Patents Assigned to Nissan North America, Inc.
  • Patent number: 11731494
    Abstract: A vehicle door assembly includes a first molding, a second molding and an end cap. The first molding is configured to be installed to a first door component. The second molding is configured to be installed to a second door component. The first and second moldings at least partially define a vehicle window opening. The end cap supports an end of the first molding to an end of the second molding. The end cap has an extension extending across a gap at least partially defined by the first and second moldings to fill the gap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: Nissan North America, Inc.
    Inventor: Robert T Slack
  • Patent number: 11718352
    Abstract: A vehicle engine cradle structure includes a front member, a rear assembly and a side member. The front member extends in a vehicle lateral direction and has a first outboard end and a second outboard end. The rear assembly extends in the vehicle lateral direction and has a first outboard area and a second outboard area opposite the first outboard area. The first side member has a first forward end, a first rearward end and a first forward outboard portion all being formed as a single monolithic unitary element. The first forward end is fixedly attached to the first outboard end of the front member. The first rearward end is fixedly attached to the first outboard area of the rear assembly. The first forward outboard portion extends in an outboard direction from the first outboard end of the front member defining an off-center impact area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignees: Nissan North America, Inc., NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD
    Inventors: Stephen Fekete, Ryan Corby, Adam Strean, Yunosuke Yamada, Seiichiro Eba, Toshio Furuta
  • Patent number: 11712849
    Abstract: A method of operating a 3-D printer apparatus includes a tank structure with a bottom wall with a printing area defined above and spaced apart from the bottom wall. A gas permeable liquid within the tank overlays the bottom wall of the tank structure defining a first mobile layer below the printing area. An inhibition liquid within the tank overlays the gas permeable liquid defining a second mobile layer below the printing area. A polymerizable resin overlays the inhibition liquid and flows into the printing area. Positioning of an object carrier controlled such that a lower surface of the object carrier is initially located within the polymerizable resin and within the printing area. Operation of a resin curing device beneath the bottom wall provides light to the printing area polymerizing predetermined portions of the polymerizable resin forming an object attached to the lower surface of the object carrier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2023
    Assignee: NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Nanzhu Zhao, Jinwei Cao, Nilesh Dale, Sandeep Patil, Cenk Gumeci, Mohammed Hussain Abdul Jabbar
  • Patent number: 11715827
    Abstract: An all-solid-state battery comprises a lithium anode, a cathode, solid electrolyte and a protective layer between the solid electrolyte and the lithium anode. The protective layer comprises an ion-conducting material having an electrochemical stability window against lithium of at least 1.0 V, a lowest electrochemical stability being 0.0 V and a highest electrochemical stability being greater than 1.0 V. More particularly, when the solid electrolyte is LiSiCON, the electrochemical stability window is at least 1.5 V, the lowest electrochemical stability is 0.0 V and the highest electrochemical stability is greater than 1.5 V. When the solid electrolyte is sulfide-based, the electrochemical stability window is at least 2.0 V, the lowest electrochemical stability is 0.0 V and the highest electrochemical stability is greater than 2.0 V.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2023
    Assignee: Nissan North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Hideyuki Komatsu, Shigemasa Kuwata, Atsushi Ohma, Maarten Sierhuis, Xin Yang, Najamuddin Mirza Baig, Balachandran Gadaguntla Radhakrishnan, Shreyas Honrao, John Lawson, Mohit Rakesh Mehta
  • Patent number: 11714971
    Abstract: A processor is configured to execute instructions stored in a memory to identify distinct vehicle operational scenarios; instantiate decision components, where each of the decision components is an instance of a respective decision problem, and where the each of the decision components maintains a respective state describing the respective vehicle operational scenario; receive respective candidate vehicle control actions from the decision components; select an action from the respective candidate vehicle control actions, where the action is from a selected decision component of the decision components, and where the action is used to control the AV to traverse a portion of the vehicle transportation network; and generate an explanation as to why the action was selected, where the explanation includes respective descriptors of the action, the selected decision component, and a state factor of the respective state of the selected decision component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2023
    Assignees: Nissan North America, Inc., The University of Massachusetts, Renault S.A.S.
