Patents Examined by Lail A Kleinman
  • Patent number: 11014557
    Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure relate generally to speed control in an autonomous vehicle. For example, an autonomous vehicle may include a user interface which allows the driver to input speed preferences. These preferences may include the maximum speed above the speed limit the user would like the autonomous vehicle to drive when other vehicles are present and driving above or below certain speeds. The other vehicles may be in adjacent or the same lane the vehicle, and need not be in front of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2021
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: David I. Ferguson, Dmitri A. Dolgov
  • Patent number: 10988052
    Abstract: When an occupant stretches his/her lower extremity in a state where putting his/her foot on a foot resting portion during autonomous driving of a vehicle, a seat is controlled so as to move rearward and obliquely upward along a control portion. Concurrently, a seat cushion is controlled so that its front portion moves downward while being supported by a link member and then its inclination angle is made gentle. When at least one of a position and an angle of at least one of the seat cushion and the seatback is controlled, an upper end of the seat is located on an inclined straight line extending downward on a forward side of the upper end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2021
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsushi Takamatsu, Shinichirou Nakajima, Hiroaki Miura, Souichiro Mori
  • Patent number: 10963930
    Abstract: An apparatus, a system, and a method are for automatically billing a vehicle left unattended in a charging station. The automatic billing apparatus includes a processor that provides a vehicle charging service at a charging station, determines that a vehicle is unattended after charging is completed, and performs a billing based on an unattended time. The apparatus further includes a storage that stores data obtained by the processor when the billing is performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA MOTORS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tae Woo Lee, Seung Myun Chung, Jin Cheol Shin, Ha Young Woo, Kyu Beom Ko, Ik Jun Choi, Deok Keun Shin, Jae Seok You
  • Patent number: 10947921
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for diagnosing whether one or more intake air oxygen sensors positioned in an intake of an engine of a vehicle, are functioning as desired. In one example, a method comprises injecting fuel into one or more cylinders of the engine without combustion, routing un-combusted hydrocarbons from the one or more cylinders to the intake via a crankcase ventilation system, and indicating whether the one or more intake air oxygen sensors are functioning as desired based on a response of the one or more intake air oxygen sensors. In this way, the one or more intake air oxygen sensors may be periodically diagnosed which may improve engine operation, and reduce engine degradation, particularly with regard to hybrid electric vehicles with limited engine run-time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Aed M. Dudar
  • Patent number: 10926749
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is an electronic brake system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: MANDO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Joo-Hee Son
  • Patent number: 10928209
    Abstract: Techniques are described for using information regarding road traffic and other types of transportation-related information to determine and/or assess alternative inter-modal passenger travel options in a geographic area that supports multiple modes of transportation. For example, a particular user may have multiple alternatives for travel from a starting location to a destination location in the geographic area, including to use alternative modes of transportation (e.g., private vehicle, bus, train, walking, etc.) for some or all of the travel, and these alternatives may have different travel-related characteristics in different situations (e.g., depending on current road traffic; mass transit schedules and current actual deviations; travel-related fees for gas, parking, mass transit, etc; parking availability; etc.).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: INRIX, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher L. Scofield, Kush G. Parikh, William J. Schwebel
  • Patent number: 10916075
    Abstract: Techniques for using dynamic comparison groups to assess driving safety are provided. Customizable comparison groups of vehicle operator's may be created based upon specific parameters. Drivers belonging to each specific comparison group may be ranked among one another based upon a comparison of telematics data that is associated with each vehicle, which may indicate various metrics associated with each driver's driving safety. By providing each driver's ranking within comparison groups, a gamified interface and user interaction is achieved, which promotes competition and acts as an incentive for the drivers to drive safer and avoid risk. Additional incentives may be provided in the form of automobile insurance premium discounts and recommendations for improving the driver's ranking.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2021
    Assignee: STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY
    Inventors: Eric Webster, Eric Dahl, Blake Konrardy
  • Patent number: 10901433
