54results about How to "Reduce Warranty Costs" patented technology

System, methods, and strategies for regulating charge air temperature in an intake manifold of an internal combustion engine (50) by controlling the flow rate and temperature of liquid engine coolant flowing through a liquid flow path of a charge air cooler (72) that is in heat exchange relationship with charge air entering the intake manifold over a range that provides for the charge air to be selectively heated and cooled by liquid engine coolant. The invention provides flexible control that is useful in controlling exhaust gas temperature for regeneration and / or efficiency restoration of exhaust after-treatment devices (66) as well as improved engine performance.

The circular ball type electric booster steering device has, except screw, nut, gear sector, steel ball and other mechanical parts, torque sensor, boosting motor, decelerating mechanism, electronic controller unit, etc. The electronic controller unit determines the target current of the motor based on the steering disc torque and the vehicle speed to complete the feedback tracking control of the motor current. The decelerating mechanism has input connected to the motor and output connected to the screw or gear sector shaft in the circular ball steering unit. The present invention has saving in energy, provides proper power force fitting different running conditions, and has less parts, light weight, compact structure and high automation.

Methods and systems for aircraft engine trend monitoring include periodically recording the outputs of engine-condition sensors and analyzing the results to examine piston-engine performance trends and predict the need for engine maintenance. Various analyses can be performed, separately or in parallel, including comparing the current parameter values with values recorded for that parameter in previous instances of similar operating conditions; comparing parameter values to predetermined nominal ranges; and detecting parameter values that exhibit trends over time that if followed would result in out-of-bound readings. Sensed parameter values can also be used to detect when recommended engine operating conditions are being exceeded. By using the results of the analyses to inform engine maintenance scheduling and provide alerts to the pilot and maintenance staff regarding recommended engine performance trends and / or operating condition exceedances, the methods and systems contribute to enhancing the level of safety that can be achieved despite significant maintenance-budget reductions.

A battery module with one or more battery cells and a heat exchange member placed in thermal communication with the battery cell, and a method of making a heat pipe system from the heat exchange member. The heat exchange member includes a container with a heat transfer fluid disposed therein. In one form, the heat transfer fluid is capable of going through a phase change as a way to absorb at least a portion of heat present in or generated by battery cell. A pressure control device cooperates with the container and heat transfer fluid such that upon attainment of a predetermined thermal event within the battery cell, the pressure control device permits liberation of at least a portion of the heat transfer fluid to an ambient environment, thereby relieving pressure on the container and removing some of the excess heat caused by the thermal event.

A method (500) for determining clutch temperature. The method provides an accurate real-time clutch temperature that can be used to improve shift quality and protect against failure due to clutch overheating (510). A counter is incremented (506) every time the clutch exceeds a threshold temperature (504) to track cumulative high temperature conditions. Determining the clutch temperatures (502) includes taking account of heat generation, clutch cooling by transmission oil flow from a groove when the clutch is engaged, clutch cooling by open transmission oil flow when the clutch is disengaged, oil vaporization, and heat conduction.

A compressor for a vehicle air supply system includes a manifold, a cover, a gasket, an inlet, and an outlet. The manifold and cover are fixedly stacked together, and define a fluid channel system between them. The gasket extends laterally from between the manifold and cover. The fluid channel system includes an inlet air passage extending from the inlet to a cylinder inlet, a discharge air passage extending from a cylinder outlet to the outlet for discharging compressed air to the outlet, and one or more coolant channels that can be fed with a coolant to cool at least the discharge air passage. The inlet air passage, the discharge air passage, and the coolant channel(s) extend laterally, defined by wall faces of the discharge air passage. The wall faces comprise turbulator fins protruding into the discharge air passage. The turbulator fins create turbulence in the discharged compressed air flow.

A method (and system) of reducing warranty costs includes discriminating between hardware- and software-induced problems or outages in a computer system.

