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:
Dec. 23, 2025
Filed:
Sep. 05, 2023
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Plano, TX (US);
Daniel J.F. Cressman, Ypsilanti, MI (US);
Ulan M. Thompson, Saline, MI (US);
Ryan C. Harris, Saline, MI (US);
TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC., Plano, TX (US);
Abstract
Methods, systems, and apparatus for a vehicle aerodynamic system include an air dam adapted to be mounted adjacent a front bumper of a vehicle. The air dam can be moveable between a stowed position (e.g., when the vehicle is operating at higher speeds) and a deployed position (e.g., when the vehicle is operating at lower speeds). The air dam includes an air dam panel moveable between the stowed position and a step position. In the step position, the air dam panel is configured as a step for a user to access a front vehicle compartment. The aerodynamic system can include an actuator configured to move the air dam panel relative to the front bumper. The aerodynamic system can further include a controller in electronic communication with a front hood position sensor that is configured to automatically deploy the step based upon a position of the front hood.