Patents Examined by Michael F Whalen
  • Patent number: 11954500
    Abstract: Disclosed are devices and methods for improving the pre-booting of electronic control unit devices in vehicles. In one embodiment, a method is disclosed comprising detecting a triggering of a pre-booting condition based on one or more interactions with a vehicle; transmitting a power-on signal to at least one electronic control unit (ECU) in the vehicle, the at least one ECU operating in a low-power state; and fully booting the at least one ECU upon determining that the vehicle has been started.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Gil Golov
  • Patent number: 11953920
    Abstract: A media playback system comprising a transmitter configured to transmit an indication of a media item; a plurality of drones; a controller configured to control the spatial configuration of the drones and, in response to receiving the indication of a media item control the drones to adopt a predefined 3D spatial configuration; a mobile device comprising a camera and a media playback unit, wherein the camera is capable of capturing an image of the plurality of drones; a processor configured to analyse the captured image to determine the media item that corresponds to the predefined 3D spatial configuration; and wherein the media playback unit is configured to play the determined media item.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: DIGITAL & FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
    Inventor: Christopher John Crockford
  • Patent number: 11938874
    Abstract: The present disclosure generally relates to providing a centralized controller for actuators within electronic control systems of a vehicle. An electronic control system within a vehicle computer system, having a first actuator for performing a first vehicle function, a second actuator for a performing second vehicle function and a controller coupled to the first actuator and the second actuator for controlling the first and second actuators is provided such that the controller is not embedded in either the first or second actuator. Embodiments of a centralized controller and a non-transitory machine-readable medium on which a program is stored for providing instructions to a controller that may utilize the 1-Wire® and/or PoE protocols are also provided. Advantages include, but are not limited to centralized manufacturing, simplified diagnostics, and streamlined software upgrades, all of which result in reduce costs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: Volvo Car Corporation
    Inventors: Johan Svensson, Richard Biveby, Usman Tariq, Carl-Johan Hall
  • Patent number: 11940817
    Abstract: Apparatuses, systems, and methods for open path laser spectroscopy with mobile platforms. An example system may include a first mobile platform and a second mobile platform, each of which supports a payload. A light beam directed from one payload to another may define a measurement path, which may be at a particular height above the ground. The payloads may determine a gas concentration along the measurement path. Wind information at the measurement height may be used to determine a gas flux. One or both of the mobile platforms may then move to a new location, and take a measurement along a new measurement path. By combining the measurement paths, gas flux through a flux surface may be determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: Bridger Photonics, Inc.
    Inventors: Aaron Thomas Kreitinger, Michael James Thorpe, Peter Aaron Roos
  • Patent number: 11940774
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides action imitation method as well as a robot and a computer readable storage medium using the same. The method includes: collecting at least a two-dimensional image of a to-be-imitated object; obtaining two-dimensional coordinates of each key point of the to-be-imitated object in the two-dimensional image and a pairing relationship between the key points of the to-be-imitated object; converting the two-dimensional coordinates of the key points of the to-be-imitated object in the two-dimensional image into space three-dimensional coordinates corresponding to the key points of the to-be-imitated object through a pre-trained first neural network model, and generating an action control instruction of a robot based on the space three-dimensional coordinates corresponding to the key points of the to-be-imitated object and the pairing relationship between the key points, where the action control instruction is for controlling the robot to imitate an action of the to-be-imitated object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: UBTECH ROBOTICS CORP LTD
    Inventors: Miaochen Guo, Jingtao Zhang, Dong Wang, Shuping Hu, Jianxin Pang, Youjun Xiong
  • Patent number: 11932062
    Abstract: A tire surface managing method, comprising: emitting detecting light to a target object on a surface of a tire; receiving reflected detecting light from the target object and from the surface adjacent to the target object; determining whether the target object protrudes according to a distance calculated according to the reflected detecting light from the target object and a distance calculated according to the reflected detecting light from the surface; determining whether the target object forms a hole on the surface according to the distance calculated according to the reflected detecting light from the target object and the distance calculated according to the reflected detecting light from the surface; receiving the reflected detecting light from the surface to calculate a width of the hole on the tire; and activating a protection mechanism for a vehicle comprising the tire if the width is larger than a width threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: PixArt Imaging Inc.
