Patents Examined by Michael J. Zanelli
  • Patent number: 12202463
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a method for a torque control of a hybrid vehicle, a storage medium and an electronic device. The method includes: determining a target-total-torque-change-gradient when a limitation requirement for a gradient of torque change of a DCT is received; determining a torque request of an electric motor and an actual-torque-response-change-gradient of an engine; and determining a gradient of torque change of the electric motor according to the target-total-torque-change-gradient and the actual-torque-response-change-gradient of the engine; and filtering the torque request of the electric motor according to the gradient of torque change of the electric motor. The limitation of the gradient of torque change of the DCT is considered, A problem that the actual total torque responses of the electric motor and the engine exceeds the limitation requirement of the gradient of torque change of the DCT is effectively solved, and a drivability of the whole vehicle is improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2025
    Assignee: GREAT WALL MOTOR COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventors: Xiao Wang, Lei Zhang, Jie Zhang, Hailan Wang
  • Patent number: 12195007
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for improving a Driver Monitoring System (DMS) of a vehicle. The system includes a controller in operable communication with the DMS of the vehicle. The controller is configured to, by a processor: receive a signal from the DMS that a camera of the DMS is unable to monitor a driver of the vehicle, determine a cause of the camera being unable to monitor the driver, and adjust an escalation algorithm of the DMS based on the determined cause of the camera being unable to monitor the driver. The escalation algorithm is configured to perform actions based on activity of the driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Milad Jalaliyazdi, Peitong Hu, Parisa Mahvelatishamsabadi, Reza Zarringhalam, Kurt L. Fischer
  • Patent number: 12198382
    Abstract: A method for calibrating extrinsic parameters (182) of a trailer camera (132d, 132e, 132f) supported by a trailer (106) attached to a tow vehicle (102). The method includes determining a three-dimensional feature map (162) from one or more vehicle images (133) received from a camera (132a, 132b, 132c) supported by the tow vehicle and identifying reference points (163) within the three-dimensional feature map. The method includes detecting the reference points within one or more trailer images received from the trailer camera after the vehicle and the trailer moved a predefined distance in the forward direction. The method also includes determining a trailer camera location (172) of the trailer camera (132d, 132e, 132f) relative to the three-dimensional feature map (162) and determining a trailer reference point (184) based on the trailer camera location. The method also includes determining extrinsic parameters (182) of the trailer camera relative to the trailer reference point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: Continental Autonomous Mobility US, LLC
    Inventors: James Hockridge Critchley, Xin Yu, Eduardo Jose Ramirez Llanos
  • Patent number: 12181876
    Abstract: The present teaching relates to method, system, medium, and implementations for sensor calibration. An ego vehicle determines whether a sensor deployed on the ego vehicle to facilitate autonomous driving of the ego vehicle needs to be calibrated and sends, if it is determined that the sensor needs to be calibrated, a request for assistance in collaborative calibration of the sensor, with a first position of the ego vehicle or a first configuration of the sensor with respect to the ego vehicle. When a response of the request is received, an assisting vehicle is indicated to travel to be near the ego vehicle to facilitate the calibration of the sensor by collaborating with the moving ego vehicle and the ego vehicle coordinates with the assisting vehicle to enable the sensor to acquire information of a target present on the assisting vehicle for the collaborative calibration of the sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2024
    Assignee: PlusAI, Inc.
    Inventor: Ankur Agarwal
  • Patent number: 12179792
    Abstract: Command determination for controlling a vehicle, such as an autonomous vehicle, is described. In an example, individual requests for controlling the vehicle relative to each of multiple objects or conditions in an environment are received (substantially simultaneously) and based on the request type and/or additional information associated with a request, command controllers can determine control commands (e.g., different accelerations, steering angles, steering rates, and the like) associated with each of the one or more requests. The command controllers may have different controller gains (which may be based on functions of distance, distance ratios, time to estimated collisions, etc.) for determining the controls and a control command may be determined based on the all such determined controls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2024
    Assignee: Zoox, Inc.
