Patents by Inventor Gerhard Brenninger

Gerhard Brenninger 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: 11498160
    Abstract: A bolt is provided for fastening a component or a ground connection of electrical or electronic components to a vehicle body. The bolt has a head portion with an external thread, the head portion being formed from a steel material, and a foot portion. The foot portion is formed from an aluminum alloy and is connected integrally to the head portion by a friction-weld connection. The bolt is configured in the form of a welding stud for drawn arc stud welding, for which purpose it has an ignition tip on its end side, which delimits the foot portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Gerhard Brenninger, Thomas Engelberger, Hannes Vasold
  • Patent number: 10411365
    Abstract: A ground connection for an aluminum component has grounding bolt which is fastened to the component, with an adapter over the surface, and which is composed of a material having greater strength than the aluminum component and differs from the aluminum component in electrochemical series and has a thread element which clamps the cable shoe of the ground conductor on a corresponding contact area of the grounding bolt. Permanently high functional reliability is obtained by the grounding bolt and the adapter being composed of materials matched to one another so as to prevent corrosion and connected to one another in a cohesive manner, and the adapter is zinc-plated on the component side and is fastened to the component over a large surface area by a welded/soldered connection which is established using aluminum as an additional material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2019
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Gerhard Brenninger
  • Publication number: 20190270167
    Abstract: A bolt is provided for fastening a component or a ground connection of electrical or electronic components to a vehicle body. The bolt has a head portion with an external thread, the head portion being formed from a steel material, and a foot portion. The foot portion is formed from an aluminum alloy and is connected integrally to the head portion by a friction-weld connection. The bolt is configured in the form of a welding stud for drawn arc stud welding, for which purpose it has an ignition tip on its end side, which delimits the foot portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 16, 2019
    Publication date: September 5, 2019
    Inventors: Gerhard BRENNINGER, Thomas ENGELBERGER, Hannes VASOLD
  • Publication number: 20180109008
    Abstract: A ground connection for an aluminium component, in particular an aluminium vehicle body component, has grounding bolt which is fastened to the component, with the interposition of an adapter that extends over the surface, and which is composed of a material which exhibits greater strength than the aluminium component and differs from the aluminium component in terms of the electrochemical series, in particular steel, and has a thread element which clamps the cable shoe of the ground conductor on a corresponding contact area of the grounding bolt.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 15, 2017
    Publication date: April 19, 2018
    Inventor: Gerhard BRENNINGER
  • Publication number: 20080023527
    Abstract: A method is provided for permanently joining a first metallic component that is formed from a 5000 series aluminum alloy material and a second metallic component that is formed from a steel alloy material. One of the first and second components is provided with a layer of an aluminum alloy material that is different from the 5000 series aluminum alloy material used to form the first and second metallic components, such as a layer of a 6000 series aluminum alloy material. The layer of the 6000 series aluminum alloy material can be provided as a coating on the selected one of the first and second components or in solid form. After the layer of the 6000 series aluminum alloy material can be provided on the selected one of the first and second components, the first and second components are secured together without the application of heat, such as by magnetic pulse welding, friction welding, and the like.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 11, 2006
    Publication date: January 31, 2008
    Inventors: Gerhard Brenninger, Hans Hornig, Hans Katzmaier