Did You Know...
...that one person who claimed to be the inventor of the television is Russian emigre Vladimir Zworykin? In 1929 David Sarnoff, founder of RCA, asked Zworykin what it would take to develop TV for commercial use. He said: a year and a half and $100,000. In reality, it took 20 years and $50 million! Before his death in 1982 at the age of 92, Zworykin said of his invention: "The technique is wonderful. It is beyond my expectations. But the programs! I would never let my children even come close to this thing."
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 6287227 | Hydraulic control for a continuously variable transmission A continuously variable transmission (CVT) has a drive sheave and a driven sheave, each of which has an adjustable portion, that are positioned by hydraulic control pistons. The pistons are pressurized from a control system to properly position each adjus... | 09/11/2001 |
| 6282479 | Vehicle stability enhancement system in high center of gravity vehicle A method is disclosed for improving the estimate of vehicle yaw rate in the computer of the brake or traction control system of a vehicle, like a truck or sport utility vehicle, having a relatively high center of gravity and tending to roll during yaw. Ya... | 08/28/2001 |
| 6279548 | Evaporative emission control canister system for reducing breakthrough emissions The effectiveness against vapor breakthrough of an adsorbent material (e.g., activated carbon granules) containing canister in an evaporative fuel emission control system is greatly increased by employing a relatively small secondary volume of adsorbent d... | 08/28/2001 |
| 6275761 | Neural network-based virtual sensor for automatic transmission slip A method is disclosed for computer-based control of the timing and level of gear shifts in a multi-speed automatic transmission operated in combination with an internal combustion engine and interposed fluid torque converter. The computer containing power... | 08/14/2001 |
| 6264763 | Creep-resistant magnesium alloy die castings A family of die castable, creep-resistant magnesium alloys has been developed for high-temperature structural applications such as automotive engines and transmission cases. These alloys contain between 3% and 6% aluminum, 1.7% and 3.3% calcium, and up to... | 07/24/2001 |
| 6253588 | Quick plastic forming of aluminum alloy sheet metal A method is disclosed for stretching magnesium-containing aluminum alloy sheet stock into intricate shapes such as are required in automotive body panels. The sheet stock, at a temperature in the range of about 400° C. to about 510° C., is stretched und... | 07/03/2001 |
| 6251042 | Hybrid powertrain with an integrated motor/generator A hybrid powertrain has a suitable heat engine having rotational output, a multi-speed transmission and a motor/generator (MG). The transmission input or cluster shaft is continuously connected with the MG. One set of ratio gears in the transmission is co... | 06/26/2001 |
| 6234128 | Fuel accumulator with pressure on demand A fuel system has a pump which supplies fuel under pressure to a fuel rail for distribution by fuel injectors to the cylinders of an engine. A fuel accumulator, having a volume greater than the volume of fuel required to start the engine, is disposed in f... | 05/22/2001 |
| 6227038 | Radiotracer method for measuring leakage of engine coolant Leakage of engine coolant into the engine lubricating oil can be detected to high sensitivity levels by dissolving a glycol-soluble salt of 86 Rb as a tracer in the coolant and detecting the beta or gamma ray radiation from the tracer containin... | 05/08/2001 |
| 6213909 | Multi-speed power transmission with a mechanical clutch A powertrain has a multi-speed power transmission incorporating two planetary gear sets, four friction mechanisms and a selectively operable mechanical drive connection that are controlled to provide five forward speed ratios, a neutral condition and a re... | 04/10/2001 |
| 6212461 | Extended brake switch software for vehicle stability enhancement system A process is disclosed for use in a micro-processor managed brake control system that utilizes wheel speed sensors and a brake off/on switch when the system requires information as to whether the vehicle is experiencing hard braking. In accordance with th... | 04/03/2001 |
| 6210156 | Heat treatment material handling unit A method and apparatus for sequentially heat treating small parts processes the parts individually through a heat treatment process at a predetermined rate, so that each part is heat treated for a predetermined time and all parts are heat treated equally.... | 04/03/2001 |
