Patents Examined by Bhavesh V Amin
  • Patent number: 11313286
    Abstract: An electronic controller for an engine and a propeller, a control system and related methods are described herein. The controller comprises a first channel and a second channel independent from and redundant to the first channel. Each channel having a control processor configured to receive first engine and propeller parameters and to output, based on the first engine and propeller parameters, at least one engine control command comprising instructions for controlling an operation of the engine and at least one propeller control command comprising instructions for controlling an operation of the propeller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2022
    Assignee: PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.
    Inventors: Jasraj Chahal, Brant Duke, Carmine Lisio, Jim R. Jarvo, Giancarlo Zingaro
  • Patent number: 11311163
    Abstract: A self-propelling cleaning robot includes a main body, a driving part configured to propel the main body, a cleaning part configured to clean a cleaning area, a sensor part configured to detect an obstacle, and a control unit mounted on the main body and configured to control the driving part and the sensor part. The control unit includes a controller having an integrated development environment to create a programming code, and the controller is connectable with an external device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2022
    Assignee: NIHON BUSINESS DATA PROCESSING CENTER CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Tomotaro Ike
  • Patent number: 11305783
    Abstract: Provided is a vehicle control device which makes it possible, in a redundant configuration, to make use of a normally operating part in a failed system. A vehicle control device having a redundant configuration includes a task switching function unit configured to switch tasks to be executed when an abnormality is detected. The task switching function unit being configured to, when a diagnostic function unit determines that an abnormality has occurred in a unit of a host system, cause the unit of the failed system to stop calculation of control variable, and stop drive control for a control object, and then execute calculation other than the calculation of the control variable of the host system, and the drive control for an electric motor, so that the calculation unit of the failed system can take over at least a part of calculation of a normal system or another on-vehicle device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: HITACHI ASTEMO, LTD.
    Inventor: Mitsuaki Nakada
  • Patent number: 11279035
    Abstract: Systems, devices, and methods are provided for using Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) safety rings. An robotic apparatus may include a moveable component having a longitudinal central axis spanning between a first end and a second end, a transceiver positioned at the first end of the moveable component to emit and receive light, and a reflective surface at the first end of the moveable component. The reflective surface may reflect light signals emitted by the transceiver toward the second end, and may reflect returning light signals toward the transceiver. The robotic apparatus may include at least one processor to determine, based on the returning light signals, that an object is within a distance of the moveable component, and to change an operation of the robotic apparatus based on the object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Felipe De Arruda Camargo Polido
  • Patent number: 11278369
    Abstract: To provide a control device, control method, and surgical system that can further improve safety.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Seiji Wada, Takeshi Maeda, Kana Matsuura
  • Patent number: 11278177
    Abstract: Provided are cleaning control method and device for a cleaning robot, a cleaning robot, an electronic device and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The method includes: controlling the cleaning robot to proceed and triggering a collision detector disposed at the cleaning robot to emit a trigger signal; controlling the cleaning robot to recede a first distance according to the trigger signal; controlling the cleaning robot to rotate in place, and a proceeding direction of the cleaning robot is in parallel with a contour line of an obstacle or a tangent thereof; and controlling the cleaning robot to proceed according to the proceeding direction, and controlling a distance between the cleaning robot and the obstacle to be maintained within a pre-set distance range during proceeding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Inventors: Zhouxiong Lin, Zexuan Fan, Ke Li, Cong Hou, Chun Luan
  • Patent number: 11273920
    Abstract: A method and to a device for managing energy of a hybrid power plant of a multi-rotor aircraft during a flight. The hybrid power plant comprises a thermal engine, an electricity generator, and a plurality of electric motors, together with a plurality of electrical energy storage devices. The aircraft has a plurality of rotors driven in rotation by respective electric motors. The flight of the aircraft comprises a takeoff stage, a cruising stage, and a landing stage, the takeoff stage and the landing stage being performed solely while consuming electrical energy. The method enables an electrification ratio RElec of the flight to be calculated as a function of the amounts of electrical and thermal energy that are consumed during the takeoff, landing, and cruising stages, thereby limiting the use of the thermal engine to the least possible amount during the cruising stage, and consequently reducing the associated nuisance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: AIRBUS HELICOPTERS
    Inventors: Marc Gazzino, Bernard Faure
  • Patent number: 11257387
    Abstract: Methods and systems for automatic sequencing of an ownship aircraft behind a lead aircraft on an approach to a runway. The method determines that the ownship aircraft is in an instrument approach. A pilot selection of the lead aircraft is confirmed as matching the lead aircraft identified in an air traffic control (ATC) command. The method includes calculating, an arrival time of the lead aircraft at the runway; processing the arrival time of the lead aircraft at the runway with a desired separation time to determine a target point for the ownship aircraft to merge onto a centerline of the runway; and automatically, and without further human input, generate lateral guidance, vertical guidance, and speed targets for the ownship aircraft to join the runway centerline at the target point at the desired separation time after the lead aircraft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC.
