Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Visteon Global Technolgoies, Inc.

Ford Motor Company Limited

Darrel Alan Recker

Erick Michael Lavoie

John Patrick Joyce

Michael Hafner

Douglas Scott Rhode

Quazi Farooqi

Donald Jacob Mattern

Joseph M Raad

Behrouz Ashrafi

Bradley George Hochrein

Steven R El Aile

Anand Pradip Naik

Stuart C Salter

Todd Allen Brown

Thomas Edward Pilutti

Lorne Forsythe

Andrew Arthur Brown

Nathaniel Abram Rolfes

Zheng Hu

Daniel F Slavin

Desi Ujkashevic

Mohammed Samer Abbas

Michael Richard Johnson

John Robert Van Wiemeersch

Roger Arnold Trombley

Aaron Bradley Johnson

Andrew D Niedert

Li Xu

Hussein H Berry

Eric Hongtei Tseng

Ryan J O'Gorman

Lodewijk Wijffels

Oliver Nehls

Peter Phung

Charles Francis Weber

Xingping Chen

Jan Bremkens

Robert A Stopper

Kah S Oo

Matthew Y Rupp

Fakhreddine Landolsi

William James Bouse

Dale Killins

Kirt Eschtruth

Attila Benak

Miguel A Bahena

Daniel Tuttle

Brad G Hochrein

Paul Michael Suzio

Andrew Brown

Frederick R Kasten

Ashraf Zeid

Ashraf A Zeid

Kelly Trost

Sergio Condonesu

Methods and apparatus to control a torque threshold for hands on/off detection are disclosed. An example non-transitory machine readable storage medium includes instructions to cause programmable circuitry to at least identify a velocity of a steering rack or an angular velocity associated with a steering wheel, cause a first torque threshold associated with a first rotational direction of the steering wheel to be different from a second torque threshold associated with a second rotational direction of the steering wheel when the velocity or the angular velocity satisfies a threshold, identify a steering torque encountered by the steering wheel, and detect a hands off condition when the steering torque does not satisfy the first torque threshold nor the second torque threshold.

Methods and apparatus to control a torque threshold for hands on/off detection

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed to improve electronic power assisted steering in a vehicle. An example apparatus includes memory and a processor to execute instructions to determine a steering column torque associated with a steering column of an electronic power assisted steering (EPAS) system in a vehicle, determine a steering column torque derivative based on a derivative of the steering column torque, determine a compliance compensation torque based on the steering column torque and the steering column torque derivative, and adjust a steering response of the steering column based on the compliance compensation torque.

Methods and apparatus to improve electronic power assisted steering in a vehicle

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

A driver assistance system aids a driver in charging one or more trailer-mounted batteries in a trailer being towed by an electrified passenger vehicle. Many existing charging facilities for electric vehicles have charging stalls with a layout configured to accommodate single vehicles. Charging facilities having drive-through or elongated charging stalls able to accommodate larger vehicles which are towing an electrified trailer are much scarcer. When attempting to charge a trailer-mounted battery in a charging stall meant for a single vehicle, it may be necessary to unhitch (i.e., decouple) the trailer while in the charging stall so that the passenger vehicle does not block the aisles of a charging station. Sensors in the vehicle perform a sensor sweep of a selected charging stall, and after unhitching, the trailer uses an independent drive system to park itself in the selected charging stall using driving commands which are calculated from the sensor sweep.

Electrified vehicle trailer charging at single vehicle charging stalls

Methods and apparatus to control a torque threshold for hands on/off detection are disclosed. An example steering system includes a steering wheel, a steering shaft operatively coupled to the steering wheel, a rack operatively coupled to the steering shaft, a translational movement of the rack to pivot wheels of a vehicle, a torque sensor operatively coupled to the steering shaft, the torque sensor to measure a torque associated with the steering shaft, an autonomous steering control system to adjust a torque threshold in response to a velocity of the rack satisfying a velocity threshold, and detect a hands off condition in response to the torque satisfying the torque threshold.

Methods and apparatus to control a torque threshold for hands on/off detection are disclosed. An example apparatus includes memory including instructions, and one or more processors to execute the instructions to cause the one or more processors to at least compare a velocity of a rack to at least one of a first velocity threshold or a second velocity threshold, adjust a first torque threshold in response to the velocity of the rack satisfying the first velocity threshold, adjust a second torque threshold in response to the velocity of the rack satisfying the second velocity threshold, compare a torque between the rack and a steering shaft to the first torque threshold and the second torque threshold, and detect a hands off condition in response to the torque between the rack and the steering shaft not satisfying the first torque threshold or the second torque threshold.

A steering system includes an electric motor drivably coupled to a steering column, and a computer communicatively coupled to the electric motor. The computer is programmed to isolate a nibble signal in data representing a torque of the steering column, and instruct the electric motor to output a motor torque based on the nibble signal shifted by a phase shift, the phase shift based on a vehicle-wheel frequency.

Steering nibble control

A trailer backup assist system for motor vehicles includes an auxiliary user input feature that can be used by a vehicle operator to provide a steering curvature command corresponding to a desired vehicle path curvature without requiring a user to move a steering wheel of the motor vehicle. The trailer backup assist system is configured to control a vehicle speed while the vehicle is backing up with a trailer attached thereto utilizing an input comprising at least one of a steering curvature command and an angle of a trailer relative to the vehicle. The trailer backup assist system controls at least one of a brake system, an engine torque, and a transmission gear selection to thereby control vehicle speed in a reverse direction.

Speed optimized trajectory control for motor vehicles

A system includes a processor configured to receive a valet-key request from a valet mobile device. The processor is also configured to request authentication of a key transfer, responsive to the request and transfer, from an owner mobile device to the valet mobile device, vehicle data, describing a vehicle, and key data, usable to access and activate the vehicle, responsive to authentication approval.

Method and apparatus for wireless valet key configuration and relay

A system includes a computer programmed to specify a feedback torque to a steering wheel in a vehicle. The feedback torque is based on a steering torque applied to a steering rack and a deviation of the steering torque below a minimum torque. The computer is further programmed to actuate feedback torque to the steering wheel.

Steer-by-wire feedback torque

A system includes a computer including a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions executable by the processor to identify a wheel having a force imbalance based on wheel speed data from each of a plurality of vehicle wheels, and to identify a wheel force imbalance fault when the force imbalance exceeds at least one of a distance threshold and a time threshold.

Vehicle force imbalance detection

A system and a method are described. The method includes: receiving sensed input from a vehicle sensor suite; using the input, providing a first output; determining that a vehicle-lane confidence level is less than a threshold; and then instead, providing a second output, wherein the first and second outputs comprise lane-correction data, wherein the second output is determined using an estimation filter.

Autonomous steering control

A system includes a computer programmed to specify, while a vehicle is turning, a feedback torque based on a steering torque applied to a steering rack and a difference between a desired angle and an actual angle of vehicle steerable wheels. The computer is further programmed to actuate feedback torque to a vehicle steering wheel.

A trailer backup assist system is provided herein. The system includes a calibration feature for calibrating an imaging device used for hitch angle detection. The system also employs multiple hitch angle detection methods, a number of which may run in parallel to increase the intervals at which a hitch angle can be measured. The system additionally includes a predictive feature in which a hitch angle can be predicted in instances where a trailer sensing device fails. The system is further configured to estimate a trailer length and generate steering commands that are invariant to the estimated trailer length under certain conditions.

Trailer backup assist system with predictive hitch angle functionality

Growing community of inventors

Ypsilanti, MI, United States of America

Darrel Alan Recker