Patents Examined by B. M. M Hannan
  • Patent number: 11964675
    Abstract: A system for safely operating an automated vehicle includes a first network including a sensor set comprising a plurality of sensors configured to detect the surroundings of the vehicle. The sensor set is coupled to a high-performance electronic control unit (ECU) configured to process the signals of the sensors for orientation, control, and collision avoidance. The system further includes a secure motion-control ECU redundantly coupled to at least one drive element via at least two control signals for controlling the vehicle. The high-performance ECU is configured to output an object recognition indicator signal for orientation, control, and collision avoidance to the motion-control ECU. The system also includes a second, hierarchical, redundant network for safely operating the vehicle. The motion-control ECU is designed to securely evaluate the signals of a human/remote-machine interface (HMI/RMI), a ground truth sensing device, and a perception-safety ECU for the recognition of an emergency state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: ZF FRIEDRICHSHAFEN AG
    Inventors: Marcus Hiemer, Sascha Heinrichs-Bartscher, Mark Mohr
  • Patent number: 11964667
    Abstract: In a vehicle control device, a vehicle control method, and a vehicle control system according to the present invention, in control of a motion of a vehicle which is based on a signal relating to a target trajectory and a signal relating to a traveling state, a target traveling state of the vehicle after a predetermined time period corresponding to a delay element in the control of the motion of the vehicle is predicted, and a command for achieving the predicted target traveling state is output to an actuator configured to control the motion of the vehicle, thereby suppressing occurrence of a deviation of a traveling trajectory from the target trajectory and occurrence of an unstable behavior, for example, meandering, due to the delay element in a vehicle motion control system which is based on the target trajectory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: Hitachi Astemo, Ltd.
    Inventor: Kentaro Ueno
  • Patent number: 11958377
    Abstract: A vehicle diagnosis system, an apparatus therefor, and a method therefore are provided. The vehicle diagnosis system includes a wireless charging station that transmits a message including information related to a supportable service type and information related to a vendor of a supportable vehicle and a vehicle that identifies the message and connect a diagnosis session for diagnosing and reprogramming the vehicle. The diagnosis session is performed when a connection for a wireless charging session of the vehicle is established.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA CORPORATION, YURA CORPORATION CO., LTD.
    Inventors: In Sun Oh, Kwang Hae Ye, Ji Heon Kwon, Joon Hyuk Eom, Jae Hwan Na, Yong Ho Kim
  • Patent number: 11945428
    Abstract: In a vehicle, GV control and M+ control are executed by generating braking/driving forces from a brake hydraulic pressure control device and a drive device during steering. A controller estimates (calculates), by a posture estimation unit, a pitch amount and a roll amount (predicted pitch rate and predicted roll rate) that occur in the vehicle through use of a moment command of the M+ control and a longitudinal G command of the GV control. The controller adjusts damping forces of damping force variable dampers through use of the estimated pitch amount and the estimated roll amount (predicted pitch rate and predicted roll rate) so that a pitch amount calculated by a pitch control unit and a roll amount calculated by a roll suppression unit approach respective target values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: HITACHI ASTEMO, LTD.
