Patents Examined by Yazan Soofi
  • Patent number: 11762395
    Abstract: A server includes a controller configured to control operation of a vehicle, and a communication interface configured to communicate with a terminal apparatus held by a first user. The communication interface acquires, from the terminal apparatus, a list including a vehicle designation condition designated by the first user when the first user reserves boarding of a vehicle. The controller determines a vehicle to be boarded by the first user based on the list.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuki Tatsumoto, Saori Matsumoto, Keigo Yamada, Akira Sasaki, Mitsuhiro Miura
  • Patent number: 11760209
    Abstract: The controller of the electric vehicle is configured to control the torque of the electric motor using the MT vehicle model based on the operation amount of the accelerator pedal, the operation amount of the pseudo-clutch pedal, and the shift position of the pseudo-shifter. Further, the controller is configured to execute the stall production process for changing the engine output torque used for calculation of the driving wheel torque to zero when the calculated virtual engine speed using the MT vehicle model becomes lower than the prescribed stall engine speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoichiro Isami, Yoshio Itou, Hiroyuki Amano, Tatsuya Imamura, Akiko Nishimine, Hiroaki Ebuchi, Hiroaki Kodera
  • Patent number: 11747838
    Abstract: A vehicle includes a light switch for manually operating a lighting state of a lighting device. The light switch includes a light-off position and an auto-light position for executing an auto-light process. A vehicle control system includes a first controller for executing an automated driving of the vehicle, and a second controller for controlling a lighting state of the lighting device based on a request from the first controller or operation information of the light switch. The first controller is configured to transmit an auto-light request for executing the auto-light process to the second controller during execution of the automated driving. The second controller is configured to execute the auto-light process when the auto-light request is received from the first controller in a state where the light switch is operated to the light-off position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuhiko Ueda
  • Patent number: 11726474
    Abstract: Systems of an autonomous vehicle and the operations thereof are provided. Autonomous vehicles may rely on data inputs, processes, and output commands. Errors due to translation errors, failed or faulty equipment, connections, and other components may cause a dynamic vehicle path to approach a dynamic safe zone or vice versa. If so, a warning message may be sent and processed by the motion control system, when the vehicle is responding to commands correctly, or actuator control, when the vehicle is not responding to commands correctly. Should a safe zone be redrawn to exclude the vehicle's path, a failure message is sent to the appropriate system for mitigation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: NIO TECHNOLOGY (ANHUI) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Bo Guo, Xiaodong Liu
  • Patent number: 11724716
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a method and apparatus of determining a guide path, and a method and apparatus of controlling driving of a vehicle. The method of determining the guide path may be performed by a monitoring platform and includes: displaying a map for a predetermined range of a vehicle in response to receiving a guide request transmitted by the vehicle, wherein the map includes a plurality of first track points for the vehicle; changing a position of at least one of the plurality of first track points in the map in response to a target operation on the at least one first track point, so as to obtain a plurality of second track points; determining the guide path for the vehicle according to the plurality of second track points; and transmitting path information indicative of the guide path to the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: Beijing Baidu Netcom Science Technology Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Liming Xia, Kai Yang, Jingchao Feng, Pengjie Zheng, Tianxiang Cui, Mingsong Wang, Yanting Chen, Rongjing Shang, Jiaxin Sun, Haitao Liu, Xiaochuan Du
  • Patent number: 11718308
    Abstract: A commercial vehicle with a cargo space includes a detection unit for detecting movement of a wheel suspension and/or an inertial measuring unit for detecting movements of a sprung mass of the vehicle in order to evaluate a loading state of cargo in the cargo space. To provide improved cargo capacity, improved user-friendliness, and improved driving behavior, the commercial vehicle has an optical signaling unit arranged in the cargo space which is electrically activatable using an evaluation electronics unit, wherein the evaluation electronics unit is configured to activate the signaling unit on the basis of signals of the detection unit and/or the inertial measuring unit which are generated upon placement of the cargo on a cargo surface of the cargo space in such a way that an optimum position of the cargo surface is displayable by means of the signaling unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Kilian Vas, Jonathan Berkemeier, Friederike Philipsenburg
  • Patent number: 11716985
    Abstract: A method for remediating developmentally delayed plants within a field of crops using at least one work vehicle during a field operation. The method comprises identifying delayed plants within the field with a sensor on the work vehicle and generating, with a processor, location data associated with the location of the delayed plant with the field. Upon arriving at the location of the delayed plant with the work vehicle, the delayed plant is remediated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Noel W. Anderson, Larry L. Hendrickson
  • Patent number: 11713969
    Abstract: A method and system of tracking and reporting locations of entity employees, the method for use with at least a first interface device including a display screen, the method comprising the steps of, providing a processor programmed to perform the steps of, storing schedules of entity employees where the schedules indicate scheduled locations of employees during time slots, receiving an indication from a first employee indicating at least a first future time slot, identifying locations of the entity employees during the future time slot, using the schedules of entity employees to generate a location representation indicating the locations of at least a subset of the entity employees during the at least a first future time slot and presenting the location representation via the first interface device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2023
    Assignee: STEELCASE INC.
