Patents Examined by Frederick Brushaber
-
Patent number: 9964629Abstract: Innovative new methods in connection with lighter-than-air (LTA) free floating platforms, of facilitating legal transmitter operation, platform flight termination when appropriate, environmentally acceptable landing, and recovery of these devices are provided. The new systems and methods relate to rise rate control, geo-location from a LTA platform including landed payload and ground-based vehicle locations, and steerable recovery systems.Type: GrantFiled: November 3, 2016Date of Patent: May 8, 2018Assignee: SPACE DATA CORPORATIONInventors: Gerald M. Knoblach, Eric A. Frische, Bruce Alan Barkley
-
Patent number: 9889756Abstract: A drive over estimating unit of an electric vehicle estimates whether or not wheels of the vehicle will drive over a power supplying coil, e.g., power supplying pad, from a stopped position estimation value, e.g., a deviation amount in a direction of positional shifting of the electric vehicle with respect to the power supplying pad, and a steering angle (?? (left) or +? (right)) when the vehicle starts to move after non-contact charging thereof is completed. A notification unit issues a notification when it is estimated that the wheels of the electric vehicle will drive over the power supplying coil, e.g., power supplying pad.Type: GrantFiled: February 23, 2016Date of Patent: February 13, 2018Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.Inventor: Yusaku Amari
-
Patent number: 9884624Abstract: A travel control device 10 includes: an intersection stopped vehicle determining unit 12 that determines whether or not a forward vehicle is a stopped vehicle that is stopped at an intersection, based on distance information from the own vehicle to each forward vehicle acquired by a forward vehicle detection device 1, and distance information to the intersection existing ahead of the own vehicle acquired by a forward intersection distance acquisition device 2; and a vehicle stop position prediction unit 13 that predicts a stop position of the own vehicle at the intersection based on distance information of the stopped vehicle, when the forward vehicle is determined as the stopped vehicle.Type: GrantFiled: December 10, 2013Date of Patent: February 6, 2018Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric CorporationInventors: Shigeki Morita, Hisashi Sugawara
-
Patent number: 9873412Abstract: A vehicle speed control apparatus is configured to determine, based on an automatic brake duration time and a vehicle speed reduction amount, whether to suppress a brake force due to an automatic brake control, the automatic brake duration time being from an automatic brake control starting timing to a current time point, the vehicle speed reduction amount corresponding to a value obtained by subtracting a vehicle speed at the current time point from the vehicle speed at the automatic brake control starting timing.Type: GrantFiled: April 23, 2013Date of Patent: January 23, 2018Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Kiyotaka Moriizumi
-
Patent number: 9862279Abstract: A vehicle consumes electric power of a battery when traveling in a first mode and sustains a storage power amount of the battery when traveling in a second mode. The travel planning unit forms a travel plan that assigns one of the first mode and the second mode to each zone included in a route. A control unit sets a travel mode of the vehicle to the first mode when the vehicle deviates from the route that is in accordance with the formed travel plan.Type: GrantFiled: December 18, 2015Date of Patent: January 9, 2018Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Keisuke Morisaki
-
Patent number: 9851206Abstract: A marine navigation device comprises a location determining element, a display, a memory element, and a processing element. The location determining element determines a current geolocation of a marine vessel on a first body of water. The display displays a map representation. The memory element stores digital elevation model data and sonar data for a plurality of bodies of water. The processing element is in communication with the memory element and is configured to select the digital elevation model data or the sonar data from the memory element corresponding to the first body of water, calculate contour line data, the contour line data determining a plurality of contour lines, update the contour line data by selectively removing at least a portion of the contour lines, and generate a map representation including contour lines derived from the updated contour line data, and control the display to visually present the map representation.Type: GrantFiled: July 14, 2016Date of Patent: December 26, 2017Assignee: Garmin Switzerland GmbHInventors: Darrin W. Kabel, Michael A. Cowen
-
Patent number: 9849908Abstract: An assist command value calculation circuit includes a torque shift control circuit, a phase lag compensation control circuit, a basic assist control circuit, and a phase lead compensation control circuit. A determination circuit determines whether a motor has been continuously under high load or not based on a current command value and a current limit value. The determination circuit determines whether the motor has been continuously under high load or not by comparing the current command value with the current limit value and comparing a basic assist controlled variable with the current limit value, and outputs a phase compensation restriction flag. The phase lag compensation control circuit and the phase lead compensation control circuit restrict phase restriction when the phase compensation restriction flag is ON, and continues phase compensation when the phase compensation restriction flag is OFF.Type: GrantFiled: March 25, 2016Date of Patent: December 26, 2017Assignee: JTEKT CORPORATIONInventors: Yoshihiro Itatsu, Sadanao Baba
