Patents by Inventor Harald ALTINGER

Harald ALTINGER 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: 11600076
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for detecting a hazardous situation in road traffic, wherein visible surroundings of a motor vehicle are scanned by way of at least one surroundings monitoring sensor for the presence of a trigger. Upon detection of the trigger, data regarding the surroundings of the motor vehicle is collected by the at least one surroundings monitoring sensor in a trigger-specific radius around the trigger. Pieces of information based on the collected data are transmitted via a communication device to at least one receiver that is independent of the motor vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2023
    Assignee: AUDI AG
    Inventor: Harald Altinger
  • Patent number: 10990112
    Abstract: Method for controlling the deployment operation of motor vehicles in a parking environment, in which, controlled by a management device of the parking environment, motor vehicles can be automatically parked after delivery by the driver and, after detection of a pick-up request on the part of the driver, taken from the parking place to a pick-up position in a pick-up area, wherein authentication information assigned to the motor vehicle, specific to the parking process and optically and/or wirelessly retrievable via a readout connection is provided by the management device to the driver when delivering the motor vehicle, wherein to pick up the motor vehicle, the authentication information is read out by a readout device in the parking environment, particularly in the pick-up area, and the deployment process is initiated only when the authentication information is present.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2021
    Assignee: Audi AG
    Inventors: Harald Altinger, Florian Schuller, Christian Feist
  • Patent number: 10490077
    Abstract: A method is provided for controlling traffic in a parking environment comprising at least one parking space and used by at least a first group of manually operated traffic participants and a second group of automatically operated traffic participants. A central control device by considering current status information of traffic participants as determined by sensors and/or transmitted by the traffic participants, determines instruction information for each traffic participant. The instruction information describes the future operation of each traffic participant in a common route planning for all traffic participants using the parking environment. The central control device transmits the instruction information, via a communication link, to at least one part of the traffic participants. The instruction information is used for outputting information and/or automatically controlling each traffic participant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignee: Audi AG
    Inventors: Harald Altinger, Florian Schuller
  • Patent number: 10466703
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for controlling at least one vehicle moving at least partially autonomously within an operating environment. One trigger device is designed within the operating environment for triggering a stop signal for stopping the at least one vehicle. A computing device allocated to the operating environment receives the stop signal of the triggered trigger device and determines a set of vehicles to be stopped by evaluating positional data describing the position of the triggered trigger device and the position of the at least one vehicle. The computing device orders the at least one vehicle to stop depending on the evaluation result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: Audi AG
    Inventors: Harald Altinger, Florian Schuller, Christian Feist
  • Patent number: 10437245
    Abstract: Apparatus for controlling a device of a motor vehicle includes a communication unit configured to shift the device of the motor vehicle from an idle mode to an active mode by sending a first wireless signal. The apparatus is configured to specify a frequency and/or a channel for transmitting and/or receiving the first wireless signal in the active mode and to control the device so that the device is only shifted from the idle mode to the active mode when the first wireless signal is received at the specified frequency and/or the specified channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2019
    Assignee: AUDI AG
    Inventors: Harald Altinger, Florian Schuller, Ahmad El Assaad
  • Patent number: 10417905
    Abstract: A method and apparatus are described for providing result data, which relate to a motor vehicle environment with an infrastructure device, for guiding a receiving motor vehicle through an infrastructure presenting a complex traffic situation. At least one motor vehicle having at least one sensor device is selected by the infrastructure device. The sensor device of the selected motor vehicle detects sensor data, which describe at least part of the motor vehicle environment. The infrastructure device transmits a query message to the selected motor vehicle. The selected motor vehicle transmits the sensor data to the infrastructure device in response to the query message. The infrastructure device determines result data from the sensor data and provides the result data to the receiving motor vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2019
    Assignee: AUDI AG
    Inventors: Harald Altinger, Florian Schuller, Christian Feist
  • Patent number: 10395533
    Abstract: Data relating to at least the dynamic objects of the surrounding area is ascertained by sensors of at least one motor vehicle. The data is stored in a database provided by a motor vehicle, acting as a server for the surrounding area, which communicates with other motor vehicles. When a request message is received, the motor vehicle acting as a server transmits at least one part of environmental data in the database to the requesting motor vehicle and/or transmits a request message for transmitting environmental data, relating to the requested data about at least one object, to other motor vehicles to update the database and/or captures environmental data relating to the at least one object by other sensors. The database is updated to include the transmitted or captured environmental data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2019
