Abstract: A solid state drag reducing vehicle grille for a vehicle includes a front bumper carried by the vehicle, left and right grille portions carried by the vehicle situated above the front bumper, and slats carried by the left and right grille portions wherein the slats are adapted to allow air to flow through at low vehicle speeds and to partially redirect airflow at high vehicle speeds.
Abstract: A transformer cargo cover for a vehicle having an open cargo bed area includes a first and second lower panel each having an outside surface and a first and second upper panel each carried by and overlapping a predetermined portion of the outside surface of a corresponding lower panel.
Abstract: An energy absorbing bumper assembly is provided, including a tube member and a first energy absorbing element positioned within the tube member, including at least one flange portion that absorbs collision energy by deflecting vertically during collision.
Abstract: A vehicle roof top luggage holder comprising a roof track, a roof rack for receiving luggage, and a rear frame, the roof track extending generally to the fore and aft of the vehicle on the vehicle roof, with the roof rack being moveably mounted with respect to the roof track to the fore of the vehicle and pivotally attached to the rear frame at the aft of the vehicle, characterised in that the rear frame comprises a hinge arm connected pivotally to the rear of the roof rack and pivotally attached to the rear of the vehicle one of the rear frame and roof rack incluing a cross bar positioned essentially horizontally across the rear of the roof of the vehicle, the arrangement whereby the roof tf the hinge arm of the rear frame, to the rear of the vehicle, enabling loading and unloading of the roof rack at the rear of the vehicle.
Abstract: A pedestrian protection apparatus for a truck is provided. The apparatus includes a bumper member mounted to a vehicle, a linkage, a stiffener, an extendible cross-member and an actuator. The extendible cross-member is mounted on a stiffener which in turn is mounted at each end at a first linkage and a second linkage respectively. The pedestrian protection apparatus may extend out from under the vehicle at speeds greater than a predetermined speed in order to prevent injury to a pedestrian in a collision. The linkages are disposed between the extendible cross-member and the bumper.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
December 15, 2000
Date of Patent:
May 28, 2002
Assignee:
Ford Global Technologies, Inc.
Inventors:
Peter John Schuster, Gregory Stanley Frederick, Shui-Fang (Ray) Chou, Jeffrey Leonard Bladow
Abstract: An on-board diagnostic system and method for directly monitoring the efficiency of a catalyst having negligible oxygen storage capacity is provided. The monitoring system includes an oxygen sensor mounted at a first end of the conditioning catalyst, and an exhaust gas catalyst bypass. The oxygen sensor includes a first side and a second side. The first side detects oxygen levels in the exhaust gas at or near the first end of the catalyst and the second side detects oxygen levels at or near the second end of the catalyst. The oxygen sensor simultaneously compares exhaust gas from the first end of the catalyst to the exhaust gases from the second end of the catalyst. The oxygen sensor produces a voltage signal which is proportional to the difference in oxygen levels between the upstream gases and the downstream gases.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 2, 2000
Date of Patent:
September 25, 2001
Assignee:
Ford Global Technologies, INC
Inventors:
Christian Thomas Goralski, William P. Boone, Richard E. Soltis
Abstract: A door seal for an automotive vehicle that requires low insertion effort and high extraction effort, that makes correct insertion onto a weld flange easier, and that provides a complete seal even in tight corners without adversely affecting door closing effort. The seal attaches to a weld flange located around the perimeter of a side door opening of the automotive vehicle and has such features as a channel with hinged gripping fingers and digits, an anti-rotation member, a bulb shaped hollow sealing member, interior trim gap hiding lip and weld hiding member.