Patents Examined by Todd Melton
  • Patent number: 11877616
    Abstract: A safety integrated electrically powered vehicle (SIPV) apparatus comprising an electric vehicle further comprising at least an integrated safety control apparatus wherein the integrated safety control apparatus polls a plurality of sensors to detect current SIPV data related to safe use, a communication link to an integrated safety control apparatus to transmit a plurality of data representative of the current use of a SIPV, and receive from the SIPV system at least an instruction received from the integrated safety control apparatus via the communication link to direct a plurality of control units on the SIPV to modify current operation parameters to bring the SIPV back to a safe use.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Assignee: JJC Imports, LLC
    Inventors: Joshua Viner, Jonathan Viner, Matthew Alfin, Jeffrey Kelsoe, Sean Lim, Paul Van Wieren
  • Patent number: 11872890
    Abstract: A control method of an electric vehicle is proposed. The control method includes generating and realizing a virtual sensation of gear shifting the same as that of a vehicle equipped with a multi-speed transmission, in the electric vehicle without a multi-speed transmission. In particular, virtual gear shift intervention torque and limit torque for each virtual gear shift stage are determined from input variables through a virtual gear shift model by inputting vehicle driving information collected from a vehicle during operation. Then the determined virtual shift intervention torque, the determined limit torque for each virtual shift stage, and motor torque command are applied to operate a motor, thereby realizing the virtual sensation of multi-speed gear shifting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Ji Won Oh, Jeong Soo Eo
  • Patent number: 11874664
    Abstract: Disclosed are a mover robot system and a controlling method for the same, in which a manipulation of a control screen where a remote control is performed is restricted if a mover robot is located in an area other than a driving area, and a locked screen requesting an input of a preset use code is displayed on a terminal, whereby a display of the locked screen is maintained or released in accordance with the input code.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Kyungman Yu, Jongjin Woo, Kyuchun Choi
  • Patent number: 11872892
    Abstract: A method for operating a motor vehicle having multiple drive wheels and multiple drive machines, each drive machines being an electric machine and being allocated to a drive wheel. The method includes: acquiring a total setpoint drive torque; acquiring a current vehicle driving speed, a current steering angle, and optionally, the wheel loads of all drive wheels; determining wheel-individual movement speeds of the drive wheels over the roadway based on the current vehicle driving speed, the current steering angle, a known chassis geometry of the motor vehicle, and optionally, the wheel loads; determining a setpoint wheel speed for each drive wheel based on the determined movement speeds, and distributing the total setpoint drive torque to all drive wheels such that an actual curve path deviates from a setpoint curve path specified by the steering angle; actuating each drive machine to adjust the setpoint wheel speed at the respective drive wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
    Inventors: Martin Nordmann, Lars Bieniek
  • Patent number: 11867510
    Abstract: A navigation system useful for providing speed and heading and other navigational data to a drive system of a moving body, e.g., a vehicle body or a mobile robot, to navigate through a space. The navigation system integrates an inertial navigation system, e.g., a unit or system based on an inertial measurement unit (IMU). with a vision-based navigation system unit or system such that the inertial navigation system can provide real time navigation data and the vision-based navigation can provide periodic, but more accurate, navigation data that is used to correct the inertial navigation system's output. The navigation system was designed with the goal in mind of providing low effort integration of inertial and video data. The methods and devices used in the new navigation system address problems associated with high accuracy dead reckoning systems (such as a typical vision-based navigation system) and enhance performance with low cost IMUs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: Trimble Inc.