    Inventors: Ryusuke Hirao, Nobuyuki Ichimaru
  • Patent number: 11938980
    Abstract: A RIO device mounted to a train includes an output unit that outputs a signal to a relay mounted to the train, and a controller that controls whether or not to cause the output unit to output the signal. The output unit includes a readback circuit that detects whether or not the signal is outputted from the output unit. The controller makes a signal stop request and a signal output request to the output unit before operation of the train starts, acquires a detection result of the readback circuit while each of the signal stop request and the signal output request is performed, and detects abnormality of the output unit using the detection result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ken Shibata, Tetsuo Komura, Hiromi Goda, Hiroshi Jota, Kentaro Hoshino
  • Patent number: 11933008
    Abstract: An apparatus for de-icing a pathway, the apparatus comprising a frame including a set of wheels, a salt dispenser, a servo attached to the salt dispenser, one or more motors, the motors attached to at least one of the set of wheels, and a microcontroller communicatively coupled to the servo and the one or more motors, wherein the microcontroller instructs the servo to operate the salt dispenser and activates the one or more motors to drive the at least one of the set of wheels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Inventors: Ari J. Ostrow, Adriel Kohananoo, Ruben Prawer
  • Patent number: 11912299
    Abstract: A vehicle system, including: a steering system; and a longitudinal-force application system including longitudinal-force application actuators configured to apply longitudinal forces respectively to one or more left-side wheels and one or more right-side wheels and a longitudinal-force controller configured to control the longitudinal-force application actuators to control the longitudinal forces applied respectively to the one or more left-side wheels and the one or more right-side wheels, and an onboard power source device including a main power source and a secondary power source. When the main power source fails to supply electric power to the longitudinal-force application system and the steering system, the longitudinal-force controller controls the longitudinal-force application actuators to control a difference between the longitudinal force applied to the one or more left-side wheels and the longitudinal force applied to the one or more right-side wheels, thereby turning the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Tsukasa Fukasawa
  • Patent number: 11904732
    Abstract: A transportation system is disclosed. The transportation system includes a vehicle, a plurality of seating assemblies positioned within a passenger compartment of the vehicle and defining an arrangement, a plurality of actuators that effect movement of various components of the plurality of seating assemblies, a plurality of sensors, and a controller. Specific examples of pre-set or pre-programmed arrangements are disclosed, as well as the ability to customize the arrangement. Additionally, exemplary methods are disclosed that illustrate transitions between a variety of the pre-set or pre-programmed arrangements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Marcos Silva Kondrad, Patrick Maloney, Kevin Mozurkewich, Johnathan Andrew Line, Jeffrey Brian Yeung
  • Patent number: 11903541
    Abstract: An autonomous floor cleaner can include a housing, a drive system for autonomously moving the housing over the surface to be cleaned, and a controller for controlling the operation of the autonomous floor cleaner. The drive system can include at least one drive wheel for driving the housing across a surface to be cleaned. The drive wheel can be selectively moved from an engaged or in-use position to a disengaged or maintenance position. In the disengaged or maintenance position, the wheel is disengaged from the autonomously moveable housing such that it can be pivoted, extended, removed, or otherwise moved farther away from the autonomously moveable housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: BISSELL Inc.
    Inventors: Steven M. Johnson, Todd R. VanTongeren, Matthew Haverkamp
  • Patent number: 11904840
    Abstract: A parking assistance device includes: a calculation unit that calculates a target speed with passage of time until a vehicle is moved to a parking target position; an event detection unit that detects an event that is a predetermined event indicating a timing of recalculation of the target speed; and an acquisition unit that acquires a current actual speed of the vehicle. Then, when the event is detected, the calculation unit recalculates the target speed to match the target speed with the current actual speed of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: AISIN CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazuma Iwazawa, Hiroki Inagaki, Hiroyuki Tachibana, Yuichi Mizutani, Yusuke Kiyokawa, Motokatsu Tomozawa, Yoshihiko Kosegaki, Akihiro Omura
  • Patent number: 11898852
    Abstract: Methods, computer program products, and systems are presented. The method computer program products, and systems can include, for instance: obtaining movement path data that specifies a location of a mobile article over time within a geographical area having an infrastructure feature; determining by machine logic based on map data and based on the movement path data calibrated location data of the mobile article, wherein the determining based on map data and based on the movement path data calibrated location data of the mobile article includes using map data that specifies coordinate location data of the infrastructure feature; and providing one or more output based on the determining.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jian Zhang, Chang Lei, Hu Wang, Cheng Zhang, Chuang Cao, Shuan Shuan Chen, Wei Hong Liu
  • Patent number: 11899467
    Abstract: Disclosed is an electronic apparatus. The electronic apparatus includes: a camera; a memory configured to store attribute information and environment information; and a processor configured to identify a plurality of objects based on an image obtained by the camera, identify a first context of a first object, from among the plurality of objects, based on a relationship between attribute information of the plurality of objects and the environment information, and control a traveling state of the electronic apparatus based on the first context.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Woomok Kim, Hyunmi Choi, Dongshin Song
  • Patent number: 11892838
    Abstract: According to one aspect, methods to validate an autonomy system in conjunction with a teleoperations system are provided. A computing device obtains simulation data of an autonomous driving system of a vehicle. The simulation data includes first environment data representing an environment in which the vehicle is driven using the autonomous driving system. The computing device obtains teleoperations driving data of a teleoperations driving system by which the vehicle is remotely controlled with an aid of a human. The teleoperations driving data includes second environment data representing the environment in which the vehicle is driven using the teleoperations driving system. The computing device determines whether the autonomous driving system in conjunction with the teleoperations driving system meets a minimum deployment standard based on the simulation data and the teleoperations driving data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: NURO, INC.
