Patents Examined by Hoi C. Lau
  • Earthquake damage warning system
    Patent number: 11477631
    Abstract: A system and method for providing earthquake damage and collapse warning by a warning device is disclosed. The warning device is communicatively connected to a one or more client devices using a communications network. The warning device includes an input sensor for generating signals of crack formation within a structure, a message generator and transmitter for sending an warning message, a memory having instructions stored thereon; and a processor configured to execute the instructions on the memory to cause the waring device to receive an input signal from the input sensor, characterize the input signal using its amplitude, duration, location and direction, and frequency, identify the input signal as being a result of an earthquake, generate a warning message identifying detection of an event, and transmit the warning message to the one or more client devices over the communications network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Inventor: Omidreza Ghanadiof
  • Vehicle latch with integrated radar module
    Patent number: 11465557
    Abstract: An electronic latch system for a motor vehicle includes an electronic latch (e-latch) including an e-latch controller within a door of the vehicle. A plurality of radar sensors are located within the door for performing non-contact detection of objects around the vehicle. The radar sensors include an outside-face sensor adjacent an outside face of the door to sense an object within a first sensing zone extending from the outside face. The radar sensors also include an inner sensor adjacent an inside surface of the door to sense an object within a second sensing zone extending from the inside surface. The radar sensors also include a shut-face sensor adjacent a shut face of the door to sense an object within a third sensing zone extending from the shut face. The e-latch includes a light source for projecting a warning image and an audio source for generating an audible warning.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: MAGNA CLOSURES INC.
    Inventors: J. R. Scott Mitchell, Stephen James Caron, Traian Miu, James J. Ferri, Gabriele Wayne Sabatini
  • Vehicle alert system
    Patent number: 11458889
    Abstract: The Vehicle Alert System has an RF transmitter system which is activated by a steering wheel switch which in turn signals matching receivers in other nearby vehicles. Upon activation, multiple receivers on other so equipped vehicles will detect the originating direction of the alert. A single board computer (SBC) will then activate a respective speaker on the interior of the receiving vehicle to indicate the direction of the alert. A dash mounted panel with LED indicators may also be provided. The device is also capable of disabling any audio entertainment systems in the receiving vehicle thereby ensuring that the warning signal is heard. A bright front mounted purple light would alert pedestrians to potential danger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Inventors: Curdy F. Angrand, Je-Andy Angrand, Pascal Louis Andre Anglade
  • Control system and control method for interaction-based long-term determination of trajectories for motor vehicles
    Patent number: 11462099
    Abstract: A control system for use in a motor vehicle is used for monitoring a current driving situation of the motor vehicle, based on surroundings data of the host motor vehicle in the current driving situation, obtained from at least one surroundings sensor situated on the host motor vehicle. The control system is used to recognize lanes, lane boundary lines, lane markings, and/or other motor vehicles in an area in front of, to the side of, and/or behind the host motor vehicle. In addition, the control system is used to determine at least one driving parameter for each other motor vehicle present in the surroundings of the host motor vehicle, based on the provided surroundings data, and to generate a plurality of possible trajectories for the future travel course for each of the other motor vehicles, based on the driving parameter determined in each case.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: ZF AUTOMOTIVE GERMANY GMBH
    Inventors: Christian Wissing, Manuel Schmidt, Andreas Homann, Christian Lienke, Torsten Bertram, Anne Stockem Novo, Martin Krüger, Till Nattermann, Karl-Heinz Glander
  • High capability switch movement for automotive modems
    Patent number: 11462096
    Abstract: In an aspect, a method includes determining, by a processor of a vehicle, that an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) subscription of the vehicle is set to a low capability subscription. The method includes determining, by the processor, that the low capability subscription is unable to access a network at a current location of the vehicle based on the low capability subscription. The method also includes determining, by the processor and based on sensor data received from one or more sensors of the vehicle, a probability of an accident occurring to the vehicle. The method further includes determining, by the processor, that the probability satisfies a threshold. The method includes switching, by the processor, the OEM subscription from the low capability subscription to a high capability subscription.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Soumya Das, Harshan Venkatasalam, Gunbir Singh, Vamsi Krishna Potti, Abhinav Mishra, Ahmed Sabeeh Quadri
  • Vehicle/road interaction signal control method and apparatus
    Patent number: 11436921
