A drum brake assembly as provided with a rack and pinion actuator. The rack and pinion actuator includes a pinion gear driving a pair of racks, with the racks driving the brake shoes into engagement with the brake drum. The pinion gear is provided with an adjustment thread which transmits rotation to an adjustment member. The adjustment member monitors the amount of rotation of the pinion gear during actuation, and a mechanism drives the adjustment member and the pinion gear back to its non-actu...

An improved geometry for scroll wrap inner portion includes a groove which facilitates opening of the compression chambers to the discharge ports early in the cycle of the orbiting scroll. Stated one way, a forward end of the scroll wrap tip is thinner than a portion spaced from the forward end. A first curve defines the forwardmost end of said tip and extends to a forward ledge. A second circular curve is spaced from the forward ledge and extends to a rear ledge. An intermediate curve connects ...

A rotatable vehicle brake component having integrally formed teeth adapted for use with a sensor of an anti-lock brake system is disclosed. The method for producing the rotatable vehicle brake component of this invention comprises the steps of: (a) providing a vaporizable pattern having a shape which generally corresponds to the desired final shape of the rotatable vehicle brake component, the rotatable vehicle brake component selected from the group consisting of a vehicle brake drum and a vehi...

A scroll compressor has a fixed scroll and an orbiting scroll nested with one another within a shell. The orbiting scroll has a base plate with a pair of opposed slots formed therein, and a spiral wrap extending axially from the base plate. The fixed scroll has a base plate and a spiral wrap extending axially from the fixed scroll base plate nested with the spiral wrap of the orbiting scroll. A pair of towers extends axially downwardly from the fixed scroll base plate, each tower having a slot f...

A scroll compressor is provided with structure that allows a reduction or modulation in mass flow capacity. Structure is provided for controlling the back pressure force tending to bias one scroll into other. This structure defines two distinct back pressure chambers. Pressure fluid is not supplied to at least one of the back pressure chambers during modulated operation.

A scroll compressor is provided with a reverse rotation detection circuit that monitors the temperature adjacent the suction tube. An elevated temperature at the suction tube is indicative of reverse rotation, and if the temperature exceeds a predetermined maximum, then a determination is made that reverse rotation is occurring. Once this determination is made, the rotation of the motor is stopped, or corrected.

An actuation system includes a magnetostrictive pump assembly to operate a fluid ram such as a brake cylinder connected to an actuator such as a brake. A first accumulator is connected to an input of the fluid ram to store a fluid which actuates the fluid ram. A second accumulator is similarly connected to an output of the fluid ram to receive the used fluid after actuation of the fluid ram. The magnetostrictive pump assembly is connected between the first accumulator and second accumulator, to ...

A motor unit for operating a functional member of a vehicle includes a motor portion and a gearing portion. The gear portion includes a wheel gear intermeshed with a worm gear driven by a shaft. The shaft is supported by a plurality of mounts. At least one of the mounts and the shaft defines a complementary contacting surface having a bowed cross section. The bowed cross section minimizes any misalignment problems of the shaft and reduces deformation of the shaft when torque is blocked.

An improved efficiency economizer system for compressors incorporates the use of a check valve blocking return flow into the economizer return line. The economizer return line communicates with an economizer port, which communicates with a compression chamber. Pressure in the compression chamber can vary during the operational cycle of the compressor. Thus, in the past, there has sometimes been backflow of refrigerant through the economizer injection port and into the return line. The present in...

A method and system for determining the condition of a road travelled by a vehicle includes a sensor for sensing a speed of the vehicle and an accelerometer for sensing a vertical acceleration of the vehicle. A central processing unit have control logic programmed therein determines a first road profile interval having upper and lower threshold values based on the speed of the vehicle and determines the condition of the road based on the vertical acceleration and the first road profile interval.