Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Stephen Kenneth Helwig

Stuart C Salter

Paul Kenneth Dellock

Aaron Bradley Johnson

Sleiman N Abdelnour

James J Surman

David A Brown

Pietro Buttolo

Ketan K Desai

Li Yan

Cornel Lewis Gardner

Annette Lynn Huebner

Udayakumar Ramasami

Anthony Nicholas Aquilina

Terrence Joseph Wilson

Jeffrey Alan Mesko

Thomas Edward Pilutti

Mahendra Somasara Dassanayake

Harry Lobo

Arun Kumar

Christopher Scott Nave

Joseph Myszka

Keith Hoelscher

Gary Edward Henige

Mehran Niksimaee

Diane Marie LaHaie

Chad Clement

Sarbjit Singh

Matt W Roosen

Frank Aust

William Francis Gubing

Ulrich Stuhec

Simon Howard Curwood

Srihari Prasad Gondhi

Sleiman N Adelnour

Ivan Estrada Sanchez

Brian Carroll

Ken Alan Ward

Max Anton Schumacher

A vehicular lighting assembly (and methods of making the same) that includes a parabolic reflector; a translucent lens element; and a light source configured to emanate light that strikes an interior surface of the reflector and exits the assembly through the element. Further, an interior surface of the lens element comprises one or more fluted regions that are substantially invisible and configured to refract light from the source away from oncoming vehicles. In addition, the fluted region can be within, on, or integral with, the interior and/or exterior surfaces of the lens element in certain configurations.

Vehicular lighting assemblies with invisible fluted regions and methods of making the same

An exemplary running board assembly includes a running board with a deck having a plurality of spaced-apart raised sections. The raised sections are made of a thermally conductive polymer and include an electrically conductive element configured to allow electric current to flow through the raised sections.

Heated running board assembly

A vehicle taillight assembly is provided that includes a housing having a light transmissive lens, a brake light located in the housing, a strobe light located in the housing and a controller activating the strobe light to strobe when the brake light is activated. The strobe light may also be activated when a turn signal light or reverse light is activated. The strobe light has a light source illuminating light onto a light pipe.

Vehicle light assembly having strobe light

Method and apparatus are disclosed for vehicle headlamp de-condensation. An example exterior lamp of a vehicle includes a housing, a cover coupled to the housing to define a cavity, and a lamp assembly within the cavity. The lamp assembly includes an LED, a heat sink coupled to the LED that is configured to dissipate heat and define a chamber, desiccant located within the chamber to collect moisture from the cavity, and a vent fluidly coupled to the chamber to remove the moisture from the cavity.

Vehicle headlamp de-condensation

A running board top plate is provided that comprises a plurality of light-diffusing waveguides, a reflective layer positioned around a portion of each light-diffusing waveguide, a base layer configured to receive one or more of the light-diffusing waveguides and the reflective layer, and a clear lens layer positioned over the light-diffusing waveguides, the reflective layer, and the base layer.

Vehicle lighting assembly

A vehicle light assembly comprising a light chamber secured to a vehicle member. The chamber includes a partially transmissive lens and an interior. The interior includes a plurality of isotropically luminant surfaces and a substantially reflective surface. Further, the vehicle light assembly includes a light source arranged within the light chamber, and the light source is substantially oriented to emanate light that initially strikes the substantially reflective surface, propagates within the chamber along the isotropically luminant surfaces, and exits the chamber through the lens.

Vehicle light assembly with photon recycling

Disclosed herein is a system including a computer programmed to determine that a vehicle is traveling in a wrong-way direction. Upon such determination, the computer is programmed to actuate a light of the vehicle to provide a user-detectable pattern external to the vehicle.

Wrong-way vehicle detection

A light assembly is provided herein. The light assembly includes a pair of light assemblies disposed on opposing sides of a rear portion of a vehicle. Each light assembly includes a housing and a lens. A light source is disposed in the housing and is configured to create a first predefined illumination pattern. A controller is configured to selectively activate the first illumination pattern from one of the pair of housings corresponding to a direction of a vehicle steering wheel rotation.

Vehicle light assembly

A vehicle light assembly including a housing, a light source, a lens disposed in front of the light source, a light sensor disposed in the housing outside of light output from the light source directed at the lens for sensing light reflected off the lens caused by moisture, and a heater disposed on the lens for reducing the moisture when moisture is sensed.

Vehicle light assembly sensing moisture with light reflection

An illumination assembly is provided herein. The illumination assembly includes a first light source configured to generate an illumination pattern. A second light source is configured to generate an image within the illumination pattern. A lens is optically coupled with the first and second light sources. A controller is configured to control the activation state of the first and second light sources.

Vehicle illumination assembly

A vehicle according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a liftgate rotatable between a closed position and an open position, and a video projector mounted to the liftgate. Further, the video projector is configured to project video in a direction away from the vehicle when the liftgate is in the open position. This disclosure also relates to a video projector operable in a video projection mode and a secondary mode, and further relates to a method.

Vehicle including video projector mounted to lift gate or roof

A vehicle headlamp includes a housing, at least one lamp located in the housing, at least one beam alignment light source positioned in the housing and configured to project an image to aid in alignment of the at least one lamp, and at least one beam alignment mechanism operably coupled to the housing and configured to adjust the direction of light from the at least one lamp based on an image projected by the beam alignment light source.

Vehicle headlamp with laser for alignment of projected beam pattern, and method

A vehicle light assembly is provided that includes a light source, a lens in front of the light source, conductive circuitry provided on the lens and forming a capacitive sensor for sensing moisture on the lens and a heater for removing the moisture, and switching circuitry for selectively energizing one of the capacitive sensor and the heater.

Vehicle light assembly having moisture sensing and heating

A vehicle side marker is provided herein. The side marker may include a translucent lens having a texture thereon. A substrate may be attached to the lens. A first photoluminescent structure and a second photoluminescent structure are disposed between an exterior surface of the lens and the substrate. The first and second photoluminescent structures are configured to luminesce in response to excitation by a light source. The first photoluminescent structure may include a long persistent photoluminescent material therein.

Growing community of inventors

Farmington Hills, MI, United States of America

Stephen Kenneth Helwig