Granted Patent B1

US 12,650,169 · App. 19/270,953 · Granted Jun 9, 2026

Inventors: Mahmoud Yousef Ghannam (Canton, MI); Rami Al Khatib (Dearborn, MI); Aed M Dudar (Canton, MI); Scott Alan Watkins (Canton, MI); John Robert Van Wiemeersch (Novi, MI)

F16H61/18B60Q9/00F16H61/16F16H61/22F16H2061/168

Abstract

Claims (73)

1 . A vehicle comprising:

a first sensor configured to detect a foot pedal position of a foot pedal;

a second sensor configured to detect a gear selector position of a gear selector; and

a processor coupled to the first sensor and the second sensor, wherein the processor is configured to:

detect a vehicle engagement with a conveyor pulling system associated with a car wash facility;

obtain information associated with the foot pedal position and the gear selector position from the first sensor and the second sensor responsive to detecting the vehicle engagement with the conveyor pulling system;

verify that the foot pedal is in a released position and the gear selector is in a neutral position based on the information; and

cause, based on verifying that the foot pedal is in the released position and the gear selector is in the neutral position, the gear selector to remain in the neutral position while the vehicle is engaged with the conveyor pulling system.

2 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

monitor a vehicle location; and

detect that the vehicle is approaching the car wash facility based on the vehicle location.

3 . The vehicle of claim 2 further comprising a third sensor configured to capture images of a surrounding area of a vehicle exterior portion, wherein the processor is further configured to:

obtain inputs from the third sensor responsive to detecting that the vehicle is approaching the car wash facility;

verify that the vehicle has entered the car wash facility based on the inputs from the third sensor; and

detect, responsive to verifying that the vehicle has entered the car wash facility, the vehicle engagement with the conveyor pulling system.

4 . The vehicle of claim 2 further possessing a transceiver configured to receive inputs from a computing device associated with the car wash facility, wherein the processor is further configured to:

obtain inputs from the transceiver responsive to detecting that the vehicle is approaching the car wash facility;

verify that the vehicle has entered the car wash facility based on the inputs from the transceiver; and

detect, based on verifying that the vehicle has entered the car wash facility, the vehicle engagement with the conveyor pulling system.

5 . The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a magnetic sensor configured to detect magnetic markers on conveyor hooks associated with the conveyor pulling system, wherein the processor is configured to:

obtain first inputs from the magnetic sensor; and

detect the vehicle engagement with the conveyor pulling system based on the first inputs.

6 . The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a torque sensor configured to monitor physical forces involved in a vehicle movement on the conveyor pulling system, wherein the processor is configured to:

obtain second inputs from the torque sensor; and

detect the vehicle engagement with the conveyor pulling system based on the second inputs.

7 . The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a microphone configured to capture sounds associated with the vehicle engagement with the conveyor pulling system, wherein the processor is configured to:

obtain third inputs from the microphone; and

detect the vehicle engagement with the conveyor pulling system based on the third inputs.

8 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

detect that a washing process of the vehicle has initiated; and

monitor a position of the gear selector responsive to detecting that the washing process has initiated.

9 . The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

obtain inputs from a vehicle camera; and

detect that the washing process has initiated based on the inputs obtained from the vehicle camera.

10 . The vehicle of claim 9 further comprising at least one of: an infrared spectroscopy sensor, conductivity sensors, or optical flow sensors, wherein the processor is further configured to:

obtain inputs from the at least one of: the infrared spectroscopy sensor, the conductivity sensors, or the optical flow sensors;

detect water and soap conditions based on the inputs obtained from the at least one of: the infrared spectroscopy sensor, the conductivity sensors, or the optical flow sensors; and

detect that the washing process has initiated based on the water and soap conditions.

11 . The vehicle of claim 10 further comprising a driver monitoring system configured to capture driver's actions, wherein to cause the gear selector to remain in the neutral position, the processor is configured to:

monitor the driver's actions based on inputs obtained from the driver monitoring system responsive to detecting that the washing process has initiated;

determine that a driver is shifting the gear selector based on the driver's action; and

output a notification for the driver to prevent the shifting of the gear selector.

12 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein to cause the gear selector to remain in the neutral position, the processor is configured to lock the gear selector in the neutral position.

13 . The vehicle of claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

obtain inputs associated with dimensions of the car wash facility; and

estimate a length of the conveyor pulling system based on the dimensions.

14 . The vehicle of claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine a distance traveled by the vehicle inside the car wash facility;

correlate the distance with the length of the conveyor pulling system;

estimate that the vehicle is engaged with the conveyor pulling system based on the correlation; and

lock the gear selector in the neutral position until the vehicle is engaged with the conveyor pulling system.

15 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

obtain a plurality of trigger signals from a driver to enable shifting of the gear selector; and

cause the gear selector to shift responsive to obtaining the plurality of trigger signals.

16 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

correlate information obtained from the first sensor and the second sensor; and

verify that the foot pedal is in the released position and the gear selector is in the neutral position based on the correlation.

17 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

detect that a washing process of the vehicle is interrupted; and

cause the gear selector to re-engage in the neutral position until the washing process is complete, after detecting that the washing process is interrupted.

18 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

detect a drivetrain configuration of the vehicle; and

automatically shift the gear selector to the neutral position responsive to detecting the vehicle engagement with the conveyor pulling system, based on the drivetrain configuration.

19 . A method comprising:

detecting, by a processor of a vehicle, a vehicle engagement with a conveyor pulling system associated with a car wash facility;

obtaining, by the processor, information associated with a foot pedal position of a foot pedal and a gear selector position of a gear selector from a first sensor and a second sensor, responsive to detecting the vehicle engagement with the conveyor pulling system;

verifying, by the processor, that the foot pedal is in a released position and the gear selector is in a neutral position based on the information; and

causing, by the processor, the gear selector to remain in the neutral position while the vehicle is engaged with the conveyor pulling system, responsive to the verification.

20 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereupon which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

detect a vehicle engagement with a conveyor pulling system associated with a car wash facility;

obtain information associated with a foot pedal position of a foot pedal and a gear selector position of a gear selector from a first sensor and a second sensor, responsive to detecting the vehicle engagement with the conveyor pulling system;

verify that the foot pedal is in a released position and the gear selector is in a neutral position based on the information; and

cause, based on verifying that the foot pedal is in the released position and the gear selector is in the neutral position, the gear selector to remain in the neutral position while a vehicle is engaged with the conveyor pulling system.

Assignments (1)

References Cited (9)