    Inventors: Gregory C. Best, Peter Van Wyck Loomis
  • Patent number: 11866043
    Abstract: A power control device is provided for controlling an electric machine in a vehicle trailer. The electric machine is coupled to at least one wheel of the vehicle trailer to be able to convert mechanical rotation power at the wheel and electric power at the electric machine into one another. The power control device is configured to control a mechanical power output and/or a mechanical power input of the electric machine and is configured to control the mechanical power output and/or the mechanical power input of the electric machine as a function of a present driving condition of a towing vehicle pulling the vehicle trailer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
    Inventor: Slawa Knorr
  • Patent number: 11858375
    Abstract: A system for managing residual energy for an electric aircraft, wherein the system includes a battery pack incorporated in the electric aircraft, wherein the battery pack includes a plurality of battery modules and at least a pack monitor unit configured to generate a battery pack datum. The system further includes a charging component connected to the battery pack and a sensor connected to the charging component and configured to detect at least an electrical parameter of the charging component and the electric aircraft and generate a residual datum as a function of the at least an electrical parameter and the battery pack datum. The system further includes a computing device configured to receive the residual datum from the sensor, identify a residual element, generate an alert datum as a function of the residual element, and execute a security measure as a function of the alert datum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: BETA AIR, LLC
    Inventor: Herman Wiegman
  • Patent number: 11851045
    Abstract: A series hybrid vehicle control method for controlling a vehicle that has a battery, an electric power generating motor, a drive motor and an internal combustion engine. The battery charged with the electric power from the electric power generating motor that generates electric power by being driven by the internal combustion engine, and charged with the electric power regenerated by regenerative braking of the drive motor. The drive motor drives a drive wheel. The electric power consumption for motoring is greater in a B range than in a D range. The control method sets deceleration caused by regenerative braking of the drive motor to be greater in the B range than in the D range, and starts motoring of the internal combustion engine in the B range at a lower SOC of the battery than the SOC of the battery in the D range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kiyoshi Hoshi, Hiroko Katayama, Azusa Kobayashi, Hiroyasu Fujita, Hiromu Morishita
  • Patent number: 11854181
    Abstract: A remotely-controlled (RC) and/or autonomously operated inspection device, such as a ground vehicle or drone, may capture one or more sets of imaging data indicative of at least a portion of an automotive vehicle, such as all or a portion of the undercarriage. The one or more sets of imaging data may be analyzed based upon data indicative of at least one of vehicle damage or a vehicle defect being shown in the one or more sets of imaging data. Based upon the analyzing of the one or more sets of imaging data, damage to the vehicle or a defect of the vehicle may be identified. The identified damage or defect may be compared to a claimed damage or defect to determine whether the claimed damage or defect occurred.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY
    Inventors: Ryan Knuffman, Bradley A. Sliz, Lucas Allen
  • Patent number: 11851046
    Abstract: A hybrid vehicle control method controls a hybrid vehicle. In this control method, a rotational speed command value for a power generation system is determined in accordance with a state of a drive system, a torque command value is determined for the power generation system such that the rotational speed of the power generation system reaches the rotational speed command value, a damping control is performed to suppress a characteristic vibration component generated in a connection between the engine and the power generator to calculate a final torque command value for the power generation system, and the torque command value is set as the final torque command value without performing the damping control upon determining a system resonance can occur that is caused by vibration of a component different from the characteristic vibration component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takahiro Kikuchi, Kengo Fujiwara
  • Patent number: 11848665
    Abstract: Haptic devices are installed in a motorcycle's handlebars, footpegs and seat to provide the rider with alerts that relate to hazards. The alert is provided before the rider notices the hazard, or before the rider reacts to the hazard. By giving advance warning, a rider is given extra time to avert a potential accident. The alerts also provide a direct instruction to the rider as to what to do to avoid the accident.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: Damon Motors Inc.
    Inventors: Damon Jay Giraud, Dominique Kwong
  • Patent number: 11842579
    Abstract: Systems and methods for battery-based vehicle diagnostics are provided. Various embodiments include a battery-based diagnostics system that guards vehicles against anomalies with a cyber-physical approach. The diagnostics system can be implemented as an add-on module of commodity vehicles attached to automotive batteries, thus providing vehicles an additional layer of protection. The automotive battery can operate in strong dependency with many physical components of the vehicle, which is observable as correlations between battery voltage and the vehicle's corresponding operational parameters, e.g., a faster revolutions-per-minute (RPM) of the engine, in general, leads to a higher battery voltage. These embodiments exploit such physically induced correlations to diagnose vehicles by cross-validating the vehicle information with battery voltage and may be based on a set of data-driven norm models constructed online.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2023
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of Colorado, a body corporate
    Inventor: Liang He
  • Patent number: 11840349
    Abstract: A method for automatically powering off an aerial vehicle includes determining an operating state of the aerial vehicle, and in response to a determination result that the operating state of the aerial vehicle is a landed state, triggering to shut down a propulsion output of the aerial vehicle such that the aerial vehicle completes automatic power off after landing, including, in response to the determination result that the operating state of the aerial vehicle is the landed state, determining whether the propulsion output of the aerial vehicle is currently enabled and determining whether an automatic take-off operation indicated by an automatic take-off instruction is currently being performed, and, in response to the propulsion output being currently enabled and the automatic take-off operation not currently being performed, triggering to shut down the propulsion output of the aerial vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2023
