Abstract: An apparatus and process for assembling individual body components of a body-in-white vehicle with respect to one another to form a unitary vehicle body including a framing workstation for receiving and positionally locating an underbody member of the vehicle, and for receiving and positionally locating at least one upper body member of the vehicle with respect to the underbody member. The framing workstation establishing a predetermined geometry of the individual body components, while forming the unitary vehicle body. At least one self-piercing rivet tool for securing the at least one upper body member of the vehicle to the underbody member of the vehicle to form and maintain the predetermined geometry of the unitary vehicle body with self-piercing rivets.
Abstract: An auxiliary power port such as is found in an automotive vehicle passenger compartment has a receptacle connected with the vehicle electrical system and a sleeve rotatably mounted in the receptacle to receive a standard adapter plug of the type intended for use with automotive power ports. The sleeve is insulatively spaced from the inner surface of the receptacle, and includes at least one and preferably multiple PTC elements conductively sandwiched between the sleeve and the receptacle. The PTC elements are rotatable into and out of a non-conductive window in the receptacle to selectively adjust the overcurrent protection level provided by the power port, and to disconnect the PTC elements from current to allow them to reset after being tripped by overcurrent.
Abstract: Vehicle suspension having a control arm pivotally mounted to vehicle body. Wheel support is pivotally mounted to the control arm. A hydraulic strut is pivotally mounted to body at trunnion mount. The wheel may be protracted to be placed vertically on the road surface or retracted at an angle, for example to allow good marine performance in an amphibious vehicle. Strut may be extended or retracted by hydraulic fluid pumped through ports and may also be used for wheel springing and damping. As trunnion mount is part way up the strut, the strut can pivot out of the way of the retracing wheel. A second control arm may also be fitted; this may be part of a double wishbone wheel suspension.
Abstract: A waveguide diplexing and filtering device for separating two polarities of one frequency band and at least one polarity of another frequency band of an electromagnetic or microwave signal. The waveguide diplexing and filtering device of the present invention provides an enclosure having a longitudinal axis with a common channel formed in the enclosure and terminating at a common port. The common channel and the common port are adapted to receive the electromagnetic or microwave signal. A side channel is formed in the enclosure and terminates at a side port. The side channel is in communication with a common channel, and the side channel is adapted to cut off the lower frequency of the microwave signal and allow the upper frequency of the microwave signal to propagate through the side channel to the side port. The main channel is formed in the enclosure and terminates at a main port and is in communication with the common channel.
Abstract: A method and apparatus for vacuum thermoforming disposable drink cups lids including the step of imparting printing to the lids while they are in contact with the vacuum thermoforming platen.
Abstract: An airbag arrestor mountable about a vehicle steering column carrying a steering wheel and a airbag module is non-axially movable with respect to the vehicle steering wheel and steering column during airbag inflation by containing and redirecting airbag inflation gasses oppositely from the steering wheel through an open end of the airbag arrestor enclosure secured about the steering column. The airbag arrestor includes a flexible, ballistic grade material enclosure having a sidewall extending between an open end and an opposed closed end. An attachment in the form of a strap constructed of a ballistic grade material is tightenable about the sidewall of the enclosure adjacent the open end to non-axially movably secure the enclosure about the vehicle steering column.
Abstract: A polyelectrolyte solid system, especially provided in the form of flocks, flock composites, nonwovens of paper, comprised of a mixture of fibrous entities containing polyanion-polycation complexes and entities containing polyanions and/or containing polycations. A method for producing a polyelectrolyte solid system, whereby for the production of the mixture of the fibrous entities containing polyanion-polycation complexes and of the entities containing polyanions and/or containing polycations are used as aqueous solvents of polyanionic and polycationic polyelectrolytes. A wound dressing produced by using a polyelectrolyte solid system.
Abstract: A card edge terminal box-like configuration made from bending a stamped blank into the desired form. A pair of longer, lower spaced apart arms engage a trace side of a circuitboard while a pair of shorter upper arms having detents formed on the distal or free ends thereof engage an opposite surface of the circuitboard and have detent portions which snap into a slot which is strategically located in the non-trace surface of the circuitboard. A spring contact between the arms is resiliently deflected from a first raised position to a second lowered position as it engages the edge trace on the circuitboard. Stable mechanical and electrical association between the terminal and the circuitboard is assured over a wide variety of harsh operating environmental conditions.
Abstract: An artificial electro-ferromagnetic meta-material demonstrates the design of tunable band-gap and tunable bi-anisotropic materials. The medium is obtained using a composite mixture of dielectric, ferro-electric, and metallic materials arranged in a periodic fashion. By changing the intensity of an applied DC field the permeability of the artificial electro-ferromagnetic can be properly varied over a particular range of frequency. The structure shows excellent Electromagnetic Band-Gap (EBG) behavior with a band-gap frequency that can be tuned by changing the applied DC field intensity. The building block of the electro-ferromagnetic material is composed of miniaturized high Q resonant circuits embedded in a low-loss dielectric background. The resonant circuits are constructed from metallic loops terminated with a printed capacitor loaded with a ferro-electric material. Modifying the topology of the embedded-circuit, a bi-anisotropic material (tunable) is examined.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
October 10, 2003
Date of Patent:
August 23, 2005
Assignee:
The Regents of the University of Michigan
Abstract: A quick change tool cartridge for high production endform machines having a plurality of work stations mounted upon an indexable rotary head. The tool cartridge system is mounted upon the tool support by quick connect radially movable elements or pins radially displaced by a rotatable actuator sleeve. The locking elements cooperate with a groove, or holes, within the tool holder depending on whether or not relative rotation between the tool support and tool holder is desired.
