Patents Examined by Ramya Prakasam
  • Patent number: 10072734
    Abstract: A gearbox is provided comprising a planetary gearbox with a ring gear, sun wheel and planetary wheel carrier, on which at least one planetary wheel is mounted in a rotatable manner and is engaged via teeth with the ring gear and sun wheel; a first axially shiftable coupling sleeve, which in first gear position disconnects an input shaft to the gearbox from the planetary wheel carrier, and in a second gear position connects the input shaft with the planetary wheel carrier; and a second axially shiftable coupling sleeve, which in the first gear position connects a gearbox house surrounding the planetary gearbox with the ring gear, and in the second gear position disconnects the gearbox house from the ring gear. An axial stop, mounted on the planetary wheel carrier, abuts against and is connected with the ring gear and prevents the ring gear from shifting axially.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2018
    Assignee: Scania CV AB
    Inventor: Dieter Slapak
  • Patent number: 10066748
    Abstract: A vehicle parking lock device includes an automatic transmission to transmit a drive force from a drive source. The automatic transmission includes a hydraulic actuator and a hydraulic circuit. The hydraulic actuator restricts rotation of a parking gear. The hydraulic circuit includes an accumulator and a line pressure controller. Pressure is accumulated in the accumulator with line pressure. Hydraulic pressure accumulated in the accumulator is supplied to the hydraulic actuator so that the hydraulic actuator is in a parking lock activation position when the drive source has stopped. Pressure in the accumulator is accumulated with the line pressure when the drive source has started. The line pressure controller boosts the line pressure to a level higher than or equal to a pressure necessary to fully fill up the accumulator in a case where a predetermined condition is satisfied after the drive source has started.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Nobuyuki Watanabe, Yutaka Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 10065649
    Abstract: A method of controlling a dual clutch transmission power on up shift including an on-coming clutch and an off-going clutch. The method includes implementing a prep phase comprised of decreasing torque on the off-going clutch, monitoring the off-going clutch speed to determine a slip point, and adding a bump torque to the off-going clutch when the off-going clutch reaches the slip point. The method implements a torque phase transferring torque from the off-going clutch to the on-coming clutch by increasing torque on the on-coming clutch towards an engine torque, decreasing torque on the off-going clutch, and simultaneously keeping the combination of torques greater than the slip point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: Eaton Corporation
    Inventors: Jeffrey S. Dunfee, II, Andrew Hart, Simon Fitzgerald, Michael Gallion
  • Patent number: 10059186
    Abstract: A decoupling clutch for a hybrid module of a motor vehicle is disclosed. The decoupling clutch includes an intermediate shaft which is drivable by a crankshaft. A clutch disk is connected non-rotatingly to the intermediate shaft. A counter-pressure plate is connected to a transmission input shaft. The counter-pressure plate is connected non-rotatingly to the clutch disk at least when the decoupling clutch is in the engaged position. A first roller bearing radially supports the intermediate shaft. A carrier element radially supports a rotor of an electric motor. The first roller bearing is nested radially between a supporting section of the carrier element and an external circumferential surface of the intermediate shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: SCHAEFFLER TECHNOLOGIES AG & CO. KG
    Inventors: Willi Ruder, Denys Oparin
  • Patent number: 10053104
    Abstract: In various example embodiments, a system and method for determining a gross combined weight of a vehicle and its load is disclosed. A method includes: providing predetermined calibration settings relating force to engine speed for a specific vehicle travelling at various speeds, altering accelerometer data based on filtered vehicle pitch and roll data, determining that one or more vehicle performance parameters fall within a threshold range, storing a plurality of data pairs that include longitudinal acceleration and drive force, and determining a slope of a line that linearly approximates the plurality of data pairs, the slope indicating a total weight, the total weight comprising a weight of the vehicle and a weight being hauled by the vehicle; and transmitting the total weight to a remote system for display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Inventors: Michael Hall, Seth Myer
  • Patent number: 10047851
    Abstract: A lubricating apparatus for a differential device of vehicle may include a ring gear mounted in the inside of a housing mounted at an oil pan, the ring gear being provided such that at least a portion of a lower portion of the ring gear is submerged into oil to churn the oil by being rotated; and a gear casing including a partition wall which is provided to surround an outer peripheral surface of the ring gear and allows the oil to flow into between the partition wall itself and the ring gear and a restriction part which is located in a front of the ring gear and formed with a top end portion facing an upper portion of the housing to limit an amount of the oil flowing into between the partition wall and the ring gear.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2018
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corp.
