Patents Examined by Stephen Bowes
  • Patent number: 9464680
    Abstract: Discs for disc brakes arranged around a rotational axis, comprising: a braking band and a drum, said drum comprising an edge arranged radially outside a portion for connecting the drum to a hub, said drum further comprising a drum body connecting said edge to the braking band and being suitable to create an interspace between the drum and the hub accommodated therein, said edge delimiting at least one opening with communicates the interspace present between the drum body and the hub with the external of the drum, said opening being arranged radially outside said housing for the hub, and said openings delimited by walls having at least one section inclined with respect to the axial direction are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: FRENI BREMBO S.p.A.
    Inventors: Gianluigi Maronati, Leone Oberti, Nino Ronchi
  • Patent number: 9456694
    Abstract: A seat support assembly including a substantially tubular containing jacket having a first end with an inwardly oriented return lip and a second end closable with a sealing closure, a guide portion adapted to be at least partially received by a seat stand, a resilient separator abutting a portion of the guide portion and the sealing closure, an adapter to attach to the guide portion and at least abut an inner surface of the containing jacket wherein the assembly damps oscillation between the adapter and the containing jacket.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2016
    Assignee: Muddie's Holdings Pty Ltd
    Inventor: Douglas Barrington Paul
  • Patent number: 9457635
    Abstract: Apparatus, systems, and methods for damping movement of a first mass relative to a second mass by magnetically generating induced current are provided. A magnet is coupled to one mass and a nonferrous metallic member is coupled to another mass that moves relative to the first mass. First and second springs are coupled to opposing ends of the magnet, the magnet being positioned between the springs. A guide member channels the magnet as it moves relative to the nonferrous member, the magnet being slidable along the guide member. The magnet is in close proximity to the nonferrous metallic member as the magnet moves. Upon causing movement of the magnet by either mass, the magnet generates an electrical current in the nonferrous metallic member that induces a counter magnetic field that opposes the magnetic field generated by the current to damp movement of the magnet as it moves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2016
    Assignee: Renton Coil Spring Company
    Inventor: Charles F. Pepka
  • Patent number: 9452744
    Abstract: A pedal force simulator for a hydraulic brake system of a vehicle has a simulator chamber and a simulator piston that can be moved along a working path within the simulator chamber. The pedal force simulator has a line arrangement by which the simulator chamber can be brought into fluid communication with a pressure chamber of a brake cylinder of the hydraulic brake system. The line arrangement has a valve arrangement, the throttling effect of which depends on the position of the simulator piston along the working path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2016
    Assignee: Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Uwe Reuter
  • Patent number: 9441703
    Abstract: A temperature-compensating damping element, which is suitable for the temperature-independent reduction of vibrations, which has a fixed, non-elastic outer part and a fixed, non-elastic inner part, which is either inserted fully or partly into a mating cut-out or opening of the outer part. The outer and inner parts have contact surfaces which are connected to one another by an elastic layer which comprises an elastomer material and which is, or can be, pre-tensioned with respect to a desired frequency by a tensioning element. The elastic layer which is responsible for the vibration damping is directly connected at one or more points to an additional elastic volume. The additional elastic volume is a multiple of the volume of the elastic layer, and has the effect that the excitation frequency of the damping element changes in the case of a temperature change within a temperature range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2016
    Assignee: ESM ENERGIE-UND SCHWINGUNGSTECHNIK MITSCH GMBH
    Inventors: Franz Mitsch, Mathias Dörsam
  • Patent number: 9416843
    Abstract: Controllable hydraulic vibration-damping support comprising a main hydraulic circuit comprising a working chamber, a compensation chamber, and a first constricted passageway, and an auxiliary hydraulic chamber separated from the working chamber by a decoupling valve and communicating with the main hydraulic circuit by means of a second constricted passageway having a resonance frequency of less than 5 Hz. The auxiliary chamber is separated from a pneumatic chamber by a movable wall, and a control device is provided for selectively either connecting the pneumatic chamber to the open air, or bleeding air from the pneumatic chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2016
    Assignee: HUTCHINSON
    Inventors: Gabriel Lemaire, Alain Bellamy
  • Patent number: 9409558
    Abstract: A hydraulic brake system has: a force-pressure conversion element, which is in hydraulic connection with at least one wheel brake cylinder of at least one wheel; a volume-adaptation element in hydraulic connection with the at least one wheel brake and the force-pressure conversion element; and as an actuating unit for actuating the force-pressure conversion element, which actuating unit has an input element. The pressure in the at least one wheel brake cylinder is adjusted by operating the volume-adaptation unit and/or the actuating unit. For this purpose an actuating state of the input element is maintained by operating the actuating unit when the volume-adaptation unit is being operated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2016
