Patents by Inventor RICHARD LEE STEPHENSON

RICHARD LEE STEPHENSON 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).

  • Autonomous driving sensing system and method
    Patent number: 10422649
    Abstract: First and second sets of data are collected in a vehicle from respective data sources. Each of the first and second sets of data are provided for determinations respectively selected from first and second categories of autonomous vehicle operations. A determination is made to take an autonomous action selected from the first category of autonomous vehicle operations. Data is used from each of the first and second data sets relating respectively to the first and second categories of autonomous vehicle operations to determine the autonomous action.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2019
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Gerald H. Engelman, Alex Maurice Miller, Richard Lee Stephenson, Levasseur Tellis, Timothy D. Zwicky
  • Adaptive suppression of vehicle restraint system
    Patent number: 9802566
    Abstract: A vehicle has a restraint system with at least two restraint devices. A sensor detects a potential collision object and outputs a signal representing a relative position of the potential collision object to the vehicle. A processing device suppresses deployment of at least one of the restraint devices based at least in part on the signal output by the at least one sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Gerald H. Engelman, Alex Maurice Miller, Brian Robert Spahn, Richard Lee Stephenson, Levasseur Tellis, Timothy D. Zwicky
  • Autonomous vehicle handling and performance adjustment
    Patent number: 9666069
    Abstract: A vehicle includes an autonomous driving sensor configured to detect a road condition and output at least one road condition signal representing the road condition, an autonomous mode controller configured to control the vehicle according to the at least one road condition signal, and a communication module configured to broadcast the road condition signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Gerald H. Engelman, Alex Maurice Miller, Richard Lee Stephenson, Levasseur Tellis, Timothy D. Zwicky
  • ADAPTIVE SUPPRESSION OF VEHICLE RESTRAINT SYSTEM
    Publication number: 20160121835
    Abstract: A vehicle has a restraint system with at least two restraint devices. A sensor detects a potential collision object and outputs a signal representing a relative position of the potential collision object to the vehicle. A processing device suppresses deployment of at least one of the restraint devices based at least in part on the signal output by the at least one sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2016
    Publication date: May 5, 2016
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Gerald H. Engelman, Alex Maurice Miller, Brian Robert Spahn, Richard Lee Stephenson, Levasseur Tellis, Timothy D. Zwicky
  • Adaptive suppression of vehicle restraint system
    Patent number: 9266487
    Abstract: A vehicle has a restraint system with at least two restraint devices. A sensor detects a potential collision object and outputs a signal representing a relative position of the potential collision object to the vehicle. A processing device suppresses deployment of at least one of the restraint devices based at least in part on the signal output by the at least one sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2016
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Gerald H. Engelman, Alex Maurice Miller, Brian Robert Spahn, Richard Lee Stephenson, Levasseur Tellis, Timothy D. Zwicky
  • ADAPTIVE SUPPRESSION OF VEHICLE RESTRAINT SYSTEM
    Publication number: 20150258954
    Abstract: A vehicle has a restraint system with at least two restraint devices. A sensor detects a potential collision object and outputs a signal representing a relative position of the potential collision object to the vehicle. A processing device suppresses deployment of at least one of the restraint devices based at least in part on the signal output by the at least one sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 17, 2014
    Publication date: September 17, 2015
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Gerald H. Engelman, Alex Maurice Miller, Brian Robert Spahn, Richard Lee Stephenson, Levasseur Tellis, Timothy D. Zwicky
  • AUTONOMOUS DRIVING SENSING SYSTEM AND METHOD
    Publication number: 20150241226
    Abstract: First and second sets of data are collected in a vehicle from respective data sources. Each of the first and second sets of data are provided for determinations respectively selected from first and second categories of autonomous vehicle operations. A determination is made to take an autonomous action selected from the first category of autonomous vehicle operations. Data is used from each of the first and second data sets relating respectively to the first and second categories of autonomous vehicle operations to determine the autonomous action.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 19, 2015
    Publication date: August 27, 2015
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Gerald H. Engelman, Alex Maurice Miller, Richard Lee Stephenson, Levasseur Tellis, Timothy D. Zwicky
  • AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE HANDLING ANND PERFORMANCE ADJUSTMENT
    Publication number: 20150235557
    Abstract: A vehicle includes an autonomous driving sensor configured to detect a road condition and output at least one road condition signal representing the road condition, an autonomous mode controller configured to control the vehicle according to the at least one road condition signal, and a communication module configured to broadcast the road condition signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2014
    Publication date: August 20, 2015
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Gerald H. Engelman, Alex Maurice Miller, Richard Lee Stephenson, Levasseur Tellis, Timothy D. Zwicky
  • Autonomous control in a dense vehicle environment
    Patent number: 9079587
    Abstract: A computer in a first vehicle is programmed to receive a first set of data from at least one sensor in the first vehicle and to receive a second set of data from at least one second vehicle. The second set of data is from at least one sensor in the at least one second vehicle. The computer is further programmed to use both the first set of data and the second set of data to identify at least one feature of a road being traversed by the first vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2015
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Matt Y. Rupp, Gerald H. Engelman, Alex Maurice Miller, Timothy D. Zwicky, Levasseur Tellis, Richard Lee Stephenson
  • AUTONOMOUS DRIVING STYLE LEARNING
    Publication number: 20150166069
    Abstract: A vehicle includes at least one autonomous driving sensor configured to monitor at least one condition while the vehicle is operating in an autonomous mode. A processing device is configured to control at least one vehicle subsystem while the vehicle is operating in the autonomous mode. The processing device is configured to control the at least one vehicle subsystem according to a driver preference.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2013
    Publication date: June 18, 2015
    Applicant: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Gerald H. Engelman, ALEX MAURICE MILLER, THOMAS EDWARD PILUTTI, MATT Y. RUPP, RICHARD LEE STEPHENSON, LEVASSEUR TELLIS, ROGER ARNOLD TROMBLEY, ANDREW WALDIS, TIMOTHY D. ZWICKY