Nathaniel L Field, 8920500 Clement Rd, Northville, MI 48167

4573348, Mar 4, 1986

May 14, 1984

6/610217

Robert D. Abramson - Livonia MI
David A. Donovan - Chelsea MI
Nathaniel L. Field - Northville MI

Ford Motor Company - Dearborn MI

G01M 1500

73118

A shift lever and throttle lever coaxially mounted on the casing of an automatic transmission are engaged, respectively, by a lever mounted on each of two concentric shafts whose axes are aligned with the axis of the transmission levers. The shafts have torque sensors located between the levers carried by the shafts and bearings that support the shafts in rotation. The outer shaft has a radial positioning actuator which is hydraulically driven from a source of hydraulic pressure through a servo controlled valve that selectively opens and closes hydraulic passages. The actuator includes a vane fixed to the shaft and a stator that divides a cavity into two halves, each of which is pressurized selectively by operation of the servo. The angular position of the shaft from a reference position is produced by a variable impedance transducer whose sensor is held at a fixed distance from the axis of the shaft and which produces an output voltage that is proportional to the distance between the face of the sensor and a cam surface, whose distance from the axis of the shaft varies linearly with its rotation from a reference position.

4872429, Oct 10, 1989

Jul 18, 1988

7/220714

Anthony T. Anderson - Romulus MI
Nathaniel L. Field - Northville MI

Ford Motor Company - Dearborn MI

F01L 118

123 9044

A low friction finger follower rocker arm is fabricated from flat metal strip sheet stock having a stamped configuration with a centralized opening adapted to be bent later into a channel; the shaping and hardening of the stock section is carried out prior to such bending. The method comprises: (a) (i) shaping the stock to have a pair of aligned journal openings, a pivot surface at one end, a stud contacting surface at the other end, and a pair of grooves aligned with the extremities of the centralized opening and containing the surface therebetween, (ii) locally hardening the surfaces and the edges of the opposed openings; (b) bending the shaped stock along the grooves to form a partial channel having side walls with an included angle of no greater than 40. degree. and with the journal openings approaching alignment on a common axis; and (c) inserting a journalized low friction wear assembly in the opposed journal openings, and then completing the bending of the stock so that the sides of the channel are substantially parallel.

4758967, Jul 19, 1988

May 12, 1986

6/861902

Shimshon Shmuter - Birmingham MI
Hossein Nivi - Windsor, CA
Veljko Milenkovic - Birmingham MI
Nathaniel Field - Northville MI

Ford Motor Company - Dearborn MI

G05B 1500
G01L 322

364550

The large rotational inertia applied to a driveline component during normal driving conditions is simulated in a test stand that contains a component that driveably connects an input motor and an output motor. A computer repetitively executes an algorithm that produces a commanded torque signal which is supplied as a control signal to the motor drive of one of the electrical motors to produce an output within that motor equal to the commanded torque. The control system applies to the powertrain component under test an inertia that simulates the actual vehicle inertia. The target state of the system, when the vehicle inertia is applied, is completely defined from information known when the component being tested has substantially less inertia applied.

4102182, Jul 25, 1978

May 5, 1976

5/683370

Lowell R. Brown - Farmington Hills MI
Nathaniel L. Field - Northville MI

Ford Motor Company - Dearborn MI

G01L 302

73136R

A method for measuring the relationship between the angle of rotation of a threaded fastener and the torque applied to the threaded fastener and for detecting variations in the rate of increase of torque with respect to the corresponding angular displacement of the fastener within predetermined torque limits, the first torque limit being the lowest threshold torque that is experienced as the threaded fastener is tightened, the next higher torque limit being a calibrated starting point torque intermediate the lower torque limits for the zone of the desired maximum torque values for the fastener and the threshold torque, the next two higher torque limits defining the torque zone representing the desired maximum torque to be applied to the fastener to assure a quality assembly.