A reinforced seam / inlay and method for forming such seam / inlay to join pieces of synthetic turf material together are disclosed. The reinforced seam / inlay structure comprises abutted edges of first and second synthetic turf pieces having a backing joined together; a seaming cloth / tape material coated with an adhesive / glue, volatile solvent or heat activated material applied is positioned beneath the abutted edges of synthetic turf pieces wherein said abutted edges are adhered to said seaming cloth / tape material; and reinforcement fastener elements inserted through both the backing of the synthetic turf material, through the adhesive and the seaming cloth / tape material; or seam / inlay structure comprises of overlapping edges of first and second synthetic turf pieces having a backing joined together; the backing without seaming cloth / tape material can be coated with an adhesive / glue, volatile solvent or heat activated material or not and reinforcement fastener elements inserted through both the backing of the synthetic turf material.

The present invention provides various lamp assembly configurations for motorized vehicles. In one embodiment, the lamp assembly includes a light source, such as a light emitting diode (LED) module, that is operable to generate light. The light source is attached to the vehicle structure, located on the interior of the vehicle adjacent to the aperture. A light guide is operatively connected to the light source. The light guide is configured to transmit light generated by the light source to preselected locations along the exterior of the vehicle structure, and diffuse the light. The light guide is attached to the vehicle structure, located on the exterior of the vehicle adjacent to the aperture in opposing relation to the light source. The cross-sectional area of the aperture formed through the vehicle structure is less than the cross-sectional areas of the LED module body and the light emitting segment of the light guide.

A reinforced seam / inlay and method for forming such seam / inlay to join pieces of synthetic turf material together are disclosed. The reinforced seam / inlay structure comprises abutted edges of first and second synthetic turf pieces having a backing joined together; a seaming cloth / tape material coated with an adhesive / glue, volatile solvent or heat activated material applied is positioned beneath the abutted edges of synthetic turf pieces wherein said abutted edges are adhered to said seaming cloth / tape material; and reinforcement fastener elements inserted through both the backing of the synthetic turf material, through the adhesive and the seaming cloth / tape material; or seam / inlay structure comprises of overlapping edges of first and second synthetic turf pieces having a backing joined together; the backing without seaming cloth / tape material can be coated with an adhesive / glue, volatile solvent or heat activated material or not and reinforcement fastener elements inserted through both the backing of the synthetic turf material.

The invention discloses a push rod type electric power steering device for a commercial vehicle. The device comprises a circular ball type steering gear provided with a steering wheel torque and corner sensor, a planetary rolling column screw type electric push rod power steering mechanism and an electronic control unit. The steering wheel torque and corner sensor is used for detecting torque anda steering wheel corner acting on a steering wheel and is arranged on the input end of the circular ball type steering gear, the planetary rolling column screw type electric push rod power steering mechanism comprises a motor, a synchronous belt speed reduction mechanism, a planetary rolling column screw transmission pair, a linear guide rail, a push rod and the like, a motor output shaft is connected with a small belt wheel, a motor outputs torque and transmits the torque to a planetary rolling column screw through a synchronous belt, a large belt wheel inner hole is connected with a screw inthe planetary rolling column screw, the output torque is transmitted and amplified through the planetary rolling column screw transmission pair, and a steering rocker arm shaft is pushed to rotate. One end of the planetary rolling column screw type electric push rod power steering mechanism is connected with a steering rocker arm, the other end of the planetary rolling column screw type electricpush rod power steering mechanism is connected with a vehicle frame, through planetary rolling column screw transmission, large thrust steering assistance is obtained, and pure electrification and intelligence of a heavy commercial vehicle steering system can be achieved.

Methods and systems are provided for conditioning fuel for diesel engine. The system may include a fuel pump located within a fuel tank configured to pump fuel to the diesel engine. The system may also include a fuel filter located outside of the fuel tank operatively located upstream of a flow of fuel from the fuel pump. A method may include directing fuel from inside of the fuel tank through a fuel filter located outside of the fuel tank into a vacuum chamber positioned inside the fuel tank, before directing the fuel to the diesel engine.

