Patents by Inventor Ralf Kaufmann

Ralf Kaufmann 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: 7275527
    Abstract: In a method for venting a crankcase of an internal combustion engine, in which, in a first operating range under part-load, the crankcase is vented via a first venting line, which opens into an intake line of the internal combustion engine downstream of a throttle valve, and in a second operating range under full load engine operation, the crankcase is vented via a second venting line, which opens into the intake line upstream of the throttle valve, the first venting line includes a control valve and a central unit is provided which operates the control valve so as to control the flow of vent gases through the first venting line over a range including a complete flow interruption under engine overrun condition to prevent venting gases from reaching the engine exhaust system when the internal combustion engine is operating in an overrun mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2007
    Assignee: DaimlerChrysler AG
    Inventors: Klaus Bruchner, Ralf Kaufmann, Rudolf Klein, Mario Mürwald
  • Publication number: 20070028903
    Abstract: In a method for venting a crankcase of an internal combustion engine, in which, in a first operating range under part-load, the crankcase is vented via a first venting line, which opens into an intake line of the internal combustion engine downstream of a throttle valve, and in a second operating range under full load engine operation, the crankcase is vented via a second venting line, which opens into the intake line upstream of the throttle valve, the first venting line includes a control valve and a central unit is provided which operates the control valve so as to control the flow of vent gases through the first venting line over a range including a complete flow interruption under engine overrun condition to prevent venting gases from reaching the engine exhaust system when the internal combustion engine is operating in an overrun mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 10, 2006
    Publication date: February 8, 2007
    Inventors: Klaus Bruchner, Ralf Kaufmann, Rudolf Klein, Mario Murwald
  • Publication number: 20060247757
    Abstract: A delivery system is equipped with a self expanding stent for implantation into a blood vessel, in particular in the region of the aortic arch. The stent has a hollow cylindrical body which is radially compressed for implantation. A pull-back sheath which surrounds the stent and which radially compresses it is also provided for positioning and releasing the stent in the blood vessel. The pull-back sheath has a highly flexible front section which surrounds the stent and which maintains said stent in its compressed state, and has further a more rigid rear section which is connected to the front section and which is designed to transmit torsional and traction forces to the front section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2006
    Publication date: November 2, 2006
    Applicant: JOTEC GmbH
    Inventors: Ralf Kaufmann, Hardy Mueller, Rainer Lesmeister, Michael Braun, John Geis
  • Publication number: 20060195177
    Abstract: A stent for implantation in a blood vessel is disclosed, especially in the region of the aortic arch. The stent is comprising rings which are disposed successively in the stent's longitudinal direction and which are made up of meandering circumferential supports. The stent further comprises a prosthesis material which is fixed to the rings and which connects them, thereby forming a hollow cylindrical body with a jacket which is substantially closed on the circumference thereof. At least one connecting support is provided between the last ring and the penultimate ring at the proximal end of the stent and connects these two rings to one another.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 10, 2006
    Publication date: August 31, 2006
    Applicant: JOTEC GmbH
    Inventors: Ralf Kaufmann, Rainer Lesmeister, Hardy Muller, Michael Braun, John Geis
  • Publication number: 20060184238
    Abstract: A braided stent to be implanted in a blood vessel comprises a hollow body which is stretchable in its longitudinal direction and whose circumferential surface is formed by a braid of a multiplicity of filamentary elements which, in the expanded state of the braided stent, intersect a plane, perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, at a braiding angle. The braided stent has a smaller braiding angle in a central portion than in its distal and proximal portions which adjoin the central portion in the longitudinal direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 27, 2006
    Publication date: August 17, 2006
    Inventors: Ralf Kaufmann, Thomas Bogenschuetz
  • Patent number: 6706797
    Abstract: A thermoplastic molding composition comprising polycarbonate resin having improved mold release properties is disclosed the composition contain polycarbonate resin and 0.005 to 5.0% relative to the weight of the composition of at least one hydrocarbon in the form of C15-600-methyl-branched alkane. The hydrocarbon is characterized in that the weight proportion of its branches is 5 to 30 percent relative to the weight of carbons in the alkane chain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2004
    Assignee: Bayer Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Wolfgang Ebert, Ralf Kaufmann, Christoph Schwemler, Wilfried Haese, Peter Fischer, Martin Döbler, Joachim Genz
  • Patent number: 6644998
    Abstract: An electrical connection element for connecting an electrically insulated end of a wire has a clamping sleeve in which an end of a wire is insertable and clampable, an insulation sleeve connectable with the clamping sleeve and provided with a connecting contact arranged so that, during a connection of the clamping sleeve with the insulation sleeve the connecting contact of the insulation sleeve is brought into contact with an end of a wire with removal of an insulation of the wire, and is then held there.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2003
    Assignee: Jostra AG
    Inventors: Ralf Kaufmann, Manfred Hoecherl
  • Patent number: 6615944
