Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Mark Mollon
  • Patent number: 6005488
    Abstract: The software and hardware resources of an electronic system are organized in an architecture which creates a single data table in program memory for the assignment of user controls to system functions. User controls can be reassigned through appropriate modifications to this table. Thus, minor changes to the user controls can be implemented without modifying the software or hardware of the system, thereby avoiding significant development cost. Furthermore, standard products can be developed which can be customized to the needs of particular applications of the products or variations for local markets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 21, 1999
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: David Anthony Symanow, David Bryan Gulau, Paul Michael Progar, Jeffrey Neil Golden, Douglas Brian Gillespie
  • Patent number: 5996727
    Abstract: A noise absorbing cover is provided for an automotive loudspeaker to prevent exterior noise from being coupled through a loudspeaker to the interior of the automobile. An air gap is provided around the cover to provide a vent to static pressure for the loudspeaker, thereby avoiding any degradation in low frequency performance. The air gap is oriented to exclude direct sound transmission paths for exteriorly generated noise to the interior.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 1994
    Date of Patent: December 7, 1999
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Henry Francis Blind, David Alan Dage, Alan Scott Phillips
  • Patent number: 5999092
    Abstract: A motor vehicle collision warning system 1 comprises an obstacle sensing system 3 including a plurality of sensors 5 together capable of sensing obstacles around the vehicle 7 and generating obstacle of concern signals when obstacles are sensed, and a warning control system 9 for receiving the obstacle of concern signals and for determining whether a collision warning signal should be generated. The sensing system includes at least one antenna cluster 11 mounted in the region of a corner 13 of the vehicle 7, the antenna cluster 11 comprising a radar transmit antenna 15 and two receive antennas 17 and 19. The transmit antenna 15 is mounted between the receive antennas 17 and 19. Receive antenna 17 faces towards the front of the vehicle and receive antenna 19 faces towards the rear of the vehicle. A trigger means 21 triggers the operation of the transmit antenna 15 and one or both of the receive antennas 17 and 19.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 7, 1999
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: Graeme Peter Smith, Eric Nicol Clouston
  • Patent number: 5999104
    Abstract: The software and hardware resources of an electronic system are organized in an architecture which creates a single data table in program memory for the assignment of user controls to system functions. User controls can be reassigned through appropriate modifications to this table. Thus, minor changes to the user controls can be implemented without modifying the software or hardware of the system, thereby avoiding significant development cost. Furthermore, standard products can be developed which can be customized to the needs of particular applications of the products or variations for local markets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 7, 1999
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: David Anthony Symanow, David Bryan Gulau, Paul Michael Progar, Jeffrey Neil Golden, Douglas Brian Gillespie
  • Patent number: 5958081
    Abstract: An energy efficient remote control protocol uses a start bit which has a variable length which corresponds to the parity of the transmitted symbol, a guard time which is fixed at a predetermined length, and a data transmission time which corresponds to the data to be transmitted. The data to be transmitted is transmitted as a logic low, thus improving the energy efficiency of the system. During the transmission of a code, only one stop bit is used at the end of the transmission. The guard time and parity check are used to verify proper transmission.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 28, 1999
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: Thomas J. Lemense, Tejas B. Desai
  • Patent number: 5945745
    Abstract: A detector and battery switch control energy flow from a battery in a vehicle to an electronic module. The vehicle ignition switch controls battery energy flow when the ignition switch is on and the detector and battery switch control battery energy flow when the ignition switch is off. A dimming circuit provides a dimming signal when a demand for energy is made, such as when the headlights are turned on with the ignition switch turned off. The detector senses the dimming signal and operates a battery switch to power up a microprocessor controller from an unpowered state to control operation of the module when the demand for energy is made. There is no sleep mode. A response is made directly to the demand for energy and there is no battery power used until a demand is made for battery energy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 31, 1999
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventor: Harold Ryan Macks
  • Patent number: 5940003
    Abstract: A magnetic field sensor for a keyless access system, particularly for motor vehicles, wherein the direction of incidence of electromagnetic radiation emitted by a transmitter in the short-range field can be detected. The magnetic field sensor has at least one first and at least one second conductor loop, which are disposed substantially concentrically with one another and are substantially symmetrical with respect to the center.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 17, 1999
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Martin Schulz
  • Patent number: 5936438
    Abstract: A digital waveform oscillator generates digitized waveforms without distortion using a lookup table. The frequencies which may be generated using direct lookup tables at their fundamental table frequencies are increased according to this invention by including multiple cycles of the waveform within a single table. The selection of a table length L and a number of cycles N to be stored in a lookup table is done in a manner to optimize corresponding values of the frequencies to be generated and the sample rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 10, 1999
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: J. William Whikehart, Bradley Anderson Ballard
  • Patent number: 5934950
    Abstract: An electrical contact includes a lead-in barrel section enclosing a pin receiving cavity having a generally longitudinally uniform cross section extending a predetermined length and an electrically conducting rib cage portion adjacent to and extending from the barrel section having a spinal portion with a plurality of curved cantilevered tynes projecting symmetrically therefrom, attached at one end to the spinal portion, and spaced apart at the other end from a corresponding tyne, each tyne extending a predetermined longitudinal length substantially less than the lead-in barrel section predetermined length.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 10, 1999
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventor: Yew Thye Yeow
  • Patent number: 5930693
