Other

The Procter Gamble Company

Universal Electronics Inc.

Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Adobe, Inc.

The Proctor 'gamble Company

Richard Saunders International, Inc.

Jim Dandy, Inc.

David J Howe

William A Johnson

W James Budzyna

William L Cousins

Lance Lewis

Jon D Clauson

Bryan O'Neil Hughes

David A Craig

Glenn W Hoefflin

Michael Partridge

Eric Thomas Carlson

Binu Jose Kochucheruvil

Gregory J McCabe

Alex Kwon

Douglas B Hall

A hydraulic clutch system that enables automatic emergency braking (AEB) and remote start of a manual transmission vehicle. The hydraulic clutch system includes a piston-operated hydraulic cylinder or other accumulator to store a charge of hydraulic fluid that can be selectively routed to the clutch and discharged under electronic control to thereby disengage the clutch independently of any operator input via the clutch pedal. By doing so, the system can provide an improved AEB response that slows or stops the vehicle without stalling the engine. The system may also be used to provide remote start capability to the vehicle by automatically disengaging the clutch as part of a remote start sequence of operations.

Hydraulic clutch system for automatic emergency braking and remote starting of manual transmission vehicles

A method for detecting and mitigating excessive clutch disc wear for a manual transmission includes determining if a clutch pedal position is depressed greater than or equal to a first predetermined pedal position threshold and if the vehicle speed is less than or equal to a predetermined vehicle speed threshold. The method further includes determining if the clutch pedal position is depressed greater than or equal to a second predetermined pedal position threshold when the clutch pedal position is depressed less than the first predetermined pedal position threshold. The method still further includes calculating a clutch disc heat flux value and a clutch disc surface temperature. The method further includes displaying an alert/warning and a remedial action message to a vehicle operator when the clutch disc surface temperature is greater than or equal to a predetermined surface temperature threshold.

Method for detecting and mitigating excessive clutch disc wear in manual transmissions

Techniques are disclosed for facilitating the sharing of digital imaging effects from an image originator to an image recipient. A digital imaging effect is the result of a processing technique that is applied to a digital image in a way that produces a particular visual effect. The processing techniques that underlie digital imaging effects such as these can be defined by parameters that establish how the individual pixels comprising the image are manipulated to achieve the desired visual effect. In certain embodiments such defining parameters can be incorporated into a digital image file that thus contains not only data defining the image itself, but also parameters that define one or more effects that may have been applied to the image. This advantageously allows a recipient of the digital image file to not only view the image, but also to use the incorporated parameters to apply the effect to other images.

Image effect extraction

The present invention includes a device for dispensing food products such as ice cream, yogurt, sherbet, sorbet, whipped topping, cheesecake filling, pudding and the like comprising a scoop having a channel portion with a tapered, semi-circular cross section along a curved axis. The scoop is designed to be mounted on or adjacent to a container of food product and to extend substantially across one half of the opening of the container. The scoop may be mounted to the container with the smaller cross-sectional area mounted adjacent to the sidewall of the container and with the larger cross-sectional area mounted proximate the center of the container. Alternatively, the scoop may be mounted with the larger cross-sectional area adjacent the sidewall and with the smaller cross-sectional area mounted proximate the center of the container. The cross-sectional area of the channel portion in either case is tapered from end to end. The channel has a leading edge and a trailing edge, one of which extends outwardly more than the other to engage and scoop product from the container into the channel portion during relative movement between the scoop and the container. The scoop is moved or rotated relative to the container with the outwardly extending edge engaging and removing product therefrom. As the exposed layer of food product is scraped up by the scoop, it is guided into the channel and toward an opening in the portion of the scoop having the larger cross-sectional area. The product is dispensed using product forming means to gather the product as it moves through the opening in the scoop and forms it into the desired shape and size for serving.

Apparatus for dispensing food products

A container and a valve located thereon from which liquid substances can be dispensed wherein the container has inner and outer wall portions, one within the other, and a liquid substance positioned within one of the wall portions but not within the other wall portion. The valve has a first port communicating with the space within the one wall portion and a second port communicating with the space within the other wall portion, and a valve operator member movable between a first position simultaneously closing the first and second ports and a second position simultaneously opening the first and second ports. The valve directs incoming replacement air into one portion of the container as liquid is dispensed out from the other portion.

