Patents Examined by Abby Y Lin
  • Patent number: 11897137
    Abstract: The present application relates to a method for robot control. The method includes: obtaining at least one parameter associated with a robot to be controlled by a controller; determining a first identity of the robot based on the at least one parameter; comparing the first identity with a pre-stored second identity; and in response to the first identity matching the second identity, controlling operations of the robot with the controller. The present application further discloses detection of a mismatch between the controller and the robot in an easy, safe and convenient way.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: ABB SCHWEIZ AG
    Inventors: Bojun Ma, Wengui Pan, Yanjun Wang
  • Patent number: 11890748
    Abstract: A companion robot is disclosed. In some embodiments, the companion robot may include a head having a facemask and a projector configured to project facial images onto the facemask; a facial camera; a microphone configured to receive audio signals from the environment; a speaker configured to output audio signals; and a processor electrically coupled with the projector, the facial camera, the microphone, and the speaker. In some embodiments, the processor may be configured to receive facial images from the facial camera; receive speech input from the microphone; determine an audio output based on the facial images and/or the speech input; determine a facial projection output based the facial images and/or the speech input; output the audio output via the speaker; and project the facial projection output on the facemask via the projector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: Dream Face Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Mohammad H. Mahoor, Joshua T. Lane, Hojjat Abdollahi Pourhaghighi, Eshrat S. Emamian
  • Patent number: 11891037
    Abstract: A system for controlling a trailer brake output circuit includes an electronic control unit having one or more processors and one or more memory modules. The trailer brake output circuit is configured to output a trailer brake output signal. Machine readable instructions cause the electronic control unit to: receive a signal from a vehicle stability control system indicating that a vehicle stability control flag is set, generate the trailer brake output signal in response to the vehicle stability control flag being set such that the trailer brake output signal ramps up to a target value over a predefined period of time, maintain the trailer brake output signal at the target value while the vehicle stability control flag is set, and output the trailer brake output signal such that the trailer brake output signal ramps down from the target value when the vehicle stability control flag changes from set to not set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Adam VanAntwerp, Corey Zwegers, Stephen Robertson, Takayuki Goto, Yuichi Shimizu
  • Patent number: 11884301
    Abstract: With an object of notifying a peripheral vehicle or a person of a travel plan of an own vehicle at an appropriate timing, and providing a safe automatic driving system, a travel plan information distribution system is characterized by including a travel plan information compilation unit that, based on information output by a positional information and frontal road shape information acquisition unit and a sensor information acquisition unit, compiles travel plan information including a travel plan category and a time at which travel is to be started or a position from which a travel plan is to be started, a wireless communication device that transmits travel plan information to a peripheral vehicle, and a travel plan information distribution control unit that selects and outputs necessary details of travel plan information at a safe and necessary timing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Kengo Yokoyama, Yuji Igarashi
  • Patent number: 11884274
    Abstract: A mode driving assistance system for a vehicle assists a driver when the driver conducts mode driving by operating an operation member such that a traveling speed meets a time series change in the traveling speed. The operation member is disposed on a chassis dynamometer. The operation member conducts at least one of acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle. The system includes: a display that the driver can observe visually; a storage that stores a target value relating to an operation amount of the operation member in time series; a first detector that detects an actual value of the operation amount of the operation member; and a controller that displays the target value of the operation amount of the operation member stored in the storage and the actual value of the operation amount of the operation member detected by the first detector, as a time series image on the display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hiroshi Itsui
  • Patent number: 11883962
    Abstract: A controller controls a motion of an object performing a task for changing a state of the object from a start state to an end state while avoiding collision of the object with an obstacle according to an optimal trajectory determined by solving an optimization problem of the dynamics of the object producing an optimal trajectory for performing the task subject to constraints on a solution of first-order stationary conditions modeling a minimum distance between the convex hull of the object and the convex hull of the obstacle using complementarity constraints.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Arvind Raghunathan, Devesh Jha, Diego Romeres
  • Patent number: 11878688