    Abstract: A nontrack-bound vehicle with arbitrarily steerable front wheels includes an additional rear-wheel steering system that operates automatically or may be switched to automatic operation and controls or regulates the steering angle of the rear wheels as a function of the steering angle of the front wheels and of further parameters. The additional rear-wheel steering system switches in a parameter-dependent manner between a drive-away mode and a normal mode to improve maneuverability and to reduce the swinging out of the rear during the drive-away mode. In the drive-away mode, the steering angle of the rear wheels is controlled or regulated so that the rear wheels are not adjusted beyond a steering angle assumed when the vehicle last halted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2003
    Assignee: DaimlerChrysler AG
    Inventors: Jochen Horwath, Ralf Kaufmann, Claus Kochendörfer, Hans-Christian Pflug
  • Publication number: 20020197905
    Abstract: An electrical connection element for connecting an electrically insulated end of a wire has a clamping sleeve in which an end of a wire is insertable and clampable, an insulation sleeve connectable with the clamping sleeve and provided with a connecting contact arranged so that, during a connection of the clamping sleeve with the insulation sleeve the connecting contact of the insulation sleeve is brought into contact with an end of a wire with removal of an insulation of the wire, and is then held there.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 6, 2002
    Publication date: December 26, 2002
    Inventors: Ralf Kaufmann, Manfred Hoecherl
  • Patent number: 6450285
    Abstract: A steering device for steering the wheels of a steering axle of a motor vehicle having at least three axles. The steering axle is designed as a trailing or leading axle, with a hydraulic arrangement which has an actuating assembly for the steering actuation of the wheels, and a regulating/control valve for pressure to act upon hydraulic connections of the actuating assembly and a clearing valve, by means of which the steering device can be changed over between normal operation and emergency operation. In the emergency operation, the hydraulic connections of the actuating assembly are connected to one another. Four throttle elements are provided. The first is arranged upstream and the second downstream of a connection point of the clearing valve to a first hydraulic line connecting the regulating/ control valve and actuating assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2002
    Assignee: DaimlerChrysler AG
    Inventors: Jochen Horwath, Ralf Kaufmann, Hans-Christian Pflug
  • Publication number: 20020031938
    Abstract: An electrical connection element for connecting an electrically insulated end of a wire has a clamping sleeve in which an end of a wire is insertable and clampable, an insulation sleeve connectable with the clamping sleeve and provided with a connecting contact arranged so that, during a connection of the clamping sleeve with the insulation sleeve the connecting contact of the insulation sleeve is brought into contact with an end of a wire with removal of an insulation of the wire, and is then held there.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 19, 2001
    Publication date: March 14, 2002
    Inventors: Ralf Kaufmann, Manfred Hoecherl
  • Patent number: 6354814
    Abstract: The inventive device consists of a disk which can be rotated around a central axis, a wobble pin which is mounted in the disk so that can rotate around an axis which is arranged at an angle in relation to the plane, of said disk, a swivel pin which is secured to the wobble pin at an angle in relation to the axis thereof, and a fastening device which prevents the swivel pin from rotating around the axis of the disk. This mechanism forms a gear enabling a rotational unidirectional movement to be translated into a back-and-forth movement in applications where limited height is available. The preferred area of application is in implantable blood pumps.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2002
    Inventors: Ralf Kaufmann, Christoph Nix, Günter Rau, Helmut Reul
  • Patent number: 5820503
    Abstract: A tensioner for a traction means, particularly a belt (7), comprises a protective plate (1) which is displaceable relative to a stationary machine element, the tensioner further comprises a tension roller (2) mounted rotatably on a bearing pin (3) for contacting the belt (7) and to obtain a perfect tensioning of the belt, the bearing pin (3) comprises an eccentric (5) which is received on the protective plate (1), the longitudinal axes of the eccentric (5) and the bearing pin (3) being spaced from one another by an eccentricity e, and a pivoting of the bearing pin (3) about the eccentric (5) being limited by a stop (8, 9).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 13, 1998
    Assignee: Ina Walzlager Schaeffler oHG
    Inventors: Klaus Bruchner, Ralf Kaufmann, Manfred Bonkowski, Michael Huss
  • Patent number: 5726228
    Abstract: The present invention relates to the use of cyclic carbonates as demoulding agents for thermoplastic polycarbonates, and to the incorporation of these cyclic carbonates into the thermoplastic polycarbonates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 10, 1998
    Assignee: Bayer Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Ralf Kaufmann, Wolfgang Ebert, Hartmut Lower, Jurgen Kadelka, Claus Wulff, Gottfried Zaby
  • Patent number: 5263978
    Abstract: A blood pump housing (43) accommodates at least one piston (21a,21b) driven by a coupling point (19a,19b) on a triangular closed hypocycloidal path (Z.sub.a, Z.sub.b). The piston (21a,21b) is provided for periodically pressing and releasing a blood chamber (37a,37b). One of the corners of the triangular closed hypocycloidal path (Z.sub.a,Z.sub.b) is directed towards the piston (21a,21b), so that the piston movements substantially consist of three periods, i.e. an advance stroke period, a return stroke period and a stationary stroke period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 1992
    Date of Patent: November 23, 1993
    Assignee: Forschungsgesellschaft fur Biomedizinische Technik e.V.
    Inventors: Ralf Kaufmann, Helmut Reul, Guenter Rau, Ralf Bitdinger