Patents by Inventor Stephen Christopher Welch

Stephen Christopher Welch 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: 10330494
    Abstract: A wearable fall-detection device has a variety of sensors, including a pressure sensor, that provide signals for sampling environmental conditions acting on the device. An average of pressure data samples is used to determine a resultant that may indicate an amount of noise in a pressure data signal, and statistical analysis of the noise and the pressure signal average may be used to determine a confidence estimate value that indicates a level of confidence in the amount of noise that a pressure signal is subject to, or includes. The confidence estimate and known fall data, such as change in pressure between a person standing and lying, can create a threshold function that may adapt according to sampled data thus providing a customizable (either statically or dynamically) threshold function for comparing sensor data against rather than comparing data with just a linear threshold function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2019
    Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc.
    Inventors: James Ronald Barfield, Stephen Christopher Welch
  • Patent number: 10197631
    Abstract: Techniques described herein may be used to provide a driver of a vehicle with an accurate assessment of the remaining life of the vehicle battery. An on-board device may collect information from one or more sensors or devices within the vehicle. The information may be processed to generate a data set that accurately describes the current status and operating conditions of the battery. The data set may be used to evaluate the health of the battery and make predictions regarding the future performance of the battery, which may be communicated to the driver of the vehicle. Machine-learning techniques may be implemented to improve upon methodologies to evaluate the health of the battery and make predictions regarding battery performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2019
    Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc.
    Inventors: James Ronald Barfield, Jr., Stephen Christopher Welch, Thomas Steven Taylor
  • Patent number: 9881428
    Abstract: Vehicle data may be analyzed to predict potential component failures, diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs), or other mechanical failures relating to the vehicle. In one implementation the vehicle data may be received from a number of vehicles, the vehicle data including DTCs generated by on-board diagnostic (OBD) systems of the vehicles. The vehicle data may be evaluated using a predictive model to output predictions of DTCs that are likely to occur for a particular vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc.
    Inventors: James Ronald Barfield, Jr., Stephen Christopher Welch, Marc Edmond Barbier
  • Patent number: 9718468
    Abstract: Information identifying one or more conditions associated with a vehicle is collected. This information may include first data associated with the vehicle, second data associated with a driver of the vehicle, and third data associated with an environment around the vehicle. The information may be collected from a vehicle sensor, a telematics unit, a user device associated with the driver or a passenger, or a remote server. A likelihood of a collision involving the vehicle, a likelihood of avoiding the collision, and a risk associated with the collision may be determined based on the collected data. An appropriate response may be selected based on the likelihood of the collision, the likelihood of avoiding the collision, and the risk associated with the collision.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: VERIZON PATENT AND LICENSING INC.
    Inventors: James Ronald Barfield, Jr., Stephen Christopher Welch
  • Publication number: 20170101093
    Abstract: Information identifying one or more conditions associated with a vehicle is collected. This information may include first data associated with the vehicle, second data associated with a driver of the vehicle, and third data associated with an environment around the vehicle. The information may be collected from a vehicle sensor, a telematics unit, a user device associated with the driver or a passenger, or a remote server. A likelihood of a collision involving the vehicle, a likelihood of avoiding the collision, and a risk associated with the collision may be determined based on the collected data. An appropriate response may be selected based on the likelihood of the collision, the likelihood of avoiding the collision, and the risk associated with the collision.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 13, 2015
    Publication date: April 13, 2017
    Inventors: James Ronald Barfield, Jr., Stephen Christopher Welch
  • Patent number: 9589442
    Abstract: Techniques described herein relate to the classification of fall events for PER (personal emergency response) devices. In one implementation, data relating to acceleration events that occurred at the PER devices may be received. The data relating to the acceleration events may be associated with indications of whether the acceleration events correspond to fall events of users of the PER devices. A classification model may be trained based on the data relating to the acceleration events and the indications of whether the data relating to the acceleration events corresponds to the fall events. The classification model may be transmitted to at least some of the PER devices to update a previous version of the classification model at the at least some of the PER devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2017
    Assignee: Verizon Telematics Inc.
