Patents Examined by Danielle Marie Jackson
  • Patent number: 11408739
    Abstract: Adjusting inconsistencies and inaccuracies in location perception, one or more computer processors identify data indicating a location of a computing device; detect a subsequent computing device within a threshold proximity to the computing device; receive data indicating a location of the subsequent computing device; determine a first location reliability score for the identified data indicating the location of a computing device and a second location reliability score for the received data indicating the location of the subsequent computing device; calculate one or more location corrective parameters for the computing device based, at least in part, on the identified data indicating the location of the computing device, the received data indicating the location of the subsequent computing device, the first location reliability score, and the second location reliability score; adjust the data indicating the location of the computing device based on the calculated one or more location corrective parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Sanehiro Furuichi, Akira Saito, Hayato Uenohara, Satoshi Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 11400930
    Abstract: A system and method for predicting a collision between a host vehicle and a target vehicle operating on a multi-lane roadway may include determining the host and target vehicles are converging from respective first and second lanes to a third lane intermediate the first and second lanes. A predetermined set of conditions is evaluated including relationships among the host and target vehicle separations and speeds, and a collision predicted based upon the evaluation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Meng Jiang, Jiyu Zhang, Prakash Mohan Peranandam, Mohamed A. Layouni
  • Patent number: 11396290
    Abstract: A travel assistance method capable of preventing irregular behavior of a vehicle when switching from a traveling path on which the vehicle is currently traveling to a traveling path based on a high-definition map, generates a first traveling path based on the surroundings of the vehicle, generates a second traveling path based on high-definition map information around the circumference of the vehicle, determines whether the first traveling path and the second traveling path have likeness, and switches the traveling path that the vehicle is caused to follow by executing traveling assistance control when the first traveling path and the second traveling path have likeness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2022
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hirotoshi Ueda
  • Patent number: 11390301
    Abstract: Techniques to characterize driving scenarios for autonomous vehicles characterize a path in a driving scenario according to metrics such as narrowness and effort. The scenarios may be characterized using a tree-based or tensor-based approach.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: NVIDIA Corp.
    Inventors: Siva Kumar Sastry Hari, Iuri Frosio, Zahra Ghodsi, Anima Anandkumar, Timothy Tsai, Stephen W. Keckler
  • Patent number: 11370431
    Abstract: A vehicle control device comprises an operation amount sensor for measuring an operation amount of an accelerator element, an object sensor for detecting an object ahead of a vehicle, and a controller for applying a normal operation drive force which is determined depending on the operation amount to the vehicle. The controller executes an adaptive cruise control for applying a drive force required for an acceleration of the vehicle to become equal to an adaptive cruise control acceleration to the vehicle. The adaptive cruise control acceleration is an acceleration which increases as a difference between an inter-vehicle distance from the vehicle to an objective-forward-vehicle and a target inter-vehicle distance increases. When an erroneous operation start condition becomes satisfied, the controller ends the adaptive cruise control, and executes an erroneous operation related control for applying a drive force which is smaller than the normal operation drive force to the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuto Shimbo, Yuma Hoshikawa
  • Patent number: 11364903
    Abstract: A collision avoidance apparatus for use with an automated guided vehicle (AGV) includes: an object detection sensor assembly; a controller in electronic communication with the sensor assembly; the object detection sensor assembly configured to generate a detection signal to define a sensing region and receive a reflected detection signal; the controller configured to: process the reflected signal to detect presence of an object based on a parameter of the reflected signal, define a boundary within the sensing region, dynamically adjust the size and/or shape of the boundary, and determine if the detected object is located within the boundary.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre Limited
    Inventors: Ka Lun Fan, Wing Leung Chow, Lu Sze Wai, Yuan Li Yin
  • Patent number: 11351916
    Abstract: A vehicle sound synthesis system is provided with a loudspeaker and a controller. The loudspeaker projects sound indicative of synthesized engine noise (SEN) within a cabin of a vehicle in response to receiving a SEN signal. The controller is programmed to generate the SEN signal; and receive a first input indicative of an engine start command. The controller is further programmed to, modulate a characteristic of the SEN signal to align with a corresponding engine operating characteristic during starting conditions in response to the engine start command; and provide an adjusted SEN signal including the modulated characteristic to the loudspeaker.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: HARMAN INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIES, INCORPORATED
