Feedback, Transfer Function Or Proportional And Derivative (p& D) Control Patents (Class 701/42)
  • Patent number: 11352054
    Abstract: A method of controlling a steer-by-wire steering system for motor vehicles is disclosed for the calculation of a resulting self-aligning torque of a feedback actuator in a manner which is dependent on an operating state (hands-on/hands-off). The method includes determining of a base self-aligning torque for a first operating state, in which there is hand contact by a driver on a steering wheel, determining a hands-off self-aligning torque for a second operating state, in which there is no hand contact by the driver on the steering wheel, determining a self-aligning speed of the steering wheel for the first operating state and for the second operating state, and determining the resulting self-aligning torque on the basis of the base self-aligning torque or the hands-off self-aligning torque, as a result of which the steering wheel rotates at the defined self-aligning speed into the defined position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignees: thyssenkrupp Presta AG, thyssenkrupp AG
    Inventors: Kristof Polmans, Manuel Rohrmoser
  • Patent number: 11338682
    Abstract: Embodiments relate to an apparatus for recommending a cluster user interface (UI) design using a distribution of design elements including an eye position detection unit to detect an eye position of a driver from an image captured through a camera in a vehicle, a visible area determination unit to determine a visible area in a cluster based on the detected eye position, a position of the cluster in the vehicle and a position of a steering wheel, a cluster UI design search unit to search for a cluster UI design related to a shape of the determined visible area in a database, and a cluster management unit to recommend the found cluster UI designs to the driver and apply a cluster UI design selected by the driver from the recommended cluster UI designs to the cluster in the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: YELLOWKNIFE INC.
    Inventor: Han Sung Lee
  • Patent number: 11318937
    Abstract: A driver assistance system (DAS) configured to determine a lane provided with a radar reflector includes a radar configured to emit radio wave in front of the vehicle and obtain radar data by receiving reflected wave reflected from an object in front of the vehicle; a controller configured to determine whether the object is the radar reflector based on the magnitude of energy of the reflected wave included in the obtained radar data, and to determine a line connecting the determined radar reflector as a lane. It is an object of the present invention to provide a driver assistance system and a driver assistance method capable of obtaining lane information based on a radar track.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: Mando Mobility Solutions Corporation
    Inventor: Kwang Hwan Oh
  • Patent number: 11318936
    Abstract: A method for controlling the lateral movement of a terrestrial vehicle arranged to track a predetermined trajectory, particularly in an assisted driving or autonomous driving scenario, comprising: determining a lateral offset of the vehicle center of mass from the predetermined trajectory; determining a look-ahead error defined as a distance of a virtual look-ahead position of the vehicle center of mass from the predetermined trajectory; and controlling the steering angle of the vehicle so as to also minimize the lateral offset and the first derivative of said look-ahead error over time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: Magneti Marelli S.p.A.
    Inventors: Michele Giorelli, Matteo Corno, Federico Roselli, Sergio Matteo Savaresi
  • Patent number: 11305811
    Abstract: Technical solutions for compensating for lash in a steering system are described. An example method includes determining a rack pressure value based on a driver torque value and a differential pressure across a rack of the steering system. The method also includes determining a compensation friction value based on a position of a handwheel of the steering system and a speed of a vehicle equipped with the steering system. The method also includes computing a pressure value based on the rack pressure value and the compensation friction value. The method also includes generating a torque command using the pressure value, the torque command being added to the driver assist torque for the steering system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: Steering Solutions IP Holding Corporation
    Inventor: Joel E. Birsching
  • Patent number: 11292520
    Abstract: A method for providing an intervening action for a host vehicle. A target is detected in the vicinity of the vehicle it is determined that the host vehicle is travelling on a collision course with the target. When a collision with the target is predicted to occur within a predetermined time period and no driver initiated steering action for avoiding the collision course has been detected, controlling a steering control system to provide an initial steering torque action to the steerable wheels of the host vehicle for providing an initial steering action towards the same side of the target as a detected safe side. A driver initiated steering action is in response to the initial steering torque action is detected. Next, the intervening action is provided for altering the present driving course of the host vehicle for avoiding a collision with the target.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: Volvo Car Corporation
    Inventors: Mats Jonasson, Derong Yang
  • Patent number: 11292441
    Abstract: An ECU operating as a vehicle control device, to be mounted on a truck tractor, has a hauling determination part and an automatic driving control part. The truck tractor is hauling/pulling a trailer. The hauling determination part detects whether the trailer is hauled by the truck tractor. The automatic driving control part switches an automatic driving mode between a first automatic driving mode and a second automatic driving mode on the basis of a detection result of the hauling determination part. The first automatic driving mode represents a situation in which the truck tractor is not hauling/pulling the trailer. The second automatic driving mode represents a situation in which the truck tractor is hauling/pulling the trailer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mitsuharu Higashitani, Noriaki Ikemoto, Tomomi Hase
