Patents by Inventor Nicholas Murphy

Nicholas Murphy 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: 10882191
    Abstract: Robotic system includes a control system and a slave device which is controlled by the control system. The slave device has a robotic grasping device formed of a rigid base and at least one finger which is movable to facilitate grasping of objects. At least one sensor is provided which senses a force applied to the finger. A cutting tool having a cutting jaw is also attached to the base. The cutting jaw is arranged to pivot on a pivot axis responsive to a pivot motion of the finger. The forces exerted on the cutting jaw are sensed with the sensor during a first predetermined range of finger motion associated with a cutting mode of operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2021
    Assignee: L3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventors: Paul M. Bosscher, Matthew D. Summer, Michael E. Bowman, Nicholas Murphy-DuBay, Loran J. Wilkinson
  • Publication number: 20200406773
    Abstract: Battery powered quadrotors or drones have a limited operation time. To extend operation time, a powered tether can be used. This tether provides power to the drone allowing it to stay up indefinitely. Most tethered drones are captured to the base station. The tether can reel in and out as the drone moves, but the drone can't go higher or further than the maximum length of the tether. If the tether can be automatically disconnected, the drone could fly off for some remote mission, assuming the drone had an onboard power source such as rechargeable batteries. The present invention relates to a self-powered drone tether that comprises a rechargeable drone in flight which is referred to as the rechargeable drone, a drone that carries a powered tether which is referred to as the tether drone, a coupling mechanism between the rechargeable drone and the tether drone, and a base station with a powered tether and tether deployment system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 26, 2019
    Publication date: December 31, 2020
    Inventors: Alberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy, William Becker, John Keyser
  • Publication number: 20200401134
    Abstract: Trucks in a mine or construction site move dirt, ore, or other matter from one location to another. The ore is usually loaded using an excavator or loader. Once at the unloading destination, the truck needs to determine where to unload the ore, dirt, or matter. Different applications require the load to be dumped in different manners. The present invention encodes this knowledge into a database of preferred behaviors and creates a set of automated maneuvers that accomplish these actions. The invention assumes that the truck has a drive-by-wire kit, and that its capable of moving under computer control.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2019
    Publication date: December 24, 2020
    Inventors: Alberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy
  • Publication number: 20200384997
    Abstract: Different separation distances are required and needed for different applications. For example, in some areas of the road, it may be advantageous to have trucks platoon at short distances due to the drafting effect and the associated fuel savings, however, in other areas, it is beneficial to have vehicles at longer separations. For example, if we have long strings of trucks in a single convoy, they may block the rest of the traffic from exiting or turning. There is a need to allow an operator or even automatically to have the system adjust the following distances. At short distances, short range communication, and fast control loops are necessary, at longer distances, control effects are less pronounced and the sensors that are efficient at short distances become inefficient at long distances and vice-versa. The system in presented here provides a mechanism for manually or automatically modifying the following gaps.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 6, 2019
    Publication date: December 10, 2020
    Inventors: Alberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy
  • Publication number: 20200389861
    Abstract: A broadcasting method has been developed that no longer uses the point-to-point measurements that causes the bottlenecks due to the number of measurements that need to be taken increasing non-linearly with the number of nodes. In addition, not all nodes need to emit. This results in significantly less expensive devices that can be paired with emitting nodes in the infrastructure. The energy emitted by the group is lowered and there is significantly less bandwidth that is used compared to current systems. This system is designed to synchronize remote clocks and localize a group of nodes and comprises at least 4 ranging nodes equipped with a clock, the capability to send and receive messages, the capability to time-tag messages, the capability for the nodes to compute the two sheeted hyperboloids from the emissions of other nodes, and the capability of combining multiple hyperboloids to solve the localization equations.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 10, 2019
    Publication date: December 10, 2020
    Inventors: Alberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy
  • Publication number: 20200387169
    Abstract: A system has been developed for sharing driving relative information among autonomous vehicles in the convoy comprising two or more autonomous vehicles in the convoy, sensors on each autonomous vehicle that can perceive road or traffic related features, a method for individually labelling features, a method for encoding characteristics of that feature to distinguish them from the other features so that another autonomous vehicle can re-locate and re-classify the same feature and a communication mechanism that allows the different autonomous vehicles to share features, labels, and feature characteristics. Obstacles that are detected are classified and they are tracked if the same obstacles continually appear. Some classification labels include vegetation, poles, vehicles, jersey barriers, etc. The same obstacles are collected with multiple autonomous vehicles.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 4, 2019
    Publication date: December 10, 2020
    Inventors: Alberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy
  • Publication number: 20200387168
