Patents by Inventor Vadim Parfenov

Vadim Parfenov 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).

  • Patent number: 6799100
    Abstract: A supervisory safety-control system is implemented by dividing a mine's territory into zones of free operation (“permission zones”) wherein a vehicle is allowed to move according to predetermined permission parameters but unhindered by other system constraints. Traffic of autonomous vehicles in each permission zone is controlled by the supervisory system in conjunction with and in addition to conventional safety constraints associated with the guidance system that effects the vehicle's tracking of predetermined trajectories. Permission zones are assigned and activated using criteria that ensure the vehicle will remain entirely within active zones so long as the vehicle acts within such predetermined permission parameters. Each permission zone is also associated with a maximum velocity profile that overrides guidance-system safety controls, if necessary, and ensures stoppage of the vehicle at the end of the permission zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2004
    Assignee: Modular Mining Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Ray L. Burns, Vadim Parfenov
  • Publication number: 20020143461
    Abstract: A supervisory safety-control system is implemented by dividing a mine's territory into zones of free operation (“permission zones”) wherein a vehicle is allowed to move according to predetermined permission parameters but unhindered by other system constraints. Traffic of autonomous vehicles in each permission zone is controlled by the supervisory system in conjunction with and in addition to conventional safety constraints associated with the guidance system that effects the vehicle's tracking of predetermined trajectories. Permission zones are assigned and activated using criteria that ensure the vehicle will remain entirely within active zones so long as the vehicle acts within such predetermined permission parameters. Each permission zone is also associated with a maximum velocity profile that overrides guidance-system safety controls, if necessary, and ensures stoppage of the vehicle at the end of the permission zone.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 28, 2002
    Publication date: October 3, 2002
    Inventors: Ray L. Burns, Vadim Parfenov
  • Patent number: 6442456
    Abstract: In a vehicle traffic system, the predetermined nominal trajectory for an autonomous vehicle is varied periodically within acceptable boundaries which define a permitted travel corridor. The corridor's boundaries ensure the continued safe and controlled operation of the vehicle within the system. In an embodiment of the invention, alternative trajectories are selected randomly; in another, they are parallel to one another. In yet another, preferred embodiment, judiciously-selected, alternative trajectories are repeated periodically according to a predetermined schedule designed to avoid repetitive travel over the same precise path, and possibly also selected for optimal results under different terrain, environmental, and/or operational conditions. According to another aspect of the invention, the shape and size of the corridor defining the boundaries for safe operation are varied in response to changed conditions to increase operational flexibility.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2002
    Assignee: Modular Mining Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Ray L. Burns, Vadim Parfenov
  • Publication number: 20010021888
    Abstract: In a vehicle traffic system, the predetermined nominal trajectory for an autonomous vehicle is varied periodically within acceptable boundaries which define a permitted travel corridor. The corridor's boundaries ensure the continued safe and controlled operation of the vehicle within the system. In an embodiment of the invention, alternative trajectories are selected randomly; in another, they are parallel to one another. In yet another, preferred embodiment, judiciously-selected, alternative trajectories are repeated periodically according to a predetermined schedule designed to avoid repetitive travel over the same precise path, and possibly also selected for optimal results under different terrain, environmental, and/or operational conditions. According to another aspect of the invention, the shape and size of the corridor defining the boundaries for safe operation are varied in response to changed conditions to increase operational flexibility.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 2, 2001
    Publication date: September 13, 2001
    Inventors: Ray L. Burns, Vadim Parfenov