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Lawrence Welk, the bandleader who entertained millions of Americans over a generation of broadcasting his TV show, once received a patent: for a music-themed design of an ashtray.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8171769 | Method of forming a flanged tubular member in hydroforming A method of forming a flanged tubular member includes the steps of: positioning a tubular blank in a die; applying nominal pressure; closing the dies; and increasing pressure within the blank, thereby converting the tubular blank to a hydroformed member having the f... | 05/08/2012 |
| 8141904 | Energy absorbing structure for a vehicle A frontal collision energy absorbing structure includes a pair of left and right main frames. A front cross member and a rear cross member each connect the left and right main frames. A suspension tower and an engine mount bracket may each be attached to each main f... | 03/27/2012 |
| 8087719 | Sandwich panel A sandwich panel for a vehicle is provided. The sandwich panel includes a first panel defining a plurality of apertures, and a second panel attached to the first panel. The second panel and the first panel define a cavity between the first panel and the second panel... | 01/03/2012 |
| 7971925 | Air deflector An air deflector adapted to be attached to the upper windshield crossbeam of a convertible vehicle. The air deflector includes a top surface, a front portion, an outer side portion, an inner side portion and a rear wing portion. The rear wing portion extends upwards... | 07/05/2011 |
| 7407210 | Climate controlled vehicle console with window A vehicle having a climate-controlled console (14) is provided. The vehicle (10) includes a vehicle frame (12) and a console (14) attached to the vehicle frame (12). The console (14) includes a housing (20), a drawer ... | 08/05/2008 |
| 7399015 | Underrun energy-absorbing structure for a vehicle An underrun energy-absorbing structure (14) (“structure”) for a vehicle (10) includes a rail member (16), a deformable crush tube (18), and a plate (20). Rail member (16) is formed from an inboard panel (22) and a... | 07/15/2008 |
| 7367609 | Automotive glazing system with deployable wind excitation suppressor An automotive glazing system includes a closure structure having a storage space for a moveable glazing panel which is slidably housed within the closure structure. A deployable air deflector mounted to a sash portion of the closure structure is moveable between a s... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7354095 | Mechanism for folding hardtop A stowage mechanism 30 for a rear roof member 6 of a motor vehicle 1, 101 is also disclosed which is particularly small allowing it to be easily packaged in the motor vehicle 1, 101. The stowage mechanism 30 uses a combination of a... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7341365 | LED unit for a vehicle lamp assembly An LED unit for a vehicle lamp assembly. The LED unit is comprised of a housing, one or more LEDs, a light pipe, and an optic structure. The housing contains the LEDs and has the light pipe extending therefrom. The light pipe is sized sufficiently narrow for extendi... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7325859 | Door sash header for automotive vehicle A door sash header for an automotive vehicle includes a glazing seal retainer, an external trim retention portion, and a multi-channel weatherstrip retention structure which utilizes upwardly and downwardly opening channels cooperating with the door sash to retain a... | 02/05/2008 |
| D560303 | Fog lamp | 01/22/2008 |
| 7320497 | Power lift gate for automotive vehicle A powered lift gate for an automotive vehicle includes a lift gate door hinged to a vehicle body. A motor system which opens and closes the door is operated by a controller coupled to a primary obstacle detection system which senses operation of the motor itself, an... | 01/22/2008 |
| 7311169 | Door system for automotive vehicle A door system for an automotive vehicle includes an impact-responsive catcher pin which may be operated by a supplemental restraint system having side impact sensing capability so that the impact-responsive catcher pin may be directed to deploy from a housing mounte... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7313247 | Automotive interior trim panel with integral acoustic chamber An automotive interior trim panel includes a contoured panel having an interior surface forming a portion of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, and an exterior surface cooperating with an exterior body panel, such as a door, to define a first volume. A speaker po... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7308732 | Adjustable hinge assembly A hinge assembly 15 for a vehicle tailgate 14 comprises a first hinge member 21 fastened to the tailgate 14 and a second hinge member 22 fastened to a hollow flange 23 of a vehicle roof 13 by means of adjustment devic... | 12/18/2007 |
| 7284988 | Mechanical and electrical coupling system A coupling system that allows maximum flexibility for vehicle users to relocate, remove or replace electrical and/or mechanical devices throughout the interior of a vehicle, with several slot openings formed in the vehicle structure and coupling components which pro... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7284788 | Energy-absorbing underrun protection system for a vehicle An energy-absorbing underrun protection system for a vehicle. The energy-absorbing underrun protection system is comprised of a deformable construction adapted for deforming along a longitudinal axis to absorb crash energy. This deformable construction has a torque ... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7278679 | Automotive vehicle with structural panel having selectively deployable shape memory alloy elements A structural panel for an automotive vehicle includes an outer panel and a variable strength inner panel attached to the outer panel. The inner panel utilizes active elements formed from shape memory alloy (SMA). A controller activates the SMA elements so as to tran... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7258392 | Automotive vehicle front architecture with a partially rotatable structural link An automotive vehicle front structure includes upper and lower siderails and a structural link extending from the upper and lower siderails, with the structural link having a pivotable connection to the upper siderail and a rigid connection to the lower siderail, su... | 08/21/2007 |
