The LA show, opening this week, features some intriguing green concept cars...headed for production. Are you ready for a compact hybrid Lexus, a 170-mpg VW and

Administration stimulus spending has jump-started an unstoppable EV revolution, says President Obama. Because of the Recovery Act, the cars will plummet in cost

Crazy for Coconuts: Ford and The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Research Using Coconut Fibers in Vehicles

Electric cars get all the love and the federal money, say diesel and turbo advocates — and they want a level playing field.

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You have to love car dealers. With the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, car dealers are screaming about the tax benefits of buying these vehicles. Here's the scoop.

Now Offering the Toyota Mirai, Zero-Emission, Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles

The company said it was able to restart operations at the plant in less than 24 hours after receiving permission from local authorities as it had started intensive preparation even before the lockdown in India came into effect in March, DICV said in a statement.

The auto major has commenced production at its Sriperumbudur factory in Tamil Nadu adhering to 100 per cent compliance of safety and social distancing norms, Hyundai Motor India said in a statement.

Grand Canyon National Park has begun improvements to Cape Royal Road on the North Rim. Beginning September 3, 2013 Cape Royal Road from Roosevelt Point to Cape Royal Point, at approximately mile 11.5, will be closed for repaving. Vehicles over 20 feet in length will not be permitted on Cape Royal Road for the duration of construction. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/updated-road-improvements-to-temporarily-close-portion-of-cape-royal-road-on-the-north-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

We address the problem of optimal path planning for a simple nonholonomic vehicle in the presence of obstacles. Most current approaches are either split hierarchically into global path planning and local collision avoidance, or neglect some of the ambient geometry by assuming the car is a point mass. We present a Hamilton-Jacobi formulation of the problem that resolves time-optimal paths and considers the geometry of the vehicle.

How to generate testing scenario libraries for connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) is a major challenge faced by the industry. In previous studies, to evaluate maneuver challenge of a scenario, surrogate models (SMs) are often used without explicit knowledge of the CAV under test. However, performance dissimilarities between the SM and the CAV under test usually exist, and it can lead to the generation of suboptimal scenario libraries. In this paper, an adaptive testing scenario library generation (ATSLG) method is proposed to solve this problem. A customized testing scenario library for a specific CAV model is generated through an adaptive process. To compensate the performance dissimilarities and leverage each test of the CAV, Bayesian optimization techniques are applied with classification-based Gaussian Process Regression and a new-designed acquisition function. Comparing with a pre-determined library, a CAV can be tested and evaluated in a more efficient manner with the customized library. To validate the proposed method, a cut-in case study was performed and the results demonstrate that the proposed method can further accelerate the evaluation process by a few orders of magnitude.

Stabilizing multi-steered articulated vehicles in backward motion is a complex task for any human driver. Unless the vehicle is accurately steered, its structurally unstable joint-angle kinematics during reverse maneuvers can cause the vehicle segments to fold and enter a jack-knife state. In this work, a model predictive path-following controller is proposed enabling automatic low-speed steering control of multi-steered articulated vehicles, comprising a car-like tractor and an arbitrary number of trailers with passive or active steering. The proposed path-following controller is tailored to follow nominal paths that contains full state and control-input information, and is designed to satisfy various physical constraints on the vehicle states as well as saturations and rate limitations on the tractor's curvature and the trailer steering angles. The performance of the proposed model predictive path-following controller is evaluated in a set of simulations for a multi-steered 2-trailer with a car-like tractor where the last trailer has steerable wheels.

