Ford Touts Patent Application Numbers

AutoInformed.com

Ford CEO Mark Fields placing the license plate on the Fusion Hybrid autonomous vehicle.

Ford Motor Company today said that it submitted nearly 6,000 patent applications in 2015, many related to autonomous and connected vehicles. This is an increase of 36% from 2014. Hundreds of Ford employees are responsible for the work. In three years, employees in Asia Pacific increased invention submissions more than 140%, North America is up ~100% and Europe saw an increase of more than 50%.

Patent applications do not necessarily mean that innovation is coming to reality. Moreover, innovations can fail in the marketplace, as demonstrated by the My Ford Touch disaster or Th!nk (sic).  Competitive actions and first movers – err, ‘think’ Toyota hybrid and fuel cell technologies – can mean that new ideas however closely followed mean only the same market share and profitability for some companies. Worse, innovation can be expensive, sapping profitability at already low-margin automakers. (Ford Investing $4.5 Billion in Electric Vehicles)

Ford is exploring connected vehicles, wearable devices, eBikes, navigation, ride-sharing platforms, cloud computing and other technologies. A new bike system, for example, can detect bike lanes and alert cyclists of path deviations. Another one would suggest a safe vehicle speed based on nearby infrastructure, average vehicle speed and GPS data, and a new front brake light technology would improve vehicle-to-vehicle and autonomous driving-to-pedestrian communication.

Ford has 275 U.S. patents on EcoBoost, with another 200 pending. Ford has more U.S. patents on gasoline turbocharged direct-injection – EcoBoost – technology than any other automaker today.

About Ken Zino

Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
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