Patents by Inventor Kazutaka Nakayama

Kazutaka Nakayama 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).

  • Publication number: 20230061619
    Abstract: A rotary shaft structure includes an actuator having an output shaft for rotationally driving a driven body, a force sensor which is arranged between the output shaft and the driven body and which detects a force exerted between the output shaft and the driven body, and a flexible deformation body which is in contact with the output shaft and the driven body, wherein the entirety of the force sensor is sealed by the output shaft, the driven body, and the flexible deformation body.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2021
    Publication date: March 2, 2023
    Inventor: Kazutaka Nakayama
  • Patent number: 11590664
    Abstract: Provided is a robot system which includes: a robot; a controller controlling the robot and causing the robot to operate in a plurality of operation modes; and a display device attached on the robot and caused by the controller to operate in patterns in accordance with the operation modes, the patterns being different from one another. The display device includes: a sheet-like base part being deformable in a shape in accordance with an outer surface of the robot and having flexibility; one or more display parts fixed on the base part; and a fixture maintaining the base part in a state in which the base part is attached on the outer surface of the robot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kazutaka Nakayama
  • Patent number: 11592096
    Abstract: A light-weight gear including: an annular tooth portion made of metal; a shaft extending along a central axis of the tooth portion and made of metal; and a coupling element configured to couple the shaft to the tooth portion and made of a resin, in which a joining part between the shaft and the coupling element and a joining part between the tooth portion and the coupling element are provided with irregularities configured to be engaged with one another in a circumferential direction, and corners of the irregularities are rounded to release a stress. Also, provided is a manufacturing method of a light-weight gear including: disposing the tooth portion and the shaft in a mold and injecting a molten resin into a cavity of the mold, thereby simultaneously performing injection molding of the coupling element and joining the coupling element to the tooth portion and the shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kazutaka Nakayama
  • Patent number: 11571808
    Abstract: A rotary axis module includes an actuator that includes a first member and a second member, the actuator relatively driving the second member so as to rotate about a predetermined axis with respect to the first member, a DC power source, and a switch. The actuator includes a brake that is releasable by supplying a DC voltage. A first brake circuit that is connected to a control device that controls the actuator, and a second brake circuit that is provided in parallel with the first brake circuit and connected to the DC power source via the switch, are connected to the brake.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kazutaka Nakayama
  • Patent number: 11548148
    Abstract: A robot control device includes: a creep-information storage unit that stores an amount of bending in correspondence with a cumulative time, the bending occurring in a robot due to creep deformation; a mastering-data storage unit that stores mastering data of the robot; a timer that measures the cumulative time; and a correction unit that corrects the mastering data stored in the mastering-data storage unit based on the amount of bending stored in the creep-information storage unit in correspondence with the cumulative time measured by the timer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazutaka Nakayama, Kenichiro Oguri
  • Patent number: 11426866
    Abstract: A robot that includes a base that is provided with a flat installation surface member that is disposed on an installation target surface and a columnar member that extends upward from the installation surface member; and a first arm, one end of which is supported so as to be rotatable about a first horizontal axis located above the columnar member of the base and that has a motion range below the first horizontal axis. The columnar member has a length that is equal to or longer than the length of the first arm and has a uniform transverse sectional area that is the same as the first arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazutaka Nakayama, Kenichirou Abe, Masahiro Morioka
  • Patent number: 11420345
    Abstract: A robot including: two link members with longitudinal axes that are coupled such that the link members are able to relatively rotate about an axial line; and a sensor that detects a force around the axial line acting between the link members due to an object pinched between the link members, in which the robot has such a shape that a width dimension in a direction along a plane of a cross-sectional surface of at least one of the link members, which perpendicularly intersects the axial line, on at least one sides from the longitudinal axes that intersect the axial line continuously spread from at least midway positions of the at least one of the link members in the direction of the longitudinal axes toward the axial line, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2022
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Satoshi Furuta, Kazutaka Nakayama
  • Patent number: 11389959
    Abstract: A robot system including a robot and a control device that controls the robot. The robot includes a first member, a second member that is rotationally driven around a predetermined first axis relative to the first member, and a first torque detector that detects a torque around the first axis. The control device includes an external-force upper-limit-value estimator that estimates an external-force upper limit value serving as an assumable upper limit value for an external force acting on the second member based on the torque detected by the first torque detector, and controls the robot to avoid an increase in the external force when the estimated external-force upper limit value is larger than a predetermined threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akifumi Furuichi, Kazutaka Nakayama, Kuniyasu Matsumoto, Yasuhiro Naitou
  • Patent number: 11358276
    Abstract: A robot includes: a wrist unit including a plurality of wrist joints; and a plurality of basic joints configured to determine the position of the wrist unit in a three-dimensional space. Only the basic joints are provided with torque sensors configured to detect torque of the basic joints about axis lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazutaka Nakayama, Kenichiro Oguri
  • Publication number: 20220176549
