32484 results about "Driver/operator" patented technology

The present invention, in accordance with various embodiments thereof, relates to a surgical device for at least one of cutting and stapling a section of tissue. The surgical device includes a housing including at least two drivers. The surgical device also includes an anvil mechanically attachable to the housing and moveable relative to the housing between an open position and a closed position. The first driver operates to move the anvil relative to the housing to an intermediate position between the open position and the closed position. The second driver operates to move at least a portion of the housing relative to the anvil between the intermediate position and the closed position.

A power tool, such as a nailer, having a driver, a flywheel and an activation arm for selectively driving the driver into contact with the flywheel to transfer energy therebetween to cause the driver to translate. The power tool includes a bar that may be moved so as to resist movement of the activation arm in a direction that would bring the driver into contact with the flywheel. A method for operating a power tool is also provided.

An interior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle includes a prismatic mirror element and a display element. The prismatic mirror element includes a wedge-shaped prism element having a front surface and a rear surface and a second element having a transflective reflector on a first surface thereof. The front surface of the prism element generally faces a driver of the vehicle when the mirror assembly is installed in the vehicle, and the rear surface is opposite the front surface. The transflective reflector coated first surface of the second element is attached to the rear surface of the prism element via an optically matching medium. The display element is positioned to the rear of the prismatic mirror element and operates to display information through the prismatic mirror element so as to be viewable by a driver of the vehicle when the display element is operated to emit visible light.

The monitored use of a vehicle provides accurate and reliable data that can be used to determine the insurable risk of a vehicle operator. What is disclosed is a system and method for monitoring vehicle operation and using the collected data to calculate a driver score. The driver score can then be applied to ascertain the risk of insuring a particular driver, as well as being used as a tool for defining or adjusting the terms of an insurance policy for an insured driver. The collection of data such as the times the vehicle is operated, the locations the vehicle is operated and the speeds or other characteristics of how the vehicle is operated can all be used to calculate the driver score. By installing a vehicle monitor within a vehicle and extracting this or similar data, more accurate and profitable insurance policies can be developed.

A system and method tracks the movements of a driver or passenger in a vehicle (ground, water, air, or other) and controls devices in accordance with position, motion, and / or body or hand gestures or movements. According to one embodiment, an operator or passenger uses the invention to control comfort or entertainment features such the heater, air conditioner, lights, mirror positions or the radio / CD player using hand gestures. An alternative embodiment facilitates the automatic adjustment of car seating restraints based on head position. Yet another embodiment is used to determine when to fire an airbag (and at what velocity or orientation) based on the position of a person in a vehicle seat. The invention may also be used to control systems outside of the vehicle. The on-board sensor system would be used to track the driver or passenger, but when the algorithms produce a command for a desired response, that response (or just position and gesture information) could be transmitted via various methods (wireless, light, whatever) to other systems outside the vehicle to control devices located outside the vehicle. For example, this would allow a person to use gestures inside the car to interact with a kiosk located outside of the car.

The monitored use of a vehicle provides accurate and reliable data that can be used to determine the insurable risk of a vehicle operator. What is disclosed is a system and method for monitoring vehicle operation and using the collected data to calculate a driver score. The driver score can then be applied to ascertain the risk of insuring a particular driver, as well as being used as a tool for defining or adjusting the terms of an insurance policy for an insured driver. The collection of data such as the times the vehicle is operated, the locations the vehicle is operated and the speeds or other characteristics of how the vehicle is operated can all be used to calculate the driver score. By installing a vehicle monitor within a vehicle and extracting this or similar data, more accurate and profitable insurance policies can be developed.

System and method for providing feedback to drivers. The system monitors selected vehicle parameters while a vehicle is being driven, and detects one or more vehicle operation violations by comparing the selected vehicle parameters to predetermined thresholds. A mentoring message is provided to the driver if the threshold is exceeded. If a vehicle operation violation has not been corrected within a preselected time period, then a violation report may be sent to a third party or a central server and / or a different mentoring message may be provided to the driver. Vehicle parameter data may be monitored from an on-board vehicle diagnostic system. The mentoring message may be an audible warning, such as a spoken message, or a visual warning, such as a text message. The selected vehicle parameters may be a vehicle speed, a vehicle acceleration, or a vehicle seatbelt use.

An interior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle includes a casing, a reflective element and a display. The reflective element has a back surface and a front surface, with the front surface being directed toward and viewable by a driver of the vehicle. The display comprises a display element positioned within the casing. The display element is operable to project light onto a screen portion of the reflective element. The light is viewable as an image on the reflective element by a driver of the vehicle. The display element is separate and remote from the screen portion of the reflective element. Preferably, the display element and reflective elements are positioned generally along planes which are angled with respect to one another. The display may include a reflective optic which functions to redirect the projected light toward the screen portion of the reflective element.

An interior rearview mirror assembly includes a reflective element having a front surface that is viewable by and directed generally toward a driver of a vehicle when the mirror assembly is installed in the vehicle. An overlay element applied to the front surface of the reflective element includes at least one user input for controlling at least one accessory or display of the mirror assembly or vehicle. An electrical connector connects the overlay element to circuitry at or within or associated with the mirror assembly. The overlay element may be applied to the reflective element at a desired location on the surface of the reflective element to provide a user input and / or a display at the front of the reflective element where it is readily viewable and accessible by a driver or occupant of the vehicle.

In an en-route navigation system such as for a vehicle, an image of a cable is presented as a navigation object in a head-up display to indicate a route that the vehicle should follow. In particular embodiments the cable appears to an observer to be a real cable existing in the landscape and extending higher than the head of the observer as would, for example, a trolley cable. The cable is illustratively displayed volumetrically and with an optic flow that is consistent with the optic flow of the landscape when the vehicle is moving, thereby creating the impression that it is real. As a result, the cable can be displayed without any accompanying images that correlate points on the cable with locations in the landscape and yet nonetheless serve as a very useful tool for indicating to a driver the route over which the vehicle should go. The cable may be in any of a number of forms including a continuous line, a line with non-closely-spaced gaps, a line having non-closely-spaced segments that have a different luminance from the rest of the line or a string of closely-spaced objects.

This provides for controlling mobile device functions and features, along with systems incorporating these devices and methods. For example, it limits or disables the use of some of mobile device features which could cause distraction to the user, when the user is engaged in another activity. In an example, it enables other mobile device features based on occurrence of events related to the user or environment. Another example addresses controlling the mobile device features, such as SMS, while the user is in a vehicle or driving. Another example restricts the ability of the driver of a vehicle to text, while the vehicle is in motion, by automatically disabling the texting ability of mobile device within and around the perimeter of the driver's seat. Other variations, examples, improvements, detection mechanisms, models, techniques, calculations, verification mechanisms, and features are also described in details.

A method (700) for improving driver performance includes the steps of receiving vehicle operating data from the vehicle (702); monitoring an interior portion of the vehicle and receiving operator activity data from the interior portion of the vehicle (704); receiving vehicle environment data from the environment external to the vehicle (706); monitoring the vehicle operator and receiving operator condition data relating to a condition of the vehicle operator (708); recording an operator performance assessment based on the vehicle operating data, the operator activity data, the vehicle environment data and the operator condition data (710); and reporting the operator performance assessment to the operator (712).