Responsive To Sensing Of Acceleration, Deceleration, Or Tilt Of Vehicle Patents (Class 180/282)
  • Patent number: 11565564
    Abstract: A suspension device includes: a damping device that damps a force generated between a vehicle body and a wheel of a vehicle; a determination unit that determines whether the vehicle is jumping, using an acceleration of the vehicle in a front-rear direction, an acceleration of the vehicle in a left-right direction, and an acceleration of the vehicle in a vertical direction; and a damping force control unit that increases a damping force of the damping device so as to be greater than the damping force generated when the determination unit does not determine that the vehicle is jumping, when the determination unit determines that the vehicle is jumping.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: HITACHI ASTEMO, LTD.
    Inventor: Yosuke Murakami
  • Patent number: 11570529
    Abstract: Systems and methods for crash determination in accordance with embodiments of the invention are disclosed. In one embodiment, a vehicle telematics device includes a processor and a memory storing a crash determination application, wherein the processor, on reading the crash determination application, is directed to obtain sensor data from at least one sensor installed in a vehicle, calculate peak resultant data based on the sensor data, where the peak resultant data describes the acceleration of the vehicle over a first time period, generate crash score data based on the peak resultant data and a set of crash curve data for the vehicle, where the crash score data describes the likelihood that the vehicle was involved in a crash based on the characteristics of the vehicle and the sensor data, and provide the obtained sensor data when the crash score data exceeds a crash threshold to a remote server system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: CalAmpCorp.
    Inventors: Jeff Jenkins, Greg Bayley, Peter Byrne, Gallin Chen
  • Patent number: 11535387
    Abstract: An enhanced automatic activation device (EAAD) is provided. The EAAD includes a housing; a plurality of environmental sensors disposed within the housing; a connection to a reserve canopy deployment mechanism, the connection being disposed at least partially within the housing; and a processor coupled to the plurality of environmental sensors and the connection. The processor is configured to execute a machine learning process. The machine learning process is configured to classify environmental data from the plurality of environmental sensors into either a first group associated with nominal deployment of a main canopy of a parachute rig or a second group associated with failed deployment of the main canopy of the parachute rig. The processor is also configured to transmit a signal to the reserve canopy deployment mechanism where the machine learning process classifies the environmental data within the second group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: MORSECORP, Inc.
    Inventor: Daniel Gombos
  • Patent number: 11459226
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a substrate, a movable portion provided on the substrate, a junction frame provided on the substrate to surround the movable portion, a cap bonded to the junction frame, the cap having a recessed portion and covering a space over the movable portion with the recessed portion facing the movable portion, the cap having an inside wall provided with irregularities, and a prevention film formed on the inside wall of the cap, the prevention film having irregularities on a surface thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Yasuo Yamaguchi, Mika Okumura
  • Patent number: 11427109
    Abstract: A truck seat adapter which is designed to be positioned between the floor of the driver's compartment and the seat base of a driver's seat to enable the seat to be positioned rearwardly of the factory installed position to provide additional leg room for the driver or the passenger. The positioning of the adapter plate for the driver's seat enables the seat to be positioned so as to not interfere with the closing of the driver's door. In a second embodiment, the positioning of the adapter plate for the passenger's seat enables the seat to be positioned so as to not interfere with the closing of the passenger's door.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Inventor: Adam J. Wurzer
  • Patent number: 11415637
    Abstract: A system and method for providing an application-independent estimation of the state of health (SOH) of a battery. A battery terminal voltage, under a non-zero load, when a specific amount of charge has been drawn from the battery is compared to stored terminal voltage test data obtained under the same conditions. An estimate of SOH is provided in response to the comparison.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE
    Inventors: Jayant V. Sarlashkar, Mickey E. Argo, Jr., Bapiraju Surampudi
  • Patent number: 11417213
    Abstract: A collision detection system (1) for detecting and assessing the state of a crash guard (2), comprising at least one crash guard (2), which is provided with a sensor for detecting a collision onto or against the said crash guard (2), wherein the said system comprises a processing unit, which is provided to assess, on the basis of the signals generated by the sensor, the effect of a collision on the crash guard (2) and, if necessary, to initiate an alarm signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Inventor: Xavier Ramon
  • Patent number: 11414086
