Patents Assigned to GROTE INDUSTRIES, LLC
  • Patent number: 11760254
    Abstract: A lighting system for a local vehicle, comprising: a head lamp including a low-beam lamp for shining low-beam light in a first zone, and a first high-beam lamp for shining first high-beam light in the first zone; a sensory cluster for detecting a remote vehicle proximate to the local vehicle, the sensory cluster including a distance sensor for determining a distance of the remote vehicle from the local vehicle, and a velocity sensor for determining a velocity of the remote vehicle with respect to the local vehicle; and a lighting controller for determining a minimum-distance target time when the remote vehicle will reach a minimum distance from the local vehicle based on the distance of the remote vehicle and the velocity of the remote vehicle, and for controlling the operation of the first high-beam lamp based on the distance of the remote vehicle and the velocity of the remote vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: Grote Industries, LLC
    Inventors: Suyash Kulkarni, Sankalp Pampattiwar, Brian Norris, Cesar Perez-Bolivar
  • Patent number: 11485278
    Abstract: A lighting system for a local vehicle, comprising: a head lamp including a low-beam lamp for shining low-beam light in a first zone, and a first high-beam lamp for shining first high-beam light in the first zone; a sensory cluster for detecting a remote vehicle proximate to the local vehicle, the sensory cluster including a distance sensor for determining a distance of the remote vehicle from the local vehicle, and a velocity sensor for determining a velocity of the remote vehicle with respect to the local vehicle; and a lighting controller for determining a minimum-distance target time when the remote vehicle will reach a minimum distance from the local vehicle based on the distance of the remote vehicle and the velocity of the remote vehicle, and for controlling the operation of the first high-beam lamp based on the distance of the remote vehicle and the velocity of the remote vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignee: Grote Industries, LLC
    Inventors: Suyash Kulkarni, Sankalp Pampattiwar, Brian Norris, Cesar Perez-Bolivar
  • Patent number: 11479175
    Abstract: A vehicular error detection system is provided, comprising: a plurality of light circuits in a vehicle, each light circuit including a light and being associated with a corresponding unique identifier; a system controller located in the vehicle and configured to control operation of the light circuits; a plurality of wires connecting the light circuits to the system controller such that at least one wire is attached to each of the plurality of light circuits; a plurality of lighting error detectors each configured to detect a malfunctioning light from among corresponding lights in the light circuits, and configured to transmit an error message to the system controller when the malfunctioning light is detected, wherein each of the lighting error detectors transmits an error message to the system controller when the lighting error detector detects the malfunctioning light, and the error message includes the corresponding unique identifier of the malfunctioning light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: Grote Industries, LLC
    Inventors: Sankalp Pampattiwar, Yogesh Kubal, Cesar Perez-Bolivar
  • Patent number: 11390209
    Abstract: A lighting system for a local vehicle, comprising: a head lamp including a low-beam lamp for shining low-beam light in a first zone, and a first high-beam lamp for shining first high-beam light in the first zone; a sensory cluster for detecting a remote vehicle proximate to the local vehicle, the sensory cluster including a distance sensor for determining a distance of the remote vehicle from the local vehicle, and a velocity sensor for determining a velocity of the remote vehicle with respect to the local vehicle; and a lighting controller for determining a minimum-distance target time when the remote vehicle will reach a minimum distance from the local vehicle based on the distance of the remote vehicle and the velocity of the remote vehicle, and for controlling the operation of the first high-beam lamp based on the distance of the remote vehicle and the velocity of the remote vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: Grote Industries, LLC
    Inventors: Suyash Kulkarni, Sankalp Pampattiwar, Brian Norris, Cesar Perez-Bolivar
  • Patent number: 11220207
    Abstract: A lighting system, including: a first headlamp on a front of a local vehicle and including a first low-beam lamp for shining light in front of the local vehicle at a first angle below horizontal, a first middle-beam lamp for selectively shining light in front of the local vehicle at a second angle below horizontal, and a first high-beam lamp for selectively shining light in front of the local vehicle at a third angle below horizontal; a sensory cluster for detecting a remote vehicle in front of the first headlamp; a controller for controlling operation of the first low-beam, middle-beam, and high-beam lamps, wherein the first angle is greater than the second angle and the second angle is greater than the third angle, and the controller controls operation of the first middle-beam and high-beam lamps based at least in part on signals from the sensory cluster.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: Grote Industries, LLC
