Patents by Inventor Leo Laine

Leo Laine has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20230382402
    Abstract: A computer-implement method of estimating air drag for a vehicle combination is provided. The method includes detecting a change of an exterior shape of the vehicle combination to a new exterior shape. The method includes, in response to detecting such a change, and based on one or more images of the vehicle combination captured after the change, estimating a projected area function indicating a dependence of a projected frontal area of the vehicle combination having the new exterior shape on air-attack angle. The method includes using the estimated projected area function to update a crosswind-sensitive air drag model for the vehicle combination.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 19, 2023
    Publication date: November 30, 2023
    Applicant: VOLVO TRUCK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mikael ASKERDAL, Leo LAINE
  • Patent number: 11820181
    Abstract: The invention i.a. relates to a method comprising the steps of: parking (S1) a trailer (12) by means of a towing vehicle (10), which trailer (12) is coupled to the towing vehicle (10) via a coupling element (32) of the trailer (12); the towing vehicle (10) estimating (S2) position and heading of the coupling element (32) of the parked trailer (12); transmitting (S3) the estimated position and heading of the coupling element (32) of the parked trailer (12) to a data storage device (34, 42); and automatically uncoupling (S5) the trailer (12) from the towing vehicle (10), so that the towing vehicle (10) can drive away from the parked trailer (12).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: VOLVO TRUCK CORPORATION
    Inventor: Leo Laine
  • Publication number: 20230348000
    Abstract: A self-powered dolly vehicle unit with an adaptable wheelbase, the dolly vehicle unit comprising a front axle arranged to support a pair of steerable front wheels, a rear axle arranged to support a pair of rear wheels, a fifth wheel connection for towing a trailer vehicle, a draw-bar attachment mechanism , arranged to hold a draw-bar, and a frame structure arranged to support the front axle and the rear axle at a variable wheelbase distance from each other, wherein the frame structure is arranged to be locked at a first wheelbase distance position and at a second wheelbase distance position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 11, 2020
    Publication date: November 2, 2023
    Inventors: Leo LAINE, Jesper BLOMSTRAND
  • Publication number: 20230339477
    Abstract: A method for setting a heavy duty vehicle in motion. The method includes obtaining a motion instruction for setting the vehicle in motion, determining a target wheel slip value corresponding to a wheel slip suitable for executing to the motion instruction, and controlling wheel speed to maintain wheel slip of the vehicle at the target wheel slip value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 15, 2020
    Publication date: October 26, 2023
    Applicant: VOLVO TRUCK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Leo LAINE, Mattias ÅSBOGÅRD, Leon HENDERSON
  • Patent number: 11794747
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a method for controlling at least one actuator of a vehicle, the actuator being configured to apply a torque on at least one wheel of the vehicle, wherein the applied torque is determined by a control function associated with a control bandwidth, the method comprising configuring the control function to control the applied torque to reduce a difference between a first parameter value related to a current rotational speed of the wheel and a second parameter value related to target rotational speed of the wheel; obtaining data indicative of a current operating condition of the vehicle; setting the control bandwidth of the control function in dependence of the current operating condition of the vehicle; and controlling the actuator using the control function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: Volvo Truck Corporation
    Inventors: Adithya Arikere, Leo Laine, Ray Sidhant, Leon Henderson, Mattias Åsbogård, Johan Lindberg
  • Patent number: 11780426
    Abstract: A method for estimating a longitudinal force difference ?Fx acting on steered axle wheels of a vehicle, the method comprising obtaining data from the vehicle related to an applied steering torque Msteer associated with the steered axle wheels, obtaining a scrub radius value rs associated with the steered axle wheels, and estimating the longitudinal force difference ?Fx, based on the obtained data and on the scrub radius rs, as proportional to the applied steering torque Msteer and as inversely proportional to the scrub radius rs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: Volvo Truck Corporation
    Inventors: Leon Henderson, Leo Laine
  • Publication number: 20230278625
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a method for controlling steering of a vehicle arrangement. The method is controlling steering of the vehicle arrangement during a turning maneuver, by applying a differential wheel speed by at least one of individually controllable electric machines and reducing the operational capacity of a power steering system, when a first power utilization value, obtained by operating the individually controllable electric machines with the differential wheel speed, is equal to, or greater than a second power utilization value, obtained by operating the power steering system during the turning maneuver.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 24, 2020
    Publication date: September 7, 2023
    Inventors: Leo Laine, José Vilca, Rebecka Villiamsson
  • Publication number: 20230264692
