Patents by Inventor Robert J. Heckel

Robert J. Heckel 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: 5577347
    Abstract: This device comprises mechanical link including a pawl (25) establishing a rigid drive link between a driving input member (2) and an output member (22), interacting with a prestressed element (31) which tends to hold the pawl in connection with the driving input member or with the driven output member, for so long as the force transmitted by the pawl remains below a predetermined value; this system automatically interrupts the kinematic drive chain of the movable member in the case of a force exceeding a predetermined value. This arrangement makes the device practically insensitive to friction and eliminates the uncertainty on the threshold of the triggering force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 26, 1996
    Assignee: Rockwell Body and Chassis System
    Inventors: Robert J. Heckel, Enrico Fin, Achim R. Gier, Pascal Bonduel
  • Patent number: 5477641
    Abstract: This safety device for electric window lifters of the Bowden cable (3) type comprises electromechanical means for detecting and measuring the force exerted on the cable (3); a compression spring (11), housed in a sheath (9) coaxial to the cable (3) bears, on the one hand, on a stationary support (8) and, on the other hand, on a tubular component (12) mounted so as to slide inside the sheath (9) and carrying a tab (13) which interacts with an electric switch (14) forming part of an electric circuit for controlling the motor capable of automatically reversing the direction of rotation of the motor when the force (F) exerted on the window and the cable (3) gives rise to a movement of the tubular component (12), which opens the switch (14). This electromechanical safety device is of simple and inexpensive construction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1993
    Date of Patent: December 26, 1995
    Assignee: Rockwell Body and Chassis Systems
    Inventors: Robert J. Heckel, Enrico Fin, Achim R. Gier, Pascal Bonduel
  • Patent number: 5469656
    Abstract: A safety device for electric glass-winders of the cable type employs a guide rail movably mounted on the door panel of a vehicle so as to be capable of being driven downwardly in vertical translation by the cable upon encountering a force opposing travel of the glass which exceeds a predetermined value. The rail is maintained in its normal position by, for example, a magnet which attracts a tab of ferromagnetic material fixed to the rail. A switch forming part of the electrical supply circuit for the winder motor cooperates with the rail and reverses the direction of rotation of the motor when the rail is displaced from its normal position to a lower position. The electromechanical safety device is inexpensive and simple to manufacture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 28, 1995
    Assignee: Rockwell Body and Chassis Systems
    Inventors: Achim R. Gier, Pascal Bonduel, Robert J. Heckel, Enrico Fin
  • Patent number: 5461826
    Abstract: In a window lifter of the cable type, comprising a motor for driving the cable bearing a slide (6) linked to a second slide (7) supporting the window, the two slides (6, 7) may be coupled via an elastic tension element (16) and one (6) of the slides is fitted with an electrical switch (17), associated with the second slide (7) so as to change state when the load on the slide (7) carrying the window (8) exceeds a predetermined value and when the elastic element (16) undergoes an extension corresponding to the separation between the slides; the switch (17) forms part of an electrical supply circuit for the motor, capable of reversing its direction of rotation when this switch (17) changes state, so as to free the movable member from an obstacle in its path. This electromechanical safety device has a simple structure and a low manufacturing cost.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1993
    Date of Patent: October 31, 1995
    Assignee: Rockwell Body and Chassis Systems
    Inventors: Robert J. Heckel, Enrico Fin, Achim R. Gier, Pascal Bonduel