Patents by Inventor Yasunao Okazaki

Yasunao Okazaki 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: 8175749
    Abstract: A control apparatus for a robot arm includes an operation information database in which pieces of information relating to operations of the robot arm are stored, a force detection unit that detects a force of a person, and an operation correction unit that corrects the operation information of the operation information database in accordance with the force of the person.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Yuko Tsusaka, Yasunao Okazaki
  • Patent number: 8170719
    Abstract: A control apparatus for a robot arm includes an operation information database in which pieces of information relating to operations of the robot arm are stored, a force detection unit that detects a force of a person, and an operation correction unit that corrects the operation information of the operation information database in accordance with the force of the person.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2012
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Yuko Tsusaka, Yasunao Okazaki
  • Patent number: 8157305
    Abstract: A force sensor is disposed on a base portion, a finger base on which a pair of fingers are opposed to each other is disposed on a measuring unit of the force sensor, a finger driving mechanism base is disposed on the base portion so as to not contact the force sensor, the finger base or the fingers, and finger driving mechanisms are disposed on the finger driving mechanism base so finger opening and closing driving force vectorsface each other within a plane on which the pair of the opposed fingers are moved to open or close so as to cancel each other, such that the fingers are driven so the resultant force is virtually zero. An actuator, is installed at a place other than the base portion, the force sensor, the finger base, or the fingers and the finger driving mechanism base, and drives the finger driving mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2012
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Yasunao Okazaki, Masaki Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 8127659
    Abstract: Fluid pressures of a plurality of compressible fluid pressure actuators that drive a joint through antagonistic driving are controlled by a main-fluid pressure control device, and at the time of applying quick brake upon collision, a proximate fluid pressure high-speed control device, disposed closely to the actuators, carries out pressure application or pressure reduction at a high speed on the actuators so as to be quickly accelerated or decelerated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2012
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventor: Yasunao Okazaki
  • Publication number: 20120010747
    Abstract: A robot is provided with a multi-joint robot arm, an external force detection unit that is installed in the arm, and detects an external force, a joint movable-state calculation unit that calculates a movable state of a joint of the arm, an external force conversion unit which, based on the movable state calculated by the joint movable-state calculation unit, converts the external force detected by the external force detection unit to a converted external force, and a control unit that controls the arm based on the converted external force so as to regulate the operation of the arm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2011
    Publication date: January 12, 2012
    Inventor: Yasunao OKAZAKI
  • Patent number: 8024071
    Abstract: Based upon a force in a vertical direction exerted between an object and a hand and an angle made by the hand relative to a horizontal face, a transporting force estimation unit estimates a transporting force applied in the vertical direction by a person, and based upon the estimated force, a force controlling operation is carried out so as to set a force in the vertical direction of the robot arm of a robot system to a predetermined force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2011
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Mayumi Komatsu, Yasunao Okazaki
  • Publication number: 20110218676
    Abstract: A robot arm, which is driven by an elastic body actuator and has a plurality of joints, is provided with an arm-end supporting member that supports the robot arm when made in contact with a supporting surface that is placed on an arm-end portion of the robot arm and a control unit that controls a force by which the arm-end supporting member and the supporting surface are made in contact with each other, and further controls a position and orientation of the arm-end portion of the robot arm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 17, 2011
    Publication date: September 8, 2011
    Inventor: Yasunao OKAZAKI
  • Publication number: 20110190932
    Abstract: A control apparatus for a robot arm that performs assembly, includes an operation database recording therein information as to an operation of the robot arm, a correction operation type determining unit that determines a correction type for the operation, a force detecting unit that detects a force of a person, and an operation correction unit that corrects an operation in accordance with the force of the person and the correction type, while the robot arm is performing a task.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 13, 2011
    Publication date: August 4, 2011
    Inventors: Yuko TSUSAKA, Yasunao OKAZAKI
  • Publication number: 20110178638
    Abstract: A control apparatus for a robot arm that is provided with an operation information database in which pieces of information relating to operations of the robot arm are stored; a force detection unit that detects a force of a person; and an operation correction unit that corrects the operation information of the operation information database in accordance with the force of the person.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2011
    Publication date: July 21, 2011
    Inventors: Yuko Tsusaka, Yasunao Okazaki
  • Publication number: 20110078508
    Abstract: An inner pressure of an actuator is measured by a pressure measuring unit, and an amount of displacement of a movable mechanism is measured so that a position error compensation unit to which a desired value for the displacement and the measured value are inputted is allowed to compensate for a position error, and a desired value for a pressure difference of actuators that are competitively driven from the desired value is calculated by a desired pressure difference calculation unit, and an adjusted correcting value of the desired value for the pressure difference, obtained from the desired value of displacement and the measured value, is adjustably outputted from an adjustable desired inner-state correction unit, and thus, the outputs of these unit are inputted to a pressure difference error compensation unit so that a pressure difference error is compensated therewith.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 5, 2010
    Publication date: March 31, 2011
    Inventors: Mayumi Komatsu, Yasunao Okazaki
  • Patent number: 7888900
    Abstract: A robot arm is provided with an end effecter for grasping an object and a force sensor for detecting a force acted upon the end effecter. In the state in which end effecter grasps an object, when there is a change in the force acting on the end effecter detected by the force sensor, outputted is a signal for releasing the force of the end effecter grasping the object. The object grasped by the end effecter can be taken out as if the object were handed from person over to person.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2011