    Inventors: Abishek Krishna Akella, Janek Hudecek, Marin Kobilarov, Marc Wimmershoff
  • Patent number: 12172646
    Abstract: Aspects of the present invention relate to control system (100) for controlling a transition of a vehicle between a first driving mode and a second driving mode. The control system comprises one or more controllers, configured to: receive (302) a first request signal indicative of an occupant-initiated preparatory request; receive (303) a second request signal indicative of an occupant-initiated transition request; determine (304) a first control signal for controlling output of information to an occupant of the vehicle indicative of the driving environment in dependence on receipt of the first request signal; determine (308) a second control signal for causing transition of the vehicle from the first driving mode to the second driving mode in dependence on receipt of both the first request signal and the second request signal; and output (306, 310) the first or second control signal to a vehicle system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Assignee: Jaguar Land Rover Limited
    Inventors: Lee Skrypchuk, Simon Thompson, Jed Clark, Kirsten Revell, Neville Stanton
  • Patent number: 12171159
    Abstract: Autonomous vehicle navigation is disclosed. A tangible computer readable medium includes instructions which, when executed cause a machine to divide an image of an area being approached by a lawn mower into a grid of separate image sections. Each of the image sections corresponds to a respective portion of the area being approached. For each of the image sections in the grid, the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to calculate, using an image recognition algorithm, a percentage of the image section categorized as corresponding with unmowable material and assign a result value based on a comparison between the calculated percentage and one or more movement thresholds. The instructions, when executed, also cause the machine to instruct a drive system to control movement of the lawn mower based on an arrangement of result values in the grid of the image sections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Assignee: Hydro-Gear Limited Partnership
    Inventor: Eric S. Phanco
  • Patent number: 12165422
    Abstract: A mobile object control device of an embodiment includes a lane marking candidate recognizer configured to recognize candidates for a lane marking that demarcates a traveling lane in which a mobile object travels from an image including surroundings of the mobile object captured by an imaging unit, a virtual line setter configured to set at least one or more virtual lines outside of the lane marking recognized in the past as a lane marking that demarcates the traveling lane, when viewed from the mobile object, and a lane marking searcher configured to search for a lane marking that demarcates a current traveling lane of the mobile object on the basis of the lane marking candidates recognized by the lane marking candidate recognizer and the one or more virtual lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Koki Aizawa, Kosuke Nakanishi, Takashi Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 12159540
    Abstract: A method for validating, with a first computing device onboard an aircraft, a flight plan having a set of first flight parameters comprising respective first values, loaded onto the first computing device of an aircraft includes receiving from a second source, by the first computing device, data comprising a set of second flight parameters having respective second values corresponding to the set of first flight parameters. The method includes comparing the first values of the set of first flight parameters to the second values of the corresponding set of second flight parameters by the first computing device, determining, whether an implausible condition exists. When an implausible condition is determined, the method includes automatically displaying a first notification on a display device in the aircraft, requesting a modification to the set of first flight parameters, and receiving a modification to the loaded flight plan based on the notification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2024
    Assignee: GE Aviation Systems Limited
    Inventor: Stefan Schwindt
  • Patent number: 12157436
    Abstract: An information processing apparatus is provided which includes a controller configured to control a vehicle that is equipped with a storage device in which baggage can be deposited by a user, and a storing section for storing cushioning material that can be used by the user when the user deposits the baggage in the storage device, wherein the controller performs to generate a command for replenishment of the cushioning material in the storing section when a remaining amount of the cushioning material in the storing section is less than a predetermined amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kazuyuki Inoue, Yurika Tanaka, Satoshi Komamine, Go Tanaka, Hiromitsu Fujii
  • Patent number: 12145604
    Abstract: A vehicle having a control element for the speed, acceleration or direction of the vehicle, two identical or redundant computing devices (e.g., each implemented as a system on chip (SoC)) to separately generate driving commands in parallel during autonomous driving of the vehicle, and a command controller coupled between the control element and the computing devices. In response to the commands from the identical or redundant computing devices, the command controller determines whether the commands are identical (or agree with each other); and if so, the command controller forwards one of the commands to the control element for execution. When there is a mismatch in the commands from the computing devices, the command controller tests the memories of the computing devices to identify a faulty one of the computing devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2024
    Assignee: Lodestar Licensing Group LLC
    Inventor: Gil Golov
  • Patent number: 12147237
    Abstract: An objective of the present invention is to make it possible to obtain, with a simple operation, a target route for autonomous travel suited to, for example, a user's sense of values. A target route generation system for a work vehicle includes a storage part 30A that stores basic data necessary for generating a target route P for autonomous travel, a priority item selection part 34 that prompts selection of a priority item with regard to generation of the target route P, and a target route generation part 30D that generates the target route P based on the basic data and the selected priority item.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2024
    Assignee: Yanmar Power Technology Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yasuto Nishii
  • Patent number: 12142150
    Abstract: Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft can provide opportunities to incorporate aerial transportation into transportation networks for cities and metropolitan areas. However, VTOL aircraft may be noisy. To accommodate this, the aircraft may utilize onboard sensors, offboard sensing, network, and predictive temporal data for noise signature mitigation. By building a composite understanding of real data offboard the aircraft, the aircraft can make adjustments to the way it is flying and verify this against a predicted noise signature (via computational methods) to reduce environmental impact. This might be realized via a change in translative speed, propeller speed, or choices in propulsor usage (e.g., a quiet propulsor vs. a high thrust, noisier propulsor). These noise mitigation actions may also be decided at the network level rather than the vehicle level to balance concerns across a city and relieve computing constraints on the aircraft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2024
    Assignee: JOBY AERO, INC.
