Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Thomas W. Cole
  • Patent number: 6354529
    Abstract: A webbing take-up device for taking up and unwinding a webbing belt in a vehicle is provided that includes a rotatably mounted take-up shaft adapted for receiving and anchoring an end of the webbing belt, and rotatably urged in a direction for taking up the webbing belt; and a frame having a pair of leg plates opposing each other between which the take-up shaft extends. The frame further includes a connecting portion integrally extending from one leg plate to the other, and a fixing portion adapted for fastening to the vehicle, the connecting portion has a plurality of engraved portions on either side defined therein, and at least some of the engraved portions are formed as elongated holes or thinned portions having a longitudinal axis formed substantially along a direction in which tensile force is applied via the take-up shaft and leg plates when the webbing belt is unwound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2002
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai-Rika-Denki-Seisakusho
    Inventors: Katsuki Asagiri, Kenji Hoshino
  • Patent number: 6352213
    Abstract: A webbing retractor for webbing belt retraction and restraint of a vehicle occupant during sudden deceleration. In a preferred embodiment, the webbing retractor includes a spring, and is for connection to an axially rotatable shaft having a locking device. The locking device includes a rotator coaxially rotatable with the shaft and a locking mechanism. The spring resiliently urges the shaft to retract the webbing belt, which can be ordinarily unwound against the spring tension. During sudden deceleration, the locking mechanism is activated and limits or prevents unwinding of the webbing belt. The retractor includes wall portions provided at the rotator and the shaft, with the spring disposed between these portions. A hole for insertion of the spring is provided between the wall portions. The hole is sized such that the spring must be at least partially compressed for insertion therethrough. The arrangement facilitates insertion of the spring, and stable connection of the spring in the assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2002
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai-Rika-Denki-Seisakusho
    Inventors: Akira Sumiyashiki, Katsuki Asagiri
  • Patent number: 6352663
    Abstract: A woodgrained member having at least a color clear layer 22 on a surface of a woodgrained urethane-based member 16, comprises concave portions formed at the surface of the urethane-based member 16, a wood filler 20 embedded into the concave portions and a color clear layer 22 provided on the surface of the urethane-based member into which the wood filler 20 has been embedded, wherein the depth of the concave portions is 0.02 mm ˜0.1 mm The urethane-based member 16 which has above structure and has a Shore A hardness of 75 or more, a Shore D hardness of 20 or more, an extensibility of 80˜300%, and a density of 0.3˜0.9 g/cm3 is a steering wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2002
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai-Rika-Denki Seisakusho
    Inventor: Hiroki Mori
  • Patent number: 6350182
    Abstract: A V-ribbed belt B has bottom and back faces each provided with a plurality of ribs 3, 4 of approximately trapezoidal section which extend in parallel with each other along the belt length. In order to suppressing a discrepancy between respective speed ratios of revolution transmitted from one pulley to the other in normal and reversed positions of the belt B, the belt B is adapted to have a difference of 2 mm or less between a bottom-face-side belt length when the bottom-face-side ribs 3 of the belt B are faced on an inner peripheral side thereof and a back-face-side belt length when the back-face-side ribs 4 of the belt B are faced on the inner peripheral side thereof. The center of a cord 2 embedded inside of the belt B is thereby positioned substantially in the middle of the belt thickness so that the cord 2 has equal distances from both the bottom face and back face of the belt B even if the belt B is in either position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2002
    Assignee: Bando Chemical Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Takehiro Hayashi
  • Patent number: 6347191