| 7255378 | Bumper for automotive vehicle A bumper system for an automotive vehicle includes a unitary bumper beam substrate which defines upper and lower channel sections which are capped for part of their length by stiffening elements which provide localized increased strength and resistance to elastic bu... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7246966 | Bonded structural joints and method of assembling such joints A joint assembly comprises a hollow extrusion member of an asymmetrical hexagonal section and a flange casting comprising a base flange and several webs including a top web and upper side webs which have joint faces presented to corresponding joint areas on the outs... | 07/24/2007 |
| 7237816 | Automotive center console with open front face A center console for an automotive vehicle encloses an internal storage area accessible through an opening covered by a pivoted lid serving as an armrest. The vertical front face of the console immediately forwardly of the armrest is open to create an access opening... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7237445 | Test fixture for the aging of wiper blades in a laboratory A test fixture facilitates the laboratory testing of windshield wiper blades for vehicles. The test fixture includes a base frame on which are mounted a number of windshield wiper arms oriented generally parallel for engagement with a stainless steel test surface. P... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7237825 | Automotive interior trim panel with integral acoustic chamber and pelvic bolster An automotive interior trim panel includes a contoured panel having an interior surface forming a portion of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, and an exterior surface cooperating with an exterior body panel to define a first volume. A speaker port is formed in t... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7234749 | Tailgate structure for receiving supplemental tailgate A tailgate structural configuration accommodates the housing of a supplemental tailgate internally within the tailgate. The tailgate is formed with an outer panel and an inner panel to define an internal cavity. The upper portion of the tailgate includes a C-channel... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7222912 | Automotive vehicle body with hydroformed cowl An automotive vehicle body includes a generally tubular, hydroformed cowl with integral mounting flanges which are welded to an engine compartment structural member and a cowlside member. The cowl may be hydroformed from several different preforms having both symmet... | 05/29/2007 |
| 7222910 | Multi-function armrest for automotive vehicle An interior armrest for an automotive vehicle includes upper and lower horizontal walls and a channel-shaped lateral impact contactor joined to the upper horizontal walls by the means of shear planes. The lateral impact contactor has a number of wedge-shaped vertica... | 05/29/2007 |
| 7219945 | Power lift gate for automotive vehicle A powered lift gate for an automotive vehicle includes a lift gate door hinged to a vehicle body. A motor system which opens and closes the door is operated by a controller coupled to a primary obstacle detection system which senses operation of the motor itself, an... | 05/22/2007 |
| 7213859 | Push button release mechanism for supplemental tailgates A one hand push button release mechanism is associated with a supplemental tailgate assembly to affect the release of the supplemental tailgate for deployment from the main tailgate apparatus. One embodiment of the push button mechanism engages a wedge having a cam ... | 05/08/2007 |
| 7210717 | Lightweight bumper for automobiles A bumper beam is formed from a tailor welded blank with thinner gage sheet metal laser welded to thicker gage sheet metal at opposing sides thereof. The tailor welded blank is then formed into a bumper beam having a uniform B-shaped cross-sectional configuration fro... | 05/01/2007 |
| 7210733 | Tubular support for shock tower in automobiles A shock tower support structure utilizes a hydroformed tubular member that extends horizontally along the upper vehicle frame rail and wraps around the front edge and upper portion of the shock tower assembly to join into the lower vehicle frame rail. The shock towe... | 05/01/2007 |
| 7198294 | Motor vehicles incorporating deployable roll bar assemblies A roll bar assembly capable of punching through a rear window (12) on deployment comprises a deployable u-shaped roll bar (1) fitted with a pin (4) made of hard material. An item of trim (5) is located over the top of the roll bar (1 | 04/03/2007 |
| 7195309 | Bodyside with integral wheelhouse structure for automotive vehicle A bodyside for an automotive vehicle includes a folded structure having a generally horizontal floor portion and a generally vertical side portion which is unitary with the floor portion. A wheelhouse structure, which is indexed with a wheelhouse cutout of an outer ... | 03/27/2007 |
| D539448 | Vehicle taillamp | 03/27/2007 |
| 7191739 | Integral coolant reservoir and air cleaner for automotive vehicle In integral utility assembly for an automotive vehicle includes a coolant reservoir and an air cleaner. A mounting bracket for attaching the assembly to an engine compartment structure is co-molded with an air cleaner base and a lower portion of a coolant reservoir,... | 03/20/2007 |
| 7188890 | Energy-absorbing device with a reduced initial peak load An energy-absorbing device (34) with a reduced initial peak load (50) for enhancing the management of crash energy in an end structure (30′) for a vehicle (30). The energy-absorbing device (34) has a deformable construction adapt... | 03/13/2007 |
| 7175226 | Split glass window assembly for automobiles A split glass rear side window assembly is separable along a generally horizontal longitudinally extending line into an upper glass member and a lower glass member separated by a seal carried by the lower glass member to receive the upper glass member when raised to... | 02/13/2007 |
| 7157026 | Method of manufacturing a trunk release handle for automobiles An emergency trunk release handle for an automobile displays the graphics explaining the use and function of the handle by cutting out the material from the handle. Forming the emergency release handle from a phosphorescent plastic material that can be formed by a m... | 01/02/2007 |
| 7156439 | Automotive wet trunk storage compartment with drain A recessed storage well is formed in the rear load floor of an automotive vehicle to provide cargo transport capabilities for wet cargo. The recessed storage well is provided with a drain to permit the flow of liquids collected within the recessed storage well to be... | 01/02/2007 |
| D534113 | Vehicle wheel cover | 12/26/2006 |