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method for reducing a lateral drift of a heavy-duty vehicle due to a road bank angle, where the heavy-duty vehicle is associated with a non-zero understeer/oversteer gradient. The method comprises obtaining a road bank angle of a road section the heavy-duty vehicle is about to traverse; obtaining a vehicle model indicative of a vehicle motion response to the road bank angle, where the vehicle model includes the understeer/oversteer gradient; determining, based on the road bank angle and the vehicle model, a first compensation torque for reducing the lateral drift of the heavy-duty vehicle at the road section; and applying the first compensation torque across different wheels of the heavy-duty vehicle to reduce the lateral drift of the heavy-duty vehicle due to the road bank angle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 9, 2023
    Publication date: August 24, 2023
    Applicant: VOLVO TRUCK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kristoffer TAGESSON, Leo LAINE
  • Publication number: 20230249556
    Abstract: A wheel brake arrangement for a vehicle, the wheel brake arrangement comprising an eddy current wheel brake configured to receive electric power from a source of electric power of the vehicle during braking, and a transmission arrangement comprising a first shaft connected to the eddy current wheel brake and a second shaft connectable to a wheel of the vehicle, wherein the transmission arrangement comprises a ratio varying arrangement, the ratio varying arrangement being configured to, for any rotational speed below a predetermined threshold speed of the second shaft during braking, control a rotational speed of the first shaft to be maintained within a predetermined rotational speed range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 24, 2023
    Publication date: August 10, 2023
    Inventors: Hamid Yhr, Ulf Stenbratt, Leo Laine
  • Publication number: 20230242144
    Abstract: A method of providing a reinforcement learning, RL, agent for decision-making to be used in controlling an autonomous vehicle. The method includes: a plurality of training sessions, in which the RL agent interacts with a first environment including the autonomous vehicle, each training session having a different initial value and yielding a state-action value function Qk(s, a) dependent on state and action; an uncertainty evaluation on the basis of a variability measure for the plurality of state-action value functions evaluated for one or more state-action pairs corresponding to possible decisions by the trained RL agent; additional training, in which the RL agent interacts with a second environment including the autonomous vehicle, wherein the second environment differs from the first environment by an increased exposure to a subset of state-action pairs for which the variability measure indicates a relatively higher uncertainty.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2020
    Publication date: August 3, 2023
    Applicant: Volvo Autonomous Solutions AB
    Inventors: Carl-Johan HOEL, Leo LAINE
  • Patent number: 11702054
    Abstract: A brake control device (10) for delivering air under controlled pressure to a pneumatic brake actuator (BA), comprising an inlet port (51) coupled to a compressed air supply circuit, a working port (54) coupled to a service brake chamber (C2) of the brake actuator (BA), a venting port (56), first and second inlet solenoid valves (31, 32) for selectively connecting inlet port(s) to the working port, first and second outlet solenoid valves (41, 42) for selectively connecting the working port to venting port(s), a biased check valve (12), for coupling the working port to venting port(s), the brake control unit device further comprising first and second local electronic control units (21, 22) for controlling independently first and second inlet solenoid valves and first and second outlet solenoid valves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: Volvo Truck Corporation
    Inventors: Leon Henderson, Christian Oscarsson, Leo Laine
  • Patent number: 11691609
    Abstract: A control arrangement for a vehicle motion system including a braking function, comprising motion actuators with one or more brake actuators pertaining to the braking function, a first vehicle motion management controller (VMM1) and a second vehicle motion management controller (VMM2), forming a redundant assembly to control the braking function, wherein, in riding conditions, the first vehicle motion management controller controls the brake actuators with a current nominal expected braking performance, while the second vehicle motion management controller (VMM2) is in a waiting-to-operate mode, the control arrangement comprising a hot swap functionality in which the second vehicle motion management controller (VMM2) is configured to take over control of the brake actuators from the first vehicle motion management controller, with the current nominal expected braking performance, in a short time period (SWT) less than one second, preferably less than 0.5 second, preferably less than 0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: Volvo Truck Corporation
    Inventors: Leo Laine, Lionel Farres, Christian Oscarsson, Leon Henderson, Johanna Majqvist, Jose Vilca, Kristoffer Tagesson, Karthik Ramanan Vaidyanathan, Nicolas Soulier
  • Publication number: 20230150332
    Abstract: A method for determining a tyre normal force range (Fz,min, Fz,max) of a tyre force (Fz) acting on a vehicle (100), the method comprising; obtaining (S1) suspension data (310) associated with a suspension system of the vehicle (100); obtaining (S2) inertial measurement unit, IMU, data (320) associated with the vehicle (100); estimating (S3), by a suspension-based estimator (330) a first tyre normal force range (Fz1,min, Fz1,max) based on the suspension data (310); estimating (S4), by an inertial force-based estimator (340), a second tyre normal force range (Fz2,min, Fz2,max)based on the IMU data (320); and determining (S5) the tyre normal force range (Fz,min, Fz,max) based on the first tyre normal force range (Fz1,min, Fz2max) and on the second tyre normal force range (Fz2,min, Fz2,max).
