Patents Examined by Hongye Liang
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Patent number: 11148930Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for determining a source of degradation stemming from a vehicle fuel system during a refueling event. Specifically, in one example a method may include responsive to a refueling lock that enables access to a fuel tank of a fuel system being manually unlocked in order to add fuel to the fuel tank, monitoring a pressure in the fuel system and a fuel level in the fuel tank during refueling the fuel tank, and indicating degradation of the fuel system as a function of both the pressure and the fuel level. In this way, fuel system degradation may be pinpointed during a refueling event that is enabled via manual unlocking of the refueling lock.Type: GrantFiled: October 1, 2018Date of Patent: October 19, 2021Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLCInventor: Aed M. Dudar
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Patent number: 11148665Abstract: Provided are a vehicular motion control device and method such that, even when a vehicle is turning, the target trajectory can be followed while maintaining traveling stability, with a reduced sense of incongruity felt by the driver. This vehicular motion control device is equipped with: a target trajectory acquisition unit that acquires a target trajectory for a vehicle to travel; and a speed control unit that increases or decreases the longitudinal acceleration generated in the vehicle, the longitudinal acceleration being positive in the vehicle travel direction. If the vehicle deviates from the target trajectory during turning, the speed control unit performs longitudinal acceleration control to increase or decrease the longitudinal acceleration.Type: GrantFiled: October 11, 2016Date of Patent: October 19, 2021Assignee: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.Inventors: Junya Takahashi, Atsushi Yokoyama, Masamichi Imamura
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Patent number: 11099021Abstract: An apparatus, a method, and a non-transitory computer readable medium for routing a vehicle are provided. The apparatus includes processing circuitry that is configured to receive a current location of the vehicle, routing information including a destination and at least a dynamic wireless power transmission characteristic or an emission characteristic of the vehicle, and a map database. The processing circuitry is further configured to generate one or more routes between the current location and the destination; determine a route cost for each one of the one or more routes wherein the route cost includes the weighted summation of multiple routing factors including a route time and at least a route factor based on the dynamic wireless power transmission characteristic or the emission characteristic of the vehicle; and select a route out of the one or more routes based on route selection criteria.Type: GrantFiled: October 11, 2017Date of Patent: August 24, 2021Assignee: TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC.Inventors: George C. Bucsan, Jae Seung Lee
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Patent number: 11037381Abstract: The present invention is one that enables an actual vehicle run on a chassis dynamometer to be reproduced in a vehicle drive train test, and includes: a loading device to be connected to a rotating shaft of a vehicle drive train; and a load controller that controls the loading device to change a load. In addition, the load controller includes a relationship data storage part adapted to store speed-load relationship data indicating the relationship between rotation speed of the loading device and a load corresponding to the rotation speed, and changes the timing of the load to be given by the loading device correspondingly to the rotation speed of the loading device with respect to timing determined by the speed-load relationship data. Alternatively, the load controller changes the load correspondingly to the rotation speed of a roller mounted with a tire in the chassis dynamometer.Type: GrantFiled: June 8, 2018Date of Patent: June 15, 2021Assignee: HORIBA, LTD.Inventor: Hiroyuki Ikeda
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Patent number: 11015948Abstract: Provided are a first route condition acquirer to acquire a route condition of a planned travel route of a moving body, the route including a plurality of sections; a recommended operation definer to define a content of recommended operation information related to a device included in the moving body and an output point in the planned travel route at which the recommended operation information is output; a complexity level determiner to determine a complexity level of a route in one of the sections including the defined output point by using a static route condition out of the route condition of the planned travel route and, when the complexity level of the section is greater than or equal to a threshold value, determining a complexity level of each of the other sections in the planned travel route; and a recommended operation determiner to determine the output point using the determination result.Type: GrantFiled: February 17, 2016Date of Patent: May 25, 2021Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATIONInventors: Shogo Okamoto, Takuji Morimoto, Kimika Ikegami, Shin Miura
