Patent Issued for Autonomous vehicle convergence avoidance systems and methods (USPTO 11355011): United Services Automobile Association

2022 JUN 24 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent by the inventors Dixon, David Patrick (Boerne, TX, US), Dziuk, Janelle Denice (Falls City, TX, US), Guerra, Oscar (San Antonio, TX, US), Khmelev, Yevgeniy Viatcheslavovich (San Antonio, TX, US), Philbrick, Ashley Raine (San Antonio, TX, US), Pollack, Jeffrey Neal (San Antonio, TX, US), Russell, Ryan Thomas (San Antonio, TX, US), filed on January 31, 2020, was published online on June 7, 2022, according to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents.

Patent number 11355011 is assigned to United Services Automobile Association (San Antonio, Texas, United States).

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “The present disclosure relates generally to autonomous vehicle systems and methods.

“Some vehicles (e.g., autonomous vehicles) are capable of controlling driving operations of the vehicle, such that a person may not interact with or control the vehicle as the vehicle drives to a destination. In such vehicles, a vehicle control system may control the driving operations of the vehicle based on a set of algorithms.

“This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it may be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “In one embodiment, a vehicle adjustment system includes one or more processors configured to receive data from one or more sensors coupled to a vehicle that is in a stationary position. The one or more processors are configured to analyze the data to determine whether an object is within a buffer zone surrounding the vehicle while the vehicle is in the stationary position. In response to determining that the object is within the buffer zone while the vehicle is in the stationary position, the one or more processors are configured to provide control signals to one or more driving components of the vehicle to reposition the vehicle to an alternate position.

“In one embodiment, a method of operating a vehicle adjustment system includes receiving, at one or more processors, data from one or more sensors coupled to a vehicle that is in a stationary position. The method also includes analyzing the data to determine whether an object is within a buffer zone surrounding the vehicle while the vehicle is in the stationary position using the one or more processors. The method further includes providing, using the one or more processors, control signals to one or more driving components of the vehicle to reposition the vehicle to an alternate position in response to determining that the object is within the buffer zone while the vehicle is in the stationary position.

“In one embodiment, a method of operating a vehicle adjustment system includes receiving, at one or more processors, data from one or more sensors coupled to a vehicle that is in a stationary position. The method also includes receiving an input indicative of a preference of an occupant of the vehicle at the one or more processors. The method further includes analyzing, using the one or more processors, the data to determine whether an object is within a buffer zone surrounding the vehicle while the vehicle is in the stationary position. The method further includes determining an alternate position for the vehicle that would cause the object to be outside of the buffer zone based on the data and the preference using the one or more processors.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A vehicle adjustment system, comprising: one or more processors configured to: receive data from one or more sensors coupled to a vehicle that is in a stationary position; analyze the data to identify another vehicle; retrieve information related to the another vehicle; adjust a buffer zone surrounding the vehicle based on the information related to the another vehicle to establish an adjusted buffer zone; analyze the data to determine whether the another vehicle is within the adjusted buffer zone surrounding the vehicle while the vehicle is in the stationary position; and in response to determining that the another vehicle is within the adjusted buffer zone while the vehicle is in the stationary position, provide control signals to one or more driving components of the vehicle to reposition the vehicle to an alternate position.

“2. The vehicle adjustment system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to provide the control signals to the one or more driving components of the vehicle to reposition the vehicle from the stationary position in a parking space, and the alternate position is in the parking space.

“3. The vehicle adjustment system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to provide the control signals to the one or more driving components of the vehicle to reposition the vehicle from the stationary position in a parking space, and the alternate position is another parking space.

“4. The vehicle adjustment system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to provide the control signals to the one or more driving components of the vehicle to reposition the vehicle from the stationary position in a parking space, and the alternate position is limited to the parking space.

“5. The vehicle adjustment system of claim 1, wherein the information related to the another vehicle comprises a make, a model, presence of a collision avoidance feature, a collision history, or any combination thereof.

