Patents by Inventor Joseph Paul DeVoe

Joseph Paul DeVoe 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).

  • Obstruction-sensing system for a movable member
    Patent number: 5701063
    Abstract: In one embodiment of the present invention, a "one-touch-up" power window system is provided for a motor vehicle. The system includes a controller which controls the power window motor. One function of the controller is to determine whether an obstruction impedes travel of the power window. The controller takes a plurality of samples of the electrical current drawn by the power window motor. If the last sample varies by more than a predetermined amount from any of the past samples taken over a predetermined distance of travel of the window, the controller concludes that an obstruction impedes the travel of the window. The controller then stops or reverses the power window motor to stop or reverse travel of the power window. In this embodiment of the present invention, distance of travel of the window can be inferred from rotations of the power window motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 23, 1997
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Roger Joseph Cook, Joseph Paul DeVoe, Kevin Douglas Macfarlane, Daniel Robert Parks, Patrick William Gibson