Patents Examined by Michael D Lang
  • Patent number: 11049405
    Abstract: Provided is an airspace controller for creating and managing dynamic airspace for different users. The airspace controller may produce different dynamic airspace for each user by continually updating static controlled airspace maps with user-specific flight information including user-planned flights, authorization status of the user's flights, waivers, controlled airspace restrictions, and real-time flight telemetry. The airspace controller may generate a static airspace map for all users with different airspace user interface (“UI”) elements at different regions that correspond to different airspace restrictions in effect at those regions. The airspace controller may create dynamic airspace for each user by modifying the static airspace map to include flight UE elements over regions of the static airspace map where user-defined flights are to occur.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Assignee: Kittyhawk.io, Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan Hegranes, Andrew Elefant, Michael Curry, Joshua Ziering
  • Patent number: 11046313
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for forming a vehicle train. An exemplary method may comprise: detecting, by a first vehicle, a second vehicle traveling in the same direction as the first vehicle on a road; receiving travel information of the second vehicle; determining, by the first vehicle, a lead vehicle of the vehicle train between the first vehicle and the second vehicle based on travel information of the first vehicle and the travel information of the second vehicle; and connecting the first vehicle and the second vehicle to form the vehicle train.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Assignee: Beijing Voyager Technology Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Zafar Takhirov, Alice Tsing Takhirov
  • Patent number: 11042151
    Abstract: Systems and methods described herein relate to remotely activating a vehicle. One embodiment receives transaction information regarding an electronic payment; associates the transaction information with a vehicle; determines that the vehicle is within a predetermined distance from a business where the electronic payment was transacted; and transmits, to the vehicle, a remote activation command that activates one or more subsystems of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2021
    Assignee: Toyota Motor North America, Inc.
    Inventor: Shingo Sugimoto
  • Patent number: 11040620
    Abstract: A user interface apparatus configured to be installed in a vehicle, the apparatus includes a touch screen; a gesture detecting unit configured to detect a gesture of a user and convert the gesture into an electrical signal; and at least one processor configured to determine whether a criteria for switching to an autonomous driving state is satisfied in response to the gesture detected by the gesture detecting unit being applied from a driver seat of the vehicle to the touch screen, further, in response to the criteria for switching to the autonomous driving state being satisfied, the at least one processor is further configured to switch a state of the vehicle to the autonomous driving state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2021
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Suhyung Jang, Gangseub Lee, Jongmin Baek, Sowoon YooN
  • Patent number: 11034244
    Abstract: A system and method for assisting the start of an electrically powered vehicle comprising processing circuitry configured to: a) receive a sensory signal indicative of a sequence of voltage measurements during an initial ramp state, b) compare the sequence of voltage measurements with a previously established plurality of voltage patterns, c) select a voltage pattern whose voltage values are closest to the voltage values of the sequence of voltage measurements received from the sensor, d) establish the insulation resistance value of the battery from selected voltage pattern, and e) enable electrically energizing a load indicative of vehicle start if the insulation resistance value obtained exceeds a predetermined insulation resistance threshold value that ensures the insulation of the battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: FICO TRIAD, S.A.