    Abstract: A shutter control apparatus is constructed for executing an exposure operation of a camera to photograph an object by controlling an actuator which drives a shutter blade to be opened and closed. In the shutter control apparatus, a battery supplies a power supply voltage. A detection circuit detects a variation occurring in the power supply voltage. A drive circuit directly uses the power supply voltage to feed a power to the actuator. The drive circuit switches between an open power for opening the shutter blade and a closing power for closing the shutter blade. A control circuit controls the drive circuit by setting a timing for switching to the closing power in accordance with at least a brightness of an object. The control circuit corrects the timing for switching to the closing power in accordance with the variation of the power supply voltage detected by the detection circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2002
    Assignee: Nidec Copal Corporation
    Inventor: Tomio Kurosu
  • Patent number: 6343758
    Abstract: In a pretensioner for a webbing retractor, an upper wall portion of a sealing member extends arcuately around an external periphery of a seal holding portion which is formed integrally with a bottom surface of a piston, and the sealing member includes a side wall portion proximate an inner wall of a cylinder. The sealing member is formed from an elastic material, and may be annular or a ring with an angle of 360 degrees or more. In an emergency state of a vehicle, when the piston is moved by gas pressure, the sealing member is pressed against the bottom surface of the piston by gas pressure, and a diameter of the sealing member is increased. Accordingly, the sealing member provides sealing between the piston and the inner wall of the cylinder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2002
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai-Rika-Denki-Seisakusho
    Inventors: Minoru Abe, Seiji Hori
  • Patent number: 6343522
    Abstract: A gear mechanism and webbing retractor having a compact size in which a pinion is prevented from being damaged when a large initial driving force is applied from a gear. When a sensor detects an emergent deceleration of a vehicle, a piston driving device is actuated so as to move a rack at its standby position in a direction to a pinion. When the rack is located at the standby position, a tooth face on a side near a front end, of a front end tooth thereof is in contact with a pressure receiving surface of the initially driving member. The rack is moved along a pitch line in the direction to the pinion so that the front end tooth presses the pressure receiving surface. As a result, the initially driving member converts the initial driving force from the rack to a rotation force thereby rotating the pinion in the taking-up direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2002
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai-Rika-Denki-Seisakusho
    Inventors: Seiji Hori, Tomonori Nagata, Seiji Nishide, Keisuke Imai, Akira Sumiyashiki, Keiichi Kato, Toshio Saito
  • Patent number: 6343881
    Abstract: In a camera shutter apparatus, a shutter blade is arranged movably In an open direction and a close direction relative to a lens aperture for opening and closing the lens aperture from a home position to perform an exposure operation. A setting member is provided to operate when setting the lens aperture at a predetermined diameter for holding the shutter blade to a stop position corresponding to the predetermined diameter with a biasing force. A drive source is provided for generating a driving force necessary for moving the shutter blade. A controller is provided to operate when moving the shutter blade from the home position to the stop position so as to set the lens aperture and then moving the shutter blade in the close direction for an exposure operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2002
    Assignee: Nidec Copal Corporation
    Inventor: Daisuke Yaginuma
  • Patent number: 6341400
    Abstract: An ion toothbrush which can be tested on the supply voltage by turning on a switch, and concerning which assembling steps are simplified. This ion toothbrush comprises: a head (50) with brush bristles (51) implanted therein; a handle (10); and a battery (14) received in the handle (10). One electrode of the battery (14) is conductively connected with the external surface of the handle (10), and the other electrode is conductively connected with the vicinity of the implanted area of the brush bristles (51) at the head (50). This ion toothbrush further comprises: an LED (18) with its one terminal (18B) connected to one electrode of the battery (14), and with the other terminal (18A) connected to the other electrode of the battery; a spindle capable-of conductively connecting the other electrode of the battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2002
    Assignee: Hukuba Dental Corp.
