Patents Examined by David P. Merlino
  • Patent number: 11541875
    Abstract: A system and method of path planning utilizing a clothoid curve to connect a start point and an end point is provided. The method includes receiving at a path planning system inputs including the start point and the end point of a desired path. The method further includes calculating clothoid parameters for a clothoid curve connecting the start point and the end point based the received start point, the received end point, and a closed-form expression, wherein the closed-form expression is generated based on a relationship between a plurality of unique center point values associated with a plurality of unique clothoid curves and the clothoid parameters associated with each of the plurality of unique clothoid curves. A clothoid curve is generated based on the determined clothoid parameters, wherein the generated clothoid curve represents a planned path from the start point to the end point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Inventor: Tapan R. Mujumdar
  • Patent number: 11529938
    Abstract: A method for operating an electromechanical brake booster. A pedal force is ascertained, a brake pressure is ascertained from the pedal force by an actuator, and the brake pressure applied to frictional brakes is set, thereby producing a vehicle deceleration. The actuator has a standard configuration wherein, in response to the pedal force, a brake pressure is ascertained that produces a specified standard deceleration of the motor vehicle if a specified disturbance variable has a specified standard value. The influence of the disturbance variable on the vehicle deceleration is compensated. The actuator has at least one control parameter for setting a compensation configuration, an actual value of the disturbance variable is detected, and the compensation configuration is set based on the respective difference between the ascertained actual value and the standard value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Inventors: Frank Borchers, Michael Schmalbruch, Leo Schineller
  • Patent number: 11524680
    Abstract: The present invention provides a control system and a control method capable of appropriately supporting driving of a motorcycle by a rider. The control system includes a tracking target vehicle identifying unit that identifies a tracking target vehicle of adaptive cruise operation, a vehicle position information acquiring unit that acquires information on the relative position of the tracking target vehicle with respect to the motorcycle during traveling, a control amount setting unit that sets a control amount in the adaptive cruise operation, and an execution unit that causes the motorcycle to execute the adaptive cruise operation, and further includes a lane position information acquiring unit that acquires information on the relative position of a lane boundary with respect to the motorcycle during traveling, in which the tracking target vehicle identifying unit identifies the tracking target vehicle, based on the position information acquired by the lane position information acquiring unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventor: Lars Pfau
  • Patent number: 11518414
    Abstract: In a system trigger mode and a driver trigger mode, when a start condition for an automated lane change function by autonomous travel control is satisfied, lane change information as to whether to accept execution of the automated lane change function is presented; when an acceptance input of accepting the execution is detected, a determination is made as to whether the lane change is possible; and the automated lane change function is executed when it is determined possible. In the driver trigger mode, when a predetermined lane change instruction operation is performed, a determination is made as to whether the lane change is possible, and when a determination is made that lane change is possible, the automated lane change function is executed. The time for the lane change determination by the driver trigger mode is set shorter than the time for the lane change determination by the system trigger mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yohei Taniguchi
  • Patent number: 11516963
    Abstract: A work vehicle includes a first detection unit that detects an optical beam emitted from a beam projector disposed at one end of a reference travel path, a first position deviation calculation section that calculates position deviation by a vehicle body from the reference travel path based on a detection signal from the first detection unit, a second detection unit that detects a work boundary line that occurs due to work travel, a second position deviation calculation section that calculates position deviation of the vehicle body traveling along successive travel paths from the work boundary line based on a detection signal from the second detection unit, and a steering information generation section that, based on the position deviation calculated by the first position deviation calculation section and the second position deviation calculation section, generates steering information for correcting the position deviation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Manji, Yuto Akai, Yu Hayashi
  • Patent number: 11511745
    Abstract: A method or system for adaptive vehicle spacing, including determining a current state of a vehicle based on sensor data captured by sensors of the vehicle; for each possible action in a set of possible actions: (i) predicting based on the current vehicle state a future state for the vehicle, and (ii) predicting, based on the current vehicle state a first zone future safety value corresponding to a first safety zone of the vehicle; and selecting, based on the predicted future states and first zone future safety values for each of the possible actions in the set, a vehicle action.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Daniel Mark Graves, Kasra Rezaee
  • Patent number: 11505210
    Abstract: A method for the automatic control of the longitudinal dynamics of a vehicle is provided by which vehicles traveling ahead are detected. If an upcoming traffic jam is detected, the vehicle is decelerated until a predefined distance behind the tail end of the traffic jam is reached. When the predefined distance from the traffic jam tail end has been reached, the vehicle automatically controlled in its longitudinal dynamics is able to close the remaining, predefined distance to the traffic jam tail end at a low differential velocity in comparison to the velocity of the traffic jam tail end. Using an additional rear sensor system that senses trailing vehicles, the controlled vehicle is made to close the distance to the traffic jam tail end only if a trailing vehicle was detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventor: Holger Mielenz
