Ford Motor Patent Grants

Acetaldehyde scavenger treatment

Granted: March 17, 2020
Patent Number: 10590246
A method of forming a vehicle interior foam article, the method including applying a mold release agent onto an inner surface of a mold, delivering a solution having aldehyde scavenger(s) to the mold such that a reaction of the aldehyde scavenger(s) with the mold release agent is prevented, delivering a foam material into the mold, and casting the article.

Methods and apparatus to monitor an activity level of a driver

Granted: March 10, 2020
Patent Number: 10583840
Methods and apparatus to monitor an activity level of a driver are disclosed. An example method includes receiving, at a processor, eye movement data from a sensor monitoring eye movements of a driver of a vehicle. The method includes calculating, via the processor, an eye movement activity index using a substantially real-time recursive analysis of the eye movement data. The method further includes calculating, via the processor, a low activity indicator for the driver based on the eye…

Method of controlling warping in 3D printing

Granted: March 10, 2020
Patent Number: 10583647
Systems and methods for controlling warping and/or curling in a 3D-printed component are disclosed. One method may include fabricating a component having one or more anchors attached thereto layer-by-layer via additive manufacturing. The component and anchor(s) may be formed of a first material. The method may also include fabricating a support structure to support portions of the component as it is fabricated. The support structure may at least partially enclose the anchor(s). The…

Composite proton conducting electrolyte with improved additives for fuel cells

Granted: February 18, 2020
Patent Number: 10566640
Improved additives can be used to prepare polymer electrolyte for membrane electrode assemblies in polymer electrolyte fuel cells. Use of these improved additives can not only improve durability and performance, but can also provide a marked performance improvement during initial conditioning of the fuel cells. The additives are chemical complexes comprising certain metal and organic ligand components.

Anode exhaust reservoir assembly

Granted: February 18, 2020
Patent Number: 10562408
An anode exhaust assembly including a housing and a base member is provided. The base member supports the housing and includes a base reservoir having a channel reservoir defined between two walls and a purge outlet open to the channel reservoir. Each of the walls defines an opening fluidly connecting the reservoirs located at a base reservoir inner surface such that fluid accumulating on a housing inner surface collects in the base reservoir prior to entering the channel reservoir. A…

Acetaldehyde scavenger treatment

Granted: February 11, 2020
Patent Number: 10557010
A method of reducing aldehyde concentration in a vehicle cabin air, the method includes applying a solution comprising aldehyde scavenger(s) onto an outer surface of a foam article located or to be located within a vehicle cabin to form a top layer of the article such that aldehyde species are trapped within the article and prevented from being released into the cabin air.

Shutdown and storage method for fuel cell system at below freezing temperatures

Granted: January 28, 2020
Patent Number: 10547067
Improved methods are disclosed for shutting down and storing a fuel cell system, particularly for below freezing temperature conditions. The methods comprise stopping power production from the fuel cell stack, monitoring its temperature, and repeatedly performing a predetermined warming operation if the stack temperature falls to a normal threshold temperature. In the improved methods, either an initial threshold temperature and/or an initial warming operation are used that differ from…

Transport assembly having a cart for transferring articles

Granted: January 21, 2020
Patent Number: 10538419
An article transport assembly includes a lift cart and one or more carriers. The lift cart includes a main body and a table disposed on the main body. The carriers are disposed on a surface of the table. Each carrier is configured to support an article and includes a panel and at least two wheels attached to an underside of the panel. The carriers are operable to move along a surface of the table.

Method for measuring a true concentricity of a rotating shaft

Granted: January 14, 2020
Patent Number: 10533843
The present disclosure is directed toward a method for measuring a true concentricity of a rotating shaft. The method includes simultaneously measuring, with diametrically opposed position sensors, opposite sides of the rotating shaft at an initial state to acquire a first measurement data and at a 180-degree rotation to acquire a second measurement data. The method further determines a rotational centerline and a shaft centerline based on the first and second measurement data, and…

Flexible pressing verification system

Granted: January 14, 2020
Patent Number: 10534350
A flexible pressing system for accepting and rejecting pressed part into a part may include a pressing apparatus configured to press components into a hole of a part and a controller programmed to receive press data for a press of at least one of the components, the press data including force, distance and time of the press, and determine whether the force is indicative of an inadequate press based on the force and distance at a specific time of the press.

