Patents Examined by Joel Barnett
  • Patent number: 11677261
    Abstract: A load control device for controlling power delivered from an AC power source to an electrical device may be configured to conduct current through earth ground and may disconnect a switching circuit to reduce an amount of current conducted through the earth ground. The load control device may comprise a controllably conductive device configured to control the power delivered from the AC power source to the electrical device so as to generate a switched-hot voltage, a switching circuit electrically coupled with a detect circuit, and a control circuit configured to render the switching circuit conductive and nonconductive. The detect circuit may generate a detect signal indicating a magnitude of the switched-hot voltage. The control circuit may be configured to monitor the detect signal and to render the switching circuit non-conductive after detecting an edge on the detect signal to reduce the total current through the earth ground.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Dinesh Sundara Moorthy, James P. Steiner
  • Patent number: 11677265
    Abstract: An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is operated to selectively provide energy to a critical load from a grid and an energy storage device and to transfer energy between the energy storage device and the grid. A controller causes the UPS to selectively support bidirectional and unidirectional transfers of energy between the grid and the energy storage device based on a state of charge (SOC) of the energy storage device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: Eaton Intelligent Power Limited
    Inventors: Vincent Edward Wilder, George Arthur Navarro, Steven Andrew Moore, Amit G. Kolge
  • Patent number: 11667393
    Abstract: Disclosed are systems and methods for a power control system for a vehicle having multiple power sources. The power control system may include a plurality of sensors associated with one or more power sources and a microcontroller configured to receive a plurality of signal inputs, wherein the microcontroller selects a power state for the power control system based at least in part on the plurality of signal inputs from the plurality of sensors. The power state may be selected from a group including a first power state, wherein power is provided to a critical power subsystem, an essential power subsystem, and an auxiliary power subsystem, a second power state, wherein power is provided to the critical power subsystem and the essential power subsystem of the vehicle, and a third power state, wherein power is provided only to the critical power subsystem of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventors: Liming Chen, Fei Wang
  • Patent number: 11660981
    Abstract: A vehicle, which is a fuel cell vehicle, has an EV mode and an FC mode. In the EV mode, power generation by the FC stack is stopped and an electric power is supplied from a battery to a motor generator. In the FC mode, an electric power supplied from the FC stack to the motor generator is greater than an electric power supplied from the battery to the motor generator. In the EV mode, ECU controls an MID so that the MID displays the instantaneous electric power efficiency of the vehicle and does not display the instantaneous fuel efficiency of the vehicle. In the FC mode, ECU controls MID so that the MID displays the instantaneous fuel efficiency of the vehicle and does not display the instantaneous electric power efficiency of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Shinji Ichikawa
  • Patent number: 11646605
    Abstract: Systems and methods are described for transmitting and receiving wireless power. In some embodiments, a wireless power transmission system comprises an antenna array comprising a plurality of antennas and a transceiver module configured to receive a plurality of beaconing signals via the antenna array from a wireless client during a beacon cycle. The system also comprises a controller configured to measure a phase of each of the plurality of beaconing signals and determine a transmit phase configuration for each of the antennas, and a transceiver module configured to send signals to the antenna array based on the transmit phase configuration for delivery of wireless power to the wireless client.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2023
    Assignee: Ossia Inc.