| 6208146 | Method and apparatus for measuring contact resistance for spot welding simulations A method and apparatus for measuring the contact resistance at electrode-to-workpiece and workpiece-to-workpiece interfaces for spot welding simulations. A constant compressive load is applied through electrodes and workpieces to simulate a load applied d... | 03/27/2001 |
| 6204715 | Signal amplifying circuit Circuitry for amplifying a single-ended analog sensor output includes a field effect transistor (FET) having a gate connected to a first end of a capacitor, the second opposite end of which is connectable to the sensor output. The gate of the FET is also ... | 03/20/2001 |
| 6193626 | Powertrain with a multi-speed transmission A powertrain has an engine, torque converter and a multi-speed transmission. The multi-speed transmission has a planetary gear arrangement disposed between an input shaft and an output shaft. The planetary gear arrangement consists of a simple planetary g... | 02/27/2001 |
| 6191746 | FM diversity feed system for the solar-ray antenna An FM diversity feed for a solar-ray antenna system formed in the windshield of a vehicle. The FM diversity feed includes a conductive patch formed on an inside surface of an inner glass layer of the windshield at one of the lower corners of the windshiel... | 02/20/2001 |
| 6178949 | Engine control having fuel volatility compensation An improved engine control in which the fuel volatility is detected based on a measure of the fired-to-motored cylinder pressure ratio, and used to trim fuel and spark timing controls during engine warm-up and transient fueling periods. In a first embodim... | 01/30/2001 |
| 6176222 | Engine fuel injection control method with fuel puddle modeling An improved engine fuel control method which divides the liquid fuel into a plurality of components characterized by relative volatility. The mass and evaporation characteristics of each fuel volatility component are determined separately within the fuel ... | 01/23/2001 |
| 6174256 | Powertrain with a six speed transmission A powertrain has an engine and torque converter that provides power to a multi-speed planetary transmission. The transmission includes a compound planetary gear set and a simple planetary gear set that are selectively interconnected by a plurality of sele... | 01/16/2001 |
| 6170156 | Gear tooth smoothing and shaping process The fatigue life of gears, for example, the gears in a sun gear-planetary gear set, is markedly improved by forming the respective gears by ordinary manufacturing practices and then running each new gear against a durable, but expendable, dummy of its cou... | 01/09/2001 |
| 6165098 | Powertrain with a six speed transmission A powertrain has an engine, torque converter and multi-speed transmission. The transmission has a simple planetary gear set and a compound planetary gear set. The gear sets are interconnected between the sun gear member of the simple planetary and the car... | 12/26/2000 |
| 6165097 | Powertrain with a six speed planetary transmission A powertain includes an engine and torque converter arranged to provide input power to a six speed planetary transmission. The transmission includes a simple planetary gear set and a compound planetary gear set that are selectively interconnected by a pai... | 12/26/2000 |
| 6163303 | AM upper/FM defogger grid active backlite antenna A vehicle backlite antenna system that includes separate FM antenna/defogger elements and AM antenna elements. The antenna system includes various FM impedance matching elements that provide FM impedance matching between the defogger elements or the anten... | 12/19/2000 |
| 6159831 | Process to prepare an array of wires with submicron diameters A method is disclosed for forming an array of submicron-sized wires in a host body. In the method, the vapor of a metal, such as bismuth, is caused to flow upward through a horizontal refractory plate having many through holes, 200 nanometers or less in d... | 12/12/2000 |
| 6150932 | Vehicle operator alert process A method is disclosed for analyzing range and range rate data obtained by a vehicle obstacle detection system to determine whether the dynamic situation justifies alerting the vehicle operator of reducing the speed of the vehicle. Assumed values of vehicl... | 11/21/2000 |
| 6149832 | Stabilized magnetorheological fluid compositions Magnetorheological fluids containing carbonyl iron particles with surface hydroxyl groups and high specific surface area in combination with nonpolar vehicles such as polyalphaolefins and glycol esters can be formulated to resist particle separation under... | 11/21/2000 |