    Inventor: Kevin J. Bastyr
  • Patent number: 11352003
    Abstract: A vehicle control device includes a determination unit, a speed control unit, and a recommended speed acquisition unit. The recommended speed acquisition unit acquires a first recommended speed, being a new recommended speed related to a first section. The determination unit determines a magnitude relationship between the first recommended speed and the first recommended speed. The speed control unit controls the speed of the vehicle to be maintained at a speed of the first recommended speed in the first section when the determination unit determines that the first recommended speed is less than the first recommended speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: Hitachi Astemo, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuuki Okuda, Takashi Okada, Naoyuki Tashiro, Yoichi Iihoshi, Yuto Imanishi
  • Patent number: 11346671
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to method and system for global localization using a combination of visual odometry and optimization approaches in order to map a vehicle trajectory to an offline map with a-priori knowledge of at least two observed streets in order to reduce the optimization parameter space from three dimensions to one dimensions compared to standard iterative closest point methods.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Inventors: Martin Buczko, Volker Willert, Jonas Herzfeld
  • Patent number: 11338804
    Abstract: A vehicle control device comprises an operation amount sensor for measuring an operation amount of an accelerator element, an object sensor for detecting an object ahead of a vehicle, and a controller for applying a normal operation drive force which is determined depending on the operation amount to the vehicle. The controller executes an adaptive cruise control for applying a drive force required for an acceleration of the vehicle to become equal to an adaptive cruise control acceleration to the vehicle. The adaptive cruise control acceleration is an acceleration which increases as a difference between an inter-vehicle distance from the vehicle to an objective-forward-vehicle and a target inter-vehicle distance increases. When an erroneous operation start condition becomes satisfied, the controller ends the adaptive cruise control, and executes an erroneous operation related control for applying a drive force which is smaller than the normal operation drive force to the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuto Shimbo, Yuma Hoshikawa
  • Patent number: 11338442
    Abstract: A robot apparatus which does assembly by tilting a workpiece which is to be a fitting component, and bringing a part of a surface of the workpiece which is the fitting component and a part of a surface of a workpiece which is to be a fitted component, into contact with each other a plurality of times, when inserting the workpiece which is the fitting component into the workpiece which is the fitted component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takayuki Ogawara
  • Patent number: 11325259
    Abstract: A monitor system for a robot that includes a base installed on an installation surface, and a movable part supported movably with respect to the base, the monitor system including: a sensor that monitors the presence or absence of an object around the robot; and a monitored region control part that controls a monitored region of the sensor based on a motion command signal for the robot. The sensor has the monitored region on each of both sides across a vertical plane that includes a central axis line of the movable parts, and the monitored region control part makes the monitored region at the rear in a moving direction of the movable part smaller than the monitored region at the front in the moving direction of the movable part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Masahiro Morioka
  • Patent number: 11267460
    Abstract: An automatic parking management apparatus is configured to manage an automatic parking control of automatically parking a vehicle in an empty parking space. The automatic parking management apparatus is provided with: an acquirer configured to obtain a common route, which is a common part of a plurality of routes on which the vehicle, which is about to start the automatic parking control, possibly travels in the automatic parking control; a first transmitter configured to transmit information associated with the common route to the vehicle, before a travel route on which the vehicle travels in the automatic parking control is determined; and a second transmitter configured to transmit information associated with a non-common route, which excludes the common route from the travel route, to the vehicle, after the travel route on which the vehicle travels in the automatic parking control is determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Tatsuya Sugano
  • Patent number: 11247693
    Abstract: A key fob includes selectors for performing conventional remote operations (e.g., locking/unlocking doors) as well as a “pet mode” selector. When the pet mode selector is pressed by a user, a coded wireless signal is sent to a vehicle computer. The vehicle computer is operatively connected to multiple vehicle systems that each controls various features of the vehicle. Responsive to receipt of the coded wireless signal, the vehicle computer instructs a selected group of the systems to operate in a specified manner so as to create a comfortable environment for a pet within the vehicle. For example, in pet mode, the vehicle computer may cause one or more windows to lower, the sunroof to open the trunk lift gate to pivot open, and the seat backs of one or more rows of seats to tilt or fold down.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Francisco Ferreira, Luis Flores Alonso, Itzel Garrido, Luis Becerril
