Patents by Inventor Toshihiko Inoue

Toshihiko Inoue 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: 11541556
    Abstract: A robot wrist structure includes a first wrist element that is supported by a forearm in a rotatable manner about a first axis; a second wrist element that is supported by the first wrist element in a rotatable manner about a second axis that is orthogonal to the first axis; and a third wrist element that is supported by the second wrist element in a rotatable manner about a third axis that is orthogonal to the second axis and that is disposed in the same plane as the first axis. Further the second wrist element is provided with, at a position at which the second axis is included, a second axial hollow hole that passes therethrough in a direction along the second axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshihiko Inoue, Shunsuke Abiko
  • Patent number: 11529732
    Abstract: A linear-object management structure for a robot, where a post-attached linear object is guided via the same path as a basic cable from inside a base and fixed at the position of a first fixing member, is subsequently extended forward beyond the basic cable, through a path closer to a first axis than the basic cable is, is curved in a direction along a first arm, is fixed to a side surface of the first arm, at the position of a second fixing member, such that a certain length margin required for the operation of the first arm is provided between the position of the first fixing member and the position of the second fixing member, and is guided to an upper-side movable portion along the first arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshihiko Inoue, Tomoyuki Motokado, Wataru Amemiya
  • Patent number: 11468692
    Abstract: A control device includes a controller. The controller detects, as an event, that a target present outside a vehicle has been overlooked by a driver of the vehicle during. The controller controls the outputting of a target image, which is an image including the target overlooked in the detected event, toward the driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takuro Yanagi, Maki Tamura, Mutsumi Matsuura, Toshihiko Inoue, Naoki Yamamuro, Takashi Hayashi, Takahiro Shiga
  • Patent number: 11370109
    Abstract: An industrial robot includes: a first-member and a second-member that are rotatable about a particular axis and that each have a hollow portion extending along the axis; a cylindrical member inserted into the hollow portions along the axis, and fixed to the first-member; and a wire disposed in a cylindrical gap between the cylindrical member, the first-member, and the second-member, the wire having a length that enables rotation between the first-member and the second-member and having one end fixed to the first-member and another end fixed to the second-member. The second-member includes a first-portion rotatably supported by the first-member, a second-portion that fixes the end of the wire, and a third portion serially connected between the second-portion and the first-portion, and the third portion has an inner circumferential surface that faces the gap and has been subjected to a friction reducing process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Morio Oowaki, Tomoyuki Motokado, Toshihiko Inoue, Takayuki Iida
  • Patent number: 11270136
    Abstract: An information providing device includes a control unit configured to detect an object entering a road from a first image which is captured from a vehicle and to acquire a second image including the detected object and a communication unit configured to provide the second image to present the second image to a driver under the control of the control unit. A driving support device includes a control unit configured to acquire a second image including a detected object when the object entering a road is detected from a first image captured from a vehicle and to present the acquired second image to a driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takuro Yanagi, Maki Tamura, Mutsumi Matsuura, Toshihiko Inoue, Naoki Yamamuro, Takashi Hayashi, Takahiro Shiga
  • Patent number: 11256927
    Abstract: An information provision device includes a controller configured to detect installation of an anti-skid tool onto a vehicle from an image including at least a part of the vehicle and at least a part of the vicinity of the vehicle and a communication unit configured to provide position information of the vehicle at the time of the installation of the anti-skid tool detected by the controller. A driving assistance device includes a communication unit configured to acquire position information of a vehicle at the time of installation of an anti-skid tool when the installation of the anti-skid tool onto the vehicle is detected from an image including at least a part of the vehicle and at least a part of a vicinity of the vehicle, and a controller configured to present information acquired by the communication unit to the driver of another vehicle different from the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takuro Yanagi, Maki Tamura, Mutsumi Matsuura, Toshihiko Inoue, Naoki Yamamuro, Takashi Hayashi, Takahiro Shiga
  • Patent number: 11230002
