Patents
US 12746887 B2: Systems and methods for restraining a passenger via a variable-stiffness blanket
- Granted
- 2026-09-29
- Filed
- 2024-03-04 application 18594366
- Type
- Utility · 20 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
A passenger restraint system includes a sealed blanket. The sealed blanket is draped over a passenger. The passenger restraint system also includes a set of variable-stiffness material layers disposed within the sealed blanket. The variable-stiffness material layers have a flexible state and a rigid state. An anchor system is attached to the sealed blanket to fasten the sealed blanket to an interior cabin of a vehicle and a vacuum pump pulls a vacuum within the sealed blanket and transitions the variable-stiffness material layers from the flexible state to the rigid state.
Source: PTBLXML, file of 2026-09-29 (ipgb20260929.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. 4,290 patents | US company or organization | Plano, TX | Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. State business registration EXACT high confidence: identical full name and state | PTBLXML, file of 2026-09-29 |
| Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha 30,553 patents | Foreign company or organization | Toyota, JP | PTBLXML, file of 2026-09-29 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuyang Song | Ann Arbor, MI | 38 | PTBLXML, file of 2026-09-29 | |
| Shinnosuke Shimokawa | Ann Arbor, MI | 12 | PTBLXML, file of 2026-09-29 | |
| Phouvadol P. Khouphongsy | Saline, MI | 13 | PTBLXML, file of 2026-09-29 | |
| Umesh N. Gandhi | Farmington Hills, MI | 122 | PTBLXML, file of 2026-09-29 | |
| Koray Benli | Ann Arbor, MI | PTBLXML, file of 2026-09-29 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| B60R | Vehicles, vehicle fittings, or vehicle parts, not otherwise provided for | B60R22/14 | PTBLXML, file of 2026-09-29 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
| Recorded | What | From | To | Reel/frame | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-20 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC. signed 2026-10-16 | TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOYOTA-SHI, AICHI-KEN | 76434/826 | PASDL, file of 2026-10-22 |
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.