Patents by Inventor Volker Hoefer

Volker Hoefer 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).

  • Publication number: 20180086426
    Abstract: A marine propulsion system having an upper housing part, a pod, and a shank extending between the upper housing part and the pod. An underwater transmission having an input shaft and an output shaft is arranged in the pod and the input shaft is connected to a drive shaft that extends through the shank and is driven by an electric motor. The electric motor is mounted inside the shank and that surrounds the drive shaft.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 6, 2016
    Publication date: March 29, 2018
    Inventors: Volker HÖFER, Jörg SHEID
  • Patent number: 9303981
    Abstract: A position-measuring device includes a scale and a scanning unit movable relative thereto. The scale has a measuring graduation, a reference mark and area markings located on a first and on a second side of the reference mark which are configured to exert different deflection effects on a scanning beam incident thereon. An area signal detector is configured to detect, during optical scanning of the area markings, a fringe pattern in a detection plane of the area signal detector. A periodic screen grating is disposed between the scale and the area signal detector and is configured to produce the fringe pattern in the detection plane of the area signal detector such that at least two distinguishable scanning signals are generatable from the fringe pattern as a function of a position of the scanning unit relative to the reference mark.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: DR. JOHANNES HEIDENHAIN GMBH
    Inventors: Juergen Schoser, Wolfgang Holzapfel, Michael Hermann, Volker Hoefer
  • Publication number: 20150146217
    Abstract: A position-measuring device includes a scale and a scanning unit movable relative thereto. The scale has a measuring graduation, a reference mark and area markings located on a first and on a second side of the reference mark which are configured to exert different deflection effects on a scanning beam incident thereon. An area signal detector is configured to detect, during optical scanning of the area markings, a fringe pattern in a detection plane of the area signal detector. A periodic screen grating is disposed between the scale and the area signal detector and is configured to produce the fringe pattern in the detection plane of the area signal detector such that at least two distinguishable scanning signals are generatable from the fringe pattern as a function of a position of the scanning unit relative to the reference mark.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2014
    Publication date: May 28, 2015
    Inventors: Juergen Schoser, Wolfgang Holzapfel, Michael Hermann, Volker Hoefer
  • Publication number: 20150018170
    Abstract: A hybrid drive for a watercraft, including a primary drive motor, which is situated inside the watercraft and drives a drive shaft, and an above-water transmission, which is situated after the drive shaft and has a transmission housing, for driving a vertical shaft branching off from the above-water transmission, as well as an electric secondary drive motor, which has a stator and a rotor and is able to drive the vertical shaft in addition to or alternatively to the primary drive motor. The secondary drive motor can be embodied with a hollow shaft and the stator of this motor can be coupled in a torsionally rigid fashion to the transmission housing of the above-water transmission.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2012
    Publication date: January 15, 2015
    Inventor: Volker Höfer
  • Patent number: 8495820
    Abstract: An angle-measuring device including a first component group and a second component group, the component groups being disposed in a manner allowing rotation relative to each other by a bearing. The first component group includes a housing having a connecting device, as well as a scanning unit. The second component group includes a shaft to which a code disk is attached, and a flow channel having a directional component parallel to the axis. The angle-measuring device is configured such that a negative pressure is able to be applied to the connecting device, so that a fluid surrounding the angle-measuring device with a pressure flows through the angle-measuring device to remove contaminants by suction. At the applied negative pressure, a first mass flow of the fluid which flows through the flow channel is greater than a second mass flow which flows through the bearing gap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2013
    Assignee: Dr. Johannes Heidenhain GmbH
    Inventors: Zlatko Maric, Volker Hoefer
  • Publication number: 20110167659
    Abstract: An angle-measuring device including a first component group and a second component group, the component groups being disposed in a manner allowing rotation relative to each other by a bearing. The first component group includes a housing having a connecting device, as well as a scanning unit. The second component group includes a shaft to which a code disk is attached, and a flow channel having a directional component parallel to the axis. The angle-measuring device is configured such that a negative pressure is able to be applied to the connecting device, so that a fluid surrounding the angle-measuring device with a pressure flows through the angle-measuring device to remove contaminants by suction. At the applied negative pressure, a first mass flow of the fluid which flows through the flow channel is greater than a second mass flow which flows through the bearing gap.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 14, 2009