    Abstract: A computer implemented method for localizing an occupant within a vehicle includes identifying whether at least one occupant is present within the vehicle based on a signal of an ultrasonic sensor and determining information regarding an inclination of the vehicle based on at least one signal of an inclination sensor. Based on the information regarding inclination of the vehicle, it is determined whether an occupant is present in one of a plurality of predefined sections of the vehicle if the presence of at least one occupant within the vehicle is identified.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: APTIV TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
    Inventors: Roland Menne, Christoph Rott, Christian Esser
  • Patent number: 11407408
    Abstract: A method for performing an evasive maneuver with a commercial vehicle-trailer combination includes ascertaining that a collision between the commercial vehicle-trailer combination and a collision object is impending. The method further includes determining an evasion trajectory by which the commercial vehicle-trailer combination can evade the collision object without coming into contact with the collision object, determining a desired steering angle based on the evasion trajectory and activating an active steering system of the commercial vehicle-trailer combination in dependence on the determined desired steering angle such that the commercial vehicle-trailer combination moves along the evasion trajectory from a starting traffic lane to a target traffic lane so as to perform the evasive maneuver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: ZF CV SYSTEMS EUROPE BV
    Inventors: Christoph Barth, Thomas Dieckmann, Stephan Kallenbach, Ralph-Carsten Luelfing, Klaus Plaehn
  • Patent number: 11390213
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure include methods, apparatuses, and systems for receiving feedback during transport. Embodiments include a transportation system comprising a tractor, a dolly attached to opposing ends of a first and second trailer, and a sensor feedback system. Sensor feedback system may include a tilt sensor system mounted on at least one of the dolly, the first trailer, and the second trailer, and a user feedback system mounted within the tractor. Tilt sensor system may measure tilt of at least one of the dolly, first and second trailers, and first and second containers attached to the first and second trailers, to obtain tilt information, and send tilt information to the user feedback system via a communication system. User feedback system may receive the tilt information and alert a driver of the tractor if the tilt information is above a predetermined level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: CRC R&D, LLC
    Inventor: Ronald H. Mains, Jr.
  • Patent number: 11323213
    Abstract: In wireless device-to-device, D2D, communication data are transmitted directly from a first wireless device to a second wireless device. In response to the direct transmission of data, the second wireless device transmits feedback data indicating at least one quality of the data received in the second wireless device. More precisely, according to the invention, a radio access network node controls the direct transmission of data by means of downlink control information to the first and second wireless devices, and the feedback data are received in the radio access network node. The radio access network node preferably also uses the received feedback to control at least one of the first and second wireless devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (Publ)
    Inventors: Jingya Li, Hieu Do, Mikael Fallgren, Gabor Fodor
  • Patent number: 11292403
    Abstract: Systems and methods for impact detection in accordance with embodiments of the invention are disclosed. In one embodiment, a vehicle impact detection system includes an acceleration sensor, a storage device storing an impact detection application, and a processor, where the impact detection application directs the processor to receive acceleration information using the acceleration sensor, filter the acceleration information to attenuate noise, determine an occurrence of an impact by detecting an acceleration from the acceleration information that exceeds a threshold for a time period, detect an angle of the impact with respect to a forward direction using the acceleration information, and trigger an impact detector signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: CalAmp Corp.
    Inventor: Alexandre Dlagnekov
  • Patent number: 11254306
    Abstract: Described herein are examples of a system that processes information describing movement of a vehicle at a time related to a potential collision to reliably determine whether a collision occurred and/or one or more characteristics of the collision. In response to obtaining information regarding a potential collision, data describing movement of the vehicle before and/or after a time associated with the potential collision is analyzed to determine whether the collision occurred and/or to determine one or more collision characteristic(s). The analysis may be carried out at least in part using a trained classifier that classifies the vehicle movement data into one or more classes, where at least some the classes are associated with whether a collision occurred and/or one or more characteristics of a collision. If a collision is determined to be likely, one or more actions may be triggered based on the characteristic(s) of the collision.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Geotab Inc.
