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 |
| 8146703 | Method for a safety system in a vehicle A method for a safety system in a vehicle continuously evaluates data relating to the surroundings from a surroundings sensor system in terms of an imminent collision with an obstacle, and autonomous emergency braking is initiated in the event of an unavoidable coll... | 04/03/2012 |
| 7975798 | Method and device for controlling automatic emergency braking A method and a device for controlling automatic emergency braking of a motor vehicle to reduce the severity of a collision of a vehicle with an object, the position and/or speed of the object with respect to the host vehicle being determined via an object detection ... | 07/12/2011 |
| 7429916 | Obstacle discrimination device for vehicle An obstacle discrimination device for a vehicle includes an absorber arranged at a front surface of a bumper reinforce member in a bumper cover of the vehicle, a pressure detection unit, a vehicle velocity detection unit and an obstacle judgment unit. The absorber h... | 09/30/2008 |
| 7416231 | Collision detecting apparatus for vehicle A collision detecting apparatus has a plurality of collision detecting means and a determination means for determining a collision based on at least one of outputs of the plurality of collision detecting means. Each of the collision detecting means has a crank membe... | 08/26/2008 |
| 7401872 | Method and system for controlling brake equipment which can be activated when a motor vehicle is stationary The present invention provides a method and a system for controlling a braking equipment of a motor vehicle in order to activate the braking equipment at a standstill of the motor vehicle such that braking forces are built up which are necessary to keep the motor ve... | 07/22/2008 |
| 7358864 | Parking assist control apparatus In a parking assist control apparatus for assisting a driver with parking a vehicle, when a brake control ECU detects that a door is open based on a detection signal from a door open/close sensor during parking assist control, the brake control ECU determines whethe... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7339774 | Automatic battery disconnect system A safety battery disconnect system for disconnecting a vehicle battery from the electrical system of the vehicle when an impact exceeding a predetermined magnitude is detected while maintaining electrical power input from the battery to selected portions of the vehi... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7311639 | Method for improving a drive-to-park shift According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a clutch is applied when the vehicle comes to a stop. The application of this clutch locks the output shaft with energy stored therein. When the shift selector is then moved to the park position, the clut... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7245995 | Fault-tolerant vehicle stability control A system and method for providing a fault tolerant vehicle dynamics control (VDC) is described. The system includes a fault tolerance module that receives an indication of a fault in at least one of the actuators of the VDC and selects a fault compensation mode to m... | 07/17/2007 |
| 7210718 | Apparatus for protecting the exterior of a vehicle A vehicle protection apparatus can protect a vehicle's exterior. The exterior can have an optional opening. A support attached to the vehicle can support a guard and allow it to move between (a) a retracted position that does not obtrude on the appearance of the veh... | 05/01/2007 |
| 7204561 | Cap with a roughly disk shape and a wheel including the same A is attached to a hollow portion in a wheel, an inner peripheral groove is provided on an inner peripheral surface of the hollow portion and an outer peripheral groove is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cap, forming a single annular space. Into the ... | 04/17/2007 |
| 7195091 | Crash relief pedal assembly A fluid relief device (40) is responsive to a sensor (38) for relieving the hydraulic fluid pressure in hydraulic line (30) in response to the crash conditions. A fuseable link (52) abuts the distal end of a shaft (46) and holds th... | 03/27/2007 |
| 7191862 | Apparatus for stopping a vehicle An apparatus for externally controlling one or more brakes on a vehicle having a pressurized fluid braking system. The apparatus can include a pressurizable vessel that is adapted for fluid-tight coupling to the braking system. Impact to the rear of the vehicle by a... | 03/20/2007 |
| 7131348 | Pedal arrangement in a vehicle cab A pedal arrangement in a vehicle cab including a support (5) fixed in the cab, in which a pedal arm (2) is mounted for pivoting about a pivot axis (4) spaced from both ends (2a, 2b) of the pedal arm. At its upper end,... | 11/07/2006 |
| 7113076 | Method and system for assisting driver of motor vehicle with deceleration control A system and method assists a driver of a motor vehicle. Driver operation, vehicle motion and vehicle environment are detected. The detected driver operation, vehicle motion and vehicle environment are evaluated. Based on the evaluation, the driver is prompted to ef... | 09/26/2006 |
| 7092809 | Method and system for controlling braking equipment The present invention provides a method and a system for controlling braking equipment with a function for the driveaway assistance of a motor vehicle. After setting an initial operating state of the braking equipment in which the function for the driveaway assistan... | 08/15/2006 |
| 7066047 | Rearward displacement prevention mechanism for vehicle control pedal There is provided a rearward displacement prevention mechanism for a control pedal, which is constructed such that a front end of a pedal bracket supporting a control pedal such that the control pedal is capable of pivoting is connected to a vehicle compartment side... | 06/27/2006 |
| 7034668 | Threat level identification and quantifying system Methods of performing threat assessment of objects for a vehicle include detecting an object. Kinematics of the vehicle and of the object are determined. A brake threat number and a steering threat number are determined in response to the kinematics of the vehicle a... | 04/25/2006 |
| 7027920 | Low-speed collision avoidance system A system and a method for low speed collision avoidance by a vehicle are provided. The low speed collision avoidance system includes an operation control module in communication with a plurality of signal generators for determining a distance to an object, a vehicle... | 04/11/2006 |
| 7021415 | Electro-mechanical actuator for an electrically actuated parking brake An electrically actuated parking brake system and actuator therefor. The actuator includes a motor having a drive shaft, and a gear train coupled to the drive shaft, wherein the gear train provides at least one mechanical output from the actuator. The gear train may... | 04/04/2006 |