    Abstract: A flight vehicle control and stabilization process detects and measures an orientation of a non-fixed portion relative to a fixed frame or portion of a flight vehicle, following a perturbation in the non-fixed portion from one or both of tilt and rotation thereof. A pilot or rider tilts or rotates the non-fixed portion, or both, to intentionally adjust the orientation and effect a change in the flight vehicle's direction. The flight vehicle control and stabilization process calculates a directional adjustment of the rest of the flight vehicle from this perturbation and induces the fixed portion to re-orient itself with the non-fixed portion to effect control and stability of the flight vehicle. The flight vehicle control and stabilization process also detects changes in speed and altitude, and includes stabilization components to adjust flight vehicle operation from unintentional payload movement on the non-fixed portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2021
    Inventor: Thomas A. Youmans
  • Patent number: 10874277
    Abstract: A cleaning robot having an improved structure capable of improving a user convenience and method for controlling the same are disclosed herein. A cleaning robot includes a main body to form an outer appearance and having an inlet port provided to suck a foreign matter present in a cleaning area, an operation unit detachably coupled to the main body and provided to be gripped, at least one motion sensor provided to detect a motion of the operation unit, and a control unit electrically connected to the at least one motion sensor to drive a driving motor of the main body based on the motion of the operation unit detected by the at least one motion sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Dong Hun Lee, Heum Yong Park, Chang Yeong Kim, Jae Youl Jeong, Young Do Kwon, Jin Wook Yoon
  • Patent number: 10870425
    Abstract: A control device of an automatic driving vehicle identifies an object, based on an image. The control device decides a first prohibited area, based on the object. A memory stores a first planned location as a planned location where the automatic driving vehicle is to park or stop. The control device determines whether or not the automatic driving vehicle is able to park or stop at the first planned location, based on the first prohibited area and first planned location. In a case where the automatic driving vehicle is not able to be parked or stopped at the first planned location, the control device changes the planned location from the first planned location to a second planned location, sets a route from a vehicle location to the second planned location, and controls movement of the automatic driving vehicle based on the route.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CORPORATION OF AMERICA
    Inventor: Shunsuke Kuhara
  • Patent number: 10870497
    Abstract: A method is provided. The method comprises receiving a travel plan for a vehicle including a travel path information; determining a vehicle trajectory using the travel path information; obtaining forecasts of at least one of weather and vehicles proximate in time and location to the vehicle along the vehicle trajectory; determining, based upon at least one of the weather forecast and the other vehicles forecast, if at least one optional function would be beneficial to enable during vehicle travel along the vehicle trajectory; and generating at least one enablement code corresponding to the determined at least one optional function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventors: Nathan K, Sreenivasan Govindillam K
  • Patent number: 10864911
    Abstract: A method and device for determining an anomalous driving pattern of a neighboring vehicle using a vehicle camera and/or other sensor is described. Image data is received and if suitable lane markings are detected, a reference trajectory is derived from the detected lane markers. Otherwise, a reference trajectory is derived from a motion of the present vehicle. A trajectory of the neighboring vehicle is determined, characteristic parameters of the detected trajectory are derived, and the characteristic parameters are compared with predetermined trajectory data. Based on the comparison it is determined if the trajectory of the neighboring vehicle is an anomalous trajectory and in one case an alert signal is generated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2020
    Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Razvan-Calin Jurca, Nicolae Pahontu
  • Patent number: 10827399
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for switching a roadside navigation unit in a navigation system. The method includes: receiving, by an OBU, a switching notification message from a first RSU, where the switching notification message is used to instruct the OBU to prepare to switch a home RSU of the OBU from the first RSU to a second RSU; sending, by the OBU, a registration request to the second RSU to request to obtain local path information of the OBU within a coverage area of the second RSU; receiving, by the OBU, the local path information; and switching, by the OBU, the home RSU of the OBU from the first RSU to the second RSU according to the local path information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignee: HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yonggang Song, Hui Li
  • Patent number: 10807593
    Abstract: A system for detecting a vehicular collision (i) receives occupant data from at least one internal sensor; (ii) receives external data from at least one external sensor; (iii) determines positional information for at least one occupant of a vehicle; and (iv) generates a virtual reconstruction of the vehicle collision. The virtual reconstruction indicates a severity of vehicle damage and a severity of injury to the at least one occupant caused by the vehicle collision. The system may also utilized vehicle occupant positional data, and internal and external sensor data to detect potential imminent vehicle collisions, take corrective actions, automatically engage autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle systems, and/or perform at least one action to reduce a severity of a potential injury.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2020
