Patents Examined by Muhammad Shafi
  • Patent number: 11965746
    Abstract: A travel coordination system determines a route for a rider using a public transit system and a provider. The travel coordination system may determine route that describes a public transit stop at which the rider exits the public transit system, and the travel coordination system can route a provider so that the provider transports the rider when the rider arrives at the public transit stop. The travel coordination system may update the rider's route after transmitting the route to the rider. The travel coordination system may determine a public transit vehicle on which the rider is traveling or predict the rider's destination. If multiple riders are traveling on the public transit vehicle and if those riders exit the public transit station using the same public transit stop, the travel coordination system may match those riders together for transport by a provider.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel Iland, Andrew Irish, Srinivasan Rajagopal
  • Patent number: 11958364
    Abstract: A torque security system for a vehicle is provided. The system receives a signal from a sensor coupled to a motor shaft of an electric motor and determines an acceleration of the electric motor, based on the signal from the sensor that indicates an amount of rotation of the motor shaft. The system determines an internal torque between the motor shaft and an input gear coupled to the motor shaft, based on the acceleration of the electric motor and an inertia of the electric motor and a gearbox. The powertrain of the vehicle comprises the gearbox and the electric motor, and the input gear couples the electric motor to the gearbox. The system determines whether the internal torque exceeds a threshold torque, and in response to determining that the internal torque exceeds the threshold torque, the system reduces power output to the electric motor. The system also diagnoses the health of the gearbox.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: Rivian IP Holdings, LLC
    Inventors: Kang Wang, Younes Sangsefidi, Chia-Chou Yeh, Brian Harries
  • Patent number: 11951879
    Abstract: A seating system for a vehicle, comprising, from the front to the rear of the vehicle: a first seat, a second seat, a third seat, the first seat, second seat, and third seat being located one behind the other in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the second seat being provided with a mechanism configured to cause, at least in an easy entry mode, the transition of the second seat from a position of use to an advanced position of non-use configured to facilitate lateral access to the third seat in the third row, and wherein a control device configured to limit automatically the amplitude of the kinematics of the mechanism, by the detection of an indirect contact between the second seat and the first seat, when the mechanism of the second seat is operated, in easy entry mode, from the position of use to the advanced position of non-use.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: FAURECIA Sièges d'Automobile
    Inventors: Philippe Pedronno, Farouk Bouzid
  • Patent number: 11952116
    Abstract: Described herein are systems for roof scan using an unmanned aerial vehicle. For example, some methods include capturing, using an unmanned aerial vehicle, an overview image of a roof of a building from above the roof; presenting a suggested bounding polygon overlaid on the overview image to a user; determining a bounding polygon based on the suggested bounding polygon and user edits; based on the bounding polygon, determining a flight path including a sequence of poses of the unmanned aerial vehicle with respective fields of view at a fixed height that collectively cover the bounding polygon; fly the unmanned aerial vehicle to a sequence of scan poses with horizontal positions matching respective poses of the flight path and vertical positions determined to maintain a consistent distance above the roof; and scanning the roof from the sequence of scan poses to generate a three-dimensional map of the roof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: Skydio, Inc.
    Inventors: Peter Henry, Jack Zhu, Brian Richman, Harrison Zheng, Hayk Martirosyan, Matthew Donahoe, Abraham Galton Bachrach, Adam Bry
  • Patent number: 11952001
    Abstract: Driving simulations may be generated based on driving log data and used to validate autonomous vehicle safety systems. A driving simulation system may receive driving log data from autonomous vehicles and determine events which caused a vehicle to diverge from a planned trajectory. Driving simulations may be generated based on the driving log data, and executed using a simulated vehicle that follows the initial planned trajectory of the autonomous vehicle. The driving simulations may be analyzed to detect potential collisions and near misses, and to determine success conditions for the behaviors of vehicle safety systems. Driving simulations and associated success conditions may be aggregated and used in validation suites for vehicle controllers and/or vehicle safety systems, thereby providing more comprehensive and robust autonomous vehicle validation based on real-world driving scenarios.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: ZOOX, INC.
    Inventors: Chuang Wang, Leonardo Poubel Orenstein, Tod Cameron Semple, James Graham Dolan, Takahiro Baba, Matthew Lotocki
  • Patent number: 11945597
    Abstract: A method of controlling an electric aircraft that has a plurality of actuators that includes a plurality of electric propulsion units includes: receiving force and moment commands for the electric aircraft; determining control commands for the plurality of actuators based on the desired force and moment commands by solving an optimization problem that comprises a noise minimization term for minimizing noise generated by the electric propulsion units; and controlling the plurality of actuators according to the determined control commands to meet the force and moment commands for the electric aircraft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: ARCHER AVIATION, INC.
