Abstract: A sleeve terminal which provides a continually assured level of normal force with respect to a received pin terminal, even as the sleeve member thereof may tend to relax over time. The sleeve terminal includes a sleeve member having a slot which allows the sleeve member to be resiliently expanded when a pin terminal is inserted therewithin. A pair of resilient arms characterized by an opposing V-shape are formed integrally with the sleeve member on opposing sides of the slot. The apex of the resilient arms provides a contact location with the inner surface of a barrel which is concentrically receives the sleeve terminal. A free end of each resilient arm is spaced a predetrmined distance from the sleeve member. A wire mount is connected to the sleeve member opposite the slot. In operation, a pin terminal is inserted into the sleeve member, causing the sleeve member to be resiliently expanded as the slot widens.

Abstract: A brake pedal for a motor vehicle brake-by-wire brake system including a pedal lever pivotally supported on a body of the motor vehicle, a foot pad on the pedal lever, and a compliant member having a plurality of parallel beams defining cantilever springs. A pedal force on the foot pad effects pedal travel of the pedal lever from a release position toward a brake full apply position. The parallel beams defining cantilever springs are arrayed in series between the pedal lever and the motor vehicle body and engage is series so that the effective stiffness of the compliant member increases during pedal travel. The stiffness of each of the parallel beams and the magnitudes of a plurality of clearance spans therebetween are “tuned” to yield a pedal force which initially increases slowly relative to pedal travel and then increases exponentially relative to pedal travel thereby emulating the relationship between pedal force and pedal travel of a brake pedal in a traditional motor vehicle brake system.

Abstract: A mechanism for lifting and lowering a wide rear liftgate comprising a single power actuator located near only a first side of the liftgate and a torque tube having first and second arms and a central resilient stem. The torque tube is attached to the liftgate with the stem journaled to the liftgate, the first arm adjacent the first side of the liftgate and the second arm attached to a second side of the liftgate. The first arm is attached to the power actuator through a ball stud which extends through a slot in the liftgate. When lifting or lowering the liftgate, the power actuator applies a lifting or lowering force to the first arm twisting the stem and applying the lifting or lowering force to the second side of the liftgate through the second arm. The ball stud then engages the slot applying the lifting or lowering force to the first side of the liftgate.

Abstract: The present invention provides a reservoir cap and bleed mechanism for use with the fluid reservoir of a dry interface corner actuator. The reservoir cap and bleed mechanism displaces a portion of the reservoir volume during filling and provides a diaphragm to maintain a fill reservoir volume during operation. The fluid reservoir can be bled and filled to the desired brake fluid level through a sealable passage in the reservoir cap assembly without removing the reservoir cap.

Abstract: An apparatus and methods for determining dynamic state-of-charge of a battery that is subject to periodic charging and discharging within a system. Correction factors &eegr; are determined for various operational conditions of current, temperature and state of charge which relate relative discharge and charge efficiency with a reference set of conditions. According to conditions, the correction factor, either calculated in real-time or retrieved as a stored value, is then applied periodically to the charge and discharge currents of the battery to adjust an estimated state-of-charge value (SOC) for the battery within the given system.

Abstract: A disc brake comprises an operating mechanism operable to move friction material pads into contact with a disc. The operating mechanism comprises a support body located on one side of the disc, a cylinder defined by the support body, and a piston in the cylinder. The operating mechanism also comprises a guidance member for the pads. The guidance member projects from the support body past the disc and supports an abutment on which one of said pads is mounted. The guidance member is mounted on the support body by means of a plurality of bolts which extend through bores in the guidance member to said abutment. The bolts take the load during application of the brake.

