Patents Assigned to Global Technologies LLC
  • Exhaust manifold for an engine and method for manufacture
    Patent number: 9080496
    Abstract: A cast exhaust manifold for an engine is disclosed that is fastened to the engine by a number of independent flanges between each pair of which a spacer is positioned to produce an interference fit when the exhaust manifold is at ambient temperature. The use of independent flanges allow the exhaust manifold to expand when heated without creating high levels of internal stress and the spacers prevent undue distortion of the exhaust manifold when the exhaust manifold cools.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2015
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Anthony Bernard Demots, Robert Andrew Wade, Steven Johnson, Michael John Cade
  • Vehicle frame component
    Patent number: 9079619
    Abstract: A vehicle frame component for limiting the movement of the wheel of the vehicle toward the cab of a cab on frame vehicle including a base member welded to openings in the frame side rail and extending outwardly and located proximal the wheel structure. In one embodiment the vehicle frame component is located forward of the wheel and includes a tire puncture device to deflate the tire during an offset front impact and in a second embodiment the vehicle frame component is located rearward of the wheel. The vehicle frame component has particular utility during an offset front impact where the offset is less than approximately twenty-five percent (25%) of the width of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2015
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Ajay Kumar Gupta, Narayana Venugopal, John Charles Caris, Mark Wlotkowski, Charles Ko, Leonard Anthony Shaner
  • METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR A HEAD UNIT APPLICATION HOST
    Publication number: 20150193093
    Abstract: One embodiment includes a system having a user interface display and at least one controller in communication with one or more transceivers. The one or more transceivers are capable of communication with one or more devices. The at least one controller is configured to receive a request to communicate with the one or more devices. The controller is further configured to establish communication with the one or more devices. The controller is further configured to transmit a request for an application list compatible with the head unit from the one or more devices based on the head unit system. The controller is further configured to receive the application list from the one or more devices and output the application list at the user interface display. The output of the application list at the user interface display includes at least one icon.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Joey Ray GROVER, Joel FISCHER, Justin DICKOW, Scott SMEREKA, Philip Joseph DANNE
  • METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR A HEAD UNIT TO RECEIVE AN APPLICATION
    Publication number: 20150195669
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a system including at least one controller in communication with one or more transceivers. The one or more transceivers are capable of communication with a device. The at least one controller configured to transmit a request for applications compatible with the at least one controller from the device based on a system identification code. The controller is further configured to receive the application list from the device based on the system identification code and output the application list at a user interface display. The output includes at least one of an icon and a description. The controller is further configured to transmit a request to launch an application based on the selection of the icon at the user interface display and receive the application data. The controller is further configured to output the application data at the user interface display.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Joey Ray GROVER, Philip Joseph DANNE, Scott SMEREKA, Joel FISCHER
  • METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR A HEAD UNIT APPLICATION HOST FOR A RADAR DETECTOR
    Publication number: 20150192660
    Abstract: A vehicle computer system comprises one or more transceivers in communication with a radar-detector and an off-board server. The vehicle computer system further comprises a processor in the vehicle computer system in communication with the one or more transceivers. The processor is configured to receive a message from the radar-detector that includes information related to an alert, send data to the off-board server utilizing the one or more transceivers, the data including information related to the alert, and output at the VCS a notification based upon the message received from the radar-detector.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Justin Dickow, Joey Ray Grover, Scott Smereka, Jacob Sigal
  • BACKUP SYSTEM FOR ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION RANGE SHIFTING
    Publication number: 20150192202
