Patents by Inventor Steffen Heyn
Steffen Heyn 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).
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Patent number: 8181757Abstract: An adjustable damping valve including an actuator, which exerts an actuating force on a valve body against the force of a spring to influence the throttle cross section which determines the damping force, where an emergency valve is connected in parallel with the throttle cross section with respect to the flow direction of the damping medium, where the two control surfaces of the valve body move in the axial direction and can thus can come to rest alternately on the two valve seating surfaces, and where the valve body is divided into two parts in the longitudinal direction, and each valve body assembly has its own control surface.Type: GrantFiled: September 28, 2007Date of Patent: May 22, 2012Assignee: ZF Friedrichshafen AGInventors: Steffen Heyn, Bernd Zeissner
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Patent number: 8113324Abstract: A damping valve for a vibration damper includes a guide sleeve which slides on the piston rod of a vibration damper. An annular damping valve body which is provided with at least one through-opening is fixed axially by positive engagement on the guide sleeve, and the through-opening is covered at least partly by at least one valve disk which is biased by at least one closing spring which is supported at its end at a spring plate connected to the guide sleeve. The damping valve body and a spring plate which is constructed separate from the guide sleeve form a compression chain between two axially spaced stops of the guide sleeve.Type: GrantFiled: May 30, 2008Date of Patent: February 14, 2012Assignee: ZF Freidrichshafen AGInventors: Helmut Baalmann, Steffen Heyn, Thomas Thein, Michael Hegmann
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Publication number: 20110226572Abstract: A vibration damper with stroke-dependent damping force includes a cylinder in which a piston rod with a piston is axially movable. The piston divides the cylinder into two work spaces filled with damping medium. A bypass between the work spaces is opened or closed depending on the piston position. The piston has a damping valve for at least one through-flow direction formed by a valve body that partially covers a through-flow channel in the damping valve. The valve body has first and second pressure-actuated surfaces on opposite sides of the valve body. The action of the second pressure-actuated surface depends on the position of the piston in relation to the bypass. The first pressure-actuated surface exerts a lifting force and the second pressure-actuated surface exerts a closing force on the valve disk. The second pressure-actuated surface is connected to a control space and a connection channel that overlaps with the bypass depending on the stroke position of the piston.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 16, 2011Publication date: September 22, 2011Applicant: ZF Friedrichshafen AGInventors: Steffen HEYN, Bernd ZEISSNER
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Publication number: 20110168935Abstract: Adjustable damping valve for a vibration damper having a valve body having a pressure-loaded surface that acts in the lifting direction of the valve body and is impinged by an incident flow of damping medium from an opening inside a cross section limited by valve seat surface, and a surface operative in the closing direction is formed by a rear side of the valve body. A resulting force including a force of at least one valve spring and an actuating force of an actuator acts on the valve body. An additional surface of the valve body is pressure-loaded by damping medium by incident flow on the valve body in the closing direction of the valve body, or the valve body has a first pressure-loaded surface acting in the lifting direction, and a second pressure-loaded surface that acts in the lifting direction.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 9, 2009Publication date: July 14, 2011Inventors: Steffen Heyn, Lothar Callies
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Publication number: 20090127039Abstract: Disclosed is a vibration damper comprising a cylinder in which a piston rod is guided in an axially movable manner. A first piston (7) is mounted stationarily on the piston rod while a second piston (23) that is equipped with at least one valve disk biased by a spring assembly is mounted on the piston rod so as to be axially movable counter to the force of at least one support spring. The spring assembly is provided with at least one spring plate (39, 41) on which the spring assembly (33, 35) rests. The second piston (23) forms a structural unit along with a fixing sleeve (37) and the at least one spring plate for the spring assembly. The at least one spring plate is mounted in an axially movable manner relative to the fixing sleeve (37) and can be fixed in the desired axial position in order to adjust the bias of the spring assembly.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 18, 2006Publication date: May 21, 2009Applicant: ZF FRIEDCHSHAFEN AGInventors: Bernd Zeissner, Andreas Foerster, Frank Gundermann, Steffen Heyn, Anton Krawczyk, Uwe Boecker, Thomas Thein, Wolfgang Breun, Herbert Bies, Holger Beyer, Ludwig Gampl, Heinz-Joachim Gilsdorf, Klaus Sauer