    Inventors: Kyle Hollins Wray, Stefan Witwicki, Shlomo Zilberstein, Omar Bentahar, Arec Jamgochian
  • Patent number: 11708897
    Abstract: A shifter assembly for a vehicle includes: a body; a shift lock; and a shift lock lever that is supported by the body such that the shift lock lever is movable between a first position and a second position to cause corresponding movement of the shift lock between a locked position, in which the vehicle is immovable, and an unlocked position, in which the vehicle is movable. The shift lock lever includes a first end portion, and an opposite second end portion that is configured for contact with the shift lock. The second end portion is generally L-shaped in configuration, and defines an interior region that is configured to receive the shift lock to inhibit (if not entirely prevent) contact between the shift lock and other components of the vehicle to reduce any likelihood of inadvertent disengagement of the shift lock and unintended movement of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: Nissan North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Kristin Godfrey, Carrie Dubay
  • Patent number: 11702145
    Abstract: A vehicle body structure has a vehicle frame structure, a cabin structure, a cargo area structure and an elastic bumper element. The cabin structure is installed to a forward portion of the vehicle frame structure and defines a passenger compartment. The cabin structure also has a rearward wall. The cargo area structure is installed to a rearward portion of the vehicle frame structure. The cargo area structure has a forward wall spaced apart from the rearward wall of the cabin structure. The elastic bumper element is installed to one of the rearward wall or the forward wall such that in response to flexing of the vehicle frame structure, the elastic bumper element can contact the other of the rearward wall or the forward wall thereby restricting direct contact between the rearward wall and the forward wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Gregory Byrne, Jeffrey Pencak, Seth Grant, Brian Salazar
  • Patent number: 11701826
    Abstract: A 3-D printer apparatus (three-dimensional printer apparatus) includes a bottom structure of a tank. The tank defines a printing area located above and spaced apart from the bottom structure. The bottom structure includes oxygen releasing electrodes. A resin curing device is configured to selectively provide light to the printing area. The electronic controller controls operation of the resin curing device and the oxygen releasing electrodes. The electronic controller selectively operates areas of the oxygen releasing electrodes thereby releasing oxygen to predetermined locations below the printing area in order to temporarily prevent the polymerization of a polymerizable resin within predetermined locations of the printing area during the printing process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Mohammed Hussain Abdul Jabbar, Sandeep Patil, Nanzhu Zhao
  • Patent number: 11702070
    Abstract: Autonomous vehicle operation with explicit occlusion reasoning may include traversing, by a vehicle, a vehicle transporation network. Traversing the vehicle transportation network can include receiving, from a sensor of the vehicle, sensor data for a portion of a vehicle operational environment, determining, using the sensor data, a visibility grid comprising coordinates forming an unobserved region within a defined distance from the vehicle, computing a probability of a presence of an external object within the unobserved region by comparing the visibility grid to a map (e.g., a high-definition map), and traversing a portion of the vehicle transportation network using the probability. An apparatus and a vehicle are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignees: Nissan North America, Inc., The University of Massachusetts, Renault S.A.S.
    Inventors: Kyle Hollins Wray, Stefan Witwicki, Shlomo Zilberstein
  • Patent number: 11702075
    Abstract: A proactive pedal algorithm is used to modify an accelerator pedal map to ensure the deceleration when the accelerator pedal is released matches driver expectation. Modifying the accelerator pedal map provides the driver of a vehicle the sensation that the vehicle resists moving when travelling in dense scenes with potentially high deceleration requirements and coasts easily in scenes with low deceleration requirements. The accelerator pedal map is modified based on a scene determination to classify other remote vehicles as in-lane, neighbor-lane, or on-coming.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: Nissan North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Ostafew, Qizhan Tam, Therese Cypher-Plissart
  • Patent number: 11704945
    Abstract: Systems and methods for predicting component failure in a vehicle and alerting a driver based thereon. In an embodiment, the method includes receiving sensor data from at least one vehicle sensor over a period of time, processing the sensor data using a predictive model to detect an anomaly indicative of an upcoming component failure, determining a severity of the upcoming component failure based on at least one operating characteristic of the vehicle, and providing an alert to the driver of the vehicle regarding the severity of the upcoming component failure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Vikram Krishnamurthy, Yasuhiro Tanaka, Toru Takagi
  • Patent number: 11703090
    Abstract: A vehicle drivetrain includes a driveshaft, a driveshaft joint and a boot. The driveshaft joint is configured to be coupled to an end of the driveshaft. The boot is disposed over the driveshaft joint. The boot has an inner wall and an outer wall. The inner and outer walls are separated by an empty space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
    Inventor: Javier Fernandez Cahuantzi
  • Patent number: 11679816
    Abstract: A vehicle body structure having a side roof rail, a B-pillar and a bracket. The side roof rail has an inboard surface. The B-pillar has an upper end portion that overlays a portion of the inboard surface of the roof rail. The B-pillar extends downward from the roof rail. The bracket has a first portion and a second portion. The first portion is fixedly attached to the upper end portion of the B-pillar. The bracket further has a first rib and a second rib spaced apart from the first rib. The first rib and the second rib extend from the first portion of the bracket upward toward the second portion of the bracket. The first portion of the bracket further defines a slot located between the first rib and the second rib.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Bobby Fuentes, Fumio Tejima, Satoshi Sakurai, Atsushi Adachi
