Patents by Inventor Yoichiro Yamazaki

Yoichiro Yamazaki 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: 20240141616
    Abstract: Provided is a system or the like capable of reducing mental burdens on an operator who remotely operates a work machine, when an image range acquired by a real machine image pickup device loaded on the work machine is changed. A previous notice indicating a future change mode of a real space area projected in a work environment image displayed at a remote image output device 221 is output to a remote output interface 220. It is possible to make the operator who encounters a virtual sound source Vss displaced according to a displacement mode of the real space area and/or an icon image A1 in an arrow shape indicating the displacement mode of the real space area recognize beforehand that the real space area projected in the work environment image is to be displaced according to the displacement mode in the future.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2021
    Publication date: May 2, 2024
    Inventors: Yuki MORITA, Masaki OTANI, Yusuke SAWADA, Yusuke KAMIMURA, Yoichiro YAMAZAKI
  • Patent number: 11959250
    Abstract: A first operation mechanism 3 includes a first driving source 30 which generates a driving force based on a drive command and a first driving mechanism 32 which inclines a left-side traveling pedal 1c by the driving force from the first driving source 30. The first driving mechanism 32 has a first abutting portion 32a which abuts a pedal surface of the left-side traveling pedal 1c and a first driving unit 32b which inclines the left-side traveling pedal 1c by inclining the first abutting portion. The first driving unit 32b is arranged in a position shifted to a lateral side from a space in which the first abutting portion 32a moves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignees: Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., Asahi Intecc Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hitoshi Sasaki, Seiji Saiki, Yoichiro Yamazaki, Kohei Nakamizo
  • Patent number: 11952747
    Abstract: A remote operation device includes: a vibration detector to detect a plurality of vibration components in a plurality of directions different from each other, the vibration components being included in a vibration caused on an attachment; a transmission device; and a transmission control section that controls an operation of the transmission device. A vibration determination condition is set in advance, the vibration determination condition including a condition that an amplitude of a maximum vibration component largest in amplitude among the plurality of vibration components detected by the vibration detector is equal to or larger than a preset amplitude threshold. The transmission control section controls the operation of the transmission device to allow the vibration information to be transmitted to an operator only when the vibration determination condition is met.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: KOBELCO CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Daisuke Noda, Koji Yamashita, Yoichiro Yamazaki
  • Publication number: 20240052594
    Abstract: A remote operation system communicates with work machines and with a remote operation device which remotely operates one work machine as a target among the work machines. An actual machine image-capturing device capturing an image and an actual machine identification information of which is captured to be included in the image, are mounted on the work machine as a candidate of the target among the work machines. The system includes a first assistance process element which connects a cooperating work machine with the remote operation device, the work machine being identified by an identifier corresponding to selection information of the selected work machine, and acquires the image captured by the actual machine image-capturing device of the work machine and a second assistance process element which causes an output interface of the remote operation device to output the image captured by the actual machine image capturing device of the work machine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 8, 2021
    Publication date: February 15, 2024
    Inventors: Ryuichi HIROSE, Yuki MORITA, Yuya MATSUDA, Masaki OTANI, Seiji SAIKI, Yoichiro YAMAZAKI
  • Publication number: 20240034247
    Abstract: There is provided a camera installation structure for inside of operation room that can obtain a camera image with reduced shake to enable remote operation and hardly obstructs rear visual field in a case where an operator boards a working machine. A camera installation structure 10 includes an operation seat 3, a scaffold member 20 disposed in a rear space 4, and mounting portions for mounting the scaffold member 20. The scaffold member 20 includes a plurality of shelves 21, 23, 25, and 27, a camera 50 installed on the fourth shelf 27, and mounting brackets. In a state where the mounting brackets are mounted on the mounting portions, a lens