Patents by Inventor James C. Ostrand

James C. Ostrand 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: 6641201
    Abstract: A vehicle body has a roof-enclosed passenger compartment and a rear cargo compartment. The cargo compartment has a cover and a tailgate to close the cargo compartment. The cover is movable along a pair of tracks from its closed position on the cargo compartment to a stowed position on top of the passenger compartment. The cover has an intermediate position above the cargo compartment which serves as a camper top and with the addition of zip-on side covers converts the vehicle body to a camper. The intermediate position of the cover in conjunction with the roof of the vehicle body also provides support for hauling long cargo.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 4, 2003
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Brad L Pietryga, James C. Ostrand, Thomas A. Ebi, Wieslaw Stanislaw Zaydel
  • Patent number: 5906225
    Abstract: An orifice tube refrigerant expansion valve has an upstream particulate filter of novel design and a downstream expansion noise attenuation filter with a fail safe flow provision. The upstream particulate filter is a truncated cone of porous filter material that forms a thin manifold space inside the refrigerant line, forcing refrigerant flow into a small central bore of the filter and concentrically into the orifice tube. Leaving the orifice tube, the flow is forced axially end to end through a cylindrical body of noise muffling, porous material. Should the noise muffling cylinder become blocked, it shifts piston-like to open a bypass passage around its outer surface so that flow is not blocked through the line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 25, 1999
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Terrence Lee Stark, James C. Ostrand, George Richard Kubasinski
  • Patent number: 5492505
    Abstract: A flap type vehicle ventilation valve improves sealing, while still preventing flap blowthrough, by insetting the surface of the blowthrough prevention valves from the plane of the vent opening. Therefore, under normal negative pressure, the flap can bulge inwardly from the plane of the vent opening, but not hit the webs, so that puckering of the flap and the consequent backflow leakage is prevented. The webs still hit the flap in response to high negative pressures, to avoid flap blowthrough.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 1994
    Date of Patent: February 20, 1996
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Clark D. Bell, James C. Ostrand
  • Patent number: 5186237
    Abstract: An automotive heater and air conditioning system has multiple zones each supplied by a separate air flow passage serviced by a common blower and common heat exchangers. One of the passages has an adjustable air flow mechanism which bypasses some air from the passage without disturbing the air flow in other passages. A bypass port in the one passage at a point near the blower outlet is controlled by an adjustable door which is pivotally mounted in the passage at the downstream edge of the port. An induction housing receives air from the bypass port and returned it to the intake if the blower.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 1992
    Date of Patent: February 16, 1993
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Kenneth P. Adasek, James C. Ostrand
  • Patent number: 5080140
    Abstract: A heating, ventilating and air conditioning system for vehicles incorporating a rotary air valve mounted in a housing for limited arcuate movement with respect to a pivot axis to adjust the amount of opening of two adjacent air flow windows to thereby control the routing and quantity of air flow through the heater core and a heater core bypass. The rotary valve is moved in a track radially spaced above peripheral edges in the housing defining the windows to eliminate frictional drag and wear of the sealing face of the air valve as well as the load on the motor or mechanical actuator. The valve is positioned at an infinitely variable number of positions for partial opening of the windows and a camming system is used to move the valve without drag into or from sealing positions with respect to the two windows.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 14, 1992
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: James C. Ostrand, Donald R. Baxa, Carl S. Wize
  • Patent number: 5062473
    Abstract: A motor vehicle passenger compartment heating, ventilating and air conditioning system employing a split heater core. A central opening in the heater core is aligned with an outlet and the temperature of the air discharged into the passenger compartment can be varied by adjusting a pair of air temperature doors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 1990
    Date of Patent: November 5, 1991
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: James C. Ostrand, William L. Drayer
  • Patent number: 5062352
    Abstract: A motor vehicle heating, ventilating and air conditioning system having a combined mode and temperature door that can be controlled by a single selector for automatic or manual automotive air conditioning control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 1990
    Date of Patent: November 5, 1991
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventor: James C. Ostrand
  • Patent number: 5036753
    Abstract: An air outlet for a motor vehicle air conditioning system has end vanes that may be pivoted in parallel with a central group of vanes or positioned at opposite angles to each other and transverse to the central group by operation of a lever, a rotary-to-linear actuator mounted on the lever and a wire form spring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 1990
    Date of Patent: August 6, 1991
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: James C. Ostrand, Todd M. Tumas
  • Patent number: 5009392
    Abstract: A rotary air valve for a motor vehicle air conditioning, heating and ventilation system has a spring biased floating valve mounted on a rotary valve frame. The floating valve is spring biased radially outward against the interior of the case so that arcuate ribs at opposite ends thereof remain engaged in internal grooves in the case to provide sealing at these locations while the other oppositely arranged edges of the valve are contacted by seals that are mounted within the case on opposite sides of the openings controlled by the valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 1990
    Date of Patent: April 23, 1991
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventor: James C. Ostrand