Ford Global Technologies, LLC

Keith Weston

Brendan F Diamond

Andrew Denis Lewandowski

Jordan Barrett

Michael Alan Mcnees

Stuart C Salter

Joshua Sharpe

John Robert Van Wiemeersch

Matthew Johnson

Andrew Thomas Cunningham

David Michael Russell

Matthew Arthur Titus

Jonathan Hair

Andrew Monticello

Anthony J Maraldo

Ryan O'Rourke

Lars Niklas Pettersson

Andrew Arthur Brown

Lorne Forsythe

Victor Martinez

Jim Stevens

Andrew Brown

Ryan Orourke

Aed M Dudar

Andrew D Niedert

Aaron Lewis Mills

David Douglas Friske

Mark Thomas Weston

Jeffrey John Ley

Zackary Swisher

Trystan Magnuson

Brian Gabel

Jonathan Michael Graves

James Gerard Cullen

Pietro Buttolo

Mahmoud Yousef Ghannam

Aaron Bradley Johnson

Mark Meinhart

Ryan J O'Gorman

Ryan Edwin Hanson

Filip Tomik

Hani Mohammad Ayesh

Jonathan Sullivan

James Trent

Shehan Haputhanthri

Lucian Lippok

Rohit Hippalgaonkar

Ray A Sackett

Daniel Joseph Dunn

Kenneth J Boyd

Brent Alan Hall

Jorge Rivas

Grant Patrick Mayer

Nicholas Anthony Quatrano

Brendan Diamond

Nolen Thomas Barnes, Iii

Charles Richard Drake

Trenton Lee McMillion

Kenneth Mchugh

David Guglielmo

Alexander Ferencz

Joshua Walters

Ian George Eickholdt

Michael Joseph Niksa

Anthony Maraldo

Francis Aroyehun

Jennifer Bloedow

Michael A McNees

Brent Clark

Justin DeSordi

Tim Beck

Derek Bier

James Ethan Jones

Nikhil Subramaniam

Edwin Ho

Enzo Campagnolo

Brandon Roberts

The suspension assembly may include a suspension element operably coupling a chassis to a wheel assembly of the vehicle, and a coating operably coupled to an exposed portion of the suspension element that is compressed or displaced responsive to a suspension event. The coating when powered may emit light to illuminate the suspension element and an area proximate to the suspension element.

Illuminating coating for an element of a suspension assembly

A vehicle including a detection unit and a processor is disclosed. The detection unit may be configured to capture inputs associated with an external light being illuminated in proximity to the vehicle. The processor may be configured to obtain the inputs from the detection unit, and determine an illumination characteristic associated with the external light based on the inputs obtained from the detection unit. The processor may further actuate a vehicle light to illuminate based on the illumination characteristic.

Systems and methods for actuating vehicle lights based on external light show

A computer includes a processor and a memory, and the memory stores instructions executable by the processor to, in response to one of a vehicle feature of a vehicle being active or the vehicle being in a preset geographic area, control acceleration and braking of the vehicle based on input from an input device of the vehicle according to a low-speed mode; and in response to the low-speed mode being inactive, control acceleration and braking of the vehicle not according to the low-speed mode. In the low-speed mode, acceleration occurs upon receiving input from the input device. In the low-speed mode, braking occurs upon not receiving input from the input device.

Low-speed vehicle control

A computer for a vehicle has a processor and memory storing instructions executable by the processor to apply rotational power to one wheel of a vehicle and apply brake to three other wheels of the vehicle in response to activation of one-wheel dig mode of the vehicle by a human operator of the vehicle. The instructions include instruction to, in response to detection of completion of a hole in ground under the one wheel in the one-wheel dig mode, cease application of rotational power to the one wheel of the vehicle.

Vehicle operation in one-wheel dig mode

A vehicle includes receives a remote start request from a user, responsive to the request, engage at least one vehicle sensor to determine whether at least an animal or person are within at least a predefined distance from an exhaust or external sounder of the vehicle. Additionally, the vehicle, responsive to determining that the animal or person are withing the predefined distance, delays execution of a remote start, requested by the request, for at least a predefined period of time.

Adaptive exhaust control for remote start

Parking settings and map data indicative of parking locations in proximity to a structure that are available for the vehicle are maintained to a memory of a vehicle, the parking settings indicating a first time at which the vehicle is to enter an automatic parking mode in which the vehicle moves among the parking locations in proximity to the structure, and a second time at which the vehicle is to exit the automatic parking mode. In the automatic parking mode, responsive to the parking settings indicating an automated parking movement, the parking locations are selected from to determine a parking location into which to move the vehicle and the automated parking movement is performed using a virtual drive system of the vehicle to move the vehicle from a current parked location in proximity to the structure to the determined parking location in proximity to the structure.