    Inventor: Sreeja Nag
  • Patent number: 11891048
    Abstract: A method generates a setpoint for controlling a steering system and a differential braking system of a motor vehicle. The method includes: acquiring a value relating to a total yawing moment to be applied to the motor vehicle such that it follows a required path, and the speed of the motor vehicle, calculating, as a function of the speed, at least one threshold relating to the maximum proportion of the total yawing moment that the steering system or that the differential braking system can provide, determining, as a function of the threshold, a distribution rate relating to the proportion of the total yawing moment that the steering system or that the differential braking system must provide, and generating a setpoint for controlling the steering system and the differential braking system as a function of the distribution rate and of the value relating to the total yawing moment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignees: Renault s.a.s., NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Anh Lam Do, Alain Haddad, Geoffrey Bruno, Khoa Duc Nguyen
  • Patent number: 11884264
    Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure provide for controlling an autonomous vehicle to enter a driveway. As an example, an instruction to pickup or drop off a passenger at a location may be received. It may be determined that the vehicle is arriving in a lane on an opposite side of a street as the location, the lane having a traffic direction opposite to a traffic direction of a lane adjacent to the location. A difficulty score to maneuver the vehicle to the lane adjacent to the location may be determined, and the difficulty score may be compared to a predetermined difficulty score. Based on the comparison, it may be determined to an available driveway on the same side of the street as the location. The vehicle may be controlled to enter the available driveway.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: John Wesley Dyer, Michael Epstein, Jonathan Lee Pedersen
  • Patent number: 11883963
    Abstract: A robotic platform associated with one or more software services enables remote users to interact with an environment and other humans physically and visually through a robotic surrogate over any distance utilizing the internet. The robotic surrogate is controlled through a non-technical user interface which responds to user control inputs made through natural user arm movements which are tracked in three dimensional space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Cushybots Corporation
    Inventors: Allen Dodgson Tan, John A Wright, Garrett M Clayton, Porhour Ly
  • Patent number: 11878690
    Abstract: A start control device, which is a control device, includes: a first adjustment processing unit configured to execute a first adjustment process of instructing at least one of a brake device and a drive device to increase a braking/driving force when the braking/driving force is negative and the vehicle is stopped; and a second adjustment processing unit configured to start a second adjustment process of instructing at least one of the brake device and the drive device to increase the braking/driving force at a speed lower than an increasing speed of the braking/driving force before end of the first adjustment process on condition that the braking/driving force has become greater than or equal to a determination braking/driving force by the increase in the braking/driving force accompanying the execution of the first adjustment process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Assignee: ADVICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Kato, Yosuke Hashimoto
  • Patent number: 11872978
    Abstract: An electric vehicle includes an electric motor switchable between a first mode with a first number of poles and a second mode with a second number of poles less than the first number of poles, a plurality of inverters coupled to the motor, and a control module coupled to the plurality of inverters. The control module receives current vehicle information, determines that a mode switch is required between the first and second modes of the motor based on the current vehicle information, wherein the first mode achieves higher torque than the second mode, and performs the mode switch by controlling the plurality of inverters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: CUMMINS INC.
    Inventors: Jennifer Kay Light-Holets, Bradford K. Palmer
  • Patent number: 11875675
    Abstract: A vehicle including a magnetic detecting part for detecting a magnetic marker disposed in a road is configured to acquire marker state information indicating the state of the magnetic marker from an external server apparatus via wireless communication and diagnose the state of the magnetic detecting part by using a result of detection of the magnetic marker in which the state of the magnetic marker indicated by the marker state information is good, thereby allowing inspection cost and cost of maintenance of the magnetic detecting part for detecting the magnetic marker to be suppressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: AICHI STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Michiharu Yamamoto, Tomohiko Nagao, Hitoshi Aoyama
  • Patent number: 11853075
    Abstract: Disclosed is an electronic apparatus. The electronic apparatus includes: a camera; a memory configured to store attribute information and environment information; and a processor configured to identify a plurality of objects based on an image obtained by the camera, identify a first context of a first object, from among the plurality of objects, based on a relationship between attribute information of the plurality of objects and the environment information, and control a traveling state of the electronic apparatus based on the first context.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Woomok Kim, Hyunmi Choi, Dongshin Song