Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090292424 | VEHICLE ROLLOVER DETECTION - A system and method for detecting a rollover of a vehicle that includes at least one wheel reaction force sensing device for transmitting wheel reaction force signals indicative of an amount of force exerted on at least one wheel of the vehicle is provided. The system includes a controller operably coupled to the at least one wheel reaction force sensing device and including at least one accelerometer sensor for transmitting acceleration signals. The controller is configured to determine a first force index in response to the wheel reaction force signals, determine a first lateral acceleration of the vehicle in response to the acceleration signals, compare the first force index to a threshold force index and the first lateral acceleration to a threshold lateral acceleration, and deploy a restraint system based on the comparison. | 11-26-2009 |
20100237661 | VEHICLE BODY STRUCTURE - A vehicle body structure having improved roof support characteristics is provided. The structure includes a roof rail integral to an A-pillar and a support pillar. The structure further includes a cross member. The A-pillar includes an inner surface, an outer surface, and a wall therebetween. The roof rail extends downwardly at a front end of the roof rail and extends downwardly at a rear end of the roof rail. The roof rail is integral to a one piece hollow A-pillar at the front end of the roof rail. The support pillar also includes an inner surface, an outer surface, and a wall therebetween. The support pillar also includes a tubular lower section that extends upwardly from the rocker. The upper section of the support pillar is integral to the rear end of the roof rail. | 09-23-2010 |
20110320091 | VEHICLE ROLLOVER DETECTION - A system and method for detecting a rollover of a vehicle that includes at least one wheel reaction force sensing device for transmitting wheel reaction force signal indicative of an amount of force exerted on at least one wheel of the vehicle is provided. The system includes a controller operably coupled to the at least one wheel reaction force sensing device and including at least one accelerometer sensor for transmitting the acceleration signal. The controller is configured to determine a first force index in response to the wheel reaction force signal, determine a first lateral acceleration of the vehicle in response to the acceleration signal, compare the first force index to a threshold force index and the first lateral acceleration to a threshold lateral acceleration, and deploy a restraint system based on the comparison. | 12-29-2011 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20110233947 | Zero Stack-Up Telescopically Collapsible Energy Absorbing Rail and Bracket Assembly - An energy absorbing assembly for a vehicle that has a bumper and a frame. A receptacle is defined within the frame. A collapsible member is provided between the bumper and a recessed location spaced away from the bumper in the receptacle. The collapsible member may collapse at least partially into the receptacle in the event of a collision. | 09-29-2011 |
20120133177 | ENERGY MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE - An energy management structure for a vehicle may include a first longitudinal rail, a second longitudinal rail joined to the first longitudinal by at least a cross member and a bumper beam. A bumper panel is further provided wherein the bumper panel may be affixed to the bumper beam. The first deflecting rail includes a first front end and a first rear end. The first front end may be affixed to the bumper panel and the first rear end may be affixed to the cross member proximate to the first longitudinal rail. The second deflecting rail includes a second front end and a second rear end. The second front end may be affixed to the bumper panel and the second rear end may be affixed to the cross member proximate to the second longitudinal rail. | 05-31-2012 |
20120161476 | VEHICLE BODY STRUCTURE - A vehicle body structure having improved roof strength and reduced weight is provided. The vehicle body structure includes a first roof rail, a second roof rail, a first rocker rail and a second rocker rail. A closed-section roof bow may join the first roof rail and the second roof rail. The closed roof bow is substantially perpendicular to the first and second roof rails. A B-Pillar may be provided for each of the first roof rail and the second roof rail. Each B-Pillar defines a B-Pillar hinge joint and each A-Pillar defines an A-Pillar hinge joint between the roof end and the cowl end. A cowl may also be provided which may be disposed substantially perpendicular to the first and second roof rails. The cowl may be coupled to the first and second roof rails via the A-Pillar corresponding to the first roof rail and the A-Pillar for the second roof rail. | 06-28-2012 |
20120209575 | Method and System for Model Validation for Dynamic Systems Using Bayesian Principal Component Analysis - A method and system for assessing the accuracy and validity of a computer model constructed to simulate a multivariate complex dynamic system. The method and system exploit a probabilistic principal component analysis method along with Bayesian statistics, thereby taking into account the uncertainty and the multivariate correlation in multiple response quantities. It enables a system analyst to objectively quantify the confidence of computer models/simulations, thus providing rational, objective decision-making support for model assessment. The validation methodology has broad applications for models of any type of dynamic system. In a disclosed example, it is used in a vehicle safety application. | 08-16-2012 |