    Inventors: Suyash Kulkarni, Sankalp Pampattiwar, Brian Norris, Cesar Perez-Bolivar
  • Patent number: 11178743
    Abstract: A self-repairing lighting system is provided, including: a power line; a ground line; a first lighting circuit arranged between the power line and the ground line, the first lighting circuit including a plurality of first lights arranged in series; and a first switch arranged in series with the plurality of first lights; a second lighting circuit arranged between the powerline and the ground, the second lighting circuit including a plurality of second lights arranged in series; and a second switch arranged in series with the plurality of second lights; a detector configured to detect an operating parameter of the self-repairing lighting system; a controller configured to operate the first and second switches based on the operating parameter. The operating parameter is one of a voltage drop on or a current passing through the power line, the ground line, or one of the lighting circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Grote Industries, LLC
    Inventors: Sankalp Pampattiwar, Yogesh Kubal, Cesar Perez-Bolivar
  • Patent number: 11059416
    Abstract: An electrochromic adaptive driving beam system for a vehicle includes a vehicle headlamp, a high-beam light source, and a low-beam light source. The vehicle headlamp includes an electrochromic material that covers the high-beam light source attached to the vehicle headlamp. The low-beam light source is uncovered by the electrochromic material of the vehicle headlamp. The electrochromic material is transparent to transmit light projected from the high-beam light source and changes opacity to reduce glare projected from the high-beam light source through the vehicle headlamp in response to a voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: Grote Industries, LLC
    Inventors: Suyash Kulkarni, Sankalp Pampattiwar, Brian Norris, Cesar Perez-Bolivar
  • Patent number: 10863594
    Abstract: A lighting device, comprising: a circuit board; a receiver coil trace located on the circuit board and configured to receive transmitted power from a transmitting coil trace; a light-emitter located on the circuit board, configured to receive power from the receiver coil trace; and receiver electronics located on the circuit board, configured to receive power from the receiver coil trace and control operation of the light emitter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2020
    Assignee: Grote Industries, LLC
    Inventors: Cesar Perez-Bolivar, Andrew Worley, Adam Slade, Peter Thompson, Paul Miller, Sankalp Pampattiwar
  • Patent number: 10502772
    Abstract: A device outage detector, comprising: a microcontroller; a plurality of shunt resistors, each connected to at least one of a plurality of vehicle elements; a current sensor configured to measure a plurality of instantaneous currents passing through the plurality of shunt resistors, respectively; and a voltage sensor configured to measure a plurality of instantaneous voltages across the plurality of shunt resistors, respectively, wherein the microcontroller is configured to issue a warning for a given shunt resistor if its corresponding instantaneous current is below the first threshold value and its instantaneous voltage is zero, or if its corresponding instantaneous current is above a second threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2019
    Assignee: Grote Industries, LLC
    Inventor: Adam Broadbent Slade
  • Patent number: 10502385
    Abstract: A dynamic segmented-reflector for a vehicle headlamp that includes a light source and a substrate formed as a reflector sidewall. The reflector sidewall includes reflector facets that are grown on the reflector sidewall. The reflector facets include at least one mirrored surface that faces the light source, and the reflector facets are configured to adjust position to form different light patterns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2019
    Assignee: Grote Industries, LLC
    Inventors: Hossein Alisafaee, Aditya Peri, Cesar Perez-Bolivar
  • Patent number: 10458627
    Abstract: A thin film sheet that includes a substrate, a first electrical connector, a second electrical connector, and one or more light sources and sensors electrically connected to the first and second electrical connectors within the thin film sheet. The first and second electrical connectors attach to the substrate and transmit power and/or information to and from the light sources and sensors, and the second electrical connector extends parallel to the first electrical connector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2019
