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:
Sep. 08, 2026
Filed:
Oct. 16, 2023
Ford Global Technologies, Llc, Dearborn, MI (US);
Keith Weston, Canton, MI (US);
Anna Frances Hardig Hendrickson, Southfield, MI (US);
Brendan Diamond, Grosse Pointe, MI (US);
Stuart C. Salter, White Lake, MI (US);
Kenneth Patrick Mchugh, Canton, MI (US);
Ford Global Technologies, LLC, Dearborn, MI (US);
Abstract
A method of providing vehicle guidance for traversal of rutted terrain may include employing a sensor network to determine characteristics of ruts in the rutted terrain, and determining a proximity value between a portion of a body of the vehicle and the rutted terrain based on the determined characteristics. The method may further include, responsive to the proximity value being below a proximity threshold, defining a strategy for positioning the vehicle at a point of increased ground clearance relative to the ruts, and providing a guidance instruction to the vehicle according to the defined strategy.