Patents Examined by Kip Kotter
  • Patent number: 8087439
    Abstract: This wheel has features allowing both integrated and non-integrated Central Tire Inflation (CTI) systems to be installed, without the need for a specialized manifold, adapter, or unique wheel to accommodate each specific system. Thus, a single, light-weight wheel in accordance with this invention can accept either non-integrated or integrated CTI valves, allowing the wheels of the invention to be used on newer vehicles with integrated CTI systems, as well as on older vehicles with non-integrated (external) CTI systems. In addition, a wheel with both integrated and non-integrated Central Tire Inflation (CTI) systems is much simpler to assemble since the valve mounts directly to the wheel and no brackets are required, unlike prior two-piece bolt-together wheels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2012
    Assignee: Hutchinson, S.A.
    Inventors: Peter K. Hobe, Olivier Noblanc
  • Patent number: 8020945
    Abstract: A wheel for vehicle includes a wheel body, a decorated member, and a visible space. The wheel body has a rim, a hub, and a plurality of spokes connecting the hub and the rim. The decorated member is made from resin, is disposed on a surface of at least one of the spokes, and is retained to the wheel body. The visible space is disposed between the decorated member and the one of the spokes at least, exhibits a height in an axial direction of the wheel body, and is visible from an axial outer side of the wheel body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2011
    Assignees: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd., Topy Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuo Takeda, Tatsuya Oba, Tetsuya Arakawa, Koji Murakami, Kazuki Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 8016368
    Abstract: A rubber crawler track having less wear at its left and right end portions to improve its durability. The rubber crawler track has steel cords 12 embedded in the longitudinal direction of the track and has a rubber lug 15 formed on the outer periphery side thereof. The rubber crawler track is constructed from three kinds of rubbers that are an inner peripheral side rubber (a), an outer peripheral side rubber (b), and an edge rubber (c) at the left and right of the rubber crawler track. The edge rubber (c) is a rubber layer having the highest hardness degree. The ground contact side, inner peripheral side and ends in the width direction have different kinds of rubber, and the edge rubber (c) having excellent wear resistance with a hardness degree of 72 (JIS A) or greater is placed in particular at the machine body side end of the rubber crawler track because of the significant wear at this location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2011
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventor: Shingo Sugihara
  • Patent number: 8011737
    Abstract: A wheel for a toy vehicle includes a rim, a tire, and a ballast. The rim includes an outer circumferential surface. The tire is attached to the outer circumferential surface of the rim. The tire and the rim cooperatively define a ring-shaped receiving channel therebetween. The ballast is received in the ring-shaped receiving channel, and slidably connected to the outer circumferential surface of the rim. The weight of the ballast is greater than the frictional force between the ballast and the rim.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2011
    Assignees: Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd., Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kui-Jun Wang, Feng-Xiang Tang
  • Patent number: 8011738
    Abstract: A fabricated bead seat attached vehicle wheel includes a wheel rim and wheel disc joined together. The wheel rim includes an inboard tire bead seat retaining flange, an inner tire bead seat, a well, an outer tire bead seat, and an outboard tire bead seat retaining flange. The wheel defines a wheel axis and includes a generally centrally located wheel mounting portion and an outer annular portion which defines a wheel disc outer flange The wheel disc outer annular flange is segmented around a circumference thereof and includes at least a first plurality of segments and a second plurality of segments. The first plurality of segments extending a first axial distance relative to an adjacent outer surface of the wheel disc and the second plurality of segments extending a second axial distance relative to the adjacent outer surface of the wheel disc which is less than the first axial distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2011
    Assignee: Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas E. Heck, Alan Coleman
  • Patent number: 8011740
    Abstract: A track type tractor includes a modular track roller frame made up of easily assembled sub-components. Among these sub-components are an idler recoil assembly that may slide into, and then fastened to a housing as a unit to create a track roller frame assembly. The idler recoil assembly includes a gas spring telescoping section and a length adjustment telescoping section located between a housing contact end and a yoke contact end. Although suspended above a floor of the housing, the idler recoil assembly may only be attached to the housing in a plane via an array of fasteners that surround a shaft axis. The housing encloses the idler recoil assembly against debris entry, but includes an access cover for servicing the gas spring and/or adjusting track tension via the length adjustment feature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2011
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventor: Hector M. Matthys
  • Patent number: 7980639
