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. 30, 2013
Filed:
Dec. 15, 2011
Manoharprasad K. Rao, Novi, MI (US);
Stephen W. Rouhana, Plymouth, MI (US);
Brian R. Spahn, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Robert W. Mccoy, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Manoharprasad K. Rao, Novi, MI (US);
Stephen W. Rouhana, Plymouth, MI (US);
Brian R. Spahn, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Robert W. McCoy, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Ford Global Technologies, LLC, Dearborn, MI (US);
Abstract
A transportation vehicle has an inflatable restraint mounted proximate to a passenger seating location which is configured to inflate in an appropriate manner to interact with a passenger during an impact. The inflatable restraint is of a type not inflated in response to a frontal impact when the passenger seating location is empty. For enhanced protection of a driver, a restraint controller detects a far side impact that initiates at the side of the vehicle opposite from the driver, detects that the passenger seating location is empty, and causes inflation of the inflatable restraint to interact with the driver in response to the far side impact and the passenger seating location being empty.