    Abstract: A collaborative robot operation apparatus includes an operation unit that is operated by an operator in direct teaching of a robot including a cylindrical outer surface at least in a part, a communication unit that communicates operation information to the operation unit, to a control apparatus of the robot, and an attachment portion that detachably attaches the operation unit on the outer surface of the robot. The operation unit includes a rotation stopping portion between the outer surface of the robot and the operation unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2022
    Publication date: June 9, 2022
    Applicant: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kazutaka NAKAYAMA
  • Patent number: 11331815
    Abstract: A rotary shaft structure including: a first member; a second member that is supported so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis with respect to the first member; an actuator that includes an output shaft member connected to the second member and that rotationally drives the second member about the rotation axis with respect to the first member; a sensor that detects a physical quantity acting between the output shaft member and the second member; and a first fixing member that is fixed to the output shaft member. A wire body is routed from the first member side to the second member side; the first fixing member extends toward the second member, with a prescribed gap between the first fixing member and the sensor; and the wire body routed from the first member side is fixed to the first fixing member on the second member side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kazutaka Nakayama
  • Patent number: 11312006
    Abstract: A robot drive unit is provided with: a housing; a shaft body that is relatively rotated with respect to the housing; rotating-body sealing members that is provided in the housing; a contact-surface member that is provided on the shaft body and that contact with the rotating-body sealing members; and a sealing member that seals a gap between the shaft body and the contact-surface member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2022
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomoaki Mizukoshi, Kazutaka Nakayama
  • Patent number: 11305415
    Abstract: A fixing apparatus that fixes a robot having a robot main body mounted on a truck to an external structure in a positioning state, the truck being capable of traveling on a floor surface, the apparatus including: a first unit provided in one of the robot and the external structure; a second unit provided in the other of the robot and the external structure; a positioning mechanism that determines relative relation between the truck and the robot, and the external structure by use of the first unit and the second unit; and a lock mechanism that locks the truck and the robot, and the external structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Wataru Murakami, Kazutaka Nakayama
  • Patent number: 11305439
    Abstract: A robot wiring additional routing method that includes detaching some fasteners to detach a cover member from a housing member, thus forming a gap between the detached cover member and the housing member; disposing additional wiring at such a position as to be routed across an inside and an outside of the housing member via the formed gap; and, in a state in which a spacer that maintains the gap is sandwiched between the cover member and the housing member, attaching the detached cover member to the housing member by the detached fasteners or other fasteners.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kazutaka Nakayama
  • Patent number: 11292122
    Abstract: A collaborative robot operation apparatus includes an operation unit that is operated by an operator in direct teaching of a robot including a cylindrical outer surface at least in a part, a communication unit that communicates operation information to the operation unit, to a control apparatus of the robot, and an attachment portion that detachably attaches the operation unit on the outer surface of the robot. The operation unit includes a rotation stopping portion between the outer surface of the robot and the operation unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kazutaka Nakayama
  • Patent number: 11167432
    Abstract: A robot including a robot main body having at least two openings passing through an outer wall thereof in a wall thickness direction and a cable routed in an interior of the robot main body, where the cable includes branch cables each of which is split off from a trunk cable of the cable in a vicinity of each of the openings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomoaki Mizukoshi, Kazutaka Nakayama
  • Patent number: 11148300
    Abstract: A robotic gripping device includes a base part attached to a tip of a wrist of a robot; finger parts, at least one of which is movably supported on the base part so that the finger parts can move toward and away from each other; and a driving mechanism that drives the finger parts. In at least one of the finger parts, flexibility of at least a gripping surface is switchable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shinsuke Sakakibara, Kazutaka Nakayama
  • Patent number: 11111984
    Abstract: A rotary axis module includes: an input shaft connected to a drive motor; an output shaft, an output shaft flange connected to the output shaft; parallel gears coupled to the output shaft flange; at least two double gears; and a transfer gear that transmits the power of the drive motor to the double gears. The at least two double gears and the transfer gear are disposed so as to surround the output shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazutaka Nakayama, Kenichirou Abe, Masahiro Morioka
  • Patent number: 11040442
    Abstract: A robot that includes a first shaft unit in which a first motor drives a second member relative to a first member; a second shaft unit in which a second motor drives a fourth member relative to a third member; and a securing member that is provided in a detachable manner between the second member and the third member and that integrally secures the second member and the third member to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2021
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kazutaka Nakayama
  • Publication number: 20210162961
    Abstract: An automated guided robot system includes an automated guided vehicle, a robot mounted on the automated guided vehicle, and a sensor mounted on the robot and capable of detecting statuses of maintenance parts of the automated guided vehicle. The robot has a motion range that enables the robot to place the sensor at positions from which the statuses of the maintenance parts of the automated guided vehicle are detectable. Accordingly, the necessity for performing maintenance of multiple maintenance parts can be detected while reducing the number of sensors mounted thereon.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 21, 2020
    Publication date: June 3, 2021
    Applicant: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Youhei YAMAGUCHI, Kazutaka NAKAYAMA