    Assignee: AUDI AG
    Inventors: Harald Altinger, Christoph Sippl
  • Publication number: 20190250613
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for controlling at least one vehicle moving at least partially autonomously within an operating environment. One trigger device is designed within the operating environment for triggering a stop signal for stopping the at least one vehicle. A computing device allocated to the operating environment receives the stop signal of the triggered trigger device and determines a set of vehicles to be stopped by evaluating positional data describing the position of the triggered trigger device and the position of the at least one vehicle. The computing device order the at least one vehicle to stop depending on the evaluation result.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2017
    Publication date: August 15, 2019
    Applicant: AUDI AG
    Inventors: Harald ALTINGER, Florian SCHULLER, Christian FEIST
  • Publication number: 20190227568
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a method for operating a motor vehicle, comprising the following steps: ascertaining at least one path data record describing a respective traveled trajectory of the or a respective further motor vehicle, and transmitting the path data record to a vehicle-external memory device; providing at least one guidance data record for the motor vehicle by the memory device, wherein each guidance data record is assigned to one of the trajectories and is ascertained as a function of the path data record describing the respective assigned trajectory; and actuating the vehicle device of the motor vehicle as a function of the provided guidance data record or, if a plurality of guidance data records are provided by the memory device, of one of the provided guidance data records selected by the motor vehicle so as to output a driving suggestion, related to the assigned trajectory, to a driver of the motor vehicle and/or so as to carry out at least one driving intervention.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 4, 2017
    Publication date: July 25, 2019
    Applicant: AUDI AG
    Inventors: Harald ALTINGER, Florian SCHULLER, Christian FEIST
  • Publication number: 20190205669
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for detecting a hazardous situation in road traffic, wherein visible surroundings of a motor vehicle are scanned by way of at least one surroundings monitoring sensor for the presence of a trigger. Upon detection of the trigger, data regarding the surroundings of the motor vehicle is collected by the at least one surroundings monitoring sensor in a trigger-specific radius around the trigger. Pieces of information based on the collected data are transmitted via a communication device to at least one receiver that is independent of the motor vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2017
    Publication date: July 4, 2019
    Inventor: Harald ALTINGER
  • Patent number: 10338598
    Abstract: A method for operating an automatically guided, driverless motor vehicle is provided. Sensor data detected by environmental sensors of the motor vehicle is evaluated with respect to objects to be taken into account in trajectory planning. The objects can be classified as an obstacle or not an obstacle using at least one classifier. If an object that cannot be classified or cannot be classified with sufficient certainty as an obstacle or not an obstacle, at least one camera image of the respective object is taken, transmitted to a portable mobile communication device carried along by a user of the motor vehicle, and displayed there. An input, classifying the object as an obstacle or not an obstacle, of a user is accepted as classification information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2019
    Assignee: Audi AG
    Inventors: Harald Altinger, Florian Schuller
  • Publication number: 20190155308
    Abstract: Method for controlling the deployment operation of motor vehicles in a parking environment, in which, controlled by a management device of the parking environment, motor vehicles can be automatically parked after delivery by the driver and, after detection of a pick-up request on the part of the driver, taken from the parking place to a pick-up position in a pick-up area, wherein authentication information assigned to the motor vehicle, specific to the parking process and optically and/or wirelessly retrievable via a readout connection is provided by the management device to the driver when delivering the motor vehicle, wherein to pick up the motor vehicle, the authentication information is read out by a readout device in the parking environment, particularly in the pick-up area, and the deployment process is initiated only when the authentication information is present
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2017
    Publication date: May 23, 2019
    Applicant: Audi AG
    Inventors: Harald ALTINGER, Florian SCHULLER, Christian FEIST
  • Patent number: 10269250
    Abstract: The present disclosure discloses a method for coordinating the traffic of motor vehicles in a parking environment. The method evaluates sensor data and determines current traffic situation data of a parking environment based on the evaluating. The method determines a target corridor for a destination of a motor vehicle based on current traffic situation data, a map data set, and target corridors determined for other motor vehicles. The method transmits the target corridor to the motor vehicle, and a recommendation to wait to another motor vehicle during a planned departure of the other motor vehicle from the parking environment. The method outputs a confirmation of a request for an automatic departure of the other motor vehicle to a mobile device when a time to reach an exit according to an optimal target corridor exceeds a threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: Audi AG
    Inventors: Harald Altinger, Florian Schuller
  • Publication number: 20190012906
