Systems and methods for restraining a passenger via a variable-stiffness blanket
AssigneesToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsYuyang Song, Shinnosuke Shimokawa, Phouvadol P. Khouphongsy, Umesh N. Gandhi, Koray Benli
Life of this patent
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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.
Claims20
A passenger restraint system, comprising:
- a sealed blanket configured to extend over a passenger;
- a set of variable-stiffness material layers disposed within the sealed blanket, the set of variable-stiffness material layers having a flexible state and a rigid state;
- an anchor system attached to the sealed blanket to fasten the sealed blanket to an interior cabin of a vehicle;
- and
- a vacuum pump to pull a vacuum within the sealed blanket and transition the variable-stiffness material layers from the flexible state to the rigid state.
A passenger restraint system, comprising:
- a sealed blanket configured to extend over a passenger;
- an anchor system attached to the sealed blanket to fasten the sealed blanket to an interior cabin of a vehicle;
- a set of variable-stiffness material layers disposed within the sealed blanket;
- a sensor in the vehicle to detect a triggering event;
- and
- a vacuum pump to, responsive to the triggering event, pull a vacuum within the sealed blanket to transition the set of variable-stiffness material layers from a flexible state to a rigid state.
A method, comprising:
- detecting, with a sensor of a vehicle, a triggering event for a passenger restraint system of the vehicle;
- and
- responsive to detecting the triggering event, pulling a vacuum on an anchored sealed blanket of the passenger restraint system to transition a set of variable-stiffness material layers within the anchored sealed blanket from a flexible state to a rigid state.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.