Patents Examined by James J Lee
  • Patent number: 11780609
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for predictive maintenance of a vehicle component. One method involves mapping a current instance of a component of a vehicle to one of plurality of degradation groups of prior lifecycles for other instances of the component based on a relationship between performance measurement data for the current instance and historical performance measurement data associated with that respective degradation group, obtaining contextual data associated with operation of the vehicle, and determining a maintenance recommendation for the current instance of the component based on the contextual data using a predictive maintenance model associated with the mapped degradation group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC.
    Inventors: Megan L. Hawley, Timothy Griffith, Cavene Robinson, Ananda Vel Murugan Chandra Mohan, Dinkar Mylaraswamy
  • Patent number: 11772632
    Abstract: A deterioration evaluation apparatus for a secondary battery, which evaluates a degree of deterioration of the secondary battery of a hybrid vehicle including an engine that outputs a driving power, a motor that outputs a driving power, and the secondary battery configured to exchange an electric power with the motor, includes one or more processors configured to evaluate the degree of deterioration of the secondary battery based on a first relationship. The first relationship is set by using an accelerator operation amount and an operation point. The operation point includes a rotation speed of the engine and a load factor of the engine. The first relationship is a relationship between the operation point and a load on the secondary battery when the engine is operated at the operation point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yoshiya Yamashita
  • Patent number: 11767037
    Abstract: Devices, systems, and methods are provided for enhanced obstacle detection. A vehicle may detect a neighboring vehicle traveling on a first road in a first traffic direction in a vicinity of the vehicle. The vehicle may collect data associated with the neighboring vehicle using one or more sensors of the vehicle. The vehicle may determine a status of the neighboring vehicle at a geolocation of the neighboring vehicle based on the collected data. The vehicle may determine that a first road anomaly occurred at the geolocation based on the status of the neighboring vehicle. The vehicle may set a first flag indicating the first road anomaly. The vehicle may determine to take a first action based on the first flag.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Inventor: Nathan Alan Pendleton
  • Patent number: 11763163
    Abstract: An autonomous vehicle uses machine learning based models such as neural networks to predict hidden context attributes associated with traffic entities. The hidden context represents behavior of the traffic entities in the traffic. The machine learning based model is configured to receive a video frame as input and output likelihoods of receiving user responses having particular ordinal values. The system uses a loss function based on cumulative histogram of user responses corresponding to various ordinal values. The system identifies user responses that are unlikely to be valid user responses to generate training data for training the machine learning mode. The system identifies invalid user responses based on response time of the user responses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: PERCEPTIVE AUTOMATA, INC.
    Inventor: Jacob Reinier Maat
  • Patent number: 11760384
    Abstract: A method of and processor for determining a trajectory estimation order for vehicles are disclosed. The processor has access to a section of a road map corresponding to surroundings of the one of the vehicles, and road rules associated therewith. The method includes identifying pairs of vehicles that have intersecting potential trajectories and vehicle priority information indicative of priorities of vehicles on the section of the road map. Based on the vehicle priority information, the method includes determining a trajectory estimation order for vehicles on the section of the road map, such that a given vehicle having priority over another vehicle in the vehicle priority information is above another vehicle in the trajectory estimation order.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: YANDEX SELF DRIVING GROUP LLC
    Inventors: Pavel Sergeevich Hud, Victor Igorevich Otliga
  • Patent number: 11763606
    Abstract: A condition evaluation system evaluates a condition of an in-vehicle device installed in a vehicle. The condition evaluation system includes: an evaluation unit configured to acquire load information indicating a load on the in-vehicle device when the vehicle is used and, each time the load information is acquired, derive a condition rank of the in-vehicle device based on the load information, the condition rank indicating at least whether the in-vehicle device should be recycled; and a storage unit configured to store the condition rank derived by the evaluation unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Ikushima, Ryota Nakabayashi
  • Patent number: 11753013
    Abstract: A method for operating a driving assistance system. The method includes operating at least one sensor device in a host vehicle for monitoring the surroundings of the host vehicle; recognizing a fast-moving vehicle that is traveling in a first lane adjacent to a second lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, and determining a travel speed of the fast-moving vehicle in a travel direction of the host vehicle, based on a travel speed of the host vehicle or of a following vehicle or of a preceding vehicle, by the sensor device and by a control device; identifying a movement of the fast-moving vehicle as a passing operation of the host vehicle or of the following vehicle or of the preceding vehicle; and identifying a change in the movement of the fast-moving vehicle as an abortion of the passing operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
    Inventors: Bastian Reckziegel, Erich Sonntag, Gian Antonio D' Addetta, Johannes Ludwig Foltin, Sybille Eisele
  • Patent number: 11752867
    Abstract: Revving an engine may be helpful in various contexts, such as when servicing the vehicle. For example, in some types of services, a cleaning agent may be introduced into the intake and surrounding regions of an engine, and the engine may be revved to reduce a likelihood that the cleaning agent might puddle. In some instances, a device can be positioned within a vehicle interior and can be used to automatically rev the vehicle engine by depressing on the vehicle throttle. In other examples, an engine revving device may send a signal to an electronic-controlled throttle actuator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: BG INTELLECTUALS, INC.