    Abstract: Provided are a vehicle/road interaction signal control method and apparatus, including: expanding the range of an intersection, extending to an upstream intersection along each approaching vehicle direction, and determining signal phases according to traffic flow conditions; acquiring the current speed and the current position of each moving target in each phase; according to the current speed and the current position of each moving target in each phase, calculating the time for each moving target to reach the intersection; according to the time for each moving target to reach the intersection, obtaining a time sequence of the moving targets in each phase for reaching the intersection; according to the time sequence of the moving targets in each phase for reaching the intersection, determining a release order and a release duration for each phase; sending information to onboard terminals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: IE-CHENG TECHNOLOGY (TIANJIN) CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Chunming Li
  • Printed circuit board for smoke detector
    Patent number: 11430313
    Abstract: Disclosed is a smoke detector comprising: a housing including a base, the base including a planar surface configured for being positioned against and attached to a ceiling, a printed circuit board (PCB) comprising a substantially planar shape with a front surface and an opposing back surface spaced in a thickness direction T, and a plurality of perimeter edges including a bottom edge and an opposing top edge spaced in a height-wise direction H, a first side edge and an opposing second side edge spaced in a transverse direction, wherein the top edge comprises a first projection extending in the height-wise direction away from the top edge, the first projection including a first temperature sensor height-wise spaced from the top edge, and the PCB is mounted to the housing so that the front surface of the PCB is perpendicular to the planar surface of the base.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: AUTRONICA FIRE & SECURITY AS
    Inventors: Ole Martin Pedersen, Per Johan Vannebo, Hans Jorgen Svendsen
  • Sophisticated alarm system
    Patent number: 11410536
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to an alarm system comprising a plurality of detectors, each configured to detect an event in an environment and to emit an event detection signal, and a plurality of alarm signal emitters, each configured to emit at least one alarm signal in case of the detection of an event, the detectors and the emitters being linked to one another, wherein each of the emitters is configured to emit a plurality of distinct alarm signals. In case of the detection of an event by a first detector, a first identifier is assigned to at least one first emitter, the closest to the first detector out of the plurality of emitters, and an alarm generation instruction is transmitted to the first emitter with the first identifier, to activate the first emitter with a first alarm signal which is a function of the first identifier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: Orange
    Inventor: Jean-Marc Duro
  • Roadway work area safety truck
    Patent number: 11408138
    Abstract: A system for generating collision data captured by safety monitoring equipment on-board a safety truck may include a processor that receives an indication of a speed of a vehicle approaching the safety truck and that overlays a textual indication of the speed of the vehicle onto frames of video captured of the vehicle. If the processor receives an indication that the vehicle has collided with the safety truck, a timestamp is associated with the video and a predetermined portion preceding the timestamp and after the timestamp is not overwritten.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: ROYAL TRUCK & EQUIPMENT, INC.
    Inventors: Robert H Roy, Andrew C Washburn, Joseph T Piggott, Siddharth Balasubramanian
  • Fire detection system and fire detection method
    Patent number: 11410517
    Abstract: A fire detection system includes a transmitter including a light source that sends an optical signal and a receiver including a detector that detects the optical signal sent from the light source through a predetermined light propagation section, a signal processing unit that calculates at least one of a first gas concentration, a first smoke concentration, and a first temperature in the light propagation section based on the optical signal, a sensor that acquires at least one of a second gas concentration, a second smoke concentration, and a second temperature in the surroundings, and a determiner that determines whether there is a fire by comparing at least one of the first gas concentration, the first smoke concentration, and the first temperature with at least one of the second gas concentration, the second smoke concentration, and the second temperature in the surroundings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: NEC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Akihiro Tanaka
  • Selectively enabled tamper detection
    Patent number: 11403923
    Abstract: A device includes a housing, a tamper switch supported at the housing, and a tamper actuator receivable at the housing. The tamper actuator is movable between a tamper disabled position and a tamper enabled position. In the tamper disabled position, the tamper actuator is fixed in place at the housing. In the tamper enabled position, the tamper actuator is configured to move relative to the housing between a tamper switch engaged position and a tamper switch released position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: Ademco Inc.
