Patents by Inventor Thomas Wahls

Thomas Wahls 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: 7469586
    Abstract: A sensor unit for determining a physical sensor parameter of a measuring gas, in particular an oxygen concentration in an exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine is provided, which includes a sensor housing and at least one connection cable having an electrically insulating cable sheathing, for the transmission of energy and/or the sensor parameter, the sensor housing having at least one cable opening for the connection cable and at least one sealing element for sheathing and sealing the connection cable, the cable having better sealing than the related art and/or the ability to resist higher temperature loading. According to the invention, this is achieved by at least partially forming the sealing element as tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2008
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Bernhard Wild, Rainer Maier, Thomas Wahl, Juergen Wilde, Gregor Jaehnig, Peter Dettling, Stefan Heinzelmann, Bernd Rattay, Bastian Buchholz, Juergen Moratz
  • Publication number: 20080289961
    Abstract: A sensor element for determining the oxygen concentration in an exhaust gas has a conductor track applied to a solid electrolyte, which includes an electrode provided in a measuring area of the sensor element and an electrode lead connected to the electrode and situated in the lead area of the sensor element. In a transition area between the measuring area and the lead area, the conductor track has a narrowing. Furthermore, the electrode includes a first electrode section and a second electrode section, the first electrode section being connected to the electrode lead in a transition area between the measuring area and the lead area, and the first and second electrode sections being electrically connected to one another only on their sides facing away from the lead area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 9, 2005
    Publication date: November 27, 2008
    Inventors: Reiner Schmitt, Thomas Wahl, Harald Guenschel, Harry Braun, Andy Tiefenbach, Ulrich Eisele, Lothar Diehl, Thomas Moser, Stefan Rodewald, Dieter Lindauer, Juergen Sindel, Dirk Rady, Frank Buchholz
  • Publication number: 20080269043
    Abstract: A ceramic insulating material, in particular for sensor elements for determining the concentration of gas components in gas mixtures, is based on an alkaline earth-containing ceramic. The insulating material contains a hexaaluminate of the alkaline earth metal and at least one mixed compound of the alkaline earth metal with an acid oxide, the molar ratio of hexaaluminate to the sum of mixed compounds in the insulating material being 1.3 to 4.0.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2005
    Publication date: October 30, 2008
    Inventors: Thomas Wahl, Ulrich Eisele, Thomas Koehler, Bernd Schumann, Karl-Hermann Friese, Juergen Sindel, Stefan Nufer, Frank Buse
  • Patent number: 7444488
    Abstract: A method and a programmable unit for bit field shifting in a memory device in a programmable unit as a result of the execution of an instruction, in which a bit segment is shifted within a first memory unit to a second memory unit, are presented. The bit segment is read with a first bit length from a first bit field in the first memory unit starting at a first start point. The bit segment that has been read is stored in the first bit field in the second memory unit starting at a second start point. The first or the second start points is updated by a predetermined value and the updated start point is stored for subsequent method steps.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2008
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies
    Inventors: Xiaoning Nie, Thomas Wahl
  • Publication number: 20080087005
    Abstract: The invention concerns a procedure for the voltage controlled output adjustment of a sensor heater in the exhaust gas system of an internal combustion engine. In order that such a procedure, whereby the operating temperature of the sensor is achieved in the shortest amount of time, can be implemented without the sensor being damaged in the process, provision is made according to the invention, that the heating voltage in a beginning phase of the heat-up phase of the heater is brought to a high value either very quickly in respect to a subsequent phase or precipitously brought to that high value, preferably the operating voltage; and subsequently the heating voltage is continuously or virtually continuously reduced.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 27, 2006
    Publication date: April 17, 2008
    Applicant: Robert Bosch GMBH
    Inventors: Thomas Wahl, Walter Strassner, Lothar Diehl, Stefan Rodewald, Juergen Sindel
  • Patent number: 7328329
    Abstract: A device (1) to control processing of data elements (data_i), in which a thread is assigned to each data element (data_i), comprises a first unit (CS), which, during a first cycle, fetches an instruction (cs_ir_s) that is entered in the context of the thread assigned to the incoming data element (data_i), a second unit (IF), which, during a second cycle, fetches an instruction (if_ir_s) that succeeds a stipulated instruction in a stipulated thread, and a third unit (ID), which, during the second cycle, decodes the instruction prescribed for processing of the data element (data_i) and generates a data element processing signal (dec_o).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2008
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Lorenzo Di Gregorio, Xiaoning Nie, Thomas Wahl
  • Publication number: 20070264529
    Abstract: A ceramic laminate is provided which has at least one solid electrolyte layer, an electrical resistor track embedded in an insulation, and especially running in a meandering shape, and two electrical lead tracks to the resistor track. To reduce the danger of crack formation in the insulation, the resistor track is made up of a material having a greater specific Ohmic resistance compared to the material of the lead tracks and has as great a track width as possible at a low track thickness.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2004
    Publication date: November 15, 2007
