Patents by Inventor Christopher ROELLE

Christopher ROELLE has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240125281
    Abstract: Various embodiments of the present disclosure are directed towards free-piston combustion engines. As described herein, a method and system are provided for displacing a free-piston assembly to achieve a desired engine performance by repeatedly determining position-force trajectories over the course of a propagation path and effecting the displacement of the free-piston assembly based, at least in part, on the position-force trajectory. In a dual-piston assembly free-piston engine, synchronization of the two piston assemblies is provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 5, 2023
    Publication date: April 18, 2024
    Inventors: Matthew Roelle, Christopher Gadda
  • Patent number: 10556552
    Abstract: A sensor device is provided for a system for protecting an occupant, in particular a driver, of a vehicle from glare from light sources outside the vehicle. The device includes a projection surface, a shadow-casting object, which is arranged and/or designed such that upon an illumination of an object by a light source located outside the vehicle, at least one shadow of the object is cast onto the projection surface, an image capturing unit that is designed to capture an image of the shadow of the object cast onto the projection surface, and a control unit that is designed to detect at least one property of the at least one light source based on the captured image of the shadow of the object cast onto the projection surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2020
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Tamas Gellert Bokor, Christopher Roelle
  • Patent number: 10486533
    Abstract: A display and operating device for a motor vehicle includes a display area, and an operating element that is disposed on the display area. The operating element for detecting an operating action is movable on the display area within a region of movement. The operating element is movable in a translatory manner on the display area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Sonja Ruemelin, Christopher Roelle
  • Patent number: 10424201
    Abstract: A vehicle assistance device includes a control device for controlling the display of information and a display for displaying the information. When the control device has determined a state of the vehicle and/or a position of the vehicle, the control device takes the determined state of the vehicle and/or the determined position of the vehicle as a basis for providing information for the driver on the display device. When changing between mobility sections in which different information may be of interest to the driver, the vehicle assistance device can provide a driver with the necessary information for each of the mobility sections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2019
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Christopher Roelle, Markus Strassberger, Karl-Ernst Steinberg, Bernhard Niedermaier
  • Patent number: 10402212
    Abstract: A method is provided for making available an assistance suggestion for a user of a motor vehicle. The method determines information on the availability of helpers and displays the available helpers based on that information. After selecting a helper by the user, the method sets up a communication link between the user and the selected helper, makes available assistance information to the selected helper, and receives an assistance suggestion which is based on the assistance information made available.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: Bayerisch Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Markus Steidle, Markus Strassberger, Christopher Roelle
  • Publication number: 20190035272
    Abstract: A vehicle assistance device includes a control device for controlling the display of information and a display for displaying the information. When the control device has determined a state of the vehicle and/or a position of the vehicle, the control device takes the determined state of the vehicle and/or the determined position of the vehicle as a basis for providing information for the driver on the display device. When changing between mobility sections in which different information may be of interest to the driver, the vehicle assistance device can provide a driver with the necessary information for each of the mobility sections.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 17, 2018
    Publication date: January 31, 2019
    Inventors: Christopher ROELLE, Markus STRASSBERGER, Karl-Ernst STEINBERG, Bernhard NIEDERMAIER
  • Patent number: 9946374
    Abstract: A method is provided for receiving an input on a touch-sensitive field, wherein the field is set up to determine the location of a touch of the field by a user's finger, wherein the touch-sensitive field includes a tactile threshold. The threshold is arranged such that at least one area of the touch-sensitive field lies on each side thereof. The method detects a movement of the user's finger on the touch-sensitive field which crosses the threshold, and activates a function in response to the detection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2018
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Sonja Ruemelin, Christopher Roelle
  • Patent number: 9891892
    Abstract: An assignment of at least one state variable to a respective graphic object is carried out as a function of a user input. An assignment of a respective vehicle parameter or personal characteristic to one state variable respectively, which is assigned to the respective graphic object, is carried out as a function of a user input. This takes place with the inclusion of a respective assignment function, which represents an imaging rule of the respective vehicle parameter or personal characteristic onto the respective state variable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Christopher Roelle, Markus Strassberger, Benjamin Weyl, Timo Kosch
  • Publication number: 20170341599
    Abstract: A sensor device is provided for a system for protecting an occupant, in particular a driver, of a vehicle from glare from light sources outside the vehicle. The device includes a projection surface, a shadow-casting object, which is arranged and/or designed such that upon an illumination of an object by a light source located outside the vehicle, at least one shadow of the object is cast onto the projection surface, an image capturing unit that is designed to capture an image of the shadow of the object cast onto the projection surface, and a control unit that is designed to detect at least one property of the at least one light source based on the captured image of the shadow of the object cast onto the projection surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 18, 2017
    Publication date: November 30, 2017
    Inventors: Tamas Gellert BOKOR, Christopher ROELLE
  • Publication number: 20170335949