    Inventors: Ondrej Karas, Jakub Cisar, Zdenek Padera, Jiri Gazarek
  • Patent number: 11253124
    Abstract: A cleaning unit for cleaning floors comprising a drivetrain, a main controller, a safety module, and one or more cleaning aggregates for cleaning a floor upon which the cleaning unit moves. The main controller may operate the cleaning unit in one of an autonomous mode in which cleaning unit autonomously navigates while cleaning the floor or a manual mode in which the cleaning unit is maneuverable under an applied external force while cleaning the floor. The safety module may be responsive to a plurality of safety inputs such that if a safety input indicates an unsafe condition, the safety module initiates a lockout to stop movement by the cleaning unit. In the autonomous mode, the safety module may be responsive to a first set of safety inputs and in the manual operating mode, the safety module may be responsive to a second set of safety inputs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Diversey, Inc.
    Inventors: David M. Knuth, Stephen D. Herr, Stephen J. Balas, Angelo Sabatino, Marcel Graf, Andre Baertsch, Sepp Stary
  • Patent number: 11243088
    Abstract: In one aspect, a system and method is provided whereby map-related requests from mobile devices are used to store and aggregate routes. The routes are then used to determine optimum directions in response to subsequent requests.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: Google LLC
    Inventor: Vinay Goel
  • Patent number: 11237877
    Abstract: Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed Systems, apparatus, and methods to propagate a robot swarm using virtual partitions are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a transceiver to broadcast the availability of the apparatus to host one or more bots from a swarm of bots and to receive a copy request from a bot in the swarm of bots. The example apparatus also includes an evaluator to evaluate instructions from the bot and determine if the apparatus is equipped to propagate the bot. In addition, the example apparatus includes a virtual partition to provide an interface for executing a copy of the bot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Glen J. Anderson, Vinayak Honkote, Dibyendu Ghosh
  • Patent number: 11235475
    Abstract: An interchangeable tool including a finger of a shape suitable for various components is mechanically detachably mounted to a robot arm. This eliminates the need for seeking the origin of the actuator for each interchange. By interchanging fingers themselves, the entire end effector can be reduced in size and weight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Naonori Kayama, Yoshiyuki Miyazaki
  • Patent number: 11234571
    Abstract: The invention relates to a cleaning robot and a material identification method thereof, which is suitable for cleaning robots. The cleaning robot is pre-set with a threshold comparison table and comprises a plurality of comparison thresholds, wherein each comparison threshold defines an interval of accumulated energy information accumulated by the moving plane of different materials within a predetermined period of time. The cleaning robot generates accumulated energy information during the movement, so that the cleaning robot can find the comparison threshold corresponding to the accumulated energy information from the threshold comparison table, and then determines the material of the moving plane contacted by the cleaning robot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Inventors: Jason Yan, Shui-Shih Chen
  • Patent number: 11230016
    Abstract: In one aspect, a method is described. The method may include providing an end effector tool of a robotic device configured to perform a task on a work surface within a worksite coordinate frame. The method may further include providing first location data indicating a first location of the end effector tool with respect to the work surface, providing second location data indicating a second location of the end effector tool within the worksite coordinate frame, and providing third location data indicating a third location of the end effector tool within the worksite coordinate frame. The method may further include tracking the location of the end effector tool based on the first, second, and third location data, and, based on the tracked location of the tool, instructing the robotic device to manipulate the end effector tool to perform a task on the work surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: Intrinsic Innovation LLC
    Inventors: Jeff Linnell, Marek Michalowski, Anthony Sean Jules
  • Patent number: 11224323
    Abstract: A self-driving cleaner includes a drive unit that drives movement of a cleaner body, a control circuit disposed in the cleaner body, a camera that captures an image in front thereof, an obstacle detection sensor that detects an object, and a rotational frequency sensor that detects a stuck state. The control circuit (a) identifies information about a target object that caused the stuck state, (b) receives information indicating whether the target object is to be cleaned, and (c) controls the drive unit and a suction unit, when receiving information indicating the target object to be cleaned, to perform a first mode where the space excluding the target object is cleaned first and, thereafter, the target object is climbed if receiving cleaning reservation and perform a second mode where the target object is climbed first and, thereafter, the space excluding the target object is cleaned if receiving a cleaning start instruction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yuki Takaoka, Tomohito Oohashi, Kazuyoshi Moritani, Yuko Tsusaka
