Patents Examined by Daryl C. Pope
  • Patent number: 11623570
    Abstract: A vehicular exterior rearview mirror assembly includes a mirror reflective element sub-assembly having a mirror reflective element, a mirror reflector, a mirror back plate, and indicator element. The indicator element includes a housing and a light source. The indicator element is associated with a blind spot detection system of the vehicle and includes a diffuser that diffuses light emitted by the light source. An icon is established through a metallic reflector coating disposed at the glass substrate. The icon includes a light-transmitting aperture. When the vehicular exterior rearview mirror assembly is attached at the vehicle, the icon is at an upper quadrant of the mirror reflective element. When the vehicular exterior rearview mirror assembly is attached at the vehicle and when the light source is activated, the icon is illuminated and is viewable by the driver of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2023
    Assignee: MAGNA MIRRORS OF AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Keith D. Foote, Niall R. Lynam
  • Patent number: 11618377
    Abstract: A control apparatus for controlling notification data presented to an occupant of a movable object having an automated driving function. The control apparatus includes a travel road specification unit configured to specify a road scheduled to be travelled by the movable object corresponding to a destination set for the movable object. The control apparatus includes a setting unit configured to set, according to the road scheduled to be travelled, a switching recommendation point for switching from automated drive to driver-led manual drive on the road scheduled to be travelled, and estimate a scheduled passing time instant at which the movable object passes the switching recommendation point. The control apparatus includes a notification plan generation unit configured to generate a notification plan for presenting predetermined notification data to the occupant of the movable object according to the switching recommendation point and the scheduled passing time instant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2023
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Rei Sakai, Yo Ito, Toshikatsu Kuramochi
  • Patent number: 11608054
    Abstract: A vehicle adapted to an automated valet parking service in a parking lot includes a recognition sensor that recognizes a mark around the vehicle. The vehicle performs a self-position estimation process for identifying a vehicle position in the parking lot based on an installation position and a recognition result of the mark by the recognition sensor. The vehicle performs vehicle traveling control for causing the vehicle to automatically travel in the parking lot based on the vehicle position. The automated valet parking service includes an additional service implemented on the vehicle during a period in which the vehicle is left in the parking lot. When restarting the vehicle traveling control after completion of the additional service, the vehicle executes the self-position estimation process in a return space where the mark is installed to acquire a latest vehicle position, and restarts the vehicle traveling control based on the latest vehicle position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Miyuki Takato
  • Patent number: 11608053
    Abstract: An apparatus for controlling autonomous parking and method thereof are provided. The apparatus for controlling autonomous parking according to embodiments of the present disclosure includes a sensor to detect surrounding information of a host vehicle; a transceiver to communicate with a control server to receive space information in a parking lot; a display to display a parking situation; and a controller communicatively connected to the sensor, the transceiver, and the display and configured to detect available parking spaces based on a detection result from the sensor and space information from the control server and perform autonomous parking by setting a position selected by a user's drag operation to a target parking space among the detected available parking spaces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: HL KLEMOVE CORP.
    Inventors: Hyeong Min Woo, Jae Suk Kim
  • Patent number: 11607994
    Abstract: An object warning apparatus for a vehicle including an acquiring module acquiring object information on objects surrounding the vehicle and traffic rule information including traffic rules associated with locations of the vehicle and the objects; a processing module determining (1) whether an object currently violates any one of the traffic rules; (2) whether the object will violate any one of the traffic rules when the vehicle passes the object; and (3) whether the object potentially endangers the vehicle, and to generate an appropriate warning instruction; and an outputting module outputting the warning instruction to a HMI of the vehicle to trigger the HMI so that the HMI warns a human driver of the presence of the object, or to an AD control unit of the vehicle so that the AD control unit executes appropriate automatic driving manipulations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: Volvo Car Corporation
    Inventor: Wei Wang
  • Patent number: 11605293
    Abstract: A parking guidance apparatus according to an embodiment comprises: a storage unit for storing parking state information of a parking slot within a predetermined space; a communication unit for receiving, from a first vehicle, occupancy state information 0 of at least a part of the parking slot in the predetermined space; an update unit for updating the parking state information by using the received occupancy state information; and a control unit for, when the parking state information for the predetermined space is requested by a second vehicle through the communication unit, providing the second vehicle with a parking slot, which is in a parking-available state, determined on the basis of the updated parking state information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2023
    Assignee: SK TELECOM CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Seongsoo Lee
  • Patent number: 11600083