-
Patent number: 9840249Abstract: A control method for a clutch of a hybrid electric vehicle including a series and parallel type of hybrid transmission, may include determining whether the hybrid electric vehicle may be operating as the parallel type, determining a hydraulic pressure of the clutch according to a demand torque of a driver when the hybrid electric vehicle may be operating as the parallel type, determining a target value of torque blending which blends a front side torque of the clutch with a motor torque and performing the torque blending, increasing the target value of the torque blending until a clutch slip may be generated, stopping the torque blending when the clutch slip may be generated, and learning a hydraulic pressure of the clutch corresponding to the front side torque of the clutch at a time when the clutch slip may be generated.Type: GrantFiled: August 7, 2015Date of Patent: December 12, 2017Assignee: Hyundai Motor CompanyInventor: Kum Lim Choi
-
Patent number: 9840256Abstract: An autonomous vehicle (AV) can include a predictive sensor configuration system that can dynamically determine imminent lighting conditions for a sensor array of the AV as the AV travels a current route. The predictive sensor configuration system can dynamically determine one or more configurations for the sensor array to compensate for the imminent lighting conditions, and preemptively execute the one or more configurations for the sensor array as the AV travels the current route.Type: GrantFiled: December 16, 2015Date of Patent: December 12, 2017Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.Inventor: Jean-Sebastien Valois
-
Patent number: 9834201Abstract: A control device of a hybrid vehicle including an engine, an electric motor coupled to a power transmission path between the engine and drive wheels, and a clutch connecting/disconnecting a power transmission path between the engine and both the electric motor and the drive wheels, the control device performing detection of air-fuel ratio variation between cylinders of the engine, the control device changing an operation state of the clutch based on a request drive force of the vehicle, and the control device performing the detection of air-fuel ratio variation when the clutch is in an open state or a slip amount of the clutch is equal to or larger than a preset value.Type: GrantFiled: April 10, 2013Date of Patent: December 5, 2017Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Toshio Inoue
-
Patent number: 9836047Abstract: A data communication system for unmanned aerial vehicles includes communication links comprising a low-throughput capacity communication link and a high-throughput capacity communication link. The data communication system can also include a base station, to which the unmanned aerial vehicles send aerial data, and from which the unmanned aerial vehicles receive command signals. As the unmanned aerial vehicles perform missions in an open, distant airspace, the unmanned aerial vehicles can gather large volume data such as aerial images or videos. The data communication system allows opportunistic transfer of the gathered aerial data from the unmanned aerial vehicles to the base station when a high-throughput communication link is established. The data communication system allows constant communication between the base station and the unmanned aerial vehicles to send and receive low volume, operation-critical data, such as commands or on-going flight path changes, using a low-throughput communication link.Type: GrantFiled: June 10, 2015Date of Patent: December 5, 2017Assignee: Kespry, Inc.Inventors: Robert Parker Clark, John D. Laxson, Paul Doersch
-
Patent number: 9828749Abstract: To provide a hybrid wheel loader capable of reliably detecting a short-circuited state of a synchronous generator driven by a drive source. The present invention is provided with an MG 4 being a synchronous generator driven as an electric generator by an engine and operated as a motor by the electric power supplied from an electrical storage device 9, an MG inverter 5 having a motor current sensor 5d for detecting motor current flowing through the MG 4 and semiconductor switches 5a, 5b, and an HCU 10 for detecting a short-circuited state of the MG 4, wherein the HCU 10 determines that the MG 4 is in a short-circuited state when the semiconductor switches 5a, 5b of the MG inverter 5 are in an OFF state at gates and when the motor current detected by the motor current sensor 5d is equal to or greater than a specified threshold value.Type: GrantFiled: February 27, 2015Date of Patent: November 28, 2017Assignee: Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.Inventors: Tomonori Takada, Shigeyuki Yoshihara, Toshihiko Ishida, Nobuyoshi Takahashi, Naoya Kawakami
-
Patent number: 9828781Abstract: A control system for an additive construction implement of a machine is disclosed. The control system may include a relative positioning system for providing relative positioning signals, where the relative positioning signals are representative of a position of the implement relative to a worksite. The control system may receive a three-dimensional structure design file. The control system may further include a controller for determining an implement control plan, where the implement control plan is based on, at least, the relative positioning signals and includes coarse control signals and fine control signals. The control system may further include a coarse control system and a fine control system that controls fine movements of the implement based on the fine control signals. The fine movements may have a fine range of motion, the fine range of motion being less than the coarse range of motion.Type: GrantFiled: September 7, 2016Date of Patent: November 28, 2017Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.Inventor: Paul Friend
-