    Inventors: Kyoung Wook Kim, Ki Hyup Kim, Tae Seok Seo, Seok Hyun Lee, Soon Ho Moon
  • Patent number: 10041588
    Abstract: A working machine having a belt-type continuously variable transmission in a working power transmission system includes a target working speed setting section for optionally setting a target working rotational speed of a working unit, a working unit speed sensor that detects an actual working rotational speed of the working unit, a speed reduction ratio regulation mechanism that regulates a minimum speed reduction ratio of a rotational speed of a driven pulley with respect to a drive pulley, and a control unit. The control unit controls a drive source rotational speed to bring the actual working rotational speed close to the target working rotational speed, obtains a minimum limit speed reduction ratio based upon a target minimum rotational speed of a drive source and the target working rotational speed, and controls the speed reduction ratio regulation mechanism to keep the minimum limit speed reduction ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Toru Yuki, Yoshihisa Hirose, Hiroo Kanke
  • Patent number: 10023190
    Abstract: A vehicle powertrain includes an engine and a transmission coupled to the engine. The transmission has a first neutral state in which a first combination of clutches are engaged and a second neutral state in which a second combination of clutches are engaged. A vehicle controller is programmed to, in response to the transmission being in the first neutral state and an engine-torque request exceeding a threshold value, shift the transmission to the second neutral state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2018
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Alexander Phillip McDonnell, Stephen Michael Cicala, Charles William Suter, Bradley Dean Riedle, Leonidas Kiliaris, Markian Oleh Diakiw, Kurt Howard Nickerson
  • Patent number: 8140183
    Abstract: Order allocation techniques that reduce the number of stops that a container makes in the process of fulfilling a customer order is disclosed. In one embodiment, this is accomplished by first identifying a pod that stocks the largest number of different items in a customer order. Then, a second pod is identified that stocks the largest number of remaining items in the customer order. Ultimately, all items in the customer order are assigned a pod. The collection of pods defines a container path through the distribution center.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: IpVenture, Inc.
    Inventors: William Henry Waddington, Patricia C. Grewell, Peter Ham, Boris Klots
  • Patent number: 8140182
    Abstract: A method of supplying disk drives to a disk drive testing system includes placing a disk drive tote, carrying multiple disk drives, in a presentation position accessible to an automated transporter of the disk drive testing system. The method includes actuating the automated transporter to retrieve one of the disk drives from the disk drive tote, and actuating the automated transporter to deliver the retrieved disk drive to a test slot of the disk drive testing system and insert the disk drive in the test slot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: Teradyne, Inc.
    Inventors: Scott Noble, Edward Garcia, Evgeny Polyakov, Eric L. Truebenbach, Brian S. Merrow
  • Patent number: 8135495
    Abstract: A materials handling system for processing packaged tobacco products is disclosed. The system includes a picking area where individual packages of tobacco products are picked and placed onto a transport mechanism. The system also includes a picking support software component that manages activity in the picking area. The picking support software component provides picking instruction output indicative of a sequence in which the individual packages of tobacco products should be picked and placed onto the transport mechanism. In one embodiment, the sequence blends the individual components of multiple tobacco product orders together such that the tobacco product orders are not completely picked consecutively from one order to the next.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2012
    Assignee: Velociti Alliance North America, Inc.
    Inventors: David Driskill, Steven Morrison, Richard Froehlich
  • Patent number: 8090469
    Abstract: A printing medium conveying technique is disclosed for moving a printing medium in a sub scanning direction. The technique involves controlling the moving of the printing medium through feedback control using a speed profile. The speed profile includes an accelerating region, a constant speed region, a decelerating region, a constant low speed region, and a stopping operations region. The technique also involves switching the speed profile from the accelerating region to the constant speed region according to speed information; and switching the speed profile between the constant speed region, the decelerating region, the constant low speed region, and the stopping operations region according to the current distance from a target position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2012
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Yasushi Sutoh
  • Patent number: 8083048
    Abstract: A footstep guide rail (3) (rail body 3a) is arranged so that a level H of a horizontal surface is set at the position obtained by adding a designated offset ? to a tangential line L of a drive sprocket (9) and the footstep guide rail (3) is provided, at its one end on an introductory side of the drive sprocket (9), with a curved part (13). At a reference position closest to the drive sprocket (9), the horizontal surface of the footstep guide rail (3) is changed to the curved part (13). Consequently, it is possible to absorb velocity unevenness of one footstep roller approaching the drive sprocket (9).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2011
    Assignee: Toshiba Elevator Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshinobu Ishikawa, Tadashi Munakata, Yoshio Ogimura, Nobuhiko Teshima, Shigeo Nakagaki, Hitoshi Kawamoto, Kenichi Fujii, Yoshifumi Ikeda, Kazuhisa Hara, Takayuki Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 8086348
    Abstract: A method is provided for transferring a substrate from a first substrate holder, e.g., a pre-alignment unit, to a second substrate holder, e.g., a substrate table in a lithographic apparatus, by means of a transfer unit on the basis of transfer data available thereto. First, the substrate is provided on the first substrate holder. Subsequently, a position error of the substrate is measured, and positioning adjustment data are calculated based on the position error as measured. Then, the second substrate holder is moved relative to a reference position thereof in accordance with the positioning adjustment data. Finally, the substrate is transferred by means of the transfer unit from the first substrate holder to the second substrate holder in accordance with the transfer data, and placed on the second substrate holder as moved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2011
    Assignee: ASML Netherlands B.V.
