Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

David Michael Russell

Russ Lee Norton

Keith Weston

Ben Bulat

Darrell Erick Butler

Charles Gavin McGee

Lodewijk Wijffels

Uwe Hoffmann

Brendan F Diamond

Albert Chenouda Salib

John Keller

Marc Suermann

Sergio Codonesu

Matthew Johnson

Timothy Cannon

Cornelius MacFarland

Daniel Lee Grohnke

Benjamin Bulat

Jianbo Lu

Dimitar Petrov Filev

Michael John Harmon

Andrew D Niedert

Davor Hrovat

Kurt Kramer Schleif

Andrew Denis Lewandowski

Eric Hongtei Tseng

Jordan Barrett

Oliver Nehls

Jonathan Hair

Michael Seemann

David Wisely Vondle

Timothy Panagis

Jan Bremkens

Jonathan Sullivan

Peter W A Zegelaar

Jeremy Rawlings

Donald A Perlick

James Trent

Joshua Sharpe

Arnav Wagh

Joseph Park

Rohit Hippalgaonkar

Simon Baales

Daveanand M Singh

Attila Benak

Ahmed Mohamed

Doug Scott Rhode

Daniel Tuttle

Michael Huskey

Carlos Gonzales

Dennis B Kessler

Robert J Garby

Francis Aroyehun

Gabriella Marie Gyllenhoff Jacobsen

William Gregory Suter

Cherie Russell

Kirk White

Cornelius Macfarland

Courtney Wright

Christopher James Dean

Paul Snyder

Chi Yip

Elton R Eaton, Iii

William J Fox

Jochen E Scheuing

Greg Gregory Suter

Moshen Lakehal-ayat

Gregory Suter

Louis Joseph Jamail

A vehicle includes one or more actuatable mudflap portions provided to the vehicle, capable of deployment and retraction to respectively increase and decrease deflection of wheel-spray and receives vehicle sensor information indicating driving conditions. The vehicle examines the sensor information to determine the presence of a first condition predefined as suitable for deployment of at least one of the mudflap portions. Further, the vehicle examines the sensor information to determine that no one or more of second conditions predefined as blocking deployment are met and, responsive to the presence of the first condition and the absence of the second conditions, automatically deploys the at least one mudflap portion.

Dynamically deployable adaptive mud flaps

A vehicle control system may include a sensor network sensing vehicle attitude information and a controller operably coupled to the sensor network to determine, based on the vehicle attitude information, movement of a center of gravity of the vehicle relative to an axis of rotation of the vehicle. The controller may further determine a modification to a torque application of the vehicle based on the movement of the center of gravity of the vehicle relative to the axis of rotation of the vehicle.

BEV powertrain/steering controls for enhanced stability on inclined surfaces

Methods and systems are presented for generating visual and audible aids for a human that is driving a vehicle. In one example, a visual indication is provided during conditions when a wheel speed exceeds a vehicle reference speed by more than a threshold speed. In another example, an audible indication is provided during conditions when a vehicle speed exceeds a vehicle reference speed by more than a threshold speed.

Electric vehicle driving aid method and system

Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture are disclosed to use front load estimates for body control are disclosed herein. An example vehicle includes a front axle, a suspension system including a suspension element, and a processor to execute instructions to generate, based on a load on the front axle and a velocity of the vehicle, a body control adjustment, determine a modified body control output based on the body control adjustment and an unmodified body control output, and apply the modified body control output to the suspension element of the vehicle.

Methods and apparatus to use front load estimates for body control

A vehicle maneuvering scenario can be identified based on data from vehicle sensors including at least one of (a) a location of the vehicle, or (b) data indicating that a first steering wheel rotation in a first direction and a second steering wheel rotation in a second direction each exceed a rotation threshold. A steering ratio can be determined based on the vehicle maneuvering scenario. Vehicle steering can then be actuated according to the steering ratio.

Vehicle steering control

A vehicle includes at least one drive wheel, a powerplant, a clutch, and a controller. The powerplant is configured to generate and deliver power to the at least one drive wheel. The clutch is disposed between the at least one drive wheel and the powerplant. The controller is programmed to, in response to detecting the at least one drive wheel disengaging the ground during a vehicle jump, open the clutch to disconnect the at least one drive wheel from the powerplant.

Control system for vehicle powertrain during off-road jumping

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 are disclosed to use front load estimates for body control are disclosed herein. An example apparatus disclosed herein includes memory including stored instructions, and a processor to execute the instructions to filter sensor data to generate a first load value, the first load value associated with a first load on a front axle of a vehicle, generate, based on the first load value and a velocity of the vehicle, a first body control adjustment value, modify a body control output value with the first body control adjustment value, and apply the modified body control output value to a suspension system of the vehicle.

A method of controlling a vehicle may include determining a proximity to a stuck condition based on measured vehicle motion parameters and a wheel speed measured by a wheel speed sensor associated with one or more wheels of the vehicle. The method may further include generating a notification to a driver of the vehicle in response to the proximity to the stuck condition indicating that the vehicle is either in a stuck condition or a nearly stuck condition, and responsive to driver selection of an unstuck mode, executing an unstuck algorithm to automatically control operation of the vehicle to achieve a free condition.

Suspension system with improved ability to avoid getting stuck or get unstuck

A system for damping control for a vehicle includes a parameter component and a damping adjustment component. The parameter component is configured to determine one or more driving parameters of a vehicle. The one or more driving parameters include a velocity of the vehicle. The damping adjustment component is configured to adjust damping of suspension of the vehicle during driving based on the one or more driving parameters. The damping adjustment component is also configured to adjust damping of suspension at a zero velocity for a threshold time period in response to transitioning from a non-zero velocity to the zero velocity.

Vehicle damping control

A vehicle system includes a floor. A dashboard is positioned vehicle-upward of the floor. A plurality of seating assemblies are coupled to the floor and are arranged into a first row and a second row. A base is coupled to the floor and comprises a trough that extends vehicle-rearward from a forward end to a rearward end. A storage console is coupled to the base and is operable to slide within the trough between a forward position that is proximate to the forward end, a rearward position that is proximate to the rearward end, and an intermediate position there between.

Vehicle system

Example methods and systems for optimizing vehicle ride performance are disclosed herein. An example apparatus includes a calculator to calculate a vertical velocity of a vehicle wheel and a comparer to perform a comparison of the vertical velocity to a threshold. The example apparatus includes a damping force manager to determine a damping force to be generated by a vehicle suspension system based on the comparison and a communicator to transmit a request including the damping force to be generated to the vehicle suspension system.

Methods and apparatus for optimizing vehicle ride performance

Methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to correct clear vision errors in a vehicle steering system are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a first sensor and a second sensor to measure a current position of a steering column and a current position of a steering wheel in a vehicle steering system. The example apparatus further includes a non-uniformity manager to map the current position to an offset, and an active steering system to apply the offset to adjust the current position of the steering wheel to a nominal position of the steering wheel to compensate for a clear vision error.

Methods and apparatus to correct clear vision errors in a vehicle steering system

Growing community of inventors

Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America

David Michael Russell