| 6147654 | AM defogger grounding system for vehicle window antennas A backlite antenna system for a vehicle that includes a separated AM/FM antenna grid and a defogger grid. The backlite antenna system includes a defogger grid grounding system having an RF grounding strip that is capacitively coupled to the vehicle body t... | 11/14/2000 |
| 6146305 | Six speed planetary transmission with two simple planetary gear sets A powertrain has an engine-driven power transmission that selectively provides six forward speed ratios, a neutral condition and a reverse speed ratio. The power transmission includes two simple planetary gear sets that are continuously interconnected bet... | 11/14/2000 |
| 6139111 | Four point seat-mounted restraint apparatus A four point seat-mounted restraint apparatus for a vehicle includes in a preferred embodiment a first pair of flexible lap belts connected at laterally opposite sides of a seat cushion with inner ends transversely connectable to one another across pelvic... | 10/31/2000 |
| 6132877 | High density, low porosity, carbon composite clutch material A carbon--carbon composite clutch friction material for use with a wet lubricant under severe operating conditions is disclosed, the material comprising a woven carbon fabric mesh (suitably a satin weave mesh) infiltrated with pyrolytic carbon to an unusu... | 10/17/2000 |
| 6118410 | Automobile roof antenna shelf An automobile roof antenna shelf positioned below a vehicle window, such as a vehicle windshield or vehicle rear window, that provides a mounting structure for mounting a plurality of high frequency antennas. The vehicle window includes an extended portio... | 09/12/2000 |
| 6085571 | Gravity-operated blank loading device A device is disclosed for loading and positioning a sheet metal blank between upper and lower tool members adapted to close and engage the blank for the purpose of preforming and heating it in preparation for a superplastic forming operation. The loading ... | 07/11/2000 |
| 6074501 | Heat treatment for aluminum casting alloys to produce high strength at elevated temperatures An aluminum casting of composition that is hardenable due to the presence of suitable amounts of silicon, magnesium and, optionally, other hardening constituents such as copper, nickel and the like is heat treated for improved tensile strength at 300° C.... | 06/13/2000 |
| 6056665 | Five speed planetary transmission A five speed planetary transmission has a simple planetary gear set, a compound planetary gear set and six torque transmitting devices which are engaged in combinations of three to provide five forward ratios and one reverse ratio. The planetary gear sets... | 05/02/2000 |
| 6047583 | Seal bead for superplastic forming of aluminum sheet A cusp-shaped binder surface seal bead for a superplastic forming die or tool engages a sheet workpiece, especially an aluminum sheet, in a gas tight seal but displaces so little workpiece material that the formed sheet does not bond to the tool and is ea... | 04/11/2000 |
| 6045636 | Method for sliver elimination in shearing aluminum sheet Age-hardened aluminum alloy sheet can be subjected to a shearing operation, such as trimming or piercing, with reduced sliver formation by first heating the region to be sheared to a temperature above about 250° C., immediately quenching the heated regio... | 04/04/2000 |
| 6040561 | High voltage bus and auxiliary heater control system for an electric or hybrid vehicle A control system for an electric or hybrid electric vehicle includes a vehicle system controller and a control circuit having an electric immersion heater. The heater is electrically connected to the vehicle's high voltage bus and is thermally coupled to ... | 03/21/2000 |
| 6033499 | Process for stretch forming age-hardened aluminum alloy sheets In the stretch forming of aluminum alloys using a punch and a mating die cavity, the stretch formability of a sheet of age-hardened aluminum alloy is increased by selectively heat treating the sheet to soften at least a portion of the sheet that will unde... | 03/07/2000 |
| 6007450 | Five speed planetary transmission A powertrain has a planetary gear arrangement with a simple planetary gear set and a compound planetary gear set which are interconnected by a continuous drive connection and are controlled to provide five forward drive ratios, a reverse drive ratio and a... | 12/28/1999 |
| 5996682 | Method of making a mold for metal casting A mold for a prototype metal casting or the like may advantageously be made by forming a casting pattern of adhesively bonded aggregate particles using a binder containing a principle constituent that is soluble in supercritical carbon dioxide; forming a ... | 12/07/1999 |