A transmission arrangement for an engine driven vehicle having two continuously variable transmissions serving to drive left and right hand vehicle wheels at separately variable drive ratios. Each transmission incorporates a variator of the type in which a net torque applied to the variator through its input and output is referred to a ratio control part, which may be formed as a control lever, whose position governs the transmission's drive ratio. The control parts of the variators are each operatively coupled to a driver's speed control, such that the speed control determines a mean position of the two control parts. However they are both also able to move relative to the mean position, under the influence of the torque they react. Additionally the control parts are coupled to each other such that any displacement of one control part from the mean position is accompanied by an opposite displacement of the other control part. In this way the transmissions are enabled to the relative speeds of the driven vehicle wheels automatically to reduce or even eliminate wheel slip, whilst still providing the driver with control over overall vehicle speed.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a radar system is provided which accurately measures the surface profile in a wide sector beneath and forward of a helicopter, to aid low level transit and landing in poor visibility. This uses an electronic beam synthesis technique to form multiple beams directed at the area of interest, each measuring the distance to the first reflected signal received by each beam. These distances represent the profile of the ground and any objects on the ground. A processor then compares the measured profile with the ideal ground profile for safe landing. If the deviations from straight and level exceed the specified requirement for safe landing, or if sufficient rotor clearance is not detected, then a warning is given to the operator. A display will show the measured ground profile highlighting the unsafe regions, allowing the operator to seek a safe region to land. The novelty lies in the way the beams are formed to measure and display the ground profile and provide a warning system. This beam-forming technique is simpler and more cost effective than with a conventional phased array radar.

A detector arrangement related to a contact device in a system for driving an electrically propellable vehicle along a roadway. The system comprises a plurality of road sections subdividing the roadway, each one connected to one or more electric stations for charging a set of batteries of the vehicle and/or supplying the necessary power and energy for driving the vehicle forward. The contact device comprises displaceable current collectors disposed underneath the vehicle, which are moveable up and down and sideways. The current collectors are coordinated with control equipment to bring the current collector into mechanical and electrical contact with conducting rails arranged in a track in the roadway. The detector arrangement comprises one or more coils and is adapted to sense the variation of a magnetic field generated by additional electrical conductors disposed in the track.

A brake control system for motor vehicles includes a stability system for stabilizing the vehicle from the standpoint of driving dynamics during braking, a triggering unit for the automatic output of a braking demand as a function of the traffic situation, a braking unit which converts the braking demand into a braking action, and a control unit for modifying the braking demand prior to its implementation as a function of the state of the stability system.

An electric braking device for a vehicle. The device includes: front wheel and/or rear wheel braking modules that are not powered when the vehicle is in a standby state; at least one on-board computer; at least one user control module which, upon a user's request, delivers a power supply control signal to control the power supply to the braking modules and braking control signals to activate the braking modules when the modules are powered; and a mechanism for cutting the power supply to the braking modules once the vehicle has zero speed and the wheels are immobilized under action of the braking modules. The device can reduce the power consumption of vehicles.

A collision avoidance system (CAS) is described that includes one or more sensor technologies, including, for example, an Ultra Wideband (UWB) sensing technology. The collision avoidance system is designed to reliably track the location and speed of vehicles and the distance between vehicles over a wide variety of track and terrain. The collision avoidance system may utilize information from a variety of sensor technologies to determine whether one or more vehicles violate speed and/or separation criteria, and may generate a warning.

The invention relates to a universal wireless trainable transceiver unit with integrated bidirectional wireless interface functionality, and a method for same. Using a scan, push button or untrained channel mode, a user may enter into a wireless bidirectional interface mode of a trainable transceiver. The interface mode allows a user to select a sub-set of modes that include diagnostics, flash and vehicle interface. Each mode provides the trainable transceiver to communicate wirelessly in a bidirectional manner with another remote device.

A system for optimizing storage in an enclosed transport trailer (6), having transverse bearing beams (2) for supporting a load such as loaded pallets (12, 13) at a mid height of the trailer such that two storage levels are available. The beams have a wheel (10) at each end that runs in a horizontal track (11) attached to each side wall of the trailer, the track enclosing the wheels to prevent them from disengaging from the track. Adjacent beams can be attached together at variable spacings using a spacer bar (15) to suit a particular pallet or load size. The track has a junction adjacent the open end (20) of the trailer that leads up to another track (18) immediately below the roof line where the beams can be moved to an out of the way storage position (19) when not required.

A cushion element for a vehicle seat or headrest comprises a non-woven layer and a fiber composite material. An insert material is arranged between the non-woven layer and the fiber composite material, and has different compression properties than the fiber composite material. The fiber composite material forms together with the insert material and the non-woven layer a one-piece material composite.