Patent number: 9821811Abstract: An electronic control device automatically stops an engine operation when a remaining electric power amount index value is equal to or larger than an engine stop permission threshold. The device automatically restarts the engine operation when the remaining electric power amount index value is smaller than an engine restart threshold after the engine operation is automatically stopped. The device changes the engine stop permission threshold from a first threshold, which has been set until a start of an activation of an electric actuator, to a second threshold, which is larger than the first threshold, when the automatic engine stop is not carried out and the activation of the actuator is detected.Type: GrantFiled: February 23, 2016Date of Patent: November 21, 2017Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Hiroshi Majima
-
Patent number: 9821837Abstract: An electric power steering apparatus including a steering wheel return control section that calculates a steering wheel return control current by a steering angle, the steering torque, the vehicle speed and a steering angle velocity, and drives the motor by a compensation current command value made by adding the steering wheel return control current to the current command value.Type: GrantFiled: May 13, 2015Date of Patent: November 21, 2017Assignee: NSK LTD.Inventor: Tetsuya Kitazume
-
Patent number: 9825975Abstract: A system includes a transmitting line replaceable unit (TLRU) configured to receive messages including instructions for avionics receiving line replaceable units (RLRUs). The system further includes a memory configured to store validation data including a set of expected messages. A monitor is further included and is configured to monitor messages received at the TLRU and further configured to determine whether received messages are valid based on at least a portion of the set of expected messages stored in the memory. A plurality of RLRUs are further included and configured to receive message from the TLRU and to execute the instructions included in the received messages.Type: GrantFiled: August 18, 2015Date of Patent: November 21, 2017Assignee: THE BOEING COMPANYInventors: Timothy M. Mitchell, Jason W. Shelton, Daniel Nguyen
-
Patent number: 9821788Abstract: A method is described for operating a motor vehicle, in which control is applied, in the context of a drive-off operation, to an electrical machine operable in motor mode in order to deliver a torque driving the vehicle, control simultaneously being applied to a braking system of the motor vehicle in such a way that it applies a braking torque.Type: GrantFiled: May 18, 2015Date of Patent: November 21, 2017Assignee: ROBERT BOSCH GMBHInventors: Alexander Trofimov, Michael Barth
-
Patent number: 9809251Abstract: Provided is a lane following control device in which an uncomfortable feeling of a driver can be suppressed. In a case where shift processing is performed on a first adjacent vehicle X1, and when a distance between a second adjacent vehicle X2 travelling immediately front of the first adjacent vehicle X1 and the first adjacent vehicle X1 is equal to or less than a vehicle-to-vehicle distance threshold value and a lane width direction distance between the second adjacent vehicle X2 and a travelling lane R1 of the host vehicle V is equal to or less than a lane width direction threshold value, a target lateral position setting unit 14 maintains the shift processing on the first adjacent vehicle X1 until the shift processing is performed on the second adjacent vehicle X2.Type: GrantFiled: December 17, 2015Date of Patent: November 7, 2017Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Masaaki Yamaoka
-
Patent number: 9811137Abstract: A land transport vehicle includes a traction motor; a capture device for contact with a power supply segment of an external power supply device and for connection to the traction motor; a communication unit to communicate with ground equipment associated with the power supply segment in a vicinity of which the land transport vehicle is currently traveling; an onboard controller connected to the communication unit; and an onboard power supply device for connection to the traction motor, the onboard controller being adapted to a) regulate the power supplied to the traction motor, b) receive a signal indicating an end of a zone with an external power supply, and c) command, after receiving the signal indicating the end of a zone, a transition from a power demand from the external power supply device toward a power demand from the onboard power supply device to power the traction motor.Type: GrantFiled: June 23, 2017Date of Patent: November 7, 2017Assignee: ALSTOM TRANSPORT TECHNOLOGIESInventors: Jean-Luc Hourtane, Denis Gauche, David Chevallier, Yann Chaintron, Xavier Rabeyrin
-
Patent number: 9809234Abstract: A ground equipment for a transport system includes a track for a land transport vehicle; an external power supply device including a plurality of power supply segments arranged sequentially along the track, the plurality of power supply segments forming an external power supply zone, at least one end segment being situated in vicinity to one end of the external power supply zone adjacent to a zone with no external power supply, to be traveled with an onboard power supply device, a communication antenna being associated with the or each external power supply segments; and a controller adapted to power on the end segment and adapted to send, using an antenna associated with that end segment, a signal indicating the end of a zone with an external power supply in response to a presence signal of the land transport vehicle received by said antenna.Type: GrantFiled: June 23, 2017Date of Patent: November 7, 2017Assignee: ALSTOM TRANSPORT TECHNOLOGIESInventors: Jean-Luc Hourtane, Denis Gauche, David Chevallier, Yann Chaintron, Xavier Rabeyrin