A battery module with one or more battery cells and a heat exchange member placed in thermal communication with the battery cell, and a method of making a heat pipe system from the heat exchange member. The heat exchange member includes a container with a heat transfer fluid disposed therein. In one form, the heat transfer fluid is capable of going through a phase change as a way to absorb at least a portion of heat present in or generated by battery cell. A pressure control device cooperates with the container and heat transfer fluid such that upon attainment of a predetermined thermal event within the battery cell, the pressure control device permits liberation of at least a portion of the heat transfer fluid to an ambient environment, thereby relieving pressure on the container and removing some of the excess heat caused by the thermal event.

A method, comprising: adjusting an evaporative emissions leak test parameter based on a ratio of cylinder run time of a deactivatable cylinder of an engine, to vehicle run time; and indicating degradation based on the adjusted parameter. The adjusted parameter may thus more accurately reflect the state of a vehicle configured to run with one or more cylinders deactivated. In this way, the evaporative emissions leak test may realize improved robustness and performance metrics, thus reducing warranty costs associated with poor test metrics.

The invention discloses a horizontal joint mechanical arm. Mainly, a first arm body is driven through a first shaft motor on a base to rotate in the horizontal direction; a second shaft motor is further arranged on a second arm body, the second arm body is combined with the first arm body, and the second arm body is driven through the second shaft motor to rotate in the horizontal direction; a third rod-shaped shaft linear motor is further fixedly arranged on the second arm body to serve as a driving source for linear displacement in the vertical direction; a linear motor rotor of the third rod-shaped shaft linear motor is further in linkage with a fourth shaft motor, and the fourth shaft motor can be used for driving to achieve displacement in the vertical direction and driving a rotary rod at the same time, and thus three rotating momentums and one vertical displacement momentum are provided; in addition, driving sources of all movement momentums are all direct transmission type independent driving sources, in this way, the driving precision and the driving instantaneity can be remarkably improved, and components needing to be configured through an indirect transmission way can be further simplified; furthermore, maintenance cost and warranty cost can be reduced at the same time, and added value is increased.

The invention relates to a method and to a device for recognizing a temporary interruption of an electrical supply line between a control device and an adjustment device of an internal combustion engine in a motor vehicle and / or a temporary faulty connection of the supply line to operating voltage or ground. According to the invention, the temporary interruption and / or faulty connection is recorded in an error memory as an interruption, with an identification of the affected supply line. After said recording of the event in the error memory, it is possible at a shop to identify the faulty supply line or the faulty component and to then replace the smallest definable component. According to the prior art, larger assemblies or even non-defective assemblies are sometimes replaced under warranty in order to prevent further visits to the shop. This can be connected with considerable costs, however, such as in the case of electronic control devices.

A method for forming a component that transmits torque in an automatic transmission includes forming a workpiece with a hub concentric with and extending along an axis and forming the workpiece with a disc that is integral with the hub and extends radially outward from the hub. A hollow perform cylinder is formed integrally with the disc, located at a radial end of the disc distant from the hub, concentric with the axis, and includes an inner surface and an outer surface. A hollow perform cylinder is flow-formed using a flow-forming mandrel located within the cylinder and having an outer surface formed with gear teeth such that the inner surface of the cylinder conforms to at least a portion of the gear teeth on the flow-forming mandrel.

An idler arm assembly employed in a steering assembly of a vehicle having a body. The idler arm assembly comprises: an idler housing mounted to the body and including a bore; a pivot shaft mounted in the bore and being rotatable and telescopically slidable in the bore, with the pivot shaft having a cavity at a first end; an idler arm having a first end supported by the second end of the pivot shaft and a second end that supports the steering assembly; a ball stud having a ball end secured in the cavity and supporting the pivot shaft in the telescopically slidable direction, and a shank having threads; and a threaded cap secured to the idler housing and engaged with the threads on the shank, whereby rotation of the threads relative to the threaded cap will telescopically slide the pivot shaft relative to the idler housing.

A real time, average pressure difference method for monitoring doser efficiency is described that determines the difference between the average pressure when the doser is not injecting and the average pressure when the doser is injecting at a predetermined commanded injection rate. The average pressure difference method results in improved doser efficiency monitoring. The method can be implemented in a number of areas. For example, in a diesel truck application, the doser efficiency can be monitored accurately in real time.

