Patents Examined by Matthew A. Kaness
  • Patent number: 5984816
    Abstract: A drive system having a belt with a length and a plurality of teeth spaced regularly along the length of the belt and a first pulley having a plurality of grooves for receiving the belt teeth with the belt and first pulley in operative relationship. The single pitch difference between the belt teeth and the grooves in the first pulley is between -0.04 mm and 0 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 16, 1999
    Assignee: Mitsuboshi Belting Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Nishio, Kuniharu Uto, Takahide Mizuno, Yoshihisa Fujita, Akira Kawaguchi, Hideaki Tanaka
  • Patent number: 5980407
    Abstract: A rotary member in the form of a sprocket or a brake disc for transmitting a drive force or brake force, the rotary member having an annular hub portion arranged on a center side, an annular ring portion arranged on an outer circumferential side, and a plurality of arm portions connecting the hub portion and the ring portion, with a plurality of weight reduction holes partitioned by the arm portions between the hub portion and the ring portion. The plurality of arm portions are provided so that centers of their distal end portions on the ring portion side and centers of their proximal end portions on the hub portion side are offset in one circumferential direction, respectively, and the hub portion and the ring portion are not directly connected to each other by longitudinal sectional lines that intersect with the arm portions in a radial direction of the rotary member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 9, 1999
    Assignees: Sunstar Engineering Inc., Uni-Sunstar B.V.
    Inventors: Norihiko Takamori, Fumihiko Metsugi, Akihito Ohata
  • Patent number: 5980409
    Abstract: The invention relates to an energy transmission chain for guiding hoses, cables and the like between two connection points. The chain links each have two side elements connected by cross-members. The side elements of adjacent chain links have overlapping sections and are joined to rotate around a pivot in one plane. Energy transmission chains with high lateral stability, which do not sag, particularly when installed in a lateral position, and which are simple and inexpensive to manufacture are frequently desired. This is the case if the moveable consumer connected to the energy transmission chain is traversed in a horizontal plane. Thus, in the energy transmission chains disclosed, at least one of the respective adjacent side elements (1) has at least one guide groove (7) extending parallel to the plane of rotation. The side element adjacent to this element engages one of the guide grooves over the entire angle of rotation by means of a guide element (8) extending parallel to the plane of rotation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 9, 1999
    Assignee: Igus Spritzgussteile fur Die Industrie GmbH
    Inventor: Gunter Blase
  • Patent number: 5976044
    Abstract: A cooling structure of a belt transmission for vehicles which limits the consumed power for cooling to a minimum and does not deteriorate cooling performance of the transmission. A drive pulley having a variable pitch diameter and a driven pulley which is driven through a drive belt and has a variable pitch diameter is housed in a substantially elliptical housing. An intake port formed in the vicinity of a suction part of the cooling fan formed on the drive pulley in the housing to forcedly introduce air from the outside and exhaust air to the outside. An exhaust port on the housing in a normal direction of the driven pulley at the rearward of a center of rotation of the driven pulley as seen from a side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 2, 1999
    Assignee: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kouhei Kuyama
  • Patent number: 5976043
    Abstract: An apparatus for increasing wear life of machine members includes a shaft assembly mounted on the machine. Also included are two or more power sources eccentrically aligned in relationship to the shaft assembly of the machine to form an acute angle between the shaft assembly and the two or more power sources. One or more pulleys is attached to the driven shaft which is included in the shaft assembly. One or more drums is attached to each of the drive shafts of each of the engines, and belts are mounted on the drums and pulleys to rotate the driven shaft of the machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 2, 1999
    Inventor: Neil R. Hise
  • Patent number: 5976045
    Abstract: A unidirectional roller chain sprocket for use primarily in automotive engine chain drive applications which incorporates an asymmetrical tooth for improved noise reduction. The sprocket includes a first plurality of sprocket teeth each having a first engaging flank with a first contact point at which a roller contacts the first engaging flank, and a second plurality of sprocket teeth each having a second engaging flank with a second contact point at which a roller contacts the second engaging flank. The first engaging flanks include a flank flat which facilitates spacing the first contact point on the first engaging flank relative to the second contact point on the second engaging flank to effect a time delay between an initial roller to first sprocket tooth contact and an initial roller to second sprocket tooth contact. The flank flat is tangent to an engaging flank radius and a first root radius.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 2, 1999
    Assignee: Cloyes Gear and Products, Inc.