    Abstract: In a vehicle control apparatus, an entry determiner determines, while one of the following traveling mode and the constant-speed traveling mode is performed by the vehicle control apparatus, whether an entry condition is satisfied in response to determination that there is at least one other crossing vehicle. The entry condition enables the at least one other crossing vehicle to cross in front of the own vehicle to thereafter enter the enterable space without colliding with the own vehicle. An autonomous driving controller switches, upon the entry condition being determined to be satisfied, the performed one of the following traveling mode and the constant-speed traveling mode to a crossing mode that controls traveling of the own vehicle to ensure a predetermined space in front of the own vehicle. The predetermined space enables the at least one other crossing vehicle to cross in front of the own vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takumi Uematsu, Mitsuhiro Tokimasa, Michihiro Kuroki
  • Patent number: 11878420
    Abstract: The invention discloses high-precision mobile robot management and scheduling system, and relates to the technical field of industrial robots, comprising industrial robot, AGV, secondary positioning device and upper computer, wherein the secondary positioning devices are arranged on corresponding workstations of processing machine tool, when the processing machine tool performs processing tasks, the upper computer selects the AGV arranged with industrial robot and navigates the same to the secondary positioning device, and after the secondary positioning device and the chassis of the industrial robot are locked, the industrial robot can assist the processing machine tool in parts machining. The system in the invention perfectly combines the mobile robot and fixed robot, thereby achieving not only flexibility of mobile robot, but also the high precision of the fixed robot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Inventors: Xiaopu Fan, Ning Song
  • Patent number: 11872708
    Abstract: A method and system to monitor and autonomously configure an intravascular assembly without medical staff involvement or presence. In this solution, a robotic device is associated with an intravascular assembly, which has tubing through which fluids are delivered intravenously. Monitoring of the tubing is initiated. In response to the monitoring, an errant flow through the tubing is detected; typically, the errant flow results from one of: a kink or twist in the tubing, an air bubble in the tubing, an occlusion or clot in the tubing, and pressure variations. In response to detecting the errant flow, and in advance of an audible alarm being generated in association with the intravascular assembly, a command is then issued to the associated robotic device. The command is configured to initiate, by the robotic device, physical engagement with and mechanical manipulation of the tubing, thereby remediating the errant flow automatically.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: 123IV, Inc.
    Inventor: Allen B Chefitz
  • Patent number: 11872856
    Abstract: A wheel position detection apparatus applied to a vehicle including a vehicle body attached with multiple travelling wheels. The apparatus includes: multiple transmitters respectively disposed at travelling wheels; and a receiver disposed at the vehicle body. The transmitter includes: an acceleration sensor outputting a detection signal according to an acceleration including a gravitational acceleration component being varied by a rotation of the corresponding travelling wheel attached with the transmitter; and a first controller creating a frame including unique identification information, and transmit the frame in response to the receiver outputting a transmission command.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Takatoshi Sekizawa
  • Patent number: 11872702
    Abstract: Embodiments provide functionality to prevent collisions between robots and objects. An example embodiment detects a type and a location of an object based on a camera image of the object, where the image has a reference frame. Motion of the object is then predicted based on at least one of: the detected type of the object, the detected location of the object, and a model of object motion. To continue, a motion plan for the robot is generated that avoids having the robot collide with the object based on the predicted motion of the object and a transformation between the reference frame of the image and a reference frame of the robot. The robot can be controlled to move in accordance with the motion plan or a signal can be generated that controls the robot to operate in accordance with the motion plan.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.
    Inventors: David M. S. Johnson, Syler Wagner, Steven Lines, Mitchell Hebert, Connor Lawson
  • Patent number: 11866059
    Abstract: A route information storage function having decreased data storage requirements is provided in a vehicle controller that includes a processor, a first storage unit, and a second storage unit and that stores route information indicating a route to a target point. The vehicle controller includes a traveling state acquiring unit that acquires route information on a vehicle, a short-term storage information processing unit that stores the route information in the first storage unit, as short-term storage information, the route information being acquired by the traveling state acquiring unit while the vehicle is traveling, and a long-term storage information processing unit that after the vehicle has reached the target point, determines long-term storage information from short-term storage information stored in the first storage unit, the long-term storage information processing unit storing the determined long-term storage information in the second storage unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: HITACHI ASTEMO, LTD.
