Patents by Inventor Hitoshi Kitano
Hitoshi Kitano has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 11972317Abstract: An image processing device includes: a first scan of first area of an image acquired on the basis of reflective light of light emitted to the outside of a mobile body in first direction; a first determination of whether or not a first condition is satisfied on the basis of result by the first scan; a second scan of second area of the image in second direction different from the first direction in a case in which the first determination determines that the first condition is satisfied; a second determination of whether or not a second condition is satisfied on the basis of result by the second scan; a third scan of third area of the image after the second determination determines that the second condition is satisfied; and a third determination of whether or not predetermined information is included in the third area scanned by the third scan.Type: GrantFiled: September 23, 2020Date of Patent: April 30, 2024Assignee: THK CO., LTD.Inventors: Hitoshi Kitano, Tsubasa Usui
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Publication number: 20240069559Abstract: This autonomous moving robot is an autonomous moving robot for reading a sign disposed along a movement path using an imaging unit mounted therein and being guided and moving in accordance with the sign. The autonomous moving robot includes a calculation unit having a limited-range search mode. In the limited-range search mode, a first scanning range is set in a part of a captured image captured by the imaging unit on the basis of a registration position of the sign and the sign is searched for in the first scanning range.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 21, 2021Publication date: February 29, 2024Applicant: THK CO., LTD.Inventors: Hitoshi Kitano, Tsubasa Usui
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Publication number: 20230418295Abstract: A mobile robot includes: a drive unit that changes a moving speed and a travel direction; a detection unit that detects a plurality of detection target objects 11; and a control unit 27 that acquires a distance Z and a direction ? to the detection target object unit, calculates a travel direction in which the distance and the direction to the detection target object satisfy a predetermined relationship, and drives and controls the drive unit on the basis of the calculated travel direction. The control unit calculates a distance x in a direction orthogonal to the movement route between the detection target object and a current position of the mobile robot and the direction to the detection target object, calculates a difference ?x between the distance x and a certain distance Xref, and executes drive control for the drive unit to cause the difference ?x to be 0 (zero).Type: ApplicationFiled: September 14, 2023Publication date: December 28, 2023Applicant: THK CO., LTD.Inventors: Hitoshi Kitano, Takashi Naito
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Patent number: 11797012Abstract: A mobile robot includes: a drive unit that changes a moving speed and a travel direction; a detection unit that detects a plurality of detection target objects 11; and a control unit 27 that acquires a distance Z and a direction ? to the detection target object unit, calculates a travel direction in which the distance and the direction to the detection target object satisfy a predetermined relationship, and drives and controls the drive unit on the basis of the calculated travel direction. The control unit calculates a distance x in a direction orthogonal to the movement route between the detection target object and a current position of the mobile robot and the direction to the detection target object, calculates a difference ?x between the distance x and a certain distance Xref, and executes drive control for the drive unit to cause the difference ?x to be 0 (zero).Type: GrantFiled: February 12, 2020Date of Patent: October 24, 2023Assignee: THK CO., LTD.Inventors: Hitoshi Kitano, Takashi Naito
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Publication number: 20230288939Abstract: An autonomous mobile robot linkage system (1) includes a plurality of sign posts (SP0 to SP2) disposed along a travel path (10); an autonomous mobile robot (20) which moves along the travel path (10) while reading the plurality of sign posts (SP0 to SP2) in order using a camera and performs predetermined operations in order of pre-set operation numbers based on identification numbers read from the sign posts (SP0 to SP2); and a host device (30) which receives information on the operation number being executed from the autonomous mobile robot (20) and generates an event on the travel path (10) based on the operation number.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 22, 2021Publication date: September 14, 2023Applicant: THK CO., LTD.Inventors: Takeo Karaushi, Kosei Mochizuki, Hitoshi Kitano
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Publication number: 20220358303Abstract: An image processing device includes: a first scan of first area of an image acquired on the basis of reflective light of light emitted to the outside of a mobile body in first direction; a first determination of whether or not a first condition is satisfied on the basis of result by the first scan; a second scan of second area of the image in second direction different from the first direction in a case in which the first determination determines that the first condition is satisfied; a second determination of whether or not a second condition is satisfied on the basis of result by the second scan; a third scan of third area of the image after the second determination determines that the second condition is satisfied; and a third determination of whether or not predetermined information is included in the third area scanned by the third scan.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 23, 2020Publication date: November 10, 2022Applicant: THK CO., LTD.Inventors: Hitoshi Kitano, Tsubasa Usui
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Publication number: 20220171393Abstract: A mobile robot includes: a drive unit that changes a moving speed and a travel direction; a detection unit that detects a plurality of detection target objects 11; and a control unit 27 that acquires a distance Z and a direction ? to the detection target object unit, calculates a travel direction in which the distance and the direction to the detection target object satisfy a predetermined relationship, and drives and controls the drive unit on the basis of the calculated travel direction. The control unit calculates a distance x in a direction orthogonal to the movement route between the detection target object and a current position of the mobile robot and the direction to the detection target object, calculates a difference ?x between the distance x and a certain distance Xref, and executes drive control for the drive unit to cause the difference ?x to be 0 (zero).Type: ApplicationFiled: February 12, 2020Publication date: June 2, 2022Applicant: THK CO., LTD.Inventors: Hitoshi Kitano, Takashi Naito
