Patents by Inventor Chad A. Widrick

Chad A. Widrick 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).

  • Virtual vehicle entry keypad and method of use thereof
    Patent number: 8994495
    Abstract: Keypad indicia are integral with a window of a vehicle. The keypad indicia are formed using a ultra-violet (UV) fluorescent dye that is nearly invisible to a human eye until exposed to UV light. A UV light emitting device of the vehicle is configured for outputting UV light. The light emitting device is mounted for enabling the keypad indicia to be exposed to the outputted UV light thereby causing the keypad indicia to become readily visible by the human eye. An imaging device of the vehicle captures user interaction with the keypad indicia while the keypad indicia is exposed to the outputted UV light. The keypad interaction processor determines if a sequence of body part movements with respect to the keypad indicia that is captured by the imaging device during exposure of the keypad indicia to the outputted light corresponds to an access code of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies
    Inventors: Mahendra Somasara Dassanayake, John Robert Van Wiemeersch, Yitah Richard Wu, Jeff Allen Greenberg, Donald Paul Bilger, Mark George Vojtisek, Chad A. Widrick, Patrick Holub
  • AMBIENT VEHICLE LIGHTING UNIT WITH ESD PROTECTION
    Publication number: 20140355287
    Abstract: An ambient vehicle lighting unit is provided and includes a carrier defining an interior volume and having an illuminable portion. A light emitter is disposed in the interior volume and configured to illuminate the illuminable portion and a protective member is disposed on a surface of the carrier and configured to absorb electrostatic discharge when an electrically charged object contacts the surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 3, 2013
    Publication date: December 4, 2014
    Inventors: Behzad Sohizad, Megan May Lovejoy, Donald Paul Bilger, Steven J. Antilla, Chad A. Widrick
  • VIRTUAL VEHICLE ENTRY KEYPAD AND METHOD OF USE THEREOF
    Publication number: 20140015637
    Abstract: Keypad indicia are integral with a window of a vehicle. The keypad indicia are formed using a ultra-violet (UV) fluorescent dye that is nearly invisible to a human eye until exposed to UV light. A UV light emitting device of the vehicle is configured for outputting UV light. The light emitting device is mounted for enabling the keypad indicia to be exposed to the outputted UV light thereby causing the keypad indicia to become readily visible by the human eye. An imaging device of the vehicle captures user interaction with the keypad indicia while the keypad indicia is exposed to the outputted UV light. The keypad interaction processor determines if a sequence of body part movements with respect to the keypad indicia that is captured by the imaging device during exposure of the keypad indicia to the outputted light corresponds to an access code of the vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 11, 2012
    Publication date: January 16, 2014
    Inventors: Mahendra Somasara Dassanayake, John Robert Van Wiemeersch, Yitah Richard Wu, Jeff Allen Greenberg, Donald Paul Bilger, Mark George Vojtisek, Chad A. Widrick, Patrick Holub