Patents Examined by Chris Schwartz
  • Patent number: 6945371
    Abstract: Wet clutch (100) or friction plate brake has an essentially hollow cylindrical shaped balance piston (14) that is coaxial to a clutch hub (2) and is rigidly connected with an apply piston support device (12), an essentially ring shaped spring support (14.1), and an essentially cylinder shaped wall (14.3) that has an essentially cylinder shaped contact surface (14.4). The cylinder shaped contact surface (14.4) is axially (ax) displaceable and is bordered by an essentially cylinder shaped contact surface (8.5) of an apply piston (8) so as to form an equalizing space (16). The contact or support surfaces (14.4, 8.5) of the balance piston (14) and the apply piston (8) are provided coaxial between the clutch hub (2) and the apply piston support device (12).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2005
    Assignee: BorgWarner Inc.
    Inventor: Thomas Schmidt
  • Patent number: 6942074
    Abstract: A drum brake system adapted to transmit force to left and right levers for evenly contacting the left and right shoes to the drum when the driver depresses the brake pedal. The force is transmitted from a wheel cylinder, thereby resulting in an effective braking action due to the even contact between the drum and the shoes, and an improvement of the durability of components by preventing a partial wear and tear of the shoes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2005
    Assignee: Kia Motors Corporation
    Inventor: Byeong-Wook Kang
  • Patent number: 6935472
    Abstract: A damping structure includes a member defining an internal cavity; an aggregate which includes at least solid bodies in contact and which completely fills the internal cavity; a rigid plate for closing off the internal cavity; and an elastic element which exerts elastic pressure on the rigid plate so as to constrain the aggregate. The member defining the cavity may be elongate with the internal cavity being formed longitudinally inside the member. At least some of said solid bodies may be hollow or solid, compact, made of different materials, of different shapes, and/or of different sizes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2005
    Assignees: Eurocopter, Ateca
    Inventors: Marc Francis Vincent Dussac, Philippe Vie, Osmin Delverdier
  • Patent number: 6935706
    Abstract: The invention relates to an electrohydraulic brake slip control device for motor vehicles, including one or more electromagnetically actuatable hydraulic valves contained in a valve block, having valve domes, which protrude at least partway beyond the valve block in the direction of a valve axis and each engage in a coil opening of an electric coil held by a coil holder, and having contact elements, which protrude away from the coils and through openings of a top plate, in order to electrically activate the coils. At least some of the coils are held against the coil holder in a plane perpendicular to the valve axes with an easily moving play, but also in a position-oriented fashion and, after their alignment produced by the engagement of the valve domes in the associated coil openings, can be rigidly fixed in the aligned position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2005
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventor: Reinhold Jocham
  • Patent number: 6935625
    Abstract: An air suspension control system, primarily for use with a vehicle, which increases ride stability and minimizes air losses to the air suspension control system during normal operation of the vehicle by utilization of an air restriction valve to restrict the air introduced into or exhausted from an air spring in response to a received control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2005
    Assignee: Haldex Brake Corporation
    Inventors: David Bolt, Victor A. Plath
  • Patent number: 6932200
    Abstract: A shock absorber mounting system for a drawer slide system comprising a fixed drawer slide member fixedly attached to a furniture frame, a moveable drawer slide fixedly attached to a drawer and slideably attached to the fixed slide member for guiding the drawer in and out of a furniture frame, a shock absorber comprising a cylinder and a piston wherein the piston is operable to slide in and out of the cylinder and wherein air is controllably allowed to enter or escape the cylinder in response to movement of the piston, a retainer clip comprising a central aperture for receiving and retaining the shock absorber and a base portion comprising means for engaging a mounting bracket, and a mounting bracket comprising means for retaining the retainer clip and shock absorber and wherein the mounting bracket is fixedly attached to the fixed drawer slide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2005
    Assignee: Grass America Inc.
    Inventors: Todd Booker, Georg Domenig
  • Patent number: 6932199
    Abstract: Brake linings for a disk brake with a brake disk, a brake caliper, and brake linings. The brake caliper features a lining well for the brake linings. The brake linings feature at least one friction lining and further feature on the side of the brake caliper at least one lip, which is disposed on the brake lining such that it extends beyond the friction face of the friction lining at the face of the brake disk, so that when installed it covers a gap formed between the brake disk and the friction face to protect it from infiltration of dirt from outside.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2005
    Assignee: Federal-Mogul World Wide, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert A. Emmett, Wilfried Strauss
  • Patent number: 6929103
    Abstract: A braking system comprised of a rotor, a plurality of actuators, a brake control unit and a by-pass valve. When in a brake-on mode of operation, the brake control unit effects braking by restricting the flow of a working fluid that is pumped in and out by each of the plurality of actuators as they engage the rotating rotor. The degree of restriction to the flow of the working fluid can be varied to adjust the amount of braking force applied. The brake system is self-energizing in that it is not reliant on a substantial external source to create the operating pressure necessary to effect braking. Operating the by-pass valve into a by-pass on position effectively negates the generation of braking forces normally resulting from operation into the brake-on mode of operation while still allowing the actuators to engage the rotor and working fluid to be circulated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2005
    Assignee: Tonand Inc.
