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:
Jan. 13, 2009
Filed:
Mar. 27, 2007
Ichizo Shiga, Aichi-ken, JP;
Michihisa Asaoka, Aichi-ken, JP;
Naohiko Ishiguro, Aichi-ken, JP;
Masanari Sakamoto, Aichi-ken, JP;
Tsutomu Ishii, Aichi-ken, JP;
Yoshinori Masatsugu, Aichi-ken, JP;
Akira Tomita, Aichi-ken, JP;
Ichizo Shiga, Aichi-ken, JP;
Michihisa Asaoka, Aichi-ken, JP;
Naohiko Ishiguro, Aichi-ken, JP;
Masanari Sakamoto, Aichi-ken, JP;
Tsutomu Ishii, Aichi-ken, JP;
Yoshinori Masatsugu, Aichi-ken, JP;
Akira Tomita, Aichi-ken, JP;
Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd., Aichi-pref., JP;
Abstract
The steering wheel includes a wheel body and an airbag apparatus disposed on top of a boss. The wheel body is divided into a shaft side division joined to the steering shaft, and a ring side division disposed proximate the ring. The ring side division is rotatable with respect to the shaft side division such that a ring plane is aligned generally vertically. The boss includes an actuator that rotates and moves the ring side division to align the ring plane generally vertically. The actuator completes its operation to align the ring plane generally vertically by the time a driver contacts the inflated airbag in the course of forward motion.