Future Ford Vehicles May Get Display Flicker Detection

April 21, 2024 4:09 am

Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a display flicker detection system that may be used in future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.

The patent was filed on October 17^th, 2022, published on April 18^th, 2024, and assigned serial number 0129637.

The Ford Authority Take

In the future, Ford envisions using sensors to detect all sorts of things in its vehicles, as is quite clear from the automaker’s recent patent filings. Those include ideas for a wheel impact detection system, a coolant leak detection system, a vehicle damage identification system, a vehicular anomaly detection system, a wheel theft detection system, a suspension damage detection system, and a vehicle defect detection system, to name just a few. Now, this newly filed patent keeps that trend going by introducing yet another similar type of setup – a display flicker detection system that may be used to help improve quality in future Ford vehicles, too.

As Ford points out in this patent filing, many new vehicles have at least one type of display screen, whether it be used for infotainment purposes or even as a gauge cluster. Trouble is, sometimes, flickering can occur on these screens as a result of insufficient synchronization between multiple ECUs, or another type of anomaly such as a change in color or brightness levels. This type of problem can often be hard to detect during the vehicle assembly process, and can also occur over time.

Thus, the concept behind this patent is to use a system that would capture video feed of the display screen and multiple frames that can then be tested to ensure that these types of anomalies don’t occur. If the system does detect a problem, it could simply reprogram the display automatically, presumably, before a vehicle even leaves the assembly line. With Ford working to improve initial quality, such an idea makes a lot of sense, and could very well prove to be quite useful in the future.

We’ll have more on this and all Ford patents soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford patent news, Ford business news, and continuous Ford news coverage.

By Brett Foote

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.