Ford Motor Company

About: Ford Motor Company is a company organization based out in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Internal combustion engine & Clutch. The organization has 36123 authors who have published 51450 publications receiving 855200 citations. The organization is also known as: Ford Motor & Ford Motor Corporation.

Aggregator, monitor, and manager of distributed demand response

Abstract: The invention broadly encompasses a system including a database to store demand response data, the demand response data including demand response agreement parameters, demand response load and energy demand characteristics of one or more demand response customers, the demand response load characteristics including power consumption capacity of each of one or more demand response loads, an aggregator to aggregate the demand response loads based on the demand response data and forecast data into a demand response portfolio, a monitor to monitor power demand of one or more demand response customers and one or more power grids, and a dispatcher to notify the one or more demand response customers of the demand response portfolio and to notify a utility of a response from the one or more demand response customers whether to control the demand response load to return the power consumption capacity of the demand response load back to the one or more power grids.

Electrically conductive adhesives for surface mount solder replacement

Abstract: Electrically conductive adhesives offer a lead free, relatively low temperature process for attachment of surface mount components to printed circuit boards (PCB's). The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) Conductive Adhesives project has defined a requirement for an isotropically conductive adhesive (ICA). In this study, 25 commercially available silver-filled epoxies were evaluated for joint resistance stability on copper and tin/lead surface finishes after 500 h of 85/spl deg/C/85% RH aging. Mechanical properties were evaluated through lap shear and impact testing. This testing led to a set of requirements for a surface mount adhesive including a volume resistivity of 1 m/spl Omega/-cm, less than a 20% shift in resistance after aging, and the ability to pass six drops with a plastic leaded chip carrier (PLCC) 44 package from a height of 1.52 m (60 in). Promising candidate adhesives identified in the screening study were evaluated on a circuit board test vehicle with a variety of components. Assembly revealed a narrow processing window when compared to solder. Impact testing demonstrated that current materials have inadequate impact strength for many components and accelerated T/H aging reveals unstable electrical resistance with Sn/Pb finished components. Preliminary data is included on a new adhesive formulation that has been developed to address the shortcomings of currently available ICAs.

Wake-up interface and method for awakening an automotive electronics module

Abstract: A low quiescent current wake-up interface and method for awakening an automotive electronics module from its inactive state. In one particular aspect of the invention, the wake-up interface comprises at least one wake-up input switch (28A-I, 38A-I); wake-up input switch interface circuitry (30A-I, 36A-I) for generating a first current transient when one of the input switches (28A-I, 38A-I) is closed; and wake-up sense circuitry (40) responsive to the first current transient for providing a wake-up command signal. Preferably the wake-up sense circuitry (40) includes a first latch (102) for detecting the first current transient, a second latch (172) responsive to the first latch (102) for providing the wake-up command signal, and timing circuitry (128) for providing a time delay. In another aspect of the invention, a method for awakening an automotive electronics module having a microcontroller (32) and at least one wake-up input switch (38A-I) coupled thereto comprises the steps of: generating a first current transient when one of the input switches is closed; sensing the first current transient; and generating a wake-up command signal in response to the first current transient.

A gradient relationship between low birth weight and IQ at age 6 years.

Abstract: Objective: To test for a suspected adverse effect of low birth weight (≤2500 g) on IQ at age 6 years in two socioeconomically disparate populations. Design: Nonconcurrent prospective study. Setting: An urban, predominantly disadvantaged population and a suburban middle-class population in southeastern Michigan. Participants: Low-birth-weight (N=473) and normal-birth-weight (N=350) subjects, randomly selected from the 1983 through the 1985 newborn lists of two major hospitals, one serving an urban and the other a suburban population. Main Outcome Measure: The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Revised to measure IQ. Results: The mean full-scale IQ of low-birth-weight children was 4.9 points lower than that of normal-birth-weight children, controlling for population site, maternal IQ, maternal education, and race (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.0 to 6.8). There was no evidence of low-birth-weight interaction with population site, and the same IQ difference was detected in both populations. In the urban population, low birth weight was associated with an increased risk for IQ below 85 (odds ratio, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.3 to 3.7). In the suburban population, low birth weight was associated with an increased risk for IQ below 100 (odds ratio, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.2 to 3.4). A gradient relationship with full-scale IQ was observed, with the largest deficit in those born weighing 1500 g or less, an intermediate deficit in those born weighing 1501 through 2000 g, and the least pronounced deficit in those born weighing 2001 through 2500 g. Conclusions: The overall effect of low birth weight represents an increase of approximately 10% of low-birth-weight children with an IQ of more than 1 SD below the population's mean. Children born weighing 2000 g or less bore the major burden of the IQ deficits. (Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1994;148:377-383)

Model Predictive Idle Speed Control: Design, Analysis, and Experimental Evaluation

Abstract: Idle speed control is a landmark application of feedback control in automotive vehicles that continues to be of significant interest to automotive industry practitioners, since improved idle performance and robustness translate into better fuel economy, emissions and drivability. In this paper, we develop a model predictive control (MPC) strategy for regulating the engine speed to the idle speed set-point by actuating the electronic throttle and the spark timing. The MPC controller coordinates the two actuators according to a specified cost function, while explicitly taking into account constraints on the control and requirements on the acceptable engine speed range, e.g., to avoid engine stalls. Following a process proposed here for the implementation of MPC in automotive applications, an MPC controller is obtained with excellent performance and robustness as demonstrated in actual vehicle tests. In particular, the MPC controller performs better than an existing baseline controller in the vehicle, is robust to changes in operating conditions, and to different types of disturbances. It is also shown that the MPC computational complexity is well within the capability of production electronic control unit and that the improved performance achieved by the MPC controller can translate into fuel economy improvements.