Patents by Inventor Andreas Opara

Andreas Opara has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20080036125
    Abstract: In a central fastening element for an axially symmetric, vehicle gas spring, which includes a bellows that has central bores or cutouts in the region of its end faces, the fastening element being fixed to the vehicle body, protruding from the surroundings of the attachment point in a direction normal to it, and being encompassed by the bores or cutouts. The fastening element includes a shaped stud or a shaped cap, the maximum outer diameter of the stud or the cap being at least less than one fifth of the maximum outer diameter of the gas-spring bellows. A device may be provided which allows a gas spring to be installed in a simple manner and allows the spring bellows to rotate with respect to the suspension and/or the vehicle body during the initial installation and/or the initial operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2002
    Publication date: February 14, 2008
    Inventors: Ludger Burstedde, Michael Guse, Andreas Opara, Christian Ottawa, Hans Scheerer
  • Patent number: 6173738
    Abstract: In a pressure maintenance valve for pneumatic apparatus including a valve housing having inlet and outlet passages, a valve member is disposed in the housing and includes a membrane having at one side thereof an annular valve structure disposed opposite an annular valve seat which divides the space adjacent the membrane into inner and outer concentric chambers when the valve structure is seated on the valve seat. A valve spring is disposed at the other side of the membrane for biasing the membrane into engagement with the valve seat. One of the concentric chambers is in communication with the inlet passage and the other with the outlet passage, whereby the membrane is held in an open valve position as long as the pressure in the inlet and outlet passages is greater than a certain value but the membrane closes the valve to maintain the predetermined pressure in the outlet passage when the pressure falls below that certain value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2001
    Assignee: DaimlerChrysler AG
    Inventors: Andreas Opara, Gerhard Lohmann
  • Patent number: 5624010
    Abstract: The invention concerns a regulable shock-absorption valve system for the dashpot in a motor vehicle. It has two shock-absorption valves. Each valve consists of an electromagnetic bolt that slides back and forth and operates in conjunction with at least one port and of a pressure-sensitive valve for the suction stage and for the compression stage, mutually coaxially accommodated in an essentially cylindrical housing and capable of communicating by way of hydraulic-fluid channels. The pressure-sensitive valves (7 & 8) in accordance with the present invention rest on a simple or complex component (15) with its ends permanently or temporarily secured in a bore that extends through the center of the pole cores (17 & 18) of the electromagnets (11) that actuate the bolts (5 & 6). The advantages of the present invention are direct transmission of the shock-absorption forces and simpler assembly of the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 29, 1997
    Assignees: August Bilstein GmbH & Co., Mercedez-Benz
    Inventors: Zhen Huang, Klaus Schmidt, Hans Scheerer, Andreas Opara
  • Patent number: 5540309
    Abstract: A regulable hydraulic dashpot for motor vehicles with a shock-absorption piston equipped with pressure-sensitive throttle valves traveling back and forth on the end of a piston rod inside a shock-absorption cylinder full of shock-absorbing fluid and dividing the cylinder into two displacement chambers. A gas-filled pressure-compensation chamber operates in conjunction with one displacement chamber. A shock-absorption performance-curve selection valve is positioned outside the cylinder and opens and closes a bypass. To create a hydraulic-fluid channel, the cylinder comprises two parts of different width between the two displacement chambers. One of the parts overlaps the other to the length of the stroke traveled by the piston and its open end is sealed tight to the outer part. The outer part is provided with two hydraulic-fluid conveying connections into the shock-absorption performance-curve selection valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 1994
    Date of Patent: July 30, 1996
    Assignees: August Bilstein GmbH & Co KG, Mercedes-Benz AG
    Inventors: Zhen Huang, Klaus Schmidt, Hans Scheerer, Andreas Opara
  • Patent number: 5375683
    Abstract: A variable dashpot for motor vehicles. It comprises a vibration-suppressing piston-and-cylinder mechanism. The cylinder contains displacement fluid. The piston divides the cylinder into two displacement compartments. The piston has a piston rod attached to it. The piston is provided with pressure-dependent valves that vary the level of vibration suppression. The vibration-suppression valve system has two vibration-suppressing valves (2) accommodated in alignment in a cylindrical valve housing (1). Each vibration-suppressing valve consists of an axially displaced electromagnetic plunger (5 or 6) that operates in conjunction with at least one outlet (3 or 4) and of at least one pressure-sensitive valve (7 or 8) on stream parallel or in alignment with the plunger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 1993
    Date of Patent: December 27, 1994
    Assignees: August Bilstein GmbH & Co. KG, Mercedes Benz AG
    Inventors: Zhen Huang, Hans J. Betsch, Hans Scheerer, Andreas Opara, Walter Schulz, Klaus Schmidt
  • Patent number: 5186440
    Abstract: A supporting mount for the angularly mobile flexible support of a supporting member of a wheel suspension, especially a shock absorber, has a mount core which is vulcanized into an elastomer body and the movements of which are limited in the supporting direction by stops fixed in relation to the housing. The elastomer body is prestressed in the mount housing in the supporting direction and held in a manner which does not involve contact with the stops. The supporting mount makes it possible to introduce small supporting forces comfortably into the vehicle bodywork by a soft characteristic while larger supporting forces are transmitted by the stops via a progressively hardening characteristic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 1991
    Date of Patent: February 16, 1993
    Assignee: Mercedes-Benz AG
    Inventors: Hermann Schobbe, Gerd Steinhauser, Hans Scheerer, Andreas Opara, Werner Mohrmann, Hans-Rudolf Steinert, Wolfhard Konig