    Inventors: Paul Stobbe, Stefania Talpa, Daniel Jacob Lewis, Jorge González Núñez, Ivan Lequerica Roca, Luis Alfonso Hernández Gómez
  • Patent number: 11198414
    Abstract: An occupant restraint system for a vehicle includes: a seat belt device configured w restrain an occupant seated on a vehicular seat with a webbing, in which one end of the webbing is wound around a winding device and the other end is fixed to one of the vehicular seat and a vehicle body, and the seat belt device is configured so that a motor provided in the winding device is driven to wind the webbing; and an electronic control unit configured to drive the motor so that a prescribed amount of the webbing is wound, when a first condition is satisfied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takuya Nezaki, Motoki Sugiyama, Fumihito Komeno, Makoto Matsuzaki, Kenji Fukuta
  • Patent number: 11195077
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a wearable device and a system. The wearable device (20, 40) comprises an electronic circuit (21), a power supply (22), a switching circuit (23, 43) coupled between the electronic circuit and the power supply, and an electromagnetic field detection circuit (24) coupled to the switching circuit (23, 43) for detecting an electromagnetic field generated by an NFC transmitter within the detection range of the electromagnetic field detection circuit and for generating a trigger signal if an electromagnetic field generated by an NFC transmitter is detected within the detection range of the electromagnetic field detection circuit. The switching circuit (23, 43) comprises a flip-flop (231) or a transistor circuit (431) including an input transistor (432) and a fuse (433) to switch the connection between the electronic circuit and the power supply on in response to the trigger signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: Koninklljke Philips N.V.
    Inventor: Edwin Gerardus Johannus Maria Bongers
  • Patent number: 11084444
    Abstract: A method for operating an airbag of an occupant protection device of a vehicle moveable in autonomous driving mode involves positioning the airbag in an active position depending on at least one trigger condition. The airbag is automatically positioned and/or aligned within a vehicle interior depending on a positioning of a vehicle seat assigned to the airbag.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: DAIMLER AG
    Inventor: Julien Richert
  • Patent number: 11066029
    Abstract: A method, a device and a computer program for activating a secondary function of an occupant protection system, a vertical acceleration and a lateral acceleration being detected and evaluated and an instantaneous position of the vehicle being determined based on the vertical acceleration and the first lateral acceleration. In the process, a lifting-off of the vehicle and/or an impact of the vehicle on its wheels is detected. A secondary function is activated if an impact of the vehicle on its roof and/or if an impact of the vehicle on one side or an impact of the vehicle on its wheels is detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventor: Nikolaos Gortsas
  • Patent number: 11063360
    Abstract: A facing portion of an antenna is provided with a first capacitance complementary adjusting portion which adjusts variation of a capacitance caused by a first movement of a second facing portion relative to a first facing portion and a second capacitance complementary adjusting portion which adjust variation of the capacitance caused by a second movement of the second facing portion relative to the first facing portion. The first capacitance complementary adjusting portion has a first variable portion and a second variable portion which have mutually opposite effects on the capacitance. The second capacitance complementary adjusting portion has a third variable portion and a fourth variable portion which have mutually opposite effects on the capacitance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: JAPAN AVIATION ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY, LIMITED
    Inventor: Osamu Hashiguchi
  • Patent number: 11027689
    Abstract: An airbag device includes a movement obtaining unit, an airbag, and an airbag controller. The movement obtaining unit is configured to obtain a movement of an occupant in an automobile. The airbag is deployable with different thicknesses into a gap between the occupant and a side portion of the automobile. The airbag controller is configured to restrict the thickness of the airbag that deploys toward the gap so that the airbag is inserted into the gap, if the airbag controller determines that the gap is smaller than a predetermined value on the basis of the movement of the occupant obtained by the movement obtaining unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2021
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Isamu Nagasawa
  • Patent number: 11001261
