Patents Examined by David P. Merlino
  • Patent number: 11054261
    Abstract: One or more devices in a data analysis computing system may be configured to receive and analyze acceleration data corresponding to driving data, analyze the acceleration data, and determine driving patterns and associated drivers based on the data. Acceleration data may be collected by one or more mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablet computers, and/or on-board vehicle systems. Drivers associated with driving trips may be identified based on the acceleration data collected by the mobile devices. In some cases, driving patterns may be determined based on the acceleration data before and after stopping points during driving trips, and the driving patterns may be compared to a set of previously stored driving patterns associated with various different drivers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2021
    Assignee: Allstate Insurance Company
    Inventor: Valery Alexander Kanevsky
  • Patent number: 11047701
    Abstract: A destination from a plurality of destinations is identified. A plurality of routes associated with the destination is calculated. A determination is made that the device is travelling along a route in the plurality of routes without receiving user input selecting the route. Navigational data associated with the route is displayed in response to determining that the device is travelling along the route.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Assignee: BlackBerry Corporation
    Inventors: Laurie J. Vertelney, Daniel M. Kohn, Steven C. Wollenberg, Brian E. Smartt, Paul J. Lima, Eric S. Wels
  • Patent number: 11035959
    Abstract: A system may include a global positioning system (GPS) receiver and inertial measurement units configured to generate signals representative of relative motion of the GPS receiver. The system may also include a navigation processor configured to receive a first position determination from the GPS receiver, and determine relative motion of the GPS receiver with respect to the first position determination based at least in part on signals received from the inertial measurement units. The navigation processor may also receive second respective distances between the GPS receiver and respective satellites based on signals received from the respective satellites, and determine second projected distances between the GPS receiver and the respective satellites based on the relative motion determination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Carlos Guillermo Parodi
  • Patent number: 11019973
    Abstract: A method for operating a floor treatment apparatus that travels by itself within an environment, wherein a control and evaluation unit monitors the operating status of the floor treatment apparatus, detects an error condition of the floor treatment apparatus and initiates the output of an information signal in case an error condition occurs. In order to locate the floor treatment apparatus in a particularly simple and convenient fashion during an error condition, it is proposed that an optical signal output device of the floor treatment apparatus emits an optical information signal, which generates a light projection that represents a directional indicator, wherein the directional indicator points from a projection site within the environment in the direction of the current position of the floor treatment apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2021
    Assignee: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventor: Roman Ortmann
  • Patent number: 11021150
    Abstract: One or more devices, systems, and/or methods for controlling a motor vehicle based upon wind are provided. For example, a first measurement of wind detected by a first sensor coupled to the motor vehicle may be received from the first sensor. A second measurement of wind associated with a location of the motor vehicle may be received from a server. A wind effect (e.g., cost, inefficiency, danger, etc.) on the motor vehicle may be determined based upon the first measurement of wind and/or the second measurement of wind. A corrective action for the motor vehicle may be determined based upon the wind effect, and may be implemented on the motor vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2021
    Assignee: CO-AX TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventor: Hassan M. Abdar
  • Patent number: 11017680
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on storage devices, for drone-augmented emergency response services. In one aspect, a device includes a network interface, one or more sensors, one or more processors, and one or more storage devices that include instructions that are operable to perform operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2021
    Assignee: Alarm.com Incorporated
    Inventors: Stephen Scott Trundle, Alison Jane Slavin
  • Patent number: 11007995
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for estimating a drive train temperature for a journey. In one example, a method comprises requesting a vehicle operator to input one or more travel parameters for the journey, predicting travel parameters the vehicle operator omitted to input, and displaying an estimated fuel economy for the journey, where the estimated fuel economy is based on the estimated drive train temperature, which is based on the travel parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Hans Guenter Quix, Robert Hoenen, Christian Hans, Herbert Ernst, Antonio Farina
  • Patent number: 10981617
    Abstract: Provided is an inverted pendulum type vehicle. A controller (20) includes a reference desired motion determiner (211), which sequentially determines a reference desired motion of a traveling motion unit (3) so as to stabilize the attitude of an object mounting unit (5), high-frequency idling state amount calculators (214), (42a) and (42b), which calculate the high-frequency idling state amount of the traveling motion unit (3), and a desired motion corrector (42g), which corrects the reference desired motion by a correction amount determined on the basis of the high-frequency idling state amount to reduce a high-frequency component of idling. The controller (20) controls an actuator unit (8) according to the desired motion obtained by correcting the reference desired motion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2021
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hideo Murakami, Kazumasa Ozaki, Tomohiro Kawakami, Kazushi Akimoto
  • Patent number: 10976751
    Abstract: A method for monitoring an oscillatory signal from an oscillating device includes filtering the oscillatory signal to within a desired frequency band to provide a filtered signal and extracting an amplitude from the filtered signal. The method further includes switching control of the oscillating device when the amplitude exceeds a predetermined amplitude requirement for a predetermined duration. An oscillatory signal monitor includes a first controller and a second controller each configured to independently control an oscillating device. An oscillatory signal based on a position of the oscillating device is filtered to a desired frequency band, and an amplitude is extracted from the filtered signal. A switch is provided for switching control of the oscillatory device from the first controller to the second controller when the amplitude exceeds a predetermined amplitude requirement for a predetermined duration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Assignee: Textron Innovations, Inc.