20130069395 | Roof Structure for a Vehicle With No Center Pillar - A vehicle roof system enabling elimination of the B-pillar is disclosed. A particular aspect of the invention is to transfer vertical roof loads onto an enhanced rear structure of the vehicle. An additional aspect of the invention is to employ a rear upper cap reinforcement to directly assume roof crush loads applied at front of the vehicle during testing. A specific load transfer mechanism is disclosed. Vertical roof crush force applied near the front of the vehicle is transferred into both a torsional load upon a rear header of the vehicle, and a bending moment upon the C-pillar of the vehicle. | 03-21-2013 |
20130140850 | LIGHTWEIGHT VEHICLE BEAM - Several different cross sections of beam having more than four sides are disclosed that may form a central portion of a beam having end portions that have four sides. The end portions of the beams may be received by frame rails. The central portion of the beam between the frame rails may be formed with more than four sides. The additional sides may be recessed beads or protruding ribs. Beams having arcuate recesses or arcuate ribs may be provided on the central portion of the beam. The end portions of the beams may extend outboard of the frame rails. The ribs or beads on the central portion of the beam may provide equivalent performance to four-sided beams having considerably thicker walls. Weight reduction is achieved because the central portion is made of a thinner material while retaining strength by forming beads or ribs in the central portion. | 06-06-2013 |
20130181481 | FRANGIBLE CONNECTOR FOR A VEHICLE - A frangible vehicle sub-frame joint between a sub-frame and compartment pan. The sub-frame defines a clearance area forward of a collar. In a collision event, the collar is separated into a breakaway portion and a portion that is retained by the sub-frame. The breakaway portion breaks into a clearance area defined in front of the frame joint when the sub-frame is subjected to a front end impact. | 07-18-2013 |
20140095132 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR RATING COMPUTER MODEL RELATIVE TO EMPIRICAL RESULTS FOR DYNAMIC SYSTEMS - An objective metric for a computer model of a dynamic system includes time-shifting computer generated data relative to empirical test data and computing an associated cross-correlation for each time shifted data set, determining phase and slope errors and scores based on the time shifted data set that provides a maximum cross-correlation, determining a magnitude error and score by performing dynamic time warping on the maximum cross-correlation time shifted data set using a cost function based only on distance. The metric is a weighted combination of the magnitude, phase, and slope scored. An auto-calibration of metric parameters may include comparison of subjective ratings stored in a corresponding database in a computer readable storage device that includes data representing similarity between representative empirical data sets and computer generated data sets. Metric parameters may be tuned or optimized so that the objective metric corresponds to subjective ratings by subject matter experts. | 04-03-2014 |
20140246880 | Integrated Shotgun Rail Deflector - A shotgun rail, or deflector, is provided as part of a front end structure of a vehicle. The shotgun rail includes a triangular shaped bulkhead having a front surface disposed at an oblique angle relative to the front of a vehicle and a rear surface that is disposed at an oblique angle relative to the rear of the vehicle. A laterally facing surface of the bulkhead is attached to a frame rail. Loads resulting from an impact with a small offset rigid barrier are distributed between longitudinal load paths and lateral load paths through the shotgun rails, frame rails, and sub-frame. | 09-04-2014 |
20140338996 | VEHICLE UNDERBODY STRUCTURE - A vehicle underbody structure includes a pair of longitudinal rails. A tunnel is spaced between the longitudinal rails. A number of nonintrusive support members span between the tunnel and the longitudinal rails. The support members have a hoop shape that surrounds an enclosed area. The hoop shape of the nonintrusive support members is adapted to deform into the enclosed area for preventing a side impact force from damaging the tunnel. | 11-20-2014 |
20150021935 | COLLISION DEFLECTOR ASSEMBLY - A vehicle frame is provided having a frame. The frame includes a main rail and a lateral rail. A bracket is operably coupled to the main rail. The vehicle frame assembly also includes a wedged shape deflecting member. The wedged shape deflecting member has a first end which is operably coupled to the bracket and a second end which is operable between a standard use position and a collision event position. The standard use position is where the second end is spaced a predetermined distance from the main rail. The collision event position is when the second end is in abutting contact with the main rail. During a collision event, the second end moves from the standard use position to the collision event position such that the deflecting member absorbs and deflects energy imparted on the frame. | 01-22-2015 |