    Abstract: Emergency shifting is performed in a shift-by-wire (SBW) vehicle during a power failure of a main electrical supply that includes a battery. A shift actuator is configured to mechanically couple to the transmission in order to execute shift events between a plurality of shift positions (including park and neutral) using the main voltage from the main supply during normal conditions. A human-powered generator is provided for converting a manually-imparted motion to an electrical output during the power failure. A storage device (e.g., capacitor) receives the electrical output to store a power reserve to apply to the shift actuator to execute an emergency shift event in the absence of main power in response to a manual command. The generator and storage device are configured such that a maximum power reserve stored from the generator can achieve only one emergency shift event at a time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Emad Al-Regib, Todd C. Spaulding, Mark E. Zyskowski, Brian J. Deurloo
  • SUPPRESSION OF BLADE PASSING FREQUENCY TONE IN AUTOMOTIVE AIR HANDLING SYSTEM
    Publication number: 20150192131
    Abstract: A noise tone occurring at a blade passing frequency in a blower for an automotive HVAC system is suppressed. The blower includes a centrifugal fan and a scroll body disposed around the fan. An outlet extends from the scroll body to conduct an air flow from a cutoff point of the scroll body. An inlet is coupled to the scroll body defining an inlet throat comprising an arcuate ring extending between a base and an annular end coaxially disposed over the fan. A partial-perimeter wall extends upstream from the arcuate ring having a height between about 4% and about 6.5% of an inner diameter of the annular end. The wall spans a perimeter portion of the circumference of the throat between about 120° and about 180°. As a result, noise at the blade passing frequency is suppressed without any significant reduction in air flow.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 8, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Curtis M. Jones, Zhengyu Liu, John Azar
  • METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTACTOR WELD DETECTION
    Publication number: 20150191088
    Abstract: An example contactor weld detection method for an electric vehicle includes detecting that a contactor is welded closed when the contactor is commanded closed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 9, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Philip Michael Gonzales, Debbi Callicoat, Masahiro Kimoto, Ben A. Tabatowski-Bush
  • FLEXIBLE FEATURE DEPLOYMENT STRATEGY
    Publication number: 20150193219
    Abstract: A vehicle may gather vehicle build configuration information, and provide a vehicle identifier and the vehicle information to a server. The server may determine a feature set configuration of a configurable module of the vehicle based on the vehicle information and vehicle feature associations retrieved from a vehicle data source, and provide, in a message topic of a topic tree associated with the vehicle identifier to which the vehicle is subscribed, a notification to configure the configurable module. The vehicle may update a feature set configuration of a configurable module supporting a plurality of features based on the notification.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 9, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Ritesh Pandya, Brian Petersen, Joseph Paul Rork, Praveen Yalavarty
  • VEHICLE CONTENTS INVENTORY SYSTEM
    Publication number: 20150191150
    Abstract: A vehicle may include a passive entry system having a controller and at least one antenna within the vehicle. The controller is operably arranged with the at least one antenna, and configured to cause, in response to a trigger event, the at least one antenna to transmit at least one challenge, receive a response to the challenge indicative of a tag in a vicinity of the vehicle, and identify an item based on the tag.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 9, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: John Robert VAN WIEMEERSCH, David Paul KAMINSKI, Robert Bruce KLEVE, Kevin Thomas HILLE
  • METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR APPLICATION CATEGORY USER INTERFACE TEMPLATES
    Publication number: 20150193090
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method includes matching application-identifying information of an application to one of a plurality of available user interface templates, each user interface template defining a presentation of common user interface elements included in each of the templates; and providing content from the application in the user interface formatted according to the presentation of the matching user interface template.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Joey Ray GROVER, Philip Joseph DANNE
  • METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR APPLICATION DATA TRANSPORT HANDLING
    Publication number: 20150195859
    Abstract: A system includes a processor configured to receive communication requests from a plurality of applications executing on a remote device, requesting communication with a vehicle computing system (VCS). The processor is also configured to save an identifier for each requesting application. The processor is further configured to establish a single communication channel to handle the communication requests. Also, the processor is configured to order the communication requests for delivery and relay data requests from the applications to the VCS over the identified transport format.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Joey Ray Grover, Philip Joseph Danne
  • AUTONOMOUS GLOBAL SOFTWARE UPDATE
    Publication number: 20150193220
