Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for an adaptive cruise control system that could make adjustments based on wiper speed that may be used in future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on November 16th, 2021, published on October 29th, 2024, and assigned serial number 12128894.
The Ford Authority Take
Cruise control is one of those features that has been around in automobiles for a long time now, and for good reason – it’s a nice feature to have when one is spending hours tooling down the highway on a road trip. In more recent times, cruise control systems have gotten quite a bit smarter with the introduction of adaptive technology, but Ford continues to explore additional ideas via multiple patent filings. Those include ideas for an enhanced adaptive cruise control system, a low visibility adaptive cruise control system, and adaptive cruise control activation tech. Now, this newly published patent adds another idea to that list, this time, for an adaptive cruise control system that could make adjustments based on wiper speed that may be used in future Ford vehicles, too.
Currently, adaptive cruise control systems adjust a vehicle’s speed to match another vehicle in front of it, which prevents the driver from having to deactivate cruise control or brake in that circumstance – as well as speed back up when the coast is clear. However, as Ford notes in this patent filing, there are other times when it might be prudent for adaptive cruise control to slow a vehicle down, such as in heavy rain or snow.
That’s precisely the motivation behind this concept, which would tie the operation of the windshield wipers to the adaptive cruise control system and automatically slow a vehicle down if the wipers are moving at higher speeds – which would indicate heavier precipitation and more hazardous road conditions. It’s an interesting idea, and one that could prove to be rather convenient for folks that want their vehicles to take more control than is currently available.
Comments
Well the Ford adaptive wipers have worked about as well as the Cone of Silence so this idea should be great. I can foresee Ford cars suddenly accelerating into the car in front and stopping dead on the road to get rear ended by the car behind.
Funny thing about a patent, it doesn’t have to actually work. It just has to lock up IP so others can’t benefit.
Is there a Lincoln that does not have a turbo engine? What is it?