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and an arrangement for controlling a vehicle (100) during a downhill start. The vehicle comprises a service brake (131a, 131b; 132a, 132b; 33a, 133b), an engine (119) and a transmission (120) being arranged between the engine and at least one driven axle (123), wherein the service brakes, the engine and the transmission are controlled by an electronic control unit (140). The method involves registering that the vehicle is located on a downhill gradient; registering an action from the driver, indicating a request to start the vehicle; controlling the service brake to maintain the vehicle stationary during a predetermined time after the request before initiating a controlled service brake release; controlling a gradual release of the service brake in response to at least one detected first vehicle operating parameter; and releasing the service brake when detecting that a predetermined threshold for at least one second vehicle operating parameter has been attained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2021
    Assignee: VOLVO TRUCK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Niklas Öberg, Anders Eriksson
  • Patent number: 10906500
    Abstract: A passenger protection apparatus includes an inflator and an airbag. The inflator configured to supply gas and the airbag is configured to deploy to surround a sitting position, of a passenger by the gas supplied from the inflator. One end of the airbag is supported on an upper portion of a vehicle. The airbag includes a main airbag configured to deploy around the sitting position of the passenger, and a sub-airbag configured to deploy on an inner wall surface of the main airbag.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shota Kanegae, Toru Yamashita
  • Patent number: 10882485
    Abstract: A passenger protection device includes: a front airbag configured to inflate so as to cover a front of the passenger; a front inflator configured to supply the inflation gas to the front airbag; a window airbag accommodated with being folded at an upper edge-side of a window arranged at a lateral side of the passenger and configured to inflate so as to cover a vehicle interior-side of the window; and a window airbag inflator configured to supply the inflation gas to the window airbag. The window airbag includes a bag-adjacent inflation part configured to cover a side of a head of the passenger received by the front airbag, and an activation start timing of the window airbag inflator is set within a range of ?20 ms to ?5 ms from a time at which the front airbag having completely inflated starts to receive the passenger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2021
    Assignee: TOYODA GOSEI CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shinji Hayashi, Takashi Iida, Yuka Umemoto
  • Patent number: 10871777
    Abstract: Systems and methods for compensating for acceleration-related sensor mismatch of an autonomous vehicle are provided. A computing system for compensating for autonomous vehicle acceleration-related sensor mismatch can include one or more processors and one or more tangible, non-transitory, computer readable media that collectively store instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the computing system to perform operations. The operations can include obtaining data indicative of an acceleration mismatch between a first portion and a second portion of an autonomous vehicle. The operations can further include determining a sensor compensation action based at least in part on the data indicative of the acceleration mismatch. The operations can further include implementing the sensor compensation action for the autonomous vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: UATC, LLC
    Inventors: Kenneth James Jensen, Mike Carter, Soren Juelsgaard
  • Patent number: 10829071
    Abstract: A method and system may identify vehicle collisions in real-time or at least near real-time based on statistical data collected from previous vehicle collisions. The statistical data may be used to train a machine learning model for identifying whether a portable computing device is in a vehicle collision based on sensor data from the portable computing device. The machine learning model may be trained based on a first subset of sensor data collected from vehicle trips involved in vehicle collisions and a second subset of sensor data collected from vehicle trips not involved in vehicle collisions. When a current set of sensor data is obtained from a portable computing device in a vehicle, the current set of sensor data is compared to the machine learning model to determine whether the portable computing device is in a vehicle involved in a vehicle collision.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2020
    Assignee: STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY
    Inventors: Scott T. Christensen, David James Dosher, Sunish Shreenarayan Menon, Susan M. Dunham
  • Patent number: 10825270
    Abstract: A system and method for monitoring fleets of vehicles and vehicle operators is disclosed. A vehicle is installed with device(s) collecting positional data such as vehicle movement and orientation with respect to other vehicles and road hazards. In addition, the vehicle operator is fitted with wearable device(s) collecting biometric data (e.g., heart rate). These devices are in communication with each other, as well as a hard drive on the vehicle (e.g., a black-box) and a wireless monitoring station located at a distance. In an embodiment, the device(s) are connected to the braking system of the truck to allow emergency braking in the event of a loss of control on the part of the vehicle or consciousness on the part of the driver. In a further embodiment, this control may also be asserted by the land-based monitoring system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignee: LIFEPASS, INC.