Dispensing container for minimizing liquid content's exposure to air

A switching control circuit for energizing a lamp in response to a decrease in ambient light below a predetermined level includes a photosensor and a timer circuit that responds to the photosensor indicating that the ambient light level is below a predetermined level by gating a solid state switching device into conductance to energize the lamp. The photosensor is powered by the signal that gates the switching device in a manner that renders the photosensor operative only when the lamp is not energized. Therefore, the lamp is energized upon the onset of dusk for a predetermined period of time during which the photosensor is disabled. After the period of time has expired, the lamp is deenergized and the photosensor is again enabled for a brief period of time to determine whether ambient light is still below the predetermined level. If it is, the light is again energized for another period of time. If not, the light remains deenergized.

Time enabled photosensing circuit

A flashing alarm device responsive to audible signals produced by a smoke detector when the smoke detector senses a smoke condition, the alarm device including a circuit with a microphone portion for responding to audible signals produced by the smoke detector and an amplifier circuit portion for amplifying signals produced by the microphone, a switch circuit portion having a control input connected to the output of the amplifier circuit portion, and another circuit portion including a battery, a timer circuit, and a light bulb, the battery having a connection to the amplifier circuit and to the timer circuit, the timer circuit and the light bulb being connected in series with the switch circuit portion for energizing and de-engergizing the light bulb whenever the switch circuit portion is in its conducting condition. The device may also include a housing for the components and the device may optionally be constructed to operate on transmitted and received radio frequency signals.

Warning light system for use with a smoke detector

Key pad

Method of and apparatus for heating or cooking a food product packaged within a container by using heated air. The oven apparatus includes a substantially closed-loop heated air system that starts with a blower that blows air into a heating barrel where a heating element heats the air to a high temperature. The heated air exits the heating barrel, passes through an air flow channel in the oven's door, and enters the oven's heating chamber. The heated air passes through the container inside the heating chamber and heats the food product within the container. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the heating chamber is rotated while the heated air passes through the container to tumble the food product and ensure even heating thereof. The air exiting from the food product container enters a recirculation chamber which directs the air back into the blower to repeat the cycle. Heated air is recirculated through the food product container for either a fixed period of time, or until the temperature of the air exiting from the container reaches a predetermined value. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the oven includes a central processing unit that is programmed to control the oven's overall operation based on signals received from various transducers, e.g., a door switch, various temperature sensors, an air flow switch, and product-in switch. Also disclosed are various embodiments of containers that are particularly adapted for heating food products by utilizing the oven apparatuses of the present invention.

Method for rapidly heating or cooking a food product

A non-metallic unitary baking pan, and especially a baking pan made of plastic, including foam plastic, paper or plastic laminated paper in which a cake or cake-like product can be baked, which baking pan has portions thereof which are thicker and have greater insulating effect than other portions to more uniformly and evenly distribute the heat produced during the baking operation throughout the cake batter or dough being baked. Also disclosed is method for producing such a non-metallic unitary baking pan by means of heated mating dies under pressure the mating dies having portions spaced farther apart than other portions thereof to produce corresponding thicker portions in the pan so formed.

Method of making controlled heating baking pan

A portable texturing system is disclosed which includes a small spray unit and a source of portable compressed air which may simply be a small tank which the workman may wear on a belt or shoulder harness. The spray unit includes a reservoir for holding a charge of texturizing mixture and a cap assembly incorporating a mixer/spray mechanism. In use, the cap is positioned below the reservoir such that the texturizing mixture can flow by gravity and suction to the spray mechanism. The cap assembly includes a quick connect coupling and a valve for receiving and controlling air from the supply. A discharge nozzle is provided for directing the compressed air/texturizer mixture toward a wall area to be texturized. A mixing region within the cap assembly permits the texturizing mixture to be entrained with a stream of compressed air and discharged from the nozzle whenever the valve is actuated. Adjustment structure for regulating the rate at which the texturizing material is entrained is provided in the mixing region and, in some embodiments, is adjustable as by a mechanism which provides adjustment to the area available for the texturizing material to enter the discharge nozzle. In one particularly simple and reliable embodiment, the area is established by the provision of a pair of fixed size apertures in the wall of a tube which also serves as the discharge nozzle.

Growing community of inventors

Milford, MA, United States of America

David J Howe