Patents Assigned to ITW Automotive Products GmbH & Co. KG
  • Patent number: 7971797
    Abstract: A thermostatic valve comprising a valve head and a flat, annular, elastomeric sealing element at the valve head, a valve spring mechanically biasing the valve member against a valve seat and a temperature-sensitive expansible element the valve member displacing the valve member against the valve spring, characterized by the valve head comprising at its circumference an annular groove, the flat annular sealing element being stamped out of an elastomer which swells in the presence of water, in particular an EPDM material, and exhibiting a thickness which is equal to or slightly less than the width of the annular groove.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2011
    Assignee: ITW Automotive Products GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Rolf Habermann, Martin Rosenbecker
  • Patent number: 7963455
    Abstract: A thermostatted valve used in an internal combustion engine and comprising a housing fitted with at least three ports, namely an engine port to communicate with the engine cooling system, a radiator port to communicate with the radiator, and a bypass port to communicate with a bypass, further comprising a hollow, spherical valve element supported pivotably about a pivot axis within the housing between two end positions, said valve element being fitted with at least two apertures of which one permanently communicates with the engine port and the other is situated in a plane substantially perpendicular to said pivot axis, further comprising a temperature sensor controlled valve element drive, characterized in that the axes of all ports are configured in planes that are approximately perpendicular to the pivot axis of the valve element, in that the valve element is approximately a spherical segment or a laminar sphere of which the open side communicates permanently with the engine port, further that the valve el
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2011
    Assignee: ITW Automotive Products GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Carsten Heldberg, Thomas Bäther
  • Publication number: 20110139779
    Abstract: A filling neck to feed fuel into a motor vehicle tank using a filling nozzle, exhibiting the following features: a slotted drive ring comprising an insertion portion conically tapering toward the vehicle fuel tank, the cross-sectional constriction being less than the filling nozzle's cross-section; the drive ring, facing the fuel tank comprises, on at least one side of said gap, a locking segment; the drive ring is configured in floating manner in a cup-shaped housing portion of the filling neck, the outside diameter of said ring being less than the inside diameter of the cup-shaped housing portion; a sealing element is associated with the distal end of the drive ring, blocking access to the tank in its closed position; the drive ring's locking segment engages and keeps the sealing element in the locked position, and moves into the open position when said drive ring is expanded by the filling nozzle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2009
    Publication date: June 16, 2011
    Applicant: ITW AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTS GMBH & CO. KG
    Inventor: Manfred Muller
  • Patent number: 7950425
    Abstract: A filler neck an actuation ring (16) having a slot (18) and an entrance portion which is conically narrowed towards the tank, the most narrow cross-section of the entrance portion being smaller than the diameter of a diesel-nozzle and larger than that of an otto-nozzle the actuation ring (16) has an actuation portion at the end facing the tank at least on one side of the slot a closing mechanism is associated with the end of the actuation ring facing the tank and designed such that in closing position thereof it stops the otto nozzle inserted into the actuation ring and the actuation portion of the actuation ring engages the closing mechanism, whereby the closing mechanism is moved from the closing position into an opened position by the actuation portion if the actuation ring is radially expanded by the diesel-nozzle inserted into the actuation ring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2011
    Assignee: ITW Automotive Products GmbH & Co KG
    Inventor: Roland Och
  • Publication number: 20110101758
    Abstract: A guide sleeve for support bar of a motor vehicle seatback headrest, comprising a hollow, plastic tube fitted with an axial passage and comprising at its upper end an integral flange segment through which runs the tube's axial passage, further a slider guided in sliding manner in a flange segment aperture perpendicularly to the axis of said passage, and fitted with an external grip and an axial continuous passage which can be aligned with the stem's axial passage respectively the flange segment's aperture, the slider moreover comprising a locking segment which may be made to engage with or disengage from a snap-in notch of the support bar as a function of slider position, further with spring elements acting on the slider and biasing it toward the snap-in notches, said spring elements being constituted by a resilient, integral slider segment resting against a wall segment of the aperture.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 5, 2008
    Publication date: May 5, 2011
    Applicant: ITW AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTS GMBH & CO. KG
    Inventors: Alberto Lardies, Olga Arenillas
  • Publication number: 20110099763
    Abstract: An external, automobile door handle system including an elongated grip manually accessible from the door outside and fitted at its ends with support protrusions, a first support protrusion resting pivotably at a support connected to the door structure and the second support protrusion being operationally linked to a swivel lever, the swivel lever being connected by a linkage or a cable to a door lock in a manner that said lock shall be opened when the grip is pulled out of the rest position into an open position. The automobile door handle system also includes a centrifugal weight which is supported displaceably in a similarly direction as the grip.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2009
    Publication date: May 5, 2011
    Applicant: ITW AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTS GMBH & CO. KG
    Inventor: Angelo Bertolotti
  • Publication number: 20110017732
    Abstract: An automobile fuel-tank tube comprising a tube body made of a first plastic and fitted at one end with means for its affixation to an automobile body opening, further comprising a base integrally shaped with said tube body and made of a second plastic softer than the first and including an aperture to receive in sealing manner a comparatively hard filling pipe, a reinforcing section being integrated into the base and also consists of the first plastic and counteracts radial and/or circumferential deformation of said base.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 7, 2009
