Patents by Inventor Ingo Carl

Ingo Carl 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: 7654614
    Abstract: Lumbar support and control device of a lumbar support and method for controlling a lumbar support of a motor vehicle. An electric control device is provided for a lumbar support which has a drive coupled mechanically to an adjusting mechanism for setting the seat contour of the lumbar support. The control device has at least one computer unit which controls a massaging movement of the lumbar support whereby the massaging movement is characterized through several predefinable ideal speeds. Several ideal speeds for one or more adjusting directions of the lumbar support are controllable through the computer unit. For control by the ideal speeds a drive moment of the drive is adapted to an actual load of the drive so that the massaging movement can be controlled substantially independent of the actual time-changeable or locally variable load. The drive moment is consequently changeable through the control device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2010
    Assignee: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. KG, Coburg
    Inventors: Markus Schüβler, Thomas Rösch, Ingo Carl
  • Publication number: 20080224517
    Abstract: Lumbar support and control device of a lumbar support and method for controlling a lumbar support of a motor vehicle. An electric control device is provided for a lumbar support which has a drive coupled mechanically to an adjusting mechanism for setting the seat contour of the lumbar support. The control device has at least one computer unit which controls a massaging movement of the lumbar support whereby the massaging movement is characterized through several predefinable ideal speeds. Several ideal speeds for one or more adjusting directions of the lumbar support are controllable through the computer unit. For control by the ideal speeds a drive moment of the drive is adapted to an actual load of the drive so that the massaging movement can be controlled substantially independent of the actual time-changeable or locally variable load. The drive moment is consequently changeable through the control device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 29, 2008
    Publication date: September 18, 2008
    Inventors: Markus Schussler, Thomas Rusch, Ingo Carl
  • Patent number: 7398142
    Abstract: Lumbar support and control device of a lumbar support and method for controlling a lumbar support of a motor vehicle. An electric control device is provided for a lumbar support which has a drive coupled mechanically to an adjusting mechanism for setting the seat contour of the lumbar support. The control device has at least one computer unit which controls a massaging movement of the lumbar support whereby the massaging movement is characterized through several predefinable ideal speeds. Several ideal speeds for one or more adjusting directions of the lumbar support are controllable through the computer unit. For control by the ideal speeds a drive moment of the drive is adapted to an actual load of the drive so that the massaging movement can be controlled substantially independent of the actual time-changeable or locally variable load. The drive moment is consequently changeable through the control device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2008
    Assignee: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. KG, Colburg
    Inventors: Markus Schüβler, Thomas Rösch, Ingo Carl
  • Patent number: 7172247
    Abstract: A motor vehicle seat system, control arrangement, actuating arrangement, and process are used to control a lumbar support device of a motor vehicle seat. The lumbar adjustment device has a first drive for adjustment in a first adjustment direction and a second drive for adjustment in a second adjustment direction. The adjustment directions differ from each other. A first adjustment position is ascertained in the first adjustment direction and the drive movement of the second drive is controlled as a function of at least one of the first adjustment position and the temporal change in the first adjustment position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2007
    Assignee: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co KG, Coburg
    Inventors: Klaus Beloch, Alexander Woller, Ingo Carl, Michael Forkel
  • Patent number: 7099761
    Abstract: A motor seat device includes a drive device for displacing a part of the seat in a particular direction. Data for operating the drive device in reaction to a presetting process is stored in a pre-setting memory. A memory drive device controls the drive device according to this operating data. The drive device is further controlled by having a control mechanism process the operating data issued from the drive device during its inertia rotation. The drive device is elastically coupled to the displaceable part so that an at least temporarily asynchronous movement can occur between the drive device and the displaceable part. The position of the displaceable part is determined by evaluating a signal generated by a drive movement of the drive device. The torque of the drive device or a parameter correlating thereto is evaluated to correct a position error caused by the asynchronous movement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2006
    Assignee: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmnH & Co KG, Coburg
    Inventors: Alexander Woller, Ingo Carl, Klaus Beloch
  • Patent number: 6943516
    Abstract: A method for controlling a vehicle seat adjuster in an adjusting path having a first mechanical stop and a second mechanical stop. A user sets an adjustment position of the adjuster inside the adjusting path. A protective stop is also automatically set in the adjusting path in the vicinity of the mechanical stops or another mechanical block blocking the adjusting path. The protective stop causes the adjusting motion to be reduced or stopped upon reaching of the protective stop. This helps produce a smooth braking of the vehicle seat and reduces the mechanical strain on the mechanical stops. The protective stop may be corrected with an updated protective stop. The updated protective stop is maintained despite any user action if a condition dependent on the adjusting motion of the adjuster is fulfilled. Learning regions within the adjusting path are provided to allow the setting of updated protective stops within the learning regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2005
    Assignee: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. KG, Coburg
    Inventors: Alexander Woller, Ingo Carl, Michael Steiner, Thorsten Fuchs, Stefan Schiegel, Thomas Rösch