    Assignee: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
    Inventors: Wolfgang Pfeiffer, Willi Nagel, Werner Harter, Martin-Peter Bolz, Urs Bauer
  • Patent number: 9403592
    Abstract: A shock strut is disclosed. The shock strut may have multiple pistons and multiple chambers. In this manner, the shock strut may compress different lengths for different applied forces at different points during its stroke.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2016
    Assignee: Goodrich Corporation
    Inventor: Jeremy Daniel Kallio
  • Patent number: 9404514
    Abstract: A hydraulic block for a hydraulic unit of a slip-controlled hydraulic vehicle brake system includes a row of receptacles for brake pressure buildup valves and a row of receptacles for brake pressure reduction valves arranged parallel to the row of receptacles for the brake pressure buildup valves. The hydraulic block further includes installation spaces for damper chambers arranged between the receptacles for the brake pressure buildup valves and the brake pressure reduction valves to allow space-saving accommodation of damper chambers. The installation spaces emerge at longitudinal sides of the hydraulic block and run parallel to the rows of receptacles for the brake pressure buildup valves and the brake pressure reduction valves. The installation spaces for the damper chambers viewed from a front side are arranged below the receptacles for the brake pressure buildup valves and the brake pressure reduction valves, close to a rear side of the hydraulic block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2016
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventor: Andreas Weh
  • Patent number: 9400028
    Abstract: A hydraulic pressure spring includes a hollow cylindrical cylinder having a threaded portion at one end thereof; a closure means which is threadedly engaged with the threaded portion at the one end of the cylinder and closes the one end of the cylinder; a closure means which is provided at the other end of the cylinder and closes the other end of the cylinder; a compressible liquid which is sealed in an interior of the cylinder and is pressurized to a predetermined pressure; a rod which is passed through the closure means movably in an axial direction A and causes the liquid in the interior of the cylinder to undergo a pressure rise as the rod enters the interior of the cylinder; and a piston disposed in the interior of the cylinder and attached to one end of the rod.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2016
    Assignee: OILES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Teruo Aramizu, Go Tanaka
  • Patent number: 9386861
    Abstract: A spring assembly includes telescopically adjustable inner and outer members biased in an extension direction by a coil spring. A preload member is provided to apply a compression preload to the coil spring. The preload member can eliminate stickiness and the popping sound that are drawbacks of the prior art, and the fabric sleeve also provides general noise reduction when the spring assembly changes length.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2016
    Assignee: OTIS BED MANUFACTURING COMPANY, INC.
    Inventor: John K. Roma
  • Patent number: 9388876
    Abstract: The present invention discloses an air spring comprising a piston, a top plate, a clamp ring, a snap ring, and a flexible member which is affixed to the piston and the top plate, wherein the piston, the top plate and the flexible member define a pressurizable chamber, wherein the snap ring is affixed to the clamp ring, wherein the clamp ring affixes an upper portion of the flexible member to the top plate, wherein the clamp ring affixes the snap ring to the top plate, and wherein the top plate is affixed between the snap ring and the flexible member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2016
    Assignee: STEMCO KAISER INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Mark G. Trowbridge, David A. Palky, David J. Maguire
  • Patent number: 9369024
    Abstract: A linear motion actuator has an output member that can be smoothly moved linearly even when lateral moment acts on the output member. A carrier (6) supporting planetary rollers (7) is axially immovable, while an outer ring member (5), as the output member, is axially slidably fitted in the radially inner surface of a cylindrical portion (1a) of a housing (1), and is rotationally fixed to a driven member through keys (22). Hard plating layers are formed on the radially outer surface of a rotary shaft (4), the radially outer surfaces of the planetary rollers (7), including helical grooves (7a), and the surface of a helical rib member (5b) which is fixed to the radially inner surface of the outer ring member (5) forming a helical rib.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignee: NTN CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tatsuya Yamasaki, Masaaki Eguchi
  • Patent number: 9366309
    Abstract: A switchable mount includes a partition wall which partitions a working chamber from a compensating chamber. A first diaphragm is arranged in the partition wall so as to be deflectable in the longitudinal direction of the mount. A switching actuator controls the diaphragm and, in a first state thereof, the diaphragm is fixed in a rest position and, in a second state thereof, the diaphragm is released to move in the longitudinal direction of the mount. A second diaphragm is arranged in the partition wall and is deflected in the longitudinal direction of the mount to influence the volume of the working chamber. An air chamber is arranged between the first diaphragm and the second diaphragm. In the first state of the actuator, the air chamber is closed off air-tight to the atmosphere and, in the second current-conducting state of the actuator, is connected to the atmosphere.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignee: ContiTech Vibration Control GmbH
