Patents Examined by Daniel L Greene
  • Patent number: 11061144
    Abstract: A system and method for providing power and alignment control within an irrigation system having at least two spans and a drive system for moving the spans.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: Valmont Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: Tracy A. Thatcher
  • Patent number: 11059436
    Abstract: A vehicle includes a rolling chassis structure and a working component coupled to the rolling chassis structure. The rolling chassis structure includes a chassis, a non-working component, and a control interface. The non-working component is coupled to the chassis and is configured to facilitate transit operations for the rolling chassis structure. The control interface is disposed in a cab area of the chassis. The control interface is communicably coupled to the non-working component and is configured to control operation of the non-working component. The working component is configured to move relative to the chassis and is communicably coupled to the control interface. The control interface is configured to control movement of the working component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: Oshkosh Corporation
    Inventors: Grant Wildgrube, Joshua D. Rocholl, Cody D. Clifton, John T. Kellander
  • Patent number: 11056005
    Abstract: Methods and system are provided for training and using a model to determine states of lanes of interest. For instance, image data including an image and an associated label identifying at least one traffic light, a state of the at least one traffic light, and a lane controlled by the at least one traffic light are received and used to train the model such that the model is configured to, in response to receiving an image and a lane of interest included in the image, output a lane state for the lane of interest. This model is then used by a vehicle in order to determine a state of a lane of interest. This state is then used to control the vehicle in an autonomous driving mode based on the state of the lane of interest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2021
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Maxim Krivokon, Abhijit S. Ogale, Edward Hsiao, Andreas Wendel
  • Patent number: 11053005
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a light source configured to emit light, a beam shaper configured to project the light to substantially surround the apparatus in a plane and onto an object in the plane, and a receiver configured to project the light reflected from the object in the plane to an image sensor. A distortion parameter of the receiver in conjunction with a difference between the emitted light and the reflected light detected at the image sensor is indicative of at least one of a direction or a distance of the apparatus relative to the object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2021
    Assignee: SZ DJI TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jiebin Xie, Wei Ren, Weisi Ma, Zhipeng Zhan, Shuhan Zhang
  • Patent number: 11048277
    Abstract: A technique is described for controlling an autonomous vehicle such as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) using objective-based inputs. In an embodiment, the underlying functionality of an autonomous navigation system is via an application programming interface (API). In such an embodiment, the UAV can be controlled trough specifying a behavioral objective, for example, using a call to the API to set parameters for the behavioral objective. The autonomous navigation system can then incorporate perception inputs such as sensor data from sensors mounted to the UAV and the set parameters using a multi-objective motion planning process to generate a proposed trajectory that most closely satisfies the behavioral objective in view of certain constraints. In some embodiments, developers can utilize the API to build customized applications for utilizing the UAV to capture images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Assignee: Skydio, Inc.
    Inventors: Jack Louis Zhu, Hayk Martirosyan, Abraham Bachrach, Matthew Donahoe, Patrick Lowe, Kristen Marie Holtz, Adam Bry
  • Patent number: 11046182
    Abstract: The disclosure describes methods and systems for controlling a rotary dial input device. A dial of the rotary dial input device has a specific mass that, in conjunction with a low-friction rotational bearing system, provides a momentum scrolling effect when physically spun and released. Upon spinning the dial freely, without subsequent user contact, the mass and velocity of the rotating dial provides momentum that causes the dial to continue to rotate for one or more revolutions. During this rotation a corresponding effect is provided, or dynamically rendered, to a user interface display device. Such an effect scrolls a list of objects displayed at the same, or a substantially similar, rate of speed to that of the dial rotating under momentum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Assignee: NIO USA, Inc.
    Inventors: James A. Chion, Timothy J. Meador, Pierluigi Dalla Rosa, Robin Bigio
  • Patent number: 11040683
    Abstract: Apparatus, systems, and methods generally including detecting, using a sensor, an impact at a vehicle; before, during, or after detecting the impact, storing a first data set associated with the vehicle in a first memory; in response to detecting the impact, retrieving the first data set from the first memory; transmitting, using a first short range communication device, the first data set via a first wireless signal; receiving, using a second short range communication device, the first data set via the first wireless signal; and storing the first data set in a second memory; and after storing the first data set in the second memory, retrieving the first data set from the second memory; wherein the first short range communication device is part of the vehicle; and wherein the second short range communication device is part of an infrastructure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC.