  • Patent number: 11285973
    Abstract: An apparatus may include a driving information input unit for receiving driving information generated while a vehicle travels, a steering angle location control unit for receiving a command steering angle for autonomous driving and a current motor steering angle of a driving motor and outputting an autonomous driving command through location control, and a motor-driven power steering control unit for driving the driving motor based on the autonomous driving command in an autonomous driving mode, determining whether a driver intervenes in steering, based on the driving information during the autonomous driving, computing a driver command according to the driver' steering based on a result of the determination, computing a compensation output between the autonomous driving command and the driver command by applying a weighting according to a steering angular speed, and making a mode transition from the autonomous driving mode to a driver mode while driving the driving motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2022
    Assignee: HYUNDAI MOBIS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Tae Hong Kim
  • Patent number: 11273864
    Abstract: A driving assistance control device outputs a driving assistance command value to a steering control device as information indicating a target course that is generated on the basis of the detection result of a vehicle-mounted sensor. The driving assistance command value is output as a torque component or an angle component depending on the design of the driving assistance control device. In response, processing in which a driving assistance command value input from the exterior of the steering control device is used as input for angle control processing or input for torque control processing within an assist command value calculation unit is performed by a microcomputer as assistance command value input processing by an assistance command value input processing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: JTEKT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shigeto Matsuo, Terutaka Tamaizumi, Akihiko Nishimura
  • Patent number: 11267467
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for controlling vehicle lane holding for a vehicle with an electric power assisted steering by means of a steering system (100) with a steering assistance actuator and one or more controllable vehicle state actuators comprising measurement of at least one vehicle position input signal with using an on-board vision system for determination of a relative vehicle lane position in the form of a lateral lane position, a heading angle and a lane curvature, transformation of the relative vehicle lane position to a target yaw and/or lateral vehicle state, measuring at least one steering input signal, determination from said one or more measured steering input signals a torque value applied by the driver via a steering wheel (120), transformation of said torque value to a relative to the afore-mentioned target yaw and/or lateral vehicle state a driver target relative yaw and/or lateral vehicle state, adding said target yaw and/or lateral vehicle state and said driver target re
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: SENTIENT IP AB
    Inventors: Johan Hultén, Jochen Pohl, Ulf Löfqvist, Björn Eriksson, Henrik Weiefors
  • Patent number: 11247719
    Abstract: A control method of a motor driven power steering (MDPS) for a vehicle may include determining a steering angle of a steering wheel of the vehicle; determining a steering torque variation rate of the vehicle; counting an exceeding number of times that the steering torque variation rate exceeds a predetermined value to store the counted number of times in an MDPS system; and deleting the number of times stored in the MDPS system when the exceeding number of times is less than a predetermined number of times, and applying a reverse phase compensation torque to a steering motor when the exceeding number of times is equal to or larger than the predetermined number of times.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corporation
    Inventor: Sung-Il Lee
  • Patent number: 11231718
    Abstract: An autonomous skid-steer machine includes a chassis, a plurality of ground engaging elements supporting the chassis on a ground surface and one or more computing devices for controlling movement of the machine. The one or more computing devices are configured to generate a control signal for controlling operation of at least some of the plurality of ground engaging elements, the control signal being generated according to a control algorithm incorporating tuning parameters, and to automatically determine the tuning parameters in real time during operation of the machine such that the control algorithm is always optimized for a current speed of the machine. The tuning parameters are found using the machine's current speed, a natural frequency value and a damping value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: AGCO International GmbH
    Inventor: Benjamin Fernando Fernandez Guzmann
  • Patent number: 11228268
    Abstract: An electric motor controlling system used for vibration suppression of an electric vehicle is disclosed. The controlling system includes a PID-controller and a vibration suppression compensator. The PID-controller generates a basic torque command through performing a calculation based on input speed-error signal of the electric vehicle, the vibration suppression compensator generates a compensated torque command through performing a compensation gain procedure on the input speed-error signal. The vibration suppression compensator further receives a motor speed of the electric vehicle, sets its output as the compensated torque command when the motor speed is smaller than a preset active speed level, otherwise sets the output as 0. The controlling system generates an output torque command via adding up the basic torque command and the output of the vibration suppression compensator, and operates electric motor components of the electric vehicle according to the output torque command.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: DELTA ELECTRONICS, INC.