    Abstract: A robot includes: a base; a swivel body supported rotatable about a first axis; a first arm supported rotatable about a second axis perpendicular to the first axis; a second arm supported rotatable about a third axis parallel to the second axis; and a first wrist element supported rotatable about a fourth axis perpendicular to the third axis and disposed in a same plane as the first axis. A first hollow section penetrating along the first axis is provided in the base and the swivel body; a second hollow section penetrating along the fourth axis is provided in the first wrist element; the first and second arms have shapes allowing a linear object having passed through the first hollow section to be guided to the second hollow section via a space extending along a line connecting intersections of the first and second axes and the third and fourth axes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshihiko Inoue, Tomoyuki Motokado, Tooru Nagai
  • Patent number: 11203125
    Abstract: A wire-body processing structure for a robot including a base, a rotary drum rotating about a first axis, and an arm rotating about a second axis. The rotary drum has a hollow part extending from inside the base, along the first axis, and opening in a top surface of the rotary drum. The wire body inside the base is led out, via the hollow part, from the opening in the top surface of the rotary drum, is bent to the rear side of the rotary drum, is guided below the arm, is fixed to the rotary drum with a first fixing member, is bent along the arm, and is fixed to a side surface of the arm with a second fixing member, with a certain surplus of a length between the first fixing member and the second fixing member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2021
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshihiko Inoue, Toshikatsu Kuroki
  • Patent number: 11135685
    Abstract: A workpiece support device including a base; a conducting rotary table that supports a workpiece and that is rotatable about a horizontal rotation axis; a motor that rotationally drives the rotary table; a collecting brush disposed on the base slidable on the outer circumferential surface of a conducting shaft fixed to the rotary table and extending along the rotation axis; a connection terminal that is electrically connected to the collecting brush and to which an external cable is connected; and a liquid-proof cover surrounding the collecting brush and the outer circumferential surface of the shaft. The liquid-proof cover includes an upper back-plate portion that is disposed at the same position as the rear end of the motor, and a lower back-plate portion located below the upper back-plate portion and forming a recess. The connection terminal penetrates through the lower back-plate portion and projects into the recess.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshihiko Inoue, Tooru Nagai
  • Patent number: 11123861
    Abstract: A robot system including a robot body and a control device. The robot body includes wrist elements at a distal end of an arm; a wired wire body connected to an end effector fixed to the third wrist element. The control-device includes an angle calculation unit that calculates, in a Cartesian coordinate system of which the origin is the wire-body outlet and which has one coordinate axis extending in a direction along the first axis, angles of straight lines connecting the wire-body outlet and specific points of the wire body, with the straight lines projected onto a plane perpendicular to the coordinate axis, about the coordinate axis, with reference to a position where a load acting on the wire body is the least; and a determination unit that determines whether the absolute values of the angles calculated by the angle calculation unit have exceeded predetermined angle thresholds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshihiko Inoue, Toshikatsu Kuroki, Naoki Fujioka
  • Patent number: 11117269
    Abstract: Provided is a robot including: a base; and a movable portion including a rotating drum that rotates about a vertical axis with respect to the base. The base is provided with an opening portion through which wire members are led into the base; the base and the rotating drum are provided with a hollow portion in which the wire members are guided into the rotating drum; the robot further includes a distribution board member that is detachably attached to the base; the distribution board member is provided with an attachment portion that is attached to the base, and a relay portion that is disposed on the outside of the opening portion with a gap therebetween; and the relay portion includes a mountable region in which a connector that relays some of the wire members is mounted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshihiko Inoue, Toshikatsu Kuroki, Naoki Fujioka
  • Patent number: 11072348
    Abstract: A driving assist device includes a control unit configured to acquire event position information that is position information about a vehicle when it is detected that a driver of the vehicle is in a looking aside state in the vehicle, as an event, and configured to present attention information calling for attention, to a driver who is driving toward a position indicated by the event position information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takuro Yanagi, Maki Tamura, Mutsumi Matsuura, Toshihiko Inoue, Naoki Yamamuro, Takashi Hayashi, Takahiro Shiga
  • Publication number: 20210114217
    Abstract: A robot including a robot mechanism including joints and drive units, a control unit controlling the drive units so that an inspection operation to inspect one target drive unit among the drive units is executed by the robot mechanism, and a notification unit notifying maintenance information of the target drive unit based on a current value of a motor of the target drive unit during the inspection operation, or on information associated with the current value, and the inspection operation includes transmitting, to the motor of the target drive unit, control command to rotate a joint as much as a predetermined rotation angle, and thereby moving a tip of the robot mechanism or a tool at the tip, close to an object at a predetermined position from a predetermined start position, to press the object, and separating the tip of the robot mechanism or the tool away from the object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 24, 2020
