Patents Examined by David A. Testardi
  • Patent number: 11590848
    Abstract: A method for controlling the regenerative braking torque of a vehicle having a data processing unit for detecting a first information representing a deceleration request of the vehicle, detecting a second information representing a speed of the vehicle, and a first moving member of the vehicle and a second moving member of the vehicle. The method includes determining temperatures of different braking components on different axles, as well as the state of a battery module and a traction and regenerative braking module. The method also includes determining a regenerative braking power dynamic distribution ratio between the first and second axles. A regenerative braking torque is provided to one of the modules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: Brembo S.p.A.
    Inventors: Fabio Carbone, Pietro Caresia, Alessio Miotto, Giulio Calamai, Andrea Butti, Stefano Dossi
  • Patent number: 11579587
    Abstract: An automatic program-correction device includes: a clearance detecting unit that detects an amount of clearance between a robot and a peripheral device in an operation program; a near-miss detecting unit that detects a near-miss section; a closest-point detecting unit that detects a pair of closest points, in the near-miss section; and a program updating unit that generates a new operation program having an intermediate teaching point to which the closest points have been moved, along a straight line passing through the detected pair of closest points, until the amount of clearance becomes greater than a minimum amount of clearance and equal to or less than the threshold. While gradually reducing, from the threshold, the amount of clearance at the intermediate teaching point, the program updating unit obtains an intermediate teaching point that provides a maximum amount of clearance at which a new near-miss section is not detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yuuki Kimoto, Yoshiharu Nagatsuka, Toshiya Takeda
  • Patent number: 11564350
    Abstract: A header is supported by a pair of hydraulic float cylinders, where a float pressure to the cylinders is directly controlled by an electronic control supplying a variable control signal to a PPRR valve arrangement to maintain the float pressure at a predetermined value. At the set pressure a predetermined lifting force is provided to the header. A position sensor is used to generate an indication of movement and/or acceleration and/or velocity. The electronic control is arranged, in response to changes in the sensor signal, to temporarily change the control signal to vary the lifting force and thus change the dynamic response of the hydraulic float cylinder. A lift force greater than that required to lift the header can be provided by a lift cylinder and can be opposed in a controlled manner to apply a controlled downforce by the back of the same cylinder or by a separate component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: MacDon Industries Ltd
    Inventors: James Thomas Dunn, Graham Michael Leverick, Russell George Lyons, Bruce Robert Shearer, Kyle Edward Boch
  • Patent number: 11541889
    Abstract: An apparatus for providing a traveling in a vehicle is provided. The apparatus includes a plurality of sensors configured to obtain information about the vehicle and information about an external object, a steering device, an input device configured to receive a lane change command from a driver of the vehicle, and a control circuit configured to be electrically connected with the one or more sensors, the steering device, and the input device. The control circuit is configured to control the vehicle to travel along a deviated path in a driving path of the vehicle based on at least one of the information obtained by the plurality of sensors or an operation of the steering device, to complete a lane change, and to control the vehicle to travel along a deviated path in a target lane of the changed lane in response to the received lane change command.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA MOTORS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Doo Jin Um, Hoi Won Kim, Beom Jun Kim, Dae Young Kim, Chan Il Park, Jin Su Jeong, Dong Eon Oh
  • Patent number: 11537126
    Abstract: The present teaching relates to method, system, medium, and implementation of in-situ perception in an autonomous driving vehicle. A plurality of types of sensor data are acquired continuously via a plurality of types of sensors deployed on the vehicle, where the plurality of types of sensor data provide information about surrounding of the vehicle. One or more items surrounding the vehicle are tracked, based on some models, from a first of the plurality of types of sensor data from a first type of the plurality of types of sensors. A second of the plurality of types of sensor data are obtained from a second type of the plurality of sensors and are used to generate validation base data. Some of the one or more items are labeled, automatically, via validation base data to generate labeled at least some item, which is to be used to generate model updated information for updating the at least one model.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: PlusAI, Inc.
    Inventors: Hao Zheng, David Wanqian Liu, Timothy Patrick Daly, Jr.
