Patents by Inventor Amber LaVerne Hall

Amber LaVerne Hall has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9517777
    Abstract: A lane departure warning system for a vehicle includes a positional input device and a seat having an inflatable bladder therein and a vibrational unit coupled with the bladder. A controller is communicatively coupled with the positional input device and with the vibrational unit and includes electronic circuitry programmed to detect a lane departure based on a signal from the positional input device and to cause the vibrational unit to vibrate in response thereto.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2016
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Amber LaVerne Hall, Michael Kolich, Sean David Fannin, Keith Allen Godin
  • Publication number: 20160288680
    Abstract: A vehicle seating assembly for a vehicle has a lower seat with a center seat cushion and a forward thigh supporting portion having a first refracted position and a second extended position. A leading edge of the forward thigh supporting portion is longitudinally displaced forward of the lower seat in the second extended position relative the first retracted position. A seat bolster is coupled with the forward thigh supporting portion extending laterally from at least one side of the seat, wherein the seat bolster has a first retracted position and a second extended position. A user control is operational to move the forward thigh supporting portion between the first retracted position and the second extended position, which simultaneously moves the seat bolster relative to the center seat cushion, respectively, between the first retracted position and a second extended position of the seat bolster.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 1, 2015
    Publication date: October 6, 2016
    Inventors: MICHAEL KOLICH, Amber LaVerne Hall, Marcos Silva Kondrad, Sean David Fannin, Johnathan Andrew Line
  • Publication number: 20160229320
    Abstract: A vehicle seat includes a cushion and a seatback coupled with the cushion. The vehicle seat further includes a first set of independently inflatable massage bladders coupled within the seatback. The massage bladders of the first set are arranged to extend diagonally from adjacent a center line of the seatback at a first vertical location toward a first lateral side of the seatback at a second vertical location above the first location.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 9, 2015
    Publication date: August 11, 2016
    Inventors: Jeroen Lem, Joseph August Himmel, IV, Michael Kolich, Jessica Rausch, Amber LaVerne Hall, Brian Boland, Michael Medoro
  • Publication number: 20160207423
    Abstract: The present invention includes a vehicle seat having a seat portion and a seatback. The vehicle seat further includes a plurality of air bladders disposed in the seat portion and a plurality of air bladders disposed in the seatback. The air bladders are configurable between fully inflated condition, fully deflated condition, and plurality of semi-inflated conditions. A controller is configured to control air bladder inflation, wherein the air bladders deflate to the fully deflated condition in response to an access signal received by the controller. The controller is further configured to control the seat position with regards to vertical and horizontal positions to provide greater access to the vehicle interior when entering or exiting the vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2015
    Publication date: July 21, 2016
    Inventors: Michael Kolich, Amber LaVerne Hall
  • Patent number: 9340131
    Abstract: A vehicle seating assembly includes a pump and a headrest. The headrest has a support base, a flexible foam layer coupled with the support base, a flexible substrate overlying the foam layer and defining an outer surface, and an inflatable bladder assembly positioned between the base and the foam layer. The bladder assembly has a plurality of cells corresponding to respective regions of the outer surface that are independently operable between inflated and deflated conditions by the pump. The seating assembly further includes a control operably coupled to the pump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Michael Kolich, Amber LaVerne Hall, Sean David Fannin, Keith Allen Godin
  • Publication number: 20160129920
    Abstract: A lane departure warning system for a vehicle includes a positional input device and a seat having an inflatable bladder therein and a vibrational unit coupled with the bladder. A controller is communicatively coupled with the positional input device and with the vibrational unit and includes electronic circuitry programmed to detect a lane departure based on a signal from the positional input device and to cause the vibrational unit to vibrate in response thereto.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 6, 2014
    Publication date: May 12, 2016
    Inventors: Amber LaVerne Hall, Michael Kolich, Sean David Fannin, Keith Allen Godin
  • Publication number: 20160129815
    Abstract: A vehicle seating assembly includes a pump and a headrest. The headrest has a support base, a flexible foam layer coupled with the support base, a flexible substrate overlying the foam layer and defining an outer surface, and an inflatable bladder assembly positioned between the base and the foam layer. The bladder assembly has a plurality of cells corresponding to respective regions of the outer surface that are independently operable between inflated and deflated conditions by the pump. The seating assembly further includes a control operably coupled to the pump.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 6, 2014
    Publication date: May 12, 2016
    Inventors: Michael Kolich, Amber LaVerne Hall, Sean David Fannin, Keith Allen Godin
  • Publication number: 20160123793
    Abstract: An apparatus for customizing a vehicle seat includes a seat having a cushion and a back coupled thereto and a plurality of force sensors in respective locations along the cushion and the back. The apparatus further includes electronic circuitry coupled with the plurality of sensors and programmed to associate forces sensed by ones of the plurality of force sensors with the respective locations thereof and to output the sensed forces and associated areas.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 29, 2014
    Publication date: May 5, 2016
    Inventors: Michael Kolich, Amber LaVerne Hall
  • Patent number: 9302629
    Abstract: An integrated tray table is provided for a motor vehicle. The tray table includes a support that extends in a first plane and a retention panel that includes a pivot connecting the retention panel to the support. The retention panel is pivotally displaceable about the pivot between a home position wherein the retention panel extends in second plane substantially parallel to or the same as the first plane and a deployed position wherein the retention panel rests within a third plane in an angle to the second plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Amber LaVerne Hall, Sean David Fannin
  • Publication number: 20150126916
    Abstract: A method for selecting and controlling massage functions of a motor vehicle seat having a control system comprising the steps of: switching the system to a selection mode and starting the selection mode; providing a menu list having options for querying the user's requirements during the massage; selection of an option by the user and providing predefined responses to the respective query and selection of the response by the user and if necessary repeating the steps for further queries; and terminating the selection mode and automatically determining suitable massage settings on the basis of the user's selection and controlling the massage actuators in the motor vehicle seat on the basis of determined massage settings to perform the massage function.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2015
    Publication date: May 7, 2015
    Inventors: Amber LaVerne Hall, Michael Kolich, Keith Allen Godin, Johnathan Andrew Line