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:
Mar. 17, 2026
Filed:
May. 24, 2023
Ford Global Technologies, Llc, Dearborn, MI (US);
Mahmoud Yousef Ghannam, Canton, MI (US);
John Robert Van Wiemeersch, Novi, MI (US);
Vivekanandh Elangovan, Canton, MI (US);
Nicholas Colella, Grosse Ile, MI (US);
Ford Global Technologies, LLC, Dearborn, MI (US);
Abstract
A vehicle includes a passenger compartment having a side and an upper wall extending from the side in an upper plan. The vehicle further includes an extension extending from the side of the passenger compartment to an end that extends in an end plane. The vehicle further includes at least one time-of-flight sensor configured to capture positional information about an obstruction outside the vehicle. The vehicle further includes control circuitry in communication with the at least one time-of-flight sensor. The control circuitry is configured to define a space above the extension between the side, the upper plane, and the end plane. The control circuitry is further configured to calculate, based on the positional information, an available position for the vehicle having the obstruction in the space. The control circuitry is further configured to generate an output in response to the available position.