    Inventor: Antonio Cannata
  • Patent number: 6926373
    Abstract: To improve the control behavior of a brake system with anti-lock control (ABS) on the occurrence of road irregularities, a brief braking pressure reduction phase with a major braking pressure reduction on a wheel, followed by a high re-acceleration of the wheel, is interpreted as a road irregularity if the quotient of the duration of the braking pressure reduction and of the total duration of the pressure reduction phase multiplied by the re-acceleration of the wheel or the maximum value of the re-acceleration or if the acceleration variation or the maximum value of the acceleration variation exceeds predetermined limit values, and a braking pressure rise that is increased compared to the standard ABS control is caused as a result of detection of the road irregularity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2005
    Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. oHG
    Inventors: Dieter Burkhard, RĂ¼diger Mahlo
  • Patent number: 6926374
    Abstract: An automatic brake and steering system and method for a vehicle contains a sensor unit for sensing vehicle state and characteristic variables, and ambient conditions. Furthermore, a control unit and actuator devices are provided for setting the vehicle brake system and/or the vehicle steering system. In order to be able to carry out automatic avoidance maneuvers with maximum safety, an avoidance route is determined if there is an obstacle in the path of the vehicle. Thereby, if there is a further obstacle on the avoidance route, the strategy for determining the avoidance route is applied once more. If it is not possible to find a collision-free avoidance route, that route on which the difference between the remaining braking distance and the remaining distance from the obstacle is smallest is selected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2005
    Assignee: DaimlerChrysler AG
    Inventors: Ingo Dudeck, Rainer Freitag, Gerhard Kurz, Wofgang Lauer, Thomas Roehrig-Gericke, Reinhold Schoeb, Harry Troester, Andy Yap, Richard Zimmer
  • Patent number: 6926126
    Abstract: The invention relates to an electromechanical disk brake (10). To attain brake boosting, the invention proposes embodying the disk brake (10) with a multiple brake cylinder (24), which is displaceable in a secant direction of a brake disk (20), and which has both a friction brake lining piston (22), which is displaceable transversely to the brake disk (20), and two brake booster pistons (26), disposed facing one another, which are displaceable parallel to the brake disk (20), and which are braced on fixed abutments (36), for instance on an inside of a brake caliper (12) of the disk brake (10). For actuation of the disk brake (10), the multiple brake cylinder (24) is displaced in the direction of rotation (46) of the brake disk (20), and as a result, the brake booster piston (26) that is at the front in the displacement direction moves into the brake cylinder (26) and, via the friction brake lining piston (22), presses the friction brake lining (18) against the brake disk (20).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2005
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Dietmar Baumann, Herbert Vollert, Hanniel Schmidt, Frieder Keller
  • Patent number: 6926266
    Abstract: A shock absorbing assembly reduces impact forces on a terminal of a spark plug that is mounted within a spark plug bore of an internal combustion engine when a pencil ignition coil is mounted thereto. The shock absorbing assembly includes a plug cup that is fixedly secured to the terminal end of the spark plug. A case cup is movably mounted to the plug cup. The case cup includes a resistor receptacle for receiving an end of a resistor therein. The shock absorbing assembly also includes a cup spring that extends between the plug cup and the case cup. The cup spring absorbs the impact forces of mounting the pencil ignition coil to the terminal of the spark plug.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2005
    Assignee: Delphi Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark Albert Paul, Harry Oliver Levers, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6923296
    Abstract: A support for a disc brake has first and second bores in a first projection and third and fourth bores in a second projection located in a same horizontal plane and the first and third bores aligned in a first vertical plane and the second and fourth bores aligned in a second vertical plane. A first pin retained in the first and third bores extend through a first lever to position a first friction member adjacent a rotor while a second pin extends through the second and fourth bores to position a second friction member adjacent the rotor. Pressurized fluid is supplied to act on a piston retained in the first lever such that the first lever pivots on the first pin and the second lever pivots on the second pin to thereafter move the first and second friction members into engagement with the rotor and effect a brake application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2005
    Assignee: Robert Bosch Corporation
    Inventors: John Edmund Mackiewicz, William John Penninger
  • Patent number: 6923294
    Abstract: A lockable shopping cart wheel (10) comprises a plastics hollow casing (12), an axle (22) on which the casing is rotatably mounted and a resetable locking mechanism that is mounted on the axle in the casing. The casing has an end wall (14), a cylindrical wall (16) having a tire (20) and an end wall (18). The locking mechanism includes a locking plate (34) which is axially displaceable but rotationally fixed to the axle (22). A coil spring (38) acts between wall (18) and plate (34) urging it towards wall (14). The plate (34) defines formations which can engage the wall (16) thereby locking the wheel. Between the plate (34) and wall (14) are three gear wheels (44.1), (44.2) and (44.3) which meter the number of revolutions of the casing and release the plate (34) when a predetermined number of revolutions has taken place. The plate (34) is ferromagnetic, allowing the plate to be displaced against the spring action to reset the locking mechanism by using a magnet from outside the casing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2005
