Patents Examined by James J Lee
  • Patent number: 11973348
    Abstract: A controller initiates operation of a climate system in advance of a departure time defined by a user such that the climate system operates for a duration defined by the user before the departure time, provided that grid power from a plug is not available to power the operation. The controller also initiates operation of the climate system at a start time selected by the controller such that a temperature within a cabin achieves a target temperature defined by the user in advance of the departure time and the climate system does not operate for a duration defined by the user before the departure time, provided that the grid power is available to power the operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Charles Everett Badger, II, Angel Fernando Porras
  • Patent number: 11964672
    Abstract: A passenger transportation system includes: an abnormality determination unit configured to determine whether or not a passenger feeling unwell is present in a vehicle; a transportation planning unit configured to determine, when it is determined that the passenger feeling unwell is present, a medical facility to which the passenger feeling unwell is transported and a via-point where normal passengers are dropped off; and a vehicle control unit configured to control the vehicle to travel so as to transport the passenger feeling unwell to the medical facility via the via-point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Ryota Tomizawa, Shozo Takaba, Ayako Shimizu, Hojung Jung, Daisuke Sato, Yasuhiro Kobatake
  • Patent number: 11964668
    Abstract: A travel control method for a vehicle for executing autonomous travel control includes, prior to executing the autonomous travel control, presenting a driver with travel control information as to whether or not to accept execution of the autonomous travel control and detecting, in response to a presentation of the travel control information, an acceptance input made by the driver indicating that the driver accepts the execution of the autonomous travel control. The travel control method also includes: setting an input form of a present acceptance input by the driver to an input form different from an input form of a previous acceptance input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuhisa Hayakawa, Takahiko Oki
  • Patent number: 11958493
    Abstract: A vehicle control device includes a recognizer configured to recognize a surrounding situation of a vehicle, a driving controller configured to control steering and acceleration/deceleration of the vehicle independently of an operation of a driver of the vehicle; and a mode decider configured to decide on any one of a plurality of driving modes including a first driving mode and a second driving mode as a driving mode of the vehicle. The recognizer recognizes a sign existing within a reference range of a route along which the vehicle travels. The mode decider changes the driving mode of the vehicle from the second driving mode to the first driving mode when the driving mode of the vehicle is the second driving mode and when the number of signs recognized by the recognizer exceeds a first reference value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Sho Hitakatsu, Toshikazu Suwa, Masaki Nakajima
  • Patent number: 11958506
    Abstract: A vehicle control device includes a recognizer configured to recognize a position of a vehicle, a driving controller configured to control one or both of acceleration/deceleration and steering of the vehicle and to cause the vehicle to travel in one of a plurality of driving modes in which tasks imposed on an occupant of the vehicle are different, and a mode determiner configured to determine a driving mode which is to be performed by the driving controller. The recognizer recognizes first road information including road marking objects near the vehicle with respect to a position of the vehicle on the basis of a recognition result from an external sensor, recognizes second road information including road marking objects near the vehicle from map information on the basis of position information of the vehicle, and performs a process of recognizing the position of the vehicle through matching between the first road information and the second road information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Kobayashi, Koichiro Wada, Yudai Hasegawa
  • Patent number: 11958494
    Abstract: An acquisition unit acquires pieces of information including information related to a vehicle, information related to the environment inside and outside the vehicle, and information related to a driver on board the vehicle. A determination unit determines priorities of the pieces of information acquired by the acquisition unit on the basis of a service or the like used by the driver among services or the likes provided using information accumulated in a server device. A selection unit selects a piece of information to be transmitted to the server device from among the pieces of information acquired by the acquisition unit on the basis of the priorities determined by the determination unit. A communication unit transmits the piece of information selected by the selection unit to the server device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Masanobu Osawa, Daisuke Fushiki, Takuji Morimoto, Takumi Sato, Hiroyoshi Shibata, Tetsuro Nishioka, Mizuki Higuchi, Shogo Okamoto
  • Patent number: 11945455
    Abstract: A control system for a vehicle may include a plurality of vehicle subsystems associated with respective different dynamic vehicle control functions and a plurality of subsystem controllers associated with respective ones of the vehicle subsystems. The subsystem controllers may be configured to control actuators associated with the respective different dynamic vehicle control functions to change an operational state of components of the vehicle subsystems based on respective configuration settings. The system further includes an attribute configuration module operably coupled to the subsystem controllers. The attribute configuration module may include processing circuitry configured to save current configuration settings as a saved configuration responsive to a first actuation of a configuration mode actuator and, after an on/off cycle of the vehicle, instruct the subsystem controllers to implement the saved configuration responsive to a second actuation of the configuration mode actuator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Craig Edward Esler, Ehab Aleid, Ahmed Awadi, Matheus Bianchi Dambros, Helmuth Bosch, Thomas Richard Wroblewski
  • Patent number: 11948410
    Abstract: A system and method for automatically scanning an electronic system of a vehicle with an automated diagnostic scanning tool having a controller, at least one vehicle communication protocol, at least one diagnostic scanning program, and an automated control program. The automated diagnostic scanning tool is configured to be connected to the electronic system of a vehicle by a cable and detects power from the vehicle via the cable, with the automated diagnostic scanning tool further configured to select and launch a diagnostic scanning program to perform a diagnostic scan of the electronic system of the vehicle in response to detecting power from the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: Opus IVS, Inc.