    Inventors: Michael Jason Erwin, Thomas Michael Probus, John Daniel Cheek, Lucas Mitchell Shaw, Bradley Robert Young
  • Patent number: 11753042
    Abstract: Sensors, including time-of-flight sensors, may be used to detect objects in an environment. In an example, a vehicle may include a time-of-flight sensor that images objects around the vehicle, e.g., so the vehicle can navigate relative to the objects. Sensor data generated by the time-of-flight sensor can include saturated pixels, e.g., due to over-exposure, sensing highly-reflective objects, and/or excessive ambient light. In some examples, parameters associated with power of a time-of-flight sensor can be altered based on characteristics of the saturated pixels, as well as information about non-saturated pixels neighboring the saturated pixels. For example, the neighboring pixels may provide information about whether saturation is due to ambient light, e.g., sunlight, or due to emitted light from the sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Inventors: Subasingha Shaminda Subasingha, Yongzhe Chen, Mehran Ferdowsi, Samuel Holladay, Turhan Karadeniz, Robert Nicholas Moor, Joseph Patrick Warga, Harrison Thomas Waschura, Silas Kogure Wilkinson
  • Patent number: 11748407
    Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for monitoring rides in a vehicle in which a driver of the vehicle picks up a rider at a pickup location and drives the rider to a drop-off destination. The system includes at least one sensor arranged in the vehicle and configured to capture sensor data during the rides, a transceiver configured to communicate with a personal electronic device of a driver of the vehicle, a non-volatile memory configured to store data; and a processor. The system captures sensor data during a ride, determines an activity index indicating an activity level within the vehicle during the ride, and stores the sensor data captured during the ride with the activity index as metadata. In response to an upload request, the system uploads sensor data depending on the activity level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Philip Ventimiglia, Stefan Weissert, Christian Stresing, Christian Neumann
  • Patent number: 11745684
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates generally to aggregation of data associated with events related to automotive vehicles. Automotive vehicles may include a variety of sensing devices used in local sensing operations. However, these sensing devices may not be leveraged beyond the local sensing operations. When automotive vehicles are operated, sometimes events occur. As discussed herein, an event-based data aggregation service may aggregate sensing data from one or more sensing devices, such as sensing devices of the automotive vehicles, in response to receiving an event notification associated with one or more of the events and may use the sensing data when responding to the event notification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: United Services Automobile Association
    Inventors: Yevgeniy Viatcheslavovich Khmelev, Oscar Guerra, Jeffrey Neal Pollack, Janelle Denice Dziuk, Ashley Raine Philbrick, Ryan Thomas Russell, David Patrick Dixon
  • Patent number: 11749031
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a system which may be used for remote vehicle diagnostic and programming. Such a system may provide a high-speed wireless connection between an OBD-II compliant vehicle's OBD-II port and a remote vehicle diagnostic and programming control interface, with connectivity and feature availability rivaling direct wired connections between vehicle and control interface. Such a system may provide benefits in vehicle repair and tuning, remote diagnosis of vehicle issues, fleet management, and improved availability and access to professional vehicle service in remote locations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: EGR Solutions LLC
    Inventor: Emanuel Rusu
  • Patent number: 11738726
    Abstract: A vehicle brake system (1) includes a first control device (10) and a second control device (11) that respectively include a master controller (30), a first sub-controller (40), and a second sub-controller (41) that are connected to one another. Each of the master controller (30), the first sub-controller (40), and the second sub-controller (41) includes a braking force calculation unit that calculates braking force of electric brakes (16a to 16d), and a determination unit that compares braking force calculation results of the controllers to determine whether itself is normal. The determination unit includes an output block section that blocks, when the determination unit determines that any one of the controllers is not normal, an output of the controller that is determined to be not normal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignees: MITSUBISHI JIDOSHA KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, NTN CORPORATION, HITACHI ASTEMO UEDA CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hiromasa Satoh, Toshihiro Obika, Yusuke Koga, Yasushi Aoki, Hiromitsu Toyota, Haruo Kotera, Tatsuya Yamasaki, Yui Masuda
  • Patent number: 11738886
    Abstract: An aircraft lifecycle in which digital data for an aircraft part is automatically collected, retained, and utilized to individualize aircraft inspection and maintenance is described. Several types of data, including non-destructive evaluation and measurement data and structural health monitoring data, are used in a feedback loop having various phases which may automatically receive data in digital format from other phases. In this manner the part being designed, fabricated, tested, and maintained for the aircraft is optimized and processes involved in the lifecycle of the part is made more efficient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Gary E. Georgeson, Jeong-Beom Ihn, William T. McDowell