    Assignee: SZ DJI TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Renli Shi, Xuyang Pan, Jianyu Song, Canlong Lin
  • Patent number: 11840230
    Abstract: A control apparatus for controlling a vehicle includes a travel controlling unit for executing a one-pedal function for controlling both a driving force and a braking force of the vehicle according to an operation amount of an accelerator pedal, and an output controlling unit capable of displaying, on a display device of the vehicle, a first indicator indicating that the one-pedal function is enabled and a second indicator indicating that a stopped state of the vehicle is being held by a braking force of the one-pedal function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2023
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Noriaki Suzuki, Yosuke Mizutani, Kohei Maruyama, Shinya Kobayashi, Shunpei Matsumura
  • Patent number: 11833912
    Abstract: A traction control system for a vehicle having a first wheel driven by a first electric motor including a first set of coil windings, the system comprising a first controller arranged to control current in the coil windings for generating a drive torque for driving the first wheel, and a second controller arranged to determine a maximum wheel velocity based on a first slip ratio value for the first wheel and the vehicle velocity and a minimum wheel velocity based on a second slip ratio value for the first wheel and the vehicle velocity. The second controller communicates to the first controller the maximum and minimum values and a torque demand value corresponding to a drive torque for driving the first wheel. The first controller controls current in the coil windings to generate a drive torque based on the maximum and minimum wheel velocity and torque demand values from the second controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: Protean Electric Limited
    Inventor: Richard Ford
  • Patent number: 11823166
    Abstract: A system and method for using at least location information to facilitate a transaction is provided. In one embodiment of the present invention, a mobile application operating on a mobile device is used to determine a location of the mobile device. Location information is then provided to a host device, where it is used to identify a merchant. Information is also entered (or acquired) to identify a shopping cart that is used during a shopping session. As items are placed within the cart, information concerning the items is presented to the user via a display on the cart and/or the mobile device. The first party can then interact with the same to enhance their shopping experience (e.g., access coupons, search for items, etc.). Once the user is done, the host device will charge a payment method linked to the user's account for items that are in the shopping cart.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Inventor: Anthony Giraudo
  • Patent number: 11820358
    Abstract: A charging/discharging control device includes a route information acquisition unit, a section identification unit that identifies an excessive discharging section and an excessive charging section, and a charging/discharging control unit that controls charging and discharging of a battery. The charging/discharging control unit limits a charge current value in the excessive charging section to a fixed first upper limit value. The state of charge reaches a maximum state of charge at an end point of the excessive charging section when the charge current value is maintained at the first upper limit value. The charging/discharging control unit limits a discharge current value in the excessive discharging section to a fixed second upper limit value. The state of charge reaches a minimum state of charge at an end point of the excessive discharging section when the discharge current value is maintained at the second upper limit value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: HINO MOTORS, LTD.
    Inventor: Hiroki Sakashita
  • Patent number: 11807107
    Abstract: The vehicle control method can include: determining a vehicle state based on a set of vehicle state inputs; determining a command based on the vehicle state; and controlling the vehicle according to the command. The method can optionally include updating a vehicle model based on a control outcome. However, the method S100 can additionally or alternatively include any other suitable elements. The method can function to determine longitudinal vehicle control based on a set of vehicle state inputs (e.g., a limited set of inputs—such as without direct knowledge of a throttle input, etc.). Additionally or alternatively, the vehicle control method can function to infer driving intent based on vehicle state measurements and/or translate inferred driving intent into low-latency vehicle control. Additionally or alternatively, the system can function to autonomously augment longitudinal propulsion, autonomously augment vehicle braking, and/or facilitate autonomous (longitudinal) vehicle control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: Anamnesis Corporation
    Inventors: Ian C. Rust, Selina Pan
  • Patent number: 11807108
    Abstract: A vehicle control device that calculates a vehicle body velocity of a vehicle is disclosed. Sensors (18, 19) that obtain respective wheel velocities of left and right wheels (5) arranged along the vehicle width direction are provided. A calculator (11) that calculates, when the left and right wheels (5) are not slipping, an average value (A) of the wheel velocities as the vehicle body, and calculates, when at least one of the left and right wheels (5) is slipping, the vehicle body velocity on the basis of the average value (A) and a lower velocity value (B) between the wheel velocities is provided. With this configuration, the precision in calculating the vehicle body velocity is enhanced, suppressing a cost rise.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI JIDOSHA KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Wataru Tanooka, Yutaro Okamura, Ryota Takahashi, Naoki Takahashi
  • Patent number: 11805720
    Abstract: Provided is an automatic travel system for a work vehicle, wherein: a control unit that causes the work vehicle to automatically travel according to a target path includes a target position setting unit that sets a target travel position to a predetermined position separated by a predetermined distance in an advancing direction from a current position of the work vehicle, and an automatic steering controller that controls operations of a steering unit so that that work vehicle follows the target travel position; and the target position setting unit determines whether the target travel position has reached an end position of a turning path connected to a straight path and, if a determination is made that the target travel position has reached the end position of the turning path, then changes the setting of the target travel position from the position on the turning path to a position on the straight path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: Yanmar Power Technology Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Maroi Kodama, Yasuto Nishii