Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100050523 | Safety release mechanism for use with a linear motor turning a ball screw - A safety release mechanism for use with a ball screw type linear motor, featuring a lock lever that can be manually engaged or disengaged. Engaging the lock lever rigidly fixes a telescoping arm, allowing the motor to retract or extend the arm into a cover tube. Disengaging the lock lever allows the telescoping arm to rotate freely in the cover tube. One embodiment of the safety release mechanism is used with a motorized door assist mechanism, however, the release mechanism has many applications beyond a door opener, and can be used in any application requiring a linear motor with a telescoping arm, where in order for the motor to extend or retract the arm, one end of the arm must be fixedly held in place. | 03-04-2010 |
20100050524 | Motorized door opener for a vehicle - A motorized door opener for a vehicle (such as a military or security vehicle), featuring a sensor system that determines door position to prevent door damage while the opener is in operation. The opener features an offset gear system that effectively changes the door's rotation point. Mechanical advantage is gained by using a lengthened lever arm with the gear system, providing increased leverage and allowing the motor to provide enough force to open and close a heavily armored door. The opener can use existing door hinges, and can be provided so as not to protrude into the door space, in order to facilitate passenger and equipment entry/exit through the doors. A safety release mechanism is included in some embodiments, allowing the door to be manually opened or closed. | 03-04-2010 |
20100074625 | Apparatus for voice communication using an incoherent light source - A communication system for communicating spoken speech, based on switching on and off a visible or infrared light source in a pattern corresponding to the spoken speech. The communication system provides for rapid retransmission/rebroadcast of messages received from other communication systems, to allow communication over a longer range than would otherwise be possible, or between two points not along a line of sight. The system may include a light source also used (at the same time) for providing illumination, such as a light source that is part of a lightbar mounted on a vehicle. | 03-25-2010 |
20100084876 | Lever mechanism for an emergency escape hatch - A lever mechanism for holding an escape hatch onto a vehicle surface covering an opening in the vehicle surface, for enabling emergency escape through the escape hatch. The lever mechanism includes a base portion, a handle portion and a clamp portion, with the handle portion and clamp portion linked so that by pushing on the handle portion, and so placing the lever mechanism in its engaged state, the clamp portion is pushed against the vehicle surface, drawing the escape hatch against the vehicle surface. By pulling on the handle portion of the lever mechanism, and so placing the lever mechanism in its disengaged state, the clamp is pulled up and away from the vehicle surface and clear of the opening in the vehicle surface, thus allowing the escape hatch to be pushed out away from the vehicle surface, thereby enabling emergency egress. | 04-08-2010 |
20100171323 | Latch for a vehicle door - A latch for latching closed a door of a vehicle, especially designed to minimize the force required to latch closed the door by pushing the door to its closed position. A tongue, having a strike face and a catch face, is resiliently mounted in the latch so as to be urged to a latch-engaged position by a torsion spring pushing against a surface of the tongue and against a cover plate of the latch. A slider block is coupled to a door handle and to the tongue so that the tongue can be swiveled to a disengaged state by use of the door handle, in order to open the vehicle door. | 07-08-2010 |
20100175945 | Emergency escape components with a glow-in-the-dark coating - A vehicle emergency egress in which one or more components are provided with a luminescent coating, such as a phosphorescent coating. Exemplary vehicle emergency egress structures include a kick-out window, an emergency escape hatch, and a vehicle door, of which at least part of the emergency release structure, such as levers and handles, would be coated with a luminescent coating. Additionally, the perimeter of the emergency egress portal could be coated, to highlight the location of the emergency exit as well as its size. | 07-15-2010 |
20110032720 | High and low beam headlamp with a pivoting multifaceted reflector - A vehicle headlamp having a pivotal multifaceted reflector, a light source, and an actuator typically including a solenoid, the actuator disposed and coupled to the multifaceted reflector and to other portions of the headlamp so as to pivot, under the action of the actuator, into a first position to generate a first beam of light serving as a high beam, and into a second position to generate a second beam of light serving as a low beam, and so providing a high beam and a low beam using the same light source, fixed within the headlamp, and a single reflector. In some embodiments, the high beam meets FMVSS 108 requirements for a vehicle headlamp high beam, and the low beam meets FMVSS 108 requirements for a vehicle headlamp low beam. | 02-10-2011 |