    Inventors: Geoffrey C. Bower, Nansi Xue, Alan Chen, Benjamin Goldman, Nathan Depenbusch
  • Patent number: 11938954
    Abstract: A refuse vehicle has a chassis supporting a plurality of wheels, as well as a motor. A vehicle body is also supported by the chassis and defines a receptacle for storing refuse. A lifting system is coupled to the vehicle body and is movable between a first position and a second position vertically offset from the first position. The refuse vehicle also has a processing unit in communication with the lifting system and the motor. The processing unit is configured to access and toggle through a plurality of preset operational modes stored within a memory to adjust performance parameters of the refuse vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: Oshkosh Corporation
    Inventors: Cody Clifton, Jerry Shirley, Josh Rocholl, Zhenyi Wei
  • Patent number: 11932256
    Abstract: The disclosure generally pertains to systems and methods for identifying a location of an occupant in a vehicle. In an example method, a processor deconvolves a vocal utterance by an occupant of a vehicle and also determines an angle of arrival of the vocal utterance. The location of the occupant in the vehicle is then identified by the processor based on evaluating the deconvolved vocal utterance and the angle of arrival of the vocal utterance. Deconvolving the vocal utterance can involve applying a cabin impulse response to the vocal utterance for eliminating undesirable effects that may be imposed upon the vocal utterance by acoustic characteristics of the cabin of the vehicle (echo, sound reflections, sound damping, reverberation etc.). In some applications, the processor may refer to a lookup table to estimate a location of the occupant in the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Ranjani Rangarajan, Leah Busch, Karthik Krishnamurthy, Nikhitha Bekkanti
  • Patent number: 11932285
    Abstract: Communications are managed and prioritized by a machine learning process in a vehicle with automated driver assistance. It is detected that the vehicle is currently being operated in manual mode by a human driver. It is detected that a telecommunication device located within the vehicle is receiving a communication. The communication is classified according to a priority. The communication is acted upon based on the priority classification. The driver state is assessed at the conclusion of the communication. The vehicle returns to the manual driving mode if the driver state is compatible with the manual driving mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Shikhar Kwatra, Sushain Pandit, Sarbajit K. Rakshit
  • Patent number: 11926285
    Abstract: A remote communication system includes a portable device; and a fixed system. The fixed system includes main communication modules; and a position estimating unit configured to estimate a position of the portable device, based on an incident angle of a signal from the portable device, upon detecting the signal by antennas provided in the main communication modules. When there are two main communication modules for which the incident angle is known, the position of the portable device is estimated based on the incident angle. When there is one main communication module for which the incident angle is known, the position of the portable device is estimated based on the incident angle and a received radio wave intensity of the signal. When there is no main communication module for which the incident angle is known, the position of the portable device is estimated based on the received radio wave intensity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: ALPS ALPINE CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshihisa Kishimoto, Keigo Wakana, Daisuke Takai, Yukimitsu Yamada, Mitsuharu Nakasato, Kazuma Sato
  • Patent number: 11922806
    Abstract: An automobile vehicle continuous validation system includes a backend collecting data from a vehicle fleet and wirelessly communicating with the vehicle fleet. The backend is in wireless communication with at least one client. A vehicle module is provided on-board individual ones of multiple automobile vehicles of the vehicle fleet and performing an on-board vehicle validation analysis. A fleet-based validation module provided either at the backend or cloud based manages data defining a configuration of and a capability of the multiple automobile vehicles of the vehicle fleet. A validation manager generates validation tasks based on a user's definition or a desired production of the validation tasks of the validation analysis and a fleet vehicle availability. A client-side module remote from the multiple automobile vehicles of the vehicle fleet has interface items applied by the at least one client seeking to perform the validation analysis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Shige Wang, Wei Tong, Shuqing Zeng, Xiaofeng Frank Song, Sourav Dey, Praveen Choudhury
  • Patent number: 11922740
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and apparatuses described herein are directed to vehicle self-diagnostics. For example, a vehicle can include sensors monitoring vehicle components, for perceiving objects and obstacles in an environment, and for navigating the vehicle to a destination. Data from these and other sensors can be leveraged to determine a behavior associated with the vehicle. Based at least in part on determining the behavior, a vehicle can determine a fault and query one or more information sources associated with the vehicle to diagnose the fault. Based on diagnosing the fault, the vehicle can determine instructions for redressing the fault. The vehicle can diagnose the fault in near-real time, that is, while driving or otherwise in the field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: ZOOX, INC.
    Inventors: Johannes Edren, Moritz Boecker, Joseph Funke
  • Patent number: 11906639
    Abstract: In some examples, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) may determine a first acceleration of the UAV based at least on information from an onboard accelerometer received at least one of prior to or during takeoff. The UAV may determine a second acceleration of the UAV based at least on location information received via a satellite positioning system receiver at least one of prior to or during takeoff. The UAV may further determine a relative heading of the UAV based at least in part on the first acceleration and the second acceleration, and may be directed to navigate an environment based at least on the determined relative heading.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: SKYDIO, INC.