    Inventor: Nathan C. Westover
  • Patent number: 11034444
    Abstract: A flight management system that manages flight conditions of a plurality of flying objects and that causes the flying objects to work together in a coordinated manner to accomplish a purpose. The flight management system includes a flight management apparatus that receives instruction information, that registers a job, and that based on the job, gives a motion instruction to one or more flying objects. The flight management system includes also a job generator that generates a job, and a motion instructor that gives a motion instruction to the flying object. The job generator includes a search system that retrieves a work-performing flying object, a route setter that derives a flight route for the work-performing flying object, a time calculator that calculates a work time, and a registering system that registers a generated job.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: Blue Innovation Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Masayuki Kumada
  • Patent number: 11036234
    Abstract: A method and system are provided for controlling braking a vehicle in an autonomous driving mode. For instance, the vehicle is controlled in the autonomous driving mode according to a first braking control mode using a first model to adjust the position of a vehicle relative to an expected position of a current trajectory of the vehicle. Using a second model how close to a maximum deviation threshold the vehicle would come if a maximum braking strength for the vehicle was applied is predicted. The maximum deviation threshold provides an allowed forward deviation from the current trajectory. Based on the prediction, the vehicle is controlled in the autonomous driving mode according to a second braking control mode by automatically applying the maximum braking strength.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Daniel Trawick Egnor, Nolan McPeek-Bechtold, James Harris, Andrew Barton-Sweeney, Ruslan Kurdyumov, Spencer Alexander, Ryan Cash
  • Patent number: 11029689
    Abstract: A vehicle control system configured to maintain detection accuracy of an external sensor such as an on-board camera. The vehicle control system is applied to a vehicle that can be operated autonomously. A controller communicates with a database stored on the controller and a database stored on an external facility. The controller changes orientation of a headlamp toward an object detected by an on-board camera, in a case that the headlamp is turned on, and that information about the object detected by the on-board camera is not available in the database.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kensei Hata, Hiroaki Kodera, Takahito Endo, Naoki Harayama, Katsuya Iwazaki, Yushi Seki, Hideaki Komada
  • Patent number: 11021061
    Abstract: A power interface (14) connected to an ultra capacitor (16), a power source (18), and a load (20), with a controller (22) for managing the power interface (14), and monitoring the ultra capacitor (16), power source (18), and demands of the load (20) attached thereto. The power interface (12) selectively switches the circuit between the ultra capacitor (16) and the power source (18), and between the load (20) in response to the level of demand of the load (20) attached thereto such that the ultra capacitor (16) powers peak demand and the power source (18) powers steady demand.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2021
    Assignee: AMT, Inc.
    Inventors: Vinai Dumrongkietiman, Yinghua Zhu, Norm Mortensen
  • Patent number: 11007988
    Abstract: A control system is provided for a vehicle including an autonomous emergency braking system, characterized in that the control system includes: a brake control arrangement adapted to apply a friction-estimating braking when the autonomous emergency braking system has initiated a possible intervention; a brake force capacity estimation arrangement adapted to estimate the brake force capacity of the vehicle as a function of longitudinal wheel slip based on the applied friction-estimating braking; a road information arrangement adapted to obtain information about road curvature ahead of the vehicle; a lateral tyre force prediction arrangement adapted to predict lateral tyre force needed during autonomous emergency braking based on the obtained information about road curvature; and a brake strategy adaptation arrangement configured to adapt the brake strategy of the autonomous emergency braking system based on the estimated brake force capacity and the predicted lateral tyre force needed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: VOLVO TRUCK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Leo Laine, Fredrik Sandblom
  • Patent number: 11009891
    Abstract: A vehicle is configured to accommodate a cart and a passenger. A communication unit of the vehicle is configured to communicate with the cart. A traveling environment acquisition unit of the vehicle is configured to acquire a traveling environment of the vehicle. A cart control unit of the vehicle is configured to control an arrangement of the cart in the vehicle through the communication unit according to the traveling environment acquired toy the traveling environment acquisition unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tomohito Matsuoka, Seiichi Tsunoda, Jiro Goto, Masayuki Yamada, Yasutaka Eto, Keima Fukunaga, Kinya Tagawa, Yasuhiro Sasaki, Sho Tanaka, Yuki Shinohara
  • Patent number: 10999095