    Publication date: July 14, 2011
    Inventors: Zlatko Maric, Volker Hoefer
  • Patent number: 7760471
    Abstract: A positioning device includes a housing and a shaft that is able to be swiveled about a centrical position relative to the housing, at whose one end an element that is to be positioned is attachable. Furthermore, the positioning device has a swivel drive and a position measuring device. A cable, for the electrical connection of swivelable parts in the positioning device to a stationary unit, has a spiral-shaped course leading radially outwardly, starting from the shaft that is located in the centrical position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2010
    Assignee: Dr. Johannes Heidenhain GmbH
    Inventors: Volker Hoefer, Gerhard Scheglmann
  • Patent number: 7507949
    Abstract: A positioning device includes a housing and a shaft that is able to swivel relative to the housing and at one end of which an element to be positioned is attachable. The positioning device further includes a roller-bearing unit for supporting the shaft with respect to the housing, a swivel drive and a position-measuring device. The shaft is arranged in a manner that it is torsionally stiff, but axially movable relative to the housing via a ring diaphragm secured to the roller-bearing unit and to the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2009
    Assignee: Dr. Johannes Heidenhain GmbH
    Inventors: Gerhard Scheglmann, Volker Hoefer
  • Patent number: 7474511
    Abstract: A voice-coil motor includes a stator and a rotor, which is pivoted about a swivel axis, with respect to the stator. The rotor and/or the stator has a printed circuit board that includes at least one circuit-board conductor, and the at least one circuit-board conductor is arranged such that it forms at least one coil unit in a plane, the at least one coil unit including several circuit traces. Within one coil unit, more than two circuit traces have a section, in which the specific circuit trace is oriented in the direction of the swivel axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2009
    Assignee: Dr. Johannes Heidenhain GmbH
    Inventors: Gerhard Scheglmann, Volker Hoefer
  • Publication number: 20070137373
    Abstract: A positioning device includes a housing and a shaft that is able to be swiveled about a centrical position relative to the housing, at whose one end an element that is to be positioned is attachable. Furthermore, the positioning device has a swivel drive and a position measuring device. A cable, for the electrical connection of swivelable parts in the positioning device to a stationary unit, has a spiral-shaped course leading radially outwardly, starting from the shaft that is located in the centrical position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 13, 2006
    Publication date: June 21, 2007
    Inventors: Volker Hoefer, Gerhard Scheglmann
  • Publication number: 20070096017
    Abstract: A positioning device includes a housing and a shaft that is able to swivel relative to the housing and at one end of which an element to be positioned is attachable. The positioning device further includes a roller-bearing unit for supporting the shaft with respect to the housing, a swivel drive and a position-measuring device. The shaft is arranged in a manner that it is torsionally stiff, but axially movable relative to the housing via a ring diaphragm secured to the roller-bearing unit and to the housing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 21, 2006
    Publication date: May 3, 2007
    Inventors: Gerhard Scheglmann, Volker Hoefer
  • Patent number: 7159781
    Abstract: A scanning unit for a position measuring device for scanning a measuring graduation thereof, includes a scanning structure provided on a carrier and formed such that, by interaction of electromagnetic radiation, with the measuring graduation and the scanning structure, a periodic stripe pattern is generated. A detector arrangement includes detector elements of different phases that generate output signals having a phase shift. The detector elements form a periodic pattern, and each detector element is assigned exactly one region of the scanning structure referred to as a bar. The detector elements are combined to form two detector groups. Detector elements of the same phase belong to the same detector group, and the detector elements within one detector group are interconnected. The bars of each detector group cover an active area of equal size. The area center of gravity of the area covered by the bars of the detector groups coincide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2007
    Assignee: Dr. Johannes Heidenhain GmbH
    Inventors: Walter Huber, Volker Hoefer
  • Patent number: 7136249
    Abstract: A positioning device includes a swiveling shaft, at one end of which an element to be positioned may be attached, a swivel drive, made up of a rotor, which is movable relative to a stator, a position measuring device, made up of two parts movable relative to each other, and a roller bearing, which includes several rolling elements. The rotor of the swivel drive and a first part of the position measuring device are connected to the shaft in a rotatably fixed manner. The rolling elements are made of a ceramic material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2006
    Assignee: Dr. Johannes Heidenhain GmbH
    Inventors: Volker Hoefer, Johann Lahr, Johann Mitterreiter, Gerhard Scheglmann