    Abstract: A system has been developed for arranging a number of autonomous vehicles at a staging area which comprises two or more autonomous vehicles, a localization mechanism that provides the relative or absolute position of the autonomous vehicle to be arranged, a pattern for aligning the autonomous vehicles at the staging area and a planning algorithm that takes as input the current state of the autonomous vehicles and creates obstacle free trajectories that optimize the motion from the current state to a formation that matches the desired pattern. A set of operator aids have been created for automated convoy assembly in tactical assembly area. These aids can be remote and do not need to be in the same cab of the vehicle. The operator aids are used in conjunction with full automation. The operator is allowed to decide where to form the convoy and where to align.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 4, 2019
    Publication date: December 10, 2020
    Inventors: Alberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy
  • Publication number: 20200387166
    Abstract: The present invention describes a system comprising an autonomous vehicle equipped with a mechanism with lifting and depositing a container, a sensing mechanism on the autonomous vehicle that allows it to sense the pose of the container, a sensing mechanism in the autonomous vehicle that allows it to measure the support surface of the ground surrounding the container to be lifted or the area where the container is deposited and a planning algorithm that creates a trajectory that moves the autonomous vehicle from the current pose to a pose where the lifting/depositing mechanism can operate on the container to be lifted/dropped. An algorithm has been developed to automatically position the PLS to align with the trailer in autonomous vehicles for the loading maneuver. A set of “mud proof” fiducials has been developed that allow accurate alignment between the PLS and the trailer. This mechanism is leveraged for this behavior.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 4, 2019
    Publication date: December 10, 2020
    Inventors: Alberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy
  • Publication number: 20200363808
    Abstract: The present invention describes a system that is developed for autonomically backing up a tractor-trailer that consists of a tractor, a trailer, a sensor suite that measures the angle between the tractor and the trailer as well as the area suitable for backing up and a planning algorithm test generating a trajectory to back up or turn around the tractor-trailer without the use of pins or with automatic pinning. A genetic algorithm has been developed to determine the best trajectory for the convoy of autonomous vehicles to take from the starting position to the final position in the road network. In addition, other methods such as dynamic programming and other graph optimization methods can also be used to determine the best trajectory for the convoy of autonomous vehicles to take to reach the final destination point.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2019
    Publication date: November 19, 2020
    Inventors: Alberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy
  • Publication number: 20200331464
    Abstract: Military convoys sometimes need to push vehicles or obstacles out of the way in order to proceed with their mission. Selecting if pushing is necessary, what can be pushed, and what cannot be pushed as well as the specific maneuver necessary for pushing or creating a controlled crash are important to minimize the damage to the autonomous vehicles as well as to create pathways that are traversable by other autonomous vehicles in the convoy. These tasks are accomplished by evaluating the costs involved in each trajectory that can be navigated by the autonomous convoy and deciding if pushing the obstacle is the preferred path or navigating around the obstacle is the preferred path for the autonomous vehicles. Also, in some cases, several autonomous vehicles simultaneously push the obstacle at the same time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 22, 2019
    Publication date: October 22, 2020
    Inventors: Alberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy
  • Publication number: 20200319639
    Abstract: The use of sensors such as a LADAR, a ranging sensor, or an acoustic sensor in the front of the autonomous vehicles having to remember that there is one or more places to turn around (U-turn, k-turn, and other turning maneuvers) when there are obstacles in the path of the convoy and that the first autonomous vehicle mapping areas where k-turns, U-turns, and other turning maneuvers are possible for the entire convoy if necessary. These sensors detect features in a road network. There is also a control mechanism in which the first autonomous vehicle turns around in an orderly manner. Some examples include first autonomous vehicle backing out all the way and second one turning around or all of them back out and one turns around. In addition, the turning areas are paired with a specific turning maneuver and turning areas are marked for future traversals by the convoy.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 8, 2019
    Publication date: October 8, 2020
    Inventors: Alberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy
  • Publication number: 20200307783
    Abstract: The invention pertains to the development of a unique and small transformable robot that will fit into very small pipes, openings, or packing tubes, thereby enabling complex missions and also which can fly and drive. Other advantages of the system include portability, weight, perch, and stare capabilities. The present invention comprises a compact transformable robot capable of flying and driving designed to furl or fit into small openings, containers, packing tubes, or pipes containing a thrust, a main body, controls, and rotating propellers. The compact transformable robot capable of flying and driving that is designed to furl or fit into small openings, containers, or pipes comprises a ground locomotion, an aerial locomotion, controls, sensors, and a radio.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 16, 2019
    Publication date: October 1, 2020
    Inventors: Alberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy
  • Publication number: 20200225675
    Abstract: The invention simplifies the process of utilizing mmmg or construction trucks to automatically carry ore, dirt, or other matter from one location to another. Transportation of the dirt, ore, or matter is usually performed using trucks with loaders or excavators. The trucks then take the loads and deposit them in piles, which are then used for the next step of the mining or construction process. The invention uses a teach-and-follow process to establish the trajectories that these paths must follow. The present invention describes a system to record and execute trajectories for autonomous mining and construction trucks.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 11, 2019