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Publication number: 20090038898Abstract: Disclosed is a vibration damper comprising a cylinder in which a piston rod is guided in an axially movable manner. A first piston is mounted stationarily on the piston rod while a second piston that is equipped with at least one valve disk biased by a spring assembly is mounted on the piston rod so as to be axially movable counter to a force of at least one support spring. The spring assembly is provided with at least one spring plate on which the spring assembly rests. The second piston is retained by a fixing sleeve which supports the at least one spring plate. The structural unit encompassing the fixing sleeve and the at least one spring plate is fitted with an axially effective separating joint for a locking connection inside the structural unit. The entire structural unit can be axially displaced towards the at least one support spring.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 18, 2006Publication date: February 12, 2009Applicant: ZF Friedrichshafen AGInventors: Bernd Zeissner, Andreas Foerster, Frank Gundermann, Steffen Heyn, Anton Krawczyk, Uwe Boecker, Thomas Thein, Wolfgang Breun, Herbert Bies, Holger Beyer, Ludwig Gampl, Heinz-Joachim Gilsdorf, Klaus Sauer
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Publication number: 20080296526Abstract: A damping valve for a vibration damper includes a guide sleeve which slides on the piston rod of a vibration damper. An annular damping valve body which is provided with at least one through-opening is fixed axially by positive engagement on the guide sleeve, and the through-opening is covered at least partly by at least one valve disk which is biased by at least one closing spring which is supported at its end at a spring plate connected to the guide sleeve. The damping valve body and a spring plate which is constructed separate from the guide sleeve form a compression chain between two axially spaced stops of the guide sleeve.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 30, 2008Publication date: December 4, 2008Applicant: ZF Friedrichshafen AGInventors: Helmut Baalmann, Steffen Heyn, Thomas Thein, Michael Hegmann
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Publication number: 20080116024Abstract: A vibration damper with adjustable damping force, including a valve body and an actuator. The actuator causes the valve body to move toward a valve seating surface against a nonlinear elastic force, thereby creating a characteristic curve, which describes the function “open valve cross section-versus-energy input to the actuator” and which has at least two ranges with different slopes.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 16, 2007Publication date: May 22, 2008Applicant: ZF Friedrichshafen AGInventors: Steffen Heyn, Thomas Manger, Andreas Sieber, Bernd Zeissner
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Publication number: 20080078634Abstract: An adjustable damping valve including an actuator, which exerts an actuating force on a valve body against the force of a spring to influence the throttle cross section which determines the damping force, where an emergency valve is connected in parallel with the throttle cross section with respect to the flow direction of the damping medium, where the two control surfaces of the valve body move in the axial direction and can thus can come to rest alternately on the two valve seating surfaces, and where the valve body is divided into two parts in the longitudinal direction, and each valve body assembly has its own control surface.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 28, 2007Publication date: April 3, 2008Applicant: ZF Friedrichshafen AGInventors: Steffen Heyn, Bernd Zeissner
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Patent number: 7104369Abstract: A piston rod with a piston is installed with freedom of axial movement in a damping medium-filled cylinder, where, as a function of the stroke position of the piston, a bypass connects the two working spaces separated from each other by the piston. The piston has at least one through-channel for at least one flow direction, which channel is at least partially covered on the outlet side by at least one valve disk, so that a first pressure-actuated surface to which pressure can be applied in the opening direction is present on the valve disk. In addition to the first pressure-actuated surface, the valve disk has a second pressure-actuated surface, which is separated from the first when the valve disk is closed and which can be actuated via the bypass, in which case the effects of the two pressure-actuated surfaces are additive.Type: GrantFiled: September 22, 2004Date of Patent: September 12, 2006Assignee: ZF Friedrichshafen AGInventors: Steffen Heyn, Frank Gundermann, Christian Böhm, Bernd Zeissner, Manfred Grundei
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Publication number: 20050061592Abstract: A piston rod with a piston is installed with freedom of axial movement in a damping medium-filled cylinder, where, as a function of the stroke position of the piston, a bypass connects the two working spaces separated from each other by the piston. The piston has at least one through-channel for at least one flow direction, which channel is at least partially covered on the outlet side by at least one valve disk, so that a first pressure-actuated surface to which pressure can be applied in the opening direction is present on the valve disk. In addition to the first pressure-actuated surface, the valve disk has a second pressure-actuated surface, which is separated from the first when the valve disk is closed and which can be actuated via the bypass, in which case the effects of the two pressure-actuated surfaces are additive.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 22, 2004Publication date: March 24, 2005Inventors: Steffen Heyn, Frank Gundermann, Christian Bohm, Bernd Zeissner, Manfred Grundei
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Patent number: 6581734Abstract: Damping valve comprising a damping valve body with at least one flow-through channel, the outlet of which is covered at least by an elastic valve disk, which is pretensioned against the damping valve body at least indirectly by a spring, where at least one support disk of smaller diameter is provided on the elastic valve disk, facing the spring, this support disk not executing any elastic movement, the spring exerting its force in the area radially outside the support disk.Type: GrantFiled: May 21, 2002Date of Patent: June 24, 2003Assignee: ZF Sachs AGInventors: Steffen Heyn, Andreas Sieber, Robert Moller, Alfred Memmel