  • Patent number: 11535295
    Abstract: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to: perform a follow-up steering control for changing a steering angle of a vehicle in such a manner that the vehicle travels along a target traveling line determined based on a preceding vehicle trajectory, which is a travel trajectory of a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle; and when a first distance condition and a manual steering condition are both satisfied while the follow-up steering control is being performed, stop the follow-up steering control, the first distance condition being a condition satisfied when a deviation distance in a road-width direction between the preceding vehicle trajectory and the vehicle is equal to or longer than a predetermined first threshold, and the manual steering condition being a condition satisfied when a driver operates a steering wheel to change a position in the road-width direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hirohito Ide
  • Patent number: 11518247
    Abstract: A drive control system controls travel of an electric vehicle, the drive control system including a plurality of induction motors, one inverter that drives the plurality of induction motors, and a controller that controls the inverter. The controller includes a coupling disconnection detecting unit that calculates an estimated torque value on the basis of a total current and a voltage command value at the start of the induction motors, and detects disconnection of a coupling provided between the induction motors and a drive mechanism of the electric vehicle on the basis of the estimated torque value calculated and a torque command value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Sugahara Tetsuo, Sho Kato
  • Patent number: 11511626
    Abstract: Provided is an information display device for a vehicle having a display control section acquiring information of the vehicle and a display section displaying an image selected by the display control section. The vehicle includes a shift lever that can select at least a parking range and a driving range, and an in displayed on the display section includes either a first vehicle image or a second vehicle that are images of the vehicle viewed from mutually different directions. On the display section, the display control section displays the first vehicle image when the shift lever selects the parking range and the second vehicle image when the shift lever selects at least the driving range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kazufumi Kuroda, Hiroyuki Kurokawa, Kotaro Higuchi, Masaru Aoki, Eiichi Hoshino, Keisuke Kato
  • Patent number: 11491984
    Abstract: An apparatus for providing a traveling in a vehicle is provided. The apparatus includes a plurality of sensors configured to obtain information about the vehicle and information about an external object, a steering device, an input device configured to receive a lane change command from a driver of the vehicle, and a control circuit configured to be electrically connected with the one or more sensors, the steering device, and the input device. The control circuit is configured to control the vehicle to travel along a deviated path in a driving path of the vehicle based on at least one of the information obtained by the plurality of sensors or an operation of the steering device, to complete a lane change, and to control the vehicle to travel along a deviated path in a target lane of the changed lane in response to the received lane change command.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA MOTORS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Doo Jin Um, Hoi Won Kim, Beom Jun Kim, Dae Young Kim, Chan Il Park, Jin Su Jeong, Dong Eon Oh
  • Patent number: 11485363
    Abstract: The braking force control device detects an impossible state where one or some of the actuators are temporarily unable to generate a negative driving force, and a predictive state where one or some of the actuators are predicted to become unable to generate a negative driving force. Every time the coasting state occurs before establishment of the impossible state and after establishment of the predictive state, the braking force control device gradually increases the negative driving force generated by the corresponding one or ones of the actuators. Even when the coasting state occurs in the impossible state, the braking force control device does not cause the corresponding one or ones of the actuators to generate a driving force. Every time the coasting state occurs after the impossible state, the braking force control device gradually decreases the negative driving force generated by the corresponding one or ones of the actuators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tsutomu Kawanishi, Shun Sato, Masahiro Nishiu
  • Patent number: 11472296
    Abstract: A fuel cell vehicle includes a fuel cell, a gas supply unit, a friction brake system, a drive motor, an electric storage device, and a control unit configured to execute control of obtaining requested braking force with use of friction braking force and regenerative braking force and control of performing a scavenging process. When the fuel cell vehicle is in braking with the friction braking force and the regenerative braking force, the control unit is configured to determine whether or not a scavenging preparation condition is satisfied with use of the amount of stagnant water stagnating in the fuel cell, execute a responsiveness enhancement process when the scavenging preparation condition is executed, and execute a scavenging process when the responsiveness enhancement process is completed, and the amount of the stagnant water reaches a reference value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Ryouichi Nanba
  • Patent number: 11465631
    Abstract: A personalization system for a vehicle includes an image-capture device configured to capture a plurality of images of one or more occupants in the vehicle and control circuitry configured to estimate a plurality of Z-heights of a plurality of body portions of each of the one or more occupants from a reference position in the vehicle, based on the plurality of images captured from the image-capture device, determine an associative relationship between the plurality of Z-heights of the plurality of body portions of each of the one or more occupants in the vehicle and a plurality of in-vehicle systems, based on defined user-preferences, and control the plurality of in-vehicle systems to direct an output from a corresponding in-vehicle system to a specific body portion of each of the one or more occupants in the vehicle, based on the estimated plurality of Z-heights and the determined associative relationship.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: Tesla, Inc.