    Inventors: Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Yukito Kouno, Norihiro Hukuba, Hiroshi Hukuba
  • Patent number: 6339968
    Abstract: A shift lever apparatus comprises a shift lever connected to a gearbox of a vehicle, a rod integrally moved together with the shift lever within the shift lever due to shift-operation of the lever, a detent member having a detent hole formed therein, a restricting portion formed on the detent hole, and a base member supporting the shift lever in a pivotable manner. The shift lever, by being shift-operated to a predetermined shift position, changes a shift range to a predetermined shift range which corresponds to the predetermined shift position, among a plurality of shift ranges set at the gearbox. The rod has a projection portion toward an outer side of the lever and movable with respect to the shift lever due to a releasing operation. The projection portion penetrates and enters into the detent member located opposite the projection portion along a direction in which the projection portion moves as the lever is shift-operated. The restricting portion can be avoided by a releasing operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2002
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai-Rika-Denki Seisakusho
    Inventor: Katsushi Nagashima
  • Patent number: 6337671
    Abstract: Disclosed is a power antenna apparatus for automatically extracting/retracting an antenna. A motor is controlled by a control circuit to generate a rotational force. An antenna housing has a guide slot extending longitudinally on an inner surface thereof. A rotary member is installed in the antenna housing and is rotated by the motor. A coil spring is rotatably accommodated in the antenna housing and one end thereof is fixed to the rotary member. An antenna conveying member is received together with the antenna within the coil spring as being fixedly coupled with the antenna by a lower end of the antenna. The antenna conveying member has protrusions which are loosely inserted into the guide slot of the antenna housing and conveys the antenna along with the guide slot to extract or retract the antenna by means of a rotation of the coil spring. Other embodiments are disclosed for flexible installation of the apparatus. Application of the apparatus to a wireless telephone is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2002
    Inventor: Han Sang Lee
  • Patent number: 6336663
    Abstract: A device for adjusting height of a shoulder anchor that forms a seat belt device of a vehicle. A buffer member is provided between a slider to which a shoulder anchor is attached, and a guide rail secured to a vehicle body. A pin for restricting the movement in a vertical direction of the slider, is guided by a guide wall to move from one recess portion in the buffer member to the other. The guide wall has ribs as reinforcing members on a lower side and the ribs prevent deformation of the guide wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2002
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai-Rika-Denki-Seisakusho
    Inventor: Takayuki Ando
  • Patent number: 6336885
    Abstract: A V-ribbed belt B has bottom and back faces each provided with a plurality of ribs 3, 4 of approximately trapezoidal section which extend in parallel with each other along the belt length. In order to suppressing a discrepancy between respective speed ratios of revolution transmitted from one pulley to the other in normal and reversed positions of the belt B, the belt B is adapted to have a difference of 2 mm or less between a bottom-face-side belt length when the bottom-face-side ribs 3 of the belt B are faced on an inner peripheral side thereof and a back-face-side belt length when the back-face-side ribs 4 of the belt B are faced on the inner peripheral side thereof. The center of a cord 2 embedded inside of the belt B is thereby positioned substantially in the middle of the belt thickness so that the cord 2 has equal distances from both the bottom face and back face of the belt B even if the belt B is in either position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2002
    Assignee: Bando Chemical Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Takehiro Hayashi
  • Patent number: 6332374
    Abstract: An accelerator position sensor urges a rotary member 2into rotation relative to a fixed member 1 fixed on the side of a vehicle body in a direction of a returning operation of an accelerator pedal by torque of a torsion spring 3, and detects the angle of rotation of the rotary member 2 in a sensor unit 4 thereof. In the accelerator position sensor, a cylindrical resin member 6 is disposed between a boss 1a of the fixed member 1 and the torsion spring 3 so as to be pressed against the boss 1a by a reaction of the torque of the torsion spring 3 to create sliding resistance to the boss 1a during rotation of the rotary member 2, in order that the pressing force characteristic of the accelerator pedal exhibits sufficient hysteresis between pressing and returning operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2001
    Assignee: Bando Chemical Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsushi Someda, Koichi Takada
  • Patent number: 6318662
