Vehicle safety power management

• US 9,682,669 B2
• Filed: 04/27/2015
• Issued: 06/20/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Tippy, David James, Acuna, Aaron, Weinfurther, James Michael, LeMaigre, Barb, Wojcik, Karl William, Cooprider, Anthony Dwayne
• Primary Examiner(s): Mawari, Redhwan K
• Assistant Examiner(s): King, Rodney P
• Application Number:
  US14/696,759
• Publication Number:
  US 20160311384A1
• Time in Patent Office: 785 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 31/00 Vehicle fittings, acting on a single sub-unit only, for automatically controlling vehicle speed, i.e. preventing speed from exceeding an arbitrarily established velocity or maintaining speed at a particular velocity, as selected by the vehicle operator fittings acting on two or more sub-units B60W30/14; speedometers G01P; systems or devices for controlling speed in general G05D13/00 ; in traffic anti-collision system for road vehicles G08G1/16
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 31/0083 responsive to centrifugal force acting on vehicle due to the path it is following
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/03 for supply of electrical power to vehicle subsystems or for circuit arrangements for charging batteries H02J7/00

Abstract

A vehicle system includes a processing device programmed to determine an ignition state and a vehicle speed. The processing device powers at least one vehicle subsystem if the ignition state is off and the vehicle speed is above a predetermined threshold. The processing device may disable the vehicle subsystem when the vehicle speed falls below the predetermined threshold.

Claims

1. A vehicle system comprising:

a processing device programmed to determine an ignition state, determine a vehicle speed, and power at least one vehicle subsystem if the ignition state is off while the vehicle speed is above a predetermined threshold.

2. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the processing device is programmed to disable the at least one vehicle subsystem if the vehicle speed is below the predetermined threshold.

3. The vehicle system of claim 2, wherein disabling the at least one vehicle subsystem includes removing power to the at least one vehicle subsystem.

4. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the processing device is programmed to determine a key state.

5. The vehicle system of claim 4, wherein the processing device is programmed to determine the ignition state independently of the key state.

6. The vehicle system of claim 4, wherein the processing device is programmed to power the at least one vehicle subsystem based at least in part on the key state.

7. The vehicle system of claim 4, wherein determining the key state includes determining at least one of a previous key state and a current key state.

8. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the processing device is programmed to implement a situational override.

9. The vehicle system of claim 8, wherein the processing device is programmed to implement the situational override in response to a user input.

10. The vehicle system of claim 8, wherein the situational override includes at least one of a towing override, a parked vehicle override, an assembly mode override, and a remote start override.

11. The vehicle system of claim 10, wherein the towing override includes a first towing override where an occupant is present in the vehicle and a second towing override where no occupants are present in the vehicle.

12. A method comprising:

determining an ignition state of a vehicle;

determining a vehicle speed;

comparing the vehicle speed to a predetermined threshold; and

powering at least one vehicle subsystem if the ignition state is off while the vehicle speed is above a predetermined threshold.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising disabling the at least one vehicle subsystem if the vehicle speed is below the predetermined threshold.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein disabling the at least one vehicle subsystem includes removing power to the at least one vehicle subsystem.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising implementing a situational override.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising receiving a user input, and where the situational override in response to receiving the user input.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the situational override includes at least one of a towing override, a parked vehicle override, an assembly mode override, and a remote start override.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein implementing the towing override includes:

determining whether an occupant is present in the vehicle; and

implementing a first towing override if an occupant is present in the vehicle and a second towing override if no occupants are present in the vehicle.

19. A vehicle system comprising:

a processing device programmed to determine an ignition state, determining a key state independent of the ignition state, determine a vehicle speed, and power at least one vehicle subsystem based at least in part on the ignition state and the key state while the vehicle speed is above a predetermined threshold, wherein the processing device is further programmed to disable the at least one vehicle subsystem when the vehicle speed is below the predetermined threshold,

wherein the processing device is programmed to implement a situational override in response to a user input.