Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Ford Motor Company Limited

Joseph Walter Neal

Eric Hongtei Tseng

Kenneth J Boyd

Shane Elwart

Jeremy Lerner

Manfred Carl Rumpel

Scott Huggins

Xingping Chen

Mohammad Abouali

Ali Abdallah

Brett Stephens

A vehicle includes one or more sensors and engages at least one of the one or more sensors to evaluate at least one of a count or location of vehicle occupants prior to an incident. The vehicle determines that an incident has occurred and that at least one of an evaluated count or location of at least one vehicle occupant has changed following the incident. Also, the vehicle engages at least one of the one or more sensors to detect a presence of a prior occupant outside the vehicle following the incident, responsive to determining that the at least one of the evaluated count or location of the at least one vehicle occupant changed and, responsive to detecting the presence of the prior occupant outside the vehicle following the incident, reports the presence to a 3party response entity.

Responder assistance for vehicular events

A confidence value is determined for data collected for a lane assist subsystem in a vehicle. A section curvature is identified for a section of a roadway when the confidence value is below a confidence value, threshold. The section curvature includes at least one section start point and at least one section end point. The section curvature is based at least in part on a heading angle, the heading angle defining an angle between a projected line of travel of the vehicle and a line segment from a vehicle position to the section end point. A distance to a lane boundary is predicted based at least in part on the identified section curvature. One or more vehicle subsystems is actuated based at least in part on the predicted distance to the lane boundary.

Enhanced vehicle operation

A simulation system () for simulating an operation of an automotive vehicle includes an input () providing vehicle information and path information and a controller () having a vehicle computer model therein. The controller () is programmed to determine an initial steering wheel angle input to the computer model; determine a first steering wheel angle input to the computer model at a time later than the initial steering wheel angle input by comparing a look ahead point and an intended path; when the vehicle model is understeering, operate the computer model with the initial steering wheel angle input until an error of the first steering wheel angle and the initial is decreasing; when the error decreases, operate the computer model with the first steering wheel angle input; and generate an output in response to the vehicle model and the initial steering wheel input or the first steering wheel input.

Method and apparatus for controlling a vehicle computer model

A simulation system () for simulating an operation of an automotive vehicle includes an input () providing vehicle information and path information and a controller () having a vehicle computer model therein. The controller () is programmed to determine a rear side slip angle of a vehicle computer model; when the rear side slip angle is greater than a threshold, determine a look ahead scale factor; when the rear side slip angle is greater than the threshold, increase a look ahead point as a function of the look ahead scale factor; determine a steering wheel angle input to the computer model by comparing the look ahead point and the intended path; operate the computer model with the steering wheel angle input; and generate an output in response to the vehicle model and the initial steering wheel input or the first steering wheel input.

A rear suspension has a hub carrier (12) to which a wheel of a vehicle may be rotatably mounted, and a suspension arm (16) pivotally interconnecting the hub carrier to a chassis. The suspension arm includes a crank portion (50) located between the interconnections to the hub carrier and the chassis. The crank portion extends radially outward from the suspension arm and includes a crank end (52) disposed a first predetermined distance outward from the suspension arm. The suspension also includes a shock absorber (56) having a first end (55) pivotally attached to the crank end (52) of the suspension arm (16) and a second end (58) pivotally attached to the chassis.

Growing community of inventors

Birmingham, MI, United States of America

Joseph Walter Neal