Patents by Inventor Frank Reinaldo Ramirez

Frank Reinaldo Ramirez 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: 20240142991
    Abstract: Techniques for providing a user interface for remote vehicle monitoring and/or control include presenting a digital representation of an environment and a vehicle as it traverses the environment on a first portion of a display and presenting on a second portion of the display a communication interface that is configured to provide communication with multiple people. The communication interface may enable communications between a remote operator and any number of occupants of the vehicle, other operators (e.g., other remote operators or in-vehicle operators), and/or people in an environment around the vehicle. The user interface may additionally include controls to adjust components of the vehicle, and the controls may be presented on a third portion of the display. Furthermore, the user interface may include a vehicle status interface that provides information associated with a current state of the vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 5, 2023
    Publication date: May 2, 2024
    Inventors: Auver Cedric Austria, Timothy David Kentley-Klay, Jannie Wing Sze Lai, Frank Reinaldo Ramirez, Dennis Schaefer
  • Publication number: 20240012419
    Abstract: A vehicle computing system may identify an obstruction along a route of travel and may connect to a service computing device for guidance. The service computing device may include a guidance system configured to receive waypoint and/or orientation input from an operator. The operator may evaluate the scenario and determine one or more waypoints and/or associated orientations for the vehicle to navigate the scenario. In some examples, the guidance system may validate the waypoint(s) and/or associated orientation(s). The service computing device may send the waypoint(s) and/or associated orientation(s) to the vehicle computing system. The vehicle computing system may validate the waypoint(s) and/or associated orientation(s) and, based on the validation, control the vehicle according to the input. Based on a determination that the vehicle has navigated the scenario, the guidance system may release vehicle guidance back to the vehicle computing system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 10, 2023
    Publication date: January 11, 2024
    Inventors: Timothy Caldwell, Ravi Gogna, Meredith James Goldman, Frank Reinaldo Ramirez, Matthew Miller Young, Rick Zhang
  • Patent number: 11768493
    Abstract: A vehicle computing system may identify an obstruction along a route of travel and may connect to a service computing device for guidance. The service computing device may include a guidance system configured to receive waypoint and/or orientation input from an operator. The operator may evaluate the scenario and determine one or more waypoints and/or associated orientations for the vehicle to navigate the scenario. In some examples, the guidance system may validate the waypoint(s) and/or associated orientation(s). The service computing device may send the waypoint(s) and/or associated orientation(s) to the vehicle computing system. The vehicle computing system may validate the waypoint(s) and/or associated orientation(s) and, based on the validation, control the vehicle according to the input. Based on a determination that the vehicle has navigated the scenario, the guidance system may release vehicle guidance back to the vehicle computing system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: Zoox, Inc.
    Inventors: Timothy Caldwell, Ravi Gogna, Meredith James Goldman, Frank Reinaldo Ramirez, Matthew Miller Young, Rick Zhang
  • Patent number: 11726473
    Abstract: A vehicle may include an authority tracker to grant and/or limit authority to provide guidance to the vehicle. The authority tracker may store a state in a memory identifying an actor that currently has the authority. An actor requesting to have authority to provide guidance to the vehicle may transmit a control message to the authority tracker which may, in turn, authorize or deny the request based on a policy. The authority tracker may periodically, and/or in response to a request, broadcast a state message identifying the actor that currently has authority, as recorded in the memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: Zoox, Inc.
    Inventors: Meredith James Goldman, Frank Reinaldo Ramirez
  • Patent number: 11675349
    Abstract: Techniques for providing a user interface for remote vehicle monitoring and/or control include presenting a digital representation of an environment and a vehicle as it traverses the environment on a first portion of a display and presenting on a second portion of the display a communication interface that is configured to provide communication with multiple people. The communication interface may enable communications between a remote operator and any number of occupants of the vehicle, other operators (e.g., other remote operators or in-vehicle operators), and/or people in an environment around the vehicle. The user interface may additionally include controls to adjust components of the vehicle, and the controls may be presented on a third portion of the display. Furthermore, the user interface may include a vehicle status interface that provides information associated with a current state of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: Zoox, Inc.
    Inventors: Auver Cedric Austria, Timothy David Kentley-Klay, Jannie Wing Sze Lai, Frank Reinaldo Ramirez, Dennis Schaefer
  • Patent number: 11467573
    Abstract: A vehicle computing system may identify a scenario in an environment that violates an operating constraint. The vehicle computing system may request remote guidance from a guidance system of a service computing device. The vehicle computing system may receive input from the guidance system including one or more waypoints and/or associated orientations for the vehicle to navigate through the scenario. The vehicle computing system may be configured to validate the input. A validation may include processing the input to determine whether the waypoint(s) and/or orientation(s) associated therewith may cause the vehicle to violate a safety protocol. Based on a determination that the input will not cause the vehicle to violate the safety protocol, the vehicle computing system may control the vehicle according to the input, such as by causing a drive system to operate the vehicle to each waypoint at the associated orientation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: Zoox, Inc.
