Patents by Inventor Franz Steimmel

Franz Steimmel 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).

  • Patent number: 7255334
    Abstract: The invention relates to an air suspension piston, with the air suspension piston being tube shaped and being made of aluminium. The air suspension piston is formed by a longitudinal-seam welded tube made from an aluminum alloy, and the tube has been longitudinal-seam welded without any weld metal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2007
    Assignee: VAW Alutubes GmbH
    Inventors: Thorsten Schulze, Franz Steimmel, Michael Opitz, Frank Wahner
  • Patent number: 6826943
    Abstract: A process for forming tube-shaped hollow bodies made of metal, particularly made of aluminum, is described. After forming a slab-shaped semifinished product into a closed cross-sectional profile and straight seam welding the opposing edges of the semifinished product, the tube-shaped hollow body is first mechanically partially expanded and/or mechanically partially reduced in an upstream processing phase. It is then soft annealed and finally hydroformed in a die by a medium introduced into the hollow body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2004
    Assignee: Hydro Alumunium Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Wolfgang Rempe, Franz Steimmel, Frank Wähner
  • Publication number: 20040035176
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for manufacturing an aluminum tube, an aluminum tube for further processing in at least one subsequent deformation process, as well as the use of the aluminum tube. The object of providing a simple method for manufacturing an aluminum tube with elevated deformation potential is solved by texturing the outer surface of the aluminum tube using temper rolls. The application of a texture using temper rolls yields a sufficiently high roughness on the surface of the aluminum tube on the one hand, so that the strain can be increased in subsequent deformation processes. On the other hand, while the roughening of the surface can be integrated into existing manufacturing processes, e.g., for straight bead welded or extruded aluminum tubes a swift and easy manufacture of the semi-finished product is enabled.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2003
    Publication date: February 26, 2004
    Inventors: Jens Haase, Michael Opitz, Wolfgang Rempe, Franz Steimmel, Frank Wahner
  • Publication number: 20030127782
    Abstract: The invention relates to an air suspension piston, with the air suspension piston being tube shaped and being made of aluminium. The air suspension piston is formed by a longitudinal-seam welded tube made from an aluminum alloy, and the tube has been longitudinal-seam welded without any weld metal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 24, 2002
    Publication date: July 10, 2003
    Applicant: VAW Alutubes GmbH
    Inventors: Thorsten Schulze, Franz Steimmel, Michael Opitz, Frank Wahner
  • Publication number: 20020073758
    Abstract: A process for forming tube-shaped hollow bodies made of metal, particularly made of aluminum, is described.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 28, 2001
    Publication date: June 20, 2002
    Inventors: Wolfgang Rempe, Franz Steimmel, Frank Wahner
  • Publication number: 20020036369
    Abstract: The invention relates to an air suspension piston, with the air suspension piston being tube shaped and being made of aluminium. The air suspension piston is formed by a longitudinal-seam welded tube made from an aluminium alloy, and the tube has been longitudinal-seam welded without any weld metal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 11, 2001
    Publication date: March 28, 2002
    Inventors: Thorsten Schulze, Franz Steimmel, Michael Opitz, Berthold Aumuller, Klaus Dotzler
  • Patent number: 6099084
    Abstract: The invention relates to an integral motor vehicle rear axle of the twist-beam axle type, which comprises an opposed pair of longitudinal control arms (2) of a high flexural strength and torsional stiffness for carrying a wheel carrier for a wheel, and a transverse strut (3) which is resistant to bending but resilient relative to torsional stress and which comprises a profiled cross-section changing the position of the shear center. The transverse strut (3) consists of an extruded aluminum profile with an extrusion structure extending in the longitudinal direction of the transverse strut.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2000
    Assignees: VAW aluminium AG, Thyssen Umformtechnik GmbH
    Inventors: Dieter Bungarten, Olaf Elsner, Herbert Linden, Karl-Heinz von Zengen, Peter Harbig, Joachim Lowen, Franz Steimmel, Walther Hasenpatt, Kai-Uwe Jentsch, Jorg Ebert, Michael Hellenkamp, Gerhardt Sollner
  • Patent number: 5800024
    Abstract: The invention relates to an integral motor vehicle rear axle of the twist-beam axle type, which comprises an opposed pair of longitudinal control arms (2) of a high flexural strength and torsional stiffness for carrying a wheel carrier for a wheel, and a transverse strut (3) which is resistant to bending but resilient relative to torsional stress and which comprises a profiled cross-section changing the position of the shear center. The transverse strut (3) consists of an extruded aluminum profile with an extrusion structure extending in the longitudinal direction of the transverse strut.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 1, 1998
    Assignee: VAW Aluminium AG
    Inventors: Franz Steimmel, Walther Hasenpatt, Kai-Uwe Jentsch, Jorg Ebert, Dieter Bungarten, Olaf Elsner, Herbert Linden, Michael Hellenkamp, Gerhardt Sollner, Karl-Heinz von Zengen, Peter Harbig, Joachim Lowen