Hybrid metal plastic shear fastener

Granted: December 24, 2019
Patent Number: 10514054
A hybrid metal plastic shear fastener bolt. The bolt includes a metal body having a first end and an opposing second end including a head and including a threaded shaft extending from the first end towards the second end along a longitudinal bolt axis. The bolt also includes a plastic torque head formed on the metal body configured to shear away from the metal body at a predetermined torque.

Sentiment analysis of product reviews from social media

Granted: November 26, 2019
Patent Number: 10489510
User generated content, particularly Chinese language content, is retrieved from various sources such as forums, microblogs, social media sites, and the like. A portion of the content is manually labeled with a sentiment associated with the content and may be classified according to subject matter referenced. Sentiment-indicating features of the content is extracted according to a sentiment dictionary, which may include topic-specific jargon. The features are used to train a classifier…

Draw die and binder lock

Granted: November 26, 2019
Patent Number: 10486216
A single action draw press and a draw die set for the single action draw are disclosed. The single action draw press and die include a bolster and a stationary punch. A cushion is assembled to the bolster to support a binder ring that is adapted to be engaged by a die attached to a press ram. The die is reciprocated by the press ram relative to the bolster while a mechanical lock engages the die and the binder ring. The die contacts the binder ring and a mechanical lock secures the die…

Apparatus and method for piercing and trimming hot stamped parts

Granted: November 26, 2019
Patent Number: 10486215
A die apparatus including a first die element and a second die element is provided. The first die element is arranged with the second die element for disposal of a blank therebetween and includes a coolant channel and a trim groove for alignment with a trim line of the blank. A groove insert is disposed within the trim groove arranged to support a portion of the blank extending thereover and to reduce a cooling rate of the blank. The groove insert may be of a material including…

Cylinder bore having variable coating

Granted: November 19, 2019
Patent Number: 10480448
Engine blocks and methods of forming the same are disclosed. The engine block may comprise a body including at least one cylindrical engine bore wall having a longitudinal axis and including a coating extending along the longitudinal axis and having a coating thickness. The coating may have a middle region and first and second end regions, and a plurality of pores may be dispersed within the coating thickness. The middle region may have a different average porosity than one or both of…

Motor vehicle

Granted: November 19, 2019
Patent Number: 10479258
A motor vehicle having an auxiliary stowage compartment for transporting a compact scooter. The motor vehicle having an engine compartment, a passenger compartment, a luggage compartment in addition to the auxiliary stowage compartment. The auxiliary stowage compartment is accessible from the outside of the motor vehicle, and is opened and closed by a cover that is part of the outer skin of the vehicle wherein the additional stowage compartment is configured to receive a compact scooter.

Tool system including non-contact positioning device

Granted: November 12, 2019
Patent Number: 10471584
A tool system includes a rail, a trolley, a tool, a detent, and a target. The trolley is translatable between first and second positions along the rail. The tool is secured to the trolley. The detent includes a magnet. One of the target and the magnet is located at a third position along the rail, between the first and second positions. The other one of the target and the magnet is coupled to the trolley. The magnet and target cooperate to resist trolley movement away from the third…

Portable privacy management

Granted: November 5, 2019
Patent Number: 10467551
A memory of a privacy server stores user data and user settings. A processor of the privacy server is programmed to receive user settings corresponding to a user of a journey planning application; receive user data from vehicles and mobility services; manage the user data of the user according to the user settings; and provide information to the journey planning application explaining benefits of the sharing of the user data. A mobile computing device receives responses to a set of…

System and method for controlling gear mounting distance using optical sensors

Granted: November 5, 2019
Patent Number: 10466037
The present disclosure is directed toward a system that includes a first optical sensor, a second optical sensor, and a gear feature controller. The first optical sensor measures a plurality of first distances measured from a first reference point to a surface provided between a pair of adjacent teeth among a plurality of teeth circumferentially distributed about a first side of a gear. The second optical sensor measures a plurality of second distances measured from a second reference…

Closure member and body opening alignment verification system

Granted: October 29, 2019
Patent Number: 10457344
A method is disclosed for verifying the alignment of a door with a door opening defined by a vehicle body sub-assembly. Sets of two-way sensors and a four-way sensors are used to locate feature, or hole, locations including a master hole location on the body/side. Other two-way sensors and four-way sensors are used to locate door hanging fixture pin locations on the doors before the doors are assembled to the body/side. After the doors are assembled to the body/side, two-way sensors and…