Patents Examined by Todd M Melton
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Patent number: 10802699Abstract: A service mode selection system for a service vehicle is provided for simplifying a control for setting the vehicle in a desired service mode. The system includes a control system for receiving an operator's selection of service mode via a service mode selection device and controlling vehicle components to automatically set the vehicle in a selected service mode. The service mode selection device can be arranged in a cab of the vehicle and allows the operator to conveniently select a desired service mode, thereby achieving a work-ready machine with as few operator inputs as possible.Type: GrantFiled: November 30, 2017Date of Patent: October 13, 2020Assignee: Federal Signal CorporationInventors: Jared James Brodbeck, Benjamin Bacha
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Patent number: 10761798Abstract: Systems, devices and methods are provided for training a user to control a gimbal in an environment. The systems and methods provide a simulation environment to control a gimbal in a virtual environment. The virtual environment closely resembles a real control environment. A controller may be used to transmit simulation commands and receive simulated data for visual display.Type: GrantFiled: December 24, 2017Date of Patent: September 1, 2020Assignee: SZ DJI TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.Inventors: Ye Tao, Zihan Chen, Zhiyuan Zhang, Weifeng Liu, Chaobin Chen
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Patent number: 10747232Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a method and a device for drawing a room layout. The method includes obtaining a sweeping path graph of a sweeping robot, the sweeping path graph comprising positions of N first obstacles and shapes and positions of M second obstacles encountered by the sweeping robot when sweeping a room, a bottom area of each of the N first obstacles being less than or equal to a first preset threshold, a bottom area of each of the M second obstacles being greater than or equal to a second preset threshold, wherein N and M are integers greater than or equal to 0; determining Q pieces of furniture arranged in the room based on the positions of the N first obstacles and the shapes and the positions of the M second obstacles, wherein Q is an integer greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to (N+M); and marking the Q pieces of furniture on a plan of the room to generate the layout of the room.Type: GrantFiled: April 25, 2018Date of Patent: August 18, 2020Assignee: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd.Inventors: Yongfeng Xia, Ke Wu
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Patent number: 10736258Abstract: A seeding control system and method to improve yield by minimizing overplanting and underplanting during planting operations. As the planter traverses the field, a precise seed placement map is created by associating the time of each seed pulse generated by the seed sensors with the location of a GPS unit. Based on the generated seed placement map, a stop-planting boundary is defined by previously planted seed or other field boundary such that when a swath of the planter crosses over the stop-planting boundary the swath controllers disengage the drivers of the corresponding seed meters to prevent planting of seeds. The swath controllers cause the drivers to reengage allowing planting to resume when the affected swaths pass out of the stop planting boundary.Type: GrantFiled: April 27, 2018Date of Patent: August 11, 2020Assignee: Precision Planting LLCInventors: Phil Baurer, Keith Beyer, Ben Schlipf, Justin Koch
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Patent number: 10733892Abstract: A vehicular control system for a vehicle includes a plurality of sensors. Responsive to data processing, the vehicular control system determines respective speeds of the determined vehicles and respective directions of travel of the determined vehicles, and determines respective influence values for the determined vehicles based on determined potential hazards to the equipped vehicle presented by the respective determined vehicles. The determined respective influence value for each determined vehicle is weighted according to direction and/or magnitude of a speed vector of that determined vehicle. The weighted determined respective influence values for the determined vehicles are ranked according to their hazard potential. A path of travel is selected from the plurality of determined paths responsive at least in part to the rankings of the weighted determined respective influence values. The system at least in part controls vehicle steering to guide the equipped vehicle along the selected path of travel.Type: GrantFiled: October 29, 2018Date of Patent: August 4, 2020Assignee: MAGNA ELECTRONICS INC.Inventor: Goerg Pflug
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Patent number: 10724208Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for assisting an excavator operator with the loading of a mobile transportation implement, in particular heavy-duty truck, by means of the excavator shovel, wherein a loading strategy with the number of excavator loading cycles to be executed for loading the transportation implement is proposed to the excavator operator via an assistance system and/or the current payload distribution on the loading area of the transportation implement is indicated.Type: GrantFiled: September 20, 2017Date of Patent: July 28, 2020Assignee: LIEBHERR-MINING EQUIPMENT COLMAR SASInventors: Volker Gliniorz, Guillaume Bonnetot, Oliver Weiss
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Patent number: 10724463Abstract: A process of causing an engine (10) to perform high-temperature exhaust driving (D1) after urea water from an urea water injection valve (33) is not supplied to an SCR catalyst (34), and a process of causing the engine (10) to perform high-flow-rate exhaust driving (D2) after a flow rate of exhaust gas from a cylinder interior (13) is not reduced are performed on an ECU (40). A process of determining deterioration or malfunction of upstream and downstream NOx sensors (47 and 48) based on detected values (Ca and Cb) acquired when the engine speed (Na) reaches a determination speed (Nx) is performed on a vehicle external computer (52).Type: GrantFiled: May 23, 2016Date of Patent: July 28, 2020Assignee: ISUZU MOTORS LIMITEDInventor: Kouji Sakumoto