    Inventors: Thomas Wahl, Lothar Diehl, Stefan Rodewald, Frank Buchholz
  • Publication number: 20070246358
    Abstract: A sensor element is described for determining a physical property of a measuring gas, in particular the pressure or the concentration of a gas component in a gas mixture, in particular in the exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine. The sensor element has an electrode exposed to the measuring gas and a reference electrode exposed to a reference gas, ambient air in particular, through a porous volume. The two electrodes are separated from one another by a solid electrolyte. To avoid premature aging of the reference electrode as a result of deposits of foreign substances contained in the reference gas or of chemical interactions caused by the foreign substances, the volume material is selected with respect to its physical and chemical properties in such a way that the foreign substances are bound in the volume and/or are subjected to a chemical reaction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 27, 2005
    Publication date: October 25, 2007
    Applicant: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
    Inventors: Jens Schneider, Detlef Heimann, Thomas Wahl, Thomas Egner, Gerhard Schneider, Hans-Joerg Renz, Harald Neumann, Andreas Schaak
  • Publication number: 20070108049
    Abstract: A sensor element to determine the temperature or the oxygen concentration of an exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine includes a first solid electrolyte film, a second solid electrolyte film, and a diffusion barrier disposed in a layer plane between the first and the second solid electrolyte film. A gas-impermeable or at least largely gas-impermeable cover layer is provided locally on the diffusion barrier, so that in the regions in which the cover layer is provided on the diffusion barrier, diffusion of the measured gas into or out of the diffusion barrier is at least largely prevented. A corresponding method for manufacturing a sensor element includes ablating a diffusion barrier using a laser in order to adjust the diffusion resistance of the diffusion barrier. A cover layer that, after a sintering process, is gas-impermeable or at least largely gas-impermeable is applied onto a side of the diffusion barrier that faces toward a measured gas located outside the sensor element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 11, 2004
    Publication date: May 17, 2007
    Inventors: Thomas Wahl, Harald Guenschel, Berthold Ficker
  • Publication number: 20070000304
    Abstract: A sensor unit for determining a physical sensor parameter of a measuring gas, in particular an oxygen concentration in an exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine is provided, which includes a sensor housing and at least one connection cable having an electrically insulating cable sheathing, for the transmission of energy and/or the sensor parameter, the sensor housing having at least one cable opening for the connection cable and at least one sealing element for sheathing and sealing the connection cable, the cable having better sealing than the related art and/or the ability to resist higher temperature loading. According to the invention, this is achieved by at least partially forming the sealing element as tube.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2006
    Publication date: January 4, 2007
    Inventors: Bernhard Wild, Rainer Maier, Thomas Wahl, Juergen Wilde, Gregor Jaehnig, Peter Dettling, Stefan Heinzelmann, Bernd Rattay, Bastian Buchholz, Juergen Moratz
  • Publication number: 20060237314
    Abstract: A sensor element having a layer-type construction is used to determine a physical quantity of a measurement gas, in particular to determine the concentration of a gas component of the measurement gas. The sensor element includes at least one heater and at least one measurement element. The heater is surrounded by a heater insulation. Between the heater and the heater insulation there is provided, at least in some areas, a hollow element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 5, 2003
    Publication date: October 26, 2006
    Inventors: Thomas Wahl, Thomas Egner, Lothar Diehl, Stefan Rodewald, Frank Buchholz
  • Publication number: 20060226009
    Abstract: A measuring sensor is described for determining a physical property of a measured gas, especially for determining the oxygen concentration or the pollutant concentration in the exhaust gas of internal combustion engines, which has a sensor element that is exposable to the measured gas which is at least partially coated with a protective layer that protects against harmful components in the measured gas. In order to achieve producing a “contamination protection”, that is cost-effective from a manufacturing technology point of view, particularly against silicon compounds and phosphorus compounds, the protective layer (26) is made of highly active ?- or ?-aluminum oxide (Al2O3) having additives of compounds of the alkaline metals group, the alkaline earths group, the IV B subgroup or the lanthanides group.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 17, 2003
    Publication date: October 12, 2006
    Inventors: Jens Schneider, Detlef Heimann, Thomas Wahl, James-Richard Waldrop II
  • Patent number: 7083710
    Abstract: The reference air channel of a gas sensor or a lambda probe having a laminate body produced by printing technology is provided. The laminate body is produced by printing a suitably structured layer onto a neighboring layer, for example, by screen printing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2006
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Heiner Scheer, Hans-Martin Wiedenmann, Josef Hickl, Thomas Wahl, Gerhard Schneider, Harald Neumann, Lothar Diehl, Jurgen Karle, Hans-Joerg Renz
  • Patent number: 7052595
    Abstract: A gas sensor for determining the concentration of gas components in gas mixtures is used in particular to measure the concentration of nitrogen oxides in exhaust gases of internal combustion engines or in the interiors of motor vehicles. It contains an electrochemical measuring cell which includes a first electrode situated on a solid electrolyte and an additional electrode. The electrode is made of an oxide material containing lanthanum which at least catalytically decomposes nitrogen oxides. The pump current flowing between the electrodes is used as a measure of the nitrogen oxide concentration in the gas mixture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2006
