The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 23, 2022
Filed:
Dec. 13, 2017
Ford Global Technologies, Llc, Dearborn, MI (US);
Jayanthi Rao, Dearborn, MI (US);
Cynthia Neubecker, Dearborn, MI (US);
Pramita Mitra, Dearborn, MI (US);
Perry MacNeille, Dearborn, MI (US);
Brad Ignaczak, Dearborn, MI (US);
Somak Datta Gupta, Dearborn, MI (US);
Ford Global Technologies, LLC, Dearborn, MI (US);
Abstract
Vehicles that are autonomous or human-operated may drive in a platoon to achieve energy savings. A leader vehicle receives information broadcasts from following vehicles that include a state of energy and one or more other values such as energy usage rates, range, destination, and aerodynamic properties. The leader vehicle may then determine an ordering of vehicles that increases the range of the platoon, e.g., reduces the number of refueling/recharging stops of the platoon. Other considerations for ordering the vehicles may include overall energy savings and a fair distribution of energy savings. A desired ordering may be achieved by transmitting swap commands to pairs of vehicles until the platoon is in the correct ordering.