    Abstract: A method includes obtaining multiple images of a driver of a vehicle using an imaging sensor associated with the vehicle, where the images of the driver capture the driver's head. The method also includes identifying, in each of at least some of the images, an orientation of the driver's head in the image. The method further includes identifying an average orientation of the driver's head based on at least some of the identified orientations of the driver's head. In addition, the method includes determining whether the driver is inattentive based on the average orientation of the driver's head. Identifying, in each of at least some of the images, the orientation of the driver's head in the image may include identifying a pitch angle and a yaw angle of the driver's head in the image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2023
    Assignee: Omnitracs, LLC
    Inventor: Andrew C. Kobach
  • Patent number: 11580852
    Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for monitoring or affecting movement of a vehicle using a traffic device. An event data source may have a processor and/or a transceiver. The event data source may transmit, via the transceiver and to a vehicle and infrastructure computing device, information indicative of an event affecting a portion of road. The vehicle and infrastructure computing device may comprise a vehicle and infrastructure control computer. The vehicle and infrastructure computing device may receive, from the event data source, the information indicative of the event affecting the portion of road. The computing device may determine one or more traffic devices associated with the portion of road and configured to control traffic for the portion of road.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: Allstate Insurance Company
    Inventors: Regina Madigan, Timothy W. Gibson, Howard Hayes, Surender Kumar
  • Patent number: 11572087
    Abstract: A radar monitoring system and a radar monitoring method for monitoring a traffic control zone involve installing two radars near the traffic control zone so that the radars emit radar waves covering the traffic control zone and serve as backups for each other; locating any object in the traffic control zone as a coordinate point with respect to a set of X and Y coordinate axes, and subjecting the X and Y coordinate axes of the two radars to axial normalization, so that an identical object in the traffic control zone is located by the first radar and the second radar at approximately the same coordinate point. An alert area is defined in the traffic control zone and an excluded area around a resident facility in the traffic control zone is excluded from the alert area. When an object in the alert area is determined as an obstacle, an alert is triggered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: CUBTEK INC.
    Inventors: Yu-Jen Lin, Guo-Hao Syu, Shih-Ming Chang
  • Patent number: 11568745
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for determining an occupancy status of a parking bay, wherein a vehicle is moved along a street segment with at least one parking bay and the vehicle has a distance sensor as well as a sensor for satellite-based location and time determination. Furthermore, static parking information on the position of the parking bays in a street segment and parking information on the parking bays are on hand. By means of distance and location data projected distance data are produced which each indicate a distance datum of the distance sensor to the next object in the sensor direction at a point of the street of the street segment at the parking bay. By means of these projected distance data a standard distance is ascertained. Subsequently, for each point of a parking bay the determination is made if this is unoccupied by comparing the distance datum with the standard distance plus a delta.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: Parkling GmbH
    Inventors: Christoph Fretter, Mark Hashimoto, Detlev Huelsebusch, Oleg Selig
  • Patent number: 11555671
    Abstract: A network of scopes, including one or more lead scopes and one or more follower scopes, is provided to allow the respective scopes to track the same presumed target. A lead scope locates a target and communicates target position data of the presumed target to the follower scope. The follower scope uses the target position data and its own position data to generate electronic control signals for use by follower scope to make position movements so as to re-position the follower scope from its current target position to move towards the target position defined by the target position data received from the lead scope. At least the second scope is mounted to, or integrated into, a vehicle, which uses the target position data to move to a new location so as to allow the second scope to better view the target.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Inventors: Douglas Fougnies, Robert A. Pressman, Larry L. Day
  • Patent number: 11554713
    Abstract: The invention relates to a signalling device (1) designed to be removably placed on the back of a user of a locomotive engine, the device (1) including electronic means for signal processing and for controlling the switching-on and/or switching-off of the at least one secondary signal light (3d, 3g) synchronously with the switching-on and/or switching-off of a primary signal light present in the machine. Electronic means are built into an accelerometer and means for interpreting measurements of the accelerometer allow the detection of a lateral variation, to the right or left, of the direction of movement, the means for controlling the at least one secondary signal light (3d, 3g) comprising means for verifying that the at least one secondary signal light (3d, 3g) indicates the lateral right or left direction followed by the user and the machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Inventor: Mohamed Ait El Hadj
  • Patent number: 11535279
    Abstract: A vehicle position sensing system includes: a position information acquiring section that acquires position information of a vehicle; a storage section that stores first region information, which expresses automatic driving regions where automatic driving of the vehicle is possible and remote driving regions where remote operation driving of the vehicle is possible, and second region information that expresses manual driving regions where only manual driving of the vehicle is permitted; a head up display that can be viewed by a driver of the vehicle; and a control section that, on the basis of the position information of the vehicle, the first region information and the second region information, causes the head up display to display relative positional relationships among the vehicle, the automatic driving regions, the remote driving regions and the manual driving regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuki Ito, Tsukasa Nakanishi, Yuta Morikawa, Naoki Yamamuro, Yuki Tatsumoto
