Patents Assigned to TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG
  • Patent number: 6680450
    Abstract: An electric switch has a switch housing, a knob mounted in the housing, a guide gate having latching recesses and arranged inside the switch housing, and a spring-loaded cam follower guided by the guide gate. The switching positions of the switch are defined by interaction of the cam follower with the guide gate and with its latching recesses. The guide gate has damping elements made of elastic material and fitted in the latching recesses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2004
    Assignee: TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Hans-Joachim Frohne, Klaus Müller, Jürgen Girke
  • Patent number: 6676056
    Abstract: A seat belt retractor has a retractor frame, a belt spool rotatably mounted in the frame, an electric drive motor, a reduction belt gear with a toothed belt connecting the electric motor permanently with the belt spool, and a winding spring functionally arranged between the frame and the belt spool, permanently biasing the belt spool with a winding moment. The electric motor is controlled to either counteract or assist the winding spring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2004
    Assignee: TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Cornelius Peter
  • Patent number: 6670549
    Abstract: The invention relates to an electronic module consisting of electrical circuit board conductors (3a), one or more electronic and/or electromechanical components (5, 5′), and one or more electrical connection contacts (7) wherein the circuit board conductors (3a) and the components (5, 5′) are surrounded at least partially by a plastic material (11) having low Shore Hardness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2003
    Assignee: TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Karl-Heinz Wohlfahrt, Horst Singer
  • Patent number: 6666101
    Abstract: The invention relates to a measuring instrument, specifically for the registration devices in automobile technology with at least a first and second independently activatable driving mechanism and with respectively a first driven shaft (15; 17), which can respectively be twist-proof connected with an indicator element, whereby the driven shaft (15) of the second driving mechanism is conducted co-axially through the driven shaft (17), designed as hollow shaft, of the first driving mechanism and protrudes, with its extremity, beyond the extremity of the driving shaft designed as hollow shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2003
    Assignee: TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Roland Sauter, Margit Sauter née Schwaderer
  • Patent number: 6657869
    Abstract: The invention relates to a metal housing 1, especially for an airbag control device, comprising a bottom plate and a cover plate, a rear wall and two side walls 5, 6, having mounting elements in the interior of the housing for at least one printed circuit board, and with a terminal element arranged at the front side of the housing for at least one connection element. According to the invention, the bottom—and/or the cover plate is/are connected with an installation plate 22, 23 which is attachable to a support. In this arrangement, projections are being utilized which are embeddable in and can be pressed into recesses of the installation plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2003
    Assignees: TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG, Alutec Metallwaren GmbH & Co.
    Inventors: Ralph Linke, Georg Mascha, Willy Kretz
  • Publication number: 20030216842
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device that facilitates the control of units forming part of the equipment of a vehicle. The device comprises an input device for the purpose of inputting actions (such as communication, entertainment, . . . ) that are part of a set of pre-determined actions that can be realised by at least one of the units, and to transform the inputs into a signal representing the action, a memory in which is filed a relational database in which each action from the set is allocated to at least one unit that can realise that action, and a control unit that is connected to the input device, the memory and the units.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 3, 2003
    Publication date: November 20, 2003
    Applicant: TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Ernst Hafner, Peter Bubb, Matthias Gotz
  • Patent number: 6634480
    Abstract: The driving device has a rotatable drive disc (16) that is coupled to a motor (10) and, arranged coaxially with the drive disc, a locking disc (20) that can be rotated to a limited extent relative to the drive disc. The locking disc has detent teeth on its outer circumference. A pawl (30), is pivotally mounted on a stationary axis. The drive disc (16) is provided with a recess (28) on its outer circumference. The outer circumference of the drive disc extends radially beyond the tips of the detent teeth. The recess has a bottom of approximately the same radial depth as the gaps of the detent teeth. Together with the outer circumference of the drive disc (16), the recess (28) forms a cam on which the tip of the pawl (30) slides.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2003
    Assignee: TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Cornelius Peter, Johann Von Der Heide
  • Patent number: 6636937
    Abstract: The proposed system for safe high-temperature operation of a flash memory is suitable, more particularly, for use in automotive technology, for example, for a transmission controller, the flash memory being programmed prior to use at high temperatures such that each data set in the flash memory is saved redundant. The system is provided with a temperature sensor for sensing the temperature characterizing the temperature of the flash memory, and with a control unit connected to the temperature sensor and the flash memory. The control unit, including a timer, is configured such that it receives the temperature signals from the temperature sensor and is able to establish an accumulated heat load value of the flash memory by integrating the resulting temperature values versus time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2003
    Assignee: TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Cornelius Peter
  • Publication number: 20030174472
    Abstract: A housing for a control device in vehicles is provided. The housing satisfies the requirements of acceleration transmission and reliable ground connection with a simple and inexpensive construction. The housing comprises a metallic shell that has parallel top and bottom walls, opposed side walls interconnecting the top and bottom walls and an open front face. A shaped carrier structure has a pair of opposed lateral edges. Both side walls of the shell have an internal groove extending parallel to and spaced from the bottom wall of the shell. The carrier structure is accommodated within the shell and has its lateral edges fitted in the grooves of the side walls.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2002
    Publication date: September 18, 2003
    Applicant: TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Robert Skofljanec, Reinhard Lange
  • Patent number: 6610940