    Inventors: Timothy Caldwell, Ravi Gogna, Meredith James Goldman, Frank Reinaldo Ramirez, Matthew Miller Young, Rick Zhang
  • Patent number: 11353877
    Abstract: Techniques to provide guidance to a vehicle operating in an environment may include determining a suggested region to block in the environment along a path of the vehicle and causing presentation of the suggested region to block in a user interface of the computer device. Information about the blocked region may be transmitted to one or more vehicles in the environment. Based on the information about the blocked region, at least one of the computer device or a vehicle computer system of the vehicle may control operation of the vehicle to avoid the blocked region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: Zoox, Inc.
    Inventors: Ravi Gogna, Meredith James Goldman, Edward William O'Donnell, Frank Reinaldo Ramirez, Dennis Schaefer, Wenhao Sheng, Matthew Miller Young
  • Publication number: 20220171382
    Abstract: Techniques for providing a user interface for remote vehicle monitoring and/or control include presenting a digital representation of an environment and a vehicle as it traverses the environment on a first portion of a display and presenting on a second portion of the display a communication interface that is configured to provide communication with multiple people. The communication interface may enable communications between a remote operator and any number of occupants of the vehicle, other operators (e.g., other remote operators or in-vehicle operators), and/or people in an environment around the vehicle. The user interface may additionally include controls to adjust components of the vehicle, and the controls may be presented on a third portion of the display. Furthermore, the user interface may include a vehicle status interface that provides information associated with a current state of the vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2020
    Publication date: June 2, 2022
    Inventors: Auver Cedric Austria, Timothy David Kentley-Klay, Jannie Wing Sze Lai, Frank Reinaldo Ramirez, Dennis Schaefer
  • Publication number: 20210181750
    Abstract: Techniques to provide guidance to a vehicle operating in an environment may include determining a suggested region to block in the environment along a path of the vehicle and causing presentation of the suggested region to block in a user interface of the computer device. Information about the blocked region may be transmitted to one or more vehicles in the environment. Based on the information about the blocked region, at least one of the computer device or a vehicle computer system of the vehicle may control operation of the vehicle to avoid the blocked region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2019
    Publication date: June 17, 2021
    Inventors: Ravi Gogna, Meredith James Goldman, Edward William O'Donnell, Frank Reinaldo Ramirez, Dennis Schafer, Wenhao Sheng, Matthew Miller Young
  • Publication number: 20200409368
    Abstract: A vehicle computing system may identify an obstruction along a route of travel and may connect to a service computing device for guidance. The service computing device may include a guidance system configured to receive waypoint and/or orientation input from an operator. The operator may evaluate the scenario and determine one or more waypoints and/or associated orientations for the vehicle to navigate the scenario. In some examples, the guidance system may validate the waypoint(s) and/or associated orientation(s). The service computing device may send the waypoint(s) and/or associated orientation(s) to the vehicle computing system. The vehicle computing system may validate the waypoint(s) and/or associated orientation(s) and, based on the validation, control the vehicle according to the input. Based on a determination that the vehicle has navigated the scenario, the guidance system may release vehicle guidance back to the vehicle computing system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2019
    Publication date: December 31, 2020
    Inventors: Timothy Caldwell, Ravi Gogna, Meredith James Goldman, Frank Reinaldo Ramirez, Matthew Miller Young, Rick Zhang
  • Publication number: 20200409352
    Abstract: A vehicle computing system may identify a scenario in an environment that violates an operating constraint. The vehicle computing system may request remote guidance from a guidance system of a service computing device. The vehicle computing system may receive input from the guidance system including one or more waypoints and/or associated orientations for the vehicle to navigate through the scenario. The vehicle computing system may be configured to validate the input. A validation may include processing the input to determine whether the waypoint(s) and/or orientation(s) associated therewith may cause the vehicle to violate a safety protocol. Based on a determination that the input will not cause the vehicle to violate the safety protocol, the vehicle computing system may control the vehicle according to the input, such as by causing a drive system to operate the vehicle to each waypoint at the associated orientation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2019
    Publication date: December 31, 2020
    Inventors: Timothy Caldwell, Ravi Gogna, Meredith James Goldman, Frank Reinaldo Ramirez, Matthew Miller Young, Rick Zhang
  • Publication number: 20200150653
    Abstract: A vehicle may include an authority tracker to grant and/or limit authority to provide guidance to the vehicle. The authority tracker may store a state in a memory identifying an actor that currently has the authority. An actor requesting to have authority to provide guidance to the vehicle may transmit a control message to the authority tracker which may, in turn, authorize or deny the request based on a policy. The authority tracker may periodically, and/or in response to a request, broadcast a state message identifying the actor that currently has authority, as recorded in the memory.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 8, 2018
    Publication date: May 14, 2020
    Inventors: Meredith James Goldman, Frank Reinaldo Ramirez
  • Patent number: D960901
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: Zoox, Inc.
    Inventors: Dennis Schaefer, Auver Cedric Austria, Timothy David Kentley-Klay, Frank Reinaldo Ramirez
  • Patent number: D1019702
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: ZOOX, INC.
    Inventors: Dennis Schaefer, Auver Cedric Austria, Timothy David Kentley-Klay, Jannie Wing Sze Lai, Frank Reinaldo Ramirez