“6. The vehicle adjustment system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: analyze the data to identify a parking lot within which the vehicle is in the stationary position; access a fee schedule of the parking lot; determine an owner of the parking lot; and transfer an appropriate amount of money from an account of a designated individual associated with the vehicle to the owner of the parking lot based on the fee schedule and in response to reaching the stationary position.

“7. The vehicle adjustment system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to provide a notification to a device of an occupant of the vehicle in response to the vehicle being repositioned to the alternate position.

“8. The vehicle adjustment system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive an input indicative of a preference of an occupant of the vehicle; and determine the alternate position based on the data and the preference.

“9. The vehicle adjustment system of claim 1, wherein the information related to the another vehicle comprises a make of the another vehicle, a model of the another vehicle, or both.

“10. The vehicle adjustment system of claim 1, wherein the information related to the another vehicle comprises presence of a collision avoidance feature on the another vehicle.

“11. The vehicle adjustment system of claim 1, wherein the information related to the another vehicle comprises a collision history of the another vehicle.

“12. A method of operating a vehicle adjustment system, comprising: receiving, at one or more processors, data from one or more sensors coupled to a vehicle that is in a stationary position; analyzing, using the one or more processors, the data to identify another vehicle; retrieving, using the one or more processors, information related to the another vehicle; adjusting, using the one or more processors, a buffer zone surrounding the vehicle based on the information related to the another vehicle to establish an adjusted buffer zone; analyzing, using the one or more processors, the data to determine whether the another vehicle is within the adjusted buffer zone surrounding the vehicle while the vehicle is in the stationary position; and providing, using the one or more processors, control signals to one or more driving components of the vehicle to reposition the vehicle to an alternate position in response to determining that the another vehicle is within the adjusted buffer zone while the vehicle is in the stationary position.

“13. The method of claim 12, comprising determining the alternate position based on the data using the one or more processors.

“14. The method of claim 12, comprising receiving additional data from one or more data services at the one or more processors, and determining the alternate position based on the additional data using the one or more processors.

“15. The method of claim 14, wherein the additional data comprises weather conditions, parking space inventory, parking space features, or any combination thereof.

“16. The method of claim 12, wherein the information related to the another vehicle comprises a collision avoidance feature, a collision history, or any combination thereof.

“17. The method of claim 12, wherein the stationary position is in a first parking lot and the alternate position is in another parking lot, and the method comprises: accessing a fee schedule of the another parking lot using the one or more processors; and transferring an appropriate amount of money from an account of a designated individual associated with the vehicle to an owner of the another parking lot based on the fee schedule and in response to reaching the alternate position using the one or more processors.

“18. The method of claim 12, comprising providing a notification to a device of an occupant of the vehicle in response to the vehicle being repositioned to the alternate position using the one or more processors.

“19. A method of operating a vehicle adjustment system, comprising: receiving, at one or more processors, data from one or more sensors coupled to a vehicle that is in a stationary position; receiving, at the one or more processors, an input indicative of a preference of an occupant of the vehicle; analyzing, using the one or more processors, the data to identify another vehicle; retrieving, using the one or more processors, information related to the another vehicle; adjusting, using the one or more processors, a buffer zone surrounding the vehicle based on the information related to the another vehicle to establish an adjusted buffer zone; analyzing, using the one or more processors, the data to determine whether the another vehicle is within the adjusted buffer zone surrounding the vehicle while the vehicle is in the stationary position; and determining, using the one or more processors, an alternate position for the vehicle that would cause the another vehicle to be outside of the adjusted buffer zone based on the data and the preference.

“20. The method of claim 19, comprising providing control signals to one or more driving components of the vehicle to reposition the vehicle to the alternate position in response to determining that the another vehicle is within the adjusted buffer zone while the vehicle is in the stationary position using the one or more processors.”

URL and more information on this patent, see: Dixon, David Patrick. Autonomous vehicle convergence avoidance systems and methods. U.S. Patent Number 11355011, filed January 31, 2020, and published online on June 7, 2022. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=11355011.PN.&OS=PN/11355011RS=PN/11355011

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)