Patents Examined by Richard W L Ridley
  • Patent number: 7571659
    Abstract: A starting apparatus of a small-sized engine includes: a cylindrical cam; a drive gear connected to the cylindrical cam coaxially, wherein: whereas the drive gear is made to be connected to a rope reel by ratchet claws, the drive gear is made to be connected to a cell motor by at least two pieces of reduction gears; and a reduction gear in the reduction gears brought in mesh with the drive gear is divided into a small diameter gear portion and a large diameter gear portion to be arranged coaxially, side faces of the small and the large diameter gear portion opposed to each other are formed with engaging claws engaged with each other only in one direction, and the small and the large diameter gear portion are urged as the two side faces are brought into contact with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2009
    Assignee: Starting Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshinori Horikoshi
  • Patent number: 7571661
    Abstract: A shifter assembly includes a base having top and bottom surfaces. A shift lever is coupled to the base. A light box includes top and bottom surfaces and is disposed about the base. The light box includes a lever slot formed through the top surface for receiving the shift lever. The light box also includes a travel guide. At least one spring is disposed between the top surface of the base and the bottom surface of the light box for biasing the light box from the base. A release member is disposed in the travel guide and is also releasably coupled to the base. The release member is adapted to contact the shift lever to initiate movement of the light box from a starting position to a final position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2009
    Assignee: Dura Global Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Chad A. Blondeel, Norman D. Rezmer, Scott B. Fugate
  • Patent number: 7568988
    Abstract: A preferred embodiment of the invention described herein includes a method and apparatus for providing a seal between at least the outer sidebar and pin bushing of a chain link assembly. The apparatus includes a seal having an outer collar and an inner resilient ring, the outer collar preferably having a mating ridge and the resilient ring being molded onto the collar. This seal also includes outer ribs for providing a sealed contact against the outer sidebar, and may include inner ribs. The seal is part of a chain link assembly positioned between the outer and inner sidebars and surrounding a pin bushing end. A fluid (e.g., grease) may be advantageously placed between the ribs, lubricating the rib—sidebar interface and thereby reducing wear of the ribs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2009
    Assignee: Jeffrey Chain Corporation
    Inventor: Dennis L. Moore
  • Patent number: 7568407
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a pedal apparatus for a vehicle, which makes it possible to reduce the driver's fatigue by reducing the pedal effort when operating the pedal arm and also allows the driver to be able to easily recognize the maximum operational position of the pedal arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2009
    Assignee: Donghee Industrial Co. Ltd.
    Inventors: Kyungmin Kim, Hojong Oh, Wonyoung Heo
  • Patent number: 7562602
    Abstract: A gearshift lever with a reverse gear lock-out, having a manual gearshift lever with a gearshift knob, beneath which are placed the control line sheath, the ball, an elbow lever, and the transmission mechanism to actuate reverse gear. There is a lever of the reverse gear lock-out that can pivot around a pin in the housing, on which the transmission mechanism acts, and that blocks the motion of the elbow lever. The elbow lever has one shaft that can pivot on the housing and another shaft that receives a selector finger of the ball.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2009
    Assignee: Teleflex Automative Germany GmbH
    Inventors: Bohuslav Blascok, Martin Knagge
  • Patent number: 7562595
    Abstract: A sliding device for use with a variety of machines is reduced in overall length, thereby being compact in construction. The sliding device has a drive train enclosure made airtight and is acceptable for use in a clean environment. The sliding device includes an elongated sliding unit enclosure of airtight construction, a sliding table and a driving motor that is coupled to the drive train enclosure in parallel with the sliding unit enclosure. The drive train enclosure receives a drive train to carry power from the driving motor to the sliding table. The drive train enclosure is mounted with the driving motor while maintaining airtightness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2009
    Assignee: Nippon Thompson Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Masataka Kato
  • Patent number: 7555969
    Abstract: A first elastic body actuator and a second elastic body actuator are used for driving a first configuration member and a second configuration member to swing them with respect to each other. One end portion of the first elastic body actuator is secured to the first configuration member and the other end portion of the first elastic body actuator is secured to the second configuration member, and one end portion of the second elastic body actuator is secured to the first configuration member and the other end portion of the second elastic body actuator is secured to the second configuration member, such that the position at which the other end portion of the second elastic body actuator is secured to the second configuration member and the position at which the one end portion of the first elastic body actuator is secured to the second configuration member are substantially symmetric about a rotational joint.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2009
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventor: Yasunao Okazaki