    Inventors: James Ronald Barfield, Jr., Stephen Christopher Welch
  • Publication number: 20160349330
    Abstract: Techniques described herein may be used to provide a driver of a vehicle with an accurate assessment of the remaining life of the vehicle battery. An on-board device may collect information from one or more sensors or devices within the vehicle. The information may be processed to generate a data set that accurately describes the current status and operating conditions of the battery. The data set may be used to evaluate the health of the battery and make predictions regarding the future performance of the battery, which may be communicated to the driver of the vehicle. Machine-learning techniques may be implemented to improve upon methodologies to evaluate the health of the battery and make predictions regarding battery performance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 1, 2015
    Publication date: December 1, 2016
    Inventors: James Ronald Barfield, JR., Stephen Christopher Welch, Thomas Steven Taylor
  • Patent number: 9494937
    Abstract: A system comprise a server configured to communicate vehicle information with a vehicle transceiver of a vehicle moving along a vehicle route and communicate drone information with a drone transceiver of a drone moving along a drone route. A computing device with a memory and a processor may be configured to communicatively connect with the server, process the vehicle information and the drone information, identify a plurality of pickup locations based in part on the vehicle information and drone information, select at least one of the plurality of pickup locations based in part on a priority score associated with a travel time to or wait time for each of the plurality of pickup locations, and update the drone route based in part on the selected pickup location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2016
    Assignee: Verizon Telematics Inc.
    Inventors: Robert S. Siegel, Stephen Christopher Welch, James Ronald Barfield, Jr.
  • Patent number: 9390612
    Abstract: A personal emergency response (PER) device may include an audio sensor that is used to enhance the operation of the PER device. The audio sensor may obtain audio data that can be used to verify whether a fall event that is detected by the PER device is a false positive signal and/or enhance the reliability of a detected fall event. In some implementations, the audio data may be used in the detection of vehicle crashes in which a user of the PER device is involved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2016
    Assignee: Verizon Telematics, Inc.
    Inventors: James Ronald Barfield, Jr., Stephen Christopher Welch
  • Patent number: 9392431
    Abstract: Vehicle collisions may be automatically detected and reported based to a call center. The collisions may be automatically detected based on a collision detection model that receives sensor data, or other data, as input, and outputs an indication of whether there is a collision. The collision detection model may be trained on historical sensor data associated with potential vehicle collisions, where the historical sensor data is labeled to indicate whether the data corresponds to an actual collision.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2016
    Assignee: VERIZON PATENT AND LICENSING INC.
    Inventors: James Ronald Barfield, Jr., Stephen Christopher Welch
  • Publication number: 20160094964
    Abstract: Vehicle collisions may be automatically detected and reported based to a call center. The collisions may be automatically detected based on a collision detection model that receives sensor data, or other data, as input, and outputs an indication of whether there is a collision. The collision detection model may be trained on historical sensor data associated with potential vehicle collisions, where the historical sensor data is labeled to indicate whether the data corresponds to an actual collision.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2014
    Publication date: March 31, 2016
    Applicant: VERIZON PATENT AND LICENSING INC.
    Inventors: James Ronald Barfield, JR., Stephen Christopher Welch
  • Patent number: 9258409
    Abstract: A device may receive sensor data regarding a user device; and determine, based on the sensor data, that a user of the user device is in a vehicle or driving the vehicle. When determining that the user of the user device is in the vehicle or driving the vehicle, the device may compare the sensor data, received from the user device, with a reference dataset that includes reference data associated with users being present in or driving a vehicle, or determine that a value of a measurement, received as part of the sensor data, satisfies a threshold that is related to whether the user is in the vehicle or driving the vehicle. The device may output a particular control instruction to the user device based on determining that the user is in the vehicle or is driving the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2016
    Assignee: VERIZON PATENT AND LICENSING INC.
    Inventors: James Ronald Barfield, Jr., Stephen Christopher Welch, Thomas Steven Taylor
  • Publication number: 20160036964
    Abstract: A device may receive sensor data regarding a user device; and determine, based on the sensor data, that a user of the user device is in a vehicle or driving the vehicle. When determining that the user of the user device is in the vehicle or driving the vehicle, the device may compare the sensor data, received from the user device, with a reference dataset that includes reference data associated with users being present in or driving a vehicle, or determine that a value of a measurement, received as part of the sensor data, satisfies a threshold that is related to whether the user is in the vehicle or driving the vehicle. The device may output a particular control instruction to the user device based on determining that the user is in the vehicle or is driving the vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2014
    Publication date: February 4, 2016
    Inventors: James Ronald Barfield, JR., Stephen Christopher Welch, Thomas Steven Taylor
  • Publication number: 20160035150
    Abstract: Vehicle data may be analyzed to predict potential component failures, diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs), or other mechanical failures relating to the vehicle. In one implementation the vehicle data may be received from a number of vehicles, the vehicle data including DTCs generated by on-board diagnostic (OBD) systems of the vehicles. The vehicle data may be evaluated using a predictive model to output predictions of DTCs that are likely to occur for a particular vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 30, 2014
    Publication date: February 4, 2016
    Inventors: James Ronald Barfield, JR., Stephen Christopher Welch, Marc Edmond Barbier
  • Publication number: 20150370251
    Abstract: A system comprise a server configured to communicate vehicle information with a vehicle transceiver of a vehicle moving along a vehicle route and communicate drone information with a drone transceiver of a drone moving along a drone route. A computing device with a memory and a processor may be configured to communicatively connect with the server, process the vehicle information and the drone information, identify a plurality of pickup locations based in part on the vehicle information and drone information, select at least one of the plurality of pickup locations based in part on a priority score associated with a travel time to or wait time for each of the plurality of pickup locations, and update the drone route based in part on the selected pickup location.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 20, 2014
    Publication date: December 24, 2015
    Inventors: Robert S. Siegel, Stephen Christopher Welch, James Ronald Barfield, JR.