    Inventors: Chun-Chia Tsao, Chien-Ping Huang
  • Patent number: 11220289
    Abstract: A method for operating a transportation vehicle having a control unit for electrically actuating an electromechanical coupling unit of a steering system of the transportation vehicle, wherein the control unit actuates the coupling unit according to a steering wheel characteristic curve which forms a ratio between a wheel lock angle of wheels of the transportation vehicle and a steering wheel rotational angle which is assumed by a steering wheel of the transportation vehicle, wherein a normal steering wheel characteristic curve is made available as a standard setting of the steering wheel characteristic curve in the control unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Inventors: Jana Seeland, Christian Hopp
  • Patent number: 11214302
    Abstract: Methods of controlling a feedback torque actuator in a steering system that includes the feedback torque actuator and an assistance actuator incorporate, for feedback torque control, generating at least one input signal with a sensor, determining a steering angle from the input signal, transforming the steering angle to a target steering-wheel torque, and controlling the feedback torque actuator via a closed loop current control to achieve the target steering-wheel torque. The assistance actuator has a high gain, thereby resulting in a low torque in the axle above the assistance actuator such that the steering-wheel torque is close to the target steering-wheel torque, whereby acceptable steering feel is achieved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: SENTIENT IP AB
    Inventor: Henrik Weiefors
  • Patent number: 11208144
    Abstract: A vehicle behavior stabilization system includes a yaw moment applying device configured to apply a yaw moment to the vehicle, a vehicle behavior stabilization control unit configured to selectively control the yaw moment applying device in such a way to stabilize a vehicle behavior according to a computed rear wheel slip angle in relation to a start threshold value and an end threshold value, and a threshold value correcting unit configured to correct the start threshold value and the end threshold value according to a change rate of the computed rear wheel slip angle and/or a change rate of a computed vehicle body slip angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hitoshi Sasaki, Masahiro Hirota, Takeshi Kojima, Naoto Okubo
  • Patent number: 11205080
    Abstract: A method of assisting a driver in maneuvering a vehicle with a trailer hitched to the vehicle includes equipping a vehicle with a trailering assist system that includes (i) a camera disposed at the vehicle and viewing a trailer that is hitched the vehicle and (ii) a control having an image processor. During a reversing maneuver of the vehicle and trailer, image data is captured by the camera and vehicle parameters are provided to the control. Responsive to the vehicle parameters and processing of captured image data, the trailering assist system estimates an estimated trailer angle and an estimated vehicle steering wheel angle. The estimated vehicle steering wheel angle and an actual steering wheel angle are compared to determine a steering wheel angle error. The estimated trailer angle is modified in subsequent determinations of the estimated trailer angle based at least in part on the determined steering wheel angle error.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2021
    Assignee: MAGNA ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventor: Devendra Bajpai
  • Patent number: 11186293
    Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product is provided for assisting a driver of the vehicle or providing guidance based on one or more geo-fences. The method comprises displaying one or more geo-fences super-imposed on a map display for a vehicle, wherein the one or more geo-fences comprises a tolerance zone; identifying a driving maneuver profile for the vehicle associated with the one or more geo-fences, and displaying the driving maneuver profile on the map display, wherein displaying the driving maneuver profile comprises: displaying a distance of the vehicle from the tolerance zone, and displaying a prohibited maneuver for the vehicle based on the one or more geo-fences and the distance of the vehicle from the tolerance zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: HERE GLOBAL B.V.