Abstract: An improved IR occupant position detection system that provides accurate and reliable classification and position information at a speed sufficient to timely inhibit or otherwise control deployment of occupant restraints. A two-dimensional array of IR emitters is selectively activated to periodically illuminate two or more of predetermined viewing planes in the vicinity of a passenger seating area, and the reflected IR energy is detected by a photo-sensitive receiver and analyzed to detect the presence of an occupant, to classify the occupant, and to identify and dynamically track the position of the occupant's head/torso relative to predefined zones of the passenger compartment. Modulating the intensity of the emitted IR beams with a known carrier frequency, band-pass filtering the received signal, and synchronously detecting the filtered signal distinguishes the reflected IR energy from other signals picked up by the IR receiver.

Abstract: A rotary damper for use in an automotive vehicle. The rotary damper includes an outer casing having a main chamber and a pair of piston orifices, the main chamber and the piston orifices being filled with a damping fluid, a pivotable cam located in the main chamber and attached to an arm for transferring the rotary movement of the arm to the cam. The damper also includes a pair of pistons, each located in its own orifice, and connected to opposite sides of the cam. When the ami transfers the rotary movement to the cam, each piston is moved in opposite directions in its respective piston orifice to damp the rotary movement of the arm.

Abstract: A fiber optic connection system includes a connector body that has a socket at one end and a wire spring that has parallel retention legs that are spread apart against the self biasing forces of the wire spring. A pair of fiber optic cables are terminated in dovetailed ferrules that have up ramps at a forward end and down ramps at a rearward end. The dovetailed ferrules are inserted into the socket and retained by the parallel retention legs of the wire spring engaging the down ramps. The parallel retention legs engage the up ramps during insertion of the dovetailed ferrules into the socket to spread the parallel retention legs apart against the self biasing forces of the wire spring. The fiber optic connection system includes a ferrule position assurance device that is carried by the connector body for movement between a pre-stage position and a final position.

Abstract: A linkless variable valve mechanism includes a rocker arm having a first end and a second end. A rocker roller is carried by the first end of the rocker arm, and engages an input cam lobe disposed upon an input shaft. A frame member having a first end and a second end is pivotally mounted upon the input shaft. The first end of the frame member is pivotally coupled to a control shaft, and the second end is pivotally coupled to the second end of the rocker arm. An output cam is pivotally mounted upon the input shaft. An output cam follower is attached to the output cam, and includes an inside surface. A sliding block is pivotally coupled to the second end of the rocker arm and engages the inside surface of the cam follower.

Abstract: An improved control methodology for an engine control valve, in which the valve is positioned in response to a commanded flow rate of the controlled medium. The method involves a valve characterization procedure in which the actual flow rate is measured for various combinations of valve position and pressure ratio across the valve, subject to a standard set of upstream pressure and temperature values. This results in a table of valve position in terms of pressure ratio and standard flow rate—that is, flow rate under the standard upstream pressure and temperature values. In operation, a controller addresses the table to obtain the desired valve position as a function of a determined pressure ratio across the valve, and a desired standard flow rate determined based on the commanded flow rate and the pressure and temperature of the controlled medium upstream of the valve, relative to the standard pressure and temperature values.

Abstract: Purging of a fuel vapor storage canister of an internal combustion engine is optimized through the provision of fuel vapor storage apparatus. A real time measurement of the fuel vapor content of the canister is enabled by providing the canister with a fuel vapor sensor located in at least one of the purge line and the fresh air port of the canister. The fuel vapor sensor is most preferably an adsorption sensitive resistor which operates on the principle of adsorption according to Vander Walls “a” constant, and the electrical resistance of the fuel vapor sensor preferably varies with respect to the fuel vapor concentration present.

Abstract: An improved vehicle climate control system in which the passenger compartment temperature and humidity are controlled without requiring a humidity sensor. The control is based on the recognition that the air temperature at the evaporator outlet represents the dew point of the air supplied to the passenger compartment, and may be specified based on the desired passenger compartment air temperature to achieve a desired relative humidity in the vehicle once the desired passenger compartment temperature has been achieved. In a first mechanization, the desired relative humidity is predetermined, and the corresponding values of evaporator outlet air temperature are determined as a function of the desired passenger compartment temperature.

