Avm, Incorporated

Avm Industries

Arvin Technologies, Inc.

Arvin Meritor Technology, LLC

28 Engineering LLC

Walter Douglas Bauman

Jack R Roach

James B Chamberlin

Mark S Jeffries

Enrico Fin

Joseph Benjamin Saxon

Chihping Kuan

Karim Dayoub

Shelley Lynn Bolbrugge

Adam Kyle Cramton

Mark M Rose

Richard M Boyd

Archie L Evans

Alton Dale Elvis

Hernan Dario Perin

Benjamin Seth Adams

Daniel J Virga

David Merritt

An exemplary hockey puck includes a gyroscope within an outer shell. An exemplary method of controlling movement of a hockey puck includes holding a gyroscope within an outer housing of a hockey puck.

Hockey puck

A gas spring assembly is used to control movement of a vehicle body panel relative to a vehicle body member. The gas spring assembly includes a rod and piston that are received within a tube or cylinder. A first rod end is coupled to the piston to move the piston back and forth within the cylinder. A second rod end is mounted to one of the vehicle body panel or the vehicle body member. The cylinder is mounted to the other of the vehicle body panel or the vehicle body member. The gas spring assembly includes a resilient cover that covers the rod and cylinder and extends from the second rod end to a distal cylinder end. The resilient cover extends and retracts with rod movement and is sealed at each end of the resilient cover to provide a completely sealed gas spring assembly.

Sealed gas spring cover

An improved gas spring has a drive motor for driving a piston. A piston head has a thread at an outer periphery that is guided along a mating thread in an inner periphery of a cylinder. The piston is caused to rotate relative to the cylinder, and is guided for reciprocating movement. In this manner, a drive motor is incorporated into the gas spring such that the gas spring has both a driven and a manual mode. The inventive gas spring has particular application in attaching a vehicle closure to a vehicle frame.

Gas spring with integrated lead screw drive

A gas spring assembly is used to control movement of a vehicle body panel. The gas spring assembly includes a magnetic collar that allows an end user to position an intermediate stop position at a desired location. The magnetic collar is externally supported on a tube of the gas spring assembly. The end user selectively adjusts the intermediate stop position by moving the magnetic collar relative to the tube. The gas spring assembly includes a piston that is received within the tube and connected to a rod. The rod moves relative to the tube between a fully extended position and a fully compressed position. The magnetic collar includes a magnet that cooperates with the piston assembly to stop and hold the vehicle body panel at the intermediate stop position as the rod moves from the fully compressed position toward the fully extended position.

Gas spring assembly with selectable intermediate stop

A vehicle decklid system uses a planetary gear drive to move a decklid relative to a vehicle body. The planetary gear drive includes a rotatable gear that is disposed between two fixed gears. One fixed gear is rigidly mounted to the decklid and one fixed gear is rigidly mounted to the vehicle body. A rotating link connects centers of the rotatable gear and two fixed gears. The combination of the planetary gear drive and rotating link make it possible to provide powered complex, two-dimensional motion of the decklid requiring a four-bar linkage.

Vehicle decklid system with planetary gear

A gas spring is mounted through a unique mount structure including a socket joint. The socket joint is mounted in a yoke for rotation through 180&#xb0; about an axis of the yoke. The inventive structure provides greater freedom of movement than the prior art, and in many applications will allow rotation for more than 180&#xb0;.

High rotation angle for gas spring connection

A power mechanism for opening and closing a vehicle trunk decklid includes power-operated guides that move the linkages on the decklid. The guides are moved by push-pull cables operated by a motor and disposed in a guide rail located in a trunk sill. The motor may be controlled by a controller that receives a user signal and operates the motor based on the signal.

Power-operated vehicle truck decklid

A powered system to selectively position a vehicle liftgate at a multiple of positions intermediate a fully open and a fully closed position. A controller receives commands from a remote, such as a key fob, and/or from a selector located within the vehicle to selectively operate the liftgate to move the liftgate through a multiple of liftgate positions through a combination of button presses or selector positions.

Vehicle liftgate control system

A gas spring provides an outer cylinder which is partitioned into a multiple of auxiliary volumes. A multiple of temperature compensation valves are located within a piston cylinder which sequentially open or close. As the temperature increases, the temperature compensation valves open sequentially and as the temperature decreases the temperature compensation valves close in reverse sequence. Between each pair of adjacent temperature compensation valves is a passage which provides communication between the working volume and an auxiliary volume to effectively increase or decrease the working volume of gas within cylinder through communication with or isolation of the auxiliary volumes.

