Did You Know...
...that the inventor of the electric motor was a blacksmith named Thomas Davenport? Described as "a brilliantly unsuccessful inventor", Davenport invented the first rotary electric motor. In 1836 he headed out -- on foot -- from his Vermont home to file a patent application at the Patent Office in Washington, D.C. By the time he got there, he had squandered away his money and couldn't afford the $30 filing fee so he turned around and went home. When he later mailed in his application with money he'd raised, the Patent office was destroyed in a fire. He did finally get credit for his invention on Feb. 5, 1837.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8165760 | Method and system for electronically operating a vehicle occupant seat safety restraint system An electrically activated, electronically controlled web grabber in conjunction with a pre-impact braking system that holds the vehicle safety belt from the moment of activation, restricting forward movement of the occupant and can be activated prior to the impact t... | 04/24/2012 |
| 8160806 | Load-sensing systems for light-duty trucks Systems are provided to avoid overloading a truck's bed and/or overloading a truck's towing capacity. Systems are also provided to detect and alert drivers of unbalanced loads. ... | 04/17/2012 |
| 8113750 | Face hob hypoid gear tooth cutting by common blades A method includes selecting a first gear ratio and a second gear ratio. A first hypoid gear set defines the first gear ratio and a second hypoid gear set defines the second gear ratio. The first hypoid gear set includes a first ring gear that is formed with at least... | 02/14/2012 |
| 8014928 | Automotive slipstreaming support system Systems and methods are provided to enhance the ability of a driver to safely slipstream a leading vehicle to realize a fuel economy benefit. ... | 09/06/2011 |
| 8014921 | Ultrasonic sensor-based side impact sensing system A side-impact threat assessment system that uses at least one ultrasonic sensor is provided. A method of detecting a potential side-impact collision on a host vehicle is also provided. The method calls for using at least one ultrasonic sensor for presence detection ... | 09/06/2011 |
| 7991552 | System and method for determining a side-impact collision status of a nearby vehicle A system and method are provided to determine the side-impact collision status of a nearby vehicle or vehicles. If a nearby vehicle has been in a collision, responsive systems may be triggered automatically. Responses may include warning the driver of the host vehic... | 08/02/2011 |
| 7991551 | System and method for determining a collision status of a nearby vehicle A system and method are provided to determine the collision status of a nearby vehicle or vehicles. If a nearby vehicle has been in a collision, responsive systems may be triggered automatically. Responses may include warning the driver of the host vehicle and/or wa... | 08/02/2011 |
| 7834617 | Magnetoresistive continuous seat track position sensor A magnetoresistive continuous seat track position sensor system to determine longitudinal movement of the seat along a length of a track is described. In one embodiment, the system comprises a magnetic array in a fixed position and having a width and a length along ... | 11/16/2010 |
| 7817027 | Method and system for integrated media and vehicle seat belt monitoring The present invention is, in one embodiment, directed to a system and method to encourage seat belt use among all passengers in a vehicle. The system and method use media driver and entertainment devices to reward seat belt usage in all seating positions. ... | 10/19/2010 |
| 7777619 | System and method for implementing active safety counter measures for an impaired driver Various methods and systems are disclosed for implementing active safety countermeasures in vehicles when it is determined that the driver is impaired. ... | 08/17/2010 |
| 7772991 | Accident avoidance during vehicle backup In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to a method to operate a host vehicle having a rearview camera vision sensor, and an electronic controller with memory. The method comprises the steps of determining whether the host vehicle is in reverse gear, ac... | 08/10/2010 |
| 7748737 | Variable output inflator A method of inflating an airbag with a fluid includes sending a signal to open a first valve and opening the first valve. The method also includes directing a control pressure through the first valve and toward a second valve. The method further includes throttling ... | 07/06/2010 |
| 7726727 | Leg pusher device for side impact tests An energy absorbing vehicle door is disclosed comprised of an inner panel, an outer panel joined to the inner panel, door trim panel material on the inner panel, and at least one energy absorbing member mounted on the inner panel. The energy absorbing member has a f... | 06/01/2010 |
| 7712815 | Articulating seat cushion and load floor for pick up or similar type vehicle The articulated seat assembly to efficiently utilize vehicle compartment space is comprised of a seat back slidably mounted to a floor for horizontal movement relative thereto. A seat pan is equipped with at least first and second seat flange indents on opposite end... | 05/11/2010 |
| 7701080 | USB for vehicle application A power data connection for a vehicle and one or more electronic devices is provided. The power data connection comprises a data communication connector and a terminal. The data communication connector includes a case ground and is adapted to enable data communicati... | 04/20/2010 |
| 7695038 | Vehicle accessory attachment clip A ditch cover assembly, an accessory attachment clip, and an interchangeable roof accessory system for a vehicle are disclosed. An accessory attachment clip may generally include an elongated body having a first end, a second end, and a mid-portion disposed between ... | 04/13/2010 |
| 7686332 | Integrated side impact air bag with single layer sail panels A two panel, woven, inflatable air bag with a single panel sail portion, and method of making the same. ... | 03/30/2010 |