    Inventors: Roland Gardner, Chris Dougherty, Gregg Bresnahan
  • Patent number: 11186310
    Abstract: According to the technical solutions described herein, an example method for frequency tracking based friction detection includes receiving, by a filter module, an accelerometer signal from an accelerometer coupled with an assist torque system. The method further includes estimating, by the filter module, harmonic content in the accelerometer signal based on an order frequency of the assist torque system. The method further includes in response to the harmonic content that is detected being greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, initiating a friction estimation in the assist torque system. The method further includes adjusting an amount of torque being generated by the assist torque system based on an estimated friction in the assist torque system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: Steering Solutions IP Holding Corporation
    Inventors: Bhuvanesh Sainath, Rangarajan Ramanujam, Anthony Champagne
  • Patent number: 11180187
    Abstract: A manual steering command value generation unit generates a manual steering command value using steering torque. An integrated angle command value computation unit computes an integrated angle command value by adding the manual steering command value to an automatic steering command value. A control unit performs angle control on an electric motor on the basis of the integrated angle command value. The control unit includes: a basic torque command value computation unit that computes a basic torque command value on the basis of the integrated angle command value; a disturbance torque estimation unit that estimates disturbance torque other than motor torque that is generated by the electric motor and acts on an object to be driven by the electric motor; and a disturbance torque compensation unit that corrects the basic torque command value in accordance with the disturbance torque.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: JTEKT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Naoki Shoji, Robert Fuchs, Tsutomu Tamura, Mitsuko Yoshida
  • Patent number: 11181915
    Abstract: Apparatuses and methods for maneuvering marine vessel are disclosed. In an embodiment, the apparatus is configured to: receive a location command defining a future geographic location; receive an orientation command defining an orientation in the future geographic location; and generate required control data for a steering and propulsion system of the marine vessel based on the future geographic location and the orientation. In another embodiment, the apparatus is configured to: receive control data of a current power and angle of the steering and propulsion system; receive control data of a reference power and angle of the steering and propulsion system; and display simultaneously a current representation of the current power and angle, and a reference representation of the reference power and angle, wherein the current representation and the reference representation are both arranged and positioned co-centrically in relation to a representation of the marine vessel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Santeri Vanhakartano, Pauli Hemmilä
  • Patent number: 11176827
    Abstract: Extendable blind spot sensors and methods of use are provided herein, which may include a blind spot sensor configured to monitor a blind spot of a vehicle and an extender in mechanical communication with the blind spot sensor. The extender is configured to move the blind spot sensor between a first position and a second position when a trailer is attached to the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Steven Schondorf
  • Patent number: 11173838
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a plurality of capture devices and a processor. The plurality of capture devices may each be configured to generate video frames corresponding to an area outside of a vehicle. The processor may be configured to receive the video frames from each of the plurality of capture devices, generate video data for a display in response to the video frames, store a view preference for the display corresponding to (i) a location and (ii) a vehicle status, determine a current location and a current status of the vehicle and generate an output signal to select a view for the display. The output signal may be generated in response to the current location matching the location and the current status matching the vehicle status. The view selected may be determined based on the view preference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Ambarella International LP
    Inventor: Alberto Broggi
  • Patent number: 11156515
    Abstract: A turning mechanism of a vehicle turns a wheel and is coupled to a steering wheel through a steering shaft. A torque sensor detects a torque applied to a first position of the steering shaft, as a sensor-detected torque. An upper friction torque is an absolute value of the sensor-detected torque that is caused by a friction force acting on the steering shaft between the first position and the steering wheel when the steering shaft is rotated. A vehicle control system repeatedly estimates the upper friction torque and variably sets a determination threshold to the estimated upper friction torque or more. The vehicle control system determines whether a driver state is a hands-on state or a hands-off state based on a comparison between the absolute value of the sensor-detected torque and the determination threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takahiro Kojo, Yoji Kunihiro, Ryo Irie, Hisaya Akatsuka
  • Patent number: 11110956
    Abstract: According to one or more embodiments a control system for a steering system, includes a control module that estimates a tire load by performing a method that includes receiving, as an input torque, motor-torque that is generated by a motor of the steering system. The method further includes computing an efficiency factor for a gear of the steering system based on the input torque and a motor velocity. The method further includes adjusting the input torque by scaling the input torque with the efficiency factor. The method further includes estimating the tire load using the adjusted input torque as an input to a state observer for the steering system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: Steering Solutions IP Holding Corporation
    Inventors: Mariam Swetha George, Tejas M. Varunjikar
  • Patent number: 11110916
