Control of automated following in vehicle convoys

US11669108B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Peloton Technology, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Shad Laws · Palo Alto, US
• Joshua P. Switkes · Menlo Park, US
• Art Gavrysh · Mountain View, US
• Marc Tange · Mountain View, US
• Mark D. Herbert · Baldwin, US
• Colleen Twitty · San Francisco, US
• Dean Hogle · San Jose, US
• Andrew Tamoney · Mountain View, US
• Eric Monsler · Mountain View, US
• Carlos John Rosario · San Jose, US
• Oliver Bayley · Mountain View, US
• Richard Pallo · Mountain View, US
• Louis Donayre · Mountain View, US
• Laurenz Laubinger · Mountain View, US
• Brian Smartt · Sunnyvale, US
• Joyce Tam · Pleasanton, US
• Brian Silverman · Mountain View, US
• Tabitha Jarvis · Mountain View, US
• Murad Bharwani · Mountain View, US
• Steven Erlein · Mountain View, US
• Austin B. Schuh · Los Altos, US
• Mark S. Luckevich · Ann Arbor, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jul 6, 2019
• Grant date: Jun 6, 2023
• Expiry date: Jul 31, 2040

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G08G1/096827
• WIPO field: Control
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

Disclosed herein are a method and apparatus for automated following behind a lead vehicle. The lead vehicle navigates a path from a starting point to a destination. The lead vehicle and the following vehicle are connected via V2V communication, allowing one or more following vehicles to detect the path taken by the lead vehicle. A computerized control system on the following vehicle (a Follow-the-Leader, or FTL, system) allows the following vehicle to mimic the behavior of the lead vehicle, with the FTL system controlling steering to guide the following vehicle along the path previously navigated by the lead vehicle. In some embodiments, the lead vehicle and following vehicle may both use Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) position coordinates. In some embodiments, the following vehicle may also have a system of sensors to maintain a gap between the following and lead vehicles.