Patents by Inventor Gerhard Dochow

Gerhard Dochow 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).

  • Patent number: 11838339
    Abstract: A communication method between road users, which can each connect to a server via at least one communication interface. The following steps carried out by the server for establishing communication: establishing local and thematic information for determining communication participants; determining a group of communication participants based on local and thematic information, with a local area being defined for the local restriction of the communication participants and with at least one technological aspect and/or one interest-based aspect being taken as a basis for the thematic restriction on the part of the server; and granting permission for data communication by the road users based on the server prioritizing the data transmitted by the road users to the server once the group has been determined. The local and thematic information determined from the average of the spatial coordinates of the road users and respective average speed and average direction of the road users.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Inventors: Stefan Bieger, Gerhard Dochow
  • Patent number: 11648875
    Abstract: An audio output system for a vehicle. The audio output system includes a volume setting device for setting a volume of an audio signal, an audio input for an audio input signal from an audio source, a warning tone device for providing a warning tone signal, an audio-level measuring device for measuring the audio level at the audio input, and a control unit. The audio-level measuring device is configured to limit the maximum audio level of the audio input signal to a predefined first threshold value as a function of the set volume. The control unit is configured to control an audio output signal on the basis of the warning tone signal, the audio input signal and the set volume, and to output an audible or visual notification if the audio input signal present at the audio input has no audio level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2023
    Inventors: Gerhard Dochow, Thomas Göhring
  • Publication number: 20220385706
    Abstract: A communication method between road users, which can each connect to a server via at least one communication interface. The following steps carried out by the server for establishing communication: establishing local and thematic information for determining communication participants; determining a group of communication participants based on local and thematic information, with a local area being defined for the local restriction of the communication participants and with at least one technological aspect and/or one interest-based aspect being taken as a basis for the thematic restriction on the part of the server; and granting permission for data communication by the road users based on the server prioritizing the data transmitted by the road users to the server once the group has been determined. The local and thematic information determined from the average of the spatial coordinates of the road users and respective average speed and average direction of the road users.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 4, 2020
    Publication date: December 1, 2022
    Inventors: Stefan Bieger, Gerhard Dochow
  • Publication number: 20220342961
    Abstract: A method for operating a functionally safe audio output system with a computing node with a simple certification and a complex computing node, the method comprising generating a code assigned to a warning in the computing node with a simple certification, transmitting the code to the complex computing node, generating, in a first computing process, an output signal having an acoustic watermark, transmitting the output signal to a second computing process independent of the first computing process, determining, in the second computing process independent of the first computing process, a code contained in the output signal, transmitting the code to the computing node with a simple certification, and verifying whether the audio output system is functionally safe on the basis of a comparison of the generated code with a code based on the received code.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 10, 2020
    Publication date: October 27, 2022
    Inventors: Gerhard Dochow, Joachim Perrevoort
  • Publication number: 20220191616
    Abstract: A processing unit for an audio system of a vehicle comprises a first processing node, a second processing node and a program memory. The program memory may be overwritten by the first processing node and by the second processing node. After the processing unit has started up the first processing node may compute and write to the program memory an audio output. The processing unit may also perform a handover of the computing of the audio output from the first processing node to the second processing node when the first processing node has overwritten the program memory up to a predefined point and when the second processing node is operational. The second processing node is designed to compute the audio output after the handover, and to write this audio output to the program memory.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2020
    Publication date: June 16, 2022
    Applicant: Continental Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Gerhard Dochow, Thomas Göhring, Meinrad Niemöller
  • Patent number: 11209818
    Abstract: A method for controlling the operation of an automatic driving assistance system of a motor vehicle, which is designed for independent vehicle guidance. When at least one driving control takeover condition is met which brings about deactivation of the driving assistance system when driving control is taken over by the driver, at least one takeover request is output to the driver. If the driver does not react to this takeover request, replanning of the original route occurs with an original destination to a stopping point which can be approached in an automated manner. The replanning occurs in such a way that the stopping point constitutes, in the context of the present position of the motor vehicle with respect to the original destination, an optimum stopping point which is determined according to at least one optimality criterion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Inventors: Gerhard Dochow, Stefan Bieger
  • Publication number: 20210387572
    Abstract: An audio output system for a vehicle. The audio output system includes a volume setting device for setting a volume of an audio signal, an audio input for an audio input signal from an audio source, a warning tone device for providing a warning tone signal, an audio-level measuring device for measuring the audio level at the audio input, and a control unit. The audio-level measuring device is configured to limit the maximum audio level of the audio input signal to a predefined first threshold value as a function of the set volume. The control unit is configured to control an audio output signal on the basis of the warning tone signal, the audio input signal and the set volume, and to output an audible or visual notification if the audio input signal present at the audio input has no audio level.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 25, 2019
    Publication date: December 16, 2021
    Inventors: Gerhard Dochow, Thomas Göhring
  • Patent number: 10661652
