Teijin Limited

Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Johnson Controls Technology Company

Continental Structural Plastics, Inc.

Yutaka Yagi

Masatomo Teshima

Koji Suzuki

Tadashi Yamaji

John Neal Owens

Venkateshwar R Aitharaju

Bhavesh Shah

Mark A Voss

Yuhei Konagai

Venkat Aitharaju

Tsukasa Arai

Chris James Tadeusz Wisniewski

William R Rodgers

Ingrid A Rousseau

Yoichi Yoshida

Toru Kaneko

Terrence Wathen

Katsuhiko Okada

Michiharu Taniguchi

Yutaka Kondo

Atsushi Sano

Toru Sugiyama

Masamoto Teshima

Ikkou Furukawa

An energy-absorbing assembly includes a housing and a plurality of discrete energy-absorbing elements. The housing includes a first wall and a second wall. The first wall and the second wall are spaced apart from one another to at least partially define an interior compartment. Each element of the plurality of energy-absorbing elements includes a polymer and a plurality of reinforcing fibers. The plurality of energy-absorbing elements is at least partially disposed within the interior compartment and fixed to the housing. Each energy-absorbing element of the plurality of energy-absorbing elements includes an elongated hollow structure extending between a first end and a second end. Each elongated hollow structure defines a longitudinal axis extending nonparallel to at least one of the first wall and the second wall. In various alternative aspects, each energy-absorbing element may include a transverse wall.

Composite energy-absorbing assembly

Provided is a load-carrying or non-load carrying structural component for a vehicle having improved impact resistance, such as a gas tank protection shield, an underbody shield, a structural panel, an interior floor, a floor pan, a roof, an exterior surface, a storage area, a glove box, a console box, a trunk, a trunk floor, a truck bed, and combinations thereof. The component has a support structure with ridges, each spaced apart from one another at predetermined intervals, to form a corrugated surface capable of load-carrying. The ridges are longitudinally extending, raised ridges. The corrugated designs provide support structures that are impact resistant.

Impact resistant component for a vehicle

Friction-weld assemblies and methods of spin-welding are provided, where the components being joined are polymeric components. Designs provided for the polymeric components enable the use of relatively low speeds and pressures to achieve superior friction weld joints between the components. Further, large surface area polymeric components can be successfully friction welded with such designs. In certain variations, at least one polymeric component has a weld surface with a plurality of surface features that are concave (e.g., grooves) or convex. In other variations, the first component in the weld region has a distinct non-complementary shape from the second component, thus creating a progressive advancing weld line that avoids high temperatures that might incur damage to the polymeric component and weld joint. Such component designs additionally provide for improved flash management at the weld joint.

Spin-welding of polymeric components having large surface area or non-complementary weld interfaces

Provided is a load-carrying or non-load carrying structural component for a vehicle having improved impact resistance, such as a gas tank protection shield, an underbody shield, a structural panel, an interior floor, a floor pan, a roof, an exterior surface, a storage area, a glove box, a console box, a trunk, a trunk floor, a truck bed, and combinations thereof. The component has a support structure with ridges, each spaced apart from one another at predetermined intervals, to form a corrugated surface capable of load-carrying. The ridges are longitudinally extending, raised ridges and define top and side walls. A plurality of strategically thickened areas is on at least one of the top wall and side walls.

Corrugation designs

A seat hack frame () for a vehicle made of a fiber-reinforced composite material containing a thermoplastic resin matrix and a reinforcing fiber, the seat back frame () including a seat back frame body (), a metal plate () welded to the seat back frame body () at a reclining device () attaching position, and a metal reclining device () weld joined to the metal plate ().

Seat back frame for vehicle and method for manufacturing same

Provided a vehicle skeleton member including: a portion obtained by joining a plurality of members constituted by a composite material of a thermoplastic resin and a reinforcing fiber, and an axis parallel to a front-rear direction and/or a right-left direction of the vehicle body is included in a joined surface by vibration welding.

Vehicle skeleton member

There is provided a vehicle skeleton member including a composite material of a thermoplastic resin and a carbon fiber, wherein the composite material is a unidirectional carbon-fiber composite material (A) that a form of the carbon fiber in the composite material is a continuous fiber aligned in one direction and/or a random carbon-fiber composite material (B) that a form of the carbon fiber in the composite material is a discontinuous fiber arranged two-dimensionally randomly.

A vehicle body structure in which a vehicle body including an upper vehicle body and a lower vehicle body that are joined is constituted in whole or in part by a fiber-reinforced composite material, metal members are inserted into the respective upper vehicle body and lower vehicle body, the metal members being fastened to each other to form a joint portion, and at least two functional components are attached to the joint portion.

Vehicle body structure

A vehicle floor structure, in which a main structure of the vehicle floor structure is a double deck structure including two sheets of panels formed from a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite material; in a region including the double deck structure, each of the panels includes at least two continuous reinforcing structures having a convex open cross-sectional shape; recesses are provided in at least two places of the reinforcing structures; and the panels are joined in such a manner that the reinforcing structures of the respective panels intersect with each other, and that the recesses provided in the reinforcing structures of the respective panels are fitted to each other.

Vehicle floor structure

The present invention provides a sealing arrangement between a flow regulator and a shut-off valve attached to an oxygen cylinder. The shut-off valve includes a casing which is adapted to be mounted to an oxygen cylinder containing oxygen gas or an oxygen enhanced gas, a side wall defining a part of the casing. A female outlet port is defined in the side wall of the casing. The flow regulator includes a metallic cylindrical body which has first and second end faces. A yoke extends from the first end face of the cylindrical body. A screw bolt, which has an end facing the first end face of the cylindrical body, operates with the yoke to clamp the casing of the shut-off valve between the first end face of the cylindrical body and the end of the screw bolt. A male inlet port extends from the first end face of the cylindrical body into the female outlet port of the shut-off valve to receive the oxygen gas or the oxygen enhanced gas. An o-ring is provided around the inlet port of the flow regulator so that the o-ring is clamped between the first end face of the cylindrical body of the flow regulator and the casing of the shut-off valve when the flow regulator is secured to the shut-off valve. The sealing member is made of an electrically conductive rubber material.

Growing community of inventors

Matsuyama, Japan

Yutaka Yagi