    Inventors: Jozef Augustinus Maria Alberti, Gerardus Petrus Matthijs Van Nunen, Frans Erik Groensmit, Rene Theodorus Petrus Compen
  • Patent number: 8082060
    Abstract: A mail processing system has an infeed line coupled to receive a first article from a feeder. A loading device is coupled to receive the first article from the infeed line at a first speed, and a transfer unit is coupled to receive the first article from the loading device, wherein the transfer unit is configured to transport the first article at a second speed, which is lower than the first speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2011
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Bertram Wanner, Rolf-Peter Skrdlant
  • Patent number: 8082059
    Abstract: An order-picker order picks in an order-picking zone, with the result that the first number of order-picking zones is equal to the second number of order-pickers, and in that the order-picking computer sets the boundaries between adjacent order-picking zones in a variable manner by means of a zone-allocation strategy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2011
    Assignee: SSI Schaefer Peem GmbH
    Inventors: Gerhard Schaefer, Timm Gudehus
  • Patent number: 8082058
    Abstract: A data storage library is described including a tape cartridge possessing an auxiliary memory device adapted to maintain a load count that is incremented whenever the tape cartridge is loaded in a tape drive. The library also includes, a library tape drive adapted to increment the load count every time the tape cartridge is loaded in the library tape drive, an auxiliary storage device capable of maintaining knowledge of the incremented load count only from when the tape cartridge is loaded with the library tape drive, and an auxiliary memory device reader capable of reading the load count from the auxiliary memory device. The library further includes a processing device adapted to receive and compare the knowledge maintained in the auxiliary storage device with the load count from the auxiliary memory device that is read via the auxiliary memory device reader that if different, the processing device is capable of transmitting a notification to an end user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2011
    Assignee: Spectra Logic Corporation
    Inventors: Nathan Christopher Thompson, Matthew Thomas Starr, Michael Jerard Goberis
  • Patent number: 8078311
    Abstract: In a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, wafer transfer timing with which wafers are to be transferred to individual processing chambers from a cassette container is determined in correspondence to each processing chamber, based upon the lengths of time required to process a single wafer in the processing chambers. Then, wafers are transferred from the cassette container in conformance to the transfer timing thus determined. By setting the wafer transfer timing with which wafers are transferred from the cassette container in coordination with the lengths of processing time at the individual processing chambers, the operation rates in the processing chambers are improved and ultimately, the throughput of the apparatus is improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2011
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventor: Tatsuya Ogi
  • Patent number: 8078313
    Abstract: Systems and methods for sorting a plurality of unaddressed items may comprise receiving delivery point address data. Furthermore, systems and methods for sorting a plurality of unaddressed items may comprise sorting the plurality of unaddressed items based on the delivery point address data. The plurality of unaddressed items may be sorted in an order in which they are to be delivered within a delivery zone specified by the delivery point address data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2011
    Assignee: United States Postal Service
    Inventors: Glenn Edward McDonald, Wilson Wong
  • Patent number: 8073562
    Abstract: An inventory system with feedback for picking or placing items is disclosed. In this system, there is a plurality of bins or storage locations, one for each item stored. The bins are typically used in a warehouse to fulfill and ship orders of a list of items. Each bin or pair of bins is equipped with a module for directing a picking specialist to the correct bin for manually picking an order. When the picking specialist reaches into a bin to select an item, a passive heat sensor senses heat from the picker's hand, or a magnet detecting circuit detects a magnet on the picker's hand or wrist. This provides positive feedback that the correct bin was sought to retrieve the item, or an alarm or other signal may indicate the incorrect bin. The system may also be used to replenish inventory or return items to stock.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2011
    Assignee: Innovative Picking Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Darin L. Danelski