20110115192 | Bicycle Frame Having Webbed Tubing - A frame for a bicycle where at least either the so-called top tube or the so-called down tube has a webbed interior space, i.e. has interior walls running along its length creating separately two or more enclosed subspaces spanning at least some of the length of the tube. Such a webbed frame is made, typically, by extruding a material such as aluminum or an alloy. | 05-19-2011 |
20110289850 | Emergency egress assembly embedded in a vehicle door - A vehicle emergency egress assembly, including a vehicle door with an opening cut out or otherwise provided, to serve as an egress portal in case of emergency when the vehicle door is difficult to open using the ordinary latching and unlatching mechanism provided for routine entrance and exit from the vehicle. The opening is cut (or otherwise provided) where a transparent armor window would ordinarily be provided, but additional portions of the door are cut out as needed to allow for egress through the opening by a vehicle occupant. A windowed plug is then provided, for releasably plugging the opening. Finally, an interiorly accessible release mechanism is provided, including one or more handles for releasing the plug from the opening. The plug includes a body portion in addition to a window portion. The body portion has a stepped periphery that is held against a stepped periphery of the opening by latches coupled to the one or more handles and extending across the perimeter of the body portion of the plug onto corresponding latch receivers disposed around the opening on the inside surface of the vehicle door. | 12-01-2011 |
20110291849 | Self-illuminating handle for a vehicle emergency egress assembly - A self-illuminating handle assembly for a release mechanism of an emergency egress system for a vehicle. The handle assembly includes a sensor for sensing a predetermined condition and providing a sensor signal in response thereto, and a sensor-activated switch assembly for causing the handle assembly to self-illuminate in response to the sensor signal. The sensor could be a so-called tilt sensor for sensing when the vehicle orientation is tilted beyond a threshold tilt orientation, or an acceleration sensor (accelerometer) for sensing when the vehicle has undergone an acceleration or deceleration beyond a threshold, indicative of a crash or the vehicle having been exposed to an explosion. | 12-01-2011 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090047108 | Spare tire carrier with integrated truck jack and spare tire lift - A spare tire carrier featuring an integrated automotive jack, the jack used for manipulating the carrier into and out of a configuration suitable for transit. The jack may also be removed from the carrier, and used to elevate the vehicle. A strap and ratchet mechanism is also provided, helpful for securing the tire upon the carrier and also for leveraging the tire into place upon the carrier. | 02-19-2009 |
20090091619 | HID & IR spotlight with integrated camera system - A spotlight, including hardware for mounting to a vehicle (especially a police or security vehicle), including an HID lamp or other visible light illuminator, an infrared illuminator, and an integrated camera system including a video capture device for providing a video feed formed using the visible or infrared light, and a remote terminal including a viewer for viewing the video feed. | 04-09-2009 |
20090116257 | Low profile lightbar with IR illumination - A low-profile aerodynamic automotive lightbar including integrated arrangements of visible and infrared light sources, providing visible light and infrared illumination. The visible light sources can be visible light LEDs, or HID lights, or halogen lights, for use in conducting routine policing activities. The infrared light sources are infrared LEDs, for use in covert operations or surveillance. The invention is of use, for example, as an accessory for utility vehicles, including police or security vehicles (such as the Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser) and tactical military vehicles (such as the HMMWV). | 05-07-2009 |
20090116258 | High intensity tactical vehicle infrared and white headlight system - A headlamp for a vehicle or other application, including a circular arrangement of groupings of IR LEDs in a retaining ring, each grouping of IR LED providing a different beam pattern of infrared illumination, and a HID lamp surrounded by the retaining ring, for providing visible light. A switch system is also provided, for enabling either the visible light or the infrared light, and for selecting a beam pattern. | 05-07-2009 |
20090200496 | Headlamp system including HID and IR illuminators - A headlamp system providing both visible and IR illumination, provided in the same housing and using the same wiring harness as a headlamp system currently in use by the US Military, but instead of utilizing incandescent bulb technology as does the headlamp system currently in use, the headlamp system provided herewith utilizes HID lighting for visible light illumination, LEDs for blackout driving and marker lights, and an array of IR LEDs for IR illumination. | 08-13-2009 |