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are an impact-absorbing apparatus and method for a vehicle, which are applied to an automatic emergency brake (AEB) system of a vehicle. The impact-absorbing apparatus includes a path generation unit configured to generate an own vehicle travel path of an own vehicle, based on a speed and travel direction of the own vehicle, and a preceding vehicle travel path of a preceding vehicle, based on a speed and travel direction of the preceding vehicle, and a collision determination unit configured to determine whether or not the own vehicle collides with the preceding vehicle, based on the own vehicle travel path and the preceding vehicle travel path, wherein when it is impossible to avoid the collision between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle, the path generation unit generates a new travel path by comparing the own vehicle travel path with the preceding vehicle travel path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: MANDO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Seung Bum Park, Man Bok Park
  • Patent number: 11052920
    Abstract: A system and method for mitigating unintended operation of a vehicle is described herein. The system and method analyze data and/or signals received from sensors to determine when the vehicle is experiencing changes the in the vehicle's direction, dynamic state and/or status. The analysis may be applied to data and/or signals from one or more sensors alone or in combination. Analysis of the data and/or signals may determine that one or more criterion are met and therefore the vehicle may be an identified state. When the vehicle is in an identified state, the system and method may disable, deaden or otherwise modify the response to one or more controls in order to mitigate unintended operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2021
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventor: Christopher Hutten-Czapski
  • Patent number: 11046361
    Abstract: An assisting force control device 1 includes a torque detection unit that detects the steering torque of a vehicle, a calculation unit that, after the torque detection unit has detected a steering torque of at least a prescribed size, integrates the steering torque to calculate an integrated torque amount, and an assisting force control unit that reduces the steering assisting force to a value that is smaller than a prescribed value in a direction in which the vehicle is prevented from deviating from a lane, such reduction carried out if the integrated torque amount calculated by the calculation unit becomes at least an integration threshold value corresponding to a traveling condition of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Assignee: ISUZU MOTORS LIMITED
    Inventor: Teruhiko Suzuki
  • Patent number: 11034384
    Abstract: A system includes a torque overlay device having an input shaft and an output shaft coupled to the input shaft. The system includes a steering wheel coupled to the input shaft. The system includes a processor and a memory storing instructions executable by the processor to detect a torque applied to the input shaft and to actuate the torque overlay device to provide torque to the output shaft in a direction opposite the torque applied to the input shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Soungjin Wou, Anand Pradip Naik, Bradley G. Hochrein
  • Patent number: 11036223
    Abstract: According to one aspect, systems and techniques for driving mode control may include a steering wheel, a sensor, a display, and a controller. The steering wheel may have a button coupled thereto. The button may have a depressed state. When the button is in the depressed state, the steering wheel may be movable between a first position and a second position. The sensor may detect whether the steering wheel is in the first position or the second position. The display may display a display content. The controller may set the display content for the display or a driving mode of a vehicle, such as an autonomous driving mode or a manual driving mode, based on the detected position of the steering wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Michael M. Tsay
  • Patent number: 11034381
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are an apparatus and method of controlling a motor-driven power steering system. The apparatus may include: a sensor configured to detect at least one of a steering angle, an angular speed, and a column torque in the motor-driven power steering system; and a controller configured to determine whether a reverse steering operation has been performed based on the steering angle or the angular speed, and configured to output, when non-reverse steering, a high-frequency compensation gain (a second gain) based on the column torque, as a final compensation gain, and output, when reverse steering, a value obtained by applying an additional compensation gain (a first gain) optimized corresponding to an angular acceleration to the high-frequency compensation gain (the second gain), as the final compensation gain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Inventor: Tae Hong Kim
  • Patent number: 11027778
    Abstract: A driving support ECU is configured to set, when a recognition state of a lane marker by a sensor is a one side lane marker recognizable state which is a state where the sensor can recognize only one of a left lane marker and a right lane marker, a steering angle guard value and/or a steering angle speed guard value to a value which is smaller than when the recognition state of the lane marker is a both lane markers recognizable state which is a state where the sensor can recognize both the left lane marker and the right lane marker.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hirohito Ide
  • Patent number: 11024178
    Abstract: A method and system for controlling a vehicle along a curved roadway, including receiving vehicle sensed data relating to vehicle operation and/or vehicle position and orientation; identifying first and second lane markers from the sensed data; determining a reference path for the vehicle using the lane markers; calculating a feed-forward control output based upon the curvature of the lane markers; calculating a lateral position of the vehicle relative to the reference path, and a lateral position error based upon the lateral position; and calculating a vehicle heading angle based upon the vehicle sensed data, and a heading angle error. A feedback control output is calculated using a nonlinear control function based upon the lateral position error, the heading angle error, and the sensed velocity. A steering control output is generated for steering the vehicle, based upon the feed-forward control output and the feedback control output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2021