    Inventors: Adriaan Zagarias Albertus Labuschagne, Renier Percy Labuschagne
  • Patent number: 6923300
    Abstract: A driveline brake assembly for use on trucks as either a primary braking system or a secondary braking system. A camshaft connected to the driveline carries a number of cams thereon. Each cam has associated therewith a pair of pressure glides which ride on the cam from opposite sides. Each pressure glide may be forced against the cam forcibly due to an inflated air bladder pressing compression springs against the back of the pressure glide. This forcible pushing of the glides against the cams causes the camshaft to slow its rotational speed and accordingly slow the truck.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2005
    Inventor: Roy Beck
  • Patent number: 6921066
    Abstract: A connector assembly/device for elastically connecting a steering wheel to a rotary member supported by a stationary member so the rotary member is rotatable upon rotation of the steering wheel, including a first member fixed to the rotary member for rotation therewith, a second member fixed to the steering wheel for rotation steering wheel, an elastic body interposed between the first and second members to elastically connect the first and second members, and a relative-rotation restrictor located between the first and second members, for restricting an amount of elastic deformation of the elastic body upon rotation of the second member relative to the first member, to restrict a maximum angle of relative rotation of the first and second members permitted by the elastic deformation of the elastic body, for thereby restricting a maximum angle of rotation of the steering wheel relative to the rotary member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2005
    Assignee: Tokai Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Masaaki Hamada
  • Patent number: 6912926
    Abstract: The invention relates to a gear transmission comprising a first shaft, an intermediate shaft which is parallel to the first shaft, a first cylindrical pinion and a second cylindrical pinion for coupling the rotation of the first shaft and the intermediate shaft, a third cylindrical pinion which can rotate with the first shaft, and a fourth cylindrical pinion which can rotate with the intermediate shaft, and a double-toothed face gear mounted between and meshing with the third and fourth cylindrical pinions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2005
    Assignee: ASS AG
    Inventor: Augustinus F.H. Basstein
  • Patent number: 6913122
    Abstract: A braking device of a DC motor has a position detecting means to detect a position of a motor shaft, a rotational speed detecting means to detect a rotational speed of the motor and a braking means to generate a braking force based on a position signal and a speed signal detected by both of the means, and stops the motor shaft quickly and smoothly without making the motor shaft collide with a stopper.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2005
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Youichi Fujita, Satoshi Kawamura, Sotsuo Miyoshi
  • Patent number: 6907964
    Abstract: A ratchet-like assembly for winding a counterbalancing mechanism of a door. The ratchet-like assembly includes at least one plate, at least one ridge, an actuator, and at least one pawling element. Each plate is operatively mounted onto a fixed structure and includes an orifice through which extends a shaft of the counterbalancing mechanism and about which the shaft is rotatable along opposite first and second directions of rotation. Each ridge is provided about an outer edge of the corresponding orifice. The actuator is operatively connected to each plate and is operable between a locked configuration and an unlocked configuration. Each pawling element is mounted onto the actuator and is positioned within a corresponding ridge, adjacent to the shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2005
    Assignee: Canimex Inc.
    Inventor: Normand Savard
  • Patent number: 6907963
    Abstract: A hydraulic brake system (50) for a vehicle such as a golf car or the like uses the same brakes (52) and same brake pedal (80) for both service braking and park and hold braking. The brakes (52) are selectively engaged, locked in their engaged position, and released using an integrated control assembly including a brake pedal (80), an accelerator pedal (82), and a brake pedal locking mechanism (84). The brake pedal locking mechanism (84) is configured to automatically latch the brake pedal (80) in a locked position thereof and to automatically unlatch the brake pedal (80) from its locked position upon either subsequent movement of the brake pedal (80) into an overtravel position or subsequent actuation of the accelerator pedal (82). In addition, a hydraulic accumulator (62) stores part of the energy generated upon brake pedal depression and consequent manual actuation of a master cylinder (60) of the system to maintain the brakes (52) in their fully engaged state when the brake pedal (80) is latched.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2005
    Assignees: Hayes Brake LLC, Textron Inc.
    Inventors: Donald D. Brown, James A. Buckley, Scott A. Walterman, Susan R. Lang, legal representative, Terry Lou Reese, James M. Criscuolo, Joseph A. Lang, deceased