  • Patent number: 11498545
    Abstract: A system and method automatically sets vehicle functions of a vehicle, while taking account of external influencing factors. The system includes at least one back-end server which is configured to receive vehicle data of the vehicle and, while taking account of at least part of the vehicle data, to determine data with regard to external influencing factors. The back-end server is configured to determine optimal settings of the vehicle functions of the vehicle, while taking account of the vehicle data and the data with regard to the external influencing factors, and to transmit the optimum settings of the vehicle functions to the vehicle. The vehicle is configured to control the vehicle functions such that the optimum vehicle functions determined by the back-end server are adopted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Adnan Bekan, Daniel Wilms
  • Patent number: 11485387
    Abstract: A method of predictive navigation control for an ego vehicle includes: comparing a cue node to each of a plurality of episodic memory nodes in an episodic memory structure, wherein the cue node represents a new event representing distances, speeds and headings of one or more newly observed objects about the ego vehicle, and wherein the episodic memory structure includes a network of nodes each representing a respective previously existing event and having a respective node risk and likelihood; determining which of the nodes has a smallest respective difference metric, thus defining a best matching node; consolidating the cue node with the best matching node if the smallest difference metric is less than a match tolerance, else adding a new node corresponding to the cue node to the episodic memory structure; and identifying a likeliest next node and/or a riskiest next node.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Michael D. Howard, Hyukseong Kwon, Rajan Bhattacharyya
  • Patent number: 11472293
    Abstract: A system may include an in-vehicle component, including a first control set to configure the component, configured to identify a device associated with a user approach to the component; and send an interaction request to the device to cause the device to display a user interface for the component including a second control set to configure the component, the second control set including at least one function unavailable in the first control set. A personal device may receive, from an in-vehicle component including a first control set to configure the component, a user interface definition descriptive of a second control set to configure the component; and receive, from the component, a request to display a user interface for the component including the second control set to configure the component, the second control set including at least one function unavailable in the first control set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Pietro Buttolo, James Stewart Rankin, II, Dipanjan Ghosh, Gary Steven Strumolo, Stuart C. Salter
  • Patent number: 11458983
    Abstract: Method and system for controlling the behavior of an object. Behavior of the object is controlled during a first time period by using a first agent that applies a first behavior policy to map observations about the object and the environment in the first time period to a corresponding control action. Control is transitioned from the first agent to a second agent during a transition period following the first time period. Behavior of the object during a second time period following the transition period is controlled by using a second agent that applies a second behavior policy to map observations about the object and the environment in the second time period to a corresponding control action that is applied to the object. During transition the first agent applies the first behavior policy control the object and the second agent applies the second behavior policy to map observations about the object and the environment to corresponding control actions that are not applied to the object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jun Luo, Julian Villella, Mohsen Rohani, David Rusu, Montgomery Alban, Seyed Ershad Banijamali
  • Patent number: 11449067
    Abstract: An autonomous vehicle is described herein. The autonomous vehicle generates segmentation scenes based upon lidar data generated by a lidar sensor system of the autonomous vehicle. The lidar data includes points indicative of positions of objects in a driving environment of the autonomous vehicle. The segmentation scenes comprise regions that are indicative of the objects in the driving environment. The autonomous vehicle generates scores for each segmentation scene based upon characteristics of each segmentation scenes and selects a segmentation scene based upon the scores. The autonomous vehicle then operates based upon the segmentation scene.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2022
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Andrea Allais, Micah Christopher Chambers
  • Patent number: 11442596
    Abstract: A mapping system presents geographically relevant images. The images may be relevant to a search entered by the user, directions requested by the user, or any other factor relevant to the user's relationship to the displayed map. Moreover, the images may change in response to user actions or other factors, wherein new images “bubble up” as user context changes. The mapping system may display geographically relevant images by way of an information card presented in response to a user interacting with a point on a digital map. The user may interact with any of the geographically relevant images, causing an indicator of the map location associated with the image to be presented. Alternatively or additionally, a user interaction with a geographically relevant image may cause an interactive panoramic presentation of street-level imagery to be presented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: Google LLC
    Inventors: Kelvin Ho, Jonathan Siegel, Su Chuin Leong
