Did You Know...
...that power steering was invented by independent inventor Francis W. Davis? As chief engineer in the 1920s of the truck division of the Pierce Arrow Motor Car Company, he saw how hard it was to steer heavy vehicles. So that he would be able to keep the profits from his future invention, Davis left his job, rented a small engineering shop in Waltham, Mass., and developed a hydraulic power steering system that led to power steering.
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 5730256 | Mechanical anti-lock braking system A mechanical anti-lock braking apparatus for intermittently releasing pressure applied by a brake shoe to a wheel being braked includes a control member, a power input for causing the control member to rotate with the wheel around a rotational axis, and a... | 03/24/1998 |
| 5638924 | Disk brake for textile yarns A disk brake for placing tension on textile yarns is provided with an air-cleaning system for blowing lint and fiber dust particularly from the underside of the disks to prevent a buildup which may interfere with operation of the brake disks and prevent p... | 06/17/1997 |
| 5624104 | Vibration isolating supporter It is an object to effectively and rapidly damp vibration of a vibrating object. A vibration isolating supporter includes a coil spring (3) interposed between an upper frame (1) and a lower frame (2) which are opposed to one another in a vertical directio... | 04/29/1997 |
| 5613744 | Incipient brake fade detection for traction control systems A motor vehicle brake control system having traction control and incorporating controller features and methods of operation which interrupt activation of the traction control system in conditions likely to develop excessive brake temperatures, exceed avai... | 03/25/1997 |
| 5595371 | Vibration isolating supporter It is an object to effectively and rapidly damp vibration of a vibrating object. A vibration isolating supporter includes a coil spring (3) interposed between an upper frame (1) and a lower frame (2) which are opposed to one another in a vertical directio... | 01/21/1997 |
| 5593144 | Oscillating rod member equipped with dynamic damper A rod-damper combination comprising an oscillating rod member and a dynamic damper mounted on the rod member is disclosed. The dynamic damper includes a mass portion having a substantially cylindrical shape, and two elastic support members formed on axial... | 01/14/1997 |
| 5593216 | Antilock brake device valve arrangement An antilock brake device installed within the brake lines connecting the master cylinder with the four wheel brakes which includes a motor-driven pump and several solenoid valves and connecting lines thereof mounted in a housing. A series of valve mountin... | 01/14/1997 |
| 5590744 | Motor vehicle electric parking brake This brake comprises a housing (1) intended to be mounted preferably close to the rear crossmember of the vehicle and which contains a gearwheel (2), a nut (3) fastened axially through the wheel, able to move in translation on either side thereof, and pro... | 01/07/1997 |
| 5590733 | Shock absorbing and sprung suspension system A shock absorber and suspension apparatus are disclosed for supporting a tiltable vehicle cab on a chassis including a first shock absorber and corresponding spring attached in parallel to each other and releasably coupled between the vehicle cab and the ... | 01/07/1997 |
| 5586622 | Brake of a baby's walker This invention is a brake for a baby's walker. The brake's friction with the floor is increased by a slide-resisting piece attached to the braking support. It prevents the walker from sliding when the brake is against the ground. The supporting pole of th... | 12/24/1996 |
| 5580089 | Vehicle stabilization system and method The vehicle stabilization system includes a frame (13) supported by wheel support assemblies (10). Each wheel support assembly includes a guide beam assembly (38), a transfer box (70) and a tire and wheel (104) attached to the transfer box by a lower yoke... | 12/03/1996 |
| 5577745 | Personal material handling system A hand dolly or personal material handling system is provided having a removable reel holder which can be loaded with reels of wire in an extended position, or retracted. The handling system is adapted to carry attachments, including a long stock holder f... | 11/26/1996 |
| 5577816 | Method of and system for controlling brakes The ABS is provided with a modulator, and when the ABS is activated, control of the caliper pressure by the driver, is modified by the operation of the modulator having the aforementioned inlet valve (normally closed to a pressurized fluid source) and afo... | 11/26/1996 |
| 5573312 | Vehicle having an electric and mechanical braking system A vehicle (31) has a composite braking system (electric and mechanical). This composite braking system having asynchronous electric motors (4a to 4d) associated with the wheels (2a to 2d) and a mechanical braking device having a hydraulic circuit (14) and... | 11/12/1996 |
| 5573315 | System for preventing slip of driven wheels An ASR is described which actuates the brakes in the case of spin. A maximum braking torque which depends on the drive torque is specified here in order to prevent strangling of the engine by the ASR operation.... | 11/12/1996 |
| 5573313 | Method of and system for controlling brakes A method and apparatus for controlling brakes using a reciprocating cut valve actuated by an expander piston that is moved via a crank pin on a crank shaft. The cut valve cuts off caliper pressure and adjusts the volume and pressure of an output hydraulic... | 11/12/1996 |
| 5570873 | Longitudinally adjustable gas spring with a longitudinally adjustable column A longitudinally adjustable gas spring has a housing of which the edge on the side where the piston rod exits, projects freely. With the housing being moved as far as possible into an upright tube of a longitudinally adjustable column, the edge can at lea... | 11/05/1996 |
| 5566795 | Braking system for a rail car A hydraulic braking system for a rail car is provided. The system includes a hydraulic pump or motor adapted to engage a rail car axle or wheel. When rotating, the axle or wheel drives the hydraulic pump causing a hydraulic fluid to circulate. By restrict... | 10/22/1996 |
| 5566789 | Bicycle anti-locking brake An improvement for brake systems that use a Bowden cable mechanism whereby the actuating force applied by a user is opposed and limited to a predetermined magnitude to avoid locking the rim of the wheel. The improvement includes the use of a spring member... | 10/22/1996 |