    Inventor: James D. Young
  • Patent number: 5971618
    Abstract: A flange bearing comprises a housing having a body with a reinforcing member encased therein. The housing provides strength and resistance to stress fracturing without the use of heavy materials, such as cast iron, or the use of ribs and recesses which can harbor contaminates. The bearing is preferably lightweight and easily cleaned. Also, a leveler constructed in accordance with the present invention provides similar advantages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1999
    Assignee: Valu Engineering, Inc.
    Inventor: Stuart J. Ledingham
  • Patent number: 5967926
    Abstract: A double-sided meshing type silent chain which permits improvement in service life of the shoe of a chain guide for example, also permits a smooth and high-speed transmission of power, and which has a high durability. A plurality of articular train plates and a plurality of guide train plates are alternately connected together with pins, the plates being formed on the front side with main teeth for engagement with a sprocket located on an inner peripheral side of the chain, and guide plates, whose inner faces are abutted against and guided by side faces of the teeth of the sprocket, are disposed on both outer sides of the plural guide train plates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1999
    Assignee: Tsubakimoto Chain Co.
    Inventors: Nobuto Kozakura, Nobuhiro Odai, Tsutomu Haginoya
  • Patent number: 5967920
    Abstract: A hydraulic tensioner is designed for low cost and ease of manufacturing. A piston housing has a bore and a bore cup member received within the bore. A piston is slidably received within the bore cup member, forming a high pressure fluid chamber with the bore cup member. The piston housing can be constructed of inexpensive materials such as aluminum or plastic. The piston and bore cup member are constructed of drawn metal. A single channel connects the pressure chamber to an external source of fluid, and a single valve system regulates the flow of fluid into the pressure chamber. The inexpensive materials and simple design provide for a low cost hydraulic tensioner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1999
    Assignee: Borg-Warner Automotive, Inc.
    Inventors: Stanley K. Dembosky, Roger T. Simpson
  • Patent number: 5967918
    Abstract: For a CVT (3) a regulating system is proposed in which a corrector is located upstream of the control path. The disturbances and non-linearities in the control path (28) are taken into account in the corrector, via a mathematical model, so that the regulator can be designed as a simple PID regulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1999
    Assignee: ZF Friedrichshafen AG
    Inventors: Thomas Knapp, Wolfgang Danz
  • Patent number: 5967672
    Abstract: A rolling or sliding machine part that has an improved oil film formation capacity. The machine part has a rolling or sliding contact surface formed with discontinuous grooves, which are dispersedly arranged and extend across the direction in which the machine part rolls or slides.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1999
    Assignee: NTN Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshinobu Akamatsu, Fuyuki Ito, Shiro Deguchi
  • Patent number: 5967924
    Abstract: In a sprocket buffer, in order to reduce a noise and a shake/vibration of the chain gearing mechanism, an elastic band is provided to be adhered in a bottom of the sprockets; a cylindric pin which is to be inserted into the coupling hole in the bottom of the sprockets is formed in a lower part of the elastic band, and a pressure portion having the same diameter as that of the coupling hole is formed integrally with the cylindrical pin at a lower portion of the outer peripheral surface of the pin, thereby improving a durability against a cut off of the pin head portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1999
    Assignee: LG Industrial Systems, Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yi Sug Kwon
  • Patent number: 5967919
    Abstract: A belt tensioner of the Zed type with a pivot-arm, a pulley attached to the pivot-arm for receiving a belt load, a pivot, a base, and a torsion spring operatively connected between the pivot-arm and base and wherein damping of the pivot-arm is primarily provided by a pivot bushing in response to the belt load and a force generated by the spring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1999
    Assignee: The Gates Corporation
    Inventor: Emile A. M. Bakker
  • Patent number: 5961408
    Abstract: The proposal is for a device for controlling a CVT (3) driven by a drive unit (1) in which an emergency running unit is activated on the breakdown of the electronic control device (15). It sets a constant compression or power ratio between the primary (S1) and secondary (S2) pulleys.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 5, 1999
    Assignee: ZF Friedrichshafen AG
    Inventors: Hubert Konig, Hans Peter Stoll, Ralf Vorndran