    Assignee: Continental Automotive Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Javier Alcazar
  • Patent number: 11021188
    Abstract: A system comprises: a radio frequency (RF) resonator comprising a cavity and a tuning element, the cavity having at least one port, and the tuning element having a length inside the cavity; a processor; a spectrum analyzer coupled to the at least one port, the spectrum analyzer to provide to the processor values of a resonance parameter, the resonance parameter indicative of a resonant wavelength of the RF resonator; and an automotive steering mechanism coupled to the tuning element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2021
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Siva RaghuRam Prasad Chennupati, Sandeep Tallada
  • Patent number: 10994773
    Abstract: A steering system steers wheels of a vehicle through a shift of a steering shaft. The steering system includes: an electric motor; transmission device that transmits an output of the electric motor to the steering shaft; and a malfunction detector that detects a malfunction of the transmission device based on a rotational angle of the electric motor and a shift distance of the steering shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shunsuke Yoshida, Koichi Ito, Ruriko Sakaguchi
  • Patent number: 10988170
    Abstract: A method and system corrects steering of a vehicle upon a brake system malfunction. The brake system has a diagonal split layout. An electronic brake system (EBS) controls operation of the master cylinder. An electronic power steering system (EPS) includes sensors to measure motion and torque of a steering column of the vehicle and includes a motor to provide torque to the steering column. During driver braking when one of the brake circuits has failed, the system calculates a yaw torque value introduced by a driver braking with just one functioning brake circuit. Based on a steer wheel angle and a steer wheel torque obtained from the sensors of the EPS and on the yaw torque value, a steer wheel torque request defining a steer wheel torque/angle needed to counter the yaw torque value is calculated and sent the EPS which operates the motor to compensate for the steering deviation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2021
    Assignee: Continental Automotive Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Bo Ye, Pedro Henriques, Naren Dhansri
  • Patent number: 10988169
    Abstract: A steering device includes a steering wheel, a torsion bar, a spiral cable, a torque sensor, and an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to compute a rotational angle of the steering wheel. The electronic control unit is configured to compute, as driver torque, a value that includes a sum obtained by adding torsion bar torque, a steering wheel inertial torque compensation value and a spiral cable torque compensation value. The steering wheel inertial torque compensation value is the product of a steering wheel inertial moment and a second-order differential value of the rotational angle of the steering wheel. The spiral cable torque is torque that acts on the steering wheel because of the spiral cable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2021
    Assignee: JTEKT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Maxime Moreillon, Tsutomu Tamura, Robert Fuchs
  • Patent number: 10962429
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a technology of estimating rack force using force that is transmitted from a steering motor of a Steer-By-Wire (SBW) system to a rack bar. The present disclosure provides a method for estimating rack force of an SBW system, the method calculating restoring force that is applied to a reducer on the basis of the difference between position values of the rack bar that are obtained at the front end and the rear end of the reducer when the position of the rack bar is changed by operation of a steering motor; and calculating rack force by reflecting the restoring force to a motion equation including inertia force of the SBW system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA MOTORS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Sang Woo Hwang, Young Dae Park, Byung Rim Lee, Min Jun Kim, Se Hyun Chang, Hyeon Seok Cho
  • Patent number: 10960926
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a smart parking assist system may include: a forward object sensing unit, a lateral object sensing unit, a rearward object sensing unit, an object distance calculation unit configured to calculate distance from a lateral object and a rearward object, a parking control unit, and a steering angle adjusting unit. The parking control unit recognizes left parallel exiting, right parallel exiting or perpendicular exiting based on a distance from a forward object sensed through the forward object sensing unit, a distance from a rearward object sensed through the rearward object sensing unit, and a distance from a lateral object sensed through the lateral object sensing unit, and controls steering angle adjustment such that the vehicle moves through the recognized left parallel exiting, right parallel exiting or perpendicular exiting. The steering angle adjusting unit adjusts a steering angle according to steering control signal of the parking control unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignee: MANDO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jae Suk Kim, Hyeong Min Woo
  • Patent number: 10946891
    Abstract: An electric power steering apparatus that suppresses occurrence of an abnormal noise at end hitting without providing uncomfortable feeling of steering for a driver, attenuates impact force, and enables suppression of the abnormal noise without making a turning radius worse. The apparatus includes a viscoelastic model following control section that sets a viscoelastic model as a reference model within a predetermined range in front of a rack end, and outputs a control output to correct a current command value; and a rack end approach judging section that performs judgment of being in the predetermined range in front of the rack end based on steering position information; adjusts the control output based on at least the steering position information, a steering velocity and a steering state, and corrects the current command value by the adjusted control output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: NSK LTD.