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method may include subscribing to a first topic tree topic associated with an installed vehicle software component version; identifying a desired software component version based on a published notification retrieved from the first topic; and when the desired version and the installed version differ, updating a software component using a software update retrieved from a second topic tree topic associated with software updates to the installed version.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 9, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Joseph Paul Rork, Brian Petersen, Ritesh Pandya, Praveen Yalavarty
  • VEHICLE OCCUPANT RESTRAINT SYSTEM
    Publication number: 20150191143
    Abstract: An exemplary vehicle occupant restraint system may include a side airbag attached to a side portion of a vehicle seat. The system may further include a rear airbag attached to a rear portion of the vehicle seat. The system can also have a single inflator connected to the side airbag and the rear airbag, such that the inflator is configured to cushion a first occupant and a second occupant during a crash event with the side airbag and the rear airbag, respectively.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 3, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Mohammed Omar Faruque, Dean M. Jaradi
  • METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR FUEL ETHANOL CONTENT DETERMINATION VIA AN OXYGEN SENSOR
    Publication number: 20150192084
    Abstract: Methods are provided for accurately learning part-to-part variability of an intake or exhaust oxygen sensor. A correction factor is learned based on a sensor reading in dry air conditions, the dry air reading learned by applying a higher reference voltage to the sensor. An ethanol transfer function is then adjusted based on the learned correction factor so as to improve the accuracy of combusted fuel ethanol content estimation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 9, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Gopichandra Surnilla, Richard E. Soltis, Daniel A. Makled, Jacobus Hendrik Visser, David James Scholl
  • METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ERROR IDENTIFICATION AND DATA COLLECTION
    Publication number: 20150193326
    Abstract: A system includes a processor configured to receive identification of a vehicle-computing process use to track. The processor is also configured to initiate tracking when the identified process is requested and record success data relating to successful uses of the identified process. Further, the processor is configured to record failure data relating to failures resulting from uses of the identified process and report recorded data to a remote server.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Doron M. Elliott, James Dragescu
  • METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR APPLICATION LAUNCH AND TERMINATION
    Publication number: 20150195163
    Abstract: A system includes a processor configured to receive a first input corresponding to an application launch command. The processor is also configured to launch a selected application based on the first input. Further, the processor is configured to monitor for a second input, different from the first input, corresponding to an application kill command, while the selected application is executing and, upon receipt of the second input, terminate the application.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Joey Ray Grover
  • SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETERMINING AMOUNT OF LIQUID AND GASEOUS FUEL
    Publication number: 20150192450
    Abstract: A method may comprise, on board a vehicle, identifying a volume of gaseous fuel in a tank based on a volume of liquid fuel in the tank, the liquid fuel comprising a first fuel and a second fuel, the gaseous fuel comprising essentially the second fuel, and identifying quantities of the first fuel and the second fuel in the tank based on a solubility of the second fuel in the first fuel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 9, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Thomas G. Leone, Mark Allen Dearth
  • METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRIVER NOTIFICATION HANDLING
    Publication number: 20150193598
    Abstract: A system includes a processor configured to receive a notification request from an entity in communication with a vehicle computing system (VCS). The processor is also configured to receive notification content and parameters. The processor is further configured to validate a right of the entity to display a notification on the VCS. Also, the processor is configured to validate the content based on permitted content. The processor is additionally configured to validate the parameters based on permitted parameters and queue a notification for display following successful right, the content and parameter verification.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Joey Ray Grover, Joel Fischer, Justin Dickow
  • METHODS AND SYSTEM FOR CATALYST REACTIVATION
    Publication number: 20150192081
    Abstract: Embodiments for reactivating a catalyst are provided. In one example, a method for reactivating a catalyst coupled to an engine comprises when the engine is restarted following deactivation, adjusting a degree of fuel enrichment based on an engine off duration and an engine air amount during the restart.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 9, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Paul Mahlon Ranspach, Marc G. Uphues, Allen Lehmen