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Patent number: 6561720Abstract: An open end of a hollow cylindrical body receives part of a cylindrical component, where the hollow cylindrical body and the cylindrical component each having a groove, the grooves being aligned when the cylindrical component is in its intended final position with respect to the hollow cylindrical body, so that a locking ring is captured by the two grooves. The cylindrical component works together with the hollow cylindrical body to form a ring-shaped space, which extends from one of the two grooves toward the open end of the hollow cylindrical body, thus offering access for a tool to move the locking ring into its intended final position.Type: GrantFiled: March 30, 2001Date of Patent: May 13, 2003Assignee: Mannesmann Sachs AGInventors: Alfred Wirth, Andreas Keidel, Steffen Heyn
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Publication number: 20020175033Abstract: Damping valve comprising a damping valve body with at least one flow-through channel, the outlet of which is covered at least by an elastic valve disk, which is pretensioned against the damping valve body at least indirectly by a spring, where at least one support disk of smaller diameter is provided on the elastic valve disk, facing the spring, this support disk not executing any elastic movement, the spring exerting its force in the area radially outside the support disk.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 21, 2002Publication date: November 28, 2002Applicant: ZF Sachs AGInventors: Steffen Heyn, Andreas Sieber, Robert Moller, Alfred Memmel
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Patent number: 6364332Abstract: An adjustable vibration damper, having a displacer in a cylinder, a damping medium exerting a damping force via an adjustable damping valve. The adjustable damping valve is activated by a control pressure of a pneumatic spring A safety device is provided which, in the event of a control pressure reduced as a result of damage to the pneumatic spring, provides a sufficiently high damping force of the vibration damper. At least two pneumatic springs are connected to the safety device, which is constructed from a pneumatic circuit functioning as a pressure balance between the pneumatic springs which releases the higher control pressure of a pneumatic spring in the pneumatic circuit. The adjustable vibration dampers which belong to the pneumatic springs are connected via at least one pressure outlet connection of the pneumatic circuit and are activated by the highest control pressure of the pneumatic springs involved.Type: GrantFiled: June 2, 2000Date of Patent: April 2, 2002Assignee: Mannesmann Sachs AGInventors: Thomas Kutsche, Norbert Heinz, Thomas Manger, Joachim Kühnel, Thorsten Asshoff, Steffen Heyn
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Publication number: 20010038771Abstract: An open end of a hollow cylindrical body receives part of a cylindrical component, where the hollow cylindrical body and the cylindrical component each having a groove, the grooves being aligned when the cylindrical component is in its intended final position with respect to the hollow cylindrical body, so that a locking ring is captured by the two grooves. The cylindrical component works together with the hollow cylindrical body to form a ring-shaped space, which extends from one of the two grooves toward the open end of the hollow cylindrical body, thus offering access for a tool to move the locking ring into its intended final position.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 30, 2001Publication date: November 8, 2001Inventors: Alfred Wirth, Andreas Keidel, Steffen Heyn
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Patent number: 6305512Abstract: A pressure operated valve is provided including an adjusting device, a spring and a vent connection. The adjusting device is axially movably arranged in a pressure chamber defined in the valve and comprises a valve body and a pressure intensifier. A space between the valve body and valve face defines a valve passage cross section. The spring is operatively arranged for holding the pressure intensifier in a floating arrangement in the pressure chamber. The pressure intensifier has a first side exposed to a pressure in the pressure connection opening and a second side facing away from the pressure connection opening. The second side of the pressure intensifier and the adjusting device define a low pressure chamber within the pressure chamber. The vent connection is an inflow restrictor arranged between the lower pressure chamber and a space having a lower pressure than the low pressure chamber.Type: GrantFiled: July 27, 2000Date of Patent: October 23, 2001Assignee: Mannesmann Sachs AGInventors: Norbert Heinz, Joachim Kühnel, Thomas Kutsche, Thomas Manger, Thorsten Assiioff, Steffen Heyn, Alfred Wirth
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Patent number: 5431260Abstract: A shock absorber for motor vehicles having at least one end thereof fastened by means of rubber gaskets to a fastening part. To achieve a fastening which is economical, elastic, and has a high degree of insulation and a long useful life, each rubber gasket of the fastening, around the circumference and on the end surfaces thereof, has elevations and/or depressions which run toward or opposite to one another.Type: GrantFiled: December 13, 1993Date of Patent: July 11, 1995Assignees: Fichtel & Sachs AG, Boge GmbHInventors: Josef Gross, Heinz Sydekum, Steffen Heyn, Kilian Gobel