Patents
US 11820306 B2: System and method for dampening impact to a vehicle
- Granted
- 2023-11-21
- Filed
- 2021-05-24 application 17327896
- Type
- Utility · 18 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for dampening impact to a vehicle. The system may include a vehicle frame component; a plurality of adjustable exterior vehicle body components coupled to the frame component, wherein the vehicle body components are on different sides of a vehicle and are configurable to dampen an external force exerted on the vehicle; a plurality of actuator components configured to adjust physical configurations of the vehicle body components relative to the frame component; a component configured to collect data representing an external environment of the vehicle; and one or more processors configured to detect, by processing the data, an external driving condition, wherein the external driving condition is an impending collision between the vehicle and one or more objects external to the vehicle, and when the external driving condition is detected, cause the actuator components to correspondingly adjust the physical configurations of the vehicle body components.
Source: PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 (ipg231121.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company 2,604 patents | US company or organization | Bloomington, IL | STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE CO Form D issuer FUZZY medium confidence: same name (legal endings aside) and state | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott T. Christensen | Salem, OR | 254 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Brian Mark Fields | Normal, IL | 287 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Stephen R. Prevatt | Normal, IL | 20 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Steve Roberson | Normal, IL | 77 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| B60R | Vehicles, vehicle fittings, or vehicle parts, not otherwise provided for | B60R19/00 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| B60W | Conjoint control of vehicle sub-units of different type or different function; control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles; road vehicle drive control systems for purposes not related to the control of a particular sub-unit | B60W30/08 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
| Recorded | What | From | To | Reel/frame | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-05-26 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | PREVATT, STEPHEN R. signed 2018-04-27 ROBERSON, STEVE signed 2018-04-27 CHRISTENSEN, SCOTT T. signed 2018-05-30 FIELDS, BRIAN M. signed 2018-05-30 | STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY BLOOMINGTON, IL | 56353/916 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
Documents recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch that list this patent. A security interest is a lender’s claim on the patent as collateral; a release ends it.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.