20150021936 | SLIDING DEFLECTOR ASSEMBLY - A vehicle frame assembly is provided comprising a main rail. The vehicle frame assembly also includes a deflector assembly which has a front member having an inboard end pivotally coupled to the main rail and an outboard end. Moreover, the deflector assembly includes a rear member having an inboard end slidably coupled to the main rail and an outboard end pivotally coupled to the outboard end of the front member. Additionally, a tension member is disposed between the inboard ends of the front member and the rear member. The deflector assembly is operable between a normal use position wherein the tension member is slack and a collision position wherein the tension member is taut. | 01-22-2015 |
20150048636 | ENERGY ABSORBING APPARATUS FOR A BUMPER RAIL - A collision energy absorption apparatus and a vehicle front end structure including the apparatus. The apparatus is welded to a bumper beam and is laterally adjacent a longitudinally extending member disposed behind the bumper beam. The apparatus has a central body having a front edge attached to the bumper beam and a rear edge that is spaced from the bumper beam and the longitudinally extending member. Upper and lower triangular walls extend between the central body and the longitudinally extending member. A rib extends laterally outwardly from the central body. | 02-19-2015 |
20150061306 | Cable and Outrigger for Minimizing Intrusions in a Small Offset Rigid Barrier Collision - A collision countermeasure apparatus for a small offset rigid barrier test. The collision countermeasure apparatus includes a cable that is attached between an outrigger and a forward end of a frame rail assembly. The cable reduces the extent of intrusions into the passenger compartment of the vehicle. | 03-05-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20120080888 | SELF-SUSTAINING ELECTRIC-POWER GENERATOR UTILIZING ELECTRONS OF LOW INERTIAL MASS TO MAGNIFY INDUCTIVE ENERGY - Electrical oscillations in a metallic “sending coil” radiate inductive photons toward one or more “energy-magnifying coils” comprised of a photoconductor or doped semiconductor coating a metallic conductor, or comprised of a superconductor. Electrons of low inertial mass in the energy-magnifying coil(s) receive from the sending coil a transverse force having no in-line backforce, which exempts this force from the energy-conservation rule. The low-mass electrons in the energy-magnifying coil(s) receive increased acceleration proportional to normal electron mass divided by the lesser mass. Secondarily radiated inductive-photon energy is magnified proportionally to the electrons' greater acceleration, squared. E.g., the inductive-energy-magnification factor of CdSe photoelectrons with 0.13× normal electron mass is 59×. Magnified inductive-photon energy from the energy-magnifying coil(s) induces oscillating electric energy in one or more metallic “output coil(s).” The electric energy output exceeds energy input if more of the magnified photon-induction energy is directed toward the output coil(s) than is directed as a counter force to the sending coil. After an external energy source initiates the oscillations, feedback from the generated surplus energy makes the device a self-sustaining generator of electric power for useful purposes. | 04-05-2012 |
20120112305 | SEMICONDUCTOR-METAL COIL UNITS AND ELECTRICAL APPARATUS COMPRISING SAME - Coil units are disclosed for use in electrical circuits. An exemplary coil unit comprises a rigid substrate having an electrically non-conductive three-dimensional (3-D) surface. At least one 3-D coil (shaped, for example, as a helical coil) of semiconductor material is formed on the substrate surface. Disposed on the at least one coil of semiconductor material is a 3-D coil of a conductive metal. The coil of conductive metal is situated sufficiently closely to the at least one coil of semiconductor material for the coil of conductive metal to produce Coulombic drag in the at least one coil of semiconductor material when the coils are conductive of low-mass electrons. The semiconductor material can be a photoconductor or other material that has conductive low-mass electrons. | 05-10-2012 |
20140159845 | SELF-SUSTAINING ELECTRIC-POWER GENERATOR UTILIZING ELECTRONS OF LOW INERTIAL MASS TO MAGNIFY INDUCTIVE - Electrical oscillations in a “sending coil” radiate inductive photons toward one or more “energy-magnifying coils” comprised of a photoconductor, doped semiconductor, or a superconductor. Electrons of low inertial mass in the energy-magnifying coil(s) receive from the sending coil a transverse force having no in-line backforce. The low-mass electrons in the energy-magnifying coil(s) receive acceleration proportional to normal electron mass divided by the lower mass. Secondarily radiated inductive-photon energy is magnified proportionally to the electrons' greater acceleration, squared. Magnified inductive-photon energy from the energy-magnifying coil(s) induces oscillating electric energy in one or more “output coil(s).” The electric energy output exceeds energy input if more of the photon-induction energy is directed toward the output coil(s) than as a counter force to the sending coil. After initiating the oscillations, the generation of electric power becomes self-sustaining. | 06-12-2014 |