Abstract: An apparatus and method for randomly interchanging up to four pairs of side framing gates at a framing station of a vehicle assembly line while maintaining a predetermined build cycle time interval of the assembly line. The system employs first and second carousels positioned on opposite sides of the assembly line upstream of the framing station and third and fourth carousels positioned on opposite sides of the production line downstream of the framing station.
Abstract: An article storage receptacle is mountable in a truck bed. A storage compartment is supported by a pivotal frame coupled to a moving unit for moving the frame and the storage compartment between a first position overlaying the truck bed to a variably selected second position elevated from the first position opening the interior of the storage compartment to access. A tonneau cover is pivotally mounted on the frame. An article carrier is carried by the tonneau cover.
Abstract: A cleaning apparatus and system includes at least one handle, at least one paddle, and at least one cleaning element. The handle is a pivotally attachable to each paddle. The cleaning element has elastic to draw the side edges of the body inward to form an opening smaller than the outer diameter of the paddle to releasably attach the cleaning element about the paddle. A receiver is mounted on each paddle and movably receives one end of the handle.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
July 9, 2004
Date of Patent:
August 16, 2005
Assignees:
K & R Industries, Inc., Consumer Solutions, Inc.
Abstract: A plastic drink-through lid of the type having a deck, a peripheral skirt, and a partially separable, preformed tab in the deck to form a drink-through hold which does not extend through the peripheral skirt. The tab has an upstanding thumb catch preformed thereon. The fold back hinge is formed in the deck immediately adjacent the tab and spaced less than about one-half of the lid radius from the periphery. This creates a very short throw which allows a user to open the tab and lock it back with the thumb of the same hand that is holding the cup.
Abstract: A material not releasing gaseous organic substances during use is used as a filter medium and a sealing material for tightly sealing between the medium and a frame. Specifically, a synthetic paraffin not containing an aliphatic hydrocarbon having not more than 19 carbon atoms or less is used as a non-silicone type water repellent contained in a treatment agent for forming fibers into a cloth-like filter medium. A carboxylic acid ester having 400 or more molecular weight is used as a plasticizer and a phenolic compound having 300 or more molecular weight is used as an antioxidant to be added to the treatment agent and the sealing material. This enables that the gaseous organic substances are not present in a clean room, a semiconductor production apparatus or the like.
Abstract: The present invention has as its object to provide an air filter not only for trapping suspended particulate substances but also for not generating hazardous contaminates in the air, which cause trouble in the manufacture of semiconductor devices. As a binder to bind fibers of the air filter together, a polymer dispersion is used in which a copolymer of a hydrophilic monomer and a hydrophobic monomer is dispersed in water. As an initiator for polymerization of the copolymer, an organic peroxide is used. When an air filter (8) is installed downstream of a chemical filter (7), the space (4) placed downstream of the air filter (8) is made substantially free of organic substances and/or inorganic substances that cause trouble in the manufacture of semiconductor devices.
Abstract: A quilting ruler is square or rectangular in shape and has first, second, third and fourth edges with a first set of equally spaced rulings running parallel to the first and third edges of the ruler and at right angles to a second set of equally spaced rulings running parallel to the second and fourth edges of the ruler. The first line of the first set of rulings is spaced from the first edge of the ruler by a different interval from the interval by which the last line of that set of rulings is spaced from the third edge of the ruler, and the distance of each line of the first set of rulings from the first edge and of each line of the second set of rulings from the second edge is marked so as to be visible when the first and second edges of the ruler are in use and the distance of each line of the first set of rulings from the third edge and of each line of the second set of rulings from the fourth edge is marked so as to be visible when the third and fourth edges of the ruler are in use.
Abstract: An automatable measuring, cleaning and calibrating device for pH-electrodes or electrodes for measuring redox potentials, specifically in process engineering, having an electrode armature which keeps the measuring electrode in an operating position or in a maintenance position, whereby the electrode is retained in the maintenance position in a rinsing chamber in which a cleaning and calibration procedure can be performed. The device has a pump device to supply cleaning fluid and calibration solutions to the rinsing chamber over a delivery line connecting the pump device and the rinsing chamber. In order to configure the device more compactly, the pump device includes several feeds on its intake side, and a device is furnished to selectively activate a particular feed, and the media (cleaning fluid, calibration solution, etc.) brought selectively over the particular feeds to the pump device reach the rinsing chamber over the common delivery line.
Abstract: An airbag arrestor mountable about a vehicle steering column carrying a steering wheel and a airbag module is non-axially movable with respect to the vehicle steering wheel and steering column during airbag inflation by containing and redirecting airbag inflation gasses oppositely from the steering wheel through apertures in the sidewall of the airbag arrestor enclosure secured about the steering column. The airbag arrestor includes a flexible, ballistic grade material enclosure having a sidewall extending between an open end and an opposed closed end. An attachment in the form of a strap constructed of a ballistic grade material is tightenable about one end of the sidewall of the enclosure adjacent the open end to non-axially movably secure the enclosure about the vehicle steering column.