4836719, Jun 6, 1989

Dec 28, 1987

7/137994

Nathaniel L. Field - Northville MI

Ford Motor Company - Dearborn MI

B23B 4112

408 1R

Valve seats are machined at the end of an axially deep, narrow cavity of a workpiece having an axially clampable surface within the cavity adjacent one or more valve seats. The method comprehends: (a) supporting a rotary driven spindle assembly of sufficient length to extend through the axial extent of the cavity and reach the valve seat, the spindle carrying a cutting tool at its extremity, the support being in a nonrotatable housing effective to fit closely to the interior of the cavity (within a tolerance of 0. 01 inches) and effective to move along the axis of the cavity to bring the cutting tool into machining contact with the valve seats; (b) securing a radially rigid but axially resilient diaphragm to the end of the housing, the diaphragm extending transversely across the interior of the cavity; (c) after inserting the housing and spindle into the the cavity so that the cutting tool is proximate the valve seat but out of contact therewith, axially clamping a portion of the diaphragm remote from the spindle, against the axially clampable surface; and (d) moving the rotary driven spindle assembly axially toward the valve seat to conduct machining contact of the cutting tool therewith, the axially resilient diaphragm providing accurate supporting alignment for the tool under even high speed machining conditions.

4688528, Aug 25, 1987

Dec 23, 1985

6/812081

Hossein Nivi - Windsor, CA
Nathaniel L. Field - Northville MI

Ford Motor Company - Dearborn MI

F16F 1510
F16F 1526

123192B

A balancing mechanism for reducing the vibration of a piston type internal combustion engine having a crankshaft and a camshaft comprises one or more reciprocating balance weights driven by two rotating cams with at least one of said cams being driven by either said crankshaft or said camshaft.

5250880, Oct 5, 1993

Oct 22, 1992

7/965146

David J. Chesney - Livonia MI
Robert C. Petrof - Farmington Hills MI
Nathaniel L. Field - Northville MI
Bernard Huang - Ann Arbor MI
John W. Grant - Plymouth MI

Ford Motor Company - Dearborn MI

H02K 4102
B23C 900

318135

A linear motor control system and method to increase apparent motor stiffness by providing linear motor resistance to perturbations caused by external forces exerted on a slide mass and a base mass. Primary and secondary sensors detect the accelerations of the slide mass and the base mass relative to ground and generate acceleration signals corresponding thereto. A position detector senses the position of the slide mass relative to the base mass and generates a position signal corresponding thereto. A signal processor processes the first and second acceleration signals and the position signal to determine deviations in the position, velocity and acceleration of the slide mass relative to the base mass from selected values caused by the external forces, and to generate a motor control signal to provide linear motor resistance against such deviations.

4829647, May 16, 1989

Dec 14, 1987

7/132740

Anthony T. Anderson - Romulus MI
Nathaniel L. Field - Northville MI

Ford Motor Company - Dearborn MI

B23P 1500

291564R

A low friction finger follower rocker arm is fabricated by starting with a flat metal strip sheet stock section having a stamped configuration with a centralized opening being adapted to be bent later into a channel for such rocker arm. The shaping and hardening of the stock section is carried out prior to such bending. The method steps comprise the following: (a) while substantially in the flat condition (i) shaping the strip sheet stock section to have at least a pair of journal openings aligned on opposite sides of said centralized opening, a pivot surface at one end of the strip sheet stock section, a stud contacting surface at the other end of the strip sheet stock section, such surfaces being aligned with the centralized opening along a line transverse to the alignment of said journal openings, and a pair of grooves aligned with the extremities of the centralized opening and containing the surfaces therebetween, (ii) locally hardening the surfaces and the edges of the opposed openings; (b) bending the shaped strip sheet stock section along the grooves to form a partial channel having side walls with an included angle of no greater than 40. degree. and with said journal openings approaching alignment on a common axis; and (c) inserting a journalized low friction wear assembly with its journals in said opposed journal openings, and then completing the bending of said strip sheet stock section so that the sides of the channel are substantially parallel and locking the wear assembly journals to the channel side walls.