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:
Jul. 19, 2016
Filed:
Feb. 12, 2015
Autoliv Asp, Inc., Ogden, UT (US);
Mark L. Enders, Pleasant View, UT (US);
AUTOLIV ASP, INC., Ogden, UT (US);
Abstract
Apparatus, methods, and systems for deflecting a vehicle wheel away from a foot well to reduce the chances for intrusion into the foot well during certain collisions, such as foot well intruding impact events. In some embodiments, the system may comprise an expandable structure comprising a rigid material. The expandable structure may be configured to be positioned in a wheel well of a vehicle and may be configured to actuate from a first, contracted configuration to a second, expanded configuration, and to deflect a vehicle wheel away from a foot well of the vehicle during an impact event to reduce the chances of the vehicle wheel entering the foot well during the impact event. The system may further comprise an inflator configured to deliver a fluid to the expandable structure during actuation so as to expand the expandable structure from the first configuration to the second configuration.