    Assignee: Grote Industries, LLC
    Inventors: Cesar Perez-Bolivar, Michael R. Henderson, Adam Slade, Jiabiao Ruan, Charles D. Polley
  • Patent number: 10355186
    Abstract: A flexible lighting element is provided, comprising: a first substrate; first and second conductive elements over the first substrate; a light-emitting element having first and second contacts that are both on a first surface of the light-emitting element, the first and second contacts being electrically connected to the first and second conductive elements, respectively, and the light-emitting element emitting light from a second surface opposite the first surface; a transparent layer located adjacent to the second surface; and a transparent affixing layer located between the first substrate and the transparent layer, wherein the transparent layer and the transparent affixing layer are both sufficiently transparent to visible light that they will not decrease light transmittance below 70%, and the first and second conductive layers are at least partially transparent to visible light, or are 300 ?m or smaller in width, or are concealed by a design feature from a viewing direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2019
    Assignee: Grote Industries, LLC
    Inventors: William L. Corwin, Donald Lee Gramlich, Jr., Scott J. Jones, Martin J. Marx, Cesar Perez-Bolivar, George M. Richardson, II, James E. Roberts
  • Patent number: 10317030
    Abstract: A headlamp assembly is provided that includes a circuit board that is attached to the bottom of a headlamp reflector and that includes a plurality of light emitting elements. The plurality of light emitting elements are arranged on the circuit board in a high-beam and low-beam producing pattern configured to generate light toward the outer edge of the headlamp reflector. The headlamp assembly also includes an optical lens that includes a first optical surface and a second optical surface. The optical lens optically forms a low-beam light pattern and a high-beam light pattern from the light generated from the plurality of light emitting elements through the optical lens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: Grote Industries, LLC
    Inventors: Hossein Alisafaee, Albert J. Bolander, Jr., Paul Miller, Cesar Perez-Bolivar
  • Patent number: 10260699
    Abstract: A vehicle headlight for a semi-trailer truck and agricultural vehicle that includes a parabolic reflector, a light source, a lens, and lens legs that attach the lens to the parabolic reflector. The parabolic reflector includes a flat bottom, a curved sidewall that extends outwardly from the flat bottom to define an outer edge. The light source is attached to the flat bottom of the parabolic reflector. The light source emits light toward the outer edge of the parabolic reflector. A lens is located between the light source and the outer edge of the parabolic reflector. The lens includes a plurality of lens facets that are arranged in a matrix that outwardly extend toward the outer edge of the parabolic reflector. Each of the parabolic reflector and the lens have a focal point that are located at the same position on the base of the parabolic reflector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2019
    Assignee: Grote Industries, LLC
    Inventor: Albert J. Bolander, Jr.
  • Patent number: 10032753
    Abstract: A flexible lighting array, comprising: a flexible substrate; a pair of first electrical connectors formed on the flexible substrate; a pair of second electrical connectors formed on the flexible substrate; an isolation element formed on the flexible substrate between the pair of first electrical connectors and the pair of second electrical connectors; a plurality of first light-emitting elements formed over the pair of first electrical connectors; one or more second light-emitting elements formed over the pair of second electrical connectors; and a transparent covering layer formed over the plurality of first light-emitting elements and the one or more second light-emitting elements, wherein, the plurality of first light-emitting elements are configured to emit visible light in a wavelength range of 200 nm to 800 nm, and the one or more second light-emitting elements are configured to emit infrared light in a wavelength range of 800 nm to 1200 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: Grote Industries, LLC
    Inventors: Scott J. Jones, Martin J. Marx, Timothy W. Brooks, Donald L. Gramlich, Jr., William L. Corwin, Stanley D. Robbins
  • Patent number: 9980342
    Abstract: A lighting device, including a voltage source; a light engine including one or more lighting elements between a first power line and a second power line; a current detector between the voltage source and the light engine; a switch box between the voltage source and the light engine, connected to the electrical power, to ground, to the first power line, and to the second power line, and configured to switch the light engine between a first configuration in which the first power line is connected to the electrical power and the second power line is connected to ground, and a second configuration in which the second power line is connected to the electrical power and the first power line is connected to ground; a lighting controller configured to generate the switch control signal based on the detected current passing between the voltage source and the light engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: Grote Industries, LLC
