately vertically adjacent the window between the C pillar and the D pillar and horizontally tethered but movable from a stowed position to an inflated position in response to conditions indicative of the need for inflation of the restraint.

Air bag for third row vehicle passengers

A pillar trim is provided for an inflatable restraint mounted to a pillar of a motor vehicle. The pillar trim includes a body fixedly mounted to the pillar and a plurality of energy absorbing ribs spaced relative to one another along the body and disposed adjacent to the pillar when the pillar trim is mounted thereto. The energy absorbing ribs are spaced from the pillar to form a packaging space for the inflatable restraint to be stowed therein. The pillar trim also includes a notch extending through the energy absorbing ribs and into the body to deflect and bend to form a desired exit opening in the body when the inflatable restraint is inflated to allow the inflatable restraint to deploy therethrough.

Pillar trim for inflatable restraint system

An inflatable restraint module for an automotive vehicle has a module housing longitudinally mounted adjacent a roof rail with an inflatable restraint mounted therein for movement from a stowed position to an inflated position along an interior of the vehicle body side. The module housing has a flap member, deployable by inflation of the inflatable restraint, to operatively force a headliner assembly over a pillar trim piece and to route the inflatable restraint past the pillar trim.

Vehicle inflatable restraint system trim with trim deploying module

A vehicle trim system for an automotive vehicle with a side airbag provides energy absorption for conditions not requiring side airbag deployment. The system has an inflatable restraint mounted on an interior facing surface of an interior body structure, such as an A-pillar or roof rail, and an energy absorbing member spaceably mounted therefrom defining a first cavity having a first section containing the inflatable restraint and a second section spaced from an innermost surface of the vehicle body structure. A trim piece is spaceably mounted to the energy absorbing member and cooperative therewith to move from a covering position covering the inflatable restraint when in an uninflated state to a deployed position so as to partially deflect from the vehicle body structure to allow the inflatable restraint to inflate along the surfaces adjacent the vehicle body structure.

Energy absorbing vehicle trim with airbag

An energy absorbing sling assembly 22 is provided for a seat belt component which includes an energy absorbing member 46, 47 carried with a mounting bolt 32 for pivotally mounting the sling assembly 22 with the energy absorbing member 46 being retained between the mounting bolt head 38 and the sling 28 and providing an access aperture 63 for tool engagement with a drive pocket 64 in the bolt 32.

Energy absorbing sling assembly

An automobile roof headliner includes a relatively stiff molded backing sheet and a relatively deformable foam panel adhesively secured to the undersurface of the backing sheet. Marginal edge areas of the foam panel in contact with hard side rails on the roof are provided with resilent deformable foam inserts that prevent the hard side rails from interfering with the energy-absorption action of the foam panel.

Automobile roof headliner

An energy absorbing mounting fastener assembly is provided for a seat belt component particularly a seat belt sling assembly 22 which includes an energy absorbing member 46, 47 carried with a mounting bolt 32 for pivotally mounting the seat belt component with the energy absorbing member being retained between the mounting bolt head and the seat belt component and providing an access aperture 63 for tool engagement with the bolt 32 at a pocket 64.

Energy absorbing seat belt component fastener

An adjustable mounting mechanism is provided for an automotive seat belt assembly which employs an energy absorbing cushion locally overlying the mounting bolt joining the seat belt assembly to a vehicle body pillar. The cushion is carried in a moveable trim portion which operates to move the mounting bolt vertically while maintaining juxtaposed relationship between the cushion and the mounting bolt.

Adjustable mounting for seat belt guide

An automotive vehicle body structure includes a structural member which forms a load-bearing portion of the vehicle and a trim component mounted to the structural member. A plurality of energy absorbing elements are mounted to the trim component and spaced relative to one another along the longitudinal length of the trim component. Each of the energy absorbing elements have a serpentine shape and extend from the trim component toward the structural member such that the distal ends of the energy absorbing elements are spaced from, but adjacent to, the structural member in non-contacting relationship therewith. The energy absorbing elements are deformable in response to a force which causes the distal end of the elements to contact the structural member to absorb and dissipate the energy generated by the force.

Energy absorbing automotive vehicle body structure

An automotive vehicle body structure includes a structural member which forms a load-bearing structure on the vehicle. The structural member presents an edge extending generally toward the interior of the vehicle. A trim component is mounted to the structural member and covers the edge. A high density elastic sleeve is mounted to the edge and spaced from, but adjacent to, the trim component. The edge and the high density elastic sleeve are deformable in response to a force acting thereon to absorb and dissipate the energy generated by the forces.

A trim component for mounting to a structural member of an automotive vehicle including a body fixedly mounted to a structural member, the body including a plurality of energy absorbing ribs spaced relative to one another along the body and disposed adjacent to the structural member when the trim component is mounted thereto. The energy absorbing ribs include a series of fingers extending from the body and spaced relative to one another. The fingers deflect upon contact with the structural member in response to a force acting on the body to absorb and dissipate the energy generated by the force.

Trim component having energy absorbing feature

A trim component for mounting to a structural member of an automotive vehicle presenting an edge including a body adapted to be fixedly mounted to the structural member and extending substantially along the length thereof. The body presents a primary surface facing the interior of the vehicle and a contoured mounting surface disposed opposite the primary surface and corresponding to the shape of the structural member. The contoured mounting surface includes a plate disposed adjacent the edge presented by the structural member when the trim component is mounted thereto.

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Canton, MI, United States of America

Rasik N Patel