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Shusasku Okamoto, Masamichi Nakagawa, Yasunao Okazaki, Takashi Anezaki, Tamao Okamoto
  • Publication number: 20110029133
    Abstract: A robot arm provided with a body unit shifting mechanism that connects a base unit and a body unit so as to be relatively shifted, and joint lock mechanisms that are capable of mechanically securing respective joints is disposed on the body unit, and a robot operation control unit controls to switch between a robot arm operation mode in which the robot arm is operated with one of the joints of the robot arm brought into a free state, and a body unit shift mode in which the body unit is shifted with the joint being brought into a locked state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 2, 2009
    Publication date: February 3, 2011
    Inventors: Yasunao Okazaki, Atsushi Ono, Katsuhiko Asai
  • Publication number: 20110015785
    Abstract: After switching a control method for a robot arm based upon characteristic information containing pieces of information relating to a grabbed position of the robot arm by a person and a presence/absence of detection of a force as well as to presence/absence of influences from a drag, during an operation of the robot arm, by a control method switching unit, information relating to the force of operation information is corrected by an operation correcting unit in response to a manipulation of the person.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 24, 2009
    Publication date: January 20, 2011
    Inventors: Yuko Tsusaka, Yasunao Okazaki
  • Publication number: 20100286826
    Abstract: A control apparatus for a robot arm that is provided with an operation information database in which pieces of information relating to operations of the robot arm are stored; a force detection unit that detects a force of a person; and an operation correction unit that corrects the operation information of the operation information database in accordance with the force of the person.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2009
    Publication date: November 11, 2010
    Inventors: Yuko Tsusaka, Yasunao Okazaki
  • Publication number: 20100256812
    Abstract: A control device for a cleaner that carries out a cleaning operation in home, is provided with a cleaning operation data base on which information relating to cleaning operations of a robot arm is recorded, a correcting operation type determination unit for determining a type of correction of the cleaning operation, a force detection unit for detecting a force of the hand of a person, and a cleaning operation correcting unit that corrects the cleaning operation in accordance with the force of the human hand and the type of correction during the cleaning job of the robot arm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2009
    Publication date: October 7, 2010
    Inventors: Yuko Tsusaka, Yasunao Okazaki
  • Patent number: 7798036
    Abstract: A first elastic body actuator and a second elastic body actuator are used for driving a first configuration member and a second configuration member to swing them with respect to each other. One end portion of the first elastic body actuator is secured to the first configuration member and the other end portion of the first elastic body actuator is secured to the second configuration member, and one end portion of the second elastic body actuator is secured to the first configuration member and the other end portion of the second elastic body actuator is secured to the second configuration member, such that the position at which the other end portion of the second elastic body actuator is secured to the second configuration member and the position at which the one end portion of the first elastic body actuator is secured to the second configuration member are substantially symmetric about a rotational joint.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2010
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventor: Yasunao Okazaki
  • Publication number: 20100207412
    Abstract: A force sensor is disposed on a hand attaching base portion, a finger base on which a pair of fingers are placed so as to be opposed to each other is disposed on a measuring unit of the force sensor, a finger driving mechanism base is disposed on the hand attaching base portion in a manner so as not to be made in contact with none of the force sensor, the finger base and the fingers, finger driving mechanisms are disposed on the finger driving mechanism base so that vectors of driving forces, which allow the pair of the opposed fingers to move so as to open or close, are made face to face with each other within a plane on which the pair of the opposed fingers are moved to open or close so as to be cancelled with each other, with the result that the fingers are driven so as to make the resultant force virtually zero, and an actuator, which is positioned at a place other than the hand attaching base portion, the force sensor, the finger base, or the fingers and the finger driving mechanism base, and drives the
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2009
    Publication date: August 19, 2010
    Inventors: Yasunao Okazaki, Masaki Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 7778732
    Abstract: A working robot arm and an object recognizing unit used for recognizing a moving body such as a person and an animal are prepared, and while an object recognized by the object recognizing unit is blocked by a shielding operation by the use of the robot arm or a trunk portion of a robot mechanism unit, a job is carried out by the working robot arm so that it becomes possible to actively ensure a working space of the robot mechanism unit, and consequently to continue the job safely.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2010
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Yuji Adachi, Yasunao Okazaki, Katsuhiko Asai, Kazuo Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 7751938
    Abstract: There is provided a control device for a robot arm which includes an operation procedure information acquisition means for acquiring information on the procedure of a domestic operation, a progress management means for managing information on the progress of the operation, and a control parameter setting means for setting a control parameter for the robot arm based on the operation procedure information and the progress information, whereby the control device controls an operation of the robot arm based on the control parameter from the control parameter setting means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2010
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Yuko Tsusaka, Yasunao Okazaki
  • Patent number: 7747351
    Abstract: A control device for a robot arm is designed such that, based on information on a transportation state database in which information on a transportation state of a person operating the arm is recorded, an impedance setting unit sets a mechanical impedance set value of the arm, and an impedance control unit controls a mechanical impedance value of the arm to the mechanical impedance set value thus set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2010
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Yuko Tsusaka, Yasunao Okazaki