    Inventors: Toru Sakaguchi, Shoya Maruyama
  • Patent number: 10933912
    Abstract: A driving support device may include, but is not limited to: a plurality of sensors is configured to detect state quantities relating to steering of a vehicle; a determiner is configured to determine whether each of the plurality of sensors is normal or abnormal; and a controller controlling execution of driving support functions for supporting a driving operation for the vehicle, in which the controller is configured to determine a control state of an executable driving support function on the basis of a result of the determination of the determiner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD
    Inventor: Shotaro Odate
  • Patent number: 10922708
    Abstract: A system and method for identifying a potential parking violation for a location includes storing and rating parking violation related data, and notifying a user, by a computing system communicating with a user's computing device, of the potential parking violation and how to avoid receiving the potential parking violation citation. The data is stored in a database and clustered by data types. The user's computing device is used to identify user type, location, and time. A user engagement panel is used to share and rate parking violation related data and notifications, and rewards are allocated to a user for contributing useful data. Highly rated data may be incorporated into the notifications. The data is analyzed to predict or infer a violation. A notification corresponding to a current location and user type are generated when violations are predicted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: Operr Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Kevin Sunlin Wang
  • Patent number: 10899349
    Abstract: A method and system for centering a vehicle in a lane. The system includes an electromagnetic radiation sensor, a motion sensor, a steering system, and an electronic controller. The electronic controller is configured to receive environmental information regarding an environment external to the vehicle from the electromagnetic radiation sensor and to receive a first motion of the vehicle from the motion sensor. The electronic controller is also configured to determine a predicted position of the vehicle based the first motion of the vehicle and the environmental information, store the predicted position, compare the predicted position to a desired position of the vehicle to generate and send a corrective signal to the steering system. The electronic controller is further configured to determine a current position of the vehicle, compare the current position with the predicted position to generate a difference, and calibrate the motion sensor based on the difference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2021
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventor: Thomas Voorheis
  • Patent number: 10893209
    Abstract: A photographing direction deviation detection method is provided for a deviation detection device. The method includes obtaining a horizontal acceleration of an image capturing device at each of a plurality of time points in a pre-determined time period, and determining a target photographing direction of the image capturing device according to the horizontal acceleration at each of the time points. The method also includes, when a direction angle satisfies a preset condition, determining that an actual photographing direction of the image capturing device deviates, where the direction angle is an angle between the target photographing direction and the actual photographing direction of the image capturing device at an end time point of the pre-determined time period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Assignee: TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventors: Dafeng Wang, Jianye Chen
  • Patent number: 10889296
    Abstract: A vehicle traveling control apparatus includes a traveling state detector and a target value setter. The traveling state detector detects a traveling state of an own vehicle when the own vehicle traveling in a curve zone and decelerated to a curve-traveling speed approaches an exit of the curve zone. The curve traveling speed is a speed at which the own vehicle is to travel in the curve zone. The target value setter determines a target value of a vehicle speed control. The vehicle speed control starts to accelerate the own vehicle when the own vehicle approaches the exit of the curve zone. The target value is determined on the basis of the traveling state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Masato Mizoguchi
  • Patent number: 10870448