    Inventors: Robert Poel, Darrin Sculley
  • Patent number: 11713038
    Abstract: A vehicular control system includes a plurality of sensors disposed at a vehicle and sensing exterior of the vehicle. An electronic control unit (ECU) includes a processor that processes sensor data captured by the sensors. The vehicular control system, responsive at least in part to processing at the ECU of captured sensor data as the vehicle travels in a traffic lane of a road, detects another vehicle that is rearward of the equipped vehicle and traveling along an adjacent traffic lane. The vehicular control system detects a leading vehicle ahead of the equipped vehicle and traveling in the same traffic lane as the equipped vehicle. The vehicular control system, responsive to determination of a space along the other traffic lane ahead of the detected other vehicle, controls the equipped vehicle to maneuver into the adjacent traffic lane to pass the detected leading vehicle ahead of the detected other vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2023
    Assignee: MAGNA ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventor: Martin Rachor
  • Patent number: 11703599
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and system for estimating a moving speed of a detected pedestrian at an autonomous driving vehicle (ADV) is disclosed. A pedestrian is detected in a plurality of frames of point clouds generated by a LIDAR device installed at an autonomous driving vehicle (ADV). In each of at least two of the plurality of frames of point clouds, a minimum bounding box enclosing points corresponding to the pedestrian excluding points corresponding to limbs of the pedestrian is generated. A moving speed of the pedestrian is estimated based at least in part on the minimum bounding boxes across the at least two of the plurality of frames of point clouds. A trajectory for the ADV is planned based at least on the moving speed of the pedestrian. Thereafter, control signals are generated to drive the ADV based on the planned trajectory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignees: BAIDU USA LLC, BAIDU.COM TIMES TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO., LTD
    Inventors: Xiang Liu, Bin Gao, Fan Zhu
  • Patent number: 11703867
    Abstract: A vehicle traveling from a first area to a second area includes a traveling mechanism having a plurality of wheels and a traveling function, and a control unit configured to cause the traveling mechanism to perform a wheel cleaning operation and then cause the vehicle to enter the second area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shunji Inoue, Kunihiro Iwamoto, Daisuke Sato, Takuya Watabe, Makoto Kakuchi, Seiichi Tsunoda, Keima Fukunaga, Kenta Miyahara
  • Patent number: 11702817
    Abstract: A method for changing an orientation of a machine at a worksite includes controlling, by a controller, a movement of the machine from a first position to a second position along a first route; controlling, by the controller, a movement of the machine from the second position to a third position along a second route; and controlling, by the controller, a movement of the machine from the third position towards the first position along a third route, Each of the first route, the second route, and the third route define respective apexes and combinedly define a region therebetween. One or more of the apexes are directed inwards into the region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: Caterpillar Underground Mining Pty. Ltd.