  • Publication number: 20050093353
    Abstract: Lumbar support and control device of a lumbar support and method for controlling a lumbar support of a motor vehicle. An electric control device is provided for a lumbar support which has a drive coupled mechanically to an adjusting mechanism for setting the seat contour of the lumbar support. The control device thereby has at least one computer unit which has either a fixed-wired program structure (ROM) and/or is freely programmable. In each case the computer unit is in particular set up through a program to control a massaging movement of the lumbar support whereby the massaging movement is characterised through several predefinable ideal speeds. The lumbar support is an adjusting device with which the contour of the backrest can be decisively controlled. For a massaging effect this contour is to be temporarily changed through predeterminable ideal speeds.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 21, 2004
    Publication date: May 5, 2005
    Inventors: Markus Schussler, Thomas Rosch, Ingo Carl
  • Publication number: 20050052060
    Abstract: A motor vehicle seat system, control arrangement, actuating arrangement, and process are used to control a lumbar support device of a motor vehicle seat. The lumbar adjustment device has a first drive for adjustment in a first adjustment direction and a second drive for adjustment in a second adjustment direction. The adjustment directions differ from each other. A first adjustment position is ascertained in the first adjustment direction and the drive movement of the second drive is controlled as a function of at least one of the first adjustment position and the temporal change in the first adjustment position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 7, 2003
    Publication date: March 10, 2005
    Inventors: Klaus Beloch, Alexander Woller, Ingo Carl, Michael Forkel
  • Publication number: 20040257019
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for controlling an adjuster on a motor vehicle, in particular for a motor vehicle seat adjustment, with at least one adjustment range between a first stop and a second stop. An adjustment position for the adjuster may be set within the adjustment range by means of a user action, said adjustment position determined within the adjustment range and a protective stop set in the adjustment path, which, depending on the adjuster position, triggers a reduction in the adjustment energy, in particular to stop the adjustment movement in the vicinity of a mechanical block for the adjustment movement. According to the invention, in order to correct the position of the protective stop, a new protective stop is set, which may not be inactivated by a user action, when a condition, dependent on the adjuster motion of the adjuster device is fulfilled.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 21, 2004
    Publication date: December 23, 2004
    Inventors: Alexander Woller, Ingo Carl, Michael Steiner, Thorsten Fuchs, Stefan Schiegel, Thomas Rosch
  • Publication number: 20040158378
    Abstract: According to the invention, the position of a part of a motor vehicle seat which can be displaced by a drive device (M1-M4) is determined by evaluating a signal (H1-H4) which is generated according to a drive movement of the drive device. In addition to this signal, at least one parameter is evaluated in order to correct a position error caused by at least temporarily asynchronous movements of the drive device and the displaceable part.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2003
    Publication date: August 12, 2004
    Inventors: Alexander Woller, Ingo Carl, Klaus Beloch
  • Patent number: 6575873
    Abstract: A method for driving a drive assembly in a drive system having an automatic transmission and an automatic clutch optionally coupling the drive assembly to the automatic transmission in order to transmit torque includes the following steps. Sensing whether a procedure, in particular a gearshift operation, is to be conducted. After the procedure has been sensed, predefining, for at least one time segment of the procedure which is to be carried out a prediction profile for an operational variable that characterizes the operating state of the drive assembly. And, driving the drive assembly based on the predefined prediction profile of the operational variable to minimize a deviation between the operational variable and the prediction profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2003
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Ingo Carl, Friedrich Graf, Florian Gutknecht Stoehr, Gregor Probst, Rainer Reuthal, Hans-Juergen Schneider
  • Publication number: 20020037790
    Abstract: A method for driving a drive assembly in a drive system having an automatic transmission and an automatic clutch optionally coupling the drive assembly to the automatic transmission in order to transmit torque includes the following steps. Sensing whether a procedure, in particular a gearshift operation, is to be conducted. After the procedure has been sensed, predefining, for at least one time segment of the procedure which is to be carried out a prediction profile for an operational variable that characterizes the operating state of the drive assembly. And, driving the drive assembly based on the predefined prediction profile of the operational variable to minimize a deviation between the operational variable and the prediction profile.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2001
    Publication date: March 28, 2002
    Inventors: Ingo Carl, Friedrich Graf, Florian Gutknecht Stoehr, Gregor Probst, Rainer Reuthal, Hans-Juergen Schneider
  • Patent number: 5847272
    Abstract: To be able to verify the function of the actuator system of an automatic clutch or of an automatic transmission of a motor vehicle as a function of the current conditions, including while the motor vehicle is in motion is necessary, the invention teaches that a test circuit actuates the actuator system, starting from a first specified operating position of the clutch or of the transmission to a second specified operating position of the clutch or of the transmission, into an actuator test position in which the clutch or the transmission is still essentially in its first operating position. The test circuit, in the actuator test position, tests the functional capability as a function of data stored in a data memory, which stored data are compared to data measured in the actuator test position of a changing operating parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 8, 1998
    Assignee: Fichtel & Sachs AG
    Inventors: Hans-Jurgen Schneider, Rainer Reuthal, Ingo Carl