Variable Or Dynamic Patents (Class 701/31.2)
  • Patent number: 9002616
    Abstract: In one aspect, a digital engine control system for an aircraft engine is provided. The control system includes a selection unit, the selection unit including a monitoring module configured to determine a measurement of the speed of rotation of the engine from the output signal from one or more protection sensors and to compare the or each speed measurement determined by the selection unit with speed measurements supplied by electronic control units to determine an operating state of each electronic control unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignee: Thales
    Inventors: Gilles Genevrier, Claude Bresson
  • Patent number: 8886447
    Abstract: Disclosed is a technique for ranking a driver's fuel efficiency among other drivers based on various variables associated with the environment in which the vehicle is being driven. More particularly, the present invention, selects, as a category, one or more factors affecting fuel efficiency, and, as one or more, variables another one or more. Vehicle data is then collected by a communications device which is associated with a particular trip. Next an average of the fuel efficiencies and an average of the variables for the trip are calculated accordingly the selected one more categories. The fuel efficiency of the trip corresponding to a same category for every coordinate point of the variable is then statistically processed to calculate the average of the fuel efficiency and the standard deviation of the fuel efficiency and regularized (processed as a GAP calculation) to determine the ranking of a vehicle driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Japan R&D Center, Inc., Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corporation
    Inventor: Osamu Sawada
  • Patent number: 8823400
    Abstract: A diagnostic method and system is described for diagnosing an operating condition of a conductive particulate matter sensor. The sensor has a substrate with electrical resistance that varies with temperature and two electrodes on the substrate adapted to collect particulate matter between the electrodes, thereby establishing an electrically conductive path through collected particulate matter between the electrodes that can be detected by measuring electrical resistance between the electrodes, Relect. The diagnosis is performed by heating the substrate in the area between the electrodes and using the resistance between the electrodes to determine detecting whether contamination is present on the surface of the sensor. Heat may be maintained on the sensor to attempt to burn off a detected contaminant, and a subsequent resistance reading may be used to determine if the contaminant was successfully burned off.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Assignee: Delphi Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Lary R. Hocken, Charles S. Nelson
  • Patent number: 8571750
    Abstract: A diagnostic tool for a vehicle, includes a signal translator communicating with the vehicle in at least one protocol, an input unit for inputting information, a processor controlling a software according to the input information and communication with the vehicle, the processor controlling a recording of diagnostic data of the vehicle through the signal translator, a memory storing a software including a database controlled by the processor, the memory storing baseline data of the vehicle and recorded diagnostic data in the database, the processor comparing the stored baseline data and recorded diagnostic data, and a display unit displaying information according to the comparison between the stored baseline data and recorded diagnostic data. The comparison can also be made on a separate computer storing the baseline data and receiving the recorded data from the diagnostic tool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2013
    Assignee: Service Solutions U.S. LLC
    Inventors: Thomas J. Bertosa, Hamid Namaky, Michael Gessner
  • Patent number: 8452477
    Abstract: Wireless transmission from sensor devices included in tires is coordinated by a receiving unit associated with the tire, or transmission coordinator. In more detail, every sensor device is made aware of an overall time window available for transmission, and based on at least this information, it calculates a dedicated timeslot for the transmission of its data within such time window. This coordinated transmission makes possible a strong reduction of the probability of collisions and transmission errors, and reduces the number of transmissions, so as to comply with the limited power resources available at each sensor device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2013
    Assignee: Pirelli Tyre S.p.A.