    Publication date: April 22, 2021
    Applicant: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kaname KIKUCHI, Tomoyuki MOTOKADO, Toshihiko INOUE
  • Patent number: 10953543
    Abstract: A robot employing an operation program setting apparatus is configured to move, based on an operation program, a tool attached to a distal end portion of an arm of the robot along a predetermined processing trajectory along a work object, the operation program makes posture of the tool change at at least a position along the predetermined processing trajectory, the position is a posture changing position. The setting apparatus includes a controller configured to add a command to the operation program, the command is for making the tool start to be inclined when the tool approaches the posture changing position within a range of an acceptable inclination angle, the range is an angle range within which the tool is allowed to be inclined with respect to a surface of the work object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshihiko Inoue, Naoki Fujioka
  • Publication number: 20210053162
    Abstract: A workpiece support device including a base; a conducting rotary table that supports a workpiece and that is rotatable about a horizontal rotation axis; a motor that rotationally drives the rotary table; a collecting brush disposed on the base slidable on the outer circumferential surface of a conducting shaft fixed to the rotary table and extending along the rotation axis; a connection terminal that is electrically connected to the collecting brush and to which an external cable is connected; and a liquid-proof cover surrounding the collecting brush and the outer circumferential surface of the shaft. The liquid-proof cover includes an upper back-plate portion that is disposed at the same position as the rear end of the motor, and a lower back-plate portion located below the upper back-plate portion and forming a recess. The connection terminal penetrates through the lower back-plate portion and projects into the recess.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 4, 2020
    Publication date: February 25, 2021
    Applicant: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshihiko INOUE, Tooru NAGAI
  • Patent number: 10893388
    Abstract: A map generation device includes: a communication unit that acquires position information about a vehicle at a time when an image is photographed from the vehicle; and a control unit that estimates a dispersion state of pollen, based on the position information about the vehicle acquired by the communication unit and detection information indicating a result of a first detection in the image, and generates map information indicating the estimated dispersion state, the first detection in the image being a detection of a person that wears an anti-pollen article.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takuro Yanagi, Maki Tamura, Mutsumi Matsuura, Toshihiko Inoue, Naoki Yamamuro, Takashi Hayashi, Takahiro Shiga
  • Patent number: 10882193
    Abstract: A structure of a robot includes: a first member having a hollow portion in the vicinity of a horizontal axis; a second member rotatably supported on a side surface of the first member and having a hollow portion in the vicinity of the horizontal axis; a drive motor producing power for rotating the second member; and a speed reducer reducing the rotation speed of the drive motor and transmitting the rotation to the second member. The speed reducer includes: an output hypoid gear formed of a ring gear disposed coaxially with the horizontal axis and fixed to the first member; an input hypoid gear engaged with the output hypoid gear; and a transmission mechanism transmitting rotation from the drive motor to the input hypoid gear while reducing the speed. The drive motor, the input hypoid gear, and the transmission mechanism are supported in the second member in an accommodated state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2021
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshihiko Inoue, Tomoyuki Motokado
  • Patent number: 10850342
    Abstract: A dissimilar-metal joining tool that places a ring-shaped joining auxiliary member made of iron, on a surface of a workpiece in which a second metal plate made of non-ferrous metal is laminated on a first metal plate made of iron, coaxially with a through-hole penetrates the second metal plate, and that performs arc welding toward an inner hole of the joining auxiliary member, the dissimilar-metal joining tool includes a base attached to a distal end of a robot; an arc welding torch attached to the base; a positioning mechanism provided in the base, and places the inner hole at a joining position in the arc welding torch and holds the joining auxiliary member in a radially-positioned state; and a pressing mechanism presses the joining auxiliary member in the vicinity of an outer peripheral edge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshihiko Inoue, Shunichi Saito
  • Patent number: D905774
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshihiko Inoue, Tomoyuki Motokado, Toshikatsu Kuroki
  • Patent number: D905775
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshihiko Inoue, Tomoyuki Motokado, Toshikatsu Kuroki