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 |
| 7415904 | Electromechanical actuators The invention concerns an electromechanical actuator comprising at least an electric motor (1), as well as coupling (4) and gear reduction (4) means, which drive an output shaft (11). The invention is characterized in that the coupling an... | 08/26/2008 |
| 7350334 | Window regulator assembly A window regulator assembly including a shaft having a pinion gear and a counter balance spring mounted on the shaft which winds or unwinds as the shaft rotates. A spring housing is mounted on the shaft. A cable-guiding drum having an inner gear is driven directly b... | 04/01/2008 |
| 7143888 | Combined no-back and torque limiter A combined no-back and torque limiter device that automatically prevents back-drive and over-torque actuator conditions with a combination of two compression-type brakes that are selectively operated with a self-energised ball ramp set and torsional spring mechanism... | 12/05/2006 |
| 7098562 | Ambidextrous electronic window lift motor A motor assembly 30 includes an electric motor 32 having a rotatable shaft 40, the shaft 40 having a worm 38; and a gear unit 33 operatively associated with the motor, the gear unit has first and second opposing ends. The ge... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7032938 | Motor vehicle door lock A motor vehicle door lock mechanism with a drive and an operating lever, the drive including a motor and a symmetrical actuating element. The actuating element engages the operating lever so that the operating lever can be moved by the drive into different operating... | 04/25/2006 |
| 6938507 | Actuator An actuator including a motor in driving connection with a cam rotatable about a cam axis, the actuator further including a cam follower connected to an output member, in which powered rotation of the cam causes the cam follower to be radially displaced relative to ... | 09/06/2005 |
| 6928894 | Compensated actuator with optimized power An actuator combining mechanical and hydraulic forces includes a cylindrical body and a piston that can slide relative to the cylindrical body. The piston and the cylindrical body are connected by a mechanical system for transmitting mechanical power that constitute... | 08/16/2005 |
| 6766704 | Actuating system Actuating system comprising an actuator with a torque-transmission element for a movable element, in particular a swing-action panel in a motor vehicle, the movable element being mounted pivotably in a basic hinge element. The actuating system has a torque support a... | 07/27/2004 |
| 6606825 | Window opening and closing assembly A window opening and closing assembly capable of controlling an opening angle of the window effectively is disclosed. The assembly comprises a base with a groove along a longitudinal direction thereof, a slider inserted in the groove, an arm rotatably mou... | 08/19/2003 |
| 6446660 | Valve assembly with multiple mode actuators A multiple mode valve assembly including valve actuators equipped with a combination of a shaft (4) and a spindle (5), coaxial and immobilized in an axial direction, but capable of rotating freely one with respect to the other, so that by means of the spi... | 09/10/2002 |
| 6446519 | Electric actuator An actuator for actuating a control mechanism by axially moving an actuating member against a force comprises a housing in which a reversible drive is arranged with a first rotatable part and a second rotatable part engagable with one another and acting o... | 09/10/2002 |
| 5979256 | Gear drive window wiper and multi-function electric motor A multi-functional apparatus that employs a gear drive window wiper and multi-function electric motor is described. The apparatus uses a gear system powered by a reversible electric motor that allows one intermittent motion mechanism to be actuated, while... | 11/09/1999 |
| 5598746 | Transmission assembly A transmission assembly used to connect with a rotatable ornament or a toy to provide bilateral rotations for achieving their cosmetic effect comprises a casing enclosing a set of three pinions which are driven by a battery-operated electrical circuit the... | 02/04/1997 |
| 5386740 | Rotary feed mechanism A rotary feed mechanism including gears provided on an outer peripheral surface of an inner ring, male threads on an outer peripheral surface of an inner ring, and an outer ring having female threads which .engage with the male threads of the inner ring. ... | 02/07/1995 |
| 5133698 | Power driven actuator system The problem of reducing the number of parts and reducing the manufacturing costs of actuator arms in a power driven actuator system of a type including a planetary gear train (42), is solved by providing an elongate torque shaft (40) coupled to the gear t... | 07/28/1992 |
| 5018696 | Power seat adjuster with floating drive mechanism A floating drive mechanism for a power seat adjuster in which carriages are carried by two parallel inserts, each of the inserts including a toothed rack in mesh with a pinion drive gear. The gear and rack are held in a consistent mesh with one another by... | 05/28/1991 |
| 4932613 | Rotary hinge actuator A rotary hinge actuator, for instance for rotating a wing flap relative to a wing in an aircraft, has a sun gear, several spindle gears around the sun gear and several annular gear sleeves around the sun gear and spindle gears. Each spindle gear has secti... | 06/12/1990 |
| 4638977 | Valve actuator A valve actuation system is disclosed having a spur wheel which meshes with a crown-wheel segment attached to the valve. For linear increase or decrease in the flow cross section, the toothing of the crown-wheel segment is arranged to produce a multiplica... | 01/27/1987 |
| 4265131 | Machine tool transfer bar actuator unit A mechanism for translating rotation motion to linear motion utilizing a turret rotatable about a first axis carrying a crank shaft rotatable about a second axis parallel to but offset from the turret axis and carrying a crank arm which in turn carries a ... | 05/05/1981 |
