US 12240458

US Patent 12240458, titled "Vehicle gear selection control," was issued to Bulletproof Property Management LLC. The patent lists Bennet Langlotz as the inventor. The application was filed on October 27, 2024, and the patent was granted and published on March 4, 2025.

The abstract describes a motor vehicle operated by a driver, featuring a frame with wheels and a motor. A steering control is connected to the wheels to establish a steering angle. A controller is operably connected to the steering control, motor, and wheels, and is capable of selectively driving the wheels forward in a drive mode or rearward in a reverse mode. Crucially, this controller can select a direction for driving the wheels solely based on patterns of steering angle movements, without requiring any operator indication of the desired direction.

A plain-language overview of the independent claims is as follows:

• Independent Claim 1: This claim defines a motor vehicle with a system that automatically chooses the driving direction (forward or reverse) based on how the steering wheel is moved. It includes a vehicle frame with wheels, a motor, and a steering control that dictates the steering angle. A "drive system" connects these components and can make the vehicle move forward or backward. The key aspect is that this drive system selects the direction based purely on steering angle movements, eliminating the need for the driver to manually indicate the direction (e.g., by shifting a lever or tapping a touchscreen).

• Independent Claim 11: Similar to Claim 1, this claim also describes a motor vehicle capable of automatic gear selection based on steering. It specifies a "controller" (rather than a "drive system") connected to the steering control, motor, and wheels. This controller is responsible for driving the wheels in either a forward or reverse mode and for selecting the appropriate direction based on patterns of steering angle movements, without the driver having to provide a specific directional input.

Regarding litigation, the patent family is currently involved in legal proceedings. A case related to this patent has been filed in the Texas Western District Court (case number 1:25-cv-00665). Additionally, a PTAB (Patent Trial and Appeal Board) case, IPR2026-00229, has been filed and is currently pending [cite: The provided patent text]. As of the current date, there are no specific dockets indicating an appeal directly to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) for patent US12240458 in 2026. It is likely that any CAFC action, if it occurs, would follow a final decision from the pending PTAB proceeding.