Patents Examined by Laura E Linhardt
  • Patent number: 11827233
    Abstract: Systems and methods for transferring autonomous driving preferences between vehicles are provided. For example, a vehicle operator may borrow a friend's or spouse's vehicle, or may rent a vehicle, and may wish to transfer his or her autonomous driving preferences to the vehicle he or she is currently operating. An autonomous driving preference associated with an operator of a first vehicle is obtained. The autonomous driving preference includes vehicle controls that the operator prefers to be operated autonomously, semi-autonomously, and/or manually. When the operator of the first vehicle is to operate a second vehicle or is currently operating a second vehicle, an indication of the autonomous driving preference associated with the operator is transmitted to the second vehicle, and the vehicle controls associated with the second vehicle are modified based on the autonomous driving preference associated with the operator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2023
    Assignee: STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY
    Inventor: Aaron Scott Chan
  • Patent number: 11818975
    Abstract: The present invention relates to the planning and implementation of agricultural measures using remote sensing data and local field data. Using remote sensors, the total required amount and partial-area-specific required amounts of plant protection agents and/or nutrients and/or seeds and/or the like can be determined, and based on this information, the use of an application device can be planned. Using local field sensors, the current local required amounts in the field are determined so that the application device can apply the corresponding amounts as required.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: BASF Agro Trademarks GmbH
    Inventors: Ole Peters, Holger Hoffmann, Gang Zhao, Subhashree Das
  • Patent number: 11794811
    Abstract: Techniques for using ball joint sensor data to determine conditions relevant to a vehicle are described in this disclosure. For example, in one example, the ball joint sensor data may be used to determine estimated steering data. The estimated steering data may be directly used to navigate through an environment, such as by the vehicle relying on the estimated steering data when planning, tracking, or executing a driving maneuver. Also, the estimated steering data may be used to verify the reliability of other steering sensor data used to navigate through the environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: Zoox, Inc.
    Inventors: Ahditya Melkote, Vishveshwar Ramanathan Subramanian
  • Patent number: 11794806
    Abstract: A control apparatus for a steering system includes control circuitry configured to perform an angle control process for controlling, to an angle command value, a convertible angle that is convertible into a rotational angle of the electric motor, a predetermined component calculation process for calculating a predetermined component containing at least one of two components that are a viscosity component and a friction component of the steering system, while using a value of a variable regarding a control quantity of the electric motor as an input, and a relationship change process for changing a relationship of an output from a control unit for the steering system to an input to the control unit, based on the predetermined component calculated through the predetermined component calculation process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: JTEKT CORPORATION
    Inventor: Takashi Kodera
  • Patent number: 11787464
    Abstract: A vehicle steering system provided for a vehicle whose driving state is switchable between a manual driving state and an automatic driving state, the vehicle steering system including a coupling mechanism configured to couple a steering operation member operated by a driver and at least one steerable wheel of the vehicle, wherein, when the driving state of the vehicle is switched from the manual driving state to the automatic driving state, the coupling mechanism is switched from a mechanically coupling state in which the coupling mechanism mechanically couples the steering operation member and the at least one steerable wheel to each other to a mechanically decoupling state in which the coupling mechanism mechanically decouples the steering operation member and the at least one steerable wheel from each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Takafumi Iizawa
  • Patent number: 11787393
    Abstract: Techniques for using ball joint sensor data to determine conditions relevant to a vehicle are described in this disclosure. For example, in one example, the ball joint sensor data may be used to determine a ride height at a portion of the vehicle, which may be used to determine roll data and/or pitch data. The ride height, roll data, and/or pitch data may be directly used to navigate through an environment, such as by the vehicle relying on the data when interpreting sensor data or planning driving operations. Also, the ride height, roll data, and/or pitch data may be used to verify the reliability of other sensor data used to navigate through the environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: Zoox, Inc.
