Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Ford Motor Company Limited

Sudip Sankar Bhattacharjee

Mohammed Shenaq

Mustafa Ahmed

Mohammad Omar Faruque

S M Iskander Farooq

Srinivasan Sundararajan

Ray Hari Manala Rethinam

Stephen Noel Pingston

Dean M Jaradi

James Chih Cheng

Harsha Kusnoorkar

Chang Hun Lee

Richard Lisowski

Neil Clarke

David Brian Glickman

Dragan B Stojkovic

Djamal Eddine Midoun

Marwan Ahmad Elbkaily

Jamil M Alwan

Abdelmonaam Sassi

Matthew D Smith

Nirmal Muralidharan

Nathan Kristofor Tardif

Michael Williams

Ketan K Desai

Petros Frantzeskakis

Robert Hasse

Martyn Swain

Carlos H Perez

Daehyun Hwang

Ray Hari Manalan Rethinam

Bhujanga Kumar Adapa

James Yunhyung Lee

A hybrid structural assembly for a motor vehicle includes a casting and a structural inlay. The casting includes a plurality of structural components joined together in a casting process to form structural load paths and extending in a plurality of directions in a 3D space. The casting includes a cast-allowable alloy material. The structural inlay is secured to at least one of the structural components. The structural inlay includes a material having at least one of a higher ductility and a higher toughness than the cast-allowable alloy material.

Hybrid cast vehicle assembly with structural reinforcements

An assembly includes a vehicle frame, a base fixed relative to the vehicle frame, and a hook supported by the base and rotatable relative to the base between an extended position and a retracted position. One of the hook or the base has a flange and the other of the hook or the base has a pair of extensions. The flange is between the extensions. A post is fixed relative to the flange and engages both extensions. A spring is connected to the post and one of the extensions. The spring is positioned to bias the hook toward the extended position.

Vehicle tow hook

A bumper assembly includes a bumper beam elongated in a cross-vehicle direction and a bumper that is plastic. The bumper is elongated in the cross-vehicle direction and is affixed to the bumper beam. The bumper beam is rigid relative to the bumper. The bumper defines a cavity enclosed by the bumper. The cavity is elongated in the cross-vehicle direction.

Bumper assembly

A front-end structure includes a front-end support and a grille fixed relative to the front-end support. Two brackets are disposed between the front-end support and the grille. The two brackets are spaced from each other along a cross-vehicle axis. Each of the two brackets has two legs. Each of the legs extends from the front-end support toward the grille. Two bars are spaced from each other and are spaced from the front-end support. The bars are elongated along the cross-vehicle axis from one of the brackets to the other of the brackets.

Grille reinforcement

An assembly includes a bumper. The assembly further includes a base fixed relative to the bumper and a hook supported by the base. The hook is rotatable relative to the base between an extended position and a retracted position. The assembly further includes a spring between the base and the hook positioned to bias the hook from the retracted position to the extended position.

A tow apparatus includes a front bumper, a housing rigidly attached to the front bumper, and a tow hook slidable in the housing. The housing and the tow hook define a closed chamber, and the closed chamber is filled with a compressible fluid. Sliding the tow hook in the housing in a direction that decreases the volume of the closed chamber compresses the compressible fluid.

A motor vehicle according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a bumper having an at least partially metallic shell mounted to the vehicle by way of a mount. Further, at least a portion of the mount is configured to bend to allow movement of the shell in response to a collision. A method is also disclosed.

Bumper with pedestrian safety features

An exemplary towing assembly includes, among other things, a bracket having laterally spaced channels, and a tow loop having laterally spaced arms. Each of the arms is configured to slide within a respective one of the channels from a deployed to a retracted position in response to a load applied to the tow loop. An exemplary method of positioning a tow loop includes, among other things, in response to a load applied to a tow loop, moving the tow loop from a deployed position to a retracted position within a bracket. The method further includes biasing the tow loop away from the retracted position toward a deployed position.

Tow loop positioning systems and method

A vehicle headlamp assembly is generally shown. The headlamp assembly includes a housing, and a lens supported by the housing. The headlamp assembly includes a connecting member connected to the housing between the housing and the lens. The connecting member extends circumferentially about the housing. The connecting member is a different type of material than the housing and the lens, and the connecting member is deformable relative to the housing.

Vehicle headlamp assembly

A vehicle component includes a main panel extending in a first direction; a plurality of lobes extending in a second direction transverse to the first direction; and a plurality of ridges extending in the second direction. Each ridge extends around a subset of the lobes. Each lobe may be encircled by one of the ridges. The cover may include a plurality of depressions connecting the ridges to the corresponding lobes.

A bumper assembly includes a crush can, a bumper extending along a longitudinal axis and supported by the crush can, and a secondary bumper assembly. The secondary bumper assembly is supportable by the bumper, and includes a secondary bumper that extends along the longitudinal axis, and a hand-actuated release supported by the secondary bumper having an arm attachable to the bumper. The arm is moveable between an engaged position for engagement with the bumper and a disengaged position for disengagement with the bumper.

Secondary bumper assembly

A vehicle comprising a base, a grille and a bumper. The grille is supported by the base, and is movable between a retracted position and an extended position. The bumper is supported by the base below the grille. In the retracted position a front terminal portion of the grille is offset from a front terminal portion of the bumper, and in the extended position the front terminal portion of the grille is generally aligned with the front terminal portion of the bumper.

Extendable vehicle grille

An energy-absorbing device includes a beam having a longitudinal axis and a plurality of lobes attached to and positioned sequentially along the beam. The lobes are spaced from each other, deformable relative to the beam, and configured to contact adjacent lobes when deformed. The size and spacing of the lobes is such that if a single lobe is deformed, the lobe will not contact adjacent lobes, but if adjacent lobes are deformed, the lobes will contact each other.

Vehicle energy-absorbing device

A vehicle front end includes a bumper and a carrier attached to the bumper. A plurality of fins are movably attached to the carrier and are spaced from each other. The fins taper in a direction transverse to the bumper. The fins may be moved to a deployed position to reinforce the bumper to improve low-speed damageability of the bumper, and may be moved to an inactive position, which may allow a fascia to more easily deform relative to the deployed position to provide energy absorption for pedestrian impacts.

Bumper reinforcing assembly

A hinge for a hood of a vehicle includes a first bracket, a member coupled to and rotatable relative to the first bracket, and a second bracket coupled to and rotatable relative to the member. An actuator includes a base connected to the first bracket and a rod moveable relative to the base. The rod moves from a retracted position to an extended position in contact with the second bracket.

Growing community of inventors

Novi, MI, United States of America

Sudip Sankar Bhattacharjee