    Publication date: January 27, 2011
    Applicant: ITW AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTS GMBH & CO. KG
    Inventor: Jurgen Herzig
  • Patent number: 7862274
    Abstract: A fastener to affix a component in a support fitted with an aperture, comprising an affixation casing of resilient plastic, further a hollow conical shell, and at one end a radial flange that cooperates in sealing manner with the support surface facing it when the affixation casing has been mounted in said aperture, the casing being fitted peripherally with radial bosses, ribs or the like that engage from below the aperture rim when the affixation casing, being temporarily deformed radially at its bosses, ribs or the like is being inserted into said aperture, further comprising a plastic core which is fitted with a head and which can be inserted from the affixation casing's flanged end into the core cavity and which radially expands the casing and prevents it from being removable from the aperture, characterized by at least one radially inwardly pointing boss on the wall of the casing cavity and by the core being fitted at its end with a preferably peripheral groove that is entered by said boss when the core
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2011
    Assignee: ITW Automotive Products GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Alexander Limpert, Udo Henkelmann
  • Publication number: 20100263854
    Abstract: A heat exchanger for an internal combustion engine's cooling system, said heat exchanger comprising a main and an auxiliary circuit and comprising two separated regions, one large region communicating by means of a first radiator tank with the main cooling circuit and the other, small region communicating by means of a second radiator tank with the auxiliary cooling circuit, characterized in that the radiator tanks may communicate with each other through a connection aperture receiving a controlled closing element and in that a drive acting on said closing element is used to selectively open or close the said connection aperture.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 3, 2007
    Publication date: October 21, 2010
    Applicant: ITW AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTS GMBH & CO. KG
    Inventors: Mario Eckmann, Martin Rosenbecker, Bernd Seiler
  • Patent number: 7802762
    Abstract: A retainer for a conduit, cable or the like, preferably a fluid conduit in an automobile, includes a retainer body having attaching portions to be mounted to an automobile body part, damping portions for dampening conduit vibrations, an insertion portion that constricts from the outside to the inside, and a receiving portion for the conduit. The retainer body is integrally molded of a plastic material. The receiving portion has three or more engaging portions which are arranged circumferentially of and engage the conduit and which are connected by resilient arms to the retainer body in a manner that, in the event of conduit vibrations, the resilient arms shall yield easily and elastically like leaf springs in all axial and radial directions and shall decouple the vibration-induced forces from the automobile body part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2010
    Assignee: ITW Automotive Products GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Christian Willrich Bauer
  • Publication number: 20100194167
    Abstract: A plastic headrest sleeve receiving a headrest rod and comprising a tube fitted at its top end with a flange within which a slider is displaceably supported between a locked position, wherein it locks the headrest rod, and a release position, the wall of the said tube being fitted between its ends with at least one resilient clamping segment, a spring being mounted on the tube outside and biasing the resilient segment toward the tube inside, and a drive element displaceably resting on the tube, said drive element being operationally connected to the slider and the clamping segment in a manner that the spring's action on the clamping segment shall be reduced or eliminated when the slider is displaced into the release position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2008
    Publication date: August 5, 2010
    Applicant: ITW AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTS GMBH & CO. KG
    Inventor: Matthias Gans
  • Patent number: 7757960
    Abstract: A thermostat valve for a cooling system of a combustion engine, comprising a disc-shaped valve member, having a sealing portion and biased by a spring against an annular valve seat provided in a valve housing, a thermal extension element (DWE) within the valve housing which acts on the valve member opposite to the valve spring, characterized in that the valve member includes two separate parts, the first part being an annular member having an outer annular sealing portion and an inner annular sealing portion, the outer sealing portion cooperating with the valve seat and the second part being a plug-shaped member and extending through the annular member, the plug-shaped member having an outer annular sealing portion which in the closed position of the plug-shaped member cooperates with the inner sealing portion of the annular member, the plug-shaped member cooperating with the thermal extension element (DWE) and being structured such that upon an initial movement of the plug-shaped member by the thermal extens
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2010
    Assignee: ITW Automotive Products GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Carsten Heldberg
  • Publication number: 20100171324
    Abstract: An automobile inside door-actuation device comprising a housing which can be assembled to the door's frame and a drive lever pivotably supported inside the housing on pivot pins, characterized in that the drive lever, the pivot pins and the housing are molded from plastic(s) by two-component injection molding into one unit, the properties of the selected plastics being such that the mutually displaceable parts do not bond to each other during injection molding.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 23, 2007
    Publication date: July 8, 2010
    Applicant: ITW AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTS GMBH & CO. KG
    Inventor: Uwe Stapf
  • Publication number: 20100111638
    Abstract: A plastic, undetachable anchor (10) to affix a component (52) to a support (54), comprising a rectangular affixing aperture (56), the anchor comprising a resilient, flange-like head (12), a hollow shank (16) subtending an axis and connected at one end to the head (12) and receiving an affixation screw (20), further resilient detent arms (40,42) connected to the shank end away from the head (14), where the detent arms (40,42) running obliquely outward toward the head (14) are fitted at their free ends with a detent shoulder (44) engaging { in the assembled state—an edge of an affixation aperture (56) facing them in order to secure the anchor (10) against being pulled out of the affixation aperture (56).
