Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Paul K. Godwin
  • Brush holder assembly
    Patent number: 4994701
    Abstract: A brush holder assembly which utilizes an insulated brush card and a bridge means to define a receiving aperture for a brush element. A pair of legs and a connecting element serve to define the bridge means and a constant force spring is retained by the legs so that as the brush is received within the aperture, the spring will partially uncoil and the uncoiled portion of the spring will conform to the profile of the brush. The bridge means also includes a guideway by which the brush is restricted against lateral movement during its use in a motor or generator unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 1989
    Date of Patent: February 19, 1991
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventor: John G. Bulick
  • Automated adjustment of air-core coil inductance
    Patent number: 4980663
    Abstract: The inductance value of air-core coils are adjusted using automated methods and inexpensive, noncomplicated apparatus. Adjusting tools are provided which displace coil turns in a linear motion with respect to the coil centerline. Specifically, the coil turns can be displaced by sliding perpendicularly to the coil centerline or by rotating a group of coils in order to modify the coil inductance. The adjusting tools used and the method of coil-turn displacement allow the automated method to reincrease the inductance of a coil in the event that displacement causes an over-decrease of inductance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 1989
    Date of Patent: December 25, 1990
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventor: Charles R. Moyer
  • A/D converter
    Patent number: 4978958
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for sampling an analog voltage and providing a digital representation of the sampled voltage by binary switching individual resistive networks in parallel with a reference leg of a comparator circuit and combining binary switching signals with the comparator output signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 1989
    Date of Patent: December 18, 1990
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventor: Noel A. Walker
  • Audio limiter using voltage multiplexed feedback
    Patent number: 4978926
    Abstract: An audio system having a main chassis including an audio preamplifier and a remote chassis including a power amplifier has a clipping level detector circuit in the remote chassis for detecting the onset of clipping by the power amplifier and has a gain control element in the main chassis for controlling the gain of the preamplifier. An extra control line in the wiring harness connecting the main chassis and the remote chassis is avoided by multiplexing the clipping signal and the mute control signal on a single control wire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1989
    Date of Patent: December 18, 1990
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: Richard D. Zerod, Gregory R. Hamel
  • Starting motor with a translatable idler/pinion gear
    Patent number: 4974463
    Abstract: A starter motor for use with an internal combustion engine, which incorporates an idler gear that is constantly engaged with a translatable pinion gear to provide starting engagement and rotation to a driven gear on the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 1988
    Date of Patent: December 4, 1990
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventor: Paul Luiki
  • Wideband radio-frequency broadcast recorder and radio testing system
    Patent number: 4972275
    Abstract: A tape recording apparatus in the form of a modified VCR is employed to record broadcast signals received by an antenna while moving through a radio-broadcast reception area. The recorded signals are maintained in an undetected, modulated-carrier form so that played-back signals from the VCR can be coupled to a radio receiver in a fixed location for testing under mobile conditions. A commercially available VCR is modified to avoid modulating FM signals by frequency a second time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 1989
    Date of Patent: November 20, 1990
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: Raymond C. Spitz, Shinji Kakuyama
  • Radio-frequency transformer providing automatic gain control and overload protection
    Patent number: 4972353
    Abstract: A composite core transformer has a high permeability segment and a low permeability segment such that a saturable portion of the core is used to control RF energy coupled from a receiving antenna to a radio receiver. Transformer input and output windings are wound on the low permeability segment of the composite core. A control winding is wound on the high permeability segment of the core and receives an automatic gain control signal from a radio receiver. The resulting radio receiver has high resistance to overload and an extended dynamic range of automatic gain control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 1989
    Date of Patent: November 20, 1990
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: John F. Kennedy, Ralph S. Hashoian
  • Method and apparatus for determining excessive engine oil usage
    Patent number: 4970492
    Abstract: An engine oil condition sensor which measures oil temperature and the time the engine has been in operation since the last oil change. The sensor determines when the amount of "cold" engine operation exceeds a predetermined portion of the total engine operation in order to warn the operator to change engine operation patterns by providing more operation time at warmer temperatures. The sensor also accumulates the actual time the oil has been in the engine and the time the engine has been operated at elevated "hot" temperatures. Whenever any accumulation exceeds predetermined threshold levels, appropriate warnings are given to the operator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 1990
