Patents Represented by Attorney Gifford, Krass, Spinkle, Anderson & Citkowski, P.C.
  • Patent number: 8083037
    Abstract: The invention relates to a brake disk lock having an actuable housing shell, a support section, an engagement hoop and a securing section, with the support section and the engagement hoop bounding a receiving gap for the receiving of a brake disk, with the housing shell being arranged on the same side as the support section with respect to the receiving gap and being movably supported at the support section and with the housing shell, the support section and the securing section cooperating with one another such that the housing shell is movable from a release position into a securing position by a movement of the housing shell relative to the support section in the direction of the receiving gap in order to close the receiving gap by means of the securing section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2011
    Assignee: ABUS August Bremicker Soehne KG
    Inventor: Bernd Weiershausen
  • Patent number: 8081209
    Abstract: A system and method for object classification based upon the fusion of a radar system and a natural imaging device using sparse code representation. The radar system provides a means of detecting the presence of an object within a predetermined path of a vehicle. Detected objects are then fused with the image gathered by the camera and then isolated in an attention window. The attention window is then transformed into a sparse code representation of the object. The sparse code representation is then compared with known sparse code representation of various objects. Each known sparse code representation is given a predetermined variance and subsequent sparse code represented objects falling within said variance will be classified as such. The system and method also includes an associative learning algorithm wherein classified sparse code representations are stored and used to help classifying subsequent sparse code representation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2011
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Zhengping Ji, Danil V. Prokhorov
  • Patent number: 8061757
    Abstract: An automotive vehicle sunshade assembly for controlling light entering a vehicle interior is provided having an elongated rotatable member, a flexible shade wrapped around the elongated rotatable member having a first edge connected to the rotatable member, and a second edge connected to an elongated extension member. Two support arms extend between the elongated extension member and the base profile and are operable to unroll the flexible shade from a elongated rotatable member thereby covering a vehicle window. Furthermore, an end cap is affixed to at least the first end of the elongated extension member. The elongated extension member further having at least one channel or track disposed therein. A biasing member is positioned within the at least one channel between the support arm and the end cap operable to force movement of the support arm during retraction of the flexible shade.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2011
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Jaime Nicole Moore, Devon Marie Ross
  • Patent number: 8025297
    Abstract: A bellows has a generally tubular elongated bellows body. The bellows body is defined by a wall generally enclosing a volume. The wall has a generally cylindrical inner surface and a generally cylindrical outer surface. The bellows body is formed by alternating layers of low compliance material and high compliance material. The cross sectional shape and dimension of the bellows body are generally constant between the first and second ends.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2011
    Assignee: The Penn State Research Foundation
    Inventor: Robert W.M. Smith
  • Patent number: 8011900
    Abstract: A heat dissipating system for a hermetic compressor includes a thermal energy transfer duct having a heat absorbing end mounted to the cylinder block of the compressor to absorb the heat generated by the compression of the refrigerant fluid in the cylinder block and a heat releasing end positioned away from the heat absorbing end and away from the cylinder block in order to release the heat conducted from the cylinder block by the transfer duct.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2011
    Assignee: Whirlpool S.A.
