Patents by Inventor DIRK KIRCHHOFF

DIRK KIRCHHOFF 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: 20260063120
    Abstract: A compressed-air supply system includes at least one compressed-air consumer, compressed-air lines, electrically controllable valves, a compressed-air controller for actuating the valves, a compressor having an electric motor as a drive, and a pressure reservoir. The compressed-air consumer can be pneumatically connected to the compressor and/or the pressure reservoir via the lines and the valves such that the compressed-air supply system can be operated either in an open or in a closed operating mode. The controller has an input for a current signal, which represents a motor current drawn or to be drawn by the electric motor. The controller is configured to actuate the valves in accordance with the open operating mode when a current signal is present at the current signal input, the current signal representing a mean motor current, the magnitude of which is equal to or greater than a maximum value for the motor current.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2025
    Publication date: March 5, 2026
    Inventors: Uwe Stabenow, Jörg Meier, Dirk Kirchhoff, Marco Seeger
  • Publication number: 20260061793
    Abstract: A compressed-air supply system includes a compressed-air consumer, compressed-air lines, electrically controllable valves, a controller for actuating the valves, a compressor or compressing device with an electric motor as a drive, and a pressure reservoir. The compressed-air consumer is pneumatically connectable to the compressor and/or the pressure reservoir via the lines and the valves such that the system is operable in an open or a closed operating mode. The controller is configured, in response to a request signal, to predict an output pressure at the output of the compressor for the time T at which a state of the pressure consumer corresponding to the request signal is reached. Depending on the predicted output pressure, the controller activates either the open or closed operating mode or specifies one of a plurality of specified target speeds for speed control of the motor or activates an operating mode and specifies a target speed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2025
    Publication date: March 5, 2026
    Inventors: Marco Seeger, Dirk Kirchhoff, Jörg Meier, Uwe Stabenow
  • Patent number: 11041489
    Abstract: A compressor arrangement for operating a compressed air supply installation includes a pneumatic compressor and an electric motor arranged inside a drive housing, the electric motor having an internal stator and an external outer rotor. The external outer rotor is arranged in a rotatable manner about the internal stator. The external outer rotor is supported in a rotatable manner about a center axis with respect to the drive housing via a bearing arrangement. The bearing arrangement has at least one bearing. The external outer rotor is supported by the bearing arrangement on an outer circumference of the outer rotor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2021
    Assignee: ZF CV SYSTEMS HANNOVER GMBH
    Inventors: Dirk Kirchhoff, Frank Meissner, Eduard Nuss, Marco Seeger
  • Publication number: 20200378377
    Abstract: A compressor arrangement for operating a compressed air supply installation includes a pneumatic compressor and an electric motor arranged inside a drive housing, the electric motor having an internal stator and an external outer rotor. The external outer rotor is arranged in a rotatable manner about the internal stator. The external outer rotor is supported in a rotatable manner about a center axis with respect to the drive housing via a bearing arrangement. The bearing arrangement has at least one bearing. The external outer rotor is supported by the bearing arrangement on an outer circumference of the outer rotor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2018
    Publication date: December 3, 2020
    Inventors: Dirk Kirchhoff, Frank Meissner, Eduard Nuss, Marco Seeger
  • Patent number: 10704542
    Abstract: A reciprocating-piston machine includes at least one first cylinder and at least one first piston assigned to the first cylinder as well as at least one second cylinder and at least one second piston assigned to the second cylinder. During operation, the first piston and the second piston are deflected in a respective cylinder displacement chamber of the respective first cylinder and the second cylinder. The reciprocating-piston machine further includes a crankshaft which, during operation, can be driven and which has an eccentric crankshaft journal and a drive shaft coupling designed for the coupling of a drive shaft of a drive motor for driving the crankshaft. Additionally, the reciprocating-piston machine includes a first connecting rod configured to deflect the first piston, a second connecting rod configured to deflect the second piston, and a bearing pin about which the first and second connecting rod are rotationally movable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: WABCO GMBH
    Inventors: Klaus Bredbeck, Dirk Kirchhoff, Eduard Nuss, Marco Seeger, Uwe Stabenow, Fritz Woltmann
  • Patent number: 10277775
    Abstract: A method for compensating tone value fluctuation in inkjet printing includes generating multi-bit halftone images of pixels on a computer during prepress screening for color separations with multiple tone values out of print image data, forwarding multi-bit halftone images to a control unit of an inkjet printing machine, and printing the multi-bit halftone on the machine, wherein encoded binary values of multi-bit halftone images correspond to ink drop sizes to be generated by the machine. The computer introduces additional binary values of multi-bit halftone images not corresponding to ink drop sizes in pixel positions of multi-bit halftone images where occurring tone value fluctuations are to be compensated for by modified ink drop sizes, causing additional binary values to be ignored by the machine in a regular print mode, and assigning additional binary values to modified ink drop sizes in a correction print mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2019
    Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
    Inventors: Dirk Kirchhoff, Bernd Stritzel, Michael Kaiser
  • Publication number: 20190010937
    Abstract: A reciprocating-piston machine includes at least one first cylinder and at least one first piston assigned to the first cylinder as well as at least one second cylinder and at least one second piston assigned to the second cylinder. During operation, the first piston and the second piston are deflected in a respective cylinder displacement chamber of the respective first cylinder and the second cylinder. The reciprocating-piston machine further includes a crankshaft which, during operation, can be driven and which has an eccentric crankshaft journal and a drive shaft coupling designed for the coupling of a drive shaft of a drive motor for driving the crankshaft. Additionally, the reciprocating-piston machine includes a first connecting rod configured to deflect the first piston, a second connecting rod configured to deflect the second piston, and a bearing pin about which the first and second connecting rod are rotationally movable.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 19, 2017
    Publication date: January 10, 2019
    Applicant: WABCO GMBH
    Inventors: Klaus BREDBECK, Dirk KIRCHHOFF, Eduard NUSS, Marco SEEGER, Uwe STABENOW, Fritz WOLTMANN
  • Publication number: 20180288277
    Abstract: A method for compensating tone value fluctuation in inkjet printing includes generating multi-bit halftone images of pixels on a computer during prepress screening for color separations with multiple tone values out of print image data, forwarding multi-bit halftone images to a control unit of an inkjet printing machine, and printing the multi-bit halftone on the machine, wherein encoded binary values of multi-bit halftone images correspond to ink drop sizes to be generated by the machine. The computer introduces additional binary values of multi-bit halftone images not corresponding to ink drop sizes in pixel positions of multi-bit halftone images where occurring tone value fluctuations are to be compensated for by modified ink drop sizes, causing additional binary values to be ignored by the machine in a regular print mode, and assigning additional binary values to modified ink drop sizes in a correction print mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2018
    Publication date: October 4, 2018
    Inventors: DIRK KIRCHHOFF, BERND STRITZEL, MICHAEL KAISER