    Inventors: Sinem Coleri Ergen, Xuening Sun
  • Patent number: 8438899
    Abstract: A system for improving operation of an engine having a particulate matter sensor is presented. The system may be used to improve engine operation during cold starts especially under conditions where water vapor or entrained water droplets are present in vehicle exhaust gases. In one embodiment, degradation of a particulate matter sensor is indicated after a temperature of a substrate of the particulate matter sensor exceeds a threshold temperature and an output of the particulate matter sensor is below a threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2013
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Garry Anthony Zawacki, Robert F. Novak, Roberto Teran, Jr., Dave Charles Weber, Michiel J. Van Nieuwstadt, Michael Hopka, William Charles Ruona
  • Patent number: 8423233
    Abstract: A vehicle identifying unit obtains an identification number of a vehicle from the vehicle. A first evaluation unit evaluates a degradation state of a power storage device based on the use history of the power storage device obtained from the vehicle, using data analyzed beforehand concerning the relation between the use history and the degradation state of the power storage device. A second evaluation unit evaluates a degradation state of the power storage device using data collected when the power storage device of the vehicle is charged from a power station or when power is fed from the vehicle to the power station. A degradation determining unit determines the degradation state of the power storage device based on the degradation states evaluated by the first and second evaluation units.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2013
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masatoshi Uchida
  • Patent number: 8401730
    Abstract: A controller for indicating whether a previously-detected, acceleration-sensor malfunction no longer exists. The controller includes an electronic memory and an electronic processing unit connected to the electronic memory. The electronic processing module includes a malfunction monitoring module, a failure handling module, and a signal checking module. The signal checking module performs a signal check after the malfunction monitoring module generates the fault signal. The signal check includes executing a signal check function with a lateral acceleration signal. Also disclosed is a vehicle including the controller, and a method executed by the controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignee: Robert Bosch LLC
    Inventors: Henrik Bechtler, Ravi Bhadange, Nachiket Patil, Takeshi Tokonaga, Stefan Mallmann, Michael Schwab, Dietmar Stapel, Willy Klier, Joerg Eesmann
  • Patent number: 8380420
    Abstract: Precise operation of an accelerator operating member (7) is more difficult to perform in a reversing operation of a vehicle (1) as compared with an advancing operation. Therefore, behavior of the vehicle (1) is not smooth and thus tends to be unnatural. In the reversing operation of the vehicle (1), driving force output from an internal combustion engine (2) is limited in accordance with vehicle acceleration (D). At this time, it is possible to regulate the driving force of the vehicle (1) in conformity to the actual operation of the accelerator operating member (7) by the driver. In addition, limitation of the driving force is not executed in the advancing operation of the vehicle (1). At this time, the vehicle (1) can be driven in a state in which the driving force is comparatively small. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the behavior of the vehicle (1) from being unnatural.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2013
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masashi Takagi, Motonari Ohbayashi, Yuki Minase, Shinya Kodama, Toshihiro Takagi
  • Patent number: 8321093
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an agricultural working machine (2), in particular a forage harvester (1) with a device for adjusting the ground speed v, with which the maximum ground speed v of the agricultural working machine (2) is determined as a function of the tire pressure of at least one tire (14).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2012
    Assignee: CLAAS Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen GmbH
    Inventors: Manfred Pollklas, Daniel Immer
  • Publication number: 20120209469
    Abstract: A method to evaluate a secondary steering system including the steps of lowering the first hydraulic fluid pressure, determining the first hydraulic fluid pressure, sensing a second hydraulic fluid pressure, and comparing the first hydraulic fluid pressure to the second hydraulic fluid pressure. The lowering step includes lowering the first hydraulic fluid pressure provided by the primary steering system power source while the vehicle is traveling at a substantially predetermined speed. The sensing step includes sensing the second hydraulic fluid pressure provided by the secondary steering system power source while an operator of the vehicle is steering the vehicle as the vehicle travels at the predetermined speed. The comparing step includes comparing the first hydraulic fluid pressure to the second hydraulic fluid pressure to determine if the second steering system power source provided fluid to steer the ground-engaging device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 15, 2011
    Publication date: August 16, 2012
    Inventors: Dustin R. Grochowski, Francois Stander, Carl R. Starkey
  • Patent number: 8209081
    Abstract: A method for compensating for wheel speed and acceleration calculation errors comprising the steps of collecting a wheel speed signal, creating at least one compensation factor for the wheel speed signal, correlating each compensation factor with a rotational position of the wheel, modifying each compensation factor individually based on variations in calculations made from the information collected according to the rotational position of the wheel, and calculating wheel speed and acceleration using the at least one compensation factor applied according to the rotational position of the wheel from which the wheel speed signal is collected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2012
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies
    Inventor: John Patrick Joyce
  • Patent number: 8195345
    Abstract: The method for generating an integrated guidance law for aerodynamic missiles uses a strength Pareto evolutionary algorithm (SPEA)-based approach for generating an integrated fuzzy guidance law, which includes three separate fuzzy controllers. Each of these fuzzy controllers is activated in a unique region of missile interception. The distribution of membership functions and the associated rules are obtained by solving a nonlinear constrained multi-objective optimization problem in which final time, energy consumption, and miss distance are treated as competing objectives. A Tabu search is utilized to build a library of initial feasible solutions for the multi-objective optimization algorithm. Additionally, a hierarchical clustering technique is utilized to provide the decision maker with a representative and manageable Pareto-optimal set without destroying the characteristics of the trade-off front. A fuzzy-based system is employed to extract the best compromise solution over the trade-off curve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2012
    Assignee: King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals
    Inventors: Hanafy M. Omar, Mohammad A. Abido