    Inventors: Blair Williams, Adnan Esmail
  • Patent number: 11458861
    Abstract: Provided is a vehicle control device that prevents a specific function of a traveling vehicle from being not able to operate due to a failure of a battery. The vehicle control device includes: a control section configured to execute predetermined function control for a vehicle system; a discharge performance determination section configured to determine whether or not a battery is able to discharge a predetermined amount of current in accordance with a predetermined function before the predetermined function control is started; and an execution availability determination section configured to permit the control section to execute the predetermined function when it is determined that the predetermined amount of current is able to be discharged and inhibit the control section from executing the predetermined function when it is determined that the predetermined amount of current is not able to be discharged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hayahito Ukai, Takehiro Horigome, Yasuhiro Ikeda, Satoshi Sekiguchi, Hironori Deno, Shota Kawanaka
  • Patent number: 11435761
    Abstract: A system and method for distributed flight control configured for use in an electric vehicle wherein the system includes a flight control assembly which further includes at least a sensor electronically connected to the flight control assembly. The sensor is configured to capture at least an input datum, and at least a performance datum. The system further includes a plurality of modular flight controllers communicatively coupled to at least an actuator of a plurality of actuators, wherein each modular flight controller of the plurality of modular flight controllers is configured to the multitude of data from at least a sensor, generate an attitude control datum, determine at least an actuator instruction datum, and perform a control allocation configured for the at least a actuator from the plurality of actuators to follow as a function of the flight control assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: BETA AIR, LLC
    Inventor: Herman Wiegman
  • Patent number: 11433873
    Abstract: A vehicle includes a gear mechanism connected to a driving wheel; a traveling electric motor configured to exchange heat with a heat exchange medium shared by the gear mechanism and output motive power to the driving wheel via the gear mechanism; and a controller configured to change an operating point of the traveling electric motor to a stronger field side rather than a maximum efficiency point in a case that a temperature of the heat exchange medium is less than a predetermined temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Ito, Ken Kitaori, Masanari Fukuchi
  • Patent number: 11432977
    Abstract: A power assist wheelchair includes a wheel, an electric motor that drives the wheel, an encoder that detects rotation of the electric motor, and a control device that controls the electric motor. The control device includes a total torque value calculator that calculates a total torque value based upon only a detection signal of the encoder, an assist torque value calculator that calculates an assist torque value based upon an output current of the electric motor, a manual torque value calculator that calculates a manual torque value based upon a difference obtained by subtracting the assist torque value from the total torque value, and a target current determiner that determines a target current of the electric motor based upon the manual torque value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: YAMAHA HATSUDOKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hisashi Takahashi, Tatsuki Uemura, Masamitsu Mizuno
  • Patent number: 11427172
    Abstract: Methods and systems are described for controlling a vehicle braking system. A braking force is applied to the vehicle by applying friction only braking to the wheels of one axle and applying a blended braking force (including a regenerative braking force and a friction braking force) to the wheels of another axle. Using vehicle and tire modeling techniques, a set of side-slip angles is calculated that is estimated to occur if the total braking force were applied using only friction braking. A compensatory yaw moment is then determined based on differences between the estimated side-slip angles and the actual side-slip angles of the vehicle under the blended braking. The compensatory yaw moment is then applied to the vehicle to enable the vehicle to utilize regenerative braking while exhibiting the same vehicle dynamics that occur when using friction braking only.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Zhe Zhang, Lance Bredthauer
  • Patent number: 11415431
    Abstract: A method, apparatus and computer program product are provided to disambiguate probe points within an ambiguous probe regions to permit more reliable association with a road segment. In regards to a method, probe trajectory identifiers (IDs) of probe points along at least a portion of the first and second branches that lead away from an ambiguous probe region are separately identified and form first and second sets of probe trajectory IDs, respectively. For the ambiguous probe region, the probe trajectory IDs of probe points along a third branch that leads toward the ambiguous probe region are identified and form a third set of probe trajectory IDs. The method also includes classifying probe trajectory IDs from the third set as being associated with the first branch or the second branch in an instance in which the probe trajectory IDs are additionally included in the first set or the second set, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: HERE GLOBAL B.V.
    Inventor: Ole Henry Dorum
  • Patent number: 11408744
    Abstract: A method, autonomous system controller, and computer program product generate a first route for an autonomous vehicle to transport a first person from a first location to a destination. In response to determining that a second person satisfies trigger criteria comprising: (i) being at a second location that is within a proximity threshold to the first route; (ii) being associated with the first person; and (iii) being associated with the destination, an affordance is caused to be presented via respective user interface devices to at least one of the first and second persons that proposes that the autonomous vehicle transport both the first and second persons to the destination. In response to receiving acceptance, a second route is generated for the autonomous vehicle that comprises picking up the first person at the first location, picking up the second person at the second location, and transporting both persons to the destination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Stephanie Olivia Engle, Mariya Jacobo, Bradley David Ryan
  • Patent number: 11407314
    Abstract: A brake system includes: a friction brake mechanism; a regenerative brake mechanism; and an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to obtain a target regenerative braking force. The electronic control unit is configured to perform replacement control between the friction brake mechanism and the regenerative brake mechanism when a predetermined replacement condition is satisfied. The replacement control is control in which a shortfall of the required total braking force, which is caused by a decrease in the regenerative braking force, is covered by increasing the front wheel friction braking force and the rear wheel friction braking force while satisfying a set relationship between the front wheel friction braking force and the rear wheel friction braking force or between an increase gradient of the front wheel friction braking force and an increase gradient of the rear wheel friction braking force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yu Takahashi