    Inventors: Steven G. Hagerott, Russell Peters, Stephen M. Eddy
  • Patent number: 10967846
    Abstract: Some embodiments of the invention provide a speed control system (10, 12) for a vehicle (100), comprising: torque control means (12) for automatically causing application of positive and negative torque, as required, to one or more wheels (111, 112, 114, 115) of a vehicle (100) to cause a vehicle (100) to travel in accordance with a target speed value; path prediction means (10) for predicting a path PP of the vehicle (100) in a direction of travel; detection means (10) for detecting one or more objects (195) ahead of the vehicle (100); determining means (10) to determine whether one or more objects (195) detected by the detection means (10) lie outside the predicted path (PP); and control means (12) configured to, if said one or more detected objects (195) are determined to lie outside the predicted path (PP), automatically temporarily reduce the vehicle speed in dependence at least in part on a distance of the one or more detected objects (195) from the predicted path (PP).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: JAGUAR LAND ROVER LIMITED
    Inventors: Arun Raveendran, Andrew Fairgrieve
  • Patent number: 10969782
    Abstract: Systems and methods are directed to matching an available vehicle to a rider requesting a service. In one example, a computer-implemented method includes obtaining, by a computing system comprising one or more computing devices, a service request from a rider. The method further includes obtaining, by the computing system, data indicative of a current location of the rider; and determining that the current location of the rider is within proximity of an autonomous vehicle queuing location. The method further includes providing, by the computing system, data to the rider to provide for selection of an available autonomous vehicle at the autonomous vehicle queuing location. The method further includes obtaining, by the computing system, rider authentication data upon a selection of an autonomous vehicle by the rider; and, in response to obtaining rider authentication data, matching an autonomous vehicle selected by the rider to provide for performance of the service request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Molly Castle Nix, Sean Chin, Eric J. Hanson, Richard Brian Donnelly, Dennis Zhao
  • Patent number: 10955252
    Abstract: Determining a route based on road conditions includes receiving an origin and a destination from a user and calculating a plurality of routes from the origin to the destination. Aspects also include obtaining weather data along each of the plurality of routes and ranking each of the plurality of routes based on the weather data, a user profile, and on historical weather response data for areas along each of the plurality of routes. Aspects also include providing a route with a highest ranking from the plurality of routes to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ali Y. Duale, John S. Werner, Arkadiy O. Tsfasman, Shailesh R. Gami, Louis P. Gomes
  • Patent number: 10953876
    Abstract: A target vehicle speed generation device includes a controller that includes a target travel route generation unit, a peripheral object information acquisition unit, and a target vehicle speed generation unit. The target travel route generation unit generates a target travel route of the vehicle. The peripheral object information acquisition unit acquires position information pertaining to an obstacle on a travel path of the vehicle, and position information pertaining to an obstacle that is located toward the side and is outside of the travel path of the vehicle. The target vehicle speed generation unit calculates a plurality of lateral deviations to the obstacle with respect to the target travel route, and generates a lower target vehicle speed for an obstacle having a lesser lateral deviation than for an obstacle having a greater lateral deviation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Akinobu Gotou, Takashi Fukushige, Satoshi Tange
  • Patent number: 10931934
    Abstract: A watercraft may include a safety system having an imaging component and a control component. The control component may modify the operation of the watercraft based on images from the imaging component. The imaging component may include a thermal imaging component and a non-thermal imaging component. The watercraft may include more than one imaging component disposed around the periphery of the watercraft to monitor a volume surrounding the watercraft for objects in the water such as debris, a person, and/or dock structures. Operating the watercraft based on the images may include operating propulsion and/or steering systems of the watercraft based on a detected object. The control component may operate the propulsion and/or steering systems to disable a propeller when a swimmer is detected, to avoid detected debris, and/or to perform or assist in performing docking maneuvers. The imaging components may include compact thermal imaging modules mounted on or within the hull of the watercraft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: FLIR Belgium BVBA
    Inventors: Austin A. Richards, Peter A. Reid, Jay E. Robinson, Andrew C. Teich, Christopher Daniel Gatland, Gordon Pope
  • Patent number: 10913456