    Inventors: Pradeep Kumar P H, Peter John Broughton, Arun Anandan
  • Patent number: 11697431
    Abstract: An automated driving assistance apparatus includes an occupant's emotion learning section and a control parameter setting section. The occupant's emotion learning section creates an occupant's emotion model based on vehicle driving state information and occupant's emotion information. The occupant's emotion model is used to estimate an emotion of the occupant from a vehicle driving state. The control parameter setting section calculates an ideal driving state based on the occupant's emotion model, and set a control parameter for automated driving of the vehicle based on the ideal driving state. The control parameter setting section output input values relevant to the vehicle driving state to the occupant's emotion model, and select, from the input values received by the occupant's emotion model, an input value that causes a current occupant's emotion to become closer to a target emotion as the ideal driving state of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2023
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Ikuo Goto
  • Patent number: 11699207
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to assessing operation of two or more cameras. These cameras may be a group of cameras of a perception system of a vehicle having an autonomous driving mode. A first image captured by a first camera and a second image captured by a second camera may be received. A first feature vector for the first image and a second feature vector for the second image may be generated. A similarity score may be determined using the first feature vector and the second feature vector. This similarity score may be used to assess the operation of the two cameras and an appropriate action may be taken.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2023
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Carl Warren Craddock, Andreas Wendel
  • Patent number: 11697434
    Abstract: Systems for managing access to an autonomous vehicle includes an autonomous vehicle including a plurality of storage compartments, wherein each of the plurality of storage compartments comprises a locking mechanism and at least one processor to receive data associated with an item to be positioned in a storage compartment of the plurality of storage compartments, determine that one of the plurality of storage compartments has storage capacity for the item, designate one of the plurality of storage compartments for storage of the item, activate the locking mechanism of the designated storage compartment to lock the designated storage compartment after the item is positioned in the designated storage compartment, and activate the locking mechanism of the designated storage compartment to unlock the designated storage compartment to allow removal of the item from the designated storage compartment. Methods, computer program products, and autonomous vehicles are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2023
    Assignee: Argo AI, LLC
    Inventor: Kleanthes George Koniaris
  • Patent number: 11694359
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for calibrating a camera are provided. A specific embodiment of the method includes: acquiring an image-point cloud sequence, the image-point cloud sequence including at least one group of an initial image and point cloud data collected at a same time, the initial image being collected by a camera provided on an autonomous vehicle and the point cloud data being collected by a radar provided on the autonomous vehicle; determining target point cloud data of initial images corresponding to groups of image-point cloud in the image-point cloud sequence; and matching the target point cloud data with the corresponding initial images in the image-point cloud sequence to determine a correction parameter of the camera.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: Apollo Intelligent Driving Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shuang Zhang, Xiang Liu, Bin Gao, Xiaoxing Zhu, Fan Yang, Junping Wang
  • Patent number: 11693426
    Abstract: A vehicle conveyance control apparatus for controlling a plurality of conveyance devices, includes a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. Each of the plurality of conveyance devices is configured to lift each tire of a vehicle to convey the vehicle from a predetermined area of a parking lot to a parking space. The processor is configured to perform: acquiring vehicle information including tire position information of each tire of the vehicle detected in the predetermined area; selecting conveyance devices to convey the vehicle from among the plurality of conveyance devices different in conveyance capacity for lifting each tire of the vehicle to convey the vehicle based on the tire position information of the vehicle acquired in the acquiring; and instructing the conveyance devices selected in the selecting to convey the vehicle from the predetermined area to the parking space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kazuya Tamura
  • Patent number: 11693428
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) includes identifying a set of target markers based on a plurality of images captured by an imaging device carried by the UAV. The set of target markers includes at least two or more types of target markers that are in close proximity to be detected within a same field of view of the imaging device. The method further includes determining a spatial relationship between the UAV and the set of target markers based at least in part on the plurality of images, and controlling the UAV to approach the set of target markers based at least in part on the spatial relationship while controlling the imaging device to track the set of target markers such that the set of target markers remains within the same field of view of the imaging device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: SZ DJI TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Peiliang Li, Xuyang Feng, Cong Zhao, Jie Qian, You Zhou
  • Patent number: 11685347
    Abstract: A method for parking brake adaptable assistance on a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a parking brake and a set of sensors, and at least one electronic control unit controlling the parking brake and the set of sensors, each sensor being monitored by the at least one control unit to measure a specific parameter, and a set of actuators, each actuator being activated by the at least one electronic control unit to engage a specific action or reminder, characterized in that the method comprises a first list (102) of situations defined by a set of valued parameters measured by the sensors, and a second list (101) of parking brake actions or reminders, and a list of relations (103) establishing a relation between each situation of the first list and an action or reminder from the second list and further comprising the following steps: i. determine the values of the parameters measured by the sensors; ii. determine the situation defined by the set of values determined at step i. iii.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: Volvo Truck Corporation
    Inventors: Lionel Farres, Fabrice Dussapt
  • Patent number: 11687854
    Abstract: An algorithm formulating system for use with a sensing ecosystem for identifying enterprise space states, the sensing ecosystem including a plurality of sensor devices mounted within an enterprise space wherein each sensor device is capable of sensing a plurality of parameters within the enterprise space, the system comprising a processor programmed to perform the steps of accessing a rule set that specifies a first parameter value set that corresponding to a perceived state within a first enterprise space, receiving sensor data from sensor devices within the first enterprise space, comparing the sensor data to the rule set to identify instances of the perceived state, examining sensor data to identify a second parameter value set that occurs at least a threshold percentage of time for the identified instances of the perceived state and using the second parameter value set as the basis for a new rule set to be associated with the perceived state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: Steelcase Inc.
    Inventors: Timothy D. Swieter, Robert Scheper, Darrin Sculley