    Inventors: Takaya Ishii, Masashi Seimiya
  • Patent number: 11865716
    Abstract: A system forms a part in an initial geometry (e.g., a sheet) into a desired geometry. The system includes a robot arm with an end effector, a model and a controller. The model receives an input geometry and an input parameter value indicating an interaction between the part and the end effector. The model determines an output geometry of the part based on the input geometry and the input parameter value. The controller receives the initial and desired geometries; applies the model to the initial geometry and to different input parameter values; based on output geometries of the model, determines a set of parameter values for controlling the robot arm; and controls the robot arm according to the determined set of parameter values to form the part into the desired geometry using the end effector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: Machina Labs, Inc.
    Inventor: Edward Mehr
  • Patent number: 11865720
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a handling device includes: a holding part that includes two or more supporting parts and is capable of holding an object by gripping the object with the two or more supporting parts; a calculation part configured to calculate a safety factor indicating safety of a state of the holding part holding the object; and a controller configured to cause the holding part to hold the object according to the safety factor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Haruna Eto, Seiji Tokura, Kazuma Komoda, Ping Jiang, Akihito Ogawa
  • Patent number: 11865724
    Abstract: Image-based trajectory planning for a mobile machine having a camera is disclosed. A trajectory for the mobile machine to move to a referenced target is planned by obtaining, a desired image of the referenced target captured at a desired pose of the trajectory and an initial image of the referenced target captured at an initial pose of the trajectory through the camera of the mobile machine, calculating a homography of the desired image and the initial image; decomposing the homography into an initial translation component and an initial rotation matrix, obtaining optimized translation component(s) corresponding to constraint(s) for the mobile machine based on the initial translation component, obtaining optimized homography(s) based on the optimized translation component(s) and the initial rotation matrix, and obtaining objective image features corresponding to the trajectory based on the optimized homography(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: UBKANG (QINGDAO) TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Dejun Guo, Huan Tan
  • Patent number: 11866050
    Abstract: A method and a device for operating a vehicle assistance system in that the environment of the vehicle and objects located in the vehicle are determined using detected signals from an environment sensor system. Using the method and device it may be determined whether the roadway lying ahead of the vehicle driving in an automated driving mode is snow-covered and has tire tracks. In the event the tire tracks are there, and depending on the determined course of the tire tracks for the vehicle, a decision is made as to whether a journey along these tire tracks is critical.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignees: Daimler AG, Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Christoph Gustav Keller, Holger Mielenz
  • Patent number: 11864482
    Abstract: A method for controlling the operation of an attachment includes coupling the attachment to a tractor via a power lift comprising two lower link arms and detecting a pull point as a geometrical intersection of imaginary extensions of both lower link arms based on reference angles. The method further includes determining the reference angles by an optical capture of the lower link arms, and controlling the operation based on the detected pull point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: DEERE & COMPANY
    Inventor: Martin Schmidt
  • Patent number: 11862031
    Abstract: The method can include performing inference using the system; and can optionally include training the system components. The method functions to automatically interpret flight commands from a stream of air traffic control (ATC) radio communications. The method can additionally or alternatively function to train and/or update a natural language processing system based on ATC communications. Additionally, the method can include or be used in conjunction with collision avoidance and/or directed perception for traffic detection associated therewith.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: Merlin Labs, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew George, Alexander Naiman, Michael Pust, Joseph Bondaryk
  • Patent number: 11858498
    Abstract: Autonomous vehicle trailer loading with smart trailer are disclosed herein. An example method includes receiving a request to activate a self-loading procedure for an autonomous vehicle, executing the self-loading procedure by an autonomous vehicle controller, the self-loading procedure including causing the autonomous vehicle to navigate to a transportation platform, determining a visual identifier of the transportation platform using output from a sensor platform of the autonomous vehicle, and causing the autonomous vehicle to navigate onto or into the transportation platform and park at a parking spot of the transportation platform designated for the autonomous vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Oliver Martinovski
  • Patent number: 11858142
    Abstract: Provided are a manipulation system and a driving method of the manipulation system capable of performing manipulation efficiently and suitably while suppressing damage to a minute object at the time of manipulation regardless of the degree of skill and technique of an operator. A sample stage configured such that a minute object is placed thereon, a first manipulator including a first pipette for holding the minute object, a second manipulator including a second pipette for operating the minute object that is held on the first pipette, an imaging unit for imaging the minute object, and a controller that controls the sample stage, the first pipette, the second pipette, and the imaging unit are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: NSK LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroki Ueda, Manabu Kishida, Nobuaki Tanaka