Patents Examined by Russell Frejd
  • Patent number: 11933021
    Abstract: This description provides an autonomous or semi-autonomous excavation vehicle that is capable of navigating through a dig site and carrying an excavation routine using a system of sensors physically mounted to the excavation vehicle. The sensors collect one or more of spatial, imaging, measurement, and location data representing the status of the excavation vehicle and its surrounding environment. Based on the collected data, the excavation vehicle executes instructions to perform an excavation routine by excavating earth from a hole using an excavation tool positioned at a single location within the site. The excavation vehicle is also able to carry out numerous other tasks, such as checking the volume of excavated earth in an excavation tool, navigating the excavation vehicle over a distance while continuously excavating earth from a below surface depth, and preparing a digital terrain model of the site as part of a process for creating the excavation routine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: BUILT ROBOTICS INC.
    Inventors: Noah Austen Ready-Campbell, Gaurav Jitendra Kikani, Andrew Liang, Pradeesh Suganthan, James Alan Emerick, Sarah Marie Thornton, Ammar Idris Kothari, Edward Joseph Garza
  • Patent number: 11932225
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for controlling operation of a trailer brake system associated with an agricultural vehicle-trailer combination, comprising: determining abase value for a temperature associated with the trailer brake system; determining a coupling force between the vehicle and the trailer; determining a corrected value for the temperature associated with the trailer brake system in dependence on the determined coupling force; and controlling one or more components of the vehicle trailer combination in dependence on the corrected value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: AGCO International GmbH
    Inventors: Philipp Kirmaier, Josef Ammann, Bernhard Höldrich
  • Patent number: 11926316
    Abstract: A driving assist ECU determines that a current situation is a specific situation where it is predicted that there is no object that is about to enter an adjacent lane from an area outside of a host vehicle road on which a host vehicle is traveling, when a road-side object is detected at a part around an edge of the adjacent lane, and/or when a white line painted to define the adjacent lane is detected at the part around the edge of the adjacent lane and no object near the detected white line is detected. The driving assist ECU does not perform a steering control for avoiding a collision, the steering control for letting the vehicle enter the adjacent lane, when it is not determined that the current situation is the specific situation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuhei Miyamoto, Kohei Morotomi
  • Patent number: 11926355
    Abstract: The system can include a dispatcher and a plurality of cars. However, the system 100 can additionally or alternatively include any other suitable set of components. The system 100 functions to enable platooning of the plurality of cars (e.g., by way of the method S100).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Parallel Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew Soule, John Howard, Benjamin Stuart Stabler
  • Patent number: 11928980
    Abstract: A heavy-duty interactive (HDi) system may include a heavy-duty vehicle; a work tool installed on the heavy-duty vehicle; a memory that stores a plurality of patterns representing operation events for the heavy-duty vehicle; a first sensor affixed to the heavy-duty vehicle that collects first sensor data as the heavy-duty vehicle is operated; a second sensor affixed to the work tool that collects second sensor data as the work tool is operated; and a controller operatively coupled to the first sensor, the second sensor, and the memory. The controller may be configured to identify a heavy-duty vehicle operation event by comparing at least one of the first sensor data and the second sensor data with the plurality of patterns in the memory, and associate the work tool with the heavy-duty vehicle based on a comparison of the first sensor data and the second sensor data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Brian B. Steketee, David W. Baarman, Mark Strayer, Thad Senti
  • Patent number: 11926333
    Abstract: As a farming machine travels through a field of plants, the farming machine operates in a normal operational state to perform one or more farming operations. The farming machine detects an operational failure of a component of the farming machine using measurements obtained from one or more sensors coupled to and monitoring the farming machine. The operational failure of the component impacts performance of a first farming operation of the farming operations. The farming machine configures the farming machine to operate in a remedial operational state. In the remedial operational state, the farming machine diagnoses the operational failure of the component using the obtained measurements. In the remedial operational state, the farming machine selects a solution operation to address the operational failure of the component based on the diagnosis. The farming machine performs the determined solution operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: BLUE RIVER TECHNOLOGY INC.
