Did You Know...
...that the video game, Pong, was invented by a guy who graduated at the bottom of his engineering class? Nolan Bushnell spent more time running the games at a local amusement park than he did on his studies at the University of Utah. His dreams of working for Disney's amusement empire were dashed when the company wouldn't hire him. Taking a boring job, Nolan daydreamed about electronic versions of popular games. He invented Pong, the first video game, and went on to found Atari Co.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7460936 | System and method for controlling vehicle hydraulic system A control system for controlling energization of a plurality of valves in a vehicle hydraulic system. The control system includes a plurality of sensors for measuring various dynamic conditions and operational aspects of the vehicle, a signal processing circuit coup... | 12/02/2008 |
| 7440844 | Vehicle rollover detection and mitigation using rollover index A method and apparatus for determining likelihood of rollover of a vehicle and/or mitigating rollover of the vehicle is responsive to measured vehicle lateral acceleration and a measured one of vehicle roll rate and vehicle suspension displacements to derive estimat... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7424937 | Estimating torque/force exerted by a load against a motor-driven actuator A first method for estimating a torque/force exerted by a load against an actuator driven by an electric motor against the load includes measuring motor current of the electric motor and measuring a position/angle or speed/angular speed of the actuator and includes ... | 09/16/2008 |
| 7423232 | Method for resistance welding/brazing a tube to a member A method for welding/brazing a tube to a member. The tube has an axially-extending first portion and has a tube form which extends transversely from the first portion. A filler material is obtained. The tube, the member and the filler material are positioned such th... | 09/09/2008 |
| 7413263 | Modulator noise reduction via motor control The invention provides a method for controlling a vehicle with a braking system including a modulator pump. A first fluid line can communicate brake fluid from the master cylinder to a brake caliper. An isolation valve including a pressure bypass can be disposed alo... | 08/19/2008 |
| 7402969 | Method for producing voltage waveforms in a PWM motor controller of a PM DC brushless motor A method produces PWM voltage waveforms in a PWM motor controller of a three phase PM DC brushless motor, wherein the motor controller has first, second and third half H-bridge transistor pairs to generate the voltage waveforms to electronically commutate the motor.... | 07/22/2008 |
| 7401865 | Torsion pedal feel emulator A torsion pedal feel emulator assembly for a motor vehicle and a method of operating the same. The assembly includes a pedal member for receiving an applied pedal force. A torsion member is operably attached to the pedal member. A portion of the torsion member is po... | 07/22/2008 |
| 7401867 | Dynamic identification of brake-by-wire components A method of initializing a brake-by-wire system is provided. The method includes connecting multiple braking actuators to a controller to allow for communication between the braking actuators and the controller. The braking actuators are associated with one or more ... | 07/22/2008 |
| 7386272 | System and method for transmitting signals having audio data in a vehicle A system and a method for transmitting signals having audio data in a vehicle are provided. The system includes a first transceiver configured to receive an analog communication signal having the audio data and to transmit a first FM signal having the audio data in ... | 06/10/2008 |
| 7374254 | Electric caliper position control with adaptive estimation A method for controlling an electric brake system having a piston moveable by an electric motor is provided. The method includes the steps of storing data for correlating a position of the piston to a braking force applied by the piston, estimating a braking force a... | 05/20/2008 |
| 7362096 | Robust detection of strain with temperature correction An apparatus (10) is set forth for measuring a return signal of a magnetostrictive sensor (20) that detects a force, torque, or pressure. The return signal includes noise, a DC resistance (44), an AC resistance and an inductance and the inductan... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7351450 | Correcting defective kinetically sprayed surfaces Disclosed is a method for repairing defects in kinetically sprayed surfaces. The typical defects comprise isolated or connected conical shaped holes in the kinetic spray coating. The repair involves thermally spraying a molten material into the defective area to fil... | 04/01/2008 |