Coordinated vehicle movement for presence simulation

A component for a vehicle includes a skid plate configured to attach to an underbody of the vehicle, a plurality of cooling channels extending in a longitudinal direction between the skid plate and the underbody of the vehicle, and a structural reinforcement extending outward from the skid plate. The skid plate, the plurality of cooling channels, and the structural reinforcement are additively manufactured in a unitary construction.

Integrated skid plate heat dissipator

A vehicle includes a transmission and a controller. The transmission is configured to transition between automatic and manual modes. The controller is programmed to, in response to the transmission operating in the manual mode and an absence of receiving a manual command to shift the transmission for a predetermined period of time, transition the operation of the transmission from the manual mode to the automatic mode. The controller is further programmed to, in response to the transmission operating in the manual mode, an absence of receiving the manual command to shift the transmission for the predetermined period of time, and a condition flagged to suppress an upshift in the transmission, remain in the manual mode.

Vehicle transmission control system

Access to a vehicle is controlled by detecting gestures pointing to a virtual keypad. A setup mode preconfigures a sequence of touchpoints as a security key, wherein an administrant performs a timed series of distinct gestures according to a chosen number and location of touchpoints which are detected by the vehicle using captured real-time images. Touchpoints during a plurality of repetition trials provide respective sets of datapoints for each one of the distinct gestures in the series. A respective deviation contour is determined for each respective set and then expanded to represent regions of validity for respective touchpoints corresponding to the sequence of touchpoints. The expanded deviation contours are accepted as defining the sequence of touchpoints for the security key if there is no overlap between any expanded deviation contours to complete the setup mode.

Gesture-based vehicle entry system with virtual keypad

A tire chain assembly may include a peripheral chain assembly, a chain positioning assembly, and a retention ring. The peripheral chain assembly may extend around tire treads of a tire having an outer sidewall that extends in a radial direction to be operably coupled to a wheel rim. The chain positioning assembly may extend from the peripheral chain assembly over the outer sidewall toward an outer peripheral edge of the wheel rim. The retention ring may attach the chain positioning assembly to the outer peripheral edge of the wheel rim.

Bead lock snow chain integration

Orientations of a vehicle with an attached trailer can be specified for obtaining respective images of the trailer. Respective images of the trailer captured by a vehicle camera at the specified orientations can then be received. The images can be input to a machine learning program trained to output trailer size metrics. The vehicle can then be controlled according to the trailer size metrics output from the machine learning program.

Lane assistance for vehicles with trailers

Methods and apparatus to control a vehicle trailer using torque vectoring are disclosed. An example apparatus to control a trailer of a vehicle includes condition determination circuitry to determine, based on data from sensors on at least one of the trailer or the vehicle, whether a condition associated with the vehicle is satisfied, and torque control circuitry to adjust, in response to the condition being satisfied, a first torque of a first motor and a second torque of a second motor, the first motor operatively coupled to a first wheel of the trailer, the second motor operatively coupled to a second wheel of the trailer.

Methods and apparatus to control a vehicle trailer using torque vectoring

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 system has memory that stores instructions executable by the processor to instruct operation of at least one vehicle system (e.g., braking system, propulsion system, steering system, suspension system) in a minimum time mode for travel of the vehicle from a starting point to a destination point of a roadway. The system collects roadway data for the roadway from the starting point to the destination point. Based on the roadway data, the system determines a minimum time path from the starting point to the destination point and speed along the minimum time path. In response to a maximum acceleration input from a human driver of the vehicle when the vehicle is at the starting point, the system initiates the minimum time mode and instructs operation of at least one vehicle system to pursue the minimum time path and speed along the minimum time path from starting point to destination point.

Driver assistance for high accelleration and speed on a minimum time path

A system for a vehicle configured to be driven by a driver is provided. The vehicle has a human-machine interface (HMI). The system includes an interior sensor suite, a processor electrically connected to the interior sensor suite and the HMI, and a memory. The memory has instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations including determine, based on the interior sensor suite, if there is a passenger in the vehicle, determine, when there is a passenger in the vehicle and based on the interior sensor suite, whether the passenger or the driver is attempting to use the HMI, and permit the passenger and not the driver to use the HMI.

Systems and methods for permitting access to a human machine interface in a vehicle

Growing community of inventors

Canton, MI, United States of America

Keith Weston