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 23, 2019
    Publication date: May 18, 2023
    Applicant: VOLVO TRUCK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mats JONASSON, Leo LAINE, Bengt JACOBSON
  • Publication number: 20230142461
    Abstract: A method of controlling an autonomous vehicle using a reinforcement learning, RL, agent. The method includes a plurality of training sessions, in which the RL agent interacts with an environment including the autonomous vehicle, each training session having a different initial value and yielding a state-action value function Qk(s, a) dependent on state and action; decision-making, in which the RL agent outputs at least one tentative decision relating to control of the autonomous vehicle; uncertainty estimation on the basis of a variability measure for the plurality of state-action value functions evaluated for a state-action pair corresponding to each of the tentative decisions; and vehicle control, wherein the at least one tentative decision is executed in dependence of the estimated uncertainty.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2020
    Publication date: May 11, 2023
    Applicant: Volvo Autonomous Solutions AB
    Inventors: Carl-Johan HOEL, Leo LAINE
  • Publication number: 20230112013
    Abstract: A method for controlling an articulated vehicle combination comprising a plurality of self-powered vehicle units, wherein each self-powered vehicle unit comprises a propulsion device and a regenerative braking device connected to an energy source, the method comprising determining a current state of charge associated with an energy source of a target vehicle unit comprised in the plurality of self-powered vehicle units, and if the current state of charge is below a desired state of charge, generating a negative torque by the regenerative braking device of the target vehicle unit, and compensating at least partly for the generated negative torque by generating a positive torque by the propulsion device of at least one source vehicle unit comprised in the plurality of self-powered vehicle units, thereby transferring an amount of energy from the energy source of the at least one source vehicle unit to the energy source of the target vehicle unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 9, 2020
    Publication date: April 13, 2023
    Inventor: Leo LAINE
  • Publication number: 20230097576
    Abstract: A drawbar arrangement for a dolly vehicle, the drawbar arrangement comprising a control unit and an adjustable drawbar attached to the dolly vehicle, the adjustable drawbar comprising a front coupling element arranged to be adjusted vertically with respect to a ground plane by the control unit, wherein the control unit is arranged to determine a vertical coupling load associated with the front coupling element, and wherein the control unit is arranged to set a desired vertical coupling load associated with the front coupling element by vertically adjusting the front coupling element when coupled to a towing vehicle unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 11, 2020
    Publication date: March 30, 2023
    Inventors: Leo LAINE, Jesper BLOMSTRAND
  • Publication number: 20230082801
    Abstract: A dolly vehicle includes at least one motion support device, MSD, and a control unit arranged for vehicle motion management, VMM, wherein the control unit is configurable in a master mode where the at least one MSD is controlled based on a set of capabilities of a vehicle combination comprising the dolly vehicle to fulfil an assigned task. The control unit is configurable in a slave mode where the at least one MSD is controlled based on requests received from an external master control unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 11, 2020
    Publication date: March 16, 2023
    Applicant: VOLVO TRUCK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Leo LAINE, Leon HENDERSON, José VILCA, Mats JONASSON
  • Publication number: 20230080456
    Abstract: A method for controlling steering of a self-powered steerable dolly vehicle during a maneuver, the method comprising determining an articulation angle associated with a drawbar of the dolly vehicle, determining a longitudinal velocity of the dolly vehicle, and controlling the steering of the dolly vehicle based on the articulation angle and on the longitudinal velocity of the dolly vehicle, wherein the controlling comprises initially steering the dolly vehicle in a direction of the articulation angle direction in case the longitudinal velocity of the dolly vehicle is above a velocity threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 11, 2020
    Publication date: March 16, 2023
    Inventors: Niklas FRÖJD, Leo LAINE, Mohammad Manjurul ISLAM
  • Publication number: 20230062199
    Abstract: A method for controlling a vehicle brake system of a heavy duty vehicle, the brake system comprising a service brake system and an electrical machine brake system. The method includes determining a total brake torque request for braking a wheel of the vehicle, obtaining a brake torque capability of the electrical machine, determining if the total brake torque request exceeds the brake torque capability of the electrical machine, and if the total brake torque request exceeds the brake torque capability of the electrical machine but is below a threshold level, applying a baseline brake torque by the service brake system, wherein the baseline brake torque is configured to compensate for a difference between total brake torque request and brake torque capability of the electrical machine, and controlling wheel slip by the electrical machine brake system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 15, 2020
    Publication date: March 2, 2023
    Applicant: VOLVO TRUCK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Leo LAINE, Mattias ÅSBOGÅRD, Leon HENDERSON
  • Publication number: 20230068987
    Abstract: A control unit for a heavy duty vehicle. The vehicle includes an electric machine connected to first and second driven wheels via an differential. The control unit includes a first wheel slip control module associated with the first driven wheel, and a second wheel slip control module associated with the second driven wheel, where each wheel slip control module is arranged to determine an obtainable torque by the respective wheel based on a current wheel state, wherein the control unit is arranged to determine a required torque to satisfy a requested acceleration profile by the vehicle, and to request a torque from the electrical machine corresponding to the smallest torque out of the obtainable torques for each driven wheel and the required torque.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 15, 2020
    Publication date: March 2, 2023
    Applicant: VOLVO TRUCK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Leo LAINE, Mattias ASBOGÅRD, Leon HENDERSON