    Date of Patent: November 13, 1990
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventor: Edward T. King
  • Electronic dimmer control for vacuum fluorescent display devices
    Patent number: 4968917
    Abstract: Apparatus and method for setting the pulse width modulation duty cycle that drives a vacuum fluorescent display device in response to changes in the setting of a dimmer control rheostat by establishing a constant window of acceptable voltage references that are changed when the setting of the dimmer control rheostat is changed, and by sequentially stepping through a set of discrete voltages whenever the setting of the dimmer control rheostat is changed until one of the discrete voltages is found to lie within the window of reference voltages. A dimmer signal is sent to a display driver circuit that corresponds to the selected discrete voltage lying within the reference window and determines the duty cycle and consequent brightness level for the display device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 1988
    Date of Patent: November 6, 1990
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventor: Richard B. Harris
  • Read/write random access memory with data prefetch
    Patent number: 4967398
    Abstract: A dual port, random access, read/write memory is provided such that each microprocessor can access shared memory locations without regard to the state of the other microprocessor. Previously known dual port systems use delays, called wait states, or handshaking techniques to control memory acces and to resolve overlapping memory access requests. This invention avoids the need for special timing controls by improving memory response time. Once a valid address is placed on the address bus by the microprocessor, which is recognized by the memory as being within its range of assigned address values, the memory prefetches the data at that address may soon follow. If it does, then the data is placed on the data bus. If it does not, then the prefeteched data is ignored and a write operation takes place for the particular address.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 1989
    Date of Patent: October 30, 1990
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: Saad A. Jamoua, Stephen W. Hoffman
  • Moisture seal for a translatable pinion gear assembly in a starter motor
    Patent number: 4958530
    Abstract: Starter motor for use with an internal combustion engine which includes a seal between the housing and the translatable clutch/pinion gear assembly so as to prevent contaminants from entering the motor/solenoid portion of the housing. The seal is temporarily broken whenever the clutch/pinion gear is translated to be engaged with the driven gear of an internal combustion engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 1989
    Date of Patent: September 25, 1990
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: James E. Jaseck, Eric A. Fereshetian
  • Double saggital push stroke amplifier
    Patent number: 4952835
    Abstract: A piezoelectric motor actuated amplifier mechanism that utilizes a pair of saggital linkages having one relatively fixed saggital midpoint and joined at their end points to obtain a doubled amplification factor push stroke output from one relatively movable saggital midpoint. Thermal compensators are employed between the piezoelectric actuator and the saggital linkages to stabilize the amplifier throughout a wide range of temperatures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 1988
    Date of Patent: August 28, 1990
    Assignee: Ford Aerospace Corporation
    Inventor: Paul H. Stahlhuth
  • Front panel for a graphic equalizer or similar article
    Patent number: D310369
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 1987
    Date of Patent: September 4, 1990
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: David F. Kolenda, Thomas J. Kane
  • Front panel for a compact disc player
    Patent number: D310370
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 1987
    Date of Patent: September 4, 1990
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: Carol M. Repasky, Mark A. Dobies
  • Front control panel for a combined vehicular cassette player and radio receiver
    Patent number: D310371
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 1987
    Date of Patent: September 4, 1990
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: Robert P. Scott, Kenneth H. Bloom
  • Apertured panel for a combined vehicular tape player and radio or the like
    Patent number: D311402
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 1987
    Date of Patent: October 16, 1990
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventor: Clive A. Grinyer
  • Front panel for a compact disc player
    Patent number: D311404
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 1989
    Date of Patent: October 16, 1990
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventor: Carol M. Repasky
  • Control pushbutton for a radio receiver or the like
    Patent number: D312463
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 1987
    Date of Patent: November 27, 1990
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventor: Clive A. Grinyer
  • Front control panel for a vehicular compact disc player
    Patent number: D313023
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 1988
    Date of Patent: December 18, 1990
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: David F. Kolenda, Kenneth H. Bloom
  • Graphic equalizer or similar article
    Patent number: D314769
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 1988
    Date of Patent: February 19, 1991
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: John Stoddard, Clive Grinyer