  • Patent number: 11740098
    Abstract: A system and method for providing charging options based on electric vehicle operator daily activities that include analyzing data associated with daily activities of an operator of an electric vehicle and determining at least one travel routine and at least one prospective travel plan that is completed by the operator of the electric vehicle based on the daily activities. The system and method also include determining a current geo-location of the electric vehicle. The system and method further include presenting an electric vehicle charging planner user interface that presents at least one prospective travel path to the at least one predicted point of interest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Eri Izumi Maeda, David Wong Cun
  • Patent number: 11738778
    Abstract: A system for facilitating transfers of control includes an input module configured to acquire a set of user preferences relating control states to contexts, the control states including at least a manual control state, and an autonomous and/or semi-autonomous control state. The system includes a processing device configured to automatically perform, during operation of a semiautonomous system, generating a transfer of control (TOC) policy based on the set of user preferences and a current context state, the TOC policy prescribing transitions between control states in response to actions. The processing device is also configured to perform, based on an action performed by the user or a control system, determining whether to perform a transition from a current control state to a second control state, and in response to the TOC policy prescribing the transition, transitioning from the current control state to the second control state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Zahy Bnaya, Asaf Degani, Claudia Goldman-Shenhar
  • Patent number: 11740092
    Abstract: An apparatus carried by an individual for aiding in directing the individual to a location of a starting point for a path of travel by the individual includes a sensor for determining the individual's initial orientation at the starting point and subsequent changes of orientations during the travel; a processor coupled to the sensor for assigning one of four orthogonal (Erections to each of the orientations as experienced by the individual; a memory coupled to the processor for saving at least the orthogonal orientation of the initial orientation and the last experienced orientation; and a display for presenting at least the last experienced orientation to permit the individual to subsequently reorient himself in the direct of the original orientation. The apparatus has particular utility for firefighters to assist in orienting themselves with respect to an initial point of reference (POR) when inside a active firefighting location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: POR Holdings LLC
    Inventors: Jeffrey Robert Moss, Francis W. Rush, III
  • Patent number: 11738780
    Abstract: Provided is a driving assistance apparatus (a control unit (100)) for a vehicle capable of hands-off driving that lets a driver take his or her hands off the steering wheel. The driving assistance apparatus includes a processor (10) configured to determine, on the basis of sensor information indicating a state of the driver, whether or not the driver is in a state unsuitable for the surrounding monitoring of the vehicle during the hands-off driving, warn the driver through a notification device when it is determined that the driver is in a state unsuitable for the surrounding monitoring, and notify the driver, through the notification device, of a request for holding the steering wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kenichiroh Hara, Naruhisa Yoshida, Kazuhiro Tomosue, Shunichiroh Sawai, Naoki Nishimura, Takanori Kusakabe, Tomoyuki Yoshida, Shogo Konishi, Hirofumi Mori
  • Patent number: 11731599
    Abstract: A device for operating a braking system of a motor vehicle, including a first control unit for operating an ABS unit of the braking system and including a second control unit for operating a brake booster unit of the braking system. The control units are designed as application-specific integrated circuits and are connected to a microprocessor for their control, the microprocessor including a separate shut-off path for each of the circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Gotthilf Koerner, Oda Limbach, Ruben Obenland, Simon Riedel, Stefan Hoess
  • Patent number: 11731493
    Abstract: A monitoring system and method are configured to detect a status of a door for a component on a vehicle. The monitoring system includes a sound sensor positioned within an auditory range of the door. The sound sensor detects sound energy generated in relation to a closed position of the door and an open position of the door. The sound sensor outputs a sound signal indicative of the sound energy. A monitoring control unit is in communication with the sound sensor. The monitoring control unit receives the sound signal and analyzes the sound signal to determine the status of the door.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: THE BOEING COMPANY
    Inventors: Eric Lee Nicks, James Ralph Hamilton