  • Patent number: 7112782
    Abstract: An optical position measuring system including a scale and a scanning unit. The scanning unit includes a light source that emits light beams and a periodic scanning graduation having scanning graduation marks arranged periodically at a scanning graduation period along a measuring direction. The scanning unit further including a detector arrangement. The scanning graduation or the scale graduation includes at least three partial tracks, which adjoin perpendicularly with respect to the measuring direction, and graduation marks associated with each of the at least three partial tracks have a defined and constant offset spacing from their nominal positions, wherein the offset spacings associated with adjoining ones of the at least three partial tracks differ, so that filtering of undesired harmonic waves out of the at least one periodic scanning signal results from said offset spacings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2006
    Assignee: Dr. Johannes Heidenhain GmbH
    Inventor: Volker Höfer
  • Publication number: 20060186206
    Abstract: A scanning unit for a position measuring device for scanning a measuring graduation of the position measuring device, includes a scanning structure that is provided on a carrier and is formed such that, by interaction of an electromagnetic radiation, used for scanning the measuring graduation, with the measuring graduation on one hand and with the scanning structure on the other hand, a periodic stripe pattern is generated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 16, 2006
    Publication date: August 24, 2006
    Inventors: Walter Huber, Volker Hoefer
  • Publication number: 20050286172
    Abstract: A voice-coil motor includes a stator and a rotor, which is pivoted about a swivel axis, with respect to the stator. The rotor and/or the stator has a printed circuit board that includes at least one circuit-board conductor, and the at least one circuit-board conductor is arranged such that it forms at least one coil unit in a plane, the at least one coil unit including several circuit traces. Within one coil unit, more than two circuit traces have a section, in which the specific circuit trace is oriented in the direction of the swivel axis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2005
    Publication date: December 29, 2005
    Inventors: Gerhard Scheglmann, Volker Hoefer
  • Patent number: 6933700
    Abstract: A positioning device that includes a pivotable shaft and a pivot drive mechanism, which has a stator and a rotor that moves relative to the stator. A position measuring arrangement includes a first element and a second element that moves in relation to the first element, wherein the rotor and the first element are connected, fixed against relative rotation, with the shaft. The positioning device further includes a bearing unit, wherein, starting at one end of the shaft, first the first element, then the bearing unit, and thereafter the rotor are arranged along the shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2005
    Assignee: Dr. Johannes Heidenhain GmbH
    Inventors: Johann Lahr, Volker Höfer
  • Publication number: 20050134993
    Abstract: A positioning device includes a swiveling shaft, at one end of which an element to be positioned may be attached, a swivel drive, made up of a rotor, which is movable relative to a stator, a position measuring device, made up of two parts movable relative to each other, and a roller bearing, which includes several rolling elements. The rotor of the swivel drive and a first part of the position measuring device are connected to the shaft in a rotatably fixed manner. The rolling elements are made of a ceramic material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 20, 2004
    Publication date: June 23, 2005
    Inventors: Volker Hoefer, Johann Lahr, Johann Mitterreiter, Gerhard Scheglmann
  • Patent number: 6552810
    Abstract: An optical position measuring system for determining the relative position of a first object which can be moved with respect to a second object along a measuring direction includes at least one periodic measuring graduation, which is connected to the first object and a scanning unit which is connected with the second object. The scanning unit includes a light source emitting beams of light, at least one scanning graduation and a detector arrangement in a detector plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: Dr. Johannes Hiedenhein GmbH
    Inventors: Michael Hermann, Walter Huber, Wolfgang Holzapfel, Volker Höfer
  • Patent number: 6198534
    Abstract: A scanning unit for an optical position measuring system is disclosed which, besides periodic incremental signals, also provides at least one reference pulse signal at a defined reference position of a scale and a scanning unit which is movable relative to it. For scanning a reference mark on the scale, the scanning unit comprises a scanning plate with at least one reference mark scanning field and/or at least one reference pulse detector element. A filtering effect results either from the design of the reference mark scanning field or by the design of one or several reference mark detector elements in such a way that the periodic incremental signal portion of the reference pulse signal next to the reference position can be eliminated to a great extent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2001
    Assignee: Johannes Heidenhain GmbH
    Inventors: Volker Höfer, Wolfgang Holzapfel, Walter Huber, Elmar Mayer