Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Dayco IP Holdings, LLC

Methode Electronics, Incorporated

Andrew D Niedert

Brian M Graichen

Keith Hampton

David E Fletcher

James H Miller

Matthew C Gilmer

Rex Bravo

Elliott Pearson

Anton Rogness

Joshua Rajasingh

Kevin Stanton Giaier

Peter Simeon Lazarevski

Nicole Bruder

Matt Gilmer

Nicole Lavis

Johannes Gießibl

Chad Reed

Rinku Patel

Bryce Reinert

Keith Weston

Lorne Forsythe

Dave Fletcher

Joshua Norwood

Carl Montgomery

Jorge Rivas

Salvador Padilla

Denis Vashuk

Rebecca Giaier

Francis Aroyehun

Stuart C Salter

Erick Michael Lavoie

Brendan F Diamond

Luke Niewiadomski

Aaron Bradley Johnson

Hussein H Berry

Andrew Denis Lewandowski

Jordan Barrett

Darrel Alan Recker

Nicholas Alexander Scheufler

David Michael Russell

Michael Alan Mcnees

Lars Niklas Pettersson

Matthew Johnson

Peter Kowalow

Christopher Melgar

Nicholas Anthony Quatrano

Phil Lenius

Elizabeth G Owen

Steve Long

Rudi Todd Ansbacher

Matthew Malenfant

Christopher Thomas Berchin

Christopher Eric Allard

Seth Goslawski

Lucian K M Lippok

Jay Bains

Anton L Rogness, Ii

Elliot Pearson

Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture to determine the load of a vehicle via camera-based height measurement are disclosed herein. An example vehicle described herein includes a suspension assembly associated with a wheel, a first feature, a first camera, and a processor to execute instructions to capture, via the first camera, a first image including the first feature and a second feature, the first feature and a second feature having a first spatial relationship in the first image, capture, via the first camera, a second image including the first feature and the second feature, the first feature and the second feature having a second spatial relationship in the second image, and determine, based on a difference between the first spatial relationship and the second spatial relationship, a deflection of the suspension assembly.

Methods and apparatus to determine the load of a vehicle via camera based height measurement

Methods and apparatus for a hitch including multiple pins coupled to an outboard frame are disclosed. An apparatus comprising a hitch including a first pin oriented in a first direction and a second pin oriented in a second direction different than the first direction, the first pin and the second pin to couple the hitch to a frame of a vehicle, and a load manager to determine a load condition based on sensor data from at least one of the first pin or the second pin.

Methods and apparatus for a hitch including multiple pins coupled to an outboard frame

Methods and apparatus to determine vehicle weight are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a suspension airbag, a pump fluidly coupled to the suspension airbag, the pump to control a fluid pressure in the suspension airbag to cause ride height adjustments for a vehicle, a motor operatively coupled to the pump, and processor circuitry to calculate a weight of the vehicle based on an offset between (a) a first motor input that causes the vehicle to rise or lower when the vehicle is unloaded and (b) a second motor input that causes the vehicle to rise or lower when the vehicle is carrying a load.

Methods and apparatus to determine vehicle weight

Methods and apparatus to prevent trailer sway are disclosed. An example apparatus to prevent trailer sway of a trailer coupled to a vehicle includes prediction circuitry to predict, based on sensor data from one or more sensors of the vehicle, whether a trailer sway condition associated with the vehicle is likely to occur, and control activation circuitry to, in response to the prediction that the trailer sway is likely to occur, activate at least one vehicle control of the vehicle to prevent the trailer sway condition from occurring, the at least one vehicle control to include applying torque to at least one of one or more trailer wheels of the trailer or one or more vehicle wheels of the vehicle.

Methods and apparatus to monitor and prevent trailer sway of a vehicle and trailer

Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture to determine the load of a vehicle via calibrate a suspension sensor are disclosed herein. An example vehicle described herein includes a force transducer, an actuator coupled to the force transducer, memory including instructions and a processor to execute the instructions to engage the actuator to a bottom surface of a vehicle, apply a first force to the bottom surface via the actuator, determine a first displacement of a first suspension component of the vehicle, and calibrate a first sensor of the vehicle based on the first force and the first displacement.

Methods and apparatus to calibrate a suspension sensor

Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture for trailers with adjustable batteries are disclosed herein. An example trailer disclosed herein includes a platform, a battery disposed at a first location relative to the platform, a drive to move the battery relative to the platform, and a controller to determine a first load distribution on the platform and in response to determining the first load distribution on the platform does not satisfy a first threshold, adjust a position of the battery, via the drive, to a second location relative to the platform.