  • Patent number: 9128116
    Abstract: The axes of an accelerometer, installed in a vehicle at an arbitrary orientation, may be realigned to the coordinate frame of the vehicle. In one implementation, a method may include determining, based on acceleration measurements from the accelerometer that likely corresponds to stopping, a dominant orientation of the accelerometer in relation to gravity, including calculating a first transformation angle and a second transformation angle as parameters to perform coordinate realignment of a coordinate frame of the accelerometer to a coordinate frame of the vehicle. The method may further include identifying, based on the acceleration measurements, an occurrence of acceleration events of the vehicle; determining, based on an analysis of the acceleration events, a third transformation angle; and storing the first, second, and third transformation angles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2015
    Assignee: HTI IP, L.L.C.
    Inventors: Stephen Christopher Welch, James Ronald Barfield, Jr.
  • Publication number: 20150213555
    Abstract: A system may determine driving information associated with a group of users, the driving information may be based on sensor information collected by at least two of a group of user devices, a first group of vehicle devices connected to a corresponding group of vehicles associated with the group of users, or a group of second vehicle devices installed in the corresponding group of vehicles. The system may determine non-driving information associated with the group of users. The system may create a driver behavior prediction model based on the driving information and the non-driving information, and may store the driver behavior prediction model. The driver behavior prediction model may permit a driver prediction to be made regarding a particular user (e.g., a user that is not necessarily included in the group of users). The driver behavior prediction may be associated with a particular geographic location.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 27, 2014
    Publication date: July 30, 2015
    Applicant: HTI IP, LLC
    Inventors: James Ronald BARFIELD, JR., Stephen Christopher WELCH
  • Publication number: 20150176989
    Abstract: The embodiments disclosed are directed to systems and methods for determining the inclination of a surface beneath a vehicle. In some embodiments, a method uses an accelerometer to determine a final surface inclination value. The final surface inclination value can then be used to compensate for the acceleration of the vehicle caused by gravity. The method includes receiving accelerometer values from the accelerometer. The method also includes determining surface inclination values based on the accelerometer values. The method further includes storing the surface inclination values. And the method includes applying a digital filter to the stored surface inclination values to determine a final surface inclination value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 23, 2013
    Publication date: June 25, 2015
    Applicant: HTI IP, LLC
    Inventors: Stephen Christopher Welch, JAMES RONALD BARFIELD, JR.
  • Publication number: 20150145662
    Abstract: A personal emergency response (PER) device may include an audio sensor that is used to enhance the operation of the PER device. The audio sensor may obtain audio data that can be used to verify whether a fall event that is detected by the PER device is a false positive signal and/or enhance the reliability of a detected fall event. In some implementations, the audio data may be used in the detection of vehicle crashes in which a user of the PER device is involved.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2013
    Publication date: May 28, 2015
    Applicant: HTI IP, L.L.C.
    Inventors: James Ronald Barfield, Jr, Stephen Christopher Welch
  • Publication number: 20150061863
    Abstract: Techniques described herein relate to the classification of fall events for PER (personal emergency response) devices. In one implementation, data relating to acceleration events that occurred at the PER devices may be received. The data relating to the acceleration events may be associated with indications of whether the acceleration events correspond to fall events of users of the PER devices. A classification model may be trained based on the data relating to the acceleration events and the indications of whether the data relating to the acceleration events corresponds to the fall events. The classification model may be transmitted to at least some of the PER devices to update a previous version of the classification model at the at least some of the PER devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 3, 2013
    Publication date: March 5, 2015
    Applicant: HTI IP, L.L.C.
    Inventors: James Ronald Barfield, JR., Stephen Christopher Welch