  • Patent number: 11230003
    Abstract: A robot system includes: a learning control unit configured to perform learning for calculating a learning correction amount for bringing a position of a control target portion toward a target position; a robot control unit configured to control the operation of the robot mechanism unit; a power spectrum calculating unit configured to calculate a power spectrum of a vibration data of the control target portion; a comparison unit configured to compare each power spectrum between at the time of the current learning and at the time of the immediately preceding learning; and a learning correction amount updating unit configured to adjust at least one of a phase and a gain of the learning correction amount used at the time of the current learning to set the adjusted learning correction amount as a new learning correction amount used at the time of next learning.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Satoshi Inagaki, Hajime Suzuki
  • Patent number: 11230009
    Abstract: A robot control method includes defining a robot monitor model that covers at least a part of the robot and defining a monitor region parallel to a coordinate system for the robot. The monitor region is configured to monitor a range of motion of the robot. The method further includes transforming a position of a definition point that is an arbitrary point contained in the robot monitor model into a position of the definition point in a coordinate system different from the coordinate system for the robot (ST9), determining whether or not the robot monitor model is put into contact with a boundary surface of the monitor region by using the transformed position of the definition point (ST6), and stopping motion of the robot if the robot monitor model is put into contact with the boundary surface (ST8).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Yasuhiro Kinugasa
  • Patent number: 11192244
    Abstract: A robot system includes a robot, a sensor, and a processor. The sensor is configured to detect an external force acting on the robot. The processor is configured to move the robot in a forward direction such that a representative point of the robot moves along a motion track in the forward direction; move the robot in a reverse direction such that the representative point moves along the motion track in the reverse direction opposite to the forward direction when the external force satisfies a first condition which includes a condition that the external force is larger than a first threshold force; and move the robot to reduce the external force when the external force satisfies a second condition which includes a condition that the external force is larger than a second threshold force even after the robot has been moved in the reverse direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA YASKAWA DENKI
    Inventors: Tamio Nakamura, Tetsuro Izumi, Takashi Nishimura, Shohei Ohno
  • Patent number: 11173597
    Abstract: A system includes a robotic manipulator including a serial chain comprising a first joint, a first link, and a second link. The second link is between the first joint and the first link in the serial chain. The system further includes a processing unit including one or more processors. The processing unit is configured to receive first link data from a first sensor system located at the first link, generate a first joint state estimate of the first joint based on the first link data and a kinematic model of the robotic manipulator, and control the first joint based on the first joint state estimate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: INTUITIVE SURGICAL OPERATIONS, INC.
    Inventors: Dinesh Rabindran, Simon P. DiMaio, Kollin M. Tierling
  • Patent number: 11173603
    Abstract: This robot system includes a sensor which obtains data for detecting at least a position of an object which is being moved, a robot at which a tool is attached, and which performs a predetermined operation for the object by means of the tool, and a controller which controls a tool moving device which moves the tool with respect to the robot, the tool, or an arm member which is located at a distal end side of an arm of the robot with a tool control cycle which is shorter than a control cycle of the robot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Masafumi Ooba
  • Patent number: 11173903
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for controlling vehicle driving are provided. The method includes: determining, by a computing device according to a speed of a preceding vehicle, a distance between a present vehicle and the preceding vehicle, and a preset expected collision time, a speed limit imposed by the preceding vehicle on the present vehicle; and determining a road-condition-related speed limit on the present vehicle according to road attribute information of a current location of the present vehicle. The method also includes determining, by the computing device, a comprehensive speed limit on the present vehicle according to the speed limit imposed by the preceding vehicle on the present vehicle and the road-condition-related speed limit; and generating, by the computing device, a driving control signal for the present vehicle based on the comprehensive speed limit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventor: Bin Wang