Patents Represented by Attorney Fredrick Owens
  • Patent number: 8002064
    Abstract: A pair of side frames extends longitudinally away from each other in a vehicle width direction, which includes a closed cross section formed by an outer panel having a U-shaped cross section with its vehicle's inward side opening and an inner panel having a U-shaped cross section with its vehicle's outward side opening. A cab-mount bracket is provided on a vehicle-outward side of a front portion of the side frame to support a cabin. The cab-mount bracket includes an upper portion which is joined to a side face of a side portion of the outer panel and extends in an outward direction, and a lower portion which includes an extension portion extending in a vehicle inward direction beyond the side face of the outer panel and be joined to a lower face of a bottom portion of the inner panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2011
    Assignees: Ford Global Technologies LLC, Mazda Motor Corporation
    Inventors: Hideto Yamada, Eiji Okada
  • Patent number: 7954879
    Abstract: There is provided a vehicle door system for a door of a road vehicle, for example an open-top or convertible vehicle. The door includes a first hinged region thereof and a second openable region thereof. Moreover, the assembly comprises a reinforcement member for inclusion within the door substantially from the hinged region thereof to the second openable region thereof. Furthermore, the assembly further includes a first retention mechanism at the first region and a second retention mechanism at the second region, the mechanisms being resilient in operation to impact or crash forces applied to the door to resist lateral movement of the door when the door is in a closed state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2011
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Maurizio Roccato, Paolo Canato, Gunnar Lassl
  • Patent number: 7699327
    Abstract: The invention relates to a wheel suspension, which has at least one transverse link and one wheel carrier. The wheel carrier has a connecting element, through which a bolt extends, for connecting to the transverse link. The connecting element has a stop on a limb which is assigned to a bolt head, with the bolt head having a counterstop which corresponds to the stop.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2010
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Edmund Halfmann, Jorg Weshendorff
  • Patent number: 7640081
    Abstract: A control system (18) and method for controlling an automotive vehicle (10) includes a number of sensors that are used to generate a potential rollover signal. In response to the potential rollover, active differentials (112, 114, 116) may be used alone or in addition to braking to prevent the vehicle from rolling over.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2009
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Jianbo Lu, Michael Brewer, Keith Mattson, Joseph C. Meyers, Todd Brown
  • Patent number: 7628596
    Abstract: A power steering pump for an automotive vehicle including a housing defining a compartment, a cam plate disposed within the housing, a rotor disposed within the housing and a lower pressure plate disposed within the housing between the cam plate and a closed end of the housing. A cover sealingly engages the housing to close an open end of the housing. The cover includes under vane porting to provide a fluid path from an outlet port on the cover to the rotor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2009
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Timothy Matthew Staton, Brian Stanley Modrzejewski, David R. Hartman, Brandon William Bailey, Michael Dean Strickler
  • Patent number: 7591330
    Abstract: A power assist system for a motor vehicle subsystem having a component support structure is described. The power assist system comprises a fluid reservoir, a pump having an inlet for receiving a fluid from the reservoir and a pump securing structure including at least one aperture. The system additionally includes at least one fastener. The reservoir fluid outlet is directly coupled to the pump inlet and the at least one fastener secures the reservoir mounting structure by passing directly through the pump mounting structure and attaching to the motor vehicle component support structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2009
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Kenneth Kamman
  • Patent number: 7451033
    Abstract: A system (18) for controlling a safety system (44) of a vehicle (10) is disclosed herein. The system includes a longitudinal acceleration sensor (36), a vehicle or wheel speed sensor(s) (20), a lateral acceleration sensor (32), a yaw rate sensor (28), and a controller (26). The controller determines a stability index and provides a first observer that determines a reference longitudinal velocity in response to the sensors. The controller determines a reference lateral velocity in response to the sensors. The controller provides a second observer that determines a second longitudinal velocity in response to the sensors and a first adjustment based on the reference longitudinal velocity. The controller determines a second lateral velocity in response to the sensors and a second adjustment based on the reference lateral velocity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2008
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Li Xu, Hongtei Eric Tseng, Joseph C. Meyers
  • Patent number: 7380436
    Abstract: The invention is an apparatus for simulating attributes of a vehicle during a certain inertial event. The apparatus comprises a rigid shell, an occupant compartment surrounded by the rigid shell, and a carriage supporting the occupant compartment and the rigid shell. The test apparatus transforms the vehicle into a system of reusable components. The rigid body shell eliminates damage to body components by protecting the occupant compartment. The invention also provides a method of simulating a tripped rollover event of a vehicle with the test apparatus and a cart.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2008
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Robert McCoy
  • Patent number: 7373227
    Abstract: A vehicle control system includes a housed sensor cluster generating a plurality of signals. An integrated controller includes a sensor signal compensation unit and a kinematics unit, wherein the sensor signal compensation unit receives at least one of the plurality of signals and compensates for an offset within the signal and generates a compensated signal as a function thereof. The integrated controller further generates a kinematics signal including a sensor frame with respect to an intermediate axis system as a function of the compensated signal and generates a vehicle frame signal as a function of the kinematics signal. A dynamic system controller receives the vehicle frame signal and generates a dynamic control signal in response thereto. A safety device controller receives the dynamic control signal and further generates a safety device signal in response thereto.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2008
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies Ltd.