    Abstract: A webbing winding device having a pre-tensioner for tensioning a webbing for restraining a passenger in a passenger restraining direction in an emergency deceleration of a vehicle, comprising a winding shaft to which an end of the webbing is fixed and a gear train mechanism comprising a plurality of gears arranged in such a manner that adjacent gears mesh with each other, wherein a driving gear which receives an external driving force when the pre-tensioner is actuated is driven from a starting end position to a terminating end, position which are set in advance, so as to rotate the winding shaft in a direction for retracting the webbing, and when a driving of the driving gear is completed, at least a pair of adjacent gears are separated so as to enable the winding shaft to be rotated in the direction for retracting the webbing by inertial force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2001
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai-Rika-Denki-Seisakusho
    Inventors: Seiji Hori, Keiichi Katoh, Keisuke Imai, Tatsuo Yamashita, Tomonori Nagata
  • Patent number: 6318664
    Abstract: A sensor holder and a sensor cover are provided at an outer side of a first leg plate of a webbing retractor. Attachment holes formed in the first leg plate and engaging pawls which engage with sensor openings are formed at appropriate portions of a sensor holder. Removal preventing portions are formed at corresponding portions of the sensor cover so as to prevent the engaging pawl from coming out of the attachment hole. Thus, the sensor holder and the sensor cover can be firmly secured to the first leg plate of the frame without using plugs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2001
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai-Rika-Denki-Seisakusho
    Inventor: Akira Sumiyashiki
  • Patent number: 6318449
    Abstract: In this type of mold, a feed head (23) made of thermally insulating refractory fits on top of the cooled copper crystallizer (7) being internally aligned with it in order to define a passage for the cast metal, with interposition between the two of an insert (24) made of dense refractory having mechanical strength properties. This insert (24) consists of bars, each bar (29) being formed by a rigid assembly of aligned and juxtaposed contiguous elements (30) kept clamped against each other by a clamp incorporated into the bar, such as a cross-tie (31) associated with compression pads (33), and positioning and aligning the bar on the crystallizer (7) are provided and consist of a battery of spring pushers (38), which battery is associated with a positioning stop (39) on the crystallizer against which the bar (29) presses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2001
    Assignee: Sollac
    Inventors: Jean-Marc Jolivet, Eric Perrin, Jacques Spiquel, Cosimo Salaris
  • Patent number: 6318585
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a cover mounting structure for a webbing retractor. This structure relates to a mounting structure of a cover mount and a cover which hold a power spring used for taking up a webbing. By inserting a claw of the cover into an engagement hole portion of the cover mount, a claw on a folded member in which the engagement hole portion is formed enters into a hole portion of the engagement portion, so that the engagement portion is anchored by the claw. That is, the cover can easily be fixed onto the cover mount. Moreover, the engagement portion has elasticity and is constantly urged in the direction of withdrawal by the restoring force, so that the cover does not generate strange sounds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2001
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai-Rika-Denki-Seisakusho
    Inventors: Katsuki Asagiri, Tomonori Nagata
  • Patent number: 6312549
    Abstract: An optical disk pasting apparatus 1 for pasting two disks by overlapping the second disk D2 on the first disk D1 on which an adhesive agent 4 is coated, is featured in that said second disk D2 is overlapped on the first disk D1 while adsorbing and holding said second disk D2 by warping so that the second disk is swelled in a direction (the direction of the arrow X) opposite to the first disk D1 side opposed the second disk D2, wherein closed space 5 formed between both disks D1 and D2 is vacuumed and attracted by bringing the outside areas of the first disk D1 and the second disk D2 in contact with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2001
    Assignee: Global Machinery Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ken Miyano, Noboru Murakami, Yuichi Fujita, Masaaki Sano
  • Patent number: 6312014
    Abstract: A shoulder anchor position adjusting device is provided in which assembly of a position adjusting mechanism, which adjusts a position of a shoulder anchor, is easy. The shoulder anchor is fixed to a slider. The slider is slidably mounted to a slide rail by the position adjusting mechanism which has a lock pin and a release lever. The release lever is placed on the slider in which a stepped groove is formed. The release lever is swingably held due to engagement of an anchor plate of a cover case with a cut-out groove. A flange portion is formed at the lock pin, and is supported by a step forming portion of the stepped groove. Due to a coil spring, a shaft portion of the lock pin is inserted through an insertion hole of the slider and is fit into an engagement hole formed in the slide rail.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2001
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai-Rika-Denki-Seisakusho
    Inventors: Takayuki Ando, Tetsushi Muromachi, Yoshio Umezawa, Kenji Matsui