    Abstract: A driving support control system includes a steering device and a control device. The control device performs a target value calculating process of calculating a target value; a first steering angle calculating process of calculating, as a first steering angle, a steering angle for causing a vehicle motion parameter to coincide with the target value; an actual value calculating process of calculating an actual value of the vehicle motion parameter; a second steering angle calculating process of calculating, as a second steering angle, a steering angle for cancelling out an external force based on a difference value between the actual value and the target value; a target steering angle calculating process of calculating, as a target steering angle, a summed value of the first and second steering angles; and a control process of controlling the steering device so that the steering angle coincides with the target steering angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoji Kunihiro, Masateru Amano
  • Patent number: 10843700
    Abstract: A system for operating a vehicle includes a perception sensor, vehicle controls, a controller circuit, and a leveling actuator. The perception sensor is operable to determine a slope of an area within an operable range of a vehicle. The vehicle controls are operable to control movement of the vehicle. The controller circuit is in communication with the perception sensor, the vehicle controls, and the leveling actuator. The controller circuit is configured to determine, using the perception sensor, a first slope of a first site within the area to stop the vehicle, and compare the first slope to a slope threshold. In response to a determination that the first slope is steeper than the slope threshold, the controller circuit is configured to access a digital map that indicates a plurality of slopes coinciding with a plurality of locations at least comprising a second site characterized by a second slope that is not steeper than the slope threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2020
    Assignee: Aptiv Technologies Limited
    Inventors: Michael H. Laur, Nandita Mangal, Colton Gorman Stearns, Nilesh Gupta
  • Patent number: 10843728
    Abstract: A method for delivering a steering intention of an autonomous driving module to a steering apparatus more accurately by using a reference map is provided. And the method includes steps of: (a) a computing device, if a subject intended steering signal inputted by the autonomous driving module at a current timing is acquired, instructing a signal adjustment module to select, by referring to the reference map, specific reference steering guide values corresponding to the subject intended steering signal; (b) the computing device (i) adjusting the subject intended steering signal by referring to the specific reference steering guide values, in order to generate a subject adjusted steering signal, and (ii) transmitting the subject adjusted steering signal to the steering apparatus, to thereby support the steering apparatus to rotate the subject vehicle by a specific steering angle corresponding to the subject intended steering signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2020
    Assignee: Stradvision, Inc.
    Inventors: Kye-Hyeon Kim, Yongjoong Kim, Hak-Kyoung Kim, Woonhyun Nam, SukHoon Boo, Myungchul Sung, Dongsoo Shin, Donghun Yeo, Wooju Ryu, Myeong-Chun Lee, Hyungsoo Lee, Taewoong Jang, Kyungjoong Jeong, Hongmo Je, Hojin Cho
  • Patent number: 10829149
    Abstract: Model-based control of dynamical systems typically requires accurate domain-specific knowledge and specifications system components. Generally, steering actuator dynamics can be difficult to model due to, for example, an integrated power steering control module, proprietary black box controls, etc. Further, it is difficult to capture the complex interplay of non-linear interactions, such as power steering, tire forces, etc. with sufficient accuracy. To overcome this limitation, a recurring neural network can be employed to model the steering dynamics of an autonomous vehicle. The resulting model can be used to generate feedforward steering commands for embedded control. Such a neural network model can be automatically generated with less domain-specific knowledge, can predict steering dynamics more accurately, and perform comparably to a high-fidelity first principle model when used for controlling the steering system of a self-driving vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2020
    Assignee: Zoox, Inc.
    Inventors: Gowtham Garimella, Joseph Funke, Chuang Wang, Marin Kobilarov
  • Patent number: 10822022
    Abstract: A steer-by-wire steering system for motor vehicles may include a primary steering level with a steering transmission device, which is arranged to subject wheels of the motor vehicle to a desired setpoint steering effect, and a secondary steering level with a safety device that provides predefined functions, so that in the case of a malfunction of the primary steering level, steering the wheels remains possible during an emergency mode. The steer-by-wire steering system may also include an authentication system with a communications interface for communications with the safety device. The authentication system may be arranged so that in the case of a successful authorization, the secondary steering level of the steer-by-wire steering system is also available after the emergency mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignees: THYSSENKRUPP PRESTA AG, THYSSENKRUPP AG
    Inventors: Kristof Polmans, Philippe Steck