    Inventors: John William Peake, James Patrick Ostrowski, Erik Ehn, Kent Michael Anderson, Benjamin Ray Chostner
  • Patent number: 11919552
    Abstract: A train control system uses sensory inputs related to operational parameters of a train for automatically scoring or classifying particular train driving strategies implemented by a machine learning model for a particular train operating on a predefined route or route segment. The train control system includes one or more predefined rules related to one or more of a first set of the operational parameters, wherein each of the rules defines a Boolean, true or false classification based on whether a particular train driving strategy results in one or more of the first set of operational parameters complying with the rule. One or more comparative key performance indicators are related to one or more of a second set of operational parameters, and are used to rank the particular train driving strategy for the predefined route or route segment relative to a different train driving strategy for the same or comparable route or route segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: Progress Rail Services Corporation
    Inventors: Sammy Akif, Marcos Blanco Fernandes, Joseph Maverick White, John William Brand
  • Patent number: 11919498
    Abstract: A method for determining unstable behavior of a trailer of a vehicle combination, the vehicle combination having N members, one of the members being a tractor vehicle and at least one further member being the trailer, the unstable behavior of the trailer being determined depending on a driving-dynamics actual characteristic variable of the tractor vehicle, includes: determining at least one driving-dynamics actual characteristic variable of the trailer, the at least one driving-dynamics actual characteristic variable characterizing a current driving-dynamics state of the trailer and following from a measurement by at least one sensor in the trailer; and determining at least one driving-dynamics target characteristic variable of the trailer, the at least one driving-dynamics target characteristic variable following from the at least one driving-dynamics actual characteristic variable of the tractor vehicle by using a kinematic model depending on geometric characteristic variables of the vehicle combination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: ZF CV SYSTEMS EUROPE BV
    Inventors: Klaus Plaehn, Benjamin Bieber
  • Patent number: 11919510
    Abstract: The presently disclosed subject matter includes a computerized method and a control system mountable on a vehicle for autonomously controlling the vehicle and enabling to execute a point-turn while avoiding collision with nearby obstacles. More specifically, the proposed technique enables an autonomous vehicle, characterized by an asymmetric contour, to execute a collision free point-turn, in an area crowded with obstacles. The disclosed method enables execution of a point turn quickly, without requiring the vehicle to stop.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: ELTA SYSTEMS LTD.
    Inventors: Ofir Cohen, Dina Appelman
  • Patent number: 11913541
    Abstract: In a vehicle including a shift-by-wire (SBW) transmission which may be parked in the neutral gear position of the transmission, method for controlling parking thereof includes determining whether the vehicle is in a situation in which neutral parking is required according to sensor information, when the vehicle is stopped, outputting first information configured to get a confirmation on whether a driver intends to perform the neutral parking from the driver, when the controller concludes that the vehicle is in the situation in which the neutral parking is required and when a park (P) gear position is input or an ignition of the vehicle is turned off, and controlling the SBW transmission to shift to a neutral (N) gear position, when there is an agreement input as a response to the first information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Corporation
    Inventor: Jong Hoon Ahn
  • Patent number: 11913794
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method for calculating a trajectory of a mobile platform. An optimization problem whose total cost function depends on one or several boundary cost functions is solved. A first boundary cost function is, in at least one portion, a continuous and non-constant function of the position of the mobile platform. By way of continuous boundary cost functions, it is possible to achieve a continuous total cost function by which abrupt changes in the motion control of the mobile platform can be avoided. The boundary cost functions can be based on different elementary cost functions that make possible simple and flexible configuration of the motion control system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
    Inventor: Fabian Moik
  • Patent number: 11912216
    Abstract: A method for adjusting or controlling at least one actuator in a vehicle (1), for example an electrical servo motor (2) for a seat (3), a tripping mechanism of an airbag (4), or a display device (5) in the vehicle (1), comprising the following steps: capturing an image or a video of a preferably sitting person in the vehicle (1) through an image capturing unit (6) in 2D or 3D arranged in the vehicle (1), extracting the body data of the person through a data processing unit (7) and generation of a body data model (8) from the body data through a data processing unit (7), comparing the body data model (8) with a plurality of reference body poses (11) obtained from a database (10) through a comparator unit (9) and selecting a corresponding reference body pose (11), activating an actuator assigned to the selected reference body pose (11) with a setting of the actuator assigned to the selected reference body pose (11) through an activation unit (12).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: emotion3D GmbH
    Inventors: Michael Hödlmoser, Florian Seitner, Sebastian Beyer
  • Patent number: 11914380
    Abstract: A system includes a conveyance vehicle, and a work machine that loads materials onto the conveyance vehicle. A first processor of a work machine determines a target stop position of a conveyance vehicle based on a position of the work machine, a target offset distance, and the direction of the loading position. A second processor of the conveyance vehicle acquires data indicative of the target stop position of the conveyance vehicle from the work machine. The second processor controls the conveyance vehicle to move the conveyance vehicle to the target stop position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: KOMATSU LTD.