    Inventors: Jianbo Lu, Todd Allen Brown, Li Xu, Joseph Carr Meyers
  • Patent number: 7366602
    Abstract: A roll stability control system for an automotive vehicle includes an external environment sensing system, such as a camera-based vision system, or a radar, lidar or sonar-based sensing system that generates image, radar, lidar, and/or sonar-based signals. A controller is coupled to the sensing system and generates dynamic vehicle characteristic signals in response to the image, radar, lidar, or sonar-based signals. The controller controls the rollover control system in response to the dynamic vehicle control signal. The dynamic vehicle characteristics may include roll related angles, angular rates, and various vehicle velocities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies LLC
    Inventors: Liwen Xu, Samir M. Beydoun, Gerald H. Engelman, Aaron L. Mills, Jianbo Lu, Keith Glenn Mattson
  • Patent number: 7349776
    Abstract: A vehicle control system has a plurality of subsystem controllers including an engine management system 28, a transmission controller 30, a steering controller 48, a brakes controller 62 and a suspension controller 82. These subsystem controllers are each operable in a plurality of subsystem modes, and are all connected to a vehicle mode controller 98 which controls the modes of operation of each of the subsystem controllers so as to provide a number of driving modes for the vehicle. Each of the modes corresponds to a particular driving condition or set of driving conditions, and in each mode each of the functions is set to the function in mode most appropriate to those conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2008
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Anthony Francis Spillane, William Burdock, David Andrew Clare, Derek Leslie Jones, John Anthony Kellett, Jan Pieter Prins, Keith Gary Reginald Parsons, Paul Malcolm Darnell
  • Patent number: 7290634
    Abstract: A differential control system for the center and rear differentials of a four-wheel-drive vehicle comprises a controller (28) which receives signals input from a number of sensors including ride height sensors (42, 44, 46, 48). The controller (28) determines from the ride height signals the degree of articulation of the vehicle suspension and controls the degree of locking of the differentials in response. The degree of locking is increased with increased articulation, and with increased rate of change of articulation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2007
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: David Clare, Keith Gary Reginald Parsons, Jan Prins
  • Patent number: 7229099
    Abstract: A chassis auxiliary-frame arrangement on a preferably self-supporting vehicle body is designed for improving the safety in a crash in such a manner that, in a frontal impact of the vehicle, the deformation zones of the vehicle body can be adequately and uniformly deformed without interference from the chassis auxiliary frame in order thereby to achieve a greater effective crash length of the deformation zones of the body. For this purpose, the chassis auxiliary-frame has devices for fastening it to the vehicle body, which devices, during a frontal impact of the vehicle, are completely detached above a certain degree of deformation of the deformation zones of the body, the chassis auxiliary-frame is therefore completely decoupled from the body and is pushed under the passenger cell 9 by means of a ramp.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2007
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Joerg Reim, Dirk van Oirschot
  • Patent number: 7222007
    Abstract: A system (18) for controlling a safety system (44) of an automotive vehicle (10) includes a longitudinal acceleration sensor (36), a vehicle speed sensor (20), a lateral acceleration sensor (32), a yaw rate sensor, and a controller (26). The controller (26) determines a reference pitch in response to the longitudinal acceleration signal and the vehicle speed signal and a reference roll angle in response to the yaw rate signal, the wheel speed signal and the lateral acceleration signal. The controller (26) determines a roll stability index and a pitch stability index. The controller (26) determines an adjusted pitch angle in response to the reference pitch angle and the pitch stability index and an adjusted roll angle in response to the reference roll angle and the roll stability index. The controller (26) controls the safety system (44) in response to the adjusted roll angle and the adjusted pitch angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2007
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Li Xu, Todd Allen Brown, Joseph Carr Meyers, Hongtei Eric Tseng
  • Patent number: D542195
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2007
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Edward Golden, Darrell Behmer, Melvin Betancourt, Solomon Song, Shawn Wehrly
  • Patent number: D543911
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2007
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Edward Golden, Darrell Behmer, Melvin Betancourt, Solomon Song, Shawn Wehrly
  • Patent number: D553766
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2007
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Edward Golden, Darrell Behmer, Melvin Betancourt, Solomon Song, Shawn Wehrly, Addam Ebel, Sang Kim, Garen Nicoghosian
  • Patent number: D555815
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2007
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Edward Golden, Darrell Behmer, Melvin Betancourt, Solomon Song, Shawn Wehrly, Addam Ebel, Sang Kim, Garen Nicoghosian
  • Patent number: D555816
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2007
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Edward Golden, Darrell Behmer, Melvin Betancourt, Solomon Song, Shawn Wehrly
  • Patent number: D607387
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2010
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Edward Golden, Darrell Behmer, Melvin Betancourt, Solomon Song, Shawn Wehrly, Addam Ebel, Sang Kim, Garen Nicoghosian