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 |
| 7861364 | Ball and socket joint utilizing a single ball, for driving more than one driven member An articulating ball joint for connecting a pair of driven members to a driving member such as a crank pin. In one embodiment, a single ball is held in a first, or inner, socket defined by a coupling member having a convex outer surface, and the first socket is held... | 01/04/2011 |
| 7392565 | Tandem windshield wiper system with bellcrank linkage A tandem windshield wiper system including a first windshield wiper assembly having a first lever arm that is adapted to operatively move in a repeated wiping motion across the surface of a windshield. A second windshield wiper assembly having a second lever arm is ... | 07/01/2008 |
| 7389561 | Tandem windshield wiper system with direct drive motor A tandem windshield wiper system that includes at least one brushless DC motor to provide drive torque through an output that is rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the motor. A first windshield wiper assembly having a first lever arm is driven by the motor abo... | 06/24/2008 |
| 7364289 | Shades with blades What is unique and special about my Shades with Blades is not only is it a safety necessity but also all working parts that make the wipers actually work are going to be hidden inside frames, making them look just like another bad ass pair of biker riding glasses un... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7331733 | Rocker pendulum with integrated ball and socket joint A rocker pendulum for a motor vehicle, has an elongated, especially hollow basic body (1). The basic body (1, 11, 21, 31) has at least one section (1a, 11a, 21a, 31a), which forms or has a bearing... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7290306 | Drive system for a pivotable windscreen wiper A drive arrangement for a pivoting windshield wiper of a vehicle is designed so that after decoupling the drive connection to the windshield wiper a rack situated in the drive for the windshield wiper can be used as drive element for an actuator that is independent ... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7256565 | Wiper system using two wipers A wiper system using two wipers and two wiper motors, which drive the wipers and of which at least one first wiper motor forms a sub-assembly with an electronic control unit. The second wiper motor is a rotary motor having only one sensory system for detecting the a... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7251852 | Wiper system The invention is based on a wiper system (10) having a mounting plate (12), on whose mounting plate tube (14) a wiper bearing (20) is disposed on one end and a cast part (16) is disposed on the other, and a first bearing housing ( | 08/07/2007 |
| 7249394 | Vehicular wiper device having motor and internal space A vehicular wiper device includes a wiper motor secured to a crank arm, a first pivot holder rotatably supporting a wiper arm and a first pivot lever, a second pivot holder rotatably supporting a wiper arm and a second pivot lever, and a link structure connected to ... | 07/31/2007 |
| 7240392 | Park safe mechanism for wiper systems A windshield wiper drive linkage is provided for use in a wiper system. The linkage includes a crank arm connectible to an output shaft of a drive motor. A drive arm is pivotally connected to the crank arm for movement between first and second angular positions abou... | 07/10/2007 |
| 7059009 | Windshield wiper drive linkage arm with grooves This invention relates to windshield wiper system and method which utilizes a flexible member to account for compression loads in excess of a predetermined load, such as 30 percent greater than a maximum load for the flexible member. The system utilizes a flexible p... | 06/13/2006 |
| 7017224 | Windshield wiper drive linkage arm with interior grooves This invention relates to windshield wiper system and method which utilizes a flexible member to account for compression loads in excess of a predetermined load, such as 30 percent, greater than a maximum load for the flexible member. The system utilizes a flexible ... | 03/28/2006 |
| 6785930 | Windshield wiping method This invention relates to windshield wiper system and method which utilizes a flexible member to account for compression loads in excess of a predetermined load, such as 30 percent greater than a maximum load for the flexible member. The system utilizes a flexible p... | 09/07/2004 |
| 6766554 | Low acceleration symmetrical overlap wiper system A windshield wiper drive imparts overlapping butterfly oscillation to a pair of spaced wiper shafts from a rotary drive member having a crank arm. A drive link is provided having first, second, and third connection points. The first connection point is adjacent one ... | 07/27/2004 |
| 6742827 | Plug-n-play module with integral motor connector A windshield wiper system mounting apparatus includes at least one communication grommet. Each communication grommet can include at least one electrical connection and/or at least one fluid connection, such that the electrical and/or fluid connection is accomplished... | 06/01/2004 |
| 6732400 | Windscreen wiper arrangement for vehicles A wiper system (1) for vehicles, having at least one wiper lever assembly (7) that has at least one wiper arm (26) and that has a first pivot lever (9) that can be coupled in a manner fixed against relative rotation to a stationary first ... | 05/11/2004 |
| 6708365 | Drive mechanism for a wiper system The drive apparatus for a wiper system (10) has a reversible wiper motor (18), a lever drive mechanism connected with a wiper (12), which includes a drive lever (36), e.g. a cross guide rod, and a four-bar wiper lever (40) connecte... | 03/23/2004 |
| 6691367 | Wiper apparatus The invention relates to a wiper apparatus in which a pair of pivot axes are provided, one pivot axis at the central portion and the other pivot axis one side portion in the left and right direction of the window surface. In the invention, wherein the rod... | 02/17/2004 |
| 6691366 | Wiper system The invention is based on a wiper system having a wiper motor, which via a motor crank, seated on a motor shaft, and two connecting rods drives a drive shaft of two windshields wipers, wherein a first connecting rod is pivotably connected directly to the ... | 02/17/2004 |
| 6675431 | Tubular plate and corresponding production method The invention relates to a tube mounting, in particular of a windshield wiper system of motor vehicles, having a mounting tube (12) which has a hollow profile that on at least one of its free ends (13, 14) has a plastic bearing (15) for receiving a wiper ... | 01/13/2004 |
