Patents by Inventor Thomas Benker

Thomas Benker has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6360674
    Abstract: On a railway vehicle with a car body and a truck with an undercarriage, the car body is supported on the truck by means of connecting devices. To achieve increased operating safety even in the event of a malfunction or failure of the connecting devices, the actuator is fastened rigidly on one end to the truck, and is connected to the car body by means of the mechanical series system consisting of a ball-and-socket joint and a sliding connector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2002
    Assignee: ABB Daimler-Benz Transporation (Technology) GmbH
    Inventors: Uwe Sch{overscore (u)}ller, Thomas Benker, Ulrich Hachmann
  • Patent number: 6279488
    Abstract: A coupling element unit with spring action is located between a car body and an undercarriage of a railway vehicle. To largely relieve the coupling element unit from forces that act at a right angle to the suspension direction, a sliding adapter is provided that has two sliding elements and that can be displaced with respect to one another parallel to a floor of the car body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2001
    Assignee: DaimlerChrysler Rail Systems GmbH
    Inventors: Ulrich Hachmann, Thomas Benker, Uwe Schüller
  • Patent number: 6273002
    Abstract: A rail vehicle equipped with a support actuator of variable vertical length mounted between a vehicle body and a running gear located underneath. In order to maintain an operational supporting device and adequate ride comfort after a failure or overload of the support actuator, an emergency spring coaxial with the support actuator is provided, which only becomes effective when the stroke of the support actuator falls short of a preset value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2001
    Assignee: ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation (Technology) GmbH
    Inventors: Ulrich Hachmann, Uwe Sch{overscore (u)}ller, Thomas Benker
  • Patent number: 6273003
    Abstract: The invention relates to a tilt control for the superstructure of a rail vehicle, that includes a transversal acceleration sensor and a tilt control device controlled therefrom for tilting the superstructure along its longitudinal axis in relation to the running gear or the bogie supporting the superstructure. A low-pass filter is connected in the signal path between the transversal acceleration sensor and the tilt control device. In order to at least amply compensate the operation time of the low-pass filter, a steady state member is connected in the signal path between the transversal acceleration sensor and the low-pass filter, whose output signal is selected at least in the middle segment of a predetermined measuring value of the transversal acceleration values to be detected in such a way that the transversal acceleration in the superstructure remains almost constant in said segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2001
    Assignee: ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation GmbH
    Inventors: Thomas Benker, Bernd Metzner