    Inventors: Adam B. Slade, Cesar Perez-Bolivar
  • Patent number: 9917237
    Abstract: A flexible lighting element is provided, comprising: a first substrate; first and second conductive elements over the first substrate; a light-emitting element having first and second contacts that are both on a first surface of the light-emitting element, the first and second contacts being electrically connected to the first and second conductive elements, respectively, and the light-emitting element emitting light from a second surface opposite the first surface; a transparent layer located adjacent to the second surface; and a transparent affixing layer located between the first substrate and the transparent layer, wherein the transparent layer and the transparent affixing layer are both sufficiently transparent to visible light that they will not decrease light transmittance below 70%, and the first and second conductive layers are at least partially transparent to visible light, or are 300 ?m or smaller in width, or are concealed by a design feature from a viewing direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: Grote Industries, LLC
    Inventors: William L. Corwin, Donald Lee Gramlich, Jr., Scott J. Jones, Martin J. Marx, Cesar Perez-Bolivar, George M. Richardson, II, James E. Roberts
  • Patent number: 9748732
    Abstract: A sheet light source is described that has a width in a front-to-back “x” direction, a length in a left-to-right “y” direction, and a height in a bottom-to-top “z” direction. The sheet light source includes a bottom conductive surface, a laser diode, a transparent conductive sheet, and an adhesive material portion. The laser diode is mounted on the conductive surface in the “z” direction. The transparent conductive sheet is laminated onto the laser diode and the conductive surface in the “z” direction. The adhesive material portion is located between the conductive sheet and the conductive surface, and binds the transparent conductive sheet to the laser diode and the conductive surface. The adhesive material portion further enables photons, emitted substantially in the “x” direction from the laser diode, to propagate therein to an edge and be output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: Grote Industries, LLC
    Inventors: Albert Bolander, Cesar Perez-Bolivar, Michael Redwine
  • Patent number: 9615417
    Abstract: A lighting device is described that includes a voltage source, a substrate, a wiring, a first light emitting diode (LED) and a second LED, a first electrical conductive element (ECE) and a second ECE, and a transparent, conductive sheet material. The wiring is formed on the substrate, and is connected to the voltage source. The first LED and the second LED are formed on the wiring. The first ECE and the second ECE are formed on the wiring. The sheet material is laminated onto the first and second LEDs and the first and second ECEs. The first and second LEDs are electrically connected in parallel and have opposite polarities. A sheet resistance exists between the first ECE and the first LED and between the second ECE and the second LED.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignee: Grote Industries, LLC
    Inventors: Donald L. Gramlich, Jr., Timothy W. Brooks, Martin J. Marx, James E. Roberts, William L. Corwin, David W. Vinup
  • Patent number: 9614139
    Abstract: A flexible lighting element is provided, comprising: a first substrate; first and second conductive elements over the first substrate; a light-emitting element having first and second contacts that are both on a first surface of the light-emitting element, the first and second contacts being electrically connected to the first and second conductive elements, respectively, and the light-emitting element emitting light from a second surface opposite the first surface; a transparent layer located adjacent to the second surface; and a transparent affixing layer located between the first substrate and the transparent layer, wherein the transparent layer and the transparent affixing layer are both sufficiently transparent to visible light that they will not decrease light transmittance below 70%, and the first and second conductive layers are at least partially transparent to visible light, or are 300 ?m or smaller in width, or are concealed by a design feature from a viewing direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignee: Grote Industries, LLC
    Inventors: William L. Corwin, Donald Lee Gramlich, Jr., Scott J. Jones, Martin J. Marx, Cesar Perez-Bolivar, George M. Richardson, II, James E. Roberts