Patents Assigned to Ford Global Technologies, LLC
  • Patent number: 11975688
    Abstract: The techniques described herein relate to a motor vehicle, including: a front trunk; a housing adjacent a floor of the front trunk; and a panel moveable relative to the housing between a retracted position and a deployed position, wherein, when in the panel is in the deployed position, the panel provides a work surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Michael John Harmon, Hussain Z. Tajmahal, Benjamin Howard, Kathryn N. Cezar, Sarah Shaw, Charlie Qian
  • Patent number: 11975670
    Abstract: An assembly includes a seat, an armrest supported by the seat, and a bar supported by the armrest. The armrest is elongated along an axis. The bar is translatable along the axis from a stowed position overlapping the armrest to a deployed position extending from the armrest. The bar is pivotable relative to the armrest in a seat-inboard direction from a non-pivoted position to a pivoted position. An airbag is supported by the bar. The airbag is inflatable from the bar to an inflated position when the bar is in the deployed position and the pivoted position. The airbag includes a first inflatable portion inflatable along the bar and a second inflatable portion supported by the first inflatable portion in the inflated position. The first inflatable portion surrounds the bar in the inflated position. The second inflatable portion is inflatable upwardly from the first inflatable portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Mohammad Omar Faruque, S. M. Iskander Farooq, Dean M. Jaradi
  • Patent number: 11975710
    Abstract: A vehicle can be detected approaching a limited operation zone of a travel area. It can be determined that the vehicle is able to execute wireless commands from a computer. The object can be identified within the limited operation zone. Based on identifying the object within the limited operation zone, the vehicle can be controlled by providing a control command via wireless communications, the control command including whether the vehicle is permitted to enter the limited operation zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Gregory P. Linkowski, Mario A. Santillo
  • Patent number: 11975614
    Abstract: Informed towing is provided. Towing information is identified, by a towing vehicle, with respect to a towed vehicle to be towed by the towing vehicle. A towed configuration of the towed vehicle is monitored. Responsive to the towed configuration of the towed vehicle being incorrect according to the towing information, a warning is displayed in the HMI indicating the incorrect towing configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Brendan F. Diamond, Keith Weston, Andrew Denis Lewandowski, Jordan Barrett, Michael Alan McNees, Lars Niklas Pettersson
  • Patent number: 11975736
    Abstract: A computer, including a processor and a memory, the memory including instructions to be executed by the processor to calibrate utility functions that determine optimal vehicle actions based on an approximate Nash equilibrium solution for multiple agents by determining a difference between model-predicted future states for the multiple agents to observed states for the multiple agents. The instructions can include further instructions to determine a vehicle path for a vehicle based on the optimal vehicle actions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Qi Dai, Jinhong Wang, Wen Guo, Xunnong Xu, Suzhou Huang, Dimitar Petrov Filev
  • Patent number: 11979847
    Abstract: Handshaking is performed, by an ego device via a wireless transceiver, with surrounding mobile devices to receive identifiers of the surrounding mobile devices and incoming notification messages from the surrounding mobile devices. Each of the incoming notification messages are sent from a different respective sender device of the surrounding mobile devices and include identifiers of devices seen by the sender device and an indication of whether issues with the devices seen by the sender device were identified by the sender device. An alert is raised responsive to an issue being indicated with the ego device based on the incoming notification messages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Chenliu Stephen Lu, Judhajit Roy, Jonathan Barker, W. Cary Cole, Jared King, Kyle Yeakle
  • Patent number: 11975599
    Abstract: An assembly includes a housing. The assembly includes a sensor supported by the housing. The assembly includes a shell enclosing the sensor and rotatable relative to the housing in a first direction, the shell defining a window. The assembly includes a deflector extending radially outward from the shell at a leading edge of the window.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Segundo Baldovino, Rashaun Phinisee, Michael Robertson, Jr., Vahan Kazandjian, Venkatesh Krishnan, Navvab Khajehosseini
  • Patent number: 11979068
    Abstract: A rotor includes a rotor core lamination. The rotor core lamination includes a first metal alloy that at least partially defines adjacent magnet pockets proximate an outer periphery of the rotor core lamination. The rotor core lamination further includes a second metal alloy different than the first metal alloy that forms at least a portion of a bridge that extends between the magnet pockets. The rotor core lamination further includes permanent magnets disposed in the magnet pockets at opposing sides of the second metal alloy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Leyi Zhu, Michael W. Degner, Feng Liang
  • Patent number: 11976945
    Abstract: An assembly includes a housing defining a pressurized chamber. The assembly includes a sensor supported by the housing. The assembly includes a shell enclosing the sensor and rotatable relative to the housing, the shell enclosing a second chamber in fluid communication the pressurized chamber, the housing and the shell defining a gap therebetween. The assembly includes a ring supported by the housing, the ring defining an internal passage having an exhaust vent at the gap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Subba Reddy Boggu, Vahan Kazandjian, Venkatesh Krishnan, Rashaun Phinisee, Michael Robertson, Jr.