  • Patent number: 7552656
    Abstract: An intermediate geared starter is provided, which has a pinion shaft, a pinion gear, an intermediate shaft, an intermediate gear, and a housing. The pinion shaft is rotatable upon receipt of a rotational force from a motor and the pinion gear is supported on the pinion shaft. The intermediate shaft is disposed in parallel to the pinion shaft and the intermediate gear is carried by the intermediate shaft and held in meshing engagement with the pinion gear at all times. Further, the housing has a through-bore, to which the intermediate shaft is inserted, which supports one end of the intermediate shaft inserted to the through-bore. The housing has a seal member adapted to block a sliding clearance, which is created between the through-bore and an axial distal end of the intermediate shaft, from the outside of the starter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2009
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventor: Shinya Miyake
  • Patent number: 7553087
    Abstract: A rotation sensor assembly includes an encoder, mounted on one end of an inner member of a bearing, and a rotation sensor fitted to one end of an outer member of the bearing in face-to-face relation with the encoder. A cylindrical wall of a core metal of the encoder press-fitted onto the inner member has a cylindrical extension protruding axially outwardly from one end of the cylindrical wall. A displacement sensor assembly includes a pair of displacement sensors provided in face-to-face relation with the cylindrical extension and spaced equidistantly from each other in a circumferential direction. The rotation sensor is positioned between the displacement sensors in the circumferential direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2009
    Assignee: NTN Corporation
    Inventors: Kenichi Iwamoto, Ken Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 7549353
    Abstract: A vehicular shift lever device wherein a path of movement of a shift lever is defined by a guide slot having a corner portion which has an angle of bend of about 90° and which corresponds to an intermediate position of the shift lever that is spaced apart from a parking position in a select direction and from another operating position in a shift direction perpendicular to the select direction, the guide slot having a first guide surface and a second guide surface which define a width in the shift direction of a portion of the guide slot between first and second positions respectively corresponding to the parking and intermediate positions, the first guide surface being more distant in the shift direction than the second guide surface from a third position corresponding to the another operating position, and being inclined with respect to the select direction such that the width of the above-indicated portion of the guide slot decreases from a value at the first position which is larger than a diameter of the
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2009
    Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Mannoh Kogyo Co., Ltd., Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai-Rika-Denki-Seisakusho, Tsuda Industries Co., Ltd., Kojima Press Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Etsuo Shimizu, Takayoshi Masuda, Yoshiyuki Shindo, Yasunori Takeuchi, Shinichi Uemura
  • Patent number: 7547146
    Abstract: The present invention is to offer such a rolling bearing excellent in the corrosion resistance and suited to the environmental protection. This rolling bearing rotatably holds, via a retainer, a plurality of rolling elements between an inner ring having an inner ring raceway in an outer circumference and an outer ring having an outer ring raceway in an inner circumference, and is sealed with a seal or a shield member covered with a rubber, wherein a core metal of the seal or the shield member is a steel sheet that is covered with a film of 0.2 to 50 ?m thickness, the film comprising a metal or an alloy having a smaller oxidation-reduction potential than that of iron, and that is formed with a film comprising an inorganic substance of lithium and silica as an uppermost layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2009
    Assignee: NSK Ltd.
    Inventors: Dai Kinno, Hiroyuki Ito, Toshikazu Yabe, Shingo Higashi
  • Patent number: 7543518
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a link assembly for a robot arm which comprises first and second link members each adapted for limited movement one with respect to the other and resilient elastomeric material disposed between said first and second members and bonded or keyed thereto whereby movement between the first and second member results in shear movement within the elastomeric material disposed there between.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2009
    Assignee: Oliver Crispin Robotics Limited
    Inventors: Robert Oliver Buckingham, Andrew Crispin Graham
  • Patent number: 7543517
    Abstract: A gear made of a resin including a cylindrical toothed portion formed at a radially outer location, a shaft-supporting section formed at a radially inner location around the rotational center of the toothed portion, and a thin plate-shaped web connecting the shaft-supporting section and the toothed portion to each other, wherein the web has a circumferential rib concentric with the toothed portion inside the toothed portion, and a plurality of diametrical ribs diametrically connecting the circumferential rib and the shaft-supporting section to each other along the side of the web, each of the diametrical ribs being formed by a first diametrical rib portion extending obliquely in a direction opposite from a normal rotational direction from the outer periphery of the shaft-supporting section, and a second diametrical rib portion extending obliquely in a direction opposite from an opposite rotational direction from the outer periphery of the shaft-supporting section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2009
