Toyota Motor North America, Inc.

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Yuho Kozu

Imad Zahid

David M Goemer

Lou Pope

Lizbeth Jurado

Evan A Vijithakumara

Anil Nagpal

Timothy Wang

Tomonari Yamaguchi

Nikhil Rajendra

Jiju Thomas

Jordan Frank

Masanori Kushibe

Nitesh Kumar

A system for determining a sanitization status of an environment includes a plurality of sensors integrated into a surface of the environment, wherein each sensor of the plurality of sensors senses the sanitization status of the surface around the respective sensor, provides data related to the sanitization status, and provides output regarding the sanitization status, a computing device that stores logic that, when executed by the computing device causes the computing device to perform at least: receive the data related to the sanitization status from each of the plurality of sensors; determine at least one unsanitized zone on the surface from the data; and communicate data related to the at least one unsanitized zone to the plurality of sensors such that the plurality of sensors may provide the output regarding the at least one unsanitized zone.

Systems and methods for determining a sanitization status of an environment

A vehicle system for a vehicle includes a controller configured to: identify a user profile to be loaded based on communication with a user device; receive user preference packets containing a user ID from the user device; determine whether the user ID of the user preference packets matches with a user ID of the user profile to be loaded; and discard the user preference packets in response to determining that the user ID of the user preference packets does not match with the user ID of the user profile to be loaded.

Correcting a mismatched user profile for vehicle settings

A retractable sanitizing apparatus for a vehicle including a return station, a sanitizing mechanism positionable between a first sanitizing position, a second sanitizing position, and a stowed position, the sanitizing mechanism positioned at the return station when in the stowed position, and a linkage member connecting the sanitizing mechanism to the return station and positioning the sanitizing mechanism between the first sanitizing position and the second sanitizing position, wherein the sanitizing mechanism sanitizes a surface of the vehicle as the sanitizing mechanism moves from the first sanitizing position to the second sanitizing position and across the surface of the vehicle.

Retractable sanitizing apparatuses for traversing and sanitizing surfaces of a vehicle

A system for dislodging debris from one or more surfaces includes an air inlet, an air outlet fluidly coupled with the air inlet, an air jet forming a trainable air stream between the air inlet and the air outlet, and a vibration device comprising a vibration controller, and one or more vibrators. The vibration device creates vibrations such that debris on the one or more surfaces is dislodged such that debris is captured in the trainable air stream, and the air stream carries the dislodged debris to the air outlet.

Systems for expelling debris

A rotatable surface apparatus for a vehicle includes a frame including a contact surface, a cover having at least a first surface portion and a second surface portion, a rotating mechanism rotating the cover to selectively position not more than one of the first surface portion and the second surface portion over the contact surface of the frame simultaneously, and a sanitizing mechanism sanitizing the first surface portion and the second surface portion of the cover when positioned within a predetermined proximity of the sanitizing mechanism.

Rotatable surface apparatuses for sanitizing an unused surface of a vehicle

Vehicle grab handle assemblies and methods of using the same. A vehicle grab handle assembly may have a grab handle. The grab handle may have a proximal end flush with an exterior surface of a headliner of the vehicle in a retracted position. The exterior surface may face away from a roof of the vehicle. Alternately, the proximal end may be between the exterior surface and the roof in the retracted position. The proximal end may extend out of the exterior surface and away from the roof in an extended position. The vehicle grab handle assembly may have a retraction-extension mechanism. The retraction-extension mechanism may be capable of traversing the grab handle between the retracted position and the extended position.

Growing community of inventors

McKinney, TX, United States of America

Yuho Kozu