A sand delivery system for use in automobiles, or other vehicles. The device uses the hollow front bumpers found on most modern vehicles today to store bags of sand, which is delivered through a number of nozzles located in the front of the vehicle. A blower system forces the sand through the nozzles and projects the sand in a wide pattern out in front of the vehicle. The system is designed to operate when the vehicle is braking. Because the sand is disbursed out in front of the vehicle, the tires can better utilize the sand for braking. Because the sand is projected out in front of the vehicle only a moderate amount of sand is needed to improve traction, thereby reducing the need for large quantities of sand. The sand delivery system can be tied to a manual switch, the vehicle's brake pedal, or to a computer that is tied into the anti-lock brake systems of a car. In the latter case, sand is only be applied when the anti-lock brake system is activated.

An apparatus to improve traction conditions for motor vehicles under winter time driving conditions is disclosed. The invention comprises a sand storage reservoir and delivery system that supplies sand to each tire of a motor vehicle to aid in traction when driving in icy or snowy conditions found in wintertime driving. The sand reservoir provides sand to a plenum through four distinct sand compartments which dispense individual slugs of sand to a series of discs, connected via a cable, which move the sand through a delivery pipe to any of the four motor vehicle tires, as selected by application levers on the sand reservoir. The reservoir and associated controls are located inside the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle with the delivery tubes located on the undercarriage of the motor vehicle.

A vehicle-mounted device and method for delivering a traction enhancing material to a road surface directly in front of one or more tires is disclosed. The device delivers the traction enhancing material when an electronic controller detects a loss of traction. The device uses an air duct to collect air incident on the vehicle and direct the air to the road surface. The device further comprises a hopper to hold the traction enhancing material. The hopper is coupled to the air duct at an aperture. When activated, a valve assembly selectively opens and closes the aperture in response to controller commands. When opened, the traction enhancing material accelerates from the hopper into the duct and becomes entrained in the air stream where it is then delivered to the road surface. Once delivered, the traction enhancing material is introduced between the tires and the road surface to effectively increase the coefficient of friction therebetween.

Metering or dosing device for sand spreading apparatuses with a metering piston for sealing off and releasing the throughflow opening for the material to be spread, in which the metering piston and the opposite housing wall of the passage hole have profiles overlapping each other so that a labyrinth-like outflow of the spread material results.

Metering or dosing device for sand spreading apparatuses with a metering piston for sealing off and releasing the throughflow opening for the material to be spread, in which the metering piston and the opposite housing wall of the passage hole have profiles overlapping each other so that a labyrinth-like outflow of the spread material results.

The present invention provides a surface covering for enabling a surface, e.g. of the uneven, muddy, marshy, or sandy ground type, to be crossed by a vehicle, said surface covering including a double-ply textile core having two covered faces, each covered with at least one polymer layer, and a plurality of through tubular pockets extending substantially transversely through the thickness of the core between the two layers, and enabling respective stiffener bars to be inserted into each tubular pocket so as to make it possible, in particular, to increase the drivability and the load-bearing capacity of the surface when the surface covering is positioned on said surface.

Methods, systems, and apparatus for aggregating electric power flow between an electric grid and electric vehicles are disclosed. An apparatus for aggregating power flow may include a memory and a processor coupled to the memory to receive electric vehicle equipment (EVE) attributes from a plurality of EVEs, aggregate EVE attributes, predict total available capacity based on the EVE attributes, and dispatch at least a portion of the total available capacity to the grid. Power flow may be aggregated by receiving EVE operational parameters from each EVE, aggregating the received EVE operational parameters, predicting total available capacity based on the aggregated EVE operational parameters, and dispatching at least a portion of the total available capacity to the grid.

An arrangement adapted for letting water pass by electrical conductors and their contact surfaces related to a track of a system adapted for electrically driving a vehicle along a roadway. The vehicle is provided with a current collector which is displaceable up and down and sideways in relation to the direction of transportation, in order to be brought into mechanical and electrical contact with elongated tracks positioned below the roadway and comprising a conductor adapted to be supplied with current and put under voltage. At least two or three tracks are disposed parallel to each other in a common rail structure, with at least two of these tracks being adapted to support and contain individual electrical conductors with contact surfaces put under voltage, and wherein at least one track is disposed closer to the highest point of the roadway and adjacent to a track containing one of said conductors with contact surfaces, which may be put under voltage.

