Patents by Inventor Shinji Kitamura

Shinji Kitamura 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).

  • Patent number: 11976583
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a reservoir tank for coolant that stores the coolant for cooling an internal combustion engine. The reservoir tank includes: a tank chamber that stores the coolant; an opening, which is disposed in an upper part of the tank chamber, through which the coolant flows in and flows out, and in a circumferential wall of which a breathing hole is formed; and a first communication passage, a second communication passage, and a third communication passage that respectively communicate with the opening and the tank chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Miyo Kitamura, Shinji Shimoyama, Keijiro Koide, Masahiro Kato, Tatsuya Kurimoto, Tatsuki Tanaka, Koji Sato, Takumi Tokinoya
  • Publication number: 20240077015
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a reservoir tank for coolant that stores the coolant for cooling an internal combustion engine. The reservoir tank includes: a tank chamber that stores the coolant; an opening, which is disposed in an upper part of the tank chamber, through which the coolant flows in and flows out, and in a circumferential wall of which a breathing hole is formed; and a first communication passage, a second communication passage, and a third communication passage that respectively communicate with the opening and the tank chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2023
    Publication date: March 7, 2024
    Inventors: Miyo KITAMURA, Shinji SHIMOYAMA, Keijiro KOIDE, Masahiro KATO, Tatsuya KURIMOTO, Tatsuki TANAKA, Koji SATO, Takumi TOKINOYA
  • Patent number: 11761401
    Abstract: A cylinder block includes a support wall part that rotatably supports a crank shaft. The support wall part has a fitting recess part to which a bearing cap can be fitted. In each of the left and right corner parts where a bottom surface and a fitting surface of the fitting recess part intersect, a notch groove is formed that extends in the array direction of cylinder bores and has a substantially arc-shaped cross section when cut by the virtual plane along the extension direction thereof. As a result, stress having a greater value as the location becomes closer to the center part in the extension direction of the notch groove can be substantially uniform in the extension direction of said notch groove, and it is possible to effectively mitigate the stress concentration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masamichi Kusano, Koichi Tokura, Shinji Kitamura
  • Publication number: 20220347849
    Abstract: A failure diagnosing device diagnoses failure of a plurality of reduction gears of a mechanical apparatus which includes a plurality of operation parts, a plurality of motors, and the plurality of reduction gears. The failure diagnosing device includes an acceleration/deceleration period identifying module configured to identify an acceleration/deceleration period of operation of one of the plurality of operation parts, a motor current processing module configured to acquire a peak value of an amplitude of a frequency component of motor current in a specific frequency band of one motor that drives the one operation part, in the acceleration/deceleration period, and a determining module configured to determine whether a sign of failure exists in one of the reduction gears.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2020
    Publication date: November 3, 2022
    Applicant: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shinji KITAMURA, Makoto KAWAI, Tetsuo KANEDA, Tetsuya TAGUCHI
  • Patent number: 11400606
    Abstract: An articulated robot has an arm, a drive motor for driving and positioning the arm, a gas spring for supporting a load acting on the arm to reduce a load of the drive motor and a control unit for controlling the drive motor. The control unit has a function of estimating a decrease state of a gas sealed inside the gas spring based on an actual current value of the drive motor obtained at a stop position at which the drive motor is operated and stopped in an energized state. The decrease state of the gas sealed inside the gas spring is estimated based on the current value of a servo motor without causing decline in operation rate of the robot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shinji Kitamura, Motoki Himeno, Yusuke Fujii, Shunsuke Wakimitsu
  • Patent number: 11356663
    Abstract: An encoder which encodes a picture includes processing circuitry and memory. Using the memory, the processing circuitry: splits the picture into a plurality of slice segments; encodes a plurality of blocks included in each of the plurality of slice segments; reconstructs the plurality of blocks encoded; adds, for each of the plurality of slice segments, control information to a header area of the slice segment, the control information being for controlling application of a filter to the slice segment; and applies, for each of the plurality of slice segments, the filter to a block which has been reconstructed in the slice segment, according to the control information of the slice segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Toshihiko Kusakabe, Shinji Kitamura, Takashi Hashimoto, Kiyofumi Abe, Hideyuki Ohgose
  • Patent number: 11331816
    Abstract: An articulated robot includes: different types of joint units, each including a stationary body, a stationary body-side mechanical connector for connection to another unit, a displaceable body coupled to the stationary body by a coupler, a displaceable body-side mechanical connector for connection to another unit, and an actuator to displace the displaceable body relative to the stationary body; and a control unit including a controller to control the actuator and a control unit mechanical connector for connection to another unit, wherein displacement undergone by the displaceable body-side mechanical connector relative to the stationary body-side mechanical connector differs depending on the type of the joint unit, the stationary body-side mechanical connector includes a first connection structure, the displaceable body-side mechanical connector and the control unit mechanical connector each include a second connection structure, and the first and the second connection structure are connectable to each other