    Abstract: The invention relates to the transmission of multimedia data, which is to be output, from a computer device to a vehicle multimedia device. The vehicle multimedia device has a control device which is designed to determine a piece of vehicle status information in order to transmit said information to the computer device. On the basis of the vehicle status information, the computer device generates release data which determines to what extent the multimedia data is to be output. The computer device transmits the multimedia data and the release data to the vehicle multimedia device, which multimedia device outputs, by means of an output device, the maximum multimedia data to the extent defined by the release data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Stefan Bieger, Gerhard Dochow
  • Publication number: 20200012276
    Abstract: A method for controlling the operation of an automatic driving assistance system of a motor vehicle, which is designed for independent vehicle guidance. When at least one driving control takeover condition is met which brings about deactivation of the driving assistance system when driving control is taken over by the driver, at least one takeover request is output to the driver. If the driver does not react to this takeover request, replanning of the original route occurs with an original destination to a stopping point which can be approached in an automated manner. The replanning occurs in such a way that the stopping point constitutes, in the context of the present position of the motor vehicle with respect to the original destination, an optimum stopping point which is determined according to at least one optimality criterion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2018
    Publication date: January 9, 2020
    Inventors: Gerhard DOCHOW, Stefan BIEGER
  • Patent number: 10182249
    Abstract: A method for receiving broadcast radio signals in a vehicle, particularly in a motor vehicle, and a broadcast radio receiver that is set up to perform the method are described. The method involves multiple reception paths of a broadcast radio receiver being available in order to receive and computationally process broadcast radio signals separately from one another. In addition, the method involves multiple reproduction appliances being connectable to one or more respective reception paths in order to reproduce received broadcast radio signals, wherein multiple reception paths can be combined for a reproduction appliance in order to improve the reception quality. Provision is additionally made for the speed of the vehicle to be ascertained and for the number of reception paths that are combined for a reproduction appliance to be prescribed on the basis of the speed of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2019
    Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Peter Kuhlmann, Gerhard Dochow
  • Publication number: 20170339441
    Abstract: A method for receiving broadcast radio signals in a vehicle, particularly in a motor vehicle, and a broadcast radio receiver that is set up to perform the method are described. The method involves multiple reception paths of a broadcast radio receiver being available in order to receive and computationally process broadcast radio signals separately from one another. In addition, the method involves multiple reproduction appliances being connectable to one or more respective reception paths in order to reproduce received broadcast radio signals, wherein multiple reception paths can be combined for a reproduction appliance in order to improve the reception quality. Provision is additionally made for the speed of the vehicle to be ascertained and for the number of reception paths that are combined for a reproduction appliance to be prescribed on the basis of the speed of the vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 10, 2015
    Publication date: November 23, 2017
    Inventors: Peter KUHLMANN, Gerhard DOCHOW
  • Publication number: 20170305271
    Abstract: The invention relates to the transmission of multimedia data, which is to be output, from a computer device to a vehicle multimedia device. The vehicle multimedia device has a control device which is designed to determine a piece of vehicle status information in order to transmit said information to the computer device. On the basis of the vehicle status information, the computer device generates release data which determines to what extent the multimedia data is to be output. The computer device transmits the multimedia data and the release data to the vehicle multimedia device, which multimedia device outputs, by means of an output device, the maximum multimedia data to the extent defined by the release data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 8, 2015
    Publication date: October 26, 2017
    Inventors: Stefan BIEGER, Gerhard DOCHOW
  • Patent number: 9781454
    Abstract: A method for reproducing, i.e., playing back, media data includes: receiving media data in a receive buffer; determining whether the receive buffer is sufficiently filled; reducing the playback speed over a period until the receive buffer is sufficiently filled, and playing back the media data at the reduced playback speed. The reduced playback speed has a speed profile having at least one non-linear section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
    Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Stefan Bieger, Gerhard Dochow
  • Patent number: 9301330
    Abstract: A method for mobile radio communication between a communication partner device and a mobile communication device includes conducting a communication, at least temporarily, via at least two different mobile radio connections in two different mobile radio networks; evaluating the reception quality of receive signals of each mobile radio connection in the mobile communication device; selecting the mobile radio connection with the best reception quality for the mobile radio communication, at least in a receiving direction; deriving different audio signals from the receive signals of the different mobile radio connections; and feeding the derived different audio signals to a delay circuit, which aligns transit time differences and/or the amplitude differences of the derived different audio signals with respect to one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2016
    Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Gerhard Dochow, Andreas Lotz
  • Publication number: 20150208106
    Abstract: A method for reproducing, i.e., playing back, media data includes: receiving media data in a receive buffer; determining whether the receive buffer is sufficiently filled; reducing the playback speed over a period until the receive buffer is sufficiently filled, and playing back the media data at the reduced playback speed. The reduced playback speed has a speed profile having at least one non-linear section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 6, 2013
    Publication date: July 23, 2015
    Inventors: Stefan Bieger, Gerhard Dochow
  • Publication number: 20150024764
    Abstract: A method for mobile radio communication between a communication partner device and a mobile communication device includes conducting a communication, at least temporarily, via at least two different mobile radio connections in two different mobile radio networks; evaluating the reception quality of receive signals of each mobile radio connection in the mobile communication device; selecting the mobile radio connection with the best reception quality for the mobile radio communication, at least in a receiving direction; deriving different audio signals from the receive signals of the different mobile radio connections; and feeding the derived different audio signals to a delay circuit, which aligns transit time differences and/or the amplitude differences of the derived different audio signals with respect to one another.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2013
    Publication date: January 22, 2015
    Inventors: Gerhard Dochow, Andreas Lotz