Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Ford Global Technology, LLC

Brian Boland

Jeroen Lem

Johnathan Andrew Line

Michael Steven Medoro

Marcos Silva Kondrad

S M Akbar Berry

Michael Kolich

Amber LaVerne Hall

Victoria Leigh Schein

Patrick Maloney

Alex Perkins

Megan Romelfanger

Daniel Ferretti

Kevin Wayne Preuss

Yifan Chen

Spencer Robert Hoernke

Sean Bayle West

Keith Allen Godin

Jimmy Moua

Carol Diane Casey

Siddharthan Selvasekar

Abhishek Sharma

Sangram Laxman Tamhankar

Andres Almeida Senatore

Jessica Rebecca Rausch

Dylan Mandelbaum

Sydney Puckett

Todd Gagnier

Otis Allen

Joseph August Himmel, Iv

A seat assembly includes a cushioned component having a lattice matrix. An air bladder assembly is covered by the lattice matrix. The air bladder assembly includes a plurality of air bladders supported on a platform assembly. Each air bladder includes a body portion operable between deflated and inflated conditions. Each air bladder includes a connection stem. A support plate includes a plurality of access apertures disposed therethrough. The air bladder assembly is operably coupled to the support plate. Each air bladder is aligned with at least one access aperture of the plurality of access apertures. A carrier assembly includes a plurality of mounting apertures disposed through an outer surface thereof. The carrier assembly receives the connection stem of each air bladder through at least one mounting aperture of the plurality of mounting apertures of the carrier assembly.

Additive manufactured cushioned component

A seat assembly includes a cushioned component having a lattice matrix. An air bladder assembly is covered by the lattice matrix. The air bladder assembly includes a plurality of air bladders supported on a platform assembly. Each air bladder includes a body portion operable between deflated and inflated conditions. Each air bladder includes a connection stem. A support plate includes a plurality of access apertures disposed therethrough. The air bladder assembly is operably coupled to the support plate. Each air bladder is aligned with at least one access aperture of the plurality of access apertures. A carrier assembly includes a plurality of mounting apertures disposed through an outer surface thereof. The carrier assembly receives the connection stem of each air bladder through at least one mounting aperture of the plurality of mounting apertures. Each air bladder may include a release valve for releasing air therethrough.

A ventilated seat system for a vehicle includes a seating assembly including a seatback operably coupled to a seat base. A blower is coupled to the seating assembly. The blower generates a sound transmission when activated. The blower includes a housing defining an inlet and an outlet. A first metamaterial silencer is coupled to an interior surface of the housing proximate to the inlet, and a second metamaterial silencer is coupled to the interior surface of the housing proximate to the outlet. Each of the first metamaterial silencer and the second metamaterial silencer reduces the sound transmission generated by the blower.

Ventilated seat system

A vehicle seating assembly includes a seat, a seatback, and a lower leg support. The seat includes a forward end and a rearward end. The seatback is pivotably coupled to the seat. The lower leg support includes an interior surface and an exterior surface. The lower leg support is rotatably coupled to the forward end of the seat and is movable between a stowed position and a deployed position. The stowed position of the lower leg support places the lower leg support in an area below the seat. The stowed position of the lower leg support forms an acute angle with the seat. A linkage assembly is coupled to an underside of the seat and the interior of the lower leg support. The linkage assembly is responsible for transitioning the lower leg support between the stowed position and the deployed position.

Vehicle seating assembly having a lower leg support

A massage system includes a seat having a first surface, a first massage assembly beneath the first surface and including a first matrix of inflatable bladders, and an interface including a touchscreen. The system further includes a controller displaying an image of the matrix on the touchscreen, receiving a touch input from the touchscreen, interpreting the touch input as an indication of a desired massage sequence, and causing the first massage assembly to implement the desired massage sequence.

Custom massage programming using touchscreen interface

A method for adjusting a vehicle seat includes activating a pump at a selected speed from a number of selectable speeds to inflate a first bladder and adjusting an inner chamber within a sound dampening assembly that is fluidically coupled between the first bladder and the pump. The inner chamber is adjusted to cancel at least one primary frequency generated by the pump that varies with the selectable speeds thereof.

System and method for variable sound dampening in an adjustable vehicle seat

A seating assembly includes a seat having a seat frame. The seat generally defines a seating surface. A seatback is pivotally coupled with the seat. A carrier is disposed on the seat frame and supports a multi-contour seating component that is adjustable to change a contour of the seating surface. A cushion assembly is disposed over the multi-contour seating component of the seat and is in communication with a climate control system. A spreader plate is disposed below the cushion assembly. The spreader plate is configured to balance load distribution across the seating surface when the multi-contour seating component is activated. The spreader plate includes flex recesses defined in forward and rearward walls of the spreader plate. Lateral flex breaks allow limited flexure of the spreader plate. An inner opening is in communication with the climate control system.

Spreader plate load distribution

A support assembly for a vehicle seat includes a base plate and a support plate. The support plate is rotatably coupled to the base plate at a peripheral edge. First and second inflatable members are positioned between the base plate and the support plate. A fluid supply is in fluid communication with the first and second inflatable members.

Support assembly for a vehicle seat

A vehicle seat includes a cushion and a seatback coupled with the cushion. The vehicle seat further includes a first set of independently inflatable massage bladders coupled within the seatback. The massage bladders of the first set are arranged to extend diagonally from adjacent a center line of the seatback at a first vertical location toward a first lateral side of the seatback at a second vertical location above the first location.

Vehicle seat with muscle massage system

A vehicle includes a navigation system outputting at least one route guidance instruction and a vehicle seat having a plurality of inflatable bladders therein and an inflation assembly for selectively inflating and deflating the bladders independently. A controller is in communication with the navigation system and with the vehicle seat to cause the inflation assembly to inflate and deflate selected ones of the bladders to indicate a component of the at least one route guidance instruction.

Vehicle seat with system and method for communicating navigation instructions

A vehicle seat includes a first inflatable bladder and a pump fluidically coupled with the first bladder. A sound dampening assembly is fluidically coupled between the first bladder and the pump and includes an inner chamber defined by a first and second telescoping portions and a motor coupled between the first and second telescoping portions. A controller causes the motor to adjust the inner chamber in response to an operation of the pump.

A vehicle seat includes a seat base having a side bolster cover. A bolster is disposed under the side bolster cover. The bolster has a static bolster carrier and an operable portion that is operable relative to the bolster carrier to define a plurality of bolster positions. A flexible interior facing extends from the bolster carrier to an intermediate portion of the bolster cover, wherein a lower edge of the bolster cover is positioned below the bolster carrier such that the bolster cover conceals the bolster in each of the plurality of bolster positions.

Seat bolster trim having flexible interior facing for an optimal bolster cushion

A method for customizing a vehicular massage function includes providing massage element indicia, creating massage subroutines using the massage element indicia, selecting a vehicle that includes a seat having a massage element configuration, placing the massage subroutines in communication with the vehicle, adapting the massage subroutines to be compatible with the massage element configuration and activating the seat to perform at least one massage subroutine.

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Pinckney, MI, United States of America

Brian Boland