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Patent number: 10710608Abstract: A safety system that provides specific warnings to an occupant of a vehicle engaged in a certain activity that can cause an adverse outcome in an event of a Sudden Decrease in Ride Smoothness (an SDRS event). The safety system includes a sensor that takes measurements of the vehicle compartment, and a computer that estimates, based on the measurements, whether the occupant of the vehicle is engaged in a certain activity that can lead to an adverse outcome in case of an SDRS event. Responsive to receiving an indication indicative of an imminent SDRS event and estimating that the occupant is engaged in the certain activity, the computer provides a specific warning to the occupant. The specific warning describes a specific action related to the certain activity, which the occupant should take.Type: GrantFiled: July 23, 2018Date of Patent: July 14, 2020Inventors: Shmuel Jacob Hershkovitz, Gil Thieberger, Ari M Frank, Tal Thieberger-Navon
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Patent number: 10705539Abstract: Methods and systems for providing remote support and negotiating problem situations of autonomous operation of vehicles based on signal states and vehicle information are described. The disclosed technology receives state data for the vehicles by an apparatus such as a remote vehicle support apparatus. The state data indicates a respective current state for the vehicles. The vehicles are each assigned to respective remote vehicle support queues based on the respective state data. An indication that one of the vehicles is requesting remote support is received by the remote vehicle support apparatus. In response to a determination that a change in the state data indicates that autonomous operation of the one of the vehicles is operating outside of defined parameter values, the remote support is provided to the one of the vehicles through a communications link by transmitting instruction data to modify the autonomous operation of the one of the vehicles.Type: GrantFiled: November 30, 2017Date of Patent: July 7, 2020Assignees: Nissan North America, Inc., United States of America as Represented by the Administrator of NASAInventors: Liam Pedersen, Maarten Sierhuis, Hans Utz, Mauro Della Penna, Terrence Fong, Mark Allan, Maria Bualat, Eric Schafer
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Patent number: 10703488Abstract: Air quality sensors are incorporated into an aircraft ventilation system in order to detect the nature and concentration of possible contaminants in the air flow passages. Data from the sensors may also be used to monitor air quality trends, determine corrective measures, and provide maintenance alerts. The sensors are provided at strategic locations throughout the ventilation system, such as before and/or after an air compressor and before and/or after a recirculation system, in order to identify where the problem is occurring.Type: GrantFiled: May 16, 2016Date of Patent: July 7, 2020Assignee: BOMBARDIER INC.Inventors: Sandro A. S. Fagundes, Boris Meislitzer, Keith Ayre
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Patent number: 10703215Abstract: In at least one embodiment, a vehicle powertrain includes an engine and an electric machine mechanically coupled by a clutch. The powertrain also includes a torque converter configured to fluidly couple the electric machine to an output shaft. A controller is programmed to command a rotational speed output of the electric machine to the torque converter based on a predicted torque delivered across the clutch. The controller is further programmed to modify the command based on a difference between the commanded rotational speed output and an actual rotational speed output of the electric machine.Type: GrantFiled: October 20, 2014Date of Patent: July 7, 2020Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLCInventors: Wei Liang, Rajit Johri, Xiaoyong Wang, Mark Steven Yamazaki, Ming Lang Kuang, Jeffrey Allen Doering
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Patent number: 10691125Abstract: A blinker judgment device for a vehicle includes: an information acquisition device that acquires surrounding situation information indicating a situation around the vehicle; and a control device that performs blinker judgment processing based on the surrounding situation information. The surrounding situation information includes image information of a target vehicle imaged by a camera. The control device performs: recognizing blinker flashing of the target vehicle based on the image information; checking, based on the surrounding situation information, whether or not there is a reasonable cause for the target vehicle to make a lane change, when the blinker flashing is recognized; and judging that the target vehicle is not in a process of the blinker flashing when the cause does not exist while judges that the target vehicle is in a process of the blinker flashing when the cause exists.Type: GrantFiled: November 29, 2017Date of Patent: June 23, 2020Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Ryuta Hashimoto, Yoshinori Watanabe
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Patent number: 10688950Abstract: When an object detected by a sensor (20L, 20R) is not an unnecessary object and the object's collision probability index satisfies the predetermined condition, a pre-collision control ECU 10 performs a pre-collision control to prepare for a collision between an own vehicle and this object. The pre-collision control ECU determines that the object is the unnecessary object, when an initially detected location which is a location of the object in relation to the own vehicle when the sensor initially detected the object is in an unnecessary object area NA, and a velocity index value which represents a degree of a velocity change of an initial detected object whose the initially detected location is in the unnecessary object area does not fall within a predetermined range.Type: GrantFiled: June 15, 2018Date of Patent: June 23, 2020Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Tomoaki Harada, Tsunekazu Yasoshima, Ryu Hatakeyama, Masataka Sugimoto