    Abstract: A switch includes a deflectable inertial mass that responds to acceleration. The inertial mass is for activating a switching system. The inertial mass is suspended on two parallel, elastically deflectable support arms having a first, firmly anchored end and a second, movable end to which the inertial mass is attached.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2003
    Assignee: TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Thomas Flaig, Robert Skofljanec
  • Patent number: 6609426
    Abstract: A pressure sensor comprises a sensor diaphragm which on one of its surfaces can be acted upon by the fluid pressure to be defected. The sensor diaphragm is rigidly supported at its opposite surface. It is made of an elastomeric material of an electrically non-conducting material wherein fine particles of electrically conducting material are homogenously embedded and distributed in such a density that a compression of the sensor diaphragm caused by the fluid pressure results in a measurable change in its electrical resistivity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2003
    Assignee: TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Markus Altmann, Robert Skofljanec, Clemens Müller
  • Publication number: 20030140720
    Abstract: An assembly comprises a spindle and a moving nut disposed on the spindle. The spindle and the moving nut are made of plastics. At least one of the two components spindle and moving nut being resilient such that the moving nut is prevented from getting stuck on the spindle. There is further proposed an actuator including such assembly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 27, 2003
    Publication date: July 31, 2003
    Applicant: TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Reinhard Krause
  • Patent number: 6600118
    Abstract: An actuating system for a vehicular interior comprises a panel (12) with a front face and a module element (14) for assembly in an opening (16) of the panel (12). The panel (12) has side walls (18) which are perpendicular to the front face. The panel (12) and the module element (14) have cooperating latching elements which comprise a detent (26) and a latching edge (22). The detent (26) is configured on an elastically deflectable tongue (24) and comprises a ramp surface (28) cooperating with the latching edge (22).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2003
    Assignee: TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Markus Altmann
  • Publication number: 20030136936
    Abstract: An assembly consists of a housing and a flap unit. The housing and the flap unit are each one-piece injection-molded parts and the flap unit is mounted in the housing. The flap unit has at least two flap elements and a connection section arranged between each two flap elements. The connection section has a compensation element that can compensate for shrinkage-related length changes, in particular of the connection section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 23, 2003
    Publication date: July 24, 2003
    Applicant: TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Reinhard Krause
  • Patent number: 6595453
    Abstract: The torque developed at a belt shaft of a belt retractor coupled to an electric motor via a drive belt is controlled so as to avoid a hysteresis. For this purpose, the direction of rotation of the belt shaft is detected and, depending on the direction of rotation as detected, the electric current supplied to the electric motor is changed from a first value to a second value that is different from the first value by an amount required to compensate for hysteresis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2003
    Assignee: TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Rolf Dürrstein, Cornelius Peter
  • Publication number: 20030117811
    Abstract: A lamp socket for a bulb has two latching hooks by means of which the lamp socket can be latched into place at a reflector, and that a spring, which can abut at the lighting means.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 8, 2002
    Publication date: June 26, 2003
    Applicant: TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Ralf Mock, Olaf Rottstadt
  • Publication number: 20030089576
    Abstract: A compact drive unit for actuating parking brakes is provided The drive unit has a reduction gear that is formed by a two-stage belt drive, in combination with a drive motor that is made up of a brushless direct current motor The two-stage belt drive preferably consists of two toothed belt drives functionally arranged in series; the direct current motor preferably has an external rotor with a rare-earth magnetic ring.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2002
    Publication date: May 15, 2003
    Applicant: TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Cornelius Peter
  • Publication number: 20030087470
    Abstract: The electronic module whose electronic components are connected by conductor tracks has a housing with a base body housing made of electrically non-conductive plastic. The base body housing is provided with recessed conduits on the inside surface of its housing wall, and a galvanizable plastic is introduced into these conduits. The conductor tracks are formed by a metallization applied onto the galvanizable plastic and they can run three-dimensionally along different wall sections of the base body housing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 21, 2002
    Publication date: May 8, 2003
    Applicant: TRW Automotive Electronic & Components GmbH & Co.KG
    Inventor: Ralph Linke
  • Patent number: 6557485
    Abstract: The invention relates to a measuring system, especially for display devices in the automobile technology, with at least one first and one second separately actuated control, as well as a first and second driven shaft (17, 19) which can be rotationally fixed to a display element. The second driven shaft (19) of the second control is co-axially driven by the driven shaft (17) which is designed as a hollow shaft in the first control and the second driven shaft (19) protrudes above the end of the first driven shaft (17).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2003
    Assignee: TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Roland Sauter
  • Patent number: 6556119
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device for isolating an electric circuit, especially for high current intensities, with a housing (1) in which is provided at least one electrical conductor element (3) which presents an isolating area (9) and which can be wired in such manner into the severable electric circuit that the isolating current path passes over the conductor element (3) and with activatable means(13, 7; 3, 9, 7), provided in or at housing (1) for generating a trigger pressure which acts directly upon the isolating area (9) and/or via a driving surface (17, 23, 39, 41), in its original position, impinging upon the isolating area (9), wherein the isolating area (9) and/or the driving surface (17, 23, 39, 41) is designed in such manner that after activation of the means (13, 7; 3, 9, 7) the isolating area (9) is totally isolated or broken out, or the cross-section of the isolating area (9) is reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2003
    Assignee: TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Peter Lell