    Inventors: Dwayne Lalande, Kirk Landry, Carroll Raymond, Jr., James Roy, Jr., Brad M Pilecki
  • Patent number: 10814812
    Abstract: A method and system may identify vehicle collisions in real-time or at least near real-time based on statistical data collected from previous vehicle collisions. A user's portable computing device may obtain sensor data from sensors in the portable computing device and compare the sensor data to a statistical model indicative of a vehicle collision, where the statistical model includes sensor data characteristics which correspond to the vehicle collision. Each sensor data characteristic may have a threshold value, the portable computing device may compare a value for the sensor data characteristic to the threshold value. If the portable computing device identifies a vehicle collision based on the comparison, the portable communication device may display collision information. Further, notifications may be sent to emergency contacts and/or emergency personnel to provide assistance to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2020
    Assignee: STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY
    Inventors: Scott T. Christensen, David James Dosher, Sunish Shreenarayan Menon, Susan M. Dunham
  • Patent number: 10800289
    Abstract: Techniques are described with respect to addressing vehicular seat component risk. An associated method includes identifying any risk factor associated with a physical configuration of a vehicular seat component within a vehicle, identifying any risk factor associated with health of an occupant of the vehicular seat component, and identifying any risk factor associated with compatibility of the occupant of the vehicular seat component. The method further includes transmitting to at least one entity associated with the vehicle at least one alert addressing one or more of the identified risk factors. In an embodiment, transmitting the at least one alert includes creating the at least one alert including a calculated sum of risk level values assigned to each identified risk factor and information related to one or more identified risk factors based upon risk level value in the context of at least one predefined risk threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2020
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Craig M. Trim, Michael Bender, Jeremy R. Fox, Martin G. Keen
  • Patent number: 10793132
    Abstract: The present invention provides a vehicle motion detecting apparatus that can satisfy a required detection accuracy with a simple architecture and at a low cost, and also maintain reliability of an applied external apparatus. The vehicle motion detecting apparatus 100 of the present invention has a motion detecting section 10 that detects a motion of a vehicle and a malfunction detecting section 20 that detects a malfunction of the motion detecting section 10, and is characterized in that the motion detecting section 10 is a 6-axis inertial sensor as the first multi-axis inertial sensor that is capable of detecting accelerations in directions of three axes and angular velocities about three axes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2020
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Fevzi Yildirim, Katrin Jost
  • Patent number: 10795845
    Abstract: An auto addressing scheme comprised of a central/master module and satellite/slave devices on a communication bus such as CAN that individually wakes the satellite devices alerting them when to listen to the CAN bus to receive their address, eliminating the need for a separate bus for auto addressing. The wake function is handled by low side n-channel MOSFET switches with current limiting resistors to protect the circuit against short to battery conditions and a voltage divider to step down the voltage to levels tolerable for a microcontroller input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2020
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Arun Tej Vemuri, Donovan Allen Porter, Fernando David Lara Alva
  • Patent number: 10759415
    Abstract: Systems and method are provided for controlling a vehicle. In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, via a processor, image data of a surroundings of the vehicle. The method includes performing, via a processor, image analysis on the image data to identify road features. The method includes matching, via a processor, the identified road features to road features in a predetermined map to determine matched road features. The method includes determining, via a processor, global positioning data for the vehicle based on global positioning data in the predetermined map and the matched road features. The method also includes calibrating, via a processor, effective rolling radius of a wheel of the vehicle based at least on the global position data. The method further includes controlling, via a processor, a function of the vehicle based, in part, on the effective rolling radius.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Bakhtiar B. Litkouhi, Jin-Woo Lee
  • Patent number: 10710853
    Abstract: Systems and methods for operation of a floor conveyor, the floor conveyor including a sensor device, the systems and methods include providing a predetermined detection zone outside at least a section of the circumference of the floor conveyor for detection of foreign objects positioned inside the predetermined detection zone, wherein the predetermined detection zone is arranged to end at a first predetermined distance from a predetermined object. The method further comprises extending the predetermined detection zone with a second predetermined distance within which the predetermined object is expected to be positioned. The method further comprises implementing security measures on the floor conveyor, if the predetermined object is not detected within the extended predetermined detection zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: Toyota Material Handling Manufacturing Sweden AB
    Inventor: Göran Valfridsson
  • Patent number: 10688949
    Abstract: An occupant protection device capable of protecting occupants at a higher level is provided. An occupant protection device comprises a first sensor for detecting a value concerning a rotation angle of a vehicle, a second sensor for detecting an acceleration in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and a collision determination section adapted to determinate whether or not a collision has occurred to the vehicle based on the detection result of the first sensor and to determinate whether or not the collision has occurred to the vehicle also based on the detection result of the second sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Kenyu Okamura
  • Patent number: 10668882
    Abstract: An apparatus includes one or more sensors and a control unit. The one or more sensors may be configured to generate signals in response to movement of a vehicle. The control unit generally comprises (i) an interface configured to receive the signals from the sensors and (ii) a filter configured to reduce an effect that a mechanical transfer function of a housing of at least one of the sensors has on at least one of the signals. The filter may be configured to utilize a variable frequency band digital representation of the mechanical transfer function to negate the effect of the mechanical transfer function of the housing on the at least one of the signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2020
    Assignee: VEONEER US INC.