  • Patent number: 11681780
    Abstract: A vehicle receives sensor data from at least one of its sensors as it approaches an intersection and determines whether a traffic flow control device for the intersection is detected. When detected, a detected type, a detected state, or both of the traffic flow control device is determined. Using a type of the intersection, at least one of an existing type or an existing state of the traffic flow control device is determined, where the traffic flow control device is undetected or the detected type, the detected state, or both are determined with a detection confidence less than a defined level of detection confidence. The traffic flow control device is tagged with a label including its location and existing type, the existing state, or both within at least one control system for the vehicle. The vehicle is operated within vehicle transportation network using a control system that incorporates the label.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: Nissan North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Luis Lorenzo Bill, David Ilstrup, Stefan Witwicki, Kyle Hollins Wray
  • Patent number: 11673570
    Abstract: A vehicle driving behavior monitoring and warning system that includes a host vehicle having a communication device that receives operating information of remote vehicles that are located within a predetermined zone of interest, a warning device and an electronic controller. The electronic controller is connected to the communication device and the warning device. The electronic controller evaluates operating information received by the communication device and determine whether or not one of the remote vehicles is operating with questionable driving behavior and determines whether or not the remote vehicle poses a potential threat to the host vehicle. In response to determining that the remote vehicle is operating with questionable driving behavior and poses a potential threat to the host vehicle, the electronic controller operates the warning device warning the operator of the host vehicle of the remote vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Jeremy Chambers, Roy Goudy, Neal Probert
  • Patent number: 11673517
    Abstract: A wiring harness connector cover assembly for a vehicle includes a mounting bracket and a cover. The mounting bracket is configured to be connected to a structural member of a frame of the vehicle. The cover is removably connected to the mounting bracket. The cover includes a front wall, a rear wall, a lower wall and a side wall. The front wall has a first cutout configured to receive a first wiring harness. The rear wall has a second cutout configured to receive a second wiring harness. The lower wall extends between lower edges of the front and rear walls. The side wall extends between side edges of the front, rear and lower walls. The side wall extends upwardly from the lower wall higher than the first and second cutouts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Fernando Lopez, Claudia Gonzalez
  • Patent number: 11670755
    Abstract: A solid-state battery cell includes a cathode, an anode, a solid-state electrolyte between the cathode and the anode, and an electrolyte-anode interfacial layer between the solid-state electrolyte and the anode. The electrolyte-anode interfacial layer comprises porous, high surface area carbon and nanostructures formed on an anode-facing surface of the solid-state electrolyte, wherein the nanostructures penetrate the porous, high surface area carbon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: Nissan North America, Inc.
    Inventor: Rohan Gokhale
  • Patent number: 11660815
    Abstract: A 3D printing system includes a tank containing a liquid photopolymer resin. A textured surface is connected to the tank. The textured surface is configured such that light passes therethrough and into the liquid polymer resin. A transducer is connected to the tank. The transducer is configured to emit an acoustic wave toward the textured surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2023
    Assignee: NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Nanzhu Zhao, Sandeep Patil, Cheng Sun, Rihan Hai
  • Patent number: 11661113
    Abstract: A vehicle aerodynamic cover includes an upper body portion, a lower body portion and a boundary. The upper body portion defines a top edge. The lower body portion extends downwardly from the upper body portion and defines a bottom edge. The upper body portion is inclined in an inboard direction relative to the lower body portion when the aerodynamic cover is in an installed state. The boundary connects the upper and lower body portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2023
    Assignee: NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
    Inventor: Michael McGory
  • Patent number: 11660939
    Abstract: A vehicle body structure includes a door, a latch mechanism and a secondary reinforcement member (an attenuation member). The door has an inner door panel and a reinforcement member installed thereto the inner door panel. The latch mechanism is installed the inner door panel such that in a latching orientation the latch mechanism retains the door in the closed orientation and in a release orientation the door can move to the open orientation. A rearward portion of the reinforcement member is outboard and level with a portion of the latch mechanism. The secondary reinforcement member is fixedly attached to a central area of the reinforcement member spaced apart from the rearward area of the inner door panel and spaced apart from a forward area of the inner door panel. In response to an impact event, the reinforcement member deforms and contacts the latch mechanism preventing movement of the latch mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2023
    Assignee: NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: David Kovie, Mahiuddin Ahmed, Christopher Herrala