  • Patent number: 5961218
    Abstract: A water lubricated bearing or water lubricated seal using water as a lubricant. The bearing or seal has: a rotary member secured directly or indirectly to a rotary side, and a stationary member secured directly or indirectly to a stationary side and facing the rotary member for making sliding contact therewith. A substrate of either one of the rotary member and the stationary member is a metallic material and a thin titanium nitride film is formed on the sliding surface thereof. The other member is made of a non-brittle material or a film of hard material is formed on the sliding surface thereof. Thereby, a coefficient of friction of the bearing or seal is reduced and a wear resistance of the same is improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 5, 1999
    Assignee: Ebara Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroshi Nagasaka, Yoshikazu Kimura, Kenichi Sugiyama, Momoko Kakutani
  • Patent number: 5961412
    Abstract: A fabric 3 for power transmission belt to be adhered to a belt body 2 of a V-ribbed belt 1 is formed such that carbon fibers with electric conductivity are mixed through spinning into a fabric material such as cotton, nylon and polyester. This prevents the belt from producing a beating sound and producing worn-out dusts in the use as a power transmission belt and enhances the electric conductivity of the power transmission belt to successfully prevent electrostatic charge of the belt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 5, 1999
    Assignee: Bando Chemical Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Osamu Takahashi
  • Patent number: 5957419
    Abstract: The apparatus is a framework comprised of a base stand member, support legs and a brace member. The apparatus rests on the support legs on the bottom surface of the boat with the brace member engaging a rigid portion of the boat. The base stand member provides mounting support for an auxiliary boat seat.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 28, 1999
    Assignee: B & B Marine Manufacturing, Inc.
    Inventors: Arthur W. Lancaster, William A. Benson
  • Patent number: 5957794
    Abstract: A continuously variable all speed transmission apparatus employs a conically-shaped driven surface which is frictionally contacted by a taut endless compliant transmission member that extends to a circular power source such as the pedal hub of a bicycle. The driven surface is centered upon an axis upon which an axle is disposed that causes rotation of a wheel such as a bicycle wheel. A shifting mechanism moves the contact site of the transmission member axially along the driven surface, thereby producing variation in the rotational speed of the wheel. The transmission member includes a central wire and a series of rollers disposed upon the wire in a manner to rotate about the wire without moving longitudinally thereupon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 28, 1999
    Inventor: Phillip L. Kerr
  • Patent number: 5957796
    Abstract: A cover for a pump jack includes a main rear wall with two slots for engaging over a pair of shafts of the pump jack at the drive belt on the pulleys on the drive shafts. The rear cover portion includes a peripheral wall extending around the sides and top of the peripheral edge with the bottom of the cover panel being opened. A front panel portion manufactures a single piece or as multiple pieces fits over the rear cover panel with a lip engaging onto the peripheral wall to which it is connected by latches. A stiffener member extends across the rear wall and closes the slots. A similar stiffener member can be attached across the front panel portion. Both the rear panel and the front panel are manufactured from glass fibre reinforced resin allowing the product to be manufactured in lightweight. The front cover panel can therefore be readily removed to allow replacement of the belt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 28, 1999
    Inventor: Vernon McLean
  • Patent number: 5957591
    Abstract: To permit stacking of seals without possibility of the stacking of their synthetic rubber seal members to one another, permit, when assembling the seals to produce anti-friction bearings, storing the seals as a stack in a stocker of an automatic assembler and, unlike the case of using silicon or like prior art anti-sticking material, substantially eliminate generation of fine particles or the like adversely affecting precision apparatuses and deteriorating the reliability thereof. In an anti-friction bearing comprising an inner ring (1), an outer ring (2), and rolling elements (3) provided between the inner and outer rings, the side gap between the inner and outer rings is closed by seals (4), which each include a synthetic rubber seal member (6) and a surface active material (7) coated thereon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 28, 1999
    Assignee: Minebea Kabushiki -Kaisha
    Inventors: Eiichi Kobayashi, Yutaka Daikuhara