    Inventors: Brian J. Herron, Mark W. Wine, Ethan Ernst-Hodys
  • Patent number: 11938964
    Abstract: A method for safely ascertaining infrastructure data for driving a motor vehicle in at least partially automated fashion. The method includes receiving data signals, which represent infrastructure sensor data generated by at least one infrastructure sensor and/or motor vehicle data generated by at least one source motor vehicle, receiving safety condition signals, which represent at least one safety condition for safely ascertaining infrastructure data based on the data, checking whether the at least one safety condition is fulfilled, ascertaining infrastructure data, on the basis of which it is possible to drive a destination motor vehicle in at least partially automated fashion, based on the data as a function of a result of the check as to whether the at least one safety condition is fulfilled, generating infrastructure data signals, which represent the ascertained infrastructure data, outputting the generated infrastructure data signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
    Inventor: Stefan Nordbruch
  • Patent number: 11939054
    Abstract: Provided is a process that includes: obtaining, using one or more surface tension sensors, one or more surface tension measurements of a surface, determining a reaction force for an aircraft using the one or more surface tension measurements and a weight of the aircraft. The process includes causing one or more engines included in the aircraft to generate thrust based on the reaction force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: HazelAero
    Inventor: Dominique Mojay
  • Patent number: 11940801
    Abstract: An automatically moving floor treatment appliance has an appliance housing, a drive, a detector for detecting surrounding area features, and a computer that transmits control commands to the drive, based on the surrounding area features detected by the detector. The detector has a plurality of inner and outer fall sensors arranged on an underside of the appliance housing, which detect a distance of the floor treatment appliance from the surface. The computer controls the drive to change a movement of the floor treatment appliance when the distance detected by the fall sensor is greater than a threshold value defining a slope. The fall sensors are interconnected in an evaluation circuit of the detection means so that the detection signals of the totality of inner fall sensors can be evaluated independently of the detection signals of the totality of outer fall sensors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventors: Andrej Mosebach, Henning Hayn
  • Patent number: 11935336
    Abstract: A drive recorder to be mounted on a vehicle includes an acquisition unit, a recording unit, a communication unit, and a control unit. The acquisition unit acquires data representing driving condition. The recording unit records the acquired data. The communication unit transmits the acquired data to the outside. The control unit controls the quality of the data to be transmitted based on the information received from the outside.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: NEC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hidenori Tsukahara
  • Patent number: 11926344
    Abstract: An autonomous vehicle includes a sensor detecting an object in a vicinity of the autonomous vehicle, a processor coupled to the sensor to receive sensor data from the sensor, wherein the processor is configured to process the sensor data to recognize that the object is a pedestrian or cyclist. The processor cooperates with the sensor to track the pedestrian or cyclist. The processor determines if the pedestrian or cyclist satisfies a notification criterion and, upon determining that the pedestrian or cyclist satisfies the notification criterion, the processor outputs an illumination signal. A light projector receives the illumination signal and projects a beam of light onto a portion of a road on which the pedestrian or cyclist is currently situated to visually notify the pedestrian or cyclist that the autonomous vehicle is presently tracking the pedestrian or cyclist.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Inventor: Matthew MacGregor Roy
  • Patent number: 11926315
    Abstract: Disclosed is an electronic apparatus for detecting risk factors around a vehicle. The present electronic apparatus comprises a communicator, a memory storing at least one computer-executable instruction, and a processor for executing the at least one computer-executable instruction, wherein the processor receives, through the communicator, an image obtained from a camera located to capture the outside of the vehicle, calculates a rollover index of an external vehicle on the basis of an image of the external vehicle included in the obtained image, and performs a preset operation according to the calculated rollover index.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Dongwoo Park, Heejun Choi
  • Patent number: 11926334
