Granted Patent B2

US 12,374,217 · App. 17/850,173 · Granted Jul 29, 2025

Inventors: Norman Lu (Fairview, TX); Maximilian Parness (Takoma Park, MD)

Assignees: TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.; TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA

G08G1/0141G08G1/22H04W4/46

Abstract

Claims (85)

1. A method comprising:

determining, by a vehicle from a group of vehicles, that the group of vehicles is insufficient to perform a designated energy charging task;

sending a request from the vehicle to a different vehicle in a different group of vehicles requesting merging of the different vehicle from the different group of vehicles with the group of vehicles;

merging the different vehicle with the group of vehicles to create a set of merged vehicles,

establishing direct vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication between the different vehicle and the group of vehicles based on the merging;

receiving, by the vehicle, a first V2V communication with an indicator of how much energy is available at the different vehicle;

transmitting, by the vehicle, a second V2V communication from the vehicle to the different vehicle with instructions to perform the designated energy charging task based on the energy available at the different vehicle; and

controlling the merged set of vehicles to perform the designated energy charging task at a location associated with the designated energy charging task.

2. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

assigning a common destination to the set of merged vehicles; and

arriving, by the set of merged vehicles, at the common destination.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the designated energy charging task comprises supplying an electrical charge to the location.

4. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

determining that the set of merged vehicles is insufficient to perform the designated task;

identifying another vehicle that is not in the group of vehicles, and that, when merged with the set of merged vehicles will enable the set of merged vehicles to perform the designated energy charging task; and

merging the another vehicle with the set of merged vehicles.

5. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

determining an amount of energy to be provided to the location;

determining a level of energy available from the set of merged vehicles; and

adjusting the set of merged vehicles so that the level of energy available will be greater than the amount of energy to be provided to the location.

6. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

determining, by the vehicle, that a second vehicle in the set of merged vehicles is unavailable to perform the designated energy charging task;

removing, by the vehicle, the second vehicle from the set of merged vehicles;

requesting an unmerged vehicle from the different group of vehicles; and

merging the unmerged vehicle with the set of merged vehicles.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the vehicle, replies from other vehicles in the group of vehicles in response to the request,

wherein the merging further comprises:

initiating the merging when a number of the replies reaches a threshold value.

8. A system comprising:

a memory storing instructions; and

a processor of a main vehicle of a second group of vehicles that, when executing the instructions, is configured to:

determine, by a vehicle from a group of vehicles, that the group of vehicles is insufficient to perform a designated energy charging task,

send a request from the vehicle to a different vehicle in a different group of vehicles requesting merging of the different vehicle from the different group of vehicles with the group of vehicles,

merge the different vehicle with the group of vehicles to create a merged set of vehicles,

establish direct vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication between the different vehicle and the group of vehicles based on the merging,

receive, by the vehicle, a first V2V communication with an indicator of how much energy is available at the different vehicle,

transmit, by the vehicle, a second V2V communication from the vehicle to the different vehicle with instructions to perform the designated energy charging task based on the energy available at the different vehicle, and

control the merged set of vehicles to perform the designated energy charging task at a location associated with the designated energy charging task.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

assign a common destination to the set of merged vehicles; and

arrive, by the set of merged vehicles, at the common destination.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the designated energy charging task comprises supplying an electrical charge to the location.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine that the set of merged vehicles is insufficient to perform the designated task;

identify another vehicle that is not in the group of vehicles, and that, when merged with the set of merged vehicles will enable the set of merged vehicles to perform the designated energy charging task; and

merge the another vehicle with the set of merged vehicles.

12. The system of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine an amount of energy to be provided to the location;

determine a level of energy available from the set of merged vehicles; and

adjust the set of merged vehicles so that the level of energy available will be greater than the amount of energy to be provided to the location.

13. The system of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine that a second vehicle in the set of merged vehicles is unavailable to perform the designated energy charging task;

remove the second vehicle from the set of merged vehicles;

request an unmerged vehicle from the different group of vehicles; and

merge the unmerged vehicle with the set of merged vehicles.

14. The system of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive replies from other vehicles in the group of vehicles in response to the request,

wherein, when the processor merges the number of vehicles into the second group of vehicles, the processor is further configured to:

initiate the merging when a number of the replies reaches a threshold value.

15. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of a main vehicle of a second group of vehicles, cause the processor to perform:

determining, by a vehicle from a group of vehicles, that the group of vehicles is insufficient to perform a designated energy charging task;

sending a request from the vehicle to a different vehicle in a different group of vehicles requesting merging of the different vehicle from the different group of vehicles with the group of vehicles;

merging the different vehicle with the group of vehicles to create a merged set of vehicles,

establishing direct vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication between the vehicle and the different group of vehicles based on the merging;

receiving, by the vehicle, a first V2V communication with an indicator of how much energy is available at the different vehicle;

transmitting, by the vehicle, a second V2V communication from the vehicle to the different vehicle with instructions to perform the designated energy charging task based on the energy available at the different vehicle; and

controlling the merged set of vehicles to perform the designated energy charging task at a location associated with the designated energy charging task.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to perform:

assigning a common destination to the set of merged vehicles; and

arriving, by the set of merged vehicles, at the common destination.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the designated energy charging task comprises an electrical charge to the location.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to perform:

determining that the set of merged vehicles is insufficient to perform the designated task;

identifying another vehicle that is not in the group of vehicles, and that, when merged with the set of merged vehicles will enable the set of merged vehicles to perform the designated energy charging task; and

merging the another vehicle with the set of merged vehicles.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to perform:

determining an amount of energy to be provided to the location;

determining a level of energy available from the set of merged vehicles; and

adjusting the set of merged vehicles so that the level of energy available will be greater than the amount of energy to be provided to the location.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions cause the processor to perform:

determining that a second vehicle in the set of merged vehicles is unavailable to perform the designated energy charging task;

removing the second vehicle from the set of merged vehicles;

requesting an unmerged vehicle from the different group of vehicles; and

merging the unmerged vehicle with the set of merged vehicles.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (28)