Did You Know...
...that Charles Goodyear performed some of his experiments on rubber while in debtor's prison? He was there so often he referred to it as his "hotel". Chronically in debt because of poor business sense and ill health, Goodyear depended on the generosity of friends and family. Even after he unlocked the secret to vulcanizing rubber, he was unable to improve his financial situation. When he died, his estate was $200,000 in debt.
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8356701 | Drum-in-hat disc brake assembly A drum-in-hat (DIH) disc brake assembly has a disc service brake, a DIH parking and emergency brake, and a parking brake anchor. A backing plate, an axle flange, and a caliper bracket each have at least two mounting apertures formed therethrough. The parking brake a... | 01/22/2013 |
| 8294761 | Apparatus for inspecting a vehicle brake component and method for performing such inspection An apparatus for the inspection a vehicle component to detect the presence of a part defect and a method for performing the inspection. According to one embodiment, the apparatus for inspecting the vehicle component comprises: a camera having a lens; a borescope hav... | 10/23/2012 |
| 8212511 | Method and apparatus for limiting torque in an electric drive motor A method (100) is provided for controlling torque of an electric motor (12) including the step (106) of supplying drive current to drive the electric motor. The speed of the electric motor is monitored (108) and from the monitored speed, ... | 07/03/2012 |
| 8152245 | Vehicle system having regenerative brake control A method is provided for controlling the braking of a vehicle that has a first set of friction brakes for applying a first apply brake force to a first set of wheels and a second set of friction brakes for applying a second brake apply force to a second set of wheel... | 04/10/2012 |
| 8132612 | Brake caliper for disc brake assembly and method and apparatus for producing same This invention relates to a brake caliper adapted for use in a vehicle disc brake assembly and method and apparatus for producing the same. The method for producing the brake caliper comprises the steps of: (a) providing a mold member having at least two mold sectio... | 03/13/2012 |
| 8121770 | Boundary adaptation scheme for spool valve pressure control A method for adapting a closing boundary for a proportional spool valve includes generating or detecting a pressure command signal. Next a pressure error is obtained by subtracting an actual wheel brake pressure from its pressure command. Then a modified pressure er... | 02/21/2012 |
| 8117490 | Microprocessor memory management A memory for an electronic brake control system is divided into portions that are classified as critical and non-critical. Each portion is periodically tested for faults. Upon detection of a fault, the memory is reconfigured with any operations of the brake system a... | 02/14/2012 |
| 8056684 | Vehicle drum-in-hat disc brake assembly and method for producing same A vehicle drum-in-hat disc brake assembly comprises: a shield adapted to be secured to an axle flange; a drum brake portion carried by the shield; an abutment tower operatively disposed with the drum brake portion; and a caliper bracket assembly formed separate from... | 11/15/2011 |
| 8051958 | Guide pin for disc brake assembly and disc brake assembly including such a guide pin An improved guide pin structure adapted for use in a vehicle disc brake assembly comprises a first end including a head portion; a second end including an end face and a lead-in zone, the lead-in zone provided with a rounded generally bullet nose shaped radius adapt... | 11/08/2011 |
| 8050816 | Periodic rate sensor self test A periodic test signal (44) is injected into a sensor and the sensor output (46) is compared to a threshold to determined whether the sensor is functioning properly. ... | 11/01/2011 |
| 8046146 | Adaptive ABS control A method is provided for adaptively determining an anti-lock braking strategy that includes monitoring a distance differential of at least one target in proximity to a driven vehicle. An anti-lock braking strategy is determined as a function of the distance differen... | 10/25/2011 |
| 8011482 | Electric actuator unit for a vehicle brake assembly An improved structure for an electric actuator unit for use in a brake assembly. According to an embodiment, a drum brake assembly comprises a mounting flange having an abutment; a backing plate secured to the mounting flange, the backing plate having a pair of brak... | 09/06/2011 |
| 7996162 | Detection of shorted output pins The rates of change and difference between signals sensed at adjacent electronic module output ports are determined and compared to criteria to determine whether the output ports are shorted. ... | 08/09/2011 |
| 7983801 | Vehicle stability control utilizing static tire data A system for and a method of controlling the stability of a vehicle includes an electronic control system controlling a vehicle stability control subsystem based at least in part on static tire data received by the electronic control unit. ... | 07/19/2011 |
| 7967393 | Pressure balanced supply valve for vehicle brake system with integrated low pressure accumulator A pressure balanced supply valve for use in a vehicular braking system. A housing defines a first chamber, a second chamber, a first fluid conduit for connection to a master cylinder, a second fluid conduit for connection to a hydraulic pump, and a third fluid condu... | 06/28/2011 |
| 7934732 | Knuckle dust cap for vehicle suspension system A knuckle for a vehicle suspension system interconnects portions of a vehicle steering system, a vehicle brake, and a vehicle suspension system, and includes a knuckle body having a hub and bearing opening formed through the body. The hub and bearing opening define ... | 05/03/2011 |
| 7925410 | Speed control strategy A method is provided for efficiently decelerating a vehicle having a braking circuit for braking a set of brake actuators. A flow of pressurized brake fluid is generated within the braking circuit. Normal force parameters exerted on each wheel of the braking circuit... | 04/12/2011 |
| 7894955 | Method and apparatus for vehicle rollover mitigation A method is provided for detecting a rollover event of a vehicle. A lateral kinetic energy of the vehicle is determined in response to vehicle longitudinal velocity and vehicle side slip angle. A lateral acceleration of the vehicle is measured. A tire normal force i... | 02/22/2011 |
| 7831353 | Vehicle control system and method of controlling a vehicle system A vehicle control system includes a steering mechanism adapted to be operatively connected to associated wheels of a vehicle. A position sensor is operatively connected to the steering mechanism to generate a signal representative of a position of the steering mecha... | 11/09/2010 |