    Inventor: Jacob Pusheck
  • Patent number: 10662614
    Abstract: An adaptor configured to move a work vehicle implement includes a work vehicle portion that includes a first receiver interface configured to couple to a work vehicle. The first receiver interface includes at least one receiver locking feature configured to non-movably couple the work vehicle portion to the first connector interface. The adaptor also includes a work implement portion moveably coupled to the work vehicle portion and a second connector interface configured to couple to a second receiver interface of the work vehicle implement. The adaptor also includes a track system comprising a slot disposed within the work vehicle portion and a slider disposed on the work implement portion, wherein the slider is configured to move along the slot, and at least one actuator configured to actuate the work implement portion with respect to the work vehicle portion along a guide path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: CNH Industrial America LLC
    Inventor: Richard Carter Eckrote
  • Patent number: 10650617
    Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for determining whether or not a crash involving a vehicle has occurred. A computing device may receive acceleration measurement(s) measured by one or more accelerometers during a time window. The computing device may determine, for one or more acceleration measurements, a corresponding acceleration magnitude. Based on the corresponding acceleration magnitude(s), the computing device may identify, from the acceleration measurement(s), an acceleration measurement and/or may determine whether the acceleration magnitude exceeds a threshold acceleration magnitude. The computing device may corroborate whether a vehicle associated with the mobile computing device was involved in a crash. Data associated with the acceleration magnitude and/or an event, such as a crash event, may be transmitted to a server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2020
    Assignee: Arity International Limited
    Inventors: Kyle Patrick Schmitt, Pratheek M. Harish, Venu Madhav Tammali, Larry Layne, Dana Ferguson
  • Patent number: 10611262
    Abstract: Vehicles such as a combustion engine, electric, and/or hybrid electric vehicles and methods of operation, which include controller(s) configured to respond to cruise control signals, and to generate a route efficiency profile according to instantaneous vehicle performance parameters and environmental conditions. The controller(s) are also modified to adjust a vehicle cruise speed according to the signal and profile, to enable reaching at least one designated destination in a minimum time, and whereby vehicle range is extended to the destination, while one or more reserve energy limits of battery power and fuel are maintained. The controller(s) are also adapted to detect instantaneous feedback signals that include the performance parameters and environmental conditions, and to generate error signals according to an actual vehicle watt-hour per mile efficiency and the route efficiency profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2020
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Dylan Erb, Alexander Bartlett, Jacob Wiles, Arun Sivan, Bikram Singh, Baocheng Sun
  • Patent number: 10614707
    Abstract: The present invention may be a method, a computer system, and a computer program product for grouping a plurality moving objects capable of communicating with a server computer. The server computer performs the method comprising: predicting travel routes of the plurality of moving objects, using current traveling data and travel history data; grouping the plurality of moving objects into at least one group, using the predicted travel routes; determining a representative moving object in each group; and communicating with the representative moving object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2020
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Asuka Tokunaga, Satoshi Hosokawa, Shoichiro Watanabe, Yasutaka Nishimura
  • Patent number: 10604100
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a structure for mounting an occupant protection system in a vehicle. The structure includes an electric power steering device (1) and a knee protection air bag assembly (51). The device (1) includes a steering column (18). The assembly (51) includes a bag (53) configured to expand to protect knees (9a) of an occupant (9) seated on a driver's seat (8) of the vehicle. The steering column (18) includes a drive member (26) of the device (1). The assembly (51) is located below the drive member (26).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2020
    Assignee: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Tanaka
  • Patent number: 10525881
    Abstract: A wheel orientation warning system and method to alert to a driver to turn front wheels toward a curb includes an electronic processor and a memory. The system includes a slope detector for detecting a slope of the vehicle and an arrangement for determining a presence of a curb adjacent a side of the vehicle. The system includes a transmission device for detecting when the vehicle is in a park mode. The electronic processor is configured to provide an alert to a driver to turn front wheels toward the curb when the vehicle is each of: disposed at a slope with an absolute value greater than a predetermined threshold, disposed adjacent the curb, and in the park mode. The system includes a dashboard display for providing messages and an indication to a driver when the wheels are turned toward the curb.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2020