    Abstract: A method and apparatus are described for providing result data, which relate to a motor vehicle environment with an infrastructure device, for guiding a receiving motor vehicle through an infrastructure presenting a complex traffic situation. At least one motor vehicle having at least one sensor device is selected by the infrastructure device. The sensor device of the selected motor vehicle detects sensor data, which describe at least part of the motor vehicle environment. The infrastructure device transmits a query message to the selected motor vehicle. The selected motor vehicle transmits the sensor data to the infrastructure device in response to the query message. The infrastructure device determines result data from the sensor data and provides the result data to the receiving motor vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 4, 2017
    Publication date: January 10, 2019
    Inventors: Harald ALTINGER, Florian SCHULLER, Christian FEIST
  • Publication number: 20190005818
    Abstract: Data relating to at least the dynamic objects of the surrounding area is as certained by sensors of at least on e motor vehicle. The is stored in a database provided by a motor vehicle, acting as a server for the surrounding area, which communicates with other motor vehicles. When a request message is received, the motor vehicle acting as a server transmits at least one part of environmental data in the database to the requesting motor vehicle and/or transmits a request message for transmitting environmental data, relating to the requested data about at least one object, to other motor vehicles to update the database and/or captures environmental data relating to the at least one object by other sensors. The database is updated to include the transmitted or captured environmental data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 25, 2017
    Publication date: January 3, 2019
    Applicant: AUDI AG
    Inventors: Harald ALTINGER, Christoph SIPPL
  • Patent number: 10157544
    Abstract: A method for determining positional data for use in the operation of a vehicle system (3) of a motor vehicle (2), wherein image data of at least one surveillance camera (9, 10, 11) recording at least a portion of the surroundings of the motor vehicle (2) and/or the motor vehicle (2), provided externally to the motor vehicle (2) for determining the positional data of at least one recorded object (13) are evaluated and made at least partially available to the vehicle system (3).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2018
    Assignee: Audi AG
    Inventors: Harald Altinger, Florian Schuller, Andre Ibisch
  • Patent number: 10117057
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for locating a mobile device in a surrounding area, wherein the device has multiple sensors for detecting the area surrounding the device using different locating methods, wherein a reference map is provided for the surrounding area, said reference map comprising multiple positions within the surrounding area, wherein at least one locating method which is to be carried out using at least one sensor in order to detect the surrounding area is recommended for at least one position within the surrounding area, wherein the at least one locating method recommended according to the reference map and to be carried out using at least one sensor is used for a current position of the mobile device in order to locate the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2018
    Assignee: AUDI AG
    Inventors: Florian Schuller, Harald Altinger
  • Publication number: 20180176735
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for locating a mobile device in a surrounding area, wherein the device has multiple sensors for detecting the area surrounding the device using different locating methods, wherein a reference map is provided for the surrounding area, said reference map comprising multiple positions within the surrounding area, wherein at least one locating method which is to be carried out using at least one sensor in order to detect the surrounding area is recommended for at least one position within the surrounding area, wherein the at least one locating method recommended according to the reference map and to be carried out using at least one sensor is used for a current position of the mobile device in order to locate the device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 25, 2015
    Publication date: June 21, 2018
    Applicant: AUDI AG
    Inventors: Florian SCHULLER, Harald Altinger
  • Patent number: 9995585
    Abstract: A method for navigating a user between a first position within a building and a second position, or vice versa, includes creating, by a motor vehicle, map information describing at least one partial area of the building based on vehicle environment information created at the motor vehicle that describes objects in the environment around the motor vehicle. The method further includes providing, by the motor vehicle, parking information including a park position of the motor vehicle within the building and transferring the map information and the parking information to a mobile communication device. The mobile communication device is configured to create navigation information containing at least one navigation route between the first position and the second position, based on the transferred map information and the transferred parking information. The mobile communication device is configured to navigate the user between the first position and the second position using the navigation information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignee: Audi AG
    Inventors: Harald Altinger, Florian Schuller
  • Publication number: 20180151072
    Abstract: A method for determining positional data for use in the operation of a vehicle system (3) of a motor vehicle (2), wherein image data of at least one surveillance camera (9, 10, 11) recording at least a portion of the surroundings of the motor vehicle (2) and/or the motor vehicle (2), provided externally to the motor vehicle (2) for determining the positional data of at least one recorded object (13) are evaluated and made at least partially available to the vehicle system (3).
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 24, 2015
    Publication date: May 31, 2018
    Inventors: Harald ALTINGER, Florian SCHULLER, Andre IBISCH