US 7390282

US Patent 7,390,282 — Summary

Bibliographic data (verified against Google Patents/Justia/FreePatentsOnline records)

Abstract (verbatim from patent)

"A method of performing a directional shifting event in a hydrostatic drive work machine, and a hydrostatic drive work machine is provided. The method includes the step of adjusting a pump displacement of a variable displacement pump coupled with an engine and a hydraulic motor of the work machine, at a rate based at least in part on one or both of a predetermined acceleration limit and a predetermined jerk limit of the work machine. The work machine includes an electronic control module having a computer readable medium with a directional shifting control algorithm recorded thereon. The control algorithm is operable to adjust a pump displacement in a hydrostatic drive of the work machine at a rate based at least in part on one or both of the predetermined acceleration limit or jerk limit of the work machine."

Independent claims in plain language

The patent has 15 claims; two are independent (claim 1 – method; claim 10 – machine/apparatus). Claims 2–9 depend from claim 1; claims 11–15 depend from claim 10.

Claim 1 (method): A method of performing a directional-shifting event in a hydrostatic drive machine that:

1. Propels the machine exclusively through a serial (in-line) drivetrain of: engine → variable-displacement pump → hydraulic motor → gearbox;
2. Performs a directional shifting event to change travel from a first direction to a second, opposite direction; and
3. During that direction transition, adjusts the pump displacement at a rate governed at least in part by a predetermined acceleration limit and/or a predetermined jerk limit of the machine.

In short: electronic control of pump displacement (downstroke through zero, then upstroke in the opposite direction) to reverse the machine smoothly, bounded by acceleration/jerk thresholds. Notable dependent claims add: adjusting throttle toward slower engine speed during the shift (claim 2); inhibiting pump-displacement adjustment until the transmission is downshifted out of high gear (claim 3); adjusting the pump between positive and negative orientations without changing motor displacement or throttle (claim 5); and coordinated motor upstroke/downstroke timing relative to pump displacement (claims 6–9).

Claim 10 (machine): A hydrostatic drive machine comprising:

• An engine;
• A variable-displacement pump coupled to the engine;
• At least one hydraulic motor fluidly connected to the pump;
• A gearbox coupled to the motor;
• An electronic control module in control communication with the pump, having computer-readable-medium programming including a control algorithm with means for commanding adjustment of the pump displacement at a rate based at least in part on a predetermined acceleration limit and/or jerk limit during a directional shifting event (transition from a first direction to a second opposite direction); and
• The machine is propelled exclusively via the serial arrangement of engine → pump → motor → gearbox.

In short: a machine whose controller automatically ramps pump displacement through the shift based on acceleration/jerk limits, with the exclusive serial hydrostatic drivetrain configuration. Notable dependent claims add: bi-directional (swash-plate) pump (claims 11, 15); high/low gear shift-inhibition and automatic downshift logic (claim 12); motor-displacement adjustment under the same acceleration/jerk limits (claim 13); selective timing coordination of pump/motor adjustments (claim 14); and actuator/clutch hardware details (claim 15).

CAFC 2026 docket search — result and uncertainty note

I searched for any CAFC 2026 docket entries, appeals, IPR, or litigation involving patent number 7,390,282 (including variants "US7390282," "7,390,282," and "US 7,390,282"). No CAFC 2026 docket entries, pending appeals, or litigation involving this patent were found in the available search results. My searches returned no matching docket records (several queries returned empty result sets), and I have no authoritative evidence of any CAFC proceeding involving this patent. If such a docket exists, it was not indexed in the sources I could access; treat the "no litigation found" conclusion as provisional rather than definitive. The patent's maintenance history (fees paid through the 12th year, 2019) and expired-lifetime status are consistent with a patent that reached natural expiration without any recorded post-grant proceeding in the data I retrieved.