    Abstract: Described is a system for human-machine teaching for vehicle operation. The system determines currently enabled status reporting modes on a vehicle interface of a vehicle. The currently enabled status reporting modes are compared to a set of preferred status reporting modes of previous users. Based on the comparison, a status reporting mode is selected. A current operational status of the vehicle is reported to a current user, via the vehicle interface, using the selected status reporting mode. The system then determines preferred solutions of previous users to address the current operational status of the vehicle. Suggestions to address the current operational status of the vehicle based on the preferred solutions are reported to the user via the vehicle interface. A vehicle action corresponding to a solution selected by the current user is implemented via a vehicle component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: HRL LABORATORIES, LLC
    Inventors: Tiffany Hwu, David J. Huber, Steven W. Skorheim, Jaehoon Choe
  • Patent number: 11919539
    Abstract: Among other things, techniques are described for screening and monitoring the health of a vehicle user including receiving sensor data produced by a sensor at the vehicle, processing the sensor data to determine at least one health condition of the user of the vehicle, and in response to determining the at least one health condition, executing a vehicle function selected from a plurality of vehicle functions based on the at least one health condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: Motional AD LLC
    Inventors: Eric Wolff, Abhimanyu Singh, Linh Pham
  • Patent number: 11919536
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to an evaluation method and system for steering comfort in a human machine cooperative take-over control process of an autonomous vehicle, and a storage medium, thereby avoiding a defect that most comfort evaluation methods are applicable only in laboratory conditions, and also solving a problem that most comfort evaluation methods do not consider non-traditional control characteristics of a driver in a take-over control process. The method of the present disclosure includes: acquiring vehicle data information in a current driving cycle, and preprocessing the vehicle data information to form preprocessed vehicle data information; and using the preprocessed vehicle data information as an input to a well-trained comfort model library, and performing log probability matching calculation on the basis of the comfort model library, to form a comfort recognition result corresponding to comfort.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: Tsinghua University
    Inventors: Xuewu Ji, Yuan Chu
  • Patent number: 11920947
    Abstract: A notification controller that controls a notification apparatus that gives a notification to a driver of an electrically powered vehicle includes a receiver, a first determination unit, and a first notification unit. When the receiver receives a prescribed leveling signal, the first determination unit determines whether or not the electrically powered vehicle can participate in power leveling at a prescribed participation spot, based on at least one of timing of start and timing of end of power leveling indicated by the prescribed leveling signal, a position of the electrically powered vehicle, and a remaining amount of power stored in the vehicle. When the first determination unit determines that the electrically powered vehicle can participate, the first notification unit causes the notification apparatus to perform first notification processing for inviting the electrically powered vehicle to go to the prescribed participation spot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yoshiyuki Tsuchiya
  • Patent number: 11919540
    Abstract: At least one processor of a vehicle is configured to execute at least one program to: generate a speed plan for a first travel route from a blind spot elimination position to a position specified by a control standby condition, the speed plan specifying a speed of the vehicle for a position on the first travel route so as to meet a requirement that the vehicle be decelerated at a predetermined allowable deceleration or less for a predetermined time from the blind spot elimination position to satisfy the control standby condition; and instruct, for a second travel route from a current position of the vehicle to the blind spot elimination position, the vehicle to travel along the second travel route by autonomous driving so as to cause the vehicle to reach a speed specified by the speed plan at the blind spot elimination position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yusuke Hayashi, Taichi Kawanai
  • Patent number: 11912300
    Abstract: Systems and methods to perform behavioral planning in an autonomous vehicle from a reference state involve generating a set of actions of a fixed size and fixed order according to a predefined methodology. Each action is a semantic instruction for a next motion of the vehicle. A set of trajectories is generated from the set of actions as an instruction indicating a path and a velocity profile to generate steering angles and accelerations for implementation by the vehicle. A trajectory filter is applied to filter the set of trajectories such that unfiltered trajectories are candidate trajectories. Applying the trajectory filter includes assessing the path and velocity profile indicated by each of the set of trajectories. A selected trajectory is used to control the vehicle or the action that corresponds to the selected trajectory is used in trajectory planning to generate a final trajectory that is used to control the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventor: Roi Reshef