    Assignee: Enplas Corporation
    Inventors: Kouji Noguchi, Kazuyuki Sakamaki
  • Patent number: 7540208
    Abstract: A reciprocal force outputting mechanism includes a main body and a power component combined therewith; the main body includes a slide slot and two compression passages communicated with the slot; a slide block is accepted in the slide slot; a stem is accepted in each of the two compression passages, one end of each stem is combined to one flank side of the slide block; the slide block can be driven to move to and fro to allow the two stems to be moved reciprocally to respectively output a push force to enhance the working efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2009
    Inventor: Tien-Chen Tung
  • Patent number: 7540209
    Abstract: A vehicle transmission includes a plurality of shift shafts that cooperate with a common neutral switch to control when range shifts occur. In one example, the plurality of shift shafts includes a first shift shaft, a second shift shaft, and a third shift shaft that is positioned between the first and second shift shafts. A plunger actuates the neutral switch in response to movement of the third shift shaft along an axis. A first switch pin is positioned between the first shift shaft and the plunger and a second switch pin is positioned between the second shift shaft and the plunger. The first and second switch pins move the plunger to actuate the neutral switch in response to axial movement of a respective one of the first and second shift shafts. Thus, each of the first, second, and third shifts shafts can actuate a single neutral switch by cooperating with a common plunger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2009
    Assignee: ArvinMeritor Technology, LLC
    Inventors: Patrick L. Scheib, Kenneth T. Picone
  • Patent number: 7536927
    Abstract: A window lift system (10) includes a support bracket structure (12) including gear structure (18, 20). A fixed rack structure (22, 24) is associated with the gear structure. A motor (16) is carried by the support bracket structure and the motor has a rotatable shaft. A gear train (28, 30, 32, 34) is associated with the shaft and with the gear structure such that rotation of the shaft moves the gear train, with the gear train driving the gear structure so as to move the support bracket structure with respect to the rack structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2009
    Assignee: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft, Würzburg
    Inventor: Yakov Fleytman
  • Patent number: 7536932
    Abstract: A spherical flywheel is described and specified that stores rotational energy more efficiently than cylindrical flywheels. The spherical flywheel is composed of multiple layers of material with the densest material at the surface. The flywheel surface is dimpled with a pattern similar to golf ball surfaces, to minimize aerodynamic drag.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2009
    Inventor: James Brown
  • Patent number: 7536931
    Abstract: An articulated arm having a first arm member and a second arm member flexibly coupled mutually by a ball joint. From a plurality of through-holes provided in the first arm member 2 to a plurality of holding holes provided in the second arm member, compression coil springs 8 are inserted. Support shafts are inserted, movably back and forth freely, in the through-holes behind the rear end portion of the compression coil springs. A certain support shaft is moved forward by actuator or the like to push the compression coil spring while other support shaft are moved backward. As a result, the second arm member can be moved to a specified position by the ball joint. Stopping state of the second arm member at the specified position is maintained by the balance of position of support shaft and repulsive force of compression coil spring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2009
    Assignee: Pegasus Sewing Machine Mfg. Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Tamotsu Saito
  • Patent number: 7534046
    Abstract: A wheel support bearing assembly includes outer and inner members rotatable relative to each other and circumferential rows of rolling elements interposed between raceway surfaces in the outer and inner members, respectively. The inner member has a hub axle having a wheel mounting flange and an inner race mounted on an inboard end of the hub axle, with the raceway surfaces defined in the inner race and the hub axle, respectively. A to-be-detected member is provided on a portion of an outer peripheral surface of the inner member, which is axially inwardly of the raceway surfaces defined in the inner race. A displacement sensor and a rotation sensor both confronting the to-be-detected member is provided in the outer member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2009
    Assignee: NTN Corporation
    Inventor: Ken Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 7533589
    Abstract: Provided is a motion converter which comprises a housing, a cam plate reciprocal to the housing, a lower link and an upper link. The cam plate has a groove which extends diagonally across the width thereof. The lower link is pivotably mounted to the housing and has a cam pin and a slot formed at a free end thereof. The cam pin is engageable to the groove of the cam plate. The upper link is also pivotably mounted to the housing in offset relationship to the lower link. A free end of the upper link has a link pin which is engageable to the slot. The motion converter is configured such that the lower link pivots in response to slidable movement of a cam pin within the groove during reciprocation of the cam plate. The upper link is configured to pivot in response to the slidable movement of the link pin within the slot during pivoting in a lower link.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2009
    Assignee: Control Components, Inc.
    Inventor: Flavio Tondolo