The present invention has its application to a system for driving an electric and by one or more batteries powered vehicle along a roadway, comprising “a” one or more vehicles, which may be driven by an individual electric motor or motors and where in the respective vehicles exhibit a power-controlling control circuit for creating the necessary power and/or speed control and wherein required power i.a. can be provided primarily by a chargeable can be provided primarily by a chargeable battery set associated with the vehicle and “b” a plurality of road sections road portions divisible for the roadway, each being allotted one or more vehicle external electric stations for charging the battery set thereby and/or for supplying necessary power and energy for driving the vehicle. The underneath side of the mentioned vehicle is provided with a contact means displaceably positioned up and down and sideways, counted in the direction of transportation. Said roadway and its road sections or portions exhibits an elongated track or groove, each road section is supporting two rails in the groove and disposed under the driving path of the road section or portion. The rails being supplied with current and voltage. Said contact means is coordinated with a control equipment for creating simple adaptation of the contact means for registering the contact means for mechanical and electrical contact against said two rails.

An auxiliary and motive electric power pick-up structure for articulated and non-articulated land vehicles, such as electric public transport vehicles, that pass close to a collector-shoe-type power supply member mounted on a stationary support (17) along the route of the vehicle and positioned at intervals along the length of the route in order to provide auxiliary and motive electric power to the vehicle by way of the shoe (16). The structure comprises at least one conductor rail mounted on insulating supports (11) attached to the vehicle by suspension points (34), each including an elastic suspension unit (30) and a pneumatic, hydraulic or other type active suspension unit (33). In the case of articulated vehicles, the pick-up structure is divided into power supply segments (14) separated by a conducting link (19) at each articulated unit of the vehicle.

This disclosure provides systems and methods for charging a vehicle. A vehicle and charging station can be designed such that an electric or hybrid vehicle can operate in a fashion similar to a conventional vehicle by being opportunity charged throughout a known route.

A cleaning means related to a vehicle-related system for driving an electrically propellable vehicle along a roadway. The vehicle has three sources of power: a vehicle-related power generator, a set of batteries and vehicle-external electric stations. The vehicle is provided with a current collector which is displaceable up and down and sideways in relation to the direction of transportation, in order to be brought into mechanical and electrical contact with elongated tracks positioned below the roadway and comprising a conductor adapted to be connected with an electric station. The cleaning means is rotatably fastened in an upper area thereof about a horizontally oriented axis of rotation and adapted to clean the track from loose obstacles and/or yield to solid obstacles. The cleaning means and the axis of rotation are movably disposed in vertical direction by means of a resilient member. The cleaning comprises a forwardly directed edge portion oriented in the direction of travel, the edge portion comprising a point which may be brought into contact with the track and the conductor.

A vehicle-related system adapted for electrically driving a vehicle along a road-way. The vehicle has three sources of power: a vehicle-related power generator, a set of batteries and vehicle-external electric stations. The vehicle is provided with a current collector which is displaceable up and down and sideways in relation to the direction of transportation, in order to be brought into mechanical and electrical contact with elongated tracks positioned below the roadway and comprising a conductor adapted to be connected with an electric station. A circuit, determining instantaneous power content of the set of batteries, is adapted to connect the vehicle-external power source via a switch belonging to the electric station, in order to charge the set of batteries and/or to supply power to the vehicle motor via a control circuit, when the power content of the set of batteries is at a predetermined level of power, lying below a maximum power content, and a supply of power or voltage from the vehicle-external power source is available.

A snow plough arrangement comprising a least one snow plough unit and related to a system for driving an electrically propellable vehicle along a roadway. The vehicle has three sources of power: a vehicle-related power generator, a set of batteries and vehicle-external electric stations. The vehicle is provided with a current collector which is displaceable up and down and sideways in relation to the direction of transportation, in order to be brought into mechanical and electrical contact with elongated tracks positioned below the roadway and comprising a conductor adapted to be connected with an electric station. The snow plough unit is rotatably fastened to the contact means in an upper area thereof about a horizontally oriented axis of rotation and adapted to clear loose obstacles from the track and yield to solid obstacles. The snow plough unit and the axis of rotation are movably disposed in a vertical direction by means of a resilient member. The snow plough unit comprises a forwardly directed edge portion oriented in the direction of travel, the edge portion comprising a point, which may be brought into contact with the bottom of the track and/or the conductor.