  • Patent number: 11977440
    Abstract: A system includes an on-board electronic device of an autonomous vehicle, and a computer-readable medium having one or more programming instructions. The system receives one or more forecast messages pertaining to a track, where each of the forecast messages includes a unique identifier associated with the track, and receives one or more inference messages pertaining to the track, where each of the inference messages includes the unique identifier. The system aggregates the one or more forecast messages and the one or more inference messages to generate a message set, and applies a set of processing operations to the message set to generate a feedback message. The system identifies one or more events from the feedback message, automatically generates an annotation for one or more of the events that is identified, and embeds the generated annotations in an event log for the autonomous vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: John Lepird, Lorenzo Nardi, Andrew T. Hartnett
  • Patent number: 11975647
    Abstract: This disclosure relates to a motor vehicle including a lift assembly. In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a motor vehicle, including a panel and an actuator assembly configured to raise and lower the panel between a highest position and a lowest position. When the panel is in the lowest position, an underside of the panel is spaced-apart above a ground surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Jesse Rene Diephuis, Michael John Harmon, Hussain Tajmahal, Amol Borkar
  • Patent number: 11976976
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer-readable media are disclosed for a systems and methods for intra-shot dynamic LIDAR detector gain. One example method my include receiving first image data associated with a first image of an object illuminated at a first wavelength and captured by a camera at the first wavelength, the first image data including first pixel data for a first pixel of the first image and second pixel data for a second pixel of the first image. The example method may also include calculating a first reflectance value for the first pixel using the first pixel data. The example method may also include calculating a second reflectance value for the second pixel using the second pixel data. The example method may also include generating, using first reflectance value and the second reflectance value, a first reflectance distribution of the object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Michael V. Morelli, Laurens M. Schouten-Evers, Minseok Oh
  • Patent number: 11975651
    Abstract: A computer includes a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions executable by the processor to, heat a passenger cabin of a vehicle, actuate a thermal sensor to collect temperature data in the passenger cabin, identify a surface in the passenger cabin that has a temperature below a temperature threshold, and actuate one or more components to sanitize the identified surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: John Robert Van Wiemeersch, Erick Michael Lavoie
  • Patent number: 11975724
    Abstract: Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed to determine vehicle trailer weight. An example apparatus includes a first sensor disposed on a hitch coupled to a vehicle to measure a first rate of change of a weight of the vehicle. The example apparatus also includes a second sensor disposed on a chassis of the vehicle to measure a second rate of change of the weight of the vehicle. The example apparatus also includes a controller to monitor the first rate of change and the second rate of change to determine if the vehicle is improperly loaded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Anton Rogness, Joshua Rajasingh, Andrew Niedert, Elliott Pearson
  • Patent number: 11975738
    Abstract: A first image can be acquired from a first sensor included in a vehicle and input to a deep neural network to determine a first bounding box for a first object. A second image can be acquired from the first sensor. Input latitudinal and longitudinal motion data from second sensors included in the vehicle corresponding to the time between inputting the first image and inputting the second image. A second bounding box can be determined by translating the first bounding box based on the latitudinal and longitudinal motion data. The second image can be cropped based on the second bounding box. The cropped second image can be input to the deep neural network to detect a second object. The first image, the first bounding box, the second image, and the second bounding box can be output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Gurjeet Singh, Apurbaa Mallik, Rohun Atluri, Vijay Nagasamy, Praveen Narayanan
  • Patent number: 11975712
    Abstract: A computer includes a processor and a memory storing instructions executable by the processor to identify a first scenario in which a vehicle is operating from a plurality of scenarios, prompt an operator to activate an adaptive cruise control of the vehicle in response to a preference score for the first scenario being above a threshold, refrain from prompting the operator to activate the adaptive cruise control in response to the preference score for the first scenario being below the threshold, and activate the adaptive cruise control in response to receiving an input to activate the adaptive cruise control from the operator. The scenarios indicate at least one characteristic of a road on which the vehicle is traveling. The preference score indicates a preference of the operator for activating the adaptive cruise control in the first scenario.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Fling Finn Tseng, Himanshu Verma, Aed M. Dudar
  • Patent number: 11976946
    Abstract: An assembly includes a housing and a sensor supported by the housing. The assembly includes a deflector supported by the housing forward of the sensor. The deflector and the sensor define a spacing therebetween. The spacing is open to an ambient environment external of the housing. The deflector includes transparent material that permits light to pass through the deflector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Navvab Khajehosseini, Rashaun Phinisee, Segundo Baldovino, Venkatesh Krishnan
  • Patent number: D1025848
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Joel Piaskowski, Doyle Letson, Christopher Walter, Omead Dorandish
  • Patent number: D1025858
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Joel Piaskowski, Doyle Letson, Christopher Walter
  • Patent number: D1025859
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Joel Piaskowski, Doyle Letson, Christopher Walter, Omead Dorandish, Joshua Greiner