    Inventors: Ahditya Melkote, Vishveshwar Ramanathan Subramanian
  • Patent number: 11778938
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method of controlling a mobile agricultural machine includes receiving field map data representing a first agricultural operation performed on a field, receiving a location sensor signal indicative of a sensed geographic location of the mobile agricultural machine on the field, the mobile agricultural machine having a plurality of sections that are independently controllable to perform a second agricultural operation on the field that is different than the first agricultural operation, and generating a control signal to control the plurality of sections based on the field map data and the location sensor signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Qiang R. Liu, Patrick C. Dougherty, Michael R. Moody, Ajit Thankappan Pillai
  • Patent number: 11760411
    Abstract: Methods for controlling a steer-by-wire steering system including a steering actuator controlled via a steering request and brings about movement of a steering rack to steer vehicle wheels. A feedback actuator transmits reactions of the road to a steering wheel via an aligning torque. A setpoint position of the steering rack is determined in a signal processing unit based on a steering wheel steering angle. The setpoint position is transmitted with an actual position of the steering rack or with a measured wheel steering angle as an actual value to a control unit which calculates a setpoint torque of an electric motor of the steering actuator. The method includes monitoring the power of the motor required to reach the determined setpoint position. When the required power exceeds the maximum power of the motor the motor is operated at maximum power torque present at the steering wheel is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignees: THYSSENKRUPP PRESTA AG, THYSSENKRUPP AG
    Inventors: Kristof Polmans, Manuel Rohrmoser
  • Patent number: 11748824
    Abstract: One or more techniques and/or systems are disclosed for identifying traversability of a site. Site conditions of a target site affecting traversability can be identified using real-time or historical data. Soil conditions, weather conditions, moisture levels, and other factors may be used to determine whether a target site is traversable by a target piece of equipment. The traversability information can be identified for a target area, that comprises a target site, and a traversability map can be generated for the site. Target equipment specifications can be used to determine whether the target equipment may effectively traverse the target site based on the traversability map. Further, a traversability path may be generated for a piece of target equipment based on the traversability map, site conditions, and the equipment specifications. Additionally, site management may be enhanced using the site condition data to plan traversability of target equipment at the target site.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Sebastian Blank, Dohn W. Pfeiffer, Curtis R. Hammer
  • Patent number: 11731694
    Abstract: In a steering control apparatus, a reaction force torque command value is calculated so that a detection value of a torque sensor follows a target value obtained by adding at least a viscosity command value and a return command value to a steering torque command value, and an electric current that flows to a reaction force rotary electric machine is controlled based on the reaction force torque command value. Whether a steering state is a turning state or a returning state is determined by comparing a physical quantity corresponding to an output torque of a reaction force device and the detection value of the torque sensor. Characteristics of one or more of a reaction force amount operation, a viscosity amount operation, and a return amount operation are made differ between the turning state and the returning state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Takashi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 11713071
    Abstract: A vehicle includes first and second steering drivers that steer first and second wheel pairs, a lock that locks the first wheel pair to be non-steerable, a first steering controller that controls the first steering driver in accordance with a first steering angle, and a second steering controller that controls the second steering driver in accordance with a second steering angle. The first steering controller controls the lock to lock the steering of the first wheel pair upon detecting anomaly in the steering of the first wheel pair from the steering angle and a steering detection angle of the first wheel pair. The second steering controller controls the second steering driver in accordance with a second corrected steering angle, if the steering of the first wheel pair exhibits anomaly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2023
    Assignee: AISIN CORPORATION
    Inventors: Seiji Hidaka, Shin Kunieda
  • Patent number: 11708076
    Abstract: A method for identifying a cause of blockage in a sequence of images provided by a camera of a vehicle, the method comprising iteratively: S10) acquiring an image of the camera; successively acquired images forming a sequence of images; S20) detecting a blockage in last images of the sequence of images; S60) determining whether it is day-time or night-time based on time information; if it is determined that it is night-time: S82) determining whether toggling front light(s) of the vehicle on/off causes a change in images acquired by the camera; and S84) in this case, determining that for the current iteration, the cause of the blockage is presumably the road being dark. A computer program for performing said method, a computer-readable recording medium containing such computer program, a driving assistance system capable of executing said method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA MOTOR EUROPE
    Inventors: Guillaume Fent, Christophe Gillet, Hideaki Hayashi
  • Patent number: 11702133
    Abstract: A yaw stability control system is provided for a motor vehicle. The system includes one or more cameras, a plurality of wheel speed sensors, a yaw angle sensor, and a steering angle sensor. The system further includes an electric motor connected to a reaction wheel. The system further includes a processor and a memory including instructions such that the processor is programmed to: determine a desired yaw angle of the motor vehicle based on a video signal, speed signals, a yaw signal, and a steering signal. The processor is further programmed to generate an actuation signal associated with the desired yaw angle. The electric motor angularly rotates the reaction wheel at a predetermined angular rate in a predetermined rotational direction to produce a counter-acting torque that rotates the motor vehicle to the desired yaw angle, in response to the electric motor receiving the actuation signal from the processor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Insu Chang, Jun-mo Kang, SeungHwan Keum
