# US 10,369,873 B2 · Protective cover system and related method

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- Number: US 10,369,873 B2
- Document ID: US10369873B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/879,917
- Filed: 2018-01-25
- Published: 2018-05-31
- Granted: 2019-08-06
- Earliest claimed: 2016-07-07
- Assignees: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
- Applicants: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
- Inventors: Adrian Romero Regalado; Jorge Jara Zambrano; Mauricio Ivan Valadez Torres; Sergio Alberto Vega Velazquez
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10369873B2

## CPC

- B60J 11/025: {specially adapted for covering vehicle parts, e.g. for doors, windows or windscreens}
- B60R 13/011: {for internal load compartments, e.g. car trunks}
- B60R 16/03: for supply of electrical power to vehicle subsystems {or for (circuit arrangements for charging batteries H02J7/00)}
- B60R 19/48: combined with, or convertible into, other devices or objects, e.g. bumpers combined with road brushes, bumpers convertible into beds
- B60R 5/047: {collapsible by rolling-up}
- B60R 19/44: Bumper guards
- G01S 15/04: Systems determining presence of a target
- G01S 17/04: Systems determining the presence of a target
- B60J: WINDOWS, WINDSCREENS, NON-FIXED ROOFS, DOORS, OR SIMILAR DEVICES FOR VEHICLES; REMOVABLE EXTERNAL PROTECTIVE COVERINGS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES (fastening, suspending, closing, or opening of such devices E05)
- B60R: VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES

## Abstract

A protective cover system for a motor vehicle includes a first roller, a first cover wound onto the first roller, a second roller and a second cover wound onto the second roller. The protective cover system also includes a control module for displacing the covers between stowed and deployed positions covering one or both of the motor vehicle bumper and an interior cargo floor of the motor vehicle.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A protective cover system for a bumper of a motor vehicle, comprising:
a first cover displaceable between a stowed position and a deployed position;
a bumper surface condition sensor;
a presence sensor; and
a control module responsive to said bumper surface condition sensor and said presence sensor to deploy said first cover over said bumper.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The protective cover system of claim 1, further including a first roller, said first cover being wound onto said first roller.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The protective cover system of claim 2, wherein said control module includes a first roller drive mechanism and a controller.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The protective cover system of claim 3, wherein said first roller drive mechanism includes a first drive motor and a first linkage connecting said first drive motor to said first roller.

### Claim 5 (depends on 3)

The protective cover system of claim 3, wherein said controller is configured to deploy said first cover from said first roller over the bumper in response to signals received from said bumper surface condition sensor and said presence sensor.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The protective cover system of claim 5, wherein said bumper surface condition sensor includes a window in said bumper and a photoelectric sensor directed toward said window so that said photoelectric sensor detects substances deposited on said bumper.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The protective cover system of claim 5, wherein said presence sensor is selected from a group of devices consisting of a photoelectric sensor, a motion sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor and combinations thereof.

### Claim 8

A method of protecting an operator's clothing and an interior cargo floor of a motor vehicle from dirt, comprising:
detecting, by a first device, a substance deposited on a bumper of the motor vehicle;
detecting, by a second device, a presence of an operator near the bumper;
deploying, by a control module, a first cover over the bumper; and
deploying by said control module, a second cover over the interior cargo floor of the motor vehicle.