| 7347092 | Apparatus and method for fluid flow measurement An apparatus and method for fluid flow measurement are provided. The apparatus includes a first thermistor; a second thermistor; a first deflecting member configured to shield the first thermistor from fluid flowing in a first direction; a second deflecting member c... | 03/25/2008 |
| 7347305 | Park brake system having a latching device An actuator for an electro-mechanical-brake motor assembly includes a housing surrounding a rotatable motor shaft presenting a longitudinal axis. A spring is non-rotatably supported on the housing. A latching device is non-rotatably supported by the housing. The lat... | 03/25/2008 |
| 7333904 | Method of determining FET junction temperature A processor is responsive to a thermistor temperature (Tth) adjacent a FET and to a drain-to-source voltage (VDS) of the FET. The processor stores the characteristics of the PET and a thermal model of the system hardware and uses a first set of... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7331430 | Multi-disc brake with fixed center brake pad assembly The invention provides a multi-disc brake for a vehicle having a knuckle for supporting a wheel of a vehicle and a hub mounted for rotation on the knuckle about a rotation axis. The multi-disc brake also includes a pair of discs mounted for rotation with and sliding... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7331275 | Brake booster with deformationally sealed passage and method of manufacture A brake booster apparatus having a housing with oppositely disposed first and second walls. A first connector is disposed in the first wall and a second connector is disposed in the second wall. An elongate hollow member is deformationally engaged to each of the fir... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7325322 | Electric park brake inclinometer A tilt sensor system (10) is provided comprising a housing (12), a magnetized region (13) within the housing (12), and a magnetized, articulated pendulum (14) magnetically coupled to the magnetized region (13) for suspending... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7323653 | Deformation resistance welding of sheet metal, tubes, and similar shapes Welded structures having a first and a second member formed from sheet metal, tubes, and similar shapes, are economically fabricated through use of a method for joining a second member to a first member having a folded rim extending therefrom. The folded rim defines... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7308975 | Velocity sensing system for a damper A velocity sensor including a damper assembly having a central axis, a magnet extending parallel to the central axis, the magnet having a magnetic axis radially oriented with the central axis, and a coil extending parallel to the central axis and radially oriented w... | 12/18/2007 |
| 7307371 | Actuator with amplified stroke length An actuator having a housing that defines an interior volume and a primary driver that includes either a piezoelectric element or a magnetorestrictive element. The primary driver has first and second opposing ends and defines a longitudinal length therebetween. The ... | 12/11/2007 |
| 7293780 | Vehicle roll control system A vehicle roll control system for a vehicle has a hydraulic actuator attached to a torsion bar. The system includes first and second pressure control valves fluidly connected in series between a pressure source and a reservoir, and a directional valve fluidly connec... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7293633 | Controlled damper assembly with isolated electrical connection A controlled damper assembly includes a controlled-damper-assembly piston, a controlled-damper-assembly piston rod attached to the piston, an insulated wire, and an electrical connector. The insulated wire is positioned in the piston rod, has a first end operatively... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7281716 | Varying a suspension linkage ratio in a vehicle suspension A method and apparatus for actively tuning a vehicle suspension, operatively connect a wheel of the vehicle to a chassis of the vehicle with a suspension apparatus including a control arm of fixed length, having an inboard end thereof adapted for articulating attach... | 10/16/2007 |
| 7267616 | Method for making a ball-nut and method for making a ball-screw A method for making a ball-nut includes cutting a 360-degree closed-loop surface groove in the inner-circumferential wall portion of a ball-nut body using a whirling-type internal-diameter cutting machine. The closed-loop surface groove surrounds the longitudinal ax... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7267011 | Device for invasively measuring fluid pressure A device for invasively measuring fluid pressure is disclosed. The device includes a disposable housing having a fluid contacting area and a non-fluid contacting area. A disposable diaphragm in a substantially non-elastic state is disposed within the housing and sep... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7245044 | Electrical system, and control module and smart power supply for electrical system An electrical system comprised of at least two control modules as well as at least one power supply module. The present invention improves functional reliability of electrical systems by configuring a power supply module as a smart device and connecting it to at lea... | 07/17/2007 |
