Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

William Gregory Suter

Michael Edward Brewer

David Michael Russell

Albert Chenouda Salib

Uwe Hoffmann

Russ Lee Norton

David John Messih

Bang Kim Cao

Darrell Erick Butler

Marc Suermann

Brandon Cameron

Benjamin Bulat

Christopher Wernette

Louis Joseph Jamail

Terrain assist apparatus and related methods for use with vehicles are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a vehicle controller configured to determine, based on vehicle sensor data, a condition of a vehicle associated with driving on sand. The vehicle controller is also to generate, via an output device, information instructing a vehicle occupant to configure a driving mode of the vehicle that is associated with controlling vehicle speed. The vehicle controller is also to control a parameter of the vehicle based on a setting of the driving mode to resolve the condition.

Terrain assist apparatus and related methods for use with vehicles

An active vehicle suspension system includes an active damping mechanism operatively coupled to a vehicle wheel and configured for controlling a damping force applied to the wheel responsive to a control signal. A controller is operatively coupled to the damping mechanism and configured for generating a control signal to the damping mechanism responsive to velocity of the wheel in a downward vertical direction. At least one of a timer threshold and velocity threshold, used to determine whether a vehicle wheel has encountered a depression in a road surface, may be varied on a basis of a speed of the vehicle. A damping mechanism for a rear wheel of a vehicle may be controlled on a basis of how a damping mechanism for a front wheel is controlled.

Ride performance optimization in an active suspension system

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Farmington Hills, MI, United States of America

William Gregory Suter