Abstract: A fuel tank cover assembly for a fuel tank of a vehicle includes a cover adapted to close an opening in the fuel tank having a fuel reservoir disposed therein and a universal joint coupling disposed between the cover and the fuel reservoir to allow the cover to be skewed from a bottom of the fuel tank.

Abstract: An improved method for controlling inlet air mixing in a vehicle air conditioning system having an air inlet mixing device, wherein the mixing device is controlled under predefined operating conditions to improve vehicle fuel economy and achieve performance improvements associated with cabin air recirculation while maintaining a predefined level of outside air flow in the inlet air mixture of the system. The overall air flow is determined by the speed of an inlet air blower motor, and the control is enabled under high thermal loading to adjust the inlet air mixing device as a function of the blower motor speed so that the predetermined level of outside air flow is preserved regardless of the blower motor speed.

Abstract: A ferroelectric/pyroelectric sensor that employs a technique for determining a charge output of a pyroelectric element of the sensor by measuring the hysteresis loop output of the element several times during a particular time frame for the same temperature. An external AC signal is applied to the pyroelectric element to cause the hysteresis loop output from the element to switch polarization. The frequency of the external AC signal is greater than the frequency of a chopper selectively applying a reference temperature and a scene temperature alternately to the pyroelectric element. Each time the chopper provides the reference temperature or the scene temperature to the element, the alternating external source covers multiple cycles so that the hysteresis loop output is switched multiple times for increased signal averaging.

Abstract: A magnetostrictive sensor for outputting a signal representative of torque on a shaft includes one or more excitation coils that generate magnetic flux which permeates the shaft and pickup coils that detect the flux after the flux passes through the shaft. Torque on the shaft affects the magnetic flux passing through the shaft. A coupling member such as plural rollers or powder metal poles are disposed in the flux path and touch the shaft such that no air gap exists in the flux path. Consequently, the sensor is comparatively sensitive, and is not unduly effected by shaft run-out.

Abstract: A drive circuit for controlling at least one device having first and second electromagnetically operable actuators, the drive circuit having first and second terminals for connection to a voltage supply and comprising a first controllable switch in connection with one side of the actuators and the first terminal. Each actuator has an associated second controllable switch in connection with the other side of the respective actuator, whereby opening and closing of the first and second switches serves to control selection and actuation of the actuators. The circuit further comprises a sensor arrangement for providing independent sensing of the current flowing through each of the actuators, each actuator having an associated diode in connection with the respective second controllable switch to ensure current flows through the sensor arrangement when the first controllable switch is opened and the second controllable switch is closed.

Abstract: A method and apparatus wherein a single dual element galvanomagnetic sensor, herein exemplified by a single dual element magnetoresistive sensor (16′), is utilized to sense crankshaft position and rotational speed from the passage of single tooth edges (12′) of a target wheel (10′) by continuous adaptive matching of both MR output signals (VMR1′, VMR2′) during sensor operation. Over a slot (28′) or tooth (26′), both MR output signals should be equal, and if not, they are matched by adjusting the current of one of the current sources (30′, 32′) driving the MRs, performed over a slot or a tooth. Due to higher magnetic sensitivity at smaller air gaps, matching by current adjustment over a tooth is preferred. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, one MR is driven by a constant current source (30′) while the other MR is driven by a voltage controlled current source (32′).

Abstract: An attitude angle estimator and method of estimating attitude angle of a vehicle. According to one embodiment, an angular attitude rate sensor senses angular attitude rate of a vehicle, and an accelerometer detects lateral or longitudinal acceleration. An attitude angle estimate is produced and is updated as a function of the sensed angular attitude rate. An acceleration-based attitude angle is determined as a function of the sensed acceleration, and a blending coefficient is provided. A *current vehicle attitude angle estimate is generated as a function of the updated attitude angle estimate, the acceleration-based attitude angle, and the blending coefficient. According to a second embodiment, both a roll angle estimate and a pitch angle estimate are determined.