Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller fame has patented a "Hydro-Therapeutic Stimulator", which uses a hot tub for stimulation.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7794358 | Torque converter with fixed stator and method of controlling rotation of a turbine and pump in a torque converter A method of transitioning a torque converter from torque conversion mode to lock-up mode, and a torque converter. The method includes rotationally fixing stator blades to a non-rotatable stator shaft; partially engaging a torque converter clutch to transmit torque f... | 09/14/2010 |
| 7578769 | Lockup control device Excellent fuel consumption and drivability are achieved by properly controlling the lockup-canceling timing in a vehicle with an automatic transmission equipped with a torque converter having lockup features. Conventionally, the lockup got cancelled when it was dete... | 08/25/2009 |
| 7524268 | Drive control apparatus for forklift A load determining section of a drive control apparatus for forklift determines a load state related to a loading attachment. In a case where a connection determining section determines switching to a connection state, if the load state determined by the load determ... | 04/28/2009 |
| 7503877 | Turbine offset matching control system A control system for enabling an engine to operate in a deceleration fuel cutoff (DFCO) mode is provided. The system includes: an enable module that selectively enables a DFCO mode based on an accelerator pedal position; and an engine speed module that regulates eng... | 03/17/2009 |
| 7377373 | Hydraulic control apparatus for hydraulic power transmission with lock-up clutch Engagement, disengagement, and slip of a lock-up clutch can be controlled using two valves that are a lock-up relay valve and a linear solenoid valve. A lock-up control valve employed in a conventional hydraulic control apparatus can be eliminated, which simplifies ... | 05/27/2008 |
| 7366601 | Automatic transmission having torque converter with lockup clutch and method of controlling same lockup clutch When a downshift instruction has been detected, the oil pressure of a lookup clutch is controlled, and the state of operation of the automatic transmission is detected. If a starting condition has been met, a slip rotation speed of the lockup clutch is calculated, a... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7361121 | Control device and method for input clutch of work vehicle A controller serving as determination device determines whether or not a rising speed of the clutch pressure of the input clutch is less than a limit rising speed of the original pressure. A controller serving as original pressure control device adjusts the original... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7361120 | Control of lock-up clutch A lock-up clutch control device which controls a lock-up clutch (6) provided in a torque converter (5) interposed between an engine (3) and a transmission (4) used with a vehicle, is disclosed. The lock-up clutch control device has a diff... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7357755 | Engine speed control system for walk-behind truck In an engine speed control system mounted on a walk-behind truck having a bed that carries cargo, to power driven wheels through a clutch such that the truck runs and the engine speed is controlled to a desired engine speed, it is detected whether the operator perfo... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7347802 | Clutch control apparatus for hybrid vehicle A clutch control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle (1) having an engine (2) and a motor (3) as power sources, and an output shaft (13a). The clutch control apparatus includes a clutch device (12) and a clutch control device ( | 03/25/2008 |
| 7338409 | Centrifugal clutch assembly with dedicated maneuvering mode A vehicle power train system includes an engine, a transmission, and a centrifugal clutch assembly that selectively couples an engine output shaft to a transmission input shaft in response to an operator input. An operator selects a desired vehicle-operating mode by... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7337050 | Method and apparatus for controlling a gear shift in a parallel shaft gear of a motor vehicle The invention relates to a method for controlling a gear shift, especially a pulling upshift in a parallel-shift transmission of a vehicle, said parallel-shift transmission having two transmission branches situated parallel to each other between an output shaft of a... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7324886 | Powertrain control apparatus and method A powertrain control apparatus controls a powertrain including a lock-up clutch, and an engine, in which fuel supply is cut off, directly to an automatic transmission. The control apparatus includes a control unit that controls the engine so that fuel supply resumes... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7316631 | Automatic transmission apparatus An automatic transmission apparatus includes: a torque converter including a pump impeller connected to an engine and a turbine connected to an input shaft of an automatic transmission; an oil pump connected to the pump impeller and to the turbine; and a controlling... | 01/08/2008 |
| 7302330 | Torque converter clutch dynamic control A method of dynamically controlling pressure to a torque converter clutch (TCC) of a torque converter coupled to a transmission is provided. The method includes: monitoring throttle position; monitoring engine speed; controlling pressure to the torque converter clut... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7294092 | Control of coasting downshifts in an automatic transmission for motor vehicles A method for controlling a coasting downshift in an automatic transmission having a torque converter that includes an impeller driveably connected to an engine and a turbine hydrokinetically coupled to the impeller and driveably connected to the transmission input. ... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7291078 | Control of belt-type continuously variable transmission A gear change control system of a belt-type continuously variable transmission includes: a movable pulley piston chamber for causing a thrust force to a movable pulley varying a groove width of primary pulley and secondary pulley. The movable pulley piston chamber h... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7287631 | Lock-up control for torque converter A lock-up clutch control device controls a lock-up clutch provided in a torque converter mounted between an engine and a transmission of a vehicle. The lock-up clutch control device switches between a converter state and a lock-up state by controlling a differential... | 10/30/2007 |
| 7282009 | Control of lock-up clutch A lock-up clutch control device, which controls a lock-up clutch (6) installed in a torque converter (5) interposed between an engine (3) and a transmission (4) used with a vehicle, is disclosed. The lock-up clutch control device has a di... | 10/16/2007 |
| 7264574 | Torque converter lockup capacity control device A torque converter lockup capacity control device is configured to conduct coast-time lockup control during coast-running in order to prevent engine stall, shock from occurring in the output shaft of a transmission due to lockup when a driver releases an acceleratio... | 09/04/2007 |