A wireless communication system for agricultural vehicles, in which each vehicle has a global positioning system (GPS), a multi-channel transmitter/receiver module having a limited communication range, and a signal processor connected to the transmitter/receiver module. The transmitter is controlled by the signal processor to transmit on a predetermined communication channel a signal comprising a unique vehicle identifier and a signal indicating the current positional coordinates of the vehicle. The signal processor also analyzes the signals received from other vehicles within the communication range and determines from the identifier and the positional coordinates data when another vehicle is ready to perform a joint operation with the vehicle. Prior to initiation of a joint operation, the communication system is switched to a different communication channel.

A brake control system and method for motor vehicles is provided with an electronic control unit, by which, when the motor vehicle is stationary, a parking brake function can be activated manually or automatically. Its deactivation occurs upon reaching a predefined release condition. In the presence of a release condition the brake pressure, which was built up for the parking brake function, is released in a time offset manner at least in relation to the axles of the vehicle by way of the control unit.

Interior panels having integrated airbag doors for motor vehicles and methods for making such interior panels are provided herein. In one example, an interior panel comprises a substrate having outer and inner surfaces and an opening extending therethrough. A multi-shot injection molded airbag chute-door assembly is mounted to the substrate and comprises a chute wall that at least partially surrounds an interior space. A door flap portion is pivotally connected to the chute wall and at least partially covers the opening. A perimeter flange extends from the chute wall and has a flange section that overlies the outer surface of the substrate. A molded-in lip feature extends from the flange section and contacts the outer surface to form a seal between the flange section and the substrate. A skin covering extends over the substrate and a foam is disposed between the skin covering and the substrate.

Airbag inflator system includes an inflatable airbag, e.g., a side curtain airbag, a housing, a gas generating system arranged apart from the housing for generating gas, and a conduit leading from the gas generating system to the housing to provide gas to the housing, e.g., to a lateral end of the housing. A filter may be arranged between the gas generating system and the housing, possibly in the conduit. A nozzle may be arranged between the gas generating system and an interior of the airbag, which nozzle is varied as a function of temperature. The housing may be movably arranged relative to a fixed base and mounted to vary its relation to the base as a function of temperature, e.g., via elastic or deformable supports which support the housing on the base.

A motor vehicle includes a first side member having first lower and upper darts. The motor vehicle also includes a second side member parallel with and spaced apart from the first side member, the second side member having second lower and upper darts. The upper darts are positioned between the lower darts and end portions of the respective first or second side members. The motor vehicle further includes first and second bumper brackets coupled to the end portion of the respective first or second side members, a bumper reinforcement member coupled to the first and second bumper brackets, and a counter rotation bracket coupled to the bumper reinforcement member and extending upwards from the bumper reinforcement member. The lower darts and the upper darts form a preferential buckling zone of the first and the second side members.

A material handling vehicle includes a laminated bumper that provides both durability and reduced energy transmissibility. The laminated bumper includes at least a first bumper layer and a second bumper layer, such that at least one of the first bumper layer and second bumper layer of the laminate bumper are allowed to translate upon bumper contact with an object.

What is described is a middle buffer coupling for rail-bound vehicles, comprising two coupling halves (2, 2') to be coupled together attached to vehicle parts (A, B), each of said coupling halves (2, 2') comprising a coupling rod (8, 8') with a coupling head (12, 12'), and comprising a connecting element (16) for manually connecting the two coupling heads (12, 12'). Disposed at each coupling head (12, 12') is an electrical contact element (32, 34) for contacting with the contact element of the other respective coupling head (12, 12') when the two coupling halves (2, 2') are coupled. Routed within each coupling rod (8, 8') are electrical lines (18, 18') that lead from the contact elements (32, 34) of the associated coupling head (12, 12') to the vehicle part (A, B) to which the coupling halves (2, 2') comprising said coupling rods (8, 8') are attached, respectively.

