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:
Apr. 23, 2024
Filed:
Aug. 20, 2020
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Plano, TX (US);
Jeremiah T. Hammer, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Brian L. Tew, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Kristofer L. Karch, Round Lake, IL (US);
Nikhil V. Bhosale, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
John Kim, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Donald Federico, Manchester, MI (US);
Sato Koki, Toyota, JP;
Isao Kohno, Aichi, JP;
TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC., Plano, TX (US);
Abstract
Disclosed is a vehicle having a breakaway tie rod. The tie rod has a longitudinal axis oriented substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, and includes a rod portion and a receiver portion. The rod portion includes a proximal ball joint disposed at the proximal end and a male coupling section disposed at the distal end. The receiver portion includes a female coupling section disposed at the proximal end, a distal ball joint disposed at the distal end, and a narrowing feature disposed between the proximal end and distal end. The male coupling section of the rod portion is received into the female coupling section of the receiver portion, forming a connection, and the distal end of the rod portion is disposed proximate to the narrowing feature. The narrowing feature is configured to fracture when subjected to a threshold force substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.