The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 22, 2020
Filed:
Feb. 20, 2018
Zoox, Inc., Menlo Park, CA (US);
Timothy David Kentley-Klay, Stanford, CA (US);
Nicholas Liotta, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Chao Lu, Mountain View, CA (US);
Paul Choin, Pleasanton, CA (US);
Daniel Elliot Schabb, San Francisco, CA (US);
Forrest Craft, San Francisco, CA (US);
Kevin Hothem, Redwood City, CA (US);
James Hedden, Mountain View, CA (US);
Brandon Loeb, Campbell, CA (US);
Zoox, Inc., Foster City, CA (US);
Abstract
A system for detachably coupling subassemblies to vehicles or other components is discussed herein. The system can include one or more driveshafts and worm drives to drive fasteners to couple the subassembly to the vehicle. The system can enable drive interfaces located in a substantially conventional location (e.g., located vertically on the bottom of the vehicle) to drive fasteners horizontally into the body or other subassembly. In this manner, fasteners can be hidden and to utilize blind holes in the body of the vehicle. The system can be partially disassembled in situ to enable parts replacement and fastener access in the event of a failure. The system can be used in conjunction with a robotic cart to enable subassemblies to be removed from the vehicle for service and repair. A portion of the system can also act as a portion of, or to reinforce, the crash structure of the vehicle.