Abstract: An airbag inflation system for a vehicle utilizes a truck's an ambient air compression system including a holding tank for providing compressed air to vehicle systems and an air pump. An outlet is added to the holding tank with a frangible seal closing the outlet until discharge of the air is required to inflate the airbag. An air line connecting the outlet to the airbag is filled upon activation of a squib for breaking the frangible seal upon detection of a rollover related event.

Abstract: A roof and mounting structure and a school or commercial bus vehicle provide improved leakage protection to the passenger compartment of the vehicle. The roof is an integral unitized roof structure that reduces or eliminates the opportunity for leakage by replacing rivets with adhesive or adhesive tape as the joining force between the roof skin and supporting structure and by decreasing the number of potential leakage points by decreasing the number of parts making up the roof from many overlapping panels to what is effectively a single sheet. This single unitized roof may actually be comprised of two strips of metal welded together or crimped together along a seam.

Abstract: There is provided a method for suspending roller tappets in an internal combustion engine without removal of the cylinder head and gasket. The rocker arm assembly is removed. Each push rod is then removed and replaced with tappet suspension tool to engage a corresponding roller tappet. A suspension tool guide bar is then installed to connect to the tappet suspension tools. The roller tappets are then simultaneously moved to a raised position away from the camshaft forming a clearance between the roller tappets and camshaft bearings. The roller tappets are then secured in the raised position by a securing block. The camshaft can then be removed from the engine block. Alternatively, the rear half of the front cover can be removed by first removing the idler gears, followed by removal of the camshaft, and last removing the rear half of the front cover from the engine case.

Abstract: A torsion bar hood assist system for a vehicle which has a hood that pivots between an open and a closed position. The hood assist system includes a compact torsion mechanism with at least two torsion bar sections. The torsion mechanism of the hood assist system is mounted distant from a pivot axis of the hood. The torsion mechanism is engaged to the vehicle in a manner which allows the torsion mechanism to be mounted distant from the hood pivot axis and reduces the stresses imparted to the torsion mechanism when the hood is pivoted.

Abstract: There is provided a rocker carrier for use with a cylinder head in an internal combustion engine comprising a body portion having a continuous peripheral wall including a front and rear wall connected between a first and second end wall, a plurality of rocker arm pedestals comprised of a dual or end rocker arm pedestals integrally formed on the body portion and disposed between the rear and front walls, a top surface, and a bottom surface. The rocker carrier further comprises a plurality of support fins, a high pressure oil line passage, a plurality of high pressure oil reservoir bosses, a plurality of exterior head bolt passages, a plurality of carrier bolt bosses, a plurality of glow plug passages, a plurality of electrical connector passages, and an oil drain passage, and a plurality of valve cover bolt bosses formed adjacent to the rear wall.

Abstract: There is provided a rocker arm assembly for mounting on a carrier in an internal combustion engine that can be pre-assembled and installed on the rocker carrier decreasing manufacturing time and cost. The rocker arm assembly comprises a rocker arm, a fulcrum plate, a retaining clip, and a pivot ball that in cooperation with the retaining clip cooperatively connects the fulcrum plate and the rocker arm such that the pivot ball provides a pivot point for the rocker arm to pivot and thereby actuate at least one valve or valve bridge. The rocker arm further comprises a push rod cup, an aperture, pivot ball cup, and a pivot foot. The fulcrum plate can be a dual fulcrum plate, which holds two rocker arms, or an end fulcrum plate, which holds one rocker arm. The rocker arms can be either intake or exhaust rocker arms.

Abstract: The invention provides an apparatus for installation on a vehicle having an automatic transmission , a gear select lever, an engine, and an engine cranking motor, which allows operation of an auxiliary system by the engine when the automatic transmission is in neutral regardless of the position of the automatic transmission gear select lever and cranking of the engine when the gear select lever for the automatic transmission is positioned at neutral.

Abstract: A vehicle includes a body structure that is suspended from a chassis of the vehicle by a vehicle body suspension system. The vehicle body suspension system is constructed in a manner to allow relative movement to occur between the suspended body structure and the chassis in such a manner to at least partially isolate the suspended body structure from the vibrations and accelerations of the chassis. The vehicle body suspension system includes one or more spring/damper components that comprise an elastomer body that is surrounded and, therefore, reinforced by a reinforcing wall constructed of a relatively rigid material. The vehicle body suspension system may utilize one or more of the reinforced elastomer block spring/damper components as bump stops and/or primary spring/damper components.

Abstract: A mobile closed circuit television system in which a pre-existing data communication system in a vehicle is used as a medium for transmitting video data from an on-board television camera (12) to an on-board television monitor. The pre-existing data communication system has a data bus (10) that serves various electric and electronic devices throughout a vehicle, and is embodied in wiring modules, or wiring harnesses, that run throughout the vehicle. The pre-existing data bus utilizes an operating protocol embodied in a published standard that is recognized by the industry, SAE Standard J1939, published by the Society of Automotive Engineers, being the particular one utilized in practice of the present invention.