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Koji Muneto, Shinji Kitamura, Atsushi Kameyama
  • Patent number: 11297329
    Abstract: Provided is an image encoding method which inhibits deterioration in processing performance for encoding while improving transmission efficiency. The image encoding method is for generating a bitstream by encoding a picture, and includes: sequentially encoding blocks included in the picture; deriving an encoding amount of a slice segment each time one of the blocks is encoded as a current block, the slice segment including the current block; determining whether the encoding amount derived is at least a threshold; and setting end information indicating an end of the slice segment in a position in the bitstream when the encoding amount is determined to be at least the threshold, the position corresponding to the current block encoded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Toshihiko Kusakabe, Shinji Kitamura, Kiyofumi Abe, Hideyuki Ohgose, Takashi Hashimoto
  • Publication number: 20220011366
    Abstract: A failure diagnosing device of a drive mechanism of a mechanical apparatus with a body including a motor, a speed reducer configured to slow down rotational power of the motor, and an operation part configured to operate by the slowed rotational power, and a vibration-proof controller configured to perform a vibration-proof control to prevent vibration of the body, the mechanism including the speed reducer and the motor. The device sends a command for suspending the vibration-proof control to the controller, then identifies an acceleration-and-deceleration period during which operation of the mechanical apparatus of which the control is suspended accelerates and decelerates, and determines whether the mechanism indicates a sign of failure based on a change in a frequency spectrum of load current of the motor or a current value having a correlation with the load current to a change in a rotational speed of the motor during the acceleration-and-deceleration period.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2019
    Publication date: January 13, 2022
    Applicant: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuki KATO, Eiji SATO, Tetsuya TAGUCHI, Shinji KITAMURA, Makoto KAWAI
  • Publication number: 20210154864
    Abstract: An articulated robot includes: different types of joint units, each including a stationary body, a stationary body-side mechanical connector for connection to another unit, a displaceable body coupled to the stationary body by a coupler, a displaceable body-side mechanical connector for connection to another unit, and an actuator to displace the displaceable body relative to the stationary body; and a control unit including a controller to control the actuator and a control unit mechanical connector for connection to another unit, wherein displacement undergone by the displaceable body-side mechanical connector relative to the stationary body-side mechanical connector differs depending on the type of the joint unit, the stationary body-side mechanical connector includes a first connection structure, the displaceable body-side mechanical connector and the control unit mechanical connector each include a second connection structure, and the first and the second connection structure are connectable to each other
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 24, 2018
    Publication date: May 27, 2021
    Applicant: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Koji MUNETO, Shinji KITAMURA, Atsushi KAMEYAMA
  • Publication number: 20200413055
    Abstract: An encoder which encodes a picture includes processing circuitry and memory. Using the memory, the processing circuitry: splits the picture into a plurality of slice segments; encodes a plurality of blocks included in each of the plurality of slice segments; reconstructs the plurality of blocks encoded; adds, for each of the plurality of slice segments, control information to a header area of the slice segment, the control information being for controlling application of a filter to the slice segment; and applies, for each of the plurality of slice segments, the filter to a block which has been reconstructed in the slice segment, according to the control information of the slice segment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2020
    Publication date: December 31, 2020
    Inventors: Toshihiko KUSAKABE, Shinji KITAMURA, Takashi HASHIMOTO, Kiyofumi ABE, Hideyuki OHGOSE
  • Publication number: 20200164529
    Abstract: An articulated robot having an arm, a drive motor for driving the arm, a gas spring for supporting a load acting on the arm to reduce a load of the drive motor and a control unit for controlling the drive motor. The control unit has a function of estimating a decrease state of a gas sealed inside the gas spring based on an actual current value of the drive motor obtained at a stop position at which the drive motor is operated and stopped in an energized state. Thus, the decrease state of the gas sealed inside the gas spring can be estimated based on the current value of a servo motor without causing decline in operation rate of the robot and the like.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 9, 2017
    Publication date: May 28, 2020
    Applicant: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shinji KITAMURA, Motoki HIMENO, Yusuke FUJII, Shunsuke WAKIMITSU
  • Publication number: 20190339161
    Abstract: A failure diagnosis device for a reduction gear is a failure diagnosis device for a reduction gear provided to a mechanical apparatus driven by a motor so that the reduction gear slows down rotation power of the motor and transmits the power to an operating part of the mechanical apparatus. The device identifies an acceleration/deceleration period during which operation of the mechanical apparatus accelerates and/or decelerates, and determines whether the reduction gear indicates a sign of failure based on a change in frequency spectrum of motor current with respect to a change in a rotation speed of the motor during the acceleration/deceleration period.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 27, 2017
