Patents by Inventor Manfred Kirchhoff

Manfred Kirchhoff 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: 7722493
    Abstract: A power-branched transmission, particularly for agricultural vehicles such as tractors or similar, includes a stepped planetary gear which is disposed between an input shaft and an output shaft and is used for dividing the power supplied at the input shaft onto a mechanical power branch and a hydraulic power branch. The hydraulic power branch is formed by two hydraulically interconnected, identical hydrostatic axial piston engines which can be selectively operated as a pump or an engine, can be swiveled within a predefined pivoting angle, and can be connected to the input shaft or the stepped planetary gear in a different manner via two respective clutches so as to cover different operating ranges or running steps. In order to obtain better efficiency in such a power-branched transmission, the two hydrostatic axial piston engines are configured as wide-angle hydrostats that are provided with a minimum pivoting angle range of 45°.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2010
    Assignee: Mali Holding AG
    Inventors: Markus Liebherr, Josef Häglsperger, Peter Dziuba, Josef Bauer, Manfred Kirchhoff
  • Publication number: 20080214349
    Abstract: Disclosed is a power-branched transmission, particularly for agricultural vehicles such as tractors or similar, having a stepped planetary gear which is disposed between an input shaft and an output shaft and is used for dividing the power supplied at the input shaft onto a mechanical power branch and a hydraulic power branch. The hydraulic power branch is formed by two hydraulically interconnected, identical hydrostatic axial piston engines which can be selectively operated as a pump or an engine, can be swiveled within a predefined pivoting angle, and can be connected to the input shaft or the stepped planetary gear in a different manner via two respective clutches so as to cover different operating ranges or running steps. In order to obtain better efficiency in such a power-branched transmission, the two hydrostatic axial piston engines are configured as wide-angle hydrostats that are provided with a minimum pivoting angle range of 45°.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 20, 2005
    Publication date: September 4, 2008
    Applicant: MARKUS LIEBHERR INTERNATIONAL AG
    Inventors: Markus Liebherr, Josef Haglsperger, Peter Dziuba, Josef Bauer, Manfred Kirchhoff