Patents Examined by Luke Huynh
  • Patent number: 11634129
    Abstract: There is provided a travel control apparatus. A recognition unit recognizes a division line of a road on which a self-vehicle is traveling. A control unit executes lane maintenance control to perform lane maintenance of the self-vehicle based on a recognition result of the division line by the recognition unit. If the recognition unit has become unable to recognize the division line in a case in which a first control state for executing the lane maintenance control without issuance of a steering wheel gripping request is set, the control unit will allow preceding vehicle following control, for following a preceding vehicle of the self-vehicle, to be executed after switching the lane maintenance control to manual driving.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2023
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Daichi Kato
  • Patent number: 11628832
    Abstract: A parking assistance device includes: a situation information acquisition unit acquiring, when a vehicle is repeatedly parked at a parking target position, peripheral situation information; a storage control unit storing first situation information indicating the peripheral situation information and a movement route for the parking target position; an information updating unit updating, when new information is included in second situation information acquired when newly parking at the parking target position and a region specified by the new information does not interfere with a region where the movement route exists, the first situation information by the second situation information; a current position estimation unit estimating a current position by comparing the first and second situation information; and a guidance control unit guiding the vehicle to the parking target position according to the estimated current position and the movement route.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: AISIN CORPORATION
    Inventor: Takashi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 11623655
    Abstract: Systems and methods for restricting the use of vehicle operator's electronic device are provided. In a method by a telematics server, the server determines that a vehicle's engine is running and that the operator registered with the vehicle is in the driver's seat. In response, the server sends a message to the vehicle operator's electronic device for disabling at least one feature thereof. In a method by a vehicle operator's electronic device, the electronic device determines that the vehicle is running and that the operator is in the driver's seat. In response, the electronic device disables at least one feature thereof. The systems and methods can be used to discourage or restrict the use of electronic devices by drivers sitting in a vehicle with the engine running in accordance with laws in certain jurisdictions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2023
    Assignee: Geotab Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen Michael Fox, Jobin Thayilchira
  • Patent number: 11619934
    Abstract: When a subject vehicle having an autonomous travel control function is remotely operated with a remote operation device, detected coordinate information indicating a temporal transition in detected coordinates of a gesture detected by a touch panel of the controller is acquired, and the change amount of a physical change occurring on the remote operation device is detected to acquire operation device transition information indicating a temporal transition in the change amount. Then, the frequency characteristics of the detected coordinate information are compared with the frequency characteristics of the operation device transition information to determine whether or not there is correlation, and when there is correlation, the subject vehicle is controlled to execute autonomous travel control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2023
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Suzuki, Junya Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 11618586
    Abstract: A condition of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is detected using one or more sensors of the UAV and signaled according to an alert definition associated with the condition. For example, an alert definition can indicate to signal the condition by using a motor of the UAV to produce an audible tone. A tonal signal having a frequency within an audible spectrum can be generated according to the alert definition. The tonal signal and a drive signal used for supplying current to the motor can be combined to produce a combined signal. The combined signal can then be transmitted to the motor to cause the motor to produce the audible tone. In some cases, an amplitude of the tonal signal can be modulated, such as where the amplitude of the combined signal exceeds a threshold associated with an operating margin of the UAV.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2023
    Assignee: GoPro, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph A. Enke, Miles Hansen, Mehran Ferdowsi
  • Patent number: 11603094
    Abstract: An example operation includes one or more of detecting, by a transport, that the transport is approaching a traffic control marking on a road, providing a notification related to the detecting to one or more occupants of the transport, receiving from one or snore other transports, at a server, one or more indications of a crossing of the traffic control marking by the transport, determining, by the server, a consensus of the crossing based on the one or more indications, and performing, by the server, an action to correct the crossing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.
    Inventor: Stephen Paul McFarland, Jr.