    Inventors: Guo-Zhen Wang, Chang-Sheng Chiu
  • Patent number: 11928973
    Abstract: A flight system includes an aerial vehicle having a sensor and capable of flying unmanned. The flight system estimates a condition of dust in an area of a scheduled destination, on the basis of sensing data obtained by observing, with the sensor, the area from a flight position of the aerial vehicle. Then, the flight system controls the aerial vehicle on the basis of the estimation result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Rakuten Group, Inc.
    Inventor: Toshiaki Tazume
  • Patent number: 11926312
    Abstract: In a case where a predetermined switching operation to a state in which a traveling position is selected from a state in which another shift position of a mechanical transmission device is selected is performed by a driver, a quick engagement command to quickly engage a predetermined engagement device is performed in a state in which output of a predetermined torque is stopped, and then a rapid garage control of increasing a rotation speed of an electric motor at a rotation speed equal to or higher than a predetermined rotation speed is executed. The rapid garage control is executed in a case where a predetermined start condition is established.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshio Hasegawa, Tomohiro Chimbe, Shogo Kawai
  • Patent number: 11919513
    Abstract: Aspects of the present invention relate to a control system, a system and a method for providing assistance to an occupant of a vehicle. Specifically, the present invention relates to determining a composite image sequence comprising a sequence of image frames, each comprising a captured image of an environment external to the vehicle and a trajectory indicator indicative of the determined vehicle trajectory through that environment. The trajectory indicator is positioned within the composite image sequence in dependence on movement by the vehicle between the time at which images associated with the corresponding image frames are captured such that the trajectory indicator appears substantially stationary in a direction of travel of the vehicle with respect to one or more image objects within the composite image sequence.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: JAGUAR LAND ROVER LIMITED
    Inventor: Ilias Aitidis
  • Patent number: 11915489
    Abstract: In a method of operating a vehicle, sensor data comprising an object detection of a sensor of the vehicle is provided, the object detection being representative of a detected object. Further, a trust model is provided, wherein the trust model is configured to model a trust in object detection. Depending on the sensor data and the trust model, a trust value of the detected object is determined, the trust value of the detected object being representative of how high a trust in the detected object is. The vehicle is operated depending on the trust value of the detected object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Dominik Bauch, Marco Baumgartl, Michael Himmelsbach, Josef Mehringer, Daniel Meissner, Luca Trentinaglia
  • Patent number: 11880205
    Abstract: An auto clean machine, comprising: a light source configured to emit light to illuminate at least one light region outside and in front of the auto clean machine; a first image sensing area, configured to sense a first brightness distribution of the light region; a second image sensing area below the first image sensing area, configured to sense a second brightness distribution of the light region; and a processor, configured to control movement of the auto clean machine according the first brightness distribution and the second brightness distribution. The processor generates a wall detection result based on the first brightness distribution of the light region, generates a cliff detection result based on the second brightness distribution of the light region, and controls the movement of the auto clean machine according to the wall detection result and the cliff detection result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Assignee: PixArt Imaging Inc.
    Inventor: Guo-Zhen Wang
  • Patent number: 11874657
    Abstract: An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control system and a UAV control method are provided. The UAV control method includes: storing a reporting configuration by a UAV; communicatively connecting to the UAV and storing at least one historical status information corresponding to the UAV by a server; reporting to the server at least one current status information according to the reporting configuration by the UAV; calculating a variance between the at least one historical status information and the at least one current status information by the server; and updating the reporting configuration of the UAV according to the variance by the server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: Far EasTone Telecommunications Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Herman Chunghwa Rao, Chen-Tsan Yu, Hua-Pei Chiang, Chien-Peng Ho, Chyi-Dar Jang, Yao-Ming Chang, Che-Yu Liao
  • Patent number: 11869282
    Abstract: Embodiments of the invention include a vehicle telematics system including a telematics device and a remote server system, wherein the telematics device obtains sensor data from at least one sensor installed in a vehicle, calculates peak resultant data based on the sensor data, generates crash score data based on the peak resultant data and a set of crash curve data for the vehicle, and provides the obtained sensor data when the crash score data exceeds a crash threshold to the remote server system and the remote server system obtains vehicle sensor data and vehicle identification data from the vehicle telematics device, calculates resultant change data and absolute speed change data based on the obtained sensor data and/or the vehicle identification data, and generates crash occurred data when the resultant change data exceeds a first threshold value and when the absolute speed change data is below a second threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: CalAmp Corp.
