Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Hyung Min Baek

Patrick Daniel Maguire

Yi Zhang

Brian Utley

Daniel Boccuccia

Rodolfo Palma

Olivia Lomax

Stephen Liptak

Rajaram Subramanian

Neil Robert Burrows

Rohit Gunna

Amar Marpu

Sai K Perumalla

Lynn Valerie Keiser

Aysha Habbaba

Jonathan Lohr

John Weizhong Luo

Sudipto Aich

Kanchana Perumalla

Zachary David Nelson

John Sturza

Jennifer L Brace

Simon Murtha Smith

Alexander Silvio Muller

A system for delivering items or packages to an unattended vehicle after receiving an order for delivery of an item or package to a vehicle is disclosed. The system determines identifying information for the vehicle, where the identifying information includes a wireless identifier of the vehicle. The system determines a delivery location of the vehicle. The system transmits a request to dispatch a delivery vehicle to deliver a package to the vehicle, wherein the request comprises the identifying information and the delivery location.

Item delivery to an unattended vehicle

The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for delivering items to unattended vehicles. In general, aspects of the invention facilitate controlled access to one or more portions of a vehicle for item deliver. A vehicle is configured with partitions. The partitions can be deployed to close off portions of the vehicle from an area used to accept a delivered item. Partitions may be automatically deployed when a delivery arrives (from a delivery person or robot) to section off a compartment of the vehicle to limit access to the sectioned compartment. Partitions can be re-configured to prevent external access to the sectioned off compartment after a delivery is completed.

Delivering items to unattended vehicles

A battery assembly includes a battery array and a foam shell that surrounds the battery array. The battery array may be housed within a foam shell, and a barrier can be secured to the foam shell to establish a battery assembly. The battery assembly may then be secured to a vehicle body.

Battery assembly including structural foamed materials

An exemplary battery pack cover includes a polymer layer and a metallic layer grounded to a chassis of an electric vehicle. An exemplary method includes shielding battery cells of a battery pack against electromagnetic interference and thermal energy using a multilayer cover that is grounded to a chassis of an electrified vehicle.

Battery pack cover for an electrified vehicle

Systems, methods, and devices for indicating a status of a vehicle or a seat in a vehicle are disclosed herein. A system includes a plurality of seats in a vehicle, a light-diffusing fiber optic light source attached to at least one of the seats, a receiver configured to receive a status of at least one of the seats, and a controller. The controller may be configured to determine an illumination scheme based on the status of at least one of the seats and illuminate the light-diffusing fiber optic light source according to the illumination scheme.

Seat or vehicle identification for a rideshare

A battery array frame may include a frame body extending along a longitudinal axis and including a top frame rail, a bottom frame rail, and frame arms that connect between the top frame rail and the bottom frame rail. An insert extends inside the frame body for increasing the stiffness of the frame body.

Battery array frame including frame rail insert

A seat includes one or more cushions secured to a shell. The cushions include a 3D printed lattice of repeating cells. The cells may include nodes interconnected by branches. The nodes may be arranged in a cubic, parallelepiped, diamond, or other arrangement. The branches may extend directly between nodes or may be bent. The branches may extend from each node to an adjacent node that is closest to its point of attachment to the each node or the branches may be curved or bent to secure to a different adjacent node. The 3D printed lattice may include 3D printed barbs formed thereon that engage receptacles in the seat shell. The 3D printed lattice may be printed with a groove that engages a fastening structure on a cover or a separate fastening element. The cover may be a perforated sheet of material or fabric.

Ventilated seat cushion

An integrated endplate for a battery pack includes an inner wall and an outer wall. The outer wall has a first side adjacent to the inner wall and a second side opposite the first side. The outer wall includes a connector interface protruding from the second side and defining at least one aperture therethrough. The integrated endplate further includes at least one electrical connector extending between the inner wall and the outer wall to the at least one aperture of the connector interface.

Connector-integrated endplate for battery electric vehicles

A battery pack according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, an enclosure including a monolithic body with at least a first sidewall and a base connected to the first sidewall and a fluid channel extending inside of at least one of the first sidewall and the base.

Battery pack enclosure including integrated fluid channel

A traction-battery assembly includes a retention structure having a separator and first and second openings on opposing sides of the separator. The assembly also includes first and second arrays each having cells arranged such that terminals of the cells are on a terminal side of the array. The terminal sides of the first and second arrays are each disposed in one of the first or second openings such that the terminal sides face the separator.

Traction battery assembly

A battery pack includes a heat exchanger plate having a first attachment feature and a battery assembly having a second attachment feature configured to engage the first attachment feature as the battery assembly is moved against the heat exchanger plate to thermally couple the battery assembly to the heat exchanger plate.

Electrified vehicle battery packs with battery attachment features

An exemplary battery thermal management assembly includes a first structure having a first material composition, and a second structure having a different, second material composition. The second structure is configured to exchange thermal energy between a battery array and a fluid communicated through a fluid channel that is bounded by the first and second structures. An exemplary battery thermal management method includes securing a first structure of a first material composition relative to a second structure of a different, second material composition to provide a fluid channel. The method further includes using the second structure to pass thermal energy between a battery and a fluid within the fluid channel.

Battery thermal management assembly and method

An exemplary battery pack assembly includes an enclosure having a plurality of horizontally facing sides extending between a first and a second vertically facing side to provide an interior, a component within the interior, and a pocket of the first vertically facing side. The pocket is vertically recessed such that a pocket floor of the pocket is vertically aligned with a portion of the component.

Traction battery energy absorbing method and assembly

An exemplary method of securing battery cells of a battery pack includes limiting upward movement of a separator by blocking movement of a projection with a structure. The projection extends from a spacer section of the separator and has a hook shape with an upwardly extending portion outside the structure. The method further includes limiting upward movement of a battery cell using the separator. Another exemplary method of securing battery cells of a battery pack includes limiting movement of a separator in a direction by blocking movement of a projection in the direction. The projection extends from a spacer section of the separator. The projection has a hook shape with a portion extending in the direction. The spacer section and the portion are on opposite sides of a structure. The method further includes limiting movement of a battery cell in the direction using the separator.

Growing community of inventors

Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America

Hyung Min Baek