  • Patent number: 11442454
    Abstract: An adaptive sensor array system and method includes receiving one or more signals from a sensor array and compare the received signals to one or more object detection threshold values, determining if the robotic cleaner was moving along a travel path for a predetermined period of time, window W, in response to a determination that the robotic cleaner was operating in straight-line motion during the window W, calculating a value of the received detected signals from the sensor array during one or more calibration periods C of the window W, and adjusting one or more of the object detection threshold values based on the calculated value during the window W. A sum of all the calibration periods C during window W is less than a length of the window W. One of the calibration periods C may start at a beginning of the window W.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: SharkNinja Operating LLC
    Inventors: Alex Irkliy, Charles Fiebig, Isaku D. Kamada, Xavier F. Cullere, Charles S. Brunner, Brian Burke
  • Patent number: 11433925
    Abstract: A method for assisting the driver of a vehicle that comprises an analysis means which analyzes the environment in an area located in front of the vehicle in order to detect boundaries and traffic signs and to provide environmental data representative of said boundaries and traffic signs, and a control means which controls the automated driving of said vehicle. Said method comprises a step in which the environmental data are analyzed to determine a variation in speed limit correlated temporally with a variation in the number of traffic lanes, and when such a determination is made, it is considered that the vehicle is located close to a restricted area and an alert is generated requesting that the driver take back control of the driving while crossing said restricted area or that a specific automated driving strategy be implemented by the control means for said crossing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: PSA AUTOMOBILES SA
    Inventors: Celine Etcheverry, Jean-Francois Layerle, Audrey Rizzo, Nolwenn Monot
  • Patent number: 11427143
    Abstract: A vehicle includes a prime mover, a charging system, a plurality of electrical loads electrically coupled to the charging system, and a controller. The charging system is coupled to the prime mover and includes a charge storing device and an alternator. The alternator is configured to convert mechanical energy generated by prime mover into electrical energy to charge the charge storing device. The electrical loads are electrically coupled to the charging system via a power distribution module. The controller is configured to receive an indication that an electrical output of the charging system is unable to provide sufficient electrical energy to each of the plurality of electrical loads, and provide a control signal to the power distribution module in response to the indication. The control signal is configured to cause the power distribution module to decouple at least one of the plurality of electrical loads from the charging system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: Oshkosh Defense, LLC
    Inventors: Cathy Linsmeier, Ryan Bishop, Luke Gustafson, Eric Pederson, Noah Johnson
  • Patent number: 11427190
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention relate to a self-driving method and an apparatus. The method includes: sending, by a first vehicle, lane change request information and first real-time information to a network device; receiving, by the first vehicle, lane change indication information sent by the network device, where the lane change indication information is determined by the network device according to the first real-time information and second real-time information that is sent by a second vehicle, and the lane change indication information indicates that the first vehicle is allowed to perform lane change; and changing, by the first vehicle, from the first lane to the second lane according to the lane change indication information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Zhihua Yang, Hui Li
  • Patent number: 11414094
    Abstract: A vehicle system is provided. The vehicle system includes a first driving input device, a second driving input device, and an autonomous vehicle control module. The autonomous vehicle control module is configured to monitor a driving behavior of a first driver operating the first driving input and to automatically transfer vehicle control of a vehicle from the first driver to the second driver when one or more requirements are met based on the driving behavior of the first driver. The autonomous vehicle control module is further configured to analyze switching of vehicle control between the first driver and the second driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC.
    Inventor: Stephen G. McGill
  • Patent number: 11414076
    Abstract: A vehicle control system includes a travel control section, a first traffic condition quantity acquisition section, a second traffic condition quantity acquisition section, a correction parameter calculator, and a correction section. The first traffic condition quantity acquisition section acquires a current traffic condition quantity on a road on which a preceding vehicle is traveling further ahead of a front vehicle. The second traffic condition quantity acquisition section acquires a reference traffic condition quantity, which is a traffic condition quantity that serves as a reference for the road on which the preceding vehicle is traveling. The correction parameter calculator calculates a difference between the current traffic condition quantity and the reference traffic condition quantity and calculates a correction parameter using the difference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Nanjo
  • Patent number: 11414099
    Abstract: A vehicle includes an automated driving assistance system that controls maneuvering of the vehicle under certain conditions. When the vehicle comes to a stop, the driving assistance system dynamically selects a threshold stop time corresponding to a duration of time that the vehicle can remain stopped before the driving assistance system will either detect a physical action from the user to resume automated driving assistance or time out and cease the driving assistance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Alexandra Taylor, Ali Hassani, Darren Lee