    Inventors: Hatem Ibrahim Zeine, Seyed Ali Malek Abadi, Alireza Pourghorban Saghati
  • Patent number: 11646606
    Abstract: A machine implemented method includes alternately energizing multiple transmit coils in a first device, receiving indications of received signal strength at receive coils in a second device, selecting a first pair of coils including a first transmit coil and a first receive coil having the greatest received signal strength, and transferring energy from the first transmit coil to the first receive coil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2023
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Praveen Kumar Palacharla, Jay Michael Fassett, Daniel Tsuteh Chian, Rubén Caballero
  • Patent number: 11641113
    Abstract: A non-contact power transmission apparatus accurately determines the kind of object that is placed on the charging deck of the non-contact power transmission apparatus, and, only when a non-contact power receiving apparatus is placed on the power transmission apparatus, allows power transmission and data communication to take place, thereby accurately determining the state of the receiver side and efficiently controlling the transmission of power. In the power transmission apparatus, the power supplied to the non-contact power receiving apparatus is measured, and the output power of the wireless power signal output from two different cores is controlled, thereby allowing the charging operation to be stably conducted even if the non-contact power receiving apparatus is moved anywhere on the power transmission apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2023
    Assignee: INTEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Chun-Kil Jung, Yoon-Sang Kuk
  • Patent number: 11628744
    Abstract: A vehicle control device includes a main control device, a sub-control device, and a temperature detection unit. The main control device includes a recognition unit that recognizes a peripheral situation of a vehicle, a driving control unit that controls steering and acceleration/deceleration of the vehicle independently from an operation of a driver, and a mode determination unit that determines a driving mode of the vehicle. The sub-control device is capable of controlling the vehicle in place of the main control device. The temperature detection unit detects a temperature of a second battery that is different from a first battery supplying power to the main control device and supplies power to the sub-control device. The mode determination unit changes the driving mode of the vehicle from the second driving mode to the first driving mode when a temperature of the second battery is lower than a predetermined temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hayahito Ukai, Takashi Tsujioka, Takehiro Horigome
  • Patent number: 11628745
    Abstract: An apparatus for a ground-based battery management for an electric aircraft is presented. The apparatus includes a battery pack mechanically coupled to the electric aircraft, wherein the battery pack includes at least a battery module, wherein each battery module includes at least a battery unit containing a first row of battery cells, a second row of battery cells, and a thermal conduit disposed between the first row and the second row of the battery unit, wherein the thermal conduit is configured to precondition the battery cells. Each battery module includes a thermal circuit mechanically coupled to the thermal conduit configured to facilitate the precondition using thermal media. The apparatus further includes a media channel encompassing the battery pack configured to connect to a ground cooling component that provides the thermal media to the thermal circuit using the thermal circuit, and evacuate the thermal media using the thermal circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: BETA AIR, LLC
    Inventors: Sean Donovan, Sarah Kathleen Overfield, Stuart Denson Schreiber, Peter Adam Gottlieb, Braedon Lohe, Herman Wiegman
  • Patent number: 11618324
    Abstract: A control system and method of controlling a utility vehicle. The system may include a controller, an energy mode input associated with a user input request to select one of at least two power modes, an implement control input associated with a user input request to select a movement of an implement, a drive control input associated with a user input request to select a movement of a drive system to propel the utility vehicle, and an attachment type input to further refine the allowed operating power states. The controller is adapted to determine a change between the plurality of operating power states in response to user input requests to automatically optimize machine performance and efficiency. Each of the plurality of operating power states includes a maximum electric current output and a maximum speed output of the electric motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2023
    Assignee: THE TORO COMPANY
    Inventors: Timothy Patrick Sosnowski, Erik Daniel Low
  • Patent number: 11611215
    Abstract: An illustrative embodiment disclosed herein is method for power distribution optimization. In some embodiments, the method includes determining an efficiency for each power block of a plurality of power blocks of a power distribution optimization system, determining a characteristic for each power block, determining a power to provide, selecting a first percentage of the power that a first power block is to provide and a second percentage of the power that a second power block is to provide at least based on the efficiency for each power block, the characteristic for each power block, and the power to provide, wherein the first percentage of the power is greater than the second percentage of the power, and sending a dispatch command to cause the first power block to provide the first percentage of the power and the second power block to provide the second percentage of the power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: 8ME NOVA, LLC
    Inventors: Nadim Kanan, Gautham Ramesh, Lukas Mercer Hansen
  • Patent number: 11605952
    Abstract: An adaptive solar power battery storage system is disclosed to capture alternative energy for use when desired, regardless of power generating circuit topology (AC or DC). The adaptive solar power battery storage system may be connected directly to solar panel cells (for DC-type solar panels) or to micro-inverters (for AC-type solar panels). The adaptive battery storage system can be configured to accept power from both energy sources simultaneously (AC or DC), or each individually. The adaptive solar power battery storage system may enable the operation of AC-type solar panels in the absence of utility power, which is ordinarily used to supply a reference signal to the micro-inverters, by converting stored DC battery power to AC to generate an emulated reference signal. The system may monitor the utility power and adjust the emulated reference signal to track the utility power to enable a safe transfer back to utility power once restored.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2023
    Assignee: NEOVOLTA, INC.