  • Patent number: 11573566
    Abstract: Many different types of systems are utilized and tasks are performed in a marine environment. The present invention provides various configurations of castable devices that can be operated and/or controlled for such systems or tasks. One or more castable devices can be integrated with a transducer assembly, such as a phased array, that emits sonar beams and receives sonar returns from the underwater environment. Processing circuitry may receive the sonar returns, process the sonar returns, generate an image, and transmit the image to a display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: NAVICO HOLDING AS
    Inventors: Jeremiah Clark, Andrew Corbett, Mark N. Harnett, Alan Islas Cital, Thomas E. H. Isaacson, Matthew Laster, William B. Newberry, Jr., Shauna Reed, Kristopher C. Snyder
  • Patent number: 11554784
    Abstract: Provided is a vehicle control device configured to: recognize a surrounding situation of a vehicle; control steering and acceleration/deceleration of the vehicle; detect operation states of a plurality of external recognition sensors; determine a driving mode of the vehicle as any one of a plurality of driving modes including a first driving mode, a second driving mode, and a third driving mode; change the third driving mode to either one of the first driving mode and the second driving mode when determining that a failure has occurred in one of the plurality of external recognition sensors that implement: a function of causing the vehicle to follow a preceding vehicle; and a function of assisting the vehicle in keeping a lane; and change the third driving mode to the second driving mode when determining that degradation in performance has occurred in one of the plurality of external recognition sensors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kanta Tsuji, Akihiko Aoyagi
  • Patent number: 11548521
    Abstract: Systems, vehicles and methods for determining wrong direction driving are disclosed. In one embodiment, a system for determining a vehicle traveling in a wrong direction includes one or more sensors that produce sensor data, one or more processors, and one or more non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer readable-instructions. When the computer-readable instructions are executed by the one or more processors, the computer-readable instructions cause the one or more processors to determine one or more lanes within a roadway using the sensor data, determine a direction of travel of the one or more lanes using the sensor data, and identify a non-compliant vehicle traveling in a direction in the one or more lanes that is different from the determined direction of travel in the one or more lanes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC.
    Inventors: Stephen G. McGill, Guy Rosman, Luke S. Fletcher, Simon A. I. Stent
  • Patent number: 11541887
    Abstract: A method for adjusting a safety distance between a first vehicle and a second vehicle preceding the first vehicle at a bunched traffic site by at least one control device is disclosed which includes receiving measurement data of at least one sensor unit with the at least one control device. The method includes evaluating the measurement data of the at least one sensor unit with the at least one control device to identify a bunched traffic site in front of the second vehicle and identifying a safety distance of the first vehicle from the second vehicle, wherein the identified safety distance accounts for a possible reverse motion of the second vehicle. The method further includes establishing the identified safety distance with the at least one control device based upon the identified bunched traffic site. A control device, a computer program and a machine-readable storage medium are further disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventor: Holger Mielenz
  • Patent number: 11541879
    Abstract: A vehicle control apparatus is configured to perform a stop control for stopping a vehicle at a target stop position. The vehicle control apparatus is provided with: a first executor configured to perform a first stop control as the stop control such that a first vehicle is stopped at a first target stop position, which is the target stop position; a second executor configured to perform a second stop control as the stop control such that a second vehicle is stopped at a second target stop position after obtaining a difference between the first target stop position and a first actual stop position at which the vehicle is stopped in the first stop control; and a corrector configured to correct control contents of the second stop control on the basis of the difference, before the second vehicle is stopped at the second target stop position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Issei Matsunaga
  • Patent number: 11536833
    Abstract: An information processing device includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry obtain target information that indicates at least one of a distance to a target object or a position of the target object. The processing circuitry generate, based on the target information, map information of a space including a plurality of areas, the map information indicating presence or absence of the target object in a first area included in the plurality of areas, and a detailed position of the target object in the first area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Tasaki, Yuma Sano, Rie Katsuki
  • Patent number: 11526180
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems and methods for enabling at least one autonomous device to traverse a three-dimensional space. An example system may comprise a first autonomous vehicle comprising a first sensor suite. The first autonomous vehicle may traverse the three-dimensional space in accordance with a path planned vector. The path planned vector may be dynamically updated based on a first vector associated with a first object identified based on data received from the first sensor suite. The example system may comprise a first aerial vehicle comprising a second sensor suite. The first aerial vehicle may traverse the three-dimensional space based on at least one of data provided by the second sensor suite, the first sensor suite, and other aerial vehicles. The path planned vector may be dynamically updated based on data received from at least one of the first sensor suite, the second sensor suite, and cloud interface data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Assignee: Chioccoli LLC