    Abstract: A method for adaptive cruise control of a host vehicle (2): A host vehicle (2) includes at least one acceleration device (8), at least one retardation device (10), a control unit (14) for acting upon the acceleration device (8) and the retardation device (10), a calculating unit (16) for determining at least one parameter related to a lead vehicle (6) and a distance sensor (12) for determining a distance from the host vehicle to the lead vehicle (6).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2021
    Assignee: SCANIA CV AB
    Inventors: HÃ¥kan Andersson, Sebastiaan Oremus
  • Patent number: 10909782
    Abstract: In an information processing system comprising at least one vehicle wherein the at least one vehicle comprises an event data recorder and a data management module resident in the at least one vehicle, a method records a plurality of data elements in the event data recorder, and evaluates each of the plurality of data elements to determine which of the plurality of data elements to maintain in a memory region of the event data recorder and which of the plurality of data elements to delete from the memory region of the event data recorder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: EMC IP Holding Company LLC
    Inventor: Assaf Natanzon
  • Patent number: 10890920
    Abstract: A map-data collection system for mapping an area includes a first sensor, a receiver, and a controller-circuit. The first-sensor is for installation on a first-vehicle. The first-sensor is configured to gather perception-data of an area from a first-perspective. The receiver is for installation on the first-vehicle. The receiver is configured to receive perception-data gathered by a second-sensor mounted on a second-vehicle proximate to the first-vehicle. The second-sensor is configured to gather perception-data of the area from a second-perspective different from the first-perspective. The controller-circuit is in communication with the first-sensor and the receiver. The controller-circuit is configured to determine composite-data in accordance with the perception-data from the first-sensor on the first-vehicle and the perception-data from the second-sensor on the second-vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Assignee: Aptiv Technologies Limited
    Inventors: Divya Agarwal, Michael H. Laur, Brian R. Hilnbrand
  • Patent number: 10882488
    Abstract: An autonomous robot vehicle includes a front side and an energy absorbing system. The front side includes a front bumper and a front face including a frame defining a cavity. The energy absorbing system includes an energy absorbing member mounted in the cavity of the frame, and an inflatable airbag. The energy absorbing member is configured to reduce impact on an object struck by the autonomous robot vehicle. The inflatable airbag is mounted on the front side of the autonomous robot vehicle such that when the inflatable airbag is deployed, the inflatable airbag is external to the autonomous robot vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2021
    Assignee: Nuro, Inc.
    Inventors: David Ferguson, Jiajun Zhu, Nick Vines, Russell Smith
  • Patent number: 10878365
    Abstract: Drone-based systems and methods are described for providing an airborne relocatable communication hub within a delivery vehicle for broadcast-enabled devices maintained within the delivery vehicle. Such a method has an aerial communication drone paired with the delivery vehicle transitioning to an active power state, uncoupling from a secured position on an internal docking station fixed within the delivery vehicle and then moving to a first deployed airborne position within the delivery vehicle. At a first position, the method has the aerial communication drone establishing a first wireless data communication path to a first broadcast-enabled device within the delivery vehicle, then establishing a second wireless data communication path to a second broadcast-enabled device within the delivery vehicle. The drone then couples the first and second wireless data communication paths it established operating as the airborne relocatable communication hub for the devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Reuben F. Burch, V, David A. Doyle, Brian D. Popp
  • Patent number: 10875499
    Abstract: A method is disclosed that is implemented by a computing device in a vehicle. Identifying information is obtained from an occupant of the vehicle via an input device operatively connected to the computing device. If the computing device has connectivity to a remote authentication server, the computing device transmits a request to the authentication server, and controls whether full operation of the vehicle is enabled or disabled based on a response from the remote authentication server. The request includes the identifying information and a vehicle identifier of the vehicle, and requests that the authentication server determine, based on the identifying information and the vehicle identifier, whether the occupant is authorized to operate the vehicle. If the computing device lacks connectivity to the remote authentication server, full operation of the vehicle is temporarily enabled until the computing device has connectivity to the remote authentication server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Inventors: Michael J. Mouser, Philip A. Weaver, Donald J. Finney