    Abstract: A tracked machine may be equipped with a debris guard in order to inhibit entry of debris from an exterior to an interior of a track roller frame. An idler, track roller frame, track and debris guard may be configured to create a difficult to traverse serpentine debris entry pathway into the track roller frame. This may be accomplished by flanking opposite sides of a track chain with a pair of guard plates, and further inhibiting debris entry by including an in board guard shield that defines a slot that surrounds a portion of the idler.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2011
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventor: Hector M. Matthys
  • Patent number: 7971940
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention are directed at least to a plastic wheel, methods of making a plastic wheel and a waste receptacle. The wheel has a wheel body and a hub. The hub has an outer wall, an inner wall and a central bore orientated along an axis that the hub extends along. The outer wall of the hub has been compressed inwardly toward the inner wall, providing greater structural support for the hub.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2011
    Assignee: Rubbermaid Incorporated
    Inventor: Erik Lee Skov
  • Patent number: 7967392
    Abstract: A hub body for a bicycle wheel has a substantially tubular body extending along a longitudinal axis with a pair of opposite end portions, at least one of which has an annular front surface on which a plurality of housing seats for an end portion of respective spokes are formed. Advantageously, at least some of these seats comprise retention elements adapted to prevent said spokes from moving along a direction substantially parallel to said longitudinal axis in all operating conditions. The spoke is thus prevented from moving away from the hub in the case of untightening or breaking of a spoke during a race, which would compromise the correct operation of the wheel and/or constitute a danger to the cyclists.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2011
    Assignee: Campagnolo S.R.L.
    Inventor: Mario Meggiolan
  • Patent number: 7954906
    Abstract: A wheel quick release system for a bicycle or other wheeled vehicle where the wheel can be easily removed by a manual operation on only one side of the wheel hub but is prevented from unexpected separation at all times while engaged with the wheel. A laterally moving skewer mounted concentrically inside a hollow axle is equipped with a “non-touch” nut on one end and is spring loaded toward a quick release cam on the other end thereby always urging the nut against the adjacent dropout. To remove the wheel, the quick release cam is operated and the quick release side assembly is pushed axially inward and a safety mechanism is operated and held in this position while the wheel is removed from the fork dropouts. When the wheel is again inserted into the wheel fork, the skewer automatically locks onto the dropouts, and subsequently if the quick release cam is inadvertently left open by the user, the wheel will be somewhat loose but will remain safely inserted in the wheel mounts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2011
    Inventors: David Montague, Harry Montague
  • Patent number: 7946662
    Abstract: A track shoe connecting link 25 has shaft holes 31, 32 at both end portions. In the track shoe connecting link 25, a plurality of insertion holes 39 are formed between the shaft holes 31, 32, and window holes 40, 41 are formed so as to correspond to each insertion hole 39. A bolt 43 is inserted through each of the insertion holes 39 and a nut 44 is screwed onto a distal end of the bolt 43 in each of the window holes 40, 41. Accordingly, the track shoe connecting link 25 is fixed to a track shoe 26. The area of the window hole 41 that is adjacent to the second shaft hole 32 is greater than the area of the window hole 40. Accordingly, the rigidity of the track shoe connecting link 25 becomes smaller toward the second shaft hole 32.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2011
    Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
    Inventor: Kazuo Maeda
  • Patent number: 7370865
    Abstract: An assembly for a tracked vehicle includes a wheel defining a wheel cavity and a face seal including a rigid sealing ring and a flexible ring disposed on the sealing ring, the flexible ring having an outermost substantially cylindrical surface defining a maximum diameter of the ring. The flexible ring sized so that the maximum diameter is slightly larger than the wheel cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2008
    Assignee: CNH America LLC
    Inventors: Brian D. Vik, Brian L. Gregor
  • Patent number: 7367637
    Abstract: The track design for use with a tracked vehicle includes a cantilever cut made down into the outward side of each tread just outboard of the position where the inside of the track contacts the outboard edge of the tread of the outer wheel of each pair of track-supporting dual wheels. This cut significantly reduces lateral “roll-out” of the guide lugs from between the dual wheels when traversing uneven surfaces. When the outer edge of the track passes over sharply uneven terrain, this cut in the tread allows the outer edge of the track belt to lift away from the flat main surface under the wheels. Thus the interior surface of the track maintains contact with both tires of each pair of dual wheels by reducing twisting of the track belt that may cause the guide lugs to tip out of the mating surfaces formed between the dual-wheel pairs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2008
    Assignee: Torvec, Inc.
