ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 25 -- United States Patent no. 12,478,273, issued on Nov. 25, was assigned to Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co. Ltd. (Atsugi, Japan).
"Vehicle control device" was invented by Daisuke Kubota (Kanagawa, Japan) and Kensuke Yoshizumi (Kanagawa, Japan).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A highly safe vehicle control device is provided. The vehicle control device includes an operation unit, a light-emitting and light-receiving unit, and a control unit. The operation unit includes a steering wheel including a rim, a hub, and a spoke. The rim is connected to the hub through the spoke. The light-emitting and light-receiving unit is provided along a surface of the rim. The light-emit...