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Patent number: 10692382Abstract: Methods and devices assist in a parking maneuver of a vehicle. The vehicle includes a parking aid that produces a first signal. The first signal is perceptible in an interior of the vehicle during a parking maneuver. A signal property of the first signal is adapted to a currently prevailing distance of the vehicle from a parking obstruction. The first signal is converted into a second signal that is perceptible by an operator located outside the vehicle. The second signal is transmitted to the operator disposed outside the vehicle during a remotely-controlled performance of the parking maneuver.Type: GrantFiled: April 11, 2017Date of Patent: June 23, 2020Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLCInventors: Joseph Andreas Urhahne, Robert Spahl
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Patent number: 10691962Abstract: System, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to identifying rear indicators of a nearby vehicle. In one embodiment, a method includes, in response to detecting a nearby vehicle, capturing signal images of a rear portion of the nearby vehicle. The method includes computing a braking state for brake lights of the nearby vehicle that indicates whether the brake lights are presently active by analyzing the signal images according to a brake classifier. The method includes computing a turn state for rear turn signals of the nearby vehicle that indicates which of the turn signals are presently active by analyzing regions of interest from the signal images according to a turn classifier. The brake classifier and the turn classifier are comprised of a convolutional neural network and a long short-term memory recurrent neural network (LSTM-RNN). The method includes providing electronic outputs identifying the braking state and the turn state.Type: GrantFiled: September 22, 2017Date of Patent: June 23, 2020Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.Inventors: Xue Mei, Naoki Nagasaka, Kuan-Hui Lee, Danil V. Prokhorov
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Patent number: 10669691Abstract: A system for controlling an earth moving machine may comprise: a speed sensor configured to communicate a speed signal indicative of a speed of the machine; an operator bucket lift command input configured to communicate an operator-input bucket lift command; and a controller configured to: receive the speed signal and the operator-input bucket lift command; determine a torque of the machine; using the speed signal and the determined torque, determine a controller-generated bucket lift command; and provide a bucket lift command which is the larger of the operator-input bucket lift command and the controller-generated bucket lift command.Type: GrantFiled: May 23, 2018Date of Patent: June 2, 2020Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.Inventors: Matthew M. Tinker, Michael A. Spielman, Eric Cler, Aaron R. Shatters, Austin J. Scott, Jeffrey K. Berry, Sairam G. Velamakanni
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Patent number: 10661828Abstract: A system and a method for estimating a steering torque, may include receiving, in a controller, information including a value of a yaw rate and a value of a lateral acceleration of a vehicle collected in the vehicle in real time; determining and estimating, in the controller, a value of a rack force from the received information and a setting information using a predetermined model formula of estimating the rack force; and generating, in the controller, an estimated value of the steering torque according to an operation of a steering wheel of a driver from the estimated value of the rack force using a predetermined value of a gain.Type: GrantFiled: October 31, 2017Date of Patent: May 26, 2020Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors CorporationInventor: Chan Jung Kim
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Patent number: 10662835Abstract: An apparatus comprising: an identity determiner configured to determine an identity of a removable fluid container; a characteristic determiner configured to obtain a first characteristic based on testing the fluid of the fluid container; a data obtainer configured to obtain a second characteristic based on the identity; and a processor configured to control a fluid provider to provide fluid from the removable fluid container based on the comparison of the first characteristic and the second characteristic.Type: GrantFiled: November 17, 2018Date of Patent: May 26, 2020Assignee: Castrol LimitedInventors: Jens Andersen, Steven Paul Goodier, Hanna Hellman, Andrea Leeson
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Patent number: 10654520Abstract: In an example embodiment, a vehicle control system includes a memory including computer-readable instructions stored therein and a processor. The processor configured to execute the computer-readable instructions to receive information corresponding to, a yaw rate of a vehicle, a lateral position of the vehicle and a heading angle of the vehicle, determine a stability indicator indicating an estimate of a stability of the vehicle based on the received information, and adjust one or more gains of a steering system of the vehicle based on the determined stability indicator.Type: GrantFiled: August 31, 2016Date of Patent: May 19, 2020Assignee: DEERE & COMPANYInventor: Alex Nykamp
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Patent number: 10649459Abstract: A vehicle can include various sensors to detect objects in an environment. Sensor data can be captured by a perception system in a vehicle and represented in a voxel space. Operations may include analyzing the data from a top-down perspective. From this perspective, techniques can associate and generate masks that represent objects in the voxel space. Through manipulation of the regions of the masks, the sensor data and/or voxels associated with the masks can be clustered or otherwise grouped to segment data associated with the objects.Type: GrantFiled: April 26, 2018Date of Patent: May 12, 2020Assignee: Zoox, Inc.Inventors: Zeng Wang, David Pfeiffer, Dragomir Dimitrov Anguelov, Subhasis Das, Allan Zelener