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Patent number: 10991173Abstract: The present invention is one that enables an actual vehicle run on a chassis dynamometer to be reproduced in a vehicle drive train test, and includes: a loading device to be connected to a rotating shaft of a vehicle drive train; and a load controller that controls the loading device to change a load. In addition, the load controller includes a relationship data storage part adapted to store speed-load relationship data indicating the relationship between rotation speed of the loading device and a load corresponding to the rotation speed, and changes the timing of the load to be given by the loading device correspondingly to the rotation speed of the loading device with respect to timing determined by the speed-load relationship data. Alternatively, the load controller changes the load correspondingly to the rotation speed of a roller mounted with a tire in the chassis dynamometer.Type: GrantFiled: June 8, 2018Date of Patent: April 27, 2021Assignee: HORIBA, LTD.Inventor: Hiroyuki Ikeda
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Patent number: 10988167Abstract: A power steering apparatus includes a steering shaft 10 including an input shaft 11, an intermediate shaft 13 connected through a first torsion bar 12 to the input shaft, and an output shaft 15 connected through a second torsion bar 14 to the intermediate shaft; a hollow motor 30 to provide a rotational force to the intermediate shaft; and a control device 60 including a microcomputer, and including an output shaft rotation angle presuming section 63 to presume an output shaft rotation angle ?g based on signals of an input shaft rotation angle ?h and an intermediate shaft rotation angle ?m, a torsion spring constant g1 and g2 of the first and second torsion bars; and a motor drive control section 69 to control the hollow motor based on the output shaft rotation angle.Type: GrantFiled: February 3, 2017Date of Patent: April 27, 2021Assignee: KNORR-BREMSE STEERING SYSTEM JAPAN LTD.Inventor: Tatsuo Matsumura
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Patent number: 10875531Abstract: A lane curvature, a vehicle position offset relative to a lane center line, and a vehicle heading are determined based on image data received from a vehicle camera sensor. An adjusted lane curvature and an adjusted vehicle heading are computed based on a vehicle speed, a vehicle yaw rate and the position offset.Type: GrantFiled: August 8, 2018Date of Patent: December 29, 2020Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLCInventors: Vladimir Ivanovic, Hongtei Eric Tseng, Nitendra Nath, Pavithra Madhavan
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Patent number: 10611267Abstract: A temperature increasing system for vehicle batteries includes a drive motor, first and second batteries, first and second temperature increasing units, and a controller. The drive motor can output a driving force for driving a drive wheel of a vehicle. The first battery can supply electric power to the drive motor. The second battery has a capacity smaller than a capacity of the first battery. The first and second temperature increasing units can increase, respectively, the temperatures of the first and second batteries by using electric power from the second battery. While the vehicle is parked, the controller heats the first battery by using the first temperature increasing unit if the temperature of the first battery is below a first value when the vehicle starts moving, and heats the second battery by using the second temperature increasing unit.Type: GrantFiled: October 19, 2017Date of Patent: April 7, 2020Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATIONInventors: Kenta Wakabayashi, Fumiyuki Moriya
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Patent number: 10611366Abstract: A method for preventing a rollover of a vehicle or a tractor-trailer combination in curves, by counteracting a rollover risk of the vehicle by independent regulating interventions, performed without action by a vehicle driver, in a regulation system that actuates the drive and/or the brakes of the vehicle, the method including: capturing the current driving situation and the current load of the vehicle or the tractor-trailer combination as to the current driving position of the vehicle or the tractor-trailer combination, ascertaining a maximum admissible transverse acceleration at the current driving position, at which maximum admissible transverse acceleration the vehicle or the tractor-trailer combination just does not roll over, as to the current driving situation and the current load of the vehicle or the tractor-trailer combination. Also described is a related apparatus for preventing a rollover of a vehicle or a tractor-trailer combination in curves.Type: GrantFiled: October 10, 2016Date of Patent: April 7, 2020Assignee: KNORR-BREMSE SYSTEME FUER NUTZFAHRZEUGE GMBHInventors: Oliver Jundt, Daniel Thum, Jonas Leibbrand