  • Patent number: 11226629
    Abstract: Disclosed is a robot and a control method thereof. The robot includes: a camera configured to acquire a depth image of a specific area; a processor configured to create an elevation map for the specific area based on the depth image, and determine whether a head of a person is in the specific area based on the elevation map. The processor, when determining whether the head of the person is in the specific area, is further configured to partition pixels of the elevation map into floor pixels corresponding to a floor area and non-floor pixels corresponding to a non-floor area using elevation values of the elevation map, set paths through the elevation map with a subset of the non-floor pixels as starting points for the paths, and determine whether the head of the person is in the specific area based on whether the paths converge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Seungchul Kwak, Jeongwoo Ju
  • Patent number: 11222528
    Abstract: In an exemplary method, a traffic monitoring subsystem receives mobile device attribute data from a plurality of mobile devices over a network, selectively aggregates the mobile device attribute data, the selectively aggregating including identifying anomalous data in the mobile device attribute data and excluding the anomalous data from the aggregated mobile device attribute data, and generating traffic condition data based at least in part on the aggregated mobile device attribute data, the traffic condition data representative of a traffic condition. In certain examples, the traffic monitoring system provides the traffic condition data to at least one of the mobile devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: Verizon Patent and & Licensing Inc.
    Inventors: Donald H. Relyea, Michelle Felt
  • Patent number: 11212639
    Abstract: One or more implementations shown in the present specification provide an information display method. An image capturing direction of an end-user device is determined. When the end-user device captures a first image, a geographic location of the end-user device is determined. Based on the geographic location and the image capturing direction of the end-user device and a geographic location of at least one point of interest (POI), a first POI that the end-user device points to when capturing the first image is determined. Using the geographic location of the end-user device as an origin of a coordinate system, a space model is established. Based on the space model, coordinates of a virtual camera is determined. Labeled data corresponding to the first POI are rendered onto the first image by using a second image simulated by the virtual camera.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: Advanced New Technologies Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Dafeng Xu
  • Patent number: 11209833
    Abstract: A navigation control system for an autonomous vehicle comprises a transmitter and an autonomous vehicle. The transmitter comprises an emitter for emitting at least one signal, a power source for powering the emitter, a device for capturing wireless energy to charge the power source, and a printed circuit board for converting the captured wireless energy to a form for charging the power source. The autonomous vehicle operates within a working area and comprises a receiver for detecting the at least one signal emitted by the emitter, and a processor for determining a relative location of the autonomous vehicle within the working area based on the signal emitted by the emitter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventor: Mark J. Chiappetta
  • Patent number: 11209823
    Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure relate to arranging a pick up and drop off locations between a driverless vehicle and a passenger. As an example, a method of doing so may include receiving a request for a vehicle from a client computing device, wherein the request identifies a first location. Pre-stored map information and the first location are used to identify a recommended point according to a set of heuristics. Each heuristic of the set of heuristics has a ranking such that the recommended point corresponds to a location that satisfies at least one of the heuristics having a first rank and such that no other location satisfies any other heuristic of the set of heuristics having a higher rank than the first rank. The pre-stored map information identifying a plurality of pre-determined locations for the vehicle to stop, and the recommended point is one of the plurality of pre-determined locations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Salil Pandit, Nirmal Patel, Tacettin Dogacan Guney, Kevin Rawlings, Laurens Andreas Feenstra