| 6640379 | Attachable eyeglass wipers A clip-on wipers are provided that attach to eyeglasses to prevent the buildup of raindrops or snow on the lenses. It attaches via a clip-on clamp thus allowing it to be removed when not needed. A battery pack, envisioned consisting of AAA batteries suppl... | 11/04/2003 |
| 6591444 | Wiper apparatus The invention relates to a wiper apparatus, which can effectively regulate overrun of a wiper arm, wherein the base end portion of the main wiper arm 8 is pivotally supported at the vehicle body side via a pivotal axis 8a so as to rock, the wiper arm 8 an... | 07/15/2003 |
| 6536069 | Wiper system mechanism A vehicle wiper system is provided including a cross-vehicle shaft that drives a pair of actuation mechanisms for driving a pair of wiper assemblies. The actuation mechanisms each include a crank, a connecting rod and a lever arm, whereby the connecting r... | 03/25/2003 |
| 6453505 | Windshield wiper for automobile A first wiper having an arm and blade and a second wiper having an arm and blade are located at a lower end of a windshield. The first and second wipers are positioned in parallel to each other with a certain overlapped region, the second wiper being in f... | 09/24/2002 |
| 6438790 | Windshield wiper system A windshield wiper system for motor vehicles includes two wiper blades which rotate in the same direction and are driven by a crank linkage mechanism. The wiper system is arranged to enable independent positioning of the two wipers and which is economical... | 08/27/2002 |
| 6393653 | Windshield wiper inertia absorption apparatus and method A windshield wiper apparatus for a vehicle includes an energy absorption member coupled between the moving drive arm and stationary structure which provides an opposing force to the movement of the wiper arm to absorb a portion of the inertial energy of t... | 05/28/2002 |
| 6381800 | Windshield wiping system This invention relates to windshield wiper system and method which utilizes a flexible member to account for compression loads in excess of a predetermined load, such as 30 percent, greater than a maximum load for the flexible member. The system utilizes ... | 05/07/2002 |
| 6288509 | Method for controlling an opposed wiping type wiper apparatus and an opposed wiping type wiper apparatus In an opposed wiping type wiper apparatus, left and right wiper blades which perform wiping operations with a predetermined preceding-following relationship maintained are layered vertically at their lower returning positions. A wiper drive control unit c... | 09/11/2001 |
| 6279192 | Vehicle windshield wiper assembly incorporating cable and pulley drive system and remote positioned electric motor A windshield wiper assembly for use in a motor vehicle. An electric motor is operatively connected to and powered by an on-board electrical supply provided by the vehicle. The motor forms a part of a housing mounted within an engine compartment of the veh... | 08/28/2001 |
| 6266844 | Vehicle windshield wiper assembly incorporating cable and pulley drive system and remote positioned electric motor A windshield wiper assembly for use in a motor vehicle. An electric motor is operatively connected to and powered by an on-board electrical supply provided by the vehicle. The motor forms a part of a housing mounted within an engine compartment of the veh... | 07/31/2001 |
| 6148470 | Windshield wiping system This invention relates to windshield wiper system and method which utilizes a flexible member to account for compression loads in excess of a predetermined load, such as 30 percent greater than a maximum load for the flexible member. The system utilizes a... | 11/21/2000 |
| 6101664 | Drive device for at least two vehicle windscreen wipers A drive mechanism for at least two windshield wipers of a vehicle, in particular of an automotive vehicle, with a driving motor (1) which includes a gear unit accommodated in a gear casing (2) which is closed by means of a cap and where, on the end of an ... | 08/15/2000 |
| 5983439 | Windshield wiper assembly having a variable speed drive mechanism A windshield wiper drive mechanism which interconnects a motor and a wiper assembly which is movable between an in-wipe position and an out-wipe position on a windshield. The drive mechanism includes an elliptical gear set having a pair of eccentric gears... | 11/16/1999 |
| 5894652 | Opposed wiping type wiper unit An opposed wiping type wiper unit for use with one of right-hand and left-hand specifications has a crank arm that rotates when driven by a motor, an intermediate link connected to right-hand and left-hand wiper shafts through driving rods, and a connecti... | 04/20/1999 |
| 5504406 | Wiper system with variable holddown force A windshield wiper system in which a dedicated microcontroller controls not only the wiper motor, but also a solenoid which provides dynamically variable downforce on the wiper blade.... | 04/02/1996 |
| 5473955 | Wiper system double ball joint A double ball joint assembly for use with a windshield wiper system. The double ball joint assembly includes a first ball affixed to a second ball such that a first drive link is retained between them. A first socket is coupled to the first ball and inclu... | 12/12/1995 |
| 5226200 | Space crank wiper system with adjustable wipe pattern An adjustment mechanism uniquely tailored to a space crank wiper system is used to adjust the wipe angle, specifically to lower the inwipe to give a depressed park position. The characteristic spacing of a four bar spatial mechanism that drives the wiper ... | 07/13/1993 |
| 5210900 | Rotary window cleaner First and second rotary wipers which are disposed proximate with respect to each other so that a lag angle formed at the initiation of operation is held during operation thereof. The lag angle generated at the initial operation time is cancelled when the ... | 05/18/1993 |
| 5176044 | Drive unit for a wiper system of motor vehicles A connection and two step method of manufacturing is disclosed for a drive unit for a wiper arm system which consists of a wiper shaft mounted in a bore through a crank arm. The wiper shaft is formed with a groove disposed within the thickness of the cran... | 01/05/1993 |
| 5157314 | Windshield wiping system for motor vehicles The wiping device for a windshield of a motor vehicle includes at least one wiper lever with an articulated wiper element which contacts the windshield and is driven in a reciprocating manner between two reversing positions by a drive unit. A particularly... | 10/20/1992 |