    Abstract: A radio receiver avoids overshoot or undershoot of its audio output caused by inadequate AGC loop response when driving under an underpass and then back into an unobstructed environment. The AGC loop response time is changed upon detection of the sudden decrease in signal level when entering the underpass. The state of the AGC loop prior to entry into the underpass is stored. Upon exiting the underpass, the stored values are restored so that a proper reception level is immediately obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 27, 1999
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: John Francis Kennedy, Robert Donald Plowdrey, James Alfred Wargnier
  • Patent number: 5923298
    Abstract: The invention combines a loop antenna and a dipole antenna in a conformal antenna on the rear window glass of an automotive vehicle above the defogging heater grid. The loop and dipole are adapted to receive Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) signals in both L band and Band-III frequency bands with maximum sensitivity to vertically polarized signals while requiring minimal space on the window glass. Inductive components separate portions of the antenna pattern for signals at predetermined frequencies in order to create the different effective antenna shapes at the different frequency bands.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 13, 1999
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: Shunji Miyahara, Nicolai Lazarov
  • Patent number: 5892692
    Abstract: A digital waveform oscillator generates digitized waveforms without distortion using a lookup table. The frequencies which may be generated using direct lookup tables at their fundamental table frequencies are increased according to this invention by including multiple cycles of the waveform within a single table. The selection of a table length L and a number of cycles N to be stored in a lookup table is done in a manner to optimize corresponding values of the frequencies to be generated and the sample rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 6, 1999
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: J. William Whikehart, Bradley Anderson Ballard
  • Patent number: 5892834
    Abstract: An audio level dynamic range compression circuit 1 comprises a variable gain amplifier 6, an audio signal level averaging stage 8, an analog-to-digital converter 10, and a digital processor 12. The output from the averaging stage 8 is passed to the analog-to-digital converter 10 which has as its output a digital value representative of the level of the averaged audio signal. This digital value is then passed to the digital processor 12 which processes the digital value relative to a predetermined level of the averaged audio signal to produce a gain control output which varies in response to the digital value and which is passed to the variable gain amplifier 6 in order to compress the dynamic range of the output audio signal when the digital value is above the predetermined level. The gain control output is more rapid when the level of the averaged audio signal is rising than when the level of the averaged audio signal is falling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 6, 1999
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: David J Smart, Karl Westhead, Martin Page
  • Patent number: 5890061
    Abstract: A vehicle user can request emergency or roadside assistance from a response center by activating a button in the vehicle. The global positioning system is used to continuously store the vehicle location. A cellular telephone network is used to contact a response center and transfer a data string via modem containing information to assist the response center in acting on the request. Prior to attempting dialing of the cellular transceiver, a command or set of commands places the cellular transceiver into an unrestricted operating mode to provide the greatest probability of completing a call from the vehicle to the response center and from the response center to the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 30, 1999
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: Mark James Timm, Walter Alfred Dorfstatter, Garth Stephen
  • Patent number: 5856759
    Abstract: A high output power is obtained for an audio power amplifier using an amplifier circuit topology wherein channels or stages of a multi-channel class AB monolithic integrated circuit are paralleled in order to drive a low impedance dual voice coil speaker. The stages are paralleled by connecting their outputs through isolation resistors. These resistors prevent the differences in output bias voltages from resulting in a short circuit from power to ground. In addition, the resistors are sufficiently small to achieve the correct speaker damping factor, yet large enough to prevent excessive quiescent current. The separate amplifier channels or stages are paralleled through isolation resistors which increases current drive resulting in a higher output power to the loud speaker.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 5, 1999
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventor: Andrew Cyril Krochmal
  • Patent number: 5826836
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a retaining clip, and in particular to a clip that may be used to mount a component 1 such as a radio through an aperture in a motor vehicle dashboard 54. A spring clip 75 has a base 70 with screw 51 for affixing the clip to a side 2 of the component 1. A ramp section 40 extends from the base and terminates in a shoulder 44 for a sprung engagement of the component 1 against an inner surface 55 of the dashboard 54. A hook 80 on clip 75 engages a bias hole 52 in front part 4 when the clip is being affixed to the side of the component for pretensioning the ramp section 40 to enhance the sprung engagement. The clip has an alignment surface 89 which is dynamically aligned with respect to a reference surface 22 in the front part 4 of the component while the clip is being affixed to the component. The tension pulls the alignment surface 89 forward against a surface 22 of the component 1 to align the shoulder 44 with respect to the front 4 of the component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 27, 1998
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Kevin Gallichan, Reginald Cook
  • Patent number: D404740
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 26, 1999
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Nevenka Schumaker, Jeffrey Remi Hedrick
  • Patent number: D404741
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 26, 1999
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Nevenka Schumaker, Jeffrey Remi Hedrick
  • Patent number: D405094
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 2, 1999
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas John Buckingham, Nevenka Schumaker
  • Patent number: RE36505
    Abstract: A method for programming a lock to accept a key. The device will erase all the codes currently stored in the memory and program a new key value. The process requires several steps of turning the key to one of two positions when an LED is illuminated to indicate that the key must be rotated. After successful responses, all the codes currently stored are cleared and the security code of the new key is stored.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2000
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: William David Treharne, Ronald Gerard Moore