    Publication date: November 7, 2019
    Applicant: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tetsuya TAGUCHI, Shinji KITAMURA, Makoto KAWAI, Tetsuo KANEDA
  • Publication number: 20190238855
    Abstract: Provided is an image encoding method which inhibits deterioration in processing performance for encoding while improving transmission efficiency. The image encoding method is for generating a bitstream by encoding a picture, and includes: sequentially encoding blocks included in the picture; deriving an encoding amount of a slice segment each time one of the blocks is encoded as a current block, the slice segment including the current block; determining whether the encoding amount derived is at least a threshold; and setting end information indicating an end of the slice segment in a position in the bitstream when the encoding amount is determined to be at least the threshold, the position corresponding to the current block encoded.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 12, 2019
    Publication date: August 1, 2019
    Inventors: Toshihiko KUSAKABE, Shinji KITAMURA, Kiyofumi ABE, Hideyuki OHGOSE, Takashi HASHIMOTO
  • Publication number: 20190112999
    Abstract: A cylinder block includes a support wall part that rotatably supports a crank shaft. The support wall part has a fitting recess part to which a bearing cap can be fitted. In each of the left and right corner parts where a bottom surface and a fitting surface of the fitting recess part intersect, a notch groove is formed that extends in the array direction of cylinder bores and has a substantially arc-shaped cross section when cut by the virtual plane along the extension direction thereof. As a result, stress having a greater value as the location becomes closer to the center part in the extension direction of the notch groove can be substantially uniform in the extension direction of said notch groove, and it is possible to effectively mitigate the stress concentration.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2017
    Publication date: April 18, 2019
    Inventors: Masamichi KUSANO, Koichi TOKURA, Shinji KITAMURA
  • Patent number: 10223811
    Abstract: In an image encoding device, a predicted pixel generator generates a predicted value for pixel data based on at least one of pixels adjacent to a pixel to be compressed. A quantization processor quantizes a difference value between the pixel data and the generated predicted value to a quantized value having a smaller number of bits than that of the pixel data to compress the pixel data to the quantized value. In a quantization width determiner, an edge determiner determines whether or not there are both a flat portion and an edge portion, based on a characteristic of the difference value in the group, and an edge pixel determiner determines whether each of pixels included in the group is a pixel in an edge portion or a pixel in a flat portion, based on the difference value, whereby a quantization width used in the quantization processor is determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mayu Ogawa, Shinji Kitamura
  • Patent number: 10212442
    Abstract: The image encoding apparatus which encodes, on a per block basis, a current picture included in a moving picture includes: an encoder which outputs a first encoded stream including, in the following arrangement order, (i) slice data obtained by encoding a slice included in the current picture and including a plurality of block lines and (ii) a slice header including information indicating a code amount of each of the plurality of block lines; and an exchanger which exchanges arrangement positions of the slice data and the slice header in the first encoded stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2019
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Toshihiko Kusakabe, Kiyofumi Abe, Hideyuki Ohgose, Shinji Kitamura, Takashi Hashimoto, Yuki Maruyama, Tatsuro Juri
  • Patent number: 10189156
    Abstract: An arm unit of a robot has a lower arm mechanism including a parallel link structure and an upper arm mechanism. The lower arm mechanism has a front link and a rear link including respective lower ends rotatably connected to the base portion. A lower arm drive mechanism has a lower ball screw and a lower bearing portion supporting a shaft so as to be rotatable about its axis. An extending portion extending from the lower end of the rear link is connected to a nut so as to be rotatable about a nut side rotational axis. The lower bearing portion is connected to a base portion so as to be rotatable about a bearing portion side rotational axis. Thus, high mechanical rigidity can be ensured over a wide operation range under a high load condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2019
    Assignee: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shinji Kitamura, Masato Yamamoto, Koji Yoshino
  • Patent number: 10116945
    Abstract: A moving picture encoding apparatus encodes a moving picture having an interlaced structure, and includes: a storage which stores fields as reference pictures; and an encoder which encodes a current field as a B-picture, using a first reference picture list which includes only one field in a same parity as the current field, and a second reference picture list which includes only one field in an opposite parity to the current field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2018
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kiyofumi Abe, Hideyuki Ohgose, Shinji Kitamura, Takashi Hashimoto, Toshihiko Kusakabe, Yuki Maruyama, Tatsuro Juri
  • Patent number: 10092923
    Abstract: This system has an articulated robot having an arm and a base portion which rotatably supports the arm; and a rotation positioner to which the base portion of the articulated robot is mounted. A turn axis of the base portion of the articulated robot is orthogonal to a rotation axis of the rotation positioner. Thus, interference of a workpiece with the arm can be avoided and flexibility of works performed by the robot can be expanded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shinji Kitamura, Ryo Taniuchi, Nobuhiro Demura