| 7654597 | Side impact arm rest retracting mechanism An armrest retracting mechanism for host vehicle armrests during side impact vehicle collision events. ... | 02/02/2010 |
| 7597391 | Active head restraint with self resetting mechanism An apparatus includes a seat back having an outer surface that selectively contacts a seat occupant and a head restraint extending from the seat back that has a head restraint portion that selectively contacts the seat occupant. The head restraint portion is moveabl... | 10/06/2009 |
| 7587919 | Wear resistant coated sheet metal die and method to manufacture a wear resistant coated sheet metal forming die A method to manufacture a steel die having a Physical Vapor Deposition wear resistant coating on a profile surface and a steel die formed thereby is disclosed. The steel die is subjected to quenching and tempering to achieve a Rockwell hardness in the range of about... | 09/15/2009 |
| 7156598 | Waffle stud for insert molded plastic members A fastener is configured for use in the manufacture of molded plastic components that will be subsequently attached to other components by the fastener. The low profile head portion of the fastener has a rounded contoured and convoluted top surface to facilitate the... | 01/02/2007 |
| 7156454 | Mechanism for preventing closure of automobile doors A linkage mechanism operably associated with the front and rear doors of an automotive vehicle that pivots a bumper device into an interfering position with respect to the closing of the front door against the B-pillar of the vehicle when the rear door remains opene... | 01/02/2007 |
| 6904751 | Engine control and catalyst monitoring with downstream exhaust gas sensors A system and method for controlling an internal combustion engine for low emissions include an inner feedback control loop to control the engine fuel/air ratio with feedback provided by a first exhaust gas sensor and an outer feedback control loop that modifies a re... | 06/14/2005 |
| 6904350 | System for dynamically determining the wheel grounding and wheel lifting conditions and their applications in roll stability control A method for controlling an automotive vehicle (10) having a plurality of wheels (12a), (12b), (13a), (13b) includes determining a yaw rate, determining a lateral acceleration, determining a roll rate, d... | 06/07/2005 |
| 6900725 | Method and system for automatically extending a tire pressure monitoring system for an automotive vehicle to include auxiliary tires A tire pressure monitoring system (12) for a vehicle (10) includes a speed sensor (38) generating a speed signal indicative of vehicle speed, a timer (44) generating a time signal, a warning status memory (26) having warning status... | 05/31/2005 |
| 6889132 | Vehicle drive control for 4×4 mode Method and electronic control system using a unique driver demand (calibration) table stored in system memory to provide torque output values specific to a 4×4 mode of operation of the vehicle drive unit. For example, the torque output of the electronic control sys... | 05/03/2005 |
| 6882913 | Electrical control system for automotive vehicle having electrically assisted power steering An electrical system for increasing the amount of voltage available to an electric power steering motor under high demand conditions includes a vehicle speed sensor that ascertains the speed of the vehicle, a steering wheel sensor that ascertains the rotational spee... | 04/19/2005 |
| 6873944 | Method of real time collision detection between geometric models A method of real time collision detection between geometric models includes the steps of identifying a current tracking point of a force feedback device colliding with a mesh model of the geometric model and identifying a current triangle associated with the current... | 03/29/2005 |
| 6860244 | Engine control with operating mode detection A system and method for detecting an operating mode of an engine or engine component modulate a first engine parameter and analyze a change in a second engine parameter in response to modulating the first engine parameter to detect a current operating mode based on ... | 03/01/2005 |
| 6851688 | Steering linkage ball joint assembly A steering linkage assembly for a motor vehicle has a tie rod and a drag link connected to a steering knuckle in an over/under arrangement, with first and second ball joints for the drag link and the tie rod respectively on opposite sides of the steering knuckle and... | 02/08/2005 |
| 6851740 | Automotive vehicle with lateral impact seat displacement system An automotive vehicle having a passenger cabin includes a floorpan with seats mounted to the floorpan. Side closure structures adjoin the outboard ends of the seats. Seat displacement members located within the side closure structures load the outboard ends of the s... | 02/08/2005 |
| 6847875 | Method for determining a longitudinal vehicle velocity by compensating individual wheel speeds A control system (24) for controlling a safety system (40) of an automotive vehicle includes a plurality of wheel speed sensors (30) generating a plurality of wheel velocity signals, a steering angle sensor (39) generating a steering actu... | 01/25/2005 |
| 6826902 | Method and apparatus for estimating oxygen storage capacity and stored NOx in a lean NOx trap (LNT) A method for predicting oxygen capacity of an LNT during storage phase of such LNT and the amount of NOx stored in the LNT during purge phase thereof as a function of the time history of an output signal produced by an exhaust gas sensor disposed downstream of the L... | 12/07/2004 |
| 6628006 | System and method for recovering potential energy of a hydrogen gas fuel supply for use in a vehicle A system 10 is provided for recovering the potential energy of a hydrogen gas fuel supply within a fuel cell powered vehicle 14. The system 10 includes a conventional storage tank 16 which receives and stores hydrogen gas at a relatively high pressure, an... | 09/30/2003 |
| 6588534 | Transverse engine mounting arrangement A vehicle engine mounting arrangement 70 for a transverse mounted engine 54 vehicle is provided. The mounting system 70 includes a vehicle frame 60 for supporting the engine 54 in the vehicle. A U-shaped torsion bar and lever arms combination 76 are conne... | 07/08/2003 |