| 7239955 | Method for controlling an internal combustion engine A method is provided for controlling an internal combustion engine operating in a homogenous mode. The internal combustion engine exhibits a control unit for setting the air supply, the fuel supply and the ignition angle. The method reduces the fuel consumption and ... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7238142 | Lock-up capacity control apparatus and method for torque converter In lock-up capacity control apparatus and method for a torque converter, the torque converter is caused to have a converter state in which a relative revolution between input and output elements of the torque converter is free of limitation in a case where a lock-up... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7234578 | Torque converter A lock-up clutch controlling device includes a three-dimensional back pressure map, a sensor, and a lock-up pressure controlling unit. The map allows a back pressure of a lock-up piston to be determined from a rotational speed of an engine, an oil temperature, and a... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7235036 | Lockup control apparatus and method for vehicular torque converter In a lockup control apparatus and method for a vehicular torque converter, the torque converter is controlled to be under a steady-state lockup state by a lockup clutch during a steady-state traveling state, and the torque converter is controlled to be under a coast... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7220216 | Lock-up clutch control device A lock-up clutch control device for controlling a lock-up clutch mechanism provided to a torque converter is including an estimator means for estimating a contact timing of a friction material included in the lock-up clutch mechanism during a driven state based on a... | 05/22/2007 |
| 7207919 | Method and apparatus for engaging engine clutch for hybrid transmission In method and apparatus for engaging an engine clutch for a hybrid transmission, a complete engagement of the engine clutch while at least one of an engine side clutch revolution speed of the engine clutch and a transmission side clutch revolution speed thereof is a... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7195581 | Power transmission device having a torque converter with a lockup clutch and lockup control method for torque converter A controller (5) performs open loop control of the engaging state of a lockup clutch (2) through a switching mechanism (3, 4) when a torque converter (1) transitions from a first state in which the lockup clutch (2) is disengaged t... | 03/27/2007 |
| 7197383 | System for limiting reactive torque in powertrains A control system limits reactive torque in a powertrain that is generated when braking force is applied to traction wheels during a sudden stop or other sudden braking event. The reactive torque generated at the traction wheels is prevented from being transmitted up... | 03/27/2007 |
| 7194349 | Closed-loop, valve-based transmission control algorithum A system for controlling pressure in a transmission comprises a transmission control unit, a valve controller that receives a desired pressure as input from the transmission control unit, a valve driver, a valve that regulates an amount of fluid in a transmission cl... | 03/20/2007 |
| 7192386 | Method for controlling and/or regulating the braking torque in a drive train, and control and regulating system The aim of the invention is to regulate the braking torque in a drive train comprising an internal combustion engine (2) and a gearbox unit (3) which can be coupled to the same, using a regulatable clutch (5). To this end, the power introduced b... | 03/20/2007 |
| 7189185 | Method for operating a drive train in a motor vehicle In a method for operating a drive train for a motor vehicle including a transmission with a hydraulic torque converter having a converter lockup clutch which can be activated by a working pressure acting on a piston under engine overrun conditions when an increased ... | 03/13/2007 |
| 7179199 | Control system for vehicle having an engine capable of performing and stopping combustion in each cylinder A control system for a vehicle includes an engine switch control unit for switching the operating condition of the engine between the all-cylinder operating condition and the partial-cylinder operating condition, a failure determining unit for determining the failur... | 02/20/2007 |
| 7181327 | Method and apparatus for controlling fluid supply to a clutch pack of an automatic transmission When an engine is restarted after a predetermined period of being stopped oil is supplied to a clutch pack for a 2–3 and/or 3–4 shift while a transmission is engaged in the first speed for the first time since starting. The amount of oil drained during the prede... | 02/20/2007 |
| 7178618 | Vehicular control apparatus and method A control apparatus of a vehicle includes a clutch provided between a driving force source and a drive wheel; a torque transfer power controller that controls a torque transfer power of the clutch based on a predetermined condition; a behavior control apparatus that... | 02/20/2007 |
| 7179198 | Start clutch control system and method There is provided a start clutch control system for a vehicle, including a start clutch disposed between an engine and a transmission in the vehicle, a detection unit that detects vehicle running conditions including at least a vehicle speed, and a control unit that... | 02/20/2007 |
| 7169081 | Method for actuating a clutch at low temperatures A method for clutch actuation at low temperatures for a motor vehicle having a hydraulically actuatable clutch, below a predetermined temperature a situation-dependent pre-opening of the clutch is executed when a braking is probable. ... | 01/30/2007 |
| 7165638 | Hybrid drive system wherein clutch is engaged when engine speed has exceeded motor speed upon switching from motor drive mode to engine drive mode A hybrid vehicle drive system including (a) an engine, (b) an electric motor, (c) a planetary gear device having a first rotary element connected to the engine, a second rotary element connected to the electric motor and connected through a first clutch to an output... | 01/23/2007 |
| 7158873 | Method of controlling an automated clutch of a vehicle A method of controlling an automated clutch of a vehicle includes the step of adapting a characteristic curve of the clutch through an electronic clutch management system. The adaptation is performed under at least one set of operating conditions that are represente... | 01/02/2007 |
| 7147588 | Upshift control method of an automatic transmission Fuel mileage and shift feel are significantly enhanced from an upshift control method of an automatic transmission that includes determining whether a fuel cut control is executed when the damper clutch is in the direct engagement state before an upshift. Performing... | 12/12/2006 |
| 7120531 | Method of determining a default transmission input speed A default value of transmission input speed in a motor vehicle powertrain having an automatic-shift multi-gear ratio power transmission is continuously updated based on a measured value of the input speed and other reliable speed data including transmission output s... | 10/10/2006 |