Agricultural machines such as sprayers can be improved by providing pressure sensors inside and outside of the operator cab, a cab sensor for sensing an open or closed state of the operator cab, and a controller configured to activate / deactivate an airflow system according to the pressure sensors and the cab sensor. Accordingly, the controller can activate the airflow system to provide a positive pressure differential in the operator cab (higher pressure in the operator cab / lower pressure external to the operator cab), and deactivate the airflow system when the operator cab is in the open state to maximize the life of the system.

The present invention provides various lamp assembly configurations for motorized vehicles. In one embodiment, the lamp assembly includes a light source, such as a light emitting diode (LED) module, that is operable to generate light. The light source is attached to the vehicle structure, located on the interior of the vehicle adjacent to the aperture. A light guide is operatively connected to the light source. The light guide is configured to transmit light generated by the light source to preselected locations along the exterior of the vehicle structure, and diffuse the light. The light guide is attached to the vehicle structure, located on the exterior of the vehicle adjacent to the aperture in opposing relation to the light source. The cross-sectional area of the aperture formed through the vehicle structure is less than the cross-sectional areas of the LED module body and the light emitting segment of the light guide.

A method for forming a component that transmits torque in an automatic transmission includes forming a workpiece with a hub concentric with and extending along an axis and forming the workpiece with a disc that is integral with the hub and extends radially outward from the hub. A hollow perform cylinder is formed integrally with the disc, located at a radial end of the disc distant from the hub, concentric with the axis, and includes an inner surface and an outer surface. A hollow perform cylinder is flow-formed using a flow-forming mandrel located within the cylinder and having an outer surface formed with gear teeth such that the inner surface of the cylinder conforms to at least a portion of the gear teeth on the flow-forming mandrel.

A quantitative metallographic method to measure skin layer thickness in high pressure die cast aluminum components. Because the faster-cooling skin layer region exhibits a higher volume fraction of eutectic phases than that of a slower-cooling inner region, measurements showing such higher eutectic phases can be used to quantify such layer thickness. An image at various thicknesses of a location of interest in a cast component sample is first obtained using an image analyzer, from which eutectic volume fractions within each of the received images may be determined. Comparisons of the determined volume fractions can be made against a known or predicted quantity for a particular alloy composition, and then correlated to the skin layer thickness via differences between the received or measured quantities and those of the known standard.

A magnetic tape cartridge, such as a Linear Tape Open cartridge, stores parameters in a non-volatile memory, such as a Media Auxiliary Memory page of a Cartridge Memory, for use in reading and writing to a magnetic tape. A backup copy of the parameters is made in the non-volatile memory for use in reading and writing to the magnetic tape in the event that the primary copy of the parameters becomes corrupt. If a tape drive fails to retrieve the primary copy of the parameters, the tape drive looks for the backup copy at a predetermined memory location, such as location 200h in the Cartridge Memory.

A component for transmitting torque between a gear unit and a shaft includes a ring gear portion, a park brake drum portion formed integrally with the ring gear portion, a disc portion formed integrally with the park brake drum portion, and a hub portion formed integrally with the disc portion.

A method of identifying a fault in a system of gears in a wind turbine is provided. The method determines two or more centre harmonic frequency amplitudes according to vibrations of the system of gears and determines a plurality of sideband amplitudes of each of the centre harmonic frequency amplitudes. Further, the method sums the centre harmonic frequency amplitudes to calculate a total centre harmonic frequency amplitude and sums each of the sideband amplitudes of the centre harmonic frequency amplitudes to calculate a total sideband amplitude. The method then determines a value indicative of damage incurred by the system of gears based upon the first centre harmonic frequency amplitude and the average sideband amplitude.

The invention relates to a method for performing a test of a thermal management system (4) for a vehicle (2). The thermal management system (4) includes a number of thermal components (6a, 6b) and at least one sensor (8a, 8b), wherein a setup of the thermal management system (4) is tested by a control device (10) before delivery of the vehicle when the thermal management system (4) is or will be incorporated in the vehicle (4) during a final assembly.