    Inventors: Fabricio Caldeira Possamai, Leonard L. Vasiliev
  • Patent number: 7823947
    Abstract: A storage compartment for mounting on a trim panel of an automobile door. The trim panel includes an aperture configured to receive a speaker assembly. The storage compartment includes a rear wall, a side wall bounding the rear wall to define a storage cavity and having a perimeter which is complementary in shape to the aperture. A retaining wall having a shape which is substantially similar to a portion of the aperture is attached to a portion of the side wall which is adjacent to the bottom end of the rear wall by a living hinge. The living hinge allows the retaining wall to hinge relative to the rear wall so as to cover a portion of the storage cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2010
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew Frank Parkinson, Robert Charles Steinbrecher
  • Patent number: 7781317
    Abstract: A method for the non-catalytic growth of nanowires is provided. The method includes a reaction chamber with the chamber having an inlet end, an exit end and capable of being heated to an elevated temperature. A carrier gas with a flow rate is allowed to enter the reaction chamber through the inlet end and exit the chamber through the exit end. Upon passing through the chamber the carrier gas comes into contact with a precursor which is heated within the reaction chamber. A collection substrate placed downstream from the precursor allows for the formation and growth of nanowires thereon without the use of a catalyst. A second embodiment of the present invention is comprised of a reaction chamber, a carrier gas, a precursor target, a laser beam and a collection substrate. The carrier gas with a flow rate and a gas pressure is allowed to enter the reaction chamber through an inlet end and exit the reaction chamber through the exit end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2010
    Assignees: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Joshua Goldberger, Melissa Fardy, Oded Rabin, Allon Hochbaum, Minjuan Zhang, Peidong Yang
  • Patent number: 7758105
    Abstract: A stowable roof for a convertible vehicle is retractable from a closed state to an open state. The roof includes a pillar part which extends upwardly from the window beltline when the roof is in the closed state. The pillar part is movable rearwardly and downwardly when the roof is retracted to the open state. A guide track has at least a portion extending transversely inwardly. The pillar part engages the guide track such that the pillar part is guided transversely inwardly during retraction of the roof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2010
    Assignee: Wilhelm Karmann GmbH
    Inventor: Christian Spickermann
  • Patent number: 7686377
    Abstract: A convertible vehicle has a roof that is movable between a closed position extending over the passenger compartment and an opened position stowed in a rearward storage region. A movable cover has a closed position wherein the cover covers the rearward storage area and is movable to a first opened position to provide a passage opening for the roof and to a second opened position to provide a loading opening for baggage. A cover extension has an extended position wherein the cover extension at least partially covers an opening between the movable cover and the passenger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2010
    Assignee: Wilhelm Karmann GmbH
    Inventor: Franz-Ulrich Brockhoff
  • Patent number: 7665753
    Abstract: A leaf spring suspension includes a plurality of leaf springs fixedly secured together by a bolt in the form of a stack. A first leaf spring of the plurality of leaf springs has ends configured to be coupled to a vehicle frame. A pin extends through each leaf spring except for the first leaf spring to prevent splaying between the leaf springs during transverse loading of the suspension.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventor: Takeo Gennai
  • Patent number: 7563047
    Abstract: A traveling crayon holder including a three dimensional plush body. A plurality of arms extend from the body, the arms each further comprising a length of a flexible line material. A plurality of crayons are secured in individual fashion to respective ends of each of the lengths of flexible line material. An engagement portion extends from a further location of the plush body and provides for securing the body to a fixed location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2009
    Inventor: Andrew J. Paluda
  • Patent number: 7565231
    Abstract: A method for facilitating the avoidance of a vehicle collision with an object includes the following steps: a) providing a neural network, b) evolving a good driver, c) evolving a crash predictor, and d) outputting a graded warning signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2009
    Assignees: The Board of Regents, The University of Texas System, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Rini Sherony, Risto P. Miikkulainen, Kenneth O. Stanley, Nathaniel F. Kohl
  • Patent number: 7357746
    Abstract: An eccentric gearbox with selectable large speed ratio, in this gearbox many eccentric gear (8, 12, 16) pairs are assembled in parallel, and are connected to a common input shaft (1) and a common output shaft (2). In every gear pair (8, 12, 16), one gear keeps its orientation fixed with respect to a fixed part called as fixed gear (8, 12, 16) and another gear that rotates about its own axis is called as moving gear (7, 11, 15). Difference in number of teeth on the two gears of a gear pair is kept to one tooth or more. Through proper selection of a particular gear pair any speed ratio can be selected. In this way, it is possible to make a compact gearbox, with multiple large speed ratios. Such a gear box can be used in automobiles, robot manipulators, earth moving equipments, space applications, toys, hand held tools and many other applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2008
    Inventor: Vishvas Prabhakar Ambardekar
  • Patent number: D645372
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2011
    Assignee: Air Products and Controls Inc.
    Inventors: David L. Hall, Andrew D. Frost
  • Patent number: D660683
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2012
    Assignee: ABUS August Bremicker Soehne KG
    Inventor: Guido Golling