Abstract: A hydraulic control device which may be used in a number of applications, including with a fuel injector, includes a control valve having a first and a second independently shiftable valve member, the control member being configurable to define a plurality of actuating fluid flow paths for controlling hydraulic flow therethrough. A fuel injector includes the aforementioned control valve. A method of hydraulic control includes a number of steps, including independently controlling the shifting of two valves in a control valve assembly to selectively control the flow of actuating fluid to an actuator.

Abstract: A connector assembly and the actuating system including the connector assembly, the connector assembly for fluidly coupling an actuating fluid rail to a fuel injector, the actuating fluid rail conveying a quantity of actuating fluid, the fuel injector having an actuating fluid inlet, the connector assembly includes a check valve operably disposed in a connecting member for controlling the flow of actuating fluid between the actuating fluid rail and the fuel injector. The connecting member has a fluid passageway defined therein, the fluid passageway being in fluid communication with the actuating fluid rail and the fuel injector actuating fluid inlet. A method of minimizing negative pressure effects caused by operation of a fuel injector on the actuating fluid in an actuating fluid rail and a method of providing a high pressure actuating fluid flow from a high pressure pump to a plurality of fuel injectors of a diesel engine are further included.

Abstract: A modular electronic control unit mounting device, mounting system and vehicle consisting of three essential parts, excluding the electronic control units or modules themselves. These are a mounting rack, a carriage, and a set of rails. The first part is the mounting rack upon which all the electronic modules are mounted. The rack mates with the carriage through a set of slides. The carriage is additionally mated with a pair of rails that are installed on a horizontal surface of the vehicle. The electronic modules or control units are engaged to the rack separate from the vehicle. The rack is engaged by slideably mating with the carriage. The carriage may be moved along the rails to its permanent location that does not need to be relatively near an access point or hatch of the vehicle.

Abstract: The invention provides a bushing for insertion into a cylindrical aperture defined by a mounting bracket. The bushing further provides for retention of a cylindrical sensor housing which is enveloped around its circumference by the bushing and positioned adjacent a rotating flux focusing element. The bushing is formed from a sheet of spring metal and shaped into a cylinder. A pair of outwardly projecting retaining brackets extend from a first end of the sheet and are positioned at one end of the cylinder. In addition, a pair of outwardly projecting dimples are formed in the sheet near the edge of the sheet opposite the first edge, the dimples being sized to allow insertion of the bushing into a cylindrical aperture but function to resist extraction for the bushing after passing completely through the cylindrical aperture.

Abstract: Irregularly shaped mold-core assemblies are retained for casting within a thin-wall container by solid particulate material. In the process, the mold and core elements are formed from the core sand. After the mold and core elements, both of which are formed from core sand, are assembled, the assembly is placed in a container large enough to provide space around the assembled mold and core elements, and solid particulate material is placed in the space around the mold-core assembly to hold the assembled mold and core elements together during pouring of the molten iron alloy into the mold-core assembly and the cooling period, during which the molten iron alloy solidifies to form the casting. After the casting is formed, the solid particles and the core sand from the mold elements and core elements are recovered, processed and reused in further casting operations.

Abstract: A fluid pump is provided that produces an outflow of fluid that is not proportional to the speed of the input drive. Thus, the fluid pump can be tuned to provide a substantially constant outflow of fluid irrespective of the speed of the input drive. The fluid pump also provides fluid outflow when the rotational direction of the input drive is reversed.

Abstract: A combustion gasket having dual material structures is provided. The combustion gasket has a rigid material structure adjacent to a resilient material structure. The rigid and resilient material structures independently engage the connected surfaces. In the case of a fuel injector mounted on a cylinder head of an internal combustion engine, the connected surfaces are an injector ledge formed by the fuel injector and a cylinder ledge formed by the cylinder head. The rigid material structure bears the load, for example of a fuel injector, and may partially seal the connection.

Abstract: A flexible elongated seal for use in sealing the interface between a window frame and the corresponding window glass of a vehicle. The flexible elongated seal has a rigid reinforcement embedded within a portion of it and a flexible wire mesh reinforcement embedded within a different portion of it. The portion of the flexible elongated seal that is reinforced by the rigid reinforcement is very stiff which has advantages, but it cannot be bent along its length to conform to curved portions of a perimeter of the window frame. The portion of the flexible elongated seal that is reinforced by the wire mesh reinforcement is slightly less stiff than the portion reinforced by the rigid reinforcement, but it can be bent along its length to enable it to conform to curved portions of the window frame.