This is a vehicle transfer system to connect a roadway vehicle such as a bus to and from a train either when stopped or moving. It mounts the bus end or ends each on the swivel end of a railway car. The bus end which couples a railway car has wheels that retract to clear from the track. All wheels of the bus are lifted if the bus is supported on a railway car at each end. Automatic couplers are provided to couple to a moving train. If the bus is only supported at the front on a swivel coupling car it can have hi-rail retractable swivel truck wheels lowered to the rails to guide the rear of the bus around sharp tram curves.

The present invention provides a method for improving operation density of rail vehicles and for preventing head-on collision and rear-ending collision. Said method divides a rail line into equidistant electronic zones, the length of a zone being greater than the shortest safe distance between two running vehicles. Said method installs a locomotive passing detection alarm device in each zone, when a locomotive travels at high speed on the rail, the locomotive passing detection alarm device corresponding to the zone occupied by the locomotive itself will simultaneously access adjacent front and back zones, and determine whether the two adjacent zones are simultaneously occupied by locomotives. If the two adjacent. zones are simultaneously occupied by locomotives, the locomotive passing alarm device will send an alarm signal to the locomotives to warn or otherwise take measures. The aforesaid method can avoid locomotive head-on collision and rear-end collision and increase transportation density according to the vehicle speed and distance at the same time, thus improving the transportation efficiency.

A system and method for determining dynamically changing distributions of vehicles in a vehicle system are disclosed. The system and method determine handling parameters of the vehicle system. The handling parameters are determined for different distributions of the vehicles among different groups at different potential change points along a route. The system and method also determine whether to change the distributions at potential change points based on the handling parameters. Based on determining that the distributions are to change, a selected sequence of changes to the distributions is determined at one or more of the potential change points along the route. Change indices are generated based on the selected sequence. The change indices designate times and/or the one or more potential change points at which the distributions changes. The vehicles included in a common group have common designated operational settings while the vehicles are in the common group.

A pneumatic tire for a commercial vehicle with a tread, wherein at least the part of the tread which comes into contact with the road contains a sulphur-vulcanized rubber mixture. The sulphur-vulcanized rubber mixture contains 90 to 50 phr (parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight, of all of the rubbers in the mixture) of natural rubber, 10 to 50 phr of at least one polybutadiene having a glass transition temperature Tg of −110 to −65° C. and 5 to 50 phr of at least one aliphatic and/or aromatic hydrocarbon resin having a softening point (ring and ball to ASTM E 28) of 0 to 150° C., and a mean molecular weight Mn of less than 2000 g/mol and a polydispersity D=Mw/Mn of 1 to 5.

Side lug rows are provided at both side regions of a tread surface and are formed by a plurality of lugs defined by lug grooves opening to edges in the tread width direction, and a central block row aligned on the tire equator and formed by a plurality of blocks is disposed between positions at ¼ of the tread surface width from the tire equator. The tire has a directional tread pattern, with a designated rotation direction, formed by circumferential grooves and width direction grooves that define the blocks of the central block row and are narrow grooves with a narrower groove width than the lug grooves. The distance from the tire equator to the groove wall in each of the circumferential grooves defining the blocks is set to be larger at a leading edge of each block than at a trailing edge of each block.

A machine for fitting and removing wheel tires for vehicles includes a bearing structure, at least an apparatus for fastening and rotating the rim of a wheel for vehicles, a tool-carrier unit associated mobile with the bearing structure and having a removal tool, at least an adjustment apparatus suitable for adjusting the position of the tool-carrier unit with respect to the bearing structure, to place the tool-carrier unit into a work configuration wherein the removal tool is arranged in proximity of the apparatus for fastening and rotating, at least a memorisation device for memorising the position of the tool-carrier unit in the work configuration and at least a positioning device for positioning the tool-carrier unit with respect to the bearing structure between the work configuration and a configuration of minimum overall dimensions, wherein the tool-carrier unit is arranged in proximity of the bearing structure.

A lighted sign for a passenger vehicle includes a decal affixed to an exterior of a window and a lamp housing affixed to an interior surface of the vehicle window immediately opposite the decal. The lamp housing includes an electronics module that illuminates the decal only when the vehicle is moving and when there is insufficient exterior light to clearly see the exterior decal. The decal and design are removable and replaceable.