The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 31, 2000
Filed:
Feb. 07, 1994
Dale Otto Stollsteimer, West Bloomfield, MI (US);
Raymond Scott Alvey, Utica, MI (US);
Patrick William Gibson, Northville, MI (US);
Todd Alan Snover, Oak Park, MI (US);
Ford Global Technologies, Inc., Dearborn, MI (US);
Abstract
A transfer case motor controls the rotation of a cam. The cam actuates various gear states of a transfer case of a four-wheel-drive vehicle. A contact plate rotates with the cam and encodes the position of the cam as a four-bit binary code. The code is such that when the cam travels between any two gear states, one bit of the four-bit code stays constant from the initial gear state until the final gear state is reached. The single bit can thus be observed to determine that the final gear state has been reached. The encoding scheme is also such that the bit which stays constant always assumes the same state.