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Anup S Deshpande, Troy Austin McCormick, Al-Laith Taha
  • Patent number: 10520947
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides systems and methods for automatic event detection and classification for autonomous vehicles. One example method includes obtaining, by one or more computing devices, vehicle data descriptive of vehicle conditions associated with an autonomous vehicle during an autonomous driving session. The method includes extracting, by the one or more computing devices, a plurality of features from the vehicle data. The method includes determining, by the one or more computing devices using a machine-learned classifier, a classification for each of one or more candidate events based at least in part on one or more of the plurality of features that are respectively associated with the one or more candidate events. The method includes associating, by the one or more computing devices, the classification determined for each of the one or more candidate events with the vehicle data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2019
    Assignee: UATC, LLC
    Inventors: Chenggang Liu, John Evan Bares
  • Patent number: 10493937
    Abstract: A method for developing restraint device deployment timings includes selecting a first restraint device as a reference device, determining a deployment time range for the first restraint device, selecting a second restraint device, and determining a deployment time range for the second restraint device relative to the deployment time range of the first restraint device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2019
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Mahmoud Yousef Ghannam, Kirk David Arthurs, Todd N. Clark, Edward Joseph Abramoski
  • Patent number: 10486637
    Abstract: An airbag assembly is configured for mounting above an occupant in a vehicle. The example airbag assembly includes an airbag housing that is configured to enclose an airbag cushion when the airbag cushion is in an uninflated state. The airbag cushion is connected to the airbag housing and is configured to project outward from the airbag housing when the airbag cushion inflates from the uninflated state to an inflated state. The example airbag assembly also includes a tether connected at a first attachment point and connected to the airbag cushion at a second attachment point. The first attachment point is located horizontally closer to the occupant than the second attachment point when the airbag cushion is in the inflated state such that the tether limits movement of the airbag cushion in a direction away from the occupant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Scott D. Thomas, Brennon L. White
  • Patent number: 10471828
    Abstract: Exception event recorders and analysis systems include: vehicle mounted sensors arranged as a vehicle event recorder to capture both discrete and non-discrete data; a discretization facility; a database; and an analysis server all coupled together as a computer network. Motor vehicles with video cameras and onboard diagnostic systems capture data when the vehicle is involved in a crash or other anomaly (an ‘event’). In station where interpretation of non-discrete data is rendered, i.e. a discretization facility, captured data is used as a basis for production of supplemental discrete data to further characterize the event. Such interpreted data is joined to captured data and inserted into a database in a structure which is searchable and which supports logical or mathematical analysis by automated machines. A coupled analysis server is arranged to test stored data for prescribed conditions and upon finding such, to initiate further actions appropriate for the detected condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignee: SmartDrive Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: James Plante, Ramesh Kasavaraju, Gregory Mauro, Andrew Nickerson
  • Patent number: 10475256
    Abstract: The disclosure generally relates to vehicle maintenance and more particularly to methods and systems for automatic vehicle maintenance scheduling. The method comprises obtaining acceleration data at a fixed sampling rate of a moving vehicle when the moving vehicle attains at least a pre-determined speed for a pre-determined time from start of the moving vehicle. The obtained acceleration data is processed to generate jerk energy values at predetermined intervals. Speed normalized jerk energy is computed based on an average of the generated jerk energy values and average speed of the moving vehicle. A relationship between journey number and the computed speed normalized jerk energy is computed. A vehicle maintenance indicator based on the computed relationship between the journey number and the computed speed normalized jerk energy is finally computed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignee: Tata Consultancy Services Limited
    Inventors: Arijit Chowdhury, Tapas Chakravarty, Tanushree Banerjee, Balamuralidhar Purushothaman
  • Patent number: 10464572
    Abstract: A safety device for motor vehicle includes a microprocessor having set therein a tilt angle default value, a controller coupled with the ignition device and brake device of the motor vehicle, an angle sensor mounted to the body of the motor vehicle and an operator sensor installed in the directional control device. The microprocessor activates the controller to turn off the ignition device and to actuate the brake device if the motor vehicle is tilted excessively or when the operator goes out of the sensing range of the operator sensor, avoiding danger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: CHAO LONG MOTOR PARTS CORP.