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Thomas Schulte, Thomas Wahl, Bernd Mueller
  • Publication number: 20060101248
    Abstract: A method and a programmable unit for bit field shifting in a memory device in a programmable unit as a result of the execution of an instruction, in which a bit segment is shifted within a first memory unit to a second memory unit, are presented. The bit segment is read with a first bit length from a first bit field in the first memory unit starting at a first start point. The bit segment that has been read is stored in the first bit field in the second memory unit starting at a second start point. The first or the second start points is updated by a predetermined value and the updated start point is stored for subsequent method steps.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2005
    Publication date: May 11, 2006
    Inventors: Xiaoning Nie, Thomas Wahl
  • Publication number: 20060091008
    Abstract: A heating device for a sensor element of a gas sensor, in particular for use in exhaust gas analysis of internal combustion engines, has a heating element, which has an electrical resistor layer. The heating element is electrically insulated from at least one solid electrolyte layer by a layer containing barium and/or strontium and/or calcium. For this purpose, the heating element is embedded in a first insulator, which is adjoined by a second insulator. The first insulator has a higher barium and/or strontium and/or calcium content (expressed in weight percentage) than the second insulator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2003
    Publication date: May 4, 2006
    Inventors: Detlef Heimann, Thomas Wahl, Lothar Diehl, Thomas Moser, Stefan Rodewald
  • Publication number: 20050273103
    Abstract: An intramedullary nail, comprises a proximal portion, a middle portion and a distal portion. The proximal portion has a longitudinal slot and the distal portion has at least one transversal bore. The proximal portion has a longitudinal axis and a longitudinal bore extending over the longitudinal extension of the slot in the distal direction. The longitudinal bore has an internal thread. An insert which is intended to be inserted in the longitudinal bore. The insert comprises a guiding bore in the form of a slot which is intended to receive fixing elements. The alignment of the guiding bore of said insert is transverse with respect to the longitudinal axis of the proximal portion. The insert has a compression screw adapted to be screwed into said internal thread of the longitudinal bore of the proximal portion to move a fixing element in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the intramedullary nail.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2005
    Publication date: December 8, 2005
    Applicant: Stryker Trauma S.A.
    Inventors: Thomas Wahl, Volker Buhren
  • Patent number: 6940287
    Abstract: An unheated planar sensor element for determining the concentration of a gas component in a gas mixture, in particular the oxygen concentration in the exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine, has a sensor foil made of a solid electrolyte with an outer electrode exposed to the measuring gas, and an inner electrode exposed to a reference gas, as well as a reference-gas channel, which is covered by the sensor foil on one side and accommodates the inner electrode. To produce a small-volume, cost-effective unheated sensor element for use in small combustion engines having low power output yet sufficiently satisfactory measuring accuracy, the reference-gas channel is sealed on the underside by an additional sensor foil made of a solid electrolyte, and covered by an inner electrode lying inside the reference-gas channel and an outer electrode exposed to the measuring gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2005
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Helmut Weyl, Jens Schneider, Detlef Heimann, Thomas Wahl, Hans-Joerg Renz, Norman Hahn, James Richard Waldrop, II, Damien Barnes, Mike McCormick, John Day
  • Patent number: 6936149
    Abstract: A gas sensor for determining a physical quantity of a gas component, e.g., in an exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine, including a sensor element which contains at least one electrochemical cell. The electrochemical cell includes a first electrode and a second electrode that are arranged at a distance on at least one solid electrolyte, the second electrode is arranged in a reference gas space. A third electrode which is in contact with a gas located in the gas space is provided. The gas component may be exchanged between the gas space and the reference gas space using a voltage applied between the second electrode and the third electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2005
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Thomas Wahl, Torsten Handler, Harry Braun, Sven Boeffert, Lothar Diehl
  • Patent number: 6932819
    Abstract: An intramedullary nail, comprises a proximal portion, a middle portion and a distal portion. The proximal portion has a longitudinal slot and the distal portion has at least one transversal bore. The proximal portion has a longitudinal axis and a longitudinal bore extending over the longitudinal extension of the slot in the distal direction. The longitudinal bore has an internal thread. An insert which is intended to be inserted in the longitudinal bore. The insert comprises a guiding bore in the form of a slot which is intended to receive fixing elements. The alignment of the guiding bore of said insert is transverse with respect to the longitudinal axis of the proximal portion. The insert has a compression screw adapted to be screwed into said internal thread of the longitudinal bore of the proximal portion to move a fixing element in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the intramedullary nail.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2005
    Assignee: Stryker Trauma SA
    Inventors: Thomas Wahl, Volker Bühren