    Inventor: Keith E. Gleasman
  • Patent number: 7350877
    Abstract: A bicycle rim is provided with an annular metallic rim member and reinforcing member. The annular metallic rim member has a plurality of spoke attachment areas with a spoke attachment opening in each of the spoke attachment areas. The reinforcing member extends circumferentially about the annular metallic rim member to overlie the spoke attachment areas of the annular metallic rim member. The reinforcing member has a plurality of spoke attachment sections overlying the spoke attachment areas, respectively, and a plurality of intermediate sections disposed between adjacent pairs of the spoke attachment sections, with the spoke attachment sections being thicker than the intermediate sections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2008
    Assignee: Shimano Inc.
    Inventors: Tsutomu Muraoka, Takashi Yaegashi
  • Patent number: 7347511
    Abstract: A rotary walking device having multiple sequential ground engaging elongated struts interconnected between pairs of annular drive disks. Each pair of drive disks having multiple pivot attachment points for the respective opposing apertured ends of each strut. Each strut having angularly offset parallel engagement ends which engage with spaced co-parallel drive disks affording a unique rotational linear travel path that allows each of the struts to sequentially engage the ground and propel the assembly forward in a progressive walking like motion when used in combination with corresponding second strut drive assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2008
    Inventor: Frank Ronald Naypaver
  • Patent number: 7347513
    Abstract: A cartridge bearing assembly for a track chain of a track type work machine is provided. The cartridge bearing assembly includes axial/radial load bearing insert members positioned about a pin, and a rotatable bushing positioned therebetween. Crowned sleeve bearings are disposed between the insert members and the pin, as well as between the pin and the rotatable bushing. Collars are disposed at opposite ends of the pin and fixedly coupled thereto, trapping the other components of the cartridge assembly therebetween. A method of operating a track type work machine is further provided, including reducing wear between coupled track links by reacting axial loads via insert members positioned about a track pin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2008
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Eric J Johannsen, Mark S. Diekevers, Michael D. Hasselbusch
  • Patent number: 7347504
    Abstract: The present invention is a decorative spinner which is attached adjacent the wheel of a vehicle so that it covers the wheel hub like a hubcap. The spinner has a base plate which covers the hubcap and by which the spinner is retained adjacent the wheel and a shaft rotatably supported on the base plate. The shaft in turn rotatably supports a central hub having a multiplicity of spinner blades. When the vehicle is in motion, the base plate rotates and the spinner blades rotate relative to the base plate to provide a doubly pleasing effect. When the vehicle is stopped, the spinner blades can continue to rotate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2008
    Assignee: Grand General Accessories Manufacturing Inc.
    Inventor: Nan Huang Huang
  • Patent number: 7344198
    Abstract: A free spinner hubcap assembly for fitting truck wheels, the assembly is comprised of a hub mount and cross brace for securing to the wheel. The cross brace is offered in more than one embodiment for fitting wheels of different compositions. A bearing inner race is in direct communication with the hubcap of the assembly, with the outer race independent thereof. A spinner is attached to the outer race. The spinner is thereby free to spin independently of the hubcap and wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2008
    Inventor: Darrell Dohm
  • Patent number: 7341317
    Abstract: A reinforced structural assembly is provided including a hollow structure having a cavity with a hole. A bag is inserted into the cavity using a tube. The bag has an end with an opening extending out of the cavity through the hole. A device injects a structural foam such as a two-part epoxy into the bag. The bag is closed and the end of the bag is inserted into the cavity. A cap is installed over the hole. The foam expands to fill the cavity but is contained within the bag thereby providing localized reinforcement in the desired area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2008
    Assignee: ArvinMeritor Technology, LLC
    Inventors: David K. Platner, Jim Trotter, Xinyu Wen
  • Patent number: 7338138
    Abstract: A link has link connecting bores (15) and (16) at both ends thereof and a wear rail (13) disposed between the upper portions of the link connecting bores (15) and (16). Portions near the ends of the wear rail (13) are designed to have a hardness smaller than that of a center portion of the wear rail. Accordingly, the portions near the ends of the wear rail can be abraded more easily than the center portion of the wear rail. Since the portions near the ends of the wear rail, in which the portions are easily abraded, are positioned closer to the link connecting bores, abrasion loss in use is smaller than that of the center portion owing to its structure. So, the difference in abrasion amount makes it possible to lower a level irregularity of the wear rail.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2008
    Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomoyoshi Sho, Tatsuo Yamashita