Patents by Inventor Shelly L. Lienhart

Shelly L. Lienhart 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: 5462190
    Abstract: A fuel cap tether apparatus on a motor vehicle having a body panel with an access opening or port therein, a fuel tube including a neck behind the access opening, a fuel door mounted on the vehicle for pivotal movement between open and closed positions exposing and concealing, respectively, the access opening, and a fuel cap closing the fuel tube neck and removable therefrom in response to twisting of the fuel cap relative to the fuel tube neck. The fuel cap tether apparatus includes a string-like flexible tether having a first end rigidly connected to the vehicle and a second end connected to the fuel cap such that the latter is rotatable relative to the tether and a hook on the fuel door disposed laterally outboard of the body panel surrounding the fuel tube access opening when the fuel door is in its open position. After the fuel cap is removed, the tether is hung in the hook and the fuel cap released.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 31, 1995
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Shelly L. Lienhart, Roger J. Rademacher