    Inventors: Wen Hua Hsu, Mark Schmidt
  • Server, server control method, server control program, vehicle, vehicle control method, and vehicle control program
    Patent number: 11398151
    Abstract: A server includes a server communication unit, a server control unit, and a server storage unit, and is connected in a communicable manner to a first vehicle and a second vehicle via the server communication unit. The server control unit transmits an imaging start command to the second vehicle, which runs within a predetermined range from an accident site, in response to the reception of an accident notification associated with positional information on the accident site from the first vehicle, receives an imaged image from the second vehicle, and stores the imaged image into the server storage unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hideo Hasegawa, Keiko Kameda, Misa Ejiri, Shintaro Naruse, Tadahiro Kashiwai, Naoya Oka, Kensuke Koike, Hiroyuki Monji
  • Evacuation system
    Patent number: 11393305
    Abstract: A system includes a first sensor configured to identify information regarding an emergency condition associated with a structure and a second sensor configured to identify an occupancy pattern regarding the structure. The system also includes a processor operatively coupled to the first sensor, the second sensor, and a transceiver. The processor is configured to determine a severity of the emergency condition based at least in part on the information regarding the emergency condition and prioritize rescues within the structure based at least in part on the occupancy pattern. The system also includes the transceiver which is configured to transmit an identification of the emergency condition, a location of the structure, the occupancy pattern, the prioritization of rescues, and the severity of the emergency condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: OneEvent Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Kurt Joseph Wedig, Daniel Ralph Parent, Tammy Michelle Wedig, Kristin Ann Sutter-Parent
  • Maintenance decision support system and method for vehicular and roadside applications
    Patent number: 11386782
    Abstract: A method and system are provided in which maintenance vehicles collect information from sensors and operators, forward the collected information to a server, and, is response, receive maps and operator instructions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: Concaten, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher J. Rennie, Kevin K. Groeneweg
  • Method and apparatus for protecting a miner
    Patent number: 11388571
    Abstract: An apparatus for protecting a miner from injury by a machine in a mine includes an explosion-proof housing. The apparatus includes a proximity sensing portion disposed in the explosion-proof housing having a magnetic field source which produces a magnetic field that is used to sense a location of the miner relative to the machine. The apparatus includes a wireless communication portion disposed in the explosion-proof housing through which the magnetic field produced by the magnetic field source is changed remotely and wirelessly from outside the explosion-proof housing. A method for protecting a miner from injury by a machine. A system for protecting a miner from injury by a machine in a mine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: Strata Products Worldwide, LLC
    Inventors: Michael W. Bertosh, Michael Berube, Kelly Norton, Brian Dunkin
  • Road traffic analysis methods and apparatuses
    Patent number: 11380195
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure can provide a road traffic analysis method and an apparatus. The method can comprise obtaining a traffic parameter of a road intersection by analyzing road traffic information of the road intersection, determining a reference adjustment length for each phase of a traffic signal cycle corresponding to each lane of the road intersection based on the road traffic information and the traffic parameter. The traffic signal cycle has one or more phases. The method can also comprise determining a first adjustment length when a difference between the reference adjustment length and the first adjustment length satisfies a condition associated with the lanes of the road intersection and the corresponding traffic parameter, and adjusting the phases of the traffic light cycle at the road intersection based on the first adjustment length for each phase.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: Alibaba Group Holding Limited
    Inventors: Wanli Min, Jiawei Wang, Zhenggang Wang
  • Notification apparatus, notification method, notification system, and computer-readable recording medium
    Patent number: 11380180
    Abstract: The invention provides a notification apparatus 1 including an alarm sound generating unit 2 for generating alarm sounds, a location information obtaining unit 3 for obtaining location information, an activating unit 4 for activating the alarm sound generating unit 2 and the location information obtaining unit 3, a communication unit 5 for performing low-power wide-area wireless communication, and a control unit 6 for transmitting notification information via the communication unit 5 if the control unit 6 fails to obtain the location information from the location information obtaining unit 3 after the activating unit 4 activated the alarm sound generating unit 2, the notification information including notification apparatus identifying information identifying the notification apparatus a and notification occurrence information indicative of occurrence of notification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: NEC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kenji Iida
  • Methods and systems for providing alerts to a driver of a vehicle via condition detection and wireless communications
    Patent number: 11364845
    Abstract: A computing device comprises at least one output device, one or more processors, and a memory storing a software application that, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the computing device to wirelessly connect with a computing system of a vehicle when a driver is within the vehicle, the vehicle including an external monitoring system comprising one or more sensors. The computing device can receive, from the computing system of the vehicle, an alert indicating a change in at least one condition external to the vehicle, and output, via the at least one output device, a corresponding alert indicating the change in the at least one condition external to the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brennan T. Lopez-Hinojosa, Kermit D. Lopez
  • Motion activated warehouse safety light
    Patent number: 11365847
    Abstract: Provided herein are LED warning lights and related methods for detecting oncoming traffic around corners, including in a warehouse. The warning lights have: a LED light module and an external motion sensor operably connected to the LED light module. The device is self-contained with respect to power, communication and alerts in that no other components are required, so that the warning lights are portable and readily positioned as desired and are immediately operable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: Keystone Sales Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Parker Jones, Brent Jones, Stephen Jones
  • Retrofit compliance apparatus and compliance system for hand hygiene dispensers
    Patent number: 11367337
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present inventive concept include retrofit compliance apparatus, which can include a catch basin or drip tray. The retrofit compliance apparatus can be used in conjunction with a hand hygiene dispenser, and monitor for compliant usage of the dispenser. The retrofit compliance apparatus can include one or more microcontrollers and one or more sensors. The retrofit compliance apparatus can detect whether the dispenser has been properly used. The retrofit compliance apparatus can collect data allowing the determination of the identity of who used the dispenser. Historical information about valid dispense counts and invalid dispense counts for each individual user can be maintained by a remote server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: SwipeSense, Inc.
    Inventors: John R. Peck, Harikrishna K. Rajabather, Thomas F. Racke, Horace Y. Wang, Yuri F. Malina