Methods and apparatus for trailers with adjustable batteries

Methods and apparatus for a dual reacting, single load sensing element coupled to a hitch receiver are disclosed herein. An example computer readable medium comprising instructions, which when executed, cause one or more processors to determine a location of a hitch ball of a hitch of a vehicle, determine a load condition of the hitch based on the location and data received from a sensor of a first pin of the hitch, the hitch including a second pin, the first pin to react loads in a first direction and a second direction, the second pin to react loads in the first direction and in response to the load condition satisfying an alert threshold, alert a user of the load condition.

Methods and apparatus for a dual reacting, single load sensing element coupled to a hitch receiver

Methods and apparatus are disclosed for a load-sensing hitch utilizing a system of strain gauges. An example apparatus includes a receiver tube, a side member, a crossbar coupled to the receiver tube and the side member, the cross including a support including a first end, a second end and a mid-portion located between the first end and the second end, the mid-portion having a cross-sectional area smaller than the cross-sectional area of the first end or the cross-sectional area of the second end and a strain gauge disposed within the mid-portion.

Methods and apparatus for a load-sensing hitch utilizing a system of strain gauges

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed for payload estimation and fault detection using hitch integrated sensors. An example apparatus includes a pin orientation determiner to determine a first orientation of a first pin and a second orientation of a second pin, the first pin and the second pin disposed within a hitch and calculate a relative orientation of the first pin and the second pin based on the first orientation and the second orientation. The example apparatus further includes a hitch condition detector to determine if a physical change has occurred in the hitch by comparing the relative orientation to an installation orientation of the first pin and the second pin.

Methods and apparatus for payload estimation and hitch condition detection using integrated sensors

An example apparatus includes a profile manager to determine whether a user of a vehicle has a corresponding profile stored in memory based on a personalized vehicle key associated with the user, in response to determining that the profile for the user is not available, receive one or more inputs from the user via a display, the one or more inputs including a loading condition threshold and a corresponding response to exceeding the loading condition threshold, and generate the profile for the user based on the one more inputs from the user; and a vehicle feature modifier to modify a feature of the vehicle when a load condition of the vehicle satisfies the loading condition threshold to limit or disable operation of the vehicle based on the corresponding response to exceeding the loading condition threshold, the feature modified based upon the profile.

Methods and apparatus to modify vehicle function based on loading conditions

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed to determine vehicle trailer weight. An example apparatus includes a first sensor disposed on a hitch coupled to a vehicle to measure a first rate of change of a weight of the vehicle. The example apparatus also includes a second sensor disposed on a chassis of the vehicle to measure a second rate of change of the weight of the vehicle. The example apparatus also includes a controller to monitor the first rate of change and the second rate of change to determine if the vehicle is improperly loaded.

Methods and apparatus to determine vehicle trailer weight

Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture are disclosed to generate an augmented environment including a weight indicator for a vehicle. An example disclosed system includes a camera to capture image data including a first location of an object in a vehicle, processor circuitry to execute instructions to generate a map of loads on the vehicle, and a user interface to present an augmented environment identifying the first location of the object and a load correlated with the object, the load correlated with the object based on the map of loads.

Methods and apparatus to generate an augmented environment including a weight indicator for a vehicle

Methods and apparatus to generate an augmented environment including a weight indicator for a vehicle are disclosed herein. An example apparatus disclosed herein includes memory including stored instructions, a processor to execute the instructions to generate a map of loads on a vehicle based on load data associated with a sensor of the vehicle, determine a load condition of the vehicle based on the map of loads, correlate a first load of the map of loads with an object identified using live video data received from a camera, and generate an augmented environment identifying at least one of a location of the object, the first load correlated with the object, or the load condition.

Modular double pin load sensing hitches including two-piece pin mounts are disclosed herein. An example apparatus disclosed herein includes a pin mount including a first piece, and a second piece, separate from and to be disposed opposite to the first piece. The apparatus further includes and a receiver tube including a first mounting ear to be coupled to the first piece via a first pin and a second mounting ear to be coupled to the second piece via a second pin.

Modular double pin load sensing hitches including two-piece pin mounts

Methods and apparatus for a hitch including multiple pins coupled to an outboard frame are disclosed. An example apparatus disclosed herein include a hitch including a first pin, a second pin parallel to the first pin, a third pin orthogonal to the first pin, and a fourth pin parallel to the third pin, wherein the first pin, the second pin, the third pin and the fourth pin are to couple the hitch to a frame of a vehicle. The example apparatus includes a load manager to determine a load condition based on sensor data from at least one of the first pin, the second pin, the third pin, or the fourth pin.

Growing community of inventors

New Hudson, MI, United States of America

Andrew D Niedert