    Abstract: A vehicle has an automatic transmission and a manually actuatable selector element which is provided for selecting a group of operating modes of the automatic operation. The selector element is additionally provided to switch the vehicle from a vehicle operating mode of non-highly automated driving into a vehicle operating mode of highly automated driving, or vice versa.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2017
    Publication date: November 23, 2017
    Inventors: Christopher ROELLE, Lenja SOROKIN, Gunnar FRANZ
  • Publication number: 20170182890
    Abstract: A display and operating device for a motor vehicle includes a display area, and an operating element that is disposed on the display area. The operating element for detecting an operating action is movable on the display area within a region of movement. The operating element is movable in a translatory manner on the display area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 16, 2017
    Publication date: June 29, 2017
    Inventors: Sonja RUEMELIN, Christopher ROELLE
  • Patent number: 9689697
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for operating a navigation system of a motor vehicle by receiving an input by means of an input device of the navigation system, a destination being indicated by way of the input; as well as by determining at least one conceivable route from a starting position to the destination by an arithmetic device of the navigation system by means of filed map data, wherein, for at least one route section of the at least one conceivable route, at least one parameter of at least one wireless communication network is determined by the arithmetic device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Lenja Sorokin, Gunnar Franz, Christopher Roelle
  • Patent number: 9618357
    Abstract: A vehicle assistance device for a driver includes a control unit for generating data that indicates information with respect to the temporal occurrence of an event along a route of a vehicle. A display unit displays a map of the route of the vehicle between a starting point and a destination point of the route. The control unit controls the display unit with data, wherein the control unit generates the data in such a way that the information characterizing the temporal occurrence of an event is displayed on the display unit along the map of the route as a function of the point-in-time of occurrence of the event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Christopher Roelle, Markus Strassberger
  • Publication number: 20160274922
    Abstract: A method is provided for making available an assistance suggestion for a user of a motor vehicle. The method determines information on the availability of helpers and displays the available helpers based on that information. After selecting a helper by the user, the method sets up a communication link between the user and the selected helper, makes available assistance information to the selected helper, and receives an assistance suggestion which is based on the assistance information made available.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 26, 2016
    Publication date: September 22, 2016
    Inventors: Markus STEIDLE, Markus STRASSBERGER, Christopher ROELLE
  • Publication number: 20150243168
    Abstract: A vehicle assistance device includes a control device for controlling the display of information and a display for displaying the information. When the control device has determined a state of the vehicle and/or a position of the vehicle, the control device takes the determined state of the vehicle and/or the determined position of the vehicle as a basis for providing information for the driver on the display device. When changing between mobility sections in which different information may be of interest to the driver, the vehicle assistance device can provide a driver with the necessary information for each of the mobility sections.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2015
    Publication date: August 27, 2015
    Inventors: Christopher ROELLE, Markus STRASSBERGER, Karl-Ernst STEINBERG, Bernhard NIEDERMAIER
  • Publication number: 20150242190
    Abstract: An assignment of at least one state variable to a respective graphic object is carried out as a function of a user input. An assignment of a respective vehicle parameter or personal characteristic to one state variable respectively, which is assigned to the respective graphic object, is carried out as a function of a user input. This takes place with the inclusion of a respective assignment function, which represents an imaging rule of the respective vehicle parameter or personal characteristic onto the respective state variable.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2015
    Publication date: August 27, 2015
    Inventors: Christopher ROELLE, Markus Strassberger, Benjamin Weyl, Timo Kosch
  • Publication number: 20150233727
    Abstract: A vehicle assistance device for a driver includes a control unit for generating data that indicates information with respect to the temporal occurrence of an event along a route of a vehicle. A display unit displays a map of the route of the vehicle between a starting point and a destination point of the route. The control unit controls the display unit with data, wherein the control unit generates the data in such a way that the information characterizing the temporal occurrence of an event is displayed on the display unit along the map of the route as a function of the point-in-time of occurrence of the event.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2015
    Publication date: August 20, 2015
    Inventors: Christopher ROELLE, Markus STRASSBERGER
  • Publication number: 20150103028
    Abstract: A method is provided for receiving an input on a touch-sensitive field, wherein the field is set up to determine the location of a touch of the field by a user's finger, wherein the touch-sensitive field includes a tactile threshold. The threshold is arranged such that at least one area of the touch-sensitive field lies on each side thereof. The method detects a movement of the user's finger on the touch-sensitive field which crosses the threshold, and activates a function in response to the detection.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2014
    Publication date: April 16, 2015
    Inventors: Sonja RUEMELIN, Christopher ROELLE
  • Publication number: 20140379252
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for operating a navigation system of a motor vehicle by receiving an input by means of an input device of the navigation system, a destination being indicated by way of the input; as well as by determining at least one conceivable route from a starting position to the destination by an arithmetic device of the navigation system by means of filed map data, wherein, for at least one route section of the at least one conceivable route, at least one parameter of at least one wireless communication network is determined by the arithmetic device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2014
    Publication date: December 25, 2014
    Inventors: Lenja SOROKIN, Gunnar FRANZ, Christopher ROELLE