    Inventors: Gregory Daniel Chiocco, Michael Brogioli
  • Patent number: 11513521
    Abstract: Methods and systems for autonomous vehicle recharging or refueling are disclosed. Autonomous vehicles may be automatically refueled by routing the vehicles to available fueling stations when not in operation, according to methods described herein. A fuel level within a tank of an autonomous vehicle may be monitored until it reaches a refueling threshold, at which point an on-board computer may generate a predicted use profile for the vehicle. Based upon the predicted use profile, a time and location for the vehicle to refuel the vehicle may be determined. In some embodiments, the vehicle may be controlled to automatically travel to a fueling station, refill a fuel tank, and return to its starting location in order to refuel when not in use.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COPMANY
    Inventors: Blake Konrardy, Scott T. Christensen, Gregory Hayward, Scott Farris
  • Patent number: 11511799
    Abstract: A method for friction coefficient determination on elastically connected subsystems, in which an overall system includes multiple subsystems and at least two subsystems are connected to one another by an elastic connection. The elastic connection has at least one static friction state and a sliding friction state for prescribed external state variables, in which the overall system is excited with a vibration having a variable excitation amplitude at a defined excitation frequency. The excitation amplitude is varied, in which a phase difference between the vibration and a measured reaction torque together with the excitation amplitude are recorded as a function of time, in which no phase difference occurs in the static friction state and a phase difference of 180° occurs in the sliding friction state. In a first step, the excitation amplitude is increased until a transition in the phase difference from 0° to 180° indicates the transition from the static friction state to the sliding friction state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Inventor: Georg Tardy-Tuch
  • Patent number: 11505324
    Abstract: Disclosed are methods, systems, and non-transitory computer-readable medium for supersonic flight entry/exit management. For instance, the method may include determining whether a transition between supersonic and subsonic flight is approaching; and in response to determining the transition between subsonic and supersonic flight is approaching, performing a supersonic flight entry/exit process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventor: Luis Melendez
  • Patent number: 11498551
    Abstract: A method for operating a vehicle having a sensor device including at least two technologically diversified sensor units. The method includes: detection of pieces of surroundings information with the aid of the sensor device; defined evaluation of the pieces of surroundings information detected by the technologically diversified sensor units with respect to plausibility; and defined usage of the pieces of surroundings information using a result of the defined evaluation of the detected pieces of surroundings information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventor: Hans-Leo Ross
  • Patent number: 11485355
    Abstract: The parking assist apparatus comprises a first vehicle stop apparatus operated for a purpose of stopping a vehicle, a controller configured to be capable of performing parking assist control for parking a vehicle in a parking position and to finish the parking assist control by performing control for instructing a driver of the vehicle to operate the first vehicle stop apparatus or by controlling the first vehicle stop apparatus, and a second vehicle stop apparatus operated for a purpose of stopping the vehicle. When it is determined while the parking assist control is being performed that there is a malfunction in an apparatus for detecting whether or not operation of the first vehicle stop apparatus has been performed, the controller is configured to finish the parking assist control by performing control for instructing the driver to operate the second vehicle stop apparatus or by controlling the second vehicle stop apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takuya Nakagawa, Yuki Minase, Junji Horiguchi, Norio Imai
  • Patent number: 11458963
    Abstract: A driving control method is provided in which a processor configured to control driving of a vehicle acquires detection information around a vehicle on the basis of a detection condition that can be set for each point; sequentially extracts events which the vehicle encounters, on the basis of the detection information; arranges the extracted events in the order of encounters with the vehicle; creates a sequential driving plan in which a driving action is defined for each of the events on the basis of the detection information acquired in the events; executes a driving control instruction for the vehicle in accordance with the driving plan; and determines, on the basis of the content of the driving action defined for a first event which the vehicle encounters earlier, a second detection condition regarding at least one second event which the vehicle encounters after the first event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignees: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Renault S.A.S.
    Inventor: Yoshiro Takamatsu
  • Patent number: 11441908
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for determining a destination for a motor vehicle that is different from an intended location, comprising the following steps: specifying an intended location; determining a usage rate at the intended location by means of a computing apparatus on the basis of data provided on the intended location; determining a plurality of possible alternative destinations different from the intended location on the basis of the data provided on the intended location if the usage rate exceeds a predefined usage rate threshold value; determining a predicted usage rate at the possible alternative destinations by means of the computing apparatus on the basis of data provided on the possible alternative destinations; and selecting a destination from the plurality of possible alternative destinations while taking into consideration the predicted usage rate at the alternative destinations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Stephan Max, Thorben Günzel