Royalty Report: Transportation, Automotive, Electrical & Electronics – Collection: 2679

License Grant

The Licensor licensed three pieces of its intellectual property to the Licensee, an affiliate of Thule, AB, the largest supplier to automotive manufacturers worldwide of products similar to the Licensor's products.

Field of Use

The TwinTube(TM) (TT(TM)) System is a new, patent pending design.  TwinTube(TM) is a universal mounting structure for carrying gear and equipment with a hitch receiver. TwinTube(TM) is also available as a UBI(TM) system (U-Build-It).

License Grant

The Licensor, in the business of designing and selling gear management solutions for automotive, recreation and commercial uses, licensed three pieces of its intellectual property to the Licensee, an affiliate of Thule, AB, the largest supplier to automotive manufacturers worldwide of products similar to the Licensor's products.

License Property

Aero and Sport Rack International/Valley Industries, Inc. agreed to a product License for Aero's Silent Hitch Pin(TM) and Twin-Tube(TM) Technology in May, 2002.  Silent Hitch Pin(TM)  rigidly couples the connection between the trailer hitch receiver and any inserted ball mount or accessory.  TwinTube(TM) provides a universal mounting structure for carrying gear and equipment with a receiver style hitch.

License Grant

The Company currently licenses its Mini(R) and Maxi(TM) automotive fuse technology to the Company's largest domestic competitor. The license granted in 1987 is nonexclusive and grants the Company the right to receive royalties.

License Property

Mini(R) Fuse, smaller than its predecessor Autofuse(R), is offered in a range from two amps to 30 amps and is designed to permit more fuses in the same amount of space than prior products.

Maxi(TM) Fuse, a larger version of the Autofuse(R), replaces the commonly used low technology fusible wire or fusible links in automobile electrical harnesses and is offered in a range from 20 amps to 80 amps.

Field of Use

The rights granted apply to the automotive industry.

License Grant

The Licensor granted on a sole and exclusive basis the right to engage in development, prototyping and testing in phase 1.  Following completion of phase 1, Licensee can elect to proceed to phase 2 to continue developing the technology with the intent to commercialize automotive applications.

License Property

The alliance with Licensee is to develop prototypes for applications in production automobiles. The Licensor is commercializing their proprietary patented gearing technology. The Gearing System utilizes a proprietary, newly designed, patented tooth shape which enables gears to be smaller, lighter, stronger and more energy efficient than conventional planetary gears. It allows what is possibly the highest single stage reduction ratio, zero backlash gear currently available on the market. In high-ratio applications, the Gearing System can replace multiple stage gearing systems with a single stage reduction ratio, and is thus more cost effective to manufacture.

License Grant

The Licensor grants to the Licensee the exclusive, unlimited, irrevocable, worldwide right and license, with the right to grant sublicenses to third parties, subject only to the provisions of the Agreement, under Patents and under Information to manufacture, have manufactured, use, market, have marketed, sell and have sold only marine and aeronautical products based on, incorporating or relating to the Inventions (hereinafter Products), and sold only in the marine and aeronautical industries, and the right, in connection therewith, to use the Torvec trademark and other trademarks now or hereafter used by the Licensor in association with the constant-velocity joint and related products and components.

License Property

The Licensor represents that it is the exclusive owner of (a) inventions relating to steer-drives, infinitely variable transmissions, hydraulic pump/motors, and a new form of constant-velocity universal joint using Vernon Gleasman's remarkable spherical gearing (hereinafter Inventions), and (b) calculations, specifications, engineering and part drawings, CAD/CAM tapes, and other information relating to the design and manufacture of products incorporating various forms of apparatus according to the Inventions (hereinafter Information).

The Company's constant velocity joint is designed to be interchangeable in over 40 existing car models.  It is notably lighter, less costly to manufacture, and potentially more durable than the constant velocity joints presently being used in all front-wheel drive vehicles.

Patents protect important inventions in five different areas of automotive technology steering drive for tracked vehicles; infinitely-variable transmission; hydraulic pump and motor; constant velocity joint and spherical gearing.

Tracked Vehicle Patents
(1)  Priority Applcn USSN 544,390 (Abandoned)

(2)  U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,053

Title
Multi-Axle Vehicle Steer Drive System

(3)  U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,235

Title
No-Slip, Imposed Diff. Reduction Drive

(4)  U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,236

Title
No-Slip, Imposed Differential

(5)  U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,052

Title
Steer Driven Reduction Drive System

(6)  U.S. Ser. No. 09/213,650

Title
Modular System for Track-Laying Vehicle

(7)  U.S. Ser. No. 09/435,218

Title
Endless Elastic Track for Track-Laying Vehicles

Orbital Transmission Patent
(1) U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,692

Title
Hydromechanical Orbital Transmission

Variable Hydraulic Pump/Motor Patents
(1) U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,878
Title
Variable Hydraulic Machine

(2) U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,553
Title
Hydraulic Machine with Gear-Mounted Swash-Plate

(3) U.S. Application Ser. No. 09/238.444 (Allowed)
Title
Spool Valve for Fluid Control

Variable-Angle Gear System and Constant-Velocity Joint Patents
1) U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,802
Title
Variable-Angle Gears

(2) U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,914
Title
Universal Coupling

(3) U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,492
Title
Method for Shaping the Teeth of Spherical Gears

Field of Use

The Licensee desires to apply the Inventions to aeronautical and marine applications and to arrange for the manufacture and sale of marine and aeronautical products in the United States and International markets.

License Grant

The Licensor signed a License Agreement with the Licensee, granting the Licensee exclusive, worldwide manufacturing and sales rights to the Licensor's entire line of hitch-mounted cargo carriers Silent Hitch Pin, and “Pixie” bicycle carrier, for a two-year period.  Following the two-year exclusive period, the Licensee retains non-exclusive rights for the life of the patents contained in these products.  The Agreement also contains a right of first refusal on any License Agreement that the Licensor may consider with other parties for the GearWagon 125 and Little Giant trailer products.

License Property

Name of Product / Patent No., Patent Pending

1.  
Pixie  11/697294

2.  
Silent Hitch Pin  Patent No. 6,409,203—6,609,725—6,945,550—10/604805 (CamLok)
3.  
Gear Cage  11/767166

4.  
Gear Deck  11/160087—6,042,175—6,213,539-6,398,290—6,910,609

5.  
Gear Space  6,042,175—6,213,539-6,398,290—6,910,609
6.  
Twin Tube  09/788299

7.  
Juice Box  11/160087

8.         Gear Bed  10/605776 (C-channel no-drill drop-in cargo management system for pickups.  2003 GMC Product of the Year award winner.)

License Grant

Licensee hereby grants, and, as applicable, shall cause its Affiliates to grant, to Licensor a non-exclusive, worldwide, fully-paid, royalty-free, perpetual and irrevocable license, including the right to sublicense, to Use Licensee's and its Affiliates' rights in the Retained IP solely within the Automotive Products Field.   The Licensee shall pay to Licensor a royalty based on Net Licensing Revenue, which shall mean the aggregate revenue received by Licensee and its Affiliates from the grant of licenses or sublicenses by Licensee and its Affiliates of the Retained IP to third parties (other than Affiliates of Licensee) outside the Automotive Products Field.

Field of Use

'Automotive Products Field' shall mean the manufacture and sale of products for use in automotive passenger cars and light and heavy trucks.

Licensee is a supplier of instrument panels and fully assembled cockpit modules and a major automotive plastics manufacturer of interior and exterior trim components.