    Inventors: Anurag Makineni, Kristen Marie Holtz, Gareth Benoit Cross, Hayk Martirosyan
  • Patent number: 11896536
    Abstract: Systems and methods of wheelchair systems having a companion control mode are disclosed. The wheelchair system includes a companion and a wheelchair. The wheelchair includes one or more wheels, at least one actuator coupled to the one or more wheels, a processing device, and a non-transitory, processor-readable storage medium in communication with the processing device. The non-transitory, processor-readable storage medium includes one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the processing device to determine the companion, generate a companion profile based on the determined companion, determine a movement of the companion, and actuate the at least one actuator to drive the one or more wheels to follow the movement of the companion. The actuation of the at least one actuator to drive the one or more wheels to follow the movement of the companion is an autonomous control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: Toyota Motor North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Dario Jose Villarreal Suarez, Sarah Darrow, Douglas A. Moore, Christopher Lee
  • Patent number: 11898629
    Abstract: A vehicle drive system includes a first prime mover, a transmission, a power take-off (PTO), a lubrication system for the transmission and the PTO, and a control system. The transmission is powered by the first prime mover. The transmission is configured to rotate a drive shaft of the vehicle. The PTO is connected to the transmission at a first interface. The PTO includes the first interface and a second interface. The control system is configured to control fluid flow through the lubrication system for at least one mode where the input section of the PTO is stationary and the output section rotates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: Power Technology Holdings LLC
    Inventors: Joseph T. Dalum, William C. Mammen, Jr., Aaron Scott Kim Vanselow
  • Patent number: 11895948
    Abstract: One or more information maps are obtained by an agricultural work machine. The one or more information maps map one or more agricultural characteristic values at different geographic locations of a field. An in-situ sensor on the agricultural work machine senses an agricultural characteristic as the agricultural work machine moves through the field. A predictive map generator generates a predictive map that predicts a predictive agricultural characteristic at different locations in the field based on a relationship between the values in the one or more information maps and the agricultural characteristic sensed by the in-situ sensor. The predictive map can be output and used in automated machine control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Nathan R. Vandike, Bhanu Kiran Reddy Palla, Noel W. Anderson
  • Patent number: 11897445
    Abstract: An apparatus for determining a rotational speed of at least one wheel of a vehicle, including: a detection device for detecting an angular velocity of the wheel that is correlated to the rotational speed, wherein the detection device is configured to provide an electrical detection signal depending on the angular velocity detected; a first control unit with a first measurement device for measuring the detection signal, wherein the first control unit is electrically joined to the detection device; and a second control unit with a second measurement device for measuring the detection signal, wherein the second control unit is electrically joined to the detection device, wherein the detection device can be electrically switched or is electrically switched between the first measurement device and the second measurement device. Also described is a related method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: KNORR-BREMSE SYSTEME FUER NUTZFAHRZEUGE GMBH
    Inventors: Christian Kaufmann, Falk Hecker
  • Patent number: 11899449
    Abstract: Autonomous vehicle methods and systems are described herein for communicating with an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to remotely control operation of the vehicle, to detect and remove unauthorized passengers, to deliver loads, to receive registration information for the vehicle, to provide accessibility information to the vehicle, and/or to receive sensor or other environmental data to integrate with an electronic game or other extended reality experience.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY
    Inventors: Ryan Gammelgard, Justin Davis
  • Patent number: 11890947
    Abstract: A work vehicle is configured to perform an activity in a work area. The work vehicle includes a chassis, a plurality of ground engaging members coupled to the chassis for movement of the chassis in the work area, a generator configured to generate energy from performance of the activity of the work vehicle in the work area, an energy storage device connected to the generator to store energy generated by the generator and configured to be charged to an initial charge, and a controller configured to establish an initial charge setting corresponding to the initial charge of the energy storage device based on at least one anticipated activity input of the work vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: DEERE & COMPANY
    Inventors: Stacy K Worley, Briton T. Eastman, Douglas J. Duff
  • Patent number: 11893892
    Abstract: A method of transmitting data across a J1939 network comprises communicating at least one sensor, if not a plurality of sensors or operator interface devices, related to a utility service body data mounted on a chassis across the J1939 network on unassigned PGN/SPN combinations for various uses. Furthermore, at least one controller can evaluate other J1939 data, such as transmission gear and/or engine RPM before permitting operation of at least one function of the utility service body or upfit body with at least some embodiments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: The Heil Co.
    Inventors: Ricardo Castano Salinas, John Forrest Smith, Brian Huston Ham, Ralph Waldo Whitfield, Jr.