Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

John K Harding

Torsten Gerhardt

Steve David Fleming

Alan Richard Condon

Will Farrelly

Alicia Agius

Andrew John Murray

Boris Ferko

Danny Edward Stanesby

Ian Sutherland Wright

Jan Kamenistiak

Jonathan M Fisher

A combined storage and docking unit for attachment to the instrument panel of a motor vehicle is disclosed in which a portable electronic device such as an MP3 player or GPS navigation device can be held in a display position by clamping it between lid and storage box parts of the combined storage and docking unit. The storage box includes a trough shaped portion in which the portable electronic device can be stowed if it is not required to be used. The storage box also includes a lid hingedly connected thereto. A lid opening mechanism includes an arm fixed to a shaft. A drive cable is connected to the arm and to a spring on opposing ends. A pulley is configured to guide the drive cable from the arm to the spring, wherein the shaft is rotatably supported by a shaft bracket.

Combined storage and docking unit for a portable electronic device

A combined storage and docking unit for attachment to the instrument panel of a motor vehicle is disclosed in which a portable electronic device such as an MP3 player or GPS navigation device can be held in a display position by clamping it between lid and storage box parts of the combined storage and docking unit. The storage box includes a trough shaped portion in which the portable electronic device can be stowed if it is not required to be used. The combined storage and docking unit is of a simple construction and allows portable electronic devices of differing size and shape to be accommodated.

A movable bulkheadfor a motor vehicle such as a vanis disclosed comprising a number of panelsandhingedly connected together to permit the bulkheadto be moved or transformed between forward and rear positions by rotation of the panelsand. The bulkheadis U-shaped defining a concavity that faces forward when the bulkheadis latched in the forward position and rearwardly when the bulkheadis latched in the rear position so as to maximize the cargo carrying capacity of the van

Moveable bulkhead system to increase load capacity of a vehicle

A roof bar () for a motor vehicle () has an elongate load carrying member () and a single elongate stay () which are hingedly connected to a roof () of the motor vehicle () by a pair of base plates (). The elongate load carrying member () is selectively held in a deployed position by a latch mechanism () which latches a castellated edge of the elongate load carrying member () to a castellated edge of the single elongate stay () along a significant portion of the interface between the two components () so as to provide a strong support for any loads carried by the roof bar (). The components () forming the roof bar () are all relatively thin and the elongate load carrying member () and the single elongate stay () are arranged to fold flat on the roof () of the motor vehicle () so as to minimize any change in vehicle height when the roof bar () is stowed.

Roof bar for a motor vehicle

A lighting system for a motor vehicleis disclosed in which a light sourceis fitted to the inside of each doorL,R,L,R so as to selectively provide interior lighting when the respective doorL,R,L,R is closed and puddle lighting when it is open. Each of the light sourcesis mounted close to a waistline of the doorL,R,L,R to which it is attached and is arranged to project light in a downward direction so as not to provide a distraction for a driver of the motor vehicle

Lighting system arranged in vehicle door

A moveable bulkheadfor a motor vehicle such as a vanis disclosed comprising of a number of panels, andhingedly connected together to permit the bulkheadto be moved or transformed between forward and rear positions by rotation of the panels, and. The bulkheadis 'U'-shaped defining a concavity that faces forward when the bulkheadis latched in the forward position and rearwardly when the bulkheadis latched in the rear position so as to maximize the cargo carrying capacity of the van

Movable bulkhead system to increase load capacity of a vehicle

A motor vehicle having an assembly for loading sheet material includes a cargo area having a loading opening and a bulkhead located at an opposite end of the cargo area from the loading opening. Also included is a passenger compartment located at a forward region of the vehicle. Further included is at least one fixed end stop located proximate a rear area of the cargo area. Yet further included is at least one load assist strip, where a first end of the strip is mounted to the bulkhead, wherein the strip extends rearward to a second end of the strip that is mounted to the end stop.

Vehicle storage/loading system for sheets

An armrest assembly for a vehicle seatcomprises an armrest portion, a shingle head restraint portionmoveably attached to one end of the armrest portion, to permit the shingle head restraintto be moved towards and away from the one end of the armrest portion, and a height adjuster to selectively secure the head restraintin one of a number of predetermined displaced positions relative to the armrest portion, the armrest portion being moveable from a folded up positionto a folded down position. The head restraint portionis pivotably mounted for rotation about a substantially horizontal axisand includes a head restraint rotation latching mechanism comprising a latching member biased into engagement with part of the head restraintto hold the head restraintin a preferred rotational position, and a means to automatically disengage the latching member only when the head restraintis brought into close proximity to the armrest portionto permit rotation of the head restraint portionabout the horizontal axis.

Armrest assembly for a seat

A roof bar () for a motor vehicle () includes an elongate load carrying member () selectively held in a deployed position by a latch mechanism (). A crossbar portion () of the elongate load carrying member () is wider than it is thick and is orientated such that the width of the crossbar portion () is vertically arranged when the roof bar () is in the deployed position so as to increase the resistance to vertical bending of the crossbar portion ().

A motor vehicle () has a roof structure including a front roof member () and a rear member () which together form a cover for a passenger compartment (I) of the motor vehicle () when both of the roof members () are in respective raised positions. When both of the roof members () are lowered into stowed positions to form a convertible vehicle, a flap () is deployed on each side of the motor vehicle () to bridge a gap between the stowed front roof member () and an upper edge of an outer rear panel ().

Motor vehicle

An actuation mechanism for a stowable front roof panel includes a first support assembly to provide vertical movement of the roof panel and a second sliding support structure to provide horizontal movement of the front roof panel. The first support assembly includes first and second upwardly extending supports and a transverse tubular cross member that in combination form an inverted U-shaped roll over protection member. The roll over protection member is used to provide roll over protection to the occupants of the motor vehicle in the event of a vehicle roll over.

Motor vehicle stowable roof assembly

A motor vehicle is provided having front and rear roof panels and which can be moved from in use to stowed positions to change the style of the motor vehicle from a two box style to a convertible or pick-up style. A stowage mechanism for the rear roof panel having two interlinked four bar linkages is disclosed which allows a small linear actuator to produce the range of displacement required to stow the rear roof panel.

Motor vehicle having a stowable roof

A motor vehicle is disclosed having one or more seat assemblies each of which has an automatically stowable head restraint associated with it. Each head restraint is pivotally supported by a stowable rear roof panel and is biased into a stowed position in which it lies adjacent to the rear roof panel by a spring. A latch mechanism is used to hold the head restraint in a lowered position in which it depends downwardly from the roof panel for use by an occupant of the motor vehicle. The latch mechanism is automatically released by the process of stowing the rear roof panel or a front roof panel.

Head restraint for a convertible motor vehicle

A motor vehicleis disclosed having front and rear roof membersandwhich can be moved from raised to stowed positions to change the style of the motor vehicle from a two box style to a convertible or pick-up style. The rear roof memberis stowed at an inclined angle between two rows of seatsof the motor vehicleso as to occupy little space within the vehicle

A stowage mechanismfor a rear roof memberof a motor vehicleis also disclosed which is particularly small allowing it to be easily packaged in the motor vehicle. The stowage mechanismuses a combination of a chainand a guide slotto control the movement of the rear roof memberbetween raised and stowed positions which require the rear roof memberto be rotated, moved forwards and then lowered to reach the stowed position.

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Leigh-on-Sea, United Kingdom

John K Harding