    Abstract: A communication method for a transmission-side node and a reception-side node performing transmission and reception via a communication line in a predetermined cycle includes: causing the transmission-side node and the reception-side node to transmit identification information indicating a status of an event of transmission of object data to the communication line in the predetermined cycle; if a new event of transmission of the object data occurs, causing the transmission-side node to update a value of the identification information and transmit the updated identification information together with the object data to the communication line in the predetermined cycle; and causing the reception-side node to receive the object data and the updated identification information, and upon completion of reception of the object data corresponding to the updated identification information, update a value of the identification information and transmit the updated identification information to the communication line in th
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignees: DENSO TEN Limited, TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Naoto Matsushita, Youichi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 10994735
    Abstract: In a case where a host vehicle that is traveling on a first lane intends to turn right or left at an intersection via a second lane whose traveling direction coincides with that of the first lane, a vehicle controller constituting a part of a vehicle control device performs a travel control or an assistance control that differs depending on whether the second lane is a priority lane where another vehicle that is different in type from the host vehicle preferentially travels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideki Matsunaga, Masaaki Nagashima, Toshiaki Takano
  • Patent number: 10975551
    Abstract: There is provided an information controller (60) that calculates a work amount based on the positions of a construction target surface and a current surface in a set coordinate system set in the operational plane of a multi-joint type front work device (30), and a construction distance (L) by which a construction target surface and a current surface of configurations equivalent to those of the construction target surface and the current surface continue on a construction object, and that calculates a predicted requisite time of the work amount of a work based on the work amount and processing speed. A construction completion prediction time calculated by the information controller (60) or a prediction time calculated from the construction completion prediction time is displayed by a display device (67).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Assignee: HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Katsumasa Uji, Yuichiro Morita, Kouichi Shibata
  • Patent number: 10960876
    Abstract: Path planning method for computing optimal parking maneuvers for road vehicles including the steps of computing a set of value functions of a cost function of parking maneuvers reaching the target set of states as unique viscosity solution of a Hamilton Jacobi Bellman equation, supplying the set of value functions, together with a starting state of the vehicle, as input to the dynamic programming calculation procedure calculating at least the set of vehicle controls. The set of equations modeling the evolution of the state of said road vehicle is a switched system of equations between a first sub-system if the vehicle is in forward motion and a second sub-system if the vehicle is in reverse motion. The cost function takes into account the arrival time a number of direction changes of the road vehicle between forward motion and reverse motion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignees: Magneti Marelli S.p.A., UniversitĂ  degli Studi di Parma
    Inventors: Piero Micelli, Luca Consolini, Mattia Laurini, Marco Locatelli, Axel Furlan, Michele Giorelli
  • Patent number: 10953871
    Abstract: In a computer mounted to a stationary support structure a vehicle and an object proximate to the support structure can be detected from data from a sensor mounted to the support structure. A risk condition can be identified based on the detected vehicle and object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Ankit Girish Vora, Helen Elizabeth Kourous-Harrigan, Jeffrey Thomas Remillard, Lu Xu, Linjun Zhang, Codrin Cionca
  • Patent number: 10946724
    Abstract: An apparatus for controlling a compressor includes: an operation information detector which detects operation information from various sensors according to an operation of a vehicle; a compressor which compresses a refrigerant for operating an air conditioner; and a controller which performs starting acceleration control of momentarily decreasing an operation rate of the compressor, which uses engine power in an acceleration situation of the vehicle, in which the controller stores a first map, in which a starting acceleration entry condition according to a driving pattern and a heat load of the vehicle is defined in a plurality of levels, sets a starting acceleration entry condition having a final level corresponding to the driving pattern according to a starting acceleration entry frequency of a driver for a predetermined unit time within a limited level range of the first map, and adjusts a starting acceleration control frequency of the compressor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Tae Hun Jung, Jeong Sik Seo, Jaeyeon Moon
  • Patent number: 10942033
    Abstract: A method for determining an alternative trajectory for an autonomously-driven transportation vehicle wherein an alternative trajectory for the transportation vehicle is calculated by a control device in response to an obstacle being detected by a transportation vehicle sensor device, which trajectory replaces at least one portion of an original trajectory of the transportation vehicle so the trajectory has a minimum total disturbance of at least one disturbance summand, consisting of a respective weighting factor and one disturbance value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2021
    Inventors: Frank Bärecke, Marc Blumentritt, Stefan Kukla