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Patent number: 11112803Abstract: A mobile robot includes a driving unit which changes a moving velocity and a traveling direction, a detection unit which detects a plurality of detection objects disposed along a traveling path to a target point, and a control unit which acquires a distance and a direction to the detection object detected by the detection unit, calculates a traveling direction in which the distance to the detection object and the direction of the detection object satisfy a predetermined relationship, and controls the driving unit based on the calculated traveling direction.Type: GrantFiled: July 20, 2017Date of Patent: September 7, 2021Assignee: THK CO., LTD.Inventors: Hitoshi Kitano, Takashi Naito
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Publication number: 20210089045Abstract: A mobile robot includes a driving unit which changes a moving velocity and a traveling direction, a detection unit which detects a plurality of detection objects disposed along a traveling path to a target point, and a control unit which acquires a distance and a direction to the detection object detected by the detection unit, calculates a traveling direction in which the distance to the detection object and the direction of the detection object satisfy a predetermined relationship, and controls the driving unit based on the calculated traveling direction.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 20, 2017Publication date: March 25, 2021Applicant: THK CO., LTD.Inventors: Hitoshi Kitano, Takashi Naito
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Publication number: 20200401158Abstract: This image processing device includes: a detection object including cells having first cells capable of reflecting emitted light and second cells incapable of reflecting the emitted light, the cells being squares or rectangles, the first cells and the second cells being arranged in an a×a or a×b (where a, b=3, 4, 5, 6, . . . ) matrix on a two-dimensional plane; and a detector including: an illuminator emitting light; imagers imaging, by a camera, light reflected from the first cells after the first cells and the second cells constituting the detection object are illuminated with the light emitted from the illuminator; and a calculator obtaining information set on the detection object 11, based on imaged data items taken by the imagers. Such a configuration can accurately identify a compact marker and measure the distance, and achieve a system inexpensively.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 15, 2018Publication date: December 24, 2020Applicant: THK CO., LTD.Inventors: Hitoshi Kitano, Tsubasa Usui
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Patent number: 7684894Abstract: An autonomously moving robot that drives while evading an obstacle by an environment information acquisitioner. The information acquisitioner includes an imager that takes an image of a circumference on a driving route, an image recognition processor that extracts an area having a property relating to a region of a human body, a ranger that measures a range and an orientation to an object existing in the circumference on the driving route, a range information analyzer that obtains a shape of the object, and an environment recognizer that recognizes the environment information on the driving route. The environment recognizer compares the area extracted in the image recognition processor with the object recognized in the range information analyzer, and recognizes the object as a person when both of them agree with each other.Type: GrantFiled: March 12, 2004Date of Patent: March 23, 2010Assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Co., Ltd.Inventors: Tatsuo Sakai, Tomoharu Nakahara, Hitoshi Kitano, Yukihiko Kitano, Tsuyoshi Yamane, Hiroyuki Fujii
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Publication number: 20060184274Abstract: An autonomously moving robot drives while evading an obstacle by recognizing the obstacle and self-location by an environment information acquisitioner. The information acquisitioner comprises an imager that takes an image of a circumference on a driving route, an image recognition processor that extracts an area having a property relating to a region of a human body by arithmetically processing the photographed image, a ranger that measures a range and an orientation to an object existing in the circumference on the driving route, a range information analyzer that obtains a shape of the object by arithmetically processing the obtained range information and recognizing that the object is a candidate of a person, and an environment recognizer that recognizes the environment information on the driving route.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 12, 2004Publication date: August 17, 2006Applicant: Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.Inventors: Tatsuo Sakai, Tomoharu Nakahara, Hitoshi Kitano, Yukihiko Kitano, Tsuyoshi Yamane, Hiroyuki Fujii
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Patent number: 6710483Abstract: A revolution type actuator having a movable member performing a revolution motion includes a movable member capable of revolving with respect to a fixed member, a plurality of conducting paths which are provided on a face parallel to a trajectory face of the above-mentioned revolution motion and through which currents flow in mutually intersecting directions, power supply which flows currents having different phases through the above-mentioned plurality of conducting paths, and a magnetic field generator which forms a magnetic field perpendicular to the above-mentioned conducting path, in which the above-mentioned movable member revolves due to an electromagnetic force generated by an interaction between a current flowing through said conducting path and a magnetic field generated by the above-mentioned magnetic field generator.Type: GrantFiled: July 20, 2001Date of Patent: March 23, 2004Assignee: Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.Inventors: Tomohiro Ota, Katsuhiro Hirata, Hitoshi Kitano, Yoshikazu Shikata
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Publication number: 20020081220Abstract: A revolution type actuator having a movable member performing a revolution motion includes a movable member capable of revolving with respect to a fixed member, a plurality of conducting paths which are provided on a face parallel to a trajectory face of the above-mentioned revolution motion and through which currents flow in mutually intersecting directions, power supply which flows currents having different phases through the above-mentioned plurality of conducting paths, and a magnetic field generator which forms a magnetic field perpendicular to the above-mentioned conducting path, in which the above-mentioned movable member revolves due to an electromagnetic force generated by an interaction between a current flowing through said conducting path and a magnetic field generated by the above-mentioned magnetic field generator.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 20, 2001Publication date: June 27, 2002Applicant: Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.Inventors: Tomohiro Ota, Katsuhiro Hirata, Hitoshi Kitano, Yoshikazu Shikata
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Patent number: D924955Type: GrantFiled: September 24, 2019Date of Patent: July 13, 2021Assignee: THK CO., LTD.Inventors: Takanobu Hoshino, Hitoshi Kitano, Akihiro Iimura