| 7244466 | Kinetic spray nozzle design for small spot coatings and narrow width structures An improved nozzle for use in kinetic spray systems is disclosed. The nozzle includes a supersonic portion comprising a tubular section and a flow regulator. A portion of the flow regulator is received in the tubular portion. The flow regulator includes a biconical ... | 07/17/2007 |
| 7240754 | Truck cab suspension control A suspension system having a frame, a cab having a front portion pivotally mounted to the frame and at least one actuator mounted between a rear portion of the cab and the frame. A position sensor is mounted adjacent the rear portion of the cab for generating a firs... | 07/10/2007 |
| 7234714 | Roll control system for a motor vehicle (57) A roll control system (20) for installation between axially aligned wheels of a motor vehicle, the roll control system comprising a torsion bar (22); a damper (24) attached to one end (28) of the torsion bar and attachable to ... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7232013 | Brake force sensor A brake system including a brake pad shaped and located to apply pressure to a brake rotor and an actuator shaped and located to apply pressure to the brake pad to cause the brake pad to apply pressure to the rotor. The system further includes a sensor material whic... | 06/19/2007 |
| 7229303 | Environmentally sealed connector with blind mating capability A connector assembly (10) is provided including a first connector (12) and a second connector (14) configured to mateably engage the first connector (12). The first connector (12) includes a housing (16), a conductor assembl... | 06/12/2007 |
| 7228948 | Hydraulic suspension damper A hydraulic damper including a tube filled with working liquid which contains a slidable piston assembly attached to a piston rod. The piston assembly includes a piston having a compression valve arrangement to control the flow of working liquid passing through the ... | 06/12/2007 |
| 7216745 | Mounting friction elements to disc brakes Disk brake friction element mounting system provides spaced mounting elements or guides for the friction elements, the spacing of the mounting elements permitting at least one friction element to be located in its working position by insertion edgewise through the s... | 05/15/2007 |
| 7216577 | Vacuum booster with low force loss A vacuum booster includes a housing defining a control volume in which a movable diaphragm separates the control volume into an apply chamber and a vacuum chamber. A power piston extends through and engages the diaphragm and has an axial bore containing a valve asse... | 05/15/2007 |
| 7210049 | Controller area network wake-up system and method A controller area network employs a CAN bus for facilitating CAN communications among a plurality of communication controllers switched to an active state. The controller area network further employs a CAN wake-up controller for switching one or more communication c... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7205759 | Apparatus and method for determining an engine speed A removable sensor assembly for non-intrusively sensing instantaneous speed of an engine comprising a crankshaft having a respective end equipped with an externally accessible bolt, the removable sensor assembly comprising: a housing comprising a recess configured t... | 04/17/2007 |
| 7191047 | Motor vehicle control using a dynamic feedforward approach A control system manages yaw-plane motion, while simultaneously comprehending and managing roll motion. The system reduces excessive maneuver-induced roll motion by properly shaping yaw-plane motion, which may include increasing yaw damping and/or decreasing a yaw g... | 03/13/2007 |
| 7188710 | Hydraulic brake actuator comprising electrically actuable lock for park brake In an automotive vehicle braking system, a hydraulic brake actuator includes a wedge for locking a hydraulic piston in a brake position for purposes of applying a park brake. To apply the park brake, hydraulic pressure is increased to advance the piston to urge the ... | 03/13/2007 |
| 7185956 | Performance hydraulic systems for hybrid brake system A braking system including a pre-charge with a plurality of pumps disposed in parallel with respect to one another. The pumps can direct pressurized brake fluid to the brakes during a controlled braking maneuver. The pumps operate with offset operating cycles such t... | 03/06/2007 |