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2008
    Publication date: May 6, 2010
    Applicant: ITW AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTS GMBH & CO. KG
    Inventor: Thomas Rueckel
  • Publication number: 20100072680
    Abstract: An injection molding method to manufacture hollow plastic parts, whereby at least one plastic part's hollow is shaped by evacuating an internal portion of the flowable material of an injection mold's cavity (12) using a pressurized gas and a gate of said mold (10) and thereupon the molded article's aperture so made shall be sealed off, characterized in that, following said flowable material's being removed from a blind duct (24) into a gate branched to it and after being partly forced back into said hollow, said molded article shall be elected from the injection mold (10).
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 27, 2007
    Publication date: March 25, 2010
    Applicant: ITW AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTS GMBH & CO. KG
    Inventor: Elmar Fries
  • Patent number: 7658350
    Abstract: A retaining member for holding and supporting an elongated element from a support includes a base portion and a holding portion. The base portion is attachable to the support. The holding portion is connected to the base portion and has a recess for holding the elongated element therein. The recess includes a tubular portion and a plurality of spaced ribs extending radially inwardly from the tubular portion to have different radial heights.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2010
    Assignee: ITW Automotive Products GmbH & Co KG
    Inventor: Christian Bauer
  • Publication number: 20090302254
    Abstract: A valve operating means defined by the following features: a slider supported in axially displaceable manner in a housing and linked by an actuation segment to the valve, a first biasing spring configured in the housing and pre-stressing the slider against a first stop, an expansible element configured in the housing and being displaceably supported in approximately coaxial manner relative to the slider between a second and a third stop, a second biasing spring acting on the expansible element and prestressing said element against the second stop, said configuration allowing cooperation between the expansible element's drive pin and the slider, a heater associated to the expansible element, a heat dissipating element associated with the expansible element and cooling the expansible element when latter rests against the third stop, the force exerted by the first biasing spring being larger than that of the second biasing spring.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2007
    Publication date: December 10, 2009
    Applicant: ITW AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTS GMBH & CO. KG
    Inventors: Torsten Hauk, Rolf Habermann, Carsten Heldberg
  • Patent number: 7621707
    Abstract: A fastener, for connecting a first component having a first hole to a second component having a second hole, includes a cage which is fitted at its end with a radial flange and further a cross-sectionally rectangular or square shank segment. This shank segment is insertable into the second hole of the second component, for resting against the associated side of the second component. A nut is at least partly axially received in the cage and is rotatable from a first rotational position in the cage into a second rotational position. The nut has an axial borehole to receive an affixation screw and also comprises at its outside the diametrically opposite wing elements, where, upon rotation of the nut from the first into the second rotational position, the wing elements will be pulled on account of the affixation screw's rotation in the nut against the other side of the second component, with a head of the affixation screw resting against the first component and compressing latter against the cage flange.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2009
    Assignee: ITW Automotive Products GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Albert Sbongk
  • Patent number: 7618078
    Abstract: In a fuel flap, a first fastening element is attached to a hinge arm. The hinge arm has a second fastening element co-acting with the first fastening element in order to attach the fuel flap to the hinge arm at a predetermined position. The first fastening element includes at least two approximately parallel fastening ribs, at least one of the ribs having two spaced holes and the other has at least one hole, with the axes of the holes being parallel. The second fastening element includes at least three projections having a cross-section complementary to that of the holes. A resilient portion is formed to the hinge arm which upon engagement of the projection in holes is temporarily deformed and after the engagement of the projections in the holes is deformed back and cooperates with a locking portion of the fuel flap so that the fuel flap is secured.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2009
    Assignee: ITW Automotive Products GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Robert Gerner
  • Patent number: 7618088
    Abstract: An automobile hood bumper includes a sleeve-like seat fitted with an axial passage and an external thread that can be screwed into a hole of a sheet-like support, an upper segment having a rest head and a shank. A connection member joins the shank to the seat to release said shank when an axial force acting on the upper segment exceeds a predetermined magnitude, whereby the shank moves into the axial passage until the rest head comes to rest at the associated end of said seat. A deceleration element is configured at the outside of the shank and/or in the axial passage to generate a decelerating force by friction and/or by elastic/plastic deformation and to decelerate the penetration of the shank into the axial passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2009
    Assignee: ITW Automotive Products GmbH & Co KG
    Inventor: Christian Willrich Bauer