    Inventors: Masanori Aizawa, Kenjiro Shimada
  • Patent number: 11912268
    Abstract: Techniques for accurately predicting and avoiding collisions with objects detected in an environment of a vehicle are discussed herein. A vehicle safety system can implement a model to output data indicating an intersection probability between the object and a portion of the vehicle in the future. The model may employ a rear collision filter, a distance filter, and a time to stop filter to determine whether a predicted collision may be a false positive, in which case the techniques may include refraining from reporting such predicted collision to other another vehicle computing device to control the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: ZOOX, INC.
    Inventors: Noureldin Ehab Hendy, Cooper Stokes Sloan, Li Yon Tan, Feng Tian, Chuang Wang
  • Patent number: 11915168
    Abstract: Embodiments include methods, systems, and computer program products method for aerial vehicle in-flight servicing. The computer-implemented method includes monitoring, using a processor, an aerial vehicle status of a delivery aerial vehicle. The processor compares the aerial vehicle status of the aerial vehicle to a delivery schedule associated with the delivery aerial vehicle. The processor further assigns a service aerial vehicle to provide service in response to the aerial vehicle status conflicting with the delivery schedule associated with the delivery aerial vehicle. The method further couples the delivery aerial vehicle to the service aerial vehicle while the delivery aerial vehicle and service aerial vehicle are in-flight. The method further provides power source assistance or aerial vehicle component assistance to the delivery aerial vehicle by the service aerial vehicle while the delivery aerial vehicle and service aerial vehicle are in-flight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Sarbajit K. Rakshit, Eric V. Kline, Brian Beaman
  • Patent number: 11913802
    Abstract: Disclosed herein an autonomous driving system includes a first sensor installed in a vehicle, having a field of view facing in front of the vehicle, and configured to acquire front image data; a second sensor selected from the group consisting of a radar and a light detection and ranging, installed in the vehicle, having a detection field of view facing in front of the vehicle, and configured to acquire forward detection data; a communicator configured to receive a high definition map at a current location of the vehicle from an external server; and a controller including a processor configured to process the high definition map, the front image data, and the forward detection data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: HL KLEMOVE CORP.
    Inventor: Taehan Kim
  • Patent number: 11904893
    Abstract: Provided are methods for operating a vehicle, which can include receiving, from one or more of at least one sensor placed within a vehicle or an application on a communication device connected to the vehicle, data indicative of at least one of an action or an appearance of a passenger of the vehicle; determining, based on the at least one of the action or the appearance, that a modification of at least one operational parameter of the vehicle is required; and modifying, in response to the determining, the at least one operational parameter of the vehicle. Systems and computer program products are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: Motional AD LLC
    Inventors: Grigoriy Dubrovskiy, Aditya Sreekumar, Siddharth Menon
  • Patent number: 11903337
    Abstract: A work vehicle includes a chassis, and a work implement movably coupled to the chassis and configured to perform a field-engaging function. The work machine also includes an actuator coupled to the work implement and configured to adjust a position of the work implement relative to a ground surface. The work machine further includes a controller in communication with an output device and a communication module. The controller is configured to monitor a location of the work machine via the communication module. The controller is also configured to load a field map from a field map database, the field map identifying at least one impact event comprising a geotagged location. The controller is further configured to display an alert via the output device in response to the location of the work machine approaching within a predetermined distance from the geotagged location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: DEERE & COMPANY
    Inventor: Austin J. Karst
  • Patent number: 11904860
    Abstract: A control apparatus for a vehicle includes a preceding vehicle detector, a course change predictor, an oncoming vehicle detector, an oncoming-vehicle arrival-time calculator, a crossing predictor, and a following-control corrector. The course change predictor predicts a course change of a preceding vehicle detected by the preceding vehicle detector in a direction crossing an oncoming lane. When the course change is predicted, the oncoming-vehicle arrival-time calculator calculates an estimated arrival time of an oncoming vehicle detected by the oncoming vehicle detector to the preceding vehicle. The crossing predictor compares the estimated arrival time with a necessary crossing time, and predicts, when the estimated arrival time is shorter than the necessary crossing time, that the preceding vehicle will not travel across the oncoming lane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Shinya Kudo
  • Patent number: 11906324
    Abstract: A cleaning route determination system includes an analyzer that analyzes behavior of airflow and particles inside a facility, a map generator that generates a dust accumulation map indicating one or more dust accumulation areas inside the facility and one or more dust amounts corresponding to the one or more dust accumulation areas, and a route calculator that determines a first route from second routes. Each of the second routes is a route for a cleaner to pass through, within a certain period of time, at least one of the one or more dust accumulation areas. A total amount indicating a sum of dust amounts corresponding to dust accumulation areas included the first route is largest among total amounts corresponding to the second routes, each of the total amounts indicating a sum of dust amounts corresponding to dust accumulation areas included in each of the second routes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co. Ltd.
    Inventor: Tetsuya Takayanagi