  • Patent number: 11685433
    Abstract: A system for detecting hands-on or off of a steering wheel and a method thereof, include a direct sensor configured for detecting a hands-on sense value depending on a grip area of the steering wheel; an indirect sensor configured for detecting a hands-on sense value depending on a magnitude of a torque for rotating the steering wheel; and a controller connected to the first sensor and the second sensor and combining a direct hands-on sense value detected by the direct sensor and an indirect hands-on sense value detected by the indirect sensor to each other to determine a grip state of the steering wheel depending on a combined hands-on sense condition, and then to display and warn a result of determining the grip state of the steering wheel through an output unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Hyoung Jun Ahn, Hong Joo Jung
  • Patent number: 11674407
    Abstract: A system for controlling blade tip clearances in a gas turbine engine may comprise an active clearance control system and a controller in operable communication with the active clearance control system. The controller may be configured to identify a cruise condition, reduce a thrust limit of the gas turbine engine to a de-rated maximum climb thrust, determine a first target tip clearance based on the de-rated maximum climb thrust, and send a command signal correlating to the first target tip clearance to the active clearance control system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: Raytheon Technologies Corporation
    Inventor: Matthew R. Feulner
  • Patent number: 11667289
    Abstract: An apparatus for a vehicle includes: a first collection unit configured to collect a plurality of consecutive forward image frames captured by a camera during forward driving of the vehicle; and a driving route generation unit configured to derive a forward driving trajectory during the forward driving of the vehicle, based on matching of common feature points present in the plurality of consecutive forward image frames, and generate the derived forward driving trajectory as a backward driving prediction route.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: HYUNDAI MOBIS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Jeong Ku Kim
  • Patent number: 11660925
    Abstract: An autonomous tilting three-wheeled vehicle comprises a pair of front wheels coupled to a tiltable chassis by a mechanical linkage, such that the pair of wheels and the chassis are configured to tilt in unison with respect to a roll axis of the chassis. An electronic controller of the autonomous vehicle controls a tilt actuator to selectively tilt the chassis. Optionally, a steering actuator is coupled to the front wheels and controlled by the electronic controller to selectively steer the wheels. A sensor configured to measure orientation-dependent information may be coupled to the chassis by a gimbal configured to compensate for vehicle tilt. In some examples, the autonomous vehicle comprises an autonomous delivery robot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2023
    Assignee: Sway Motorsports LLC
    Inventors: Kyle Jonathan Doerksen, Joseph Wilcox
  • Patent number: 11661106
    Abstract: A steering system includes a rotary shaft to which an operation member is coupled; a first actuator; a second actuator; a control unit; and a moving unit configured to move the operation member between a normal position and a storage area. The control unit is configured to switch between a manual drive mode and an autonomous drive mode. The control unit is configured to, when moving the operation member from the storage area to the normal position, start synchronous control when the operation member satisfies a predetermined condition before the operation member reaches the normal position, the synchronous control being control in which the control unit controls the first actuator to change a rotation angle of the rotary shaft to an angle corresponding to a steered angle of steered wheels driven by the second actuator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2023
    Assignee: JTEKT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takeshi Watanabe, Yasuyuki Nozawa
  • Patent number: 11650586
    Abstract: The present teaching relates to method, system, medium, and implementation of automatic motion planning for an autonomous driving vehicle. Information is obtained with respect to a current location of the autonomous driving vehicle operating in a current vehicle motion, wherein the information is to be used to estimate the operational capability of the autonomous driving vehicle with respect to the current location. Sensor data are obtained, via one or more sensors in one or more media types. A reaction of a passenger present in the vehicle with respect to a current vehicle motion is estimated based on the sensor data. Motion planning is performed based on the information with respect to the current location and the reaction of the passenger to the current vehicle motion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2023
    Assignee: PlusAI, Inc.
    Inventors: Hao Zheng, David Wanqian Liu, Timothy Patrick Daly, Jr.
  • Patent number: 11650585
    Abstract: Technologies are provided for detecting anomalous data at runtime in an autonomous vehicle component that is indicative of a byzantine fault, and providing real-time remediation. Input and output data streams of the vehicle component can be analyzed to generate a normal operational model for the vehicle component. Using the model, deviations from a known steady state of operation of the vehicle component can be detected and flagged as potential faults. The vehicle component can then be isolated and/or restarted. Additionally or alternatively, a specification can be defined that specifies allowed component interactions in the autonomous vehicle system. The specification can be used to generate tests that can be used to validate the functional correctness of the vehicle components. The specification can be used at run-time to detect component interactions that are not allowed. Such a disallowed component interaction can be detected using the specification and flagged as a potential fault.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2023
    Assignee: VAY TECHNOLOGY GMBH
    Inventors: Nathan Aschbacher, Joshua John Hartung