| 5566793 | Railway brake shoe An improved railway brake shoe member characterized by longitudinally tapered sidewalls of the brake shoe that provide adaptive response to braking under conditions of mis-alignment between the brake shoe member and the tread of a railway car wheel by fac... | 10/22/1996 |
| 5567024 | Method and system for damping wheel speed oscillation on vehicles having anti-lock brake systems A method and system for damping wheel speed oscillation during an anti-lock braking event. The method includes the initial step of sensing the wheel speed and determining a wheel slip based on the sensed wheel speed and a vehicle speed reference. Next, th... | 10/22/1996 |
| 5564800 | Traction control method for stabilizing motor vehicle motion in the event of increased driving wheel slip A method controls the driving stability in the event of increased slip at the driving wheels of a motor vehicle having an electronic traction system with braking intervention at the driving wheels. With excessive high-adhesion wheel slip, synchronous brak... | 10/15/1996 |
| 5564536 | Tuned mass damper An apparatus for damping dynamic response in a primary structure, includes a secondary mass, and a spring and a viscoelastic element, the spring and viscoelastic element interposed between the primary structure and the secondary mass. The apparatus may in... | 10/15/1996 |
| 5564797 | Method for optimizing triggering of an automatic braking process A method is provided for determining the start and the end of an automatic braking process to optimize the triggering of the automatic braking process. When a set value is exceeded, an automatic braking process is triggered. The threshold value is changed... | 10/15/1996 |
| 5564537 | Adaptive-passive vibration control system A passive/adaptive vibration control system is provided wherein various elements of the system may be adapted on-line in response to sensed vibrations. A spring/mass vibration absorber is attached to a vibrating body to absorb energy generated by that bod... | 10/15/1996 |
| 5564533 | Wet disc brake having a pad with grooves The present invention relates to a brake assembly and a pad configuration for use therein which is capable of use in corrosive environments without significant damage occurring to the assembly from such usage. The assembly comprises a single disc, a housi... | 10/15/1996 |
| 5560641 | Suspension for light duty trucks A conventional form of vehicle axle suspension comprises on each side of a vehicle a leaf spring pack and a shock absorber system. According to this invention the leaf spring pack of a conventional suspension is replaced by a single-leaf leaf spring and a... | 10/01/1996 |
| 5560691 | Method and apparatus for anti-skid control In the disclosed method and apparatus, the brake fluid pressure in a wheel cylinder is reduced and thereafter it is re-increased so that the braking torque is linearly increased with respect to time due to the anti-skid control and the rate of change of t... | 10/01/1996 |
| 5558411 | Railway braking apparatus Apparatus for indicating the condition of hand brakes on railway cars and for applying and releasing railway car parking or hand brakes automatically in response to predetermined conditions including movement of a train, wayside conditioning apparatus, wa... | 09/24/1996 |
| 5558314 | Fluid-like support device A support device having a plurality of support units, each comprising a plurality of flexible, substantially vertical support columns, with the bottoms of the support columns attached at equidistant intervals to a base member and the tops of the support c... | 09/24/1996 |
| 5558191 | Tuned mass damper An apparatus for damping dynamic response in a primary structure in one, two, or three dimensions, includes a secondary mass, and a spring and a viscoelastic element, the spring and viscoelastic element interposed between the primary structure and the sec... | 09/24/1996 |
| 5558410 | Railway braking apparatus Apparatus for indicating the condition of hand brakes on railway cars and for applying and releasing railway car parking or hand brakes automatically in response to predetermined conditions including movement of a train, wayside conditioning apparatus, wa... | 09/24/1996 |
| 5558408 | Vehicle brake system Disclosed is an air-applied, mechanically-held brake assembly and a vehicle air brake system employing the same. The air brake system typically includes a push-pull or hand-brake valve for park and emergency applications, a treadle valve for service appli... | 09/24/1996 |
| 5558186 | Friction disk with renewable wear faces A friction disk assembly comprises an annular structural carrier including a plurality of recessed regions and torque drive notches spaced around its circumferential direction, and a friction lining mounted on the carrier, the friction lining having a fla... | 09/24/1996 |
| 5558412 | Railway braking apparatus Apparatus for indicating the condition of hand brakes on railway cars and for applying and releasing railway car parking or hand brakes automatically in response to predetermined conditions including movement of a train, wayside conditioning apparatus, wa... | 09/24/1996 |
| 5556177 | Protecting ABS skid detection against data corruption An ABS skid detection protection system for a wheeled vehicle detects a predetermined level of deceleration at a wheel; detects, memorizers and holds for a prescribed period the wheel speed value at that predetermined deceleration level; detects whether t... | 09/17/1996 |
| 5556083 | Torsion bar with variable spring constant A plurality of hollow torsion-bar members are arranged coaxially, and ERF (Electro Rheological Fluid), which increases its viscosity and holds the hollow torsion-bar members together as a unit when a certain voltage is applied, is loaded into the clearanc... | 09/17/1996 |
| 5551541 | Shock absorber Shock absorber with adjustable damping force, comprising a pressure tube filled with damping medium, in which a piston on an axially movable piston rod divides a work chamber into a piston-side and a non piston-side chamber, whereby there is a damping med... | 09/03/1996 |
| 5549283 | Hydraulic antivibration supports A hydraulic antivibration support comprises first and second rigid strength members, an elastomer body having a thick wall interconnecting the two rigid strength members and defining a hydraulic working chamber, and a thin wall defining a hydraulic compen... | 08/27/1996 |
| 5547264 | Braking force distribution control system The invention is directed to an arrangement for controlling a braking force applied to a rear wheel in a certain relationship with a braking force applied to a front wheel, so as to provide an ideal braking force distribution. Pressure control valves are ... | 08/20/1996 |