    Inventors: Chao-Hsi Su, Yung-Min Chen, Kuo-Chueh Chen, Cheng-Wei Lin
  • Patent number: 10464473
    Abstract: An autonomous vehicle includes a vehicle body, at least one detector, at least one display and at least one controller. The at least one detector is configured to detect a presence of an external object within a vicinity of the vehicle. The at least one display is supported on the vehicle body. The at least one controller is programmed to determine the presence of the external object upon detection of the external object by the detector. The controller is further programmed to display a rationale indicator on the display to a remote party within the vicinity of the vehicle based on a detection result of the detector indicating the presence of the external object. The rationale indicator is an indication of an external condition occurring in the vicinity of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: Nissan North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Jingyi Zhang, Melissa Cefkin, Erik Vinkhuyzen
  • Patent number: 10421431
    Abstract: A webbing take-up controlling device including: a motor that is configured to operate a centrifugal clutch; and a controller that controls a voltage applied to the motor such that, in the case of operating the centrifugal clutch, a first voltage lower than a target voltage to operate the centrifugal clutch is applied to the motor, and then the target voltage is applied to the motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2019
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOKAI-RIKA-DENKI-SEISAKUSHO
    Inventors: Yuya Nagata, Tomonari Umakoshi, Takuhiro Saito, Takahiro Osaki
  • Patent number: 10399523
    Abstract: A method and system may identify vehicle collisions in real-time or at least near real-time based on statistical data collected from previous vehicle collisions. A user's portable computing device may obtain sensor data from sensors in the portable computing device and compare the sensor data to a statistical model indicative of a vehicle collision, where the statistical model includes sensor data characteristics which correspond to the vehicle collision. Each sensor data characteristic may have a threshold value, the portable computing device may compare a value for the sensor data characteristic to the threshold value. If the portable computing device identifies a vehicle collision based on the comparison, notifications may be sent to emergency contacts and/or emergency personnel to provide assistance to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY
    Inventors: Scott T. Christensen, David J. Dosher, Sunish Shreenarayan Menon, Susan M. Dunham
  • Patent number: 10395438
    Abstract: Embodiments of the invention include a vehicle telematics system including a telematics device and a remote server system, wherein the telematics device obtains sensor data from at least one sensor installed in a vehicle, calculates peak resultant data based on the sensor data, generates crash score data based on the peak resultant data and a set of crash curve data for the vehicle, and provides the obtained sensor data when the crash score data exceeds a crash threshold to the remote server system and the remote server system obtains vehicle sensor data and vehicle identification data from the vehicle telematics device, calculates resultant change data and absolute speed change data based on the obtained sensor data and/or the vehicle identification data, and generates crash occurred data when the resultant change data exceeds a first threshold value and when the absolute speed change data is below a second threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2019
    Assignee: CalAmp Corp.
    Inventors: Jeff Jenkins, Greg Bayley, Peter Byrne, Gallin Chen
  • Patent number: RE49258
    Abstract: A vehicle control system has a plurality of subsystem controllers including an engine management system 28, a transmission controller 30, a steering controller 48, a brakes controller 62 and a suspension controller 82. These subsystem controllers are each operable in a plurality of subsystem modes, and are all connected to a vehicle mode controller 98 which controls the modes of operation of each of the subsystem controllers so as to provide a number of driving modes for the vehicle. Each of the modes corresponds to a particular driving condition or set of driving conditions, and in each mode each of the functions is set to the function in mode most appropriate to those conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Inventors: Anthony Francis Spillane, William Burdock, David Andrew Clare, Derek Leslie Jones, John Anthony Kellett, Jan Pieter Prins, Keith Gary Reginald Parsons, Paul Malcolm Darnell