Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Arie Groeneveld

Robert S Kern

Jon Ohland

Steve T Skikun

Adam Thomas Rainey

Michael Ehlert

William Francis Gubing

Steven T Skikun

Frank J Desjarlais

Daniel M King

Patricia Seashore

William Michael Gardner

Steven Erno

This disclosure is generally directed to systems and methods for automatically securing a vehicle such as a police truck or an emergency response vehicle and/or the contents of the vehicle after a bailout by the driver. In one exemplary method, a computer is configured to use a sensor system to detect that a driver of a vehicle has bailed out of the vehicle. Based at least in part on detecting that the driver has bailed out of the vehicle, the computer can execute operations such as automatically locking a door of the vehicle, logging out a computer located in the vehicle, locking a first component inside the vehicle such as a gun vault, and/or disabling an operation of another component in the vehicle such as a trunk release or an ignition switch.

Systems and methods for securing a vehicle and its content after a bailout operation

Methods and apparatus are disclosed to facilitate equipment status verification in a storage device. An example vehicle comprises: an equipment rack, a processor and memory, and a display. The equipment rack includes sensors to generate presence and securement information. The processor and memory are in communication with the sensors and are configured to: determine a presence status of an object assigned to the equipment rack, determine a securement status of the object in the equipment rack, and display a report of the presence and securement statuses via the display.

Methods and apparatus to facilitate equipment status verification in a storage device

This disclosure is generally directed to systems and methods for automatically detecting an impending bailout from a vehicle such as a police truck or an emergency response vehicle. In one exemplary method, a computer is configured to detect a driving pattern of the vehicle that would indicate that the driver of the vehicle is about to bail out. The driving pattern can include an acceleration sequence and a braking sequence that is indicative of a police chase or an emergency response situation. In another exemplary method, the computer may determine that the driver of the vehicle is about to bail out based on detecting one or more cue words uttered by the driver or included in a conversation over a radio communications device between the driver and a person outside the vehicle.

Systems and methods for detecting an impending bailout from a vehicle

Method and apparatus are disclosed for secure access to storage devices within vehicle cargo compartments. An example vehicle includes a rear gate including a gate lock, a cargo compartment accessible via the rear gate, a storage device positioned within the cargo compartment and including a storage lock, and a body control module (BCM) communicatively coupled to the gate lock and the storage lock. The BCM is to simultaneously unlock the rear gate and the storage device for a predefined period-of-time responsive to receiving a storage-access request.

Secure access to storage devices within vehicle cargo compartments

An access system for a vehicle may include a controller. The controller may be configured to respond to receiving an unlock signal indicative of an unlock request by causing a compartment closure to unlock for a predetermined time. Or the controller may be configured to respond to receiving an unlock signal indicative of an unlock request and a vehicle operation signal indicative of a vehicle secure state by causing a compartment closure to unlock for a predetermined time. Upon expiration of the predetermined time, the controller may cause the compartment closure to lock. The controller may be configured to respond to receiving an unlatch signal indicative of an unlatch request during the predetermined time by causing the compartment closure to unlatch.

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Bloomfield Hills, MI, United States of America

Arie Groeneveld