    Publication date: July 16, 2020
    Inventors: Alberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy
  • Publication number: 20200217674
    Abstract: The present invention provides a mechanism that not only creates the quickest route for a group of people to a common location, but also selects the location for which the individual's longest driving time (between all parties) will be the shortest overall. This system is designed to automatically optimize meeting locations for a group of geographically separated members comprising a communication mechanism for transmitting the location of each member to a processor, a processor including a database containing the members of the meeting, a road network, and a list of possible locations to meet, as well as an optimization algorithm that computes the location of the meeting to accommodate one or more variety of utility functions (minimum overall time, least fuel, least wear and tear, minimum tolls/fares as well as minimum time including waiting time at the meeting location.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2019
    Publication date: July 9, 2020
    Inventors: Alberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy
  • Publication number: 20200219067
    Abstract: The present invention provides a mechanism that not only creates the quickest route for a group of people to a common location, but also selects the location for which the individual's longest driving time (between all parties) will be the shortest overall. This system is designed to automatically optimize meeting locations for a group of geographically separated members comprising a communication mechanism for transmitting the location of each member to a processor, a processor including a database containing the members of the meeting, a road network, and a list of possible locations to meet, as well as an optimization algorithm that computes the location of the meeting to accommodate one or more variety of utility functions (minimum overall time, least fuel, least wear and tear, minimum tolls/fares as well as minimum time including waiting time at the meeting location.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 18, 2019
    Publication date: July 9, 2020
    Inventors: Alberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy
  • Publication number: 20200180924
    Abstract: The present invention encodes this knowledge into a database of preferred loading conditions and creates a set of automated maneuvers that accomplish the loading actions. The invention assumes that the truck has a drive-by-wire kit and that it is capable of moving under computer control. This invention provides a set of tools that allows for the automation of the loading process. The invention is relevant to situations where the truck is autonomous and the excavator is not, or when both are automated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2019
    Publication date: June 11, 2020
    Inventors: Alberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy
  • Publication number: 20200150656
    Abstract: The system in this invention is autonomous control for these trucks covering a variety of behaviors specific to mining applications. The invention uses these behaviors to increase the efficiency and safety of running a mining operation, while also reducing cost. This invention involves the development of a system that is designed to increase the safely of mining and construction autonomous trucks. This system is comprised of one or more sensors that can detect road features, a drive-by-wire kit installed on a truck, an autonomous driver that creates the trajectories which take the vehicle from a starting location to an ending location (final destination), while at the same time implementing one or more of the behaviors mentioned below. One behavior implemented by the system is varying the trajectory within the traversable road to minimize the ruts. Another behavior is purposely driving over the “high” points of the support surface to flatten the ruts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 15, 2019
    Publication date: May 14, 2020
    Inventors: Alberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy
  • Publication number: 20200150669
    Abstract: The autonomous dust mitigation m mmmg and construction applications system disclosed herein may comprise a system that automatically detects dust at mmmg and construction sites and dispatches dust mitigation equipment in response to such detections. The dust areas detected may be assigned priorities within the system, and may be addressed or ignored based on various parameters dictating the behavior of the system. If, for example, an area of dust is not currently in use by local equipment, the system may not dispatch equipment to address that area. If, on the other hand, an area of dust is affecting a high priority or high risk area of the site, the system may prioritize the dispatching of dust mitigation equipment to that area over other areas.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 11, 2019
    Publication date: May 14, 2020
    Inventors: Alberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy
  • Publication number: 20200150668
    Abstract: Trucks in a mine or construction site move dirt, ore, or other matter from one location to another. The ore is usually loaded using an excavator or loader. Once at the unloading destination, the truck needs to determine where to unload the ore, dirt, or matter. Different applications require the load to be dumped in different manners. The present invention encodes this knowledge into a database of preferred behaviors and creates a set of automated maneuvers that accomplish these actions. The invention assumes that the truck has a drive-by-wire kit, and that its capable of moving under computer control.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2019
    Publication date: May 14, 2020
    Inventors: Alberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy
  • Patent number: 10632850
    Abstract: The invention being presented uses the motors already included in an electric vehicle to charge its batteries while in tow. The charging process provided by the invention is compatible with the charging speed of current battery technology. It will provide an effective way of charging vehicles in theater, when other sources of electrical energy may not be available. Moreover, the proposed system can actually extend the brake life of the towing vehicle and improve performance boundaries of the overall system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2020
    Inventors: Alberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy