Patents by Inventor William Bruce DUNBAR

William Bruce DUNBAR 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: 10679501
    Abstract: Distributed control of vehicles with coordinating cars that implement a cooperative control method, and non-coordinating cars that are presumed to follow predictable dynamics. A cooperative control method can combine distributed receding horizon control, for optimization-based path planning and feedback, with higher level logic, to ensure that implemented plans are collision free. The cooperative method can be completely distributed with partially synchronous execution, and can afford dedicated time for communication and computation, features that are prerequisites for implementation on real freeways. The method can test for conflicts and can calculate optimized trajectories by adjusting parameters in terminal state constraints of an optimal control problem.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2020
    Assignee: TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Derek Stanley Caveney, William Bruce Dunbar
  • Publication number: 20170330461
    Abstract: Distributed control of vehicles with coordinating cars that implement a cooperative control method, and non-coordinating cars that are presumed to follow predictable dynamics. A cooperative control method can combine distributed receding horizon control, for optimization-based path planning and feedback, with higher level logic, to ensure that implemented plans are collision free. The cooperative method can be completely distributed with partially synchronous execution, and can afford dedicated time for communication and computation, features that are prerequisites for implementation on real freeways. The method can test for conflicts and can calculate optimized trajectories by adjusting parameters in terminal state constraints of an optimal control problem.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2017
    Publication date: November 16, 2017
    Applicant: TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Derek Stanley CAVENEY, William Bruce DUNBAR
  • Patent number: 9669828
    Abstract: Distributed control of vehicles with coordinating cars that implement a cooperative control method, and non-coordinating cars that are presumed to follow predictable dynamics. A cooperative control method can combine distributed receding horizon control, for optimization-based path planning and feedback, with higher level logic, to ensure that implemented plans are collision free. The cooperative method can be completely distributed with partially synchronous execution, and can afford dedicated time for communication and computation, features that are prerequisites for implementation on real freeways. The method can test for conflicts and can calculate optimized trajectories by adjusting parameters in terminal state constraints of an optimal control problem.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Derek Stanley Caveney, William Bruce Dunbar
  • Patent number: 8620517
    Abstract: This disclosure relates to distributed control of a platoon of vehicles with nonlinear dynamics. Distributed receding horizon control algorithms are presented to derive sufficient conditions that guarantee asymptotic stability, leader-follower string stability, and predecessor-follower string stability, following a step speed change in the platoon. Vehicles compute their own control in parallel, and receive communicated position and velocity error trajectories from their immediate predecessor. Leader-follower string stability requires additional communication from the lead car at each update, in the form of a position error trajectory. Communication from the lead car is required only once at initialization. Provided an initially feasible solution can be found, subsequent feasibility of the algorithms are guaranteed at every update. The theory is generalized for nonlinear decoupled dynamics, and is thus applicable to fleets of planes, robots, or boats, in addition to cars.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2013
    Assignee: Toyota Mototr Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Derek Stanley Caveney, William Bruce Dunbar
  • Publication number: 20130325306
    Abstract: Distributed control of vehicles with coordinating cars that implement a cooperative control method, and non-coordinating cars that are presumed to follow predictable dynamics. A cooperative control method can combine distributed receding horizon control, for optimization-based path planning and feedback, with higher level logic, to ensure that implemented plans are collision free. The cooperative method can be completely distributed with partially synchronous execution, and can afford dedicated time for communication and computation, features that are prerequisites for implementation on real freeways. The method can test for conflicts and can calculate optimized trajectories by adjusting parameters in terminal state constraints of an optimal control problem.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 1, 2012
    Publication date: December 5, 2013
    Applicant: Toyota Motor Eng. & Mftg. N. America, Inc. (TEMA)
    Inventors: Derek Stanley CAVENEY, William Bruce Dunbar
  • Publication number: 20130218365
    Abstract: This disclosure relates to distributed control of a platoon of vehicles with nonlinear dynamics. Distributed receding horizon control algorithms are presented to derive sufficient conditions that guarantee asymptotic stability, leader-follower string stability, and predecessor-follower string stability, following a step speed change in the platoon. Vehicles compute their own control in parallel, and receive communicated position and velocity error trajectories from their immediate predecessor. Leader-follower string stability requires additional communication from the lead car at each update, in the form of a position error trajectory. Communication from the lead car is required only once at initialization. Provided an initially feasible solution can be found, subsequent feasibility of the algorithms are guaranteed at every update. The theory is generalized for nonlinear decoupled dynamics, and is thus applicable to fleets of planes, robots, or boats, in addition to cars.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 21, 2012
    Publication date: August 22, 2013
    Applicant: Toyota Motor Engineering & Mftg. N. America (TEMA)
    Inventors: Derek Stanley CAVENEY, William Bruce DUNBAR