    Inventors: Brent Willson, Rey Llanos, John Hass, Tom Cole
  • Patent number: 11592485
    Abstract: The proposed mechanism for weld detection, uses isolation monitoring circuits (which is used for measurement of the leakage current between battery positive and negative to the chassis ground (on pack or link side) and checks the health status of the contactors. The mechanism connects isolation monitoring circuit between two points on the battery pack (between two sides of the high current contactors) and measures the resistance of two points, therefore checking the continuity of the contactors in the system. Since it can measure a range of resistance, it can also check if a contactor is completely welded or it has been partially welded. This would be important because in case of partial weld, the car can fix the problem and remove the partial weld by activating and deactivating the contactors for several time, with or without inserting high current in the coil of the contactors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: FARASIS ENERGY (GANZHOU) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ali Azidehak, Tuan Truong, Ben Johnson
  • Patent number: 11581736
    Abstract: A method and a system for evaluating inertia of a power system and a storage medium. The method includes: injecting a cosine active power disturbance into the power system by small-disturbance injection, and obtaining frequency response at a node where the disturbance is injected, where the active power disturbance can be an energy storage, wind power, or photovoltaic power; acquiring an evaluation framework of inertia and frequency regulation capability of the power system according to relative characteristics of a frequency response function; and constructing a mathematical relationship between the impedance and frequency response characteristics according to a relationship among active power disturbance, frequency fluctuation and impedance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: Hunan University
    Inventors: Yunfeng Wen, Wuqi Zhang, Wei Guo
  • Patent number: 11574509
    Abstract: A vehicle diagnostic system diagnoses a vehicle having a battery mounted thereon. The vehicle diagnostic system includes an instrument panel for showing a capacity retention of the battery, and an ECU that calculates the capacity retention to be displayed on the instrument panel. The ECU measures the full charge capacity of the battery each time external charging is completed, and, based on a result of the measurement, updates a capacity deterioration curve indicative of changes in over time of the capacity retention. When a display request for showing the capacity retention on the instrument panel is generated, the ECU calculates the capacity retention when the display request is generated by referring to the updated capacity deterioration curve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yasuhide Kurimoto
  • Patent number: 11571971
    Abstract: A control device that controls charging/discharging of a secondary battery mounted on a vehicle includes: a detection unit configured to detect start of deriving of a deterioration state of the secondary battery; and a control unit configured to control charging/discharging of the secondary battery such that a charging rate of the secondary battery is equal to or higher than a first predetermined value and equal to or lower than a second predetermined value in a state in which the vehicle is parked and is connected to an external power supply in a case in which start of deriving of the deterioration state has been detected by the detection unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Keiichiro Homma, Yusaku Amari
  • Patent number: 11575277
    Abstract: A system of a machine includes a network of a plurality of nodes distributed throughout the machine, a controller, and a power extraction system within at least one of the nodes. Each of the nodes is operable to communicate through one or more radio frequencies. The controller is configured to communicate with the network of nodes by transmitting the one or more radio frequencies through one or more waveguides. The power extraction system is configured to extract power from the one or more radio frequencies as a first power source, extract power from a second power source, and provide power to one or more components of the system based on power extracted from either or both of the first power source and the second power source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jonathan Gilson, Joseph V. Mantese, Gurkan Gok, Goran Djuknic, Coy Bruce Wood
  • Patent number: 11565608
    Abstract: A system and method are arranged to control a low voltage DC converter of a fuel cell vehicle, in which, although a CAN communication timeout where the low voltage DC converter does not receive an off command from a vehicle control unit or a CAN communication failure occurs, when an output current of the low voltage DC converter is lowered by at least a predetermined value, the low voltage DC converter is turned off by itself by determining that a post-treatment operation of a fuel cell system is completed, and after the low voltage DC converter is turned off, a relay of a high voltage battery is opened, thereby preventing the relay of the high voltage battery from fusing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Corporation
    Inventors: Sang Kyu Lee, Tae Woo Kim, Se La Lim, Won Seok Jin
  • Patent number: 11565606
    Abstract: To prevent incorrect information from being given to a driver regarding the estimation of a degradation state of a secondary battery. A diagnostic device (100) for diagnosing a battery (40) provided in an electric vehicle (10), includes an estimation unit (301) that estimates a degradation state of the battery (40); a derivation unit (302) that derives an index value indicating validity of data used for the estimation of the degradation state; and a notification unit (303) that notifies, when accuracy of an estimated value is determined to be low based on the index value, a cause of a decrease in the accuracy of the estimated value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Shuichi Kazuno
  • Patent number: 11563344
    Abstract: A wireless energy transmitting apparatus includes: a direction-finding and location device configured to determine a position of an energy receiving apparatus based on beacon information of the energy receiving apparatus; an energy generation device configured to generate energy, convert the energy into high-frequency electromagnetic waves having a frequency higher than a predetermined frequency threshold, and transmit the high-frequency electromagnetic waves to the energy receiving apparatus; and a processor configured to control the energy generation device to transmit the high-frequency electromagnetic waves to the energy receiving apparatus based on the position of the energy receiving apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2023
    Assignee: BEIJING XIAOMI MOBILE SOFTWARE CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Xianqi Lin, Yajun Pan, Shujun Wei, Jian Bai, Tuyou Yuan