| 7809486 | Pressure boost for vehicle rear brake circuits Under certain operating conditions, the pressure applied to a vehicle rear brake circuit is increased above the pressure applied to the vehicle front brake circuit to enhance stopping of the vehicle. ... | 10/05/2010 |
| 7784592 | Straddle balance mill correction A method is provided for balancing a disc brake rotor having a first annular friction plate, a second annular friction plate, and a core gap. The first annular friction plate includes a first circumferential surface. The second annular friction plate includes a seco... | 08/31/2010 |
| 7784591 | Defined brake pad abutment A brake pad assembly includes a brake pad including a base portion, a first ear portion, and an opposed second ear portion. The first ear portion and the second ear portion extend outwardly from the base section. The first ear portion includes a first upper section,... | 08/31/2010 |
| 7708121 | Piston dust boot seal for disc brake assembly A disc brake system comprising a brake piston with an annular groove defined in an outer side wall of said piston disposed to slide within a cylinder. A dust boot seal made of a flexible material having a first end and a second end, the first end engaging an outboar... | 05/04/2010 |
| 7707867 | Method for correction of inertial sensor mounting offsets A method for calibration of motion sensors included in a vehicle electronic brake control system includes measuring sensor offset errors at different points in the assembly of the system and the vehicle and then combining the offset errors to obtain net offset error... | 05/04/2010 |
| 7677095 | Method for providing enhanced stability of a vehicle with a deflated tire In a motor vehicle equipped with pneumatic tires and a hydraulically actuated wheel brake system, a method for enhancing stability of the vehicle by determining whether any tire on the vehicle is deflated, determining the current magnitude of brake pressure at the w... | 03/16/2010 |
| 7644995 | Motor speed control for thermal protection The speed of an ABS pump motor is increased during an ABS braking cycle upon determining that an extended ABS braking cycle duration is required. ... | 01/12/2010 |
| 7641208 | Vehicle roll control system with self-centering actuator A system is disclosed for controlling the roll of a motor vehicle. The system comprises a selective lock connected between an unsprung portion of the vehicle and a sprung portion of the vehicle. ... | 01/05/2010 |
| 7609069 | Method to detect shorted solenoid coils A method for testing the continuity of a coil that is subjected to a high frequency pulse modulated current that includes sensing a coil voltage, determining a ratio of the sensed coil voltage to the supply voltage and comparing the ratio to a threshold to determine... | 10/27/2009 |
| 7520573 | Shadow zone fault detection The output of a wheel speed sensor is sampled at dithered time intervals and the samples used to construct a pair of histograms representing high and low sample values. A minimum voltage threshold is determined as a function of the output voltage associated with the... | 04/21/2009 |
| 7516175 | Method of organizing and analyzing field warranty data A system and method for organizing and analyzing field warranty data including a warranty interface provided with warranty data from a warranty group. The warranty interface being capable of allowing a user to select prioritization data, and then displaying a list o... | 04/07/2009 |
| 7490702 | Parking and emergency brake actuator for a drum-in-hat disc brake assembly A drum-in-hat disc brake assembly has a disc service brake and a drum-in-hat parking and emergency brake, and includes a backing plate, a pair of parking and emergency brake shoes secured to the backing plate, and a parking and emergency brake actuator. The parking ... | 02/17/2009 |
| 7487973 | Multi-channel hydraulic control unit for an active vehicle suspension A vehicle Active Roll Control System having a two stage spool valve that provides hydraulic fluid at different pressures to front and rear actuators for varying the torque applied to associated roll bars. ... | 02/10/2009 |
| 7475953 | Soft-stop braking control A method is provided for applying a soft-stop control to the vehicle brake actuators of a vehicle during a vehicle stop operation. A brake apply operation is detected. A determination is made whether the vehicle speed is below a first threshold stopping speed. Braki... | 01/13/2009 |
| 7424347 | Motion sensors integrated within an electro-hydraulic control unit An electronic control unit for a vehicle system that includes at least one acceleration sensor and at least one angular rate sensor for generating data concerning motion of the vehicle relative to vehicle reference axes. ... | 09/09/2008 |
| 7396090 | EHB proportional solenoid valve with stepped gap armature A control valve includes a magnetic pole member. An armature is slidably supported relative to the magnetic pole member for movement between a fully open position and a closed position. A biasing spring is disposed between the magnetic pole member and the armature f... | 07/08/2008 |
| 7367359 | Proportional micromechanical valve The present invention provides a proportional microvalve having a first, second and third layer, and having high aspect ratio geometries. The first layer defines a cavity with inlet and outlet ports. The second layer, doped to have a low resistivity and bonded betwe... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7331642 | Method for applying torque overlay during split-mu braking conditions A method is provided for vehicle stability control of a vehicle where the vehicle includes a slip control braking system that applies independent braking pressure to respective vehicle brakes of the vehicle. The vehicle further includes a steering system for applyin... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7325884 | Modular regenerative braking A brake module provides a first circuit, a second circuit, and a third circuit of pressurized brake fluid. A first set and second set of brake actuators are operated by the application of pressurized brake fluid. A first and second fluid separator unit are integrate... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7319927 | Constant speed control system A method is provided for controlling a low speed operation of a vehicle. A speed activation switch is activated. A target vehicle speed is calculated in response to an accelerator pedal demand as determined by an accelerator pedal position where each respective acce... | 01/15/2008 |
| 7318629 | Steer by brake control system A turn control system is provided having four wheels and a steering wheel that controls the vehicle steering. A steering wheel angle sensor senses an angle of rotation of the steering wheel. An acceleration sensing device senses an acceleration demand. A wheel speed... | 01/15/2008 |