    Inventors: Adriá Torné Albert, Enric Sala Masip
  • Patent number: 11029169
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are a navigation service method for providing unusable route information related to an emergency area and a server apparatus therefor. The navigation service method includes constructing an emergency area resource including unusable route information related to an emergency area; and receiving trip parameters from multiple applications and transmitting a link, through which the emergency area resource is accessible, to an application, the trip parameter of which includes a request to provide unusable route information related to an emergency area, wherein transmitting the link is configured to transmit a link, through which the same emergency area resource is accessible, to applications that request provision of unusable route information related to the same emergency area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2021
    Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
    Inventors: Jae-Hyuk Choi, Young-Su Cho
  • Patent number: 11015950
    Abstract: A non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions that implement an application programming interface (API) for generating digital maps. When invoked by a software module executing on one or more processors of a client device, the API operates to (i) determine a geographic location to be included in a digital map, where the geographic location is specified by a server device coupled to the client device via a communication network, (ii) select a parameter for a viewport of the digital map based at least on a distance from a current location of the client device to the specified geographic location, (iii) generate the digital map in accordance with the selected parameter, and display the digital map via a user interface of the client device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2021
    Assignee: GOOGLE LLC
    Inventor: Bailiang Zhou
  • Patent number: 11009869
    Abstract: In an autonomously navigating vehicle including a sensor (contact-lift sensor) configured to produce an output proportional to displacement between a chassis and the cover and the control unit configured to receive output of the sensor, wherein the control unit is configured to determine whether change of the sensor output per prescribed time period is equal to or greater than the threshold value, count up time period during which change has been determined to be equal to or greater than the threshold value, and compare time period counted up by the time integration unit with prescribed time periods (first prescribed time period and second prescribed time period) and discriminate whether the vehicle has contacted an obstacle or whether the cover has been lifted from the chassis based on the result of the comparison with the prescribed time periods.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Atsushi Moroi, Yuki Matsui, Kohei Matsuzawa, Takahide Konchi
  • Patent number: 11001274
    Abstract: An apparatus for automatically controlling a driving assist function of a vehicle includes a sensing device to sense surrounding information and driving information of the vehicle and a state of a driver, a controller to determine whether an automatic activation condition for automatically activating the driving assist function is satisfied, based on the surrounding information and the driving information of the vehicle, which are acquired from the sensing device, and the sensed driver state, and automatically activate the driving assist function when the automatic activation condition is satisfied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2021
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA MOTORS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Dong Gu Lee, Kyoung Jun Lee, Doo Jin Um, Dong Eon Oh, Hyun Jae Yoo, Beom Jun Kim, Dae Young Kim, Young Min Han, Seung Geon Moon, Sung Woo Choi, Chan Il Park, Sung Yoon Yeo, Hoi Won Kim, Min Chul Kang
  • Patent number: 10997866
    Abstract: Provided is an airspace controller for creating and managing dynamic airspace for different users. The airspace controller may produce different dynamic airspace for each user by continually updating static controlled airspace maps with user-specific flight information including user-planned flights, authorization status of the user's flights, waivers, controlled airspace restrictions, and real-time flight telemetry. The airspace controller may generate a static airspace map for all users with different airspace user interface (“UI”) elements at different regions that correspond to different airspace restrictions in effect at those regions. The airspace controller may create dynamic airspace for each user by modifying the static airspace map to include flight UE elements over regions of the static airspace map where user-defined flights are to occur.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignee: Kittyhawk.io, Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan Hegranes, Andrew Elefant, Michael Curry, Joshua Ziering
  • Patent number: 10983524
    Abstract: A sensor aggregation framework for autonomous driving vehicles is disclosed. In one embodiment, sensor data is collected from one or more sensors mounted on an autonomous driving vehicle (ADV) while the ADV is moving within a region of interest (ROI) that includes a number of obstacles. The sensor data includes obstacle information of the obstacles and vehicle data of the ADV. Each of the vehicle data is timestamped with a current time at which the vehicle data is captured to generate a number of timestamps that correspond to the vehicle data. The obstacle information, the vehicle data, and the corresponding timestamps are aggregated into training data. The training data is used to train a set of parameters that is subsequently utilized to predict at least in part future obstacle behaviors and vehicle movement of the ADV.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2021
    Assignee: BAIDU USA LLC
    Inventors: Liangliang Zhang, Dong Li, Jiangtao Hu, Jiaming Tao, Yifei Jiang
  • Patent number: 10976164
    Abstract: A method, a system, and a computer program product are provided for generating route data of one or more routes through an area. The method includes obtaining from a map database, a plurality of map-matched links corresponding to area and determining one or more first links and one or more second links from the plurality of map-matched links. The method further includes searching the map database, in the downstream of each of the first links for one or more missing downstream links and searching the map database in the upstream of each of the second links for one or more missing upstream links, and generating the route data of the routes based on the first link, the second link, the missing downstream links, the missing upstream links, and the plurality of map-matched links.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Assignee: HERE GLOBAL B.V.