    Inventors: Jeff Jenkins, Greg Bayley, Peter Byrne, Gallin Chen
  • Patent number: 11854315
    Abstract: Subject matter disclosed herein may relate to systems, devices and/or processes for extracting one or more features of an electric current coupled to an electric vehicle in response to initiating a charging process at a first charging station, determining one or more performance characteristics of the electric vehicle based, at least in part, on the charging process, determining a charge performance model based, at least in part, on the one or more determined one or more performance characteristics of the electric vehicle and displaying a recommendation for at least a second charging station based, at least in part, on a comparison between one or more features of the at least the second charging station and the charge performance model.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: MERCEDES-BENZ GROUP AG
    Inventors: Sorin Panainte, Francois Charles Piednoel
  • Patent number: 11846520
    Abstract: The present disclosure describes a method and an apparatus for determining a corrected position of a vehicle based on a stable landmark. The method includes determining a last known position vector of the vehicle; capturing an image within a vicinity of a vehicle using an imaging device; identifying a stable landmark within the captured image based on a previously constructed reference map of the vicinity of the vehicle; determining a correction for a position of the vehicle based on the determined last known position vector of the vehicle and the identified stable landmark; and determining an updated position of the vehicle based on the determined correction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Leonid Valerianovich Edelman, Sergey Igorevitch Fedorenko, Dmitrii Alexandrovich Korchemkin
  • Patent number: 11846514
    Abstract: Techniques for assisting a passenger to identify a vehicle and for assisting a vehicle to identify a passenger are discussed herein. Also discussed herein are techniques for capturing data via sensors on a vehicle or user device and for presenting such data in various formats. For example, in the context of a ride hailing service using autonomous vehicles, the techniques discussed herein can be used to identify a passenger of the autonomous vehicle at the start of a trip, and can be used to assist a passenger to identify an autonomous vehicle that has been dispatched for that particular passenger. Additionally, data captured by sensors of the vehicle and/or by sensors of a user device can be used to initiate a ride, determine a pickup location, orient a user within an environment, and/or provide visualizations or augmented reality elements to provide information and/or enrich a user experience.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: Zoox, Inc.
    Inventors: Timothy David Kentley-Klay, Duncan John Curtis, Donovan Anton Bass, Michael Moshe Kohen, Auver Cedric Austria
  • Patent number: 11823564
    Abstract: A system for capturing location-based data includes an interface and a processor. The interface is configured to receive a location-based data description for capturing the location-based data. The processor is configured to determine a location based at least in part on the location-based data description, create a location-based data identification job based at least in part on the location, cause execution of the location-based data identification job to a set of vehicle event recorder systems, wherein the location-based data identification job is executed by a vehicle event recorder system of the set of vehicle event recorder systems to acquire sensor data in response to a vehicle being able to acquire the sensor data related to the location of the location-based data identification job, receive the sensor data from the vehicle event recorder system, and determine the location-based data based at least in part on the sensor data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Lytx, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeremiah Todd Wittevrongel, Marc Ische
  • Patent number: 11787453
    Abstract: A machine learning system for maintaining distributed computer control systems for a train may include a data acquisition hub communicatively connected to a plurality of sensors configured to acquire real-time configuration data from one or more of the computer control systems. The machine learning system may also include an analytics server communicatively connected to the data acquisition hub. The analytics server may include a virtual system modeling engine configured to model an actual train control system comprising the distributed computer control systems, a virtual system model database configured to store one or more virtual system models of the distributed computer control systems, wherein each of the one or more virtual system models includes preset configuration settings for the distributed computer control systems, and a machine learning engine configured to monitor the real-time configuration data and the preset configuration settings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: Progress Rail Services Corporation
    Inventors: Bradley Howard, John Brand
  • Patent number: 11790778
    Abstract: A connected-vehicle interface module is provided that includes a connected-vehicle controller, a wireless data connected-vehicle radio for receiving an activation signal indicating a road condition, and a connected-vehicle interface controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2023
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: Traffic and Parking Control Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Brian P. Scharles, Brian P. Scharles, Jr.
  • Patent number: 11780483
    Abstract: A job aid system and method determine conditions in which a vehicle system is operating or will operate during movement of the vehicle system along one or more routes. A context-sensitive action checklist is selected or generated based on one or more of the conditions. Input from the operator of the vehicle system is received in response to one or more action items in the context-sensitive action checklist that is presented to the operator. An alertness level of the operator is determined based on the input that is received from the operator. One or more alerting actions can be implemented to increase the alertness level of the operator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: TRANSPORTATION IP HOLDINGS, LLC
    Inventors: Neeraja Subrahmaniyan, James D. Brooks