Temperature compensating gas spring

A power operating system for a vehicle liftgate includes an actuator having a gas strut and a linear electric motor mounted thereto along a common axis. By activating the linear electric motor, a slidable rotor moves along the linear stator to drive the gas spring between an extended position and a retracted position to provide remote operation of the liftgate. When power is unavailable to the linear electric motor, the liftgate may still be manually opened and closed in the conventional manner without the necessity of an override.

Linear actuator for a powered vehicle lift gate

A seal that is particularly suitable for use in a gas spring (and other high pressure hydraulic and pneumatic sealing applications) and that minimizes leakage of relatively high pressure gas and lubricating oil from the rod end of the gas spring. The generally annular seal body includes a radially inwardly facing surface, force directing lobes and either a plastic wiper insert or a wiper lobe that are designed for minimizing the leakage of oil between the radially inwardly facing surface of the seal body and the adjacent, radially outwardly facing surface of the gas spring's piston rod, and that include a corner edge that projects radially inwardly beyond the plane of the seal body's radially inwardly facing surface. When the seal body is compressed for use in a gas spring and is thus subjected to the high-pressure gas, the induced stresses in the seal body result in the corner edge being forced against the adjacent surface of the piston rod to effectively prevent the leaking of oil therebetween. The permeation of gas axially through the seal body is minimized by the inclusion of a co-molded metal plate in the seal body adjacent to the rod end of the seal body.

Seal

A seal that is particularly suitable for use in a gas spring and other high pressure hydraulic and pneumatic sealing applications and that minimizes the leakage of relatively high pressure gas and lubricating oil from the rod end of the gas spring or the other applications. The generally annular seal body includes radially inwardly and outwardly facing surfaces and non-concave axial facing surfaces. Lobes for sealing, wiping and directing enhanced forces project radially beyond the planes of the radially inwardly and outwardly facing surfaces. The seal also includes a wiper insert that has a parabolic shaped radially outwardly facing surface and a radially inwardly facing surface, and that is secured in a recess adjacent to the front corner of the seal body's radially inwardly facing surface. When the seal body is compressed for use, the compression induced stresses in the seal body result in the formation of an effective gas and oil seal because, in part, one of the corners of the insert's radially inwardly facing surface is forced against the adjacent surface of the piston rod.

Seal for gas springs and the like

A seal that is particularly suitable for use in a gas spring and other high pressure hydraulic and pneumatic sealing applications and that minimizes the leakage of relatively high pressure gas and lubricating oil from the rod end of the gas spring or other application. The generally annular seal body includes a number of convex sealing lobes on its radially inwardly and outwardly facing surfaces. All of the sealing lobes have a predetermined radius and project radially beyond the plane of their respective surfaces. The axial facing surfaces of the seal body are generally flat or non-concave. The seal also includes a wiper insert secured in a recess in one corner of the radially inwardly facing surface of the seal body. When the seal body is compressed between the relatively movable, annularly spaced piston rod and cylinder of a gas spring or application, the compression induced stress in the seal causes the seal body and insert to form an effective gas and oil seal.

A seal that is particularly suitable for use in a gas spring and other high pressure hydraulic and pneumatic sealing applications and that minimizes the leakage of relatively high pressure gas and lubricating oil from the rod end of the gas spring or other applications. The generally annular seal body includes a number of convex sealing lobes on its radially inwardly and outwardly facing surfaces. All of the sealing lobes have a predetermined radius and project radially beyond the plane of their respective surfaces. The axial facing surfaces of the seal body are generally flat or non-concave. The seal also includes a wiper insert secured in a recess in one corner of the radially inwardly facing surface of the seal body. When the seal body is compressed between the relatively movable, annularly spaced piston rod and cylinder, the compression induced stress in the seal causes the seal body and insert to form an effective gas and oil seal.

A ball socket connector particularly adapted for connecting a gas spring shaft with a vehicle so that the gas spring may be used to hold open the vehicle's truck lid, deck lid, hood, lift glass, hatch door (in hatch type vehicles) or the rear door or gate (in minivan or sports utility type vehicles). A manually slidable plate, which is mounted on and slidable with respect to the connector body, retains the ball on a ball stud in an internal cavity in a connector body. The ball stud projects from the internal cavity through an elongated open slot in the connector body so as to permit the ball socket connector to provide four degrees of freedom of motion between the gas spring and vehicle.

Growing community of inventors

Wixom, MI, United States of America

Walter Douglas Bauman