| 7018004 | System and method for brake pre-charging A system and method for brake pre-charging includes pre-filling brakes, based on proximity information from a forward-looking sensor, to reduce the initial delays associated with braking. By reducing the initial delay in converting driver brake pressure requests int... | 03/28/2006 |
| 7013209 | Operating a multimode ABS A vehicle anti-lock brake system determines when an ABS failure condition has occurred, configures a failure condition operating mode of the ABS control, and, finally, activates the ABS control based on the failure condition operational mode. When a brake actuator f... | 03/14/2006 |
| 6971727 | Vehicle brake system A vehicle brake system includes a brake mechanism for individually braking wheels, and a brake controller for controlling the brake mechanism against an oblique collision from behind or an offset collision with a host vehicle. The controller includes a collision pre... | 12/06/2005 |
| 6951152 | Crash release arrangement and method for an automotive pedal mounting An arrangement and method for releasing an automotive pedal in a crash includes mounting a pedal pivot pin by separable housing pieces fit to the pin to support the pedal for normal operation. One of the housing pieces is hinged to be able to swing away when disconn... | 10/04/2005 |
| 6944908 | Device for keeping optical elements clean, in particular covers for sensors or cameras, in motor vehicles The invention relates to a device for keeping optical elements clean in motor vehicles, especially sensor or camera covers. This is done according to the present invention by applying a directed stream of gas, for example a stream of air, to the transparent cover in... | 09/20/2005 |
| 6929179 | Automated fee collection and parking ticket dispensing machine An automated fee collection and ticket dispensing machine is disclosed that is capable of operating under a variety of operating modes. The machine permits users to purchase a variety of passes. The disclosed machine includes printers to produce receipts or passes f... | 08/16/2005 |
| 6926322 | Laterally extendable bumper system An extendable bumper system for a vehicle, the extendable bumper system comprising: a bumper structure; a laterally extending bumper segment slideably located within the bumper structure; and an actuator in operable communication between the bumper structure and the... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6925942 | Control method of sliding a vehicle door by a powered sliding device A control method of a powered sliding device for a vehicle sliding door, wherein when an operating switch for starting a powered sliding device is pressed to open the door, and if the vehicle speed is about 3 km/h or less and the foot brake or the parking brake is o... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6902016 | Pivoting panel for mechanical control disengagement A small or mini loader is operated by a platform standing on the ground or other surface supporting the loader, and at the rear of the machine. Hydraulic control levers operate drives on opposite sides of the machine, and the control levers are pulled rearwardly fro... | 06/07/2005 |
| 6817436 | Brake pedal push-prevention structure of a vehicle The invention relates to a brake pedal push-prevention structure of a vehicle. The structure has an active stopper formed between an upper steering shaft and a universal joint of a lower steering shaft. The active stopper is positioned in front of the brake pedal to... | 11/16/2004 |
| 6784792 | Method and device for recognition of a collision with a pedestrian A method of deciding with a high reliability whether an impact with the front side of a vehicle has been caused by a pedestrian is described. Two decision criteria are formed, and only if both decision criteria are met is it decided an impact with a pedestrian has o... | 08/31/2004 |
| 6672682 | Pressure releasable vehicle pedal assembly A releasable brake pedal system 10 for a vehicle includes a pedal assembly 12 operatively engageable by the driver of the vehicle and a hydraulic actuator assembly 20 for generating pressurized hydraulic fluid for actuating one or more brakes 44A-44D. The... | 01/06/2004 |
| 6623054 | Collision safety device for vehicles Device for motor vehicles designed to prevent traffic accidents or to reduce their injurious consequences. The extent of injuries in traffic accidents can be reduced significantly by employing the vehicle bumper (1) as a crumple (deformation) zone. A sens... | 09/23/2003 |
| 6601669 | Safety interlock system for motor vehicles A safety interlock system for a motor vehicle having a braking system capable of actively applying the vehicle brakes with an object sensor capable of detecting the presence of an object such as a pedestrian in the danger zone at the front of the vehicle,... | 08/05/2003 |
| 6574559 | Collision avoiding system for vehicles A collision avoiding system is provided to enhance a collision avoiding effect by stabilizing a vehicle behavior during automatic braking. Steering controlling apparatus includes not only an ordinary electric power steering control unit but also an active... | 06/03/2003 |
| 6567748 | Motion control system for vehicle A motion control system controls a vehicle so as to avoid contacting an obstacle in front of the vehicle by applying a braking force or a turning force to the vehicle. In particular, the turning force is applied to the vehicle to avoid the obstacle by tur... | 05/20/2003 |
| 6565160 | Pressure releasable vehicle pedal assembly A releasable brake pedal system 10 for a vehicle includes a pedal assembly 12 operatively engageable by the driver of the vehicle and a hydraulic actuator assembly 20 for generating pressurized hydraulic fluid for actuating one or more brakes 44A-44D. The... | 05/20/2003 |
| 6543567 | Fault responsive securely stopped vehicle method and apparatus The braking system of a vehicle is securely engaged in response to the operator of the vehicle causing the vehicle to stop. The braking system remains securely engaged upon detection of a fault such as a vehicle collision, a vehicle malfunction or a probl... | 04/08/2003 |
| 6542793 | Pedal apparatus for vehicles and a vehicle equipped with the same There is provided a pedal apparatus for vehicles, which comprises a pedal reaction-force addition means 4 for adding a reaction force to a pedal 1 of a vehicle, a pedal force detection means 2 for detecting a force added to the pedal 1, a pedal reaction-f... | 04/01/2003 |
| 6530450 | Fault reactive securely stopped vehicle method and apparatus The braking system of a vehicle is securely engaged in response to the operator of the vehicle causing the vehicle to stop. The braking system improves vehicle safety by remaining securely engaged upon detection of a fault such as a vehicle collision, an ... | 03/11/2003 |