    Inventors: Zhenhua Zhang, Leon Stenneth
  • Patent number: 10968601
    Abstract: A BEIM (Built Environment Information Model)-based control system (CS) for controlling an earthmoving machine (E) is disclosed. The control system includes at least one controller (CO) for controlling at least one movement of an earthmoving tool (3) attached to the earthmoving machine, at least one control unit (CU), and sensing means (11, 12) for providing the control unit with position data of the earthmoving tool and a carrier (1) of the earthmoving machine with respect to the BEIM. The control system also includes at least one displaying means for displaying at least one BEIM selectable by the at least one controller. An earthmoving machine and a method for controlling an earthmoving machine are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: Novatron Oy
    Inventors: Visa Hokkanen, Petri Moisio
  • Patent number: 10953896
    Abstract: In lane selection control in which a lane in which a host vehicle travels is selected based on the map information and information acquired by an external sensor that acquires periphery information of the host vehicle, a self-position correction object in an intended travel route is identified based on the map information. When the host vehicle reaches a correction point where the self-position correction object is present, a determination is made as to whether or not the self-position correction object can be recognized by the external sensor from the lane in which the host vehicle travels. Upon determined that the self-position correction object cannot be recognized from the center lane in which the host vehicle travels, a lane change to a leftmost lane where the self-position correction object can be recognized is made before the host vehicle reaches the correction point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takahiro Nojiri, Tatsuya Shino, Katsuhiko Degawa
  • Patent number: 10957203
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure relate to a vehicle for maneuvering an occupant of the vehicle to a destination autonomously as well as providing information about the vehicle and the vehicle's environment for display to the occupant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Min Li Chan, Philip Nemec, Brian Douglas Cullinane, Julien Mercay, Peter Crandall
  • Patent number: 10943473
    Abstract: An information management apparatus and a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium recording a program which is executable by an information management apparatus is disclosed. The information management apparatus includes: a memory which is configured to store vehicle information; processing circuitry configured to receive the vehicle information and to store the vehicle information in the memory, the vehicle information including vehicle identification information uploaded from each of a plurality of vehicles managed by the information management apparatus, analyze the vehicle information stored in the memory according to a set analysis viewpoint, and change an upload condition of the vehicle information based on an analysis result of the vehicle information; and a transmitter configured to transmit the changed upload condition to a vehicle among the plurality of vehicles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takashige Hori, Makoto Akahane
  • Patent number: 10933994
    Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for delivering a package from a drone to a vehicle. In some instances, the method may include identifying the vehicle by the done. A wireless communication connection may be established between the drone and the vehicle. The vehicle may open an access door of the vehicle to expose an opening in the vehicle. A net configured to receive the package from the drone may be disposed within the vehicle below the opening. The drone may release the package into the net.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Jorge Suarez Rivaya
  • Patent number: 10926723
    Abstract: A system and method performed by a sensor testing apparatus of a vehicle are provided for determining when certain event conditions are true. The event conditions comprise detecting an occurrence of a predefined event that impacts a sensor of the vehicle. After the predefined event is detected, a test is performed to determine whether the sensor is outputting sensor values within sensor specification values. When the event conditions are true, the method includes testing the sensor relative to a reference to determine when the sensor is operating within reference criteria to produce a positive reference testing result. When the reference testing result is positive, the method directs the vehicle to return to normal operation, and otherwise directs the vehicle to be serviced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Rebecca Chierichetti, Andrea Johnson, Glen J. Anderson, Omar Ulises Florez Choque
  • Patent number: 10928218
    Abstract: A mobile communication device initiates display of a point of interest as being located at particular coordinates on a map. In response to receiving an input command from a user of the mobile communication device indicating that the particular location of the point of interest as specified by the map is incorrect, the mobile communication device forwards a communication (specifying a location of the mobile communication device and an identity of the point of interest) over a network to a map management resource. Based on feedback from the mobile communication device, the map management resource updates map data an actual location of the point of interest as opposed to an incorrect location as specified by the particular coordinates on the map. Subsequent distribution of the updated map information from the map management resource specifies the proper coordinates of the point of interest in the geographical region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC
    Inventors: Robert Seastrom, Wesley E. George, IV, Chris R. Roosenraad
  • Patent number: 10926767
    Abstract: A lane change from a lane which is currently being travelled in by the motor vehicle to an adjacent lane is carried out autonomously if a recommendation to change the lane is output by a control device. The recommendation to change from a relatively fast lane to a slower lane is out-put by the control device if (1) a lane change is possible without putting at risk the motor vehicle and/or another vehicle travelling on the slower lane, (2) the motor vehicle is not being prevented from travelling at a predefined speed by another vehicle travelling ahead in the lane which is currently being travelled in, and (3) no other vehicle which is travelling at a higher speed than the speed of the motor vehicle is detected in the slower lane at a specific distance behind the motor vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: Conti Temic microelectronic GmbH
    Inventor: Günter Anton Fendt