    Inventors: Peter Marienfeld, Meinert Holst
  • Patent number: 9352632
    Abstract: A gas spring and gas damper assembly can include a gas spring and a gas damper. The gas spring can include a first end member, a second end member and a flexible wall that at least partially form a spring chamber. The gas damper can include first, second and third damper elements that are telescopically interconnected with one another. The first and third damper elements can be operatively connected to respective ones of the first and second end members. The third damper element includes damper piston having an axial clutch. The second damper element is suspended between the first and third damper elements by biasing elements that engaging the damper piston.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2016
    Assignee: Firestone Industrial Products Company, LLC
    Inventor: Joshua R. Leonard
  • Patent number: 9340195
    Abstract: In a railroad train having a brake system including a fluid carrying brake pipe (14) having an exhaust (52) and connecting a lead locomotive (12) and at least one remote locomotive, the train further comprising a communication system (24) for communicating between the lead locomotive and the remote locomotive, a method for adaptively determining a brake application for signaling a remote locomotive of a train during a communication loss includes determining a brake system operating condition of the train (72). The method also includes determining an operability condition of the communication system (74) and identifying an operator commanded brake application level at the lead locomotive during a communication system inoperability condition (76). The method further includes determining a signaling brake application level sufficient for signaling the remote locomotive via the brake pipe responsive to the monitored brake system operating condition (78).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Eugene A. Smith
  • Patent number: 9327702
    Abstract: A caliper brake device includes a brake shoe for exerting a friction force by sliding in contact with a disk, a caliper main body fixed to a vehicle and an actuator for pressing the brake shoe against the disk. The actuator includes an elastic film fixed to the caliper main body, a drive pressure chamber defined by the elastic film and supplied with a fluid, a valve introducing the fluid to the drive pressure chamber, and a piston interposed between the elastic film and the brake shoe. The fluid is supplied to the drive pressure chamber and the elastic film swells toward the brake shoe, whereby the piston brings the brake shoe into sliding contact with the disk. The valve introduces the fluid to the drive pressure chamber when the brake is applied while limiting the discharge of the fluid from the drive pressure chamber when the brake is released.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2016
    Assignee: KYB Corporation
    Inventors: Tsutomu Suzuki, Yoshiyuki Ookawara, Yasushi Karino
  • Patent number: 9328791
    Abstract: Provided is a solenoid-type variable damping force damper that improves the strength of the piston and prevents wire break in the electromagnetic coil. A piston includes a piston main body, an expansion-side valve plate, a contraction-side valve plate, an electromagnetic coil, and a bolt. The piston main body is an integrally formed component made of a ferromagnetic material, and includes a hollow cylindrical outer yoke that is in slidable contact with an inner peripheral surface of a cylinder, a columnar inner yoke having an outer peripheral surface opposing an inner peripheral surface of the outer yoke via first and second gaps, and a connection member connecting the outer yoke and the inner yoke with each other at an axially middle position of the piston and separating the first and second gaps from each other. The electromagnetic coil is fitted in the second gap of the piston main body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2016
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kiyoshi Nakajima
  • Patent number: 9322443
    Abstract: A brake drum for a vehicle includes a cylindrical main body having a braking surface. A backing plate is adapted to mount the brake drum on the vehicle. A wraparound connects the backing plate to the cylindrical main body and includes an inner annular section positioned adjacent to me hacking plate and an outer annular section positioned adjacent to the cylindrical main body. A vent is formed in the outer annular section. The vent includes an inner edge, an outer edge and a pair of opposing side edge joining the inner and outer edges. The inner edge of the vent features a curved shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2016
    Assignee: Webb Wheel Products, Inc.
    Inventor: Terrance Bordere
  • Patent number: 9315180
    Abstract: A brake system for motor vehicles, which brake system can be actuated both by the vehicle driver and also independently of the vehicle driver in a “brake by wire” operating mode, is preferentially operated in the “brake by wire” operating mode, and can be operated in at least one fall-back operating mode in which only operation by the vehicle driver is possible. The brake system has inter alia an electrohydraulic pressure generating device (5) which outputs a brake system pressure, and a pressure modulation unit which has one inlet valve (6a-6d) and one outlet valve (7a-7d) per wheel brake (8, 9, 10, 11) for setting wheel-specific brake pressures derived from the brake system pressure, wherein the inlet and outlet valves (6a-6d, 7a-7d) output or transmit the brake system pressure when in the non-actuated state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2016
    Assignee: CONTINENTAL TEVES AG & CO. OHG
    Inventors: Johann Jungbecker, Steffen Linkenbach, Stefan A. Drumm, Lothar Schiel, Ronald Bayer, Marco Besier