    Inventor: Ian Villa
  • Patent number: 12139941
    Abstract: A decentralized control unit of a motor vehicle, the decentralized control unit having a communication controller, which when installed, communicates via an antenna arrangement with a wireless communication network external to the vehicle by means of a mobile communication standard in order to provide a peripheral function. According to the invention, the communication controller, when installed, generates digital data signals in a preprocessing routine from antenna signals received via the antenna arrangement, and communicates the data signals to a central control unit of the motor vehicle via a communication network internal to the motor vehicle for completion of the peripheral function there.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2024
    Assignee: Brose Fahrzeugteile SE & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft, Bamberg
    Inventors: Thomas Liedtke, Bernd Herthan
  • Patent number: 12131656
    Abstract: Embodiments described herein include a delivery system having unmanned aerial delivery vehicles and a logistics network for control and monitoring. In certain embodiments, a ground station provides a location for interfacing between the delivery vehicles, packages carried by the vehicles and users. In certain embodiments, the delivery vehicles autonomously navigate from one ground station to another. In certain embodiments, the ground stations provide navigational aids that help the delivery vehicles locate the position of the ground station with increased accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2023
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2024
    Assignee: Singularity University
    Inventors: Andreas Raptopoulos, Darlene Damm, Martin Ling, Ido Baruchin
  • Patent number: 12128928
    Abstract: A method is provided for offloading autonomous vehicle (AV) data to a download pole. The AV may include a transceiver. The download pole may include a transceiver. The method may include identifying, by the AV, the download pole in a parking spot that is close to the AV. The method may also include establishing short range wireless link between the AV and the download pole. The method may also include positioning the AV so that the transceiver of the AV is aligned with the transceiver of the download pole based on instructions received over the Bluetooth connection from the download pole. The method may further include establishing a first link between the transceiver of the AV and the transceiver of the download pole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2024
    Assignee: GM Cruise Holdings LLC
    Inventors: Min Wang, Ryan Suess, Hongen Tu, Kevin Newman
  • Patent number: 12127498
    Abstract: A cutting system includes knives attached to a continuously moving belt-type carrier. The carrier motion moves the knives past stationary counterknife fingers which are attached to or uniform with a cutterbar, as the cutting system is driven through a field of crop stalks, which are cut by the interaction between the knives and counterknives. One or more sensing devices produce signals or images related to the condition of the knives when the knives are moving past the sensing devices. A processing unit processes the signals or images and derives therefrom one or more parameters representative of the condition of the knives, and compares the parameters to a reference, to thereby monitor the condition. An agricultural implement such as a combine harvester, can be equipped with the cutting system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2024
    Assignee: CNH Industrial America LLC
    Inventors: Bart M. A. Missotten, Jasper Vanlerberghe, Sam Reubens, Lucas Deruyter, Frederik Tallir, Dré W. J. Jongmans, Sahand Hajshekoleslami, Pieter Van Overschelde
  • Patent number: 12122323
    Abstract: A method for operating a vehicle includes monitoring for a presence of an assigned authorization element in the vehicle during operating the vehicle and operating the vehicle in a secure state when the assigned authorization element is not detected, where a performance parameter of the vehicle is at least temporarily modified in the secure state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2024
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Oliver Kraemer
  • Patent number: 12124267
    Abstract: A system can autonomously or semi-autonomously guide a driver to a dock or parking location. The system can include a sensor or sensors that collect data to create a map of the dock or parking location, a user interface that allows the driver to select a dock or a feature in the map and to determine the final pose of the tractor and trailer, and a planner that creates a kinematically-correct and obstacle-free trajectory from the current location to the dock or parking location. The system can provide user aids, such as a ground guide avatar or avatars, that provide the distance to the dock, speed and turning directions, or other guidance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2023
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2024
    Assignee: Robotic Research OpCo, LLC
    Inventors: Alberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy
  • Patent number: 12122436
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for worker protection system with ultra-wideband (UWB) based anchors. One or more wayside units placed on or near a track may be configured to form a work zone network, based on ultra-wideband (UWB) communications, corresponding to a work zone in an area surrounding or in proximity to the one or more wayside units. When the work zone network is formed, at least one wayside unit of the one or more wayside units may be configured to obtain ranging information to a train traversing the track, based on communications of UWB signals with at least one train-mounted unit deployed on the train, and the one or more wayside units are configured to generate, based on the ranging information, notifications relating to the train and/or the work zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2023
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2024
    Assignee: METROM RAIL, LLC
    Inventors: Richard C. Carlson, Kurt A. Gunther, Sara J. Woitel