  • Patent number: 11535280
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method for determining an estimate of the capability of a vehicle driver to take over control of a vehicle, wherein the method comprises: determining at least one estimation parameter, the at least one estimation parameter representing an influencing factor for the capability of the vehicle driver to take over control of the vehicle; and determining an estimate on the basis of the at least one estimation parameter by means of a predefined estimation rule, the estimate representing the capability of the vehicle driver to take over control of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: Aptiv Technologies Limited
    Inventors: Alexander Barth, David Schiebener
  • Patent number: 11524708
    Abstract: An automated driving enabled vehicle includes a travel controller, an automated driving indicator lamp, and a lamp controller. The travel controller controls the travel of the vehicle by automated driving in a normal movement mode and in an automatic parking mode. The normal movement mode includes allowing the vehicle to travel, and the automatic parking mode includes parking the vehicle by the automated driving in a parking lot. The lamp controller controls a lighting state of the automated driving indicator lamp during the execution of the automated driving to a first lighting state in the normal movement mode, and to a second lighting state different from the first lighting state in the automatic parking mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kentarou Yamasaki, Makoto Kinoshita, Keisuke Takayama, Yuta Muramatsu
  • Patent number: 11518306
    Abstract: A warning control device provided in a vehicle is disclosed. The warning control device includes a hardware processor to: determine whether a section in which the vehicle is travelling is a section prohibited from overtaking; determine whether the vehicle is attempting an overtaking action; and, in response to determining that the vehicle is travelling in the section prohibited from overtaking and that the vehicle is attempting the overtaking action, control a warning device connected to the warning control device to warn a driver of the vehicle when the overtaking by the vehicle is not permitted in accordance with driving rules, and control the warning device not to warn the driver when the overtaking by the vehicle is permitted in accordance with the driving rules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shuya Yamamoto, Kenichi Yadani, Yoshiteru Kawasaki, Eiji Irie
  • Patent number: 11514686
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for controlling parking are disclosed. The present disclosure in at least one embodiment provides an apparatus for controlling parking of a vehicle equipped with a radar sensor, including a processor for obtaining an input signal for parking control and determining whether to start a parking control operation, a radar controller configured, upon starting the parking control operation, to set a detection mode of the radar sensor to a normal detection mode or a heartbeat detection mode according to a target. The processor determines, when the candidate parking space is narrower than a space needed to park the vehicle, whether another parked vehicle is available to reposition, and if yes, detects whether or not the other parked vehicle carries a driver. The apparatus further includes a communication signal transmitter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: HYUNDAI MOBIS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Hee Chang Roh
  • Patent number: 11508233
    Abstract: Techniques are described for handling duress input. For example, techniques are described for handling duress input provided to a mobile application that controls a monitoring system located at a fixed property.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: Alarm.com Incorporated
    Inventors: Rose Blais Alexander, Rebecca Elisabeth Davenport, Alison Jane Slavin
  • Patent number: 11505205
    Abstract: A vehicle seat control apparatus is equipped in a vehicle capable of travelling by automated driving and is configured to set a position and attitude of a seat of the vehicle to a driving position in low automated driving and to set the position and attitude of the seat to a relaxing position in high automated driving. The vehicle seat control apparatus includes an alertness detecting device configured to detect an alertness level of a driver seated on the seat, a computation control device configured to drive the seat driving device to perform an alerting operation if the alertness level is lower than a predetermined level when driving of the vehicle transitions from the high automated driving to the low automated driving, and a seat driving device configured to displace the seat at a higher speed than at a transition from the driving position to the relaxing position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Takuya Homma
  • Patent number: 11508469
    Abstract: A system that monitors various conditions of a plurality of hospital beds located in different rooms of a healthcare facility is provided. Alternatively or additionally, other types of equipment may be monitored by the system. Various configurations of network interface units that are coupleable to or integrated into a hospital bed are also disclosed. The system receives data from the hospital beds and/or other equipment and initiates a communication to a wireless communication device of at least one designated caregiver in response to the received data being indicative of an alarm condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: Hill-Rom Services, Inc.
    Inventors: Williams F. Collins, Jr., James M. Allen, Keith A. Huster, Carl W. Riley, Patricia A. Glidewell, Irvin J. Vanderpohl, III, Richard J. Schuman, Christopher A. Mathura