    Assignee: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
    Inventors: Cole Nave, Nathan Tofte
  • Patent number: 10809727
    Abstract: A layer pick system optimizes usage of a layer picker gantry or robotic arm by arranging and/or displacing the gantry or arm in optimal locations with respect to one or more groups of pallets, and/or by grouping pallets by their attributes and arranging the same group of pallets close to each other. In some implementations, a plurality of pallets is categorized into multiple groups by different velocities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2020
    Assignee: Lineage Logistics, LLC
    Inventors: Christopher Frank Eckman, Daniƫl Walet, Elliott Gerard Wolf, Frank Baijens, Sudarsan Thattai
  • Patent number: 10795374
    Abstract: A vehicle control device includes a peripheral image acquisition unit adapted to acquire peripheral image data including a lane marking on a road in a travel direction of a host vehicle, a lane marking recognition unit adapted to recognize the lane marking from the image data, and a specified region determining unit adapted to determine, within the image data, the presence or absence of a specified region where continuity of the road is interrupted. In the case that the specified region exists, the lane marking recognition unit performs recognition of the lane marking on a side closer to the host vehicle than the specified region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2020
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masakazu Kita, Fumio Hamano
  • Patent number: 10793141
    Abstract: A vehicle traveling control apparatus includes a calculator, a first controller, a second controller, a switcher, and a third controller. The calculator is configured to calculate a target steering angle, on a basis of a shape of a target course. The first controller is configured to perform a first steering control. The second controller is configured to perform a second steering control. The switcher is configured to switch, on a basis of the shape of the target course, between the first steering control and the second steering control. The third controller is configured to calculate, on a basis of a feedback control amount, a yaw moment to be added to an own vehicle, and control, on a basis of the calculated yaw moment, a distribution of braking/driving force to be distributed to wheels of the own vehicle. The feedback control amount causes the own vehicle to travel while allowing a displacement amount of the own vehicle relative to the target course to be reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2020
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hajime Oyama
  • Patent number: 10795352
    Abstract: A system comprising, a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles and a single controller for controlling said plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles, wherein the single controller is configured such that it can broadcast a command to all of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles so that each of the plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles receive the same command; and wherein each of the unmanned aerial vehicles comprise a memory which stores a plurality of predefined flight paths each of which is assigned to a respective command; and wherein each of the unmanned aerial vehicles comprise a processor which can, (i) receive a command which has been broadcasted by the single controller to said plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles, (ii) retrieve from the memory of that aerial vehicle the flight path which is assigned in the memory to that command, and (iii) operate the aerial vehicle to follow the retrieved flight path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2020
    Assignee: Verity Studios AG
    Inventors: Federico Augugliaro, Markus Waibel, Markus Hehn, Raffaello D'Andrea, Luca Gherardi
  • Patent number: 10788823
    Abstract: A method for controlling a motor vehicle includes guiding the motor vehicle on a road independently of a driver; receiving a driving instruction transmitted wirelessly from a device in a vicinity of the motor vehicle; outputting an indication of the driving instruction to a driver of the motor vehicle; determining that, for longer than a predetermined time, the driver has not taken over the guidance of the motor vehicle; and executing the driving instruction independently of the driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2020
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventor: Stefan Nordbruch
  • Patent number: 10782702
    Abstract: Disclosed is a mobile robot provided to randomly store a landmark object and to set a no-entering region on the basis of a plurality of landmark objects and a method of controlling the mobile robot. The mobile robot includes a body, a moving portion configured to move the body, a memory, a collector configured to collect information on an object near the mobile robot, and a processor configured to compare the object information collected by the collector with the object information of the landmark candidate object stored in the memory and recognize a location of a landmark object which is an objective of a landmark on the basis of a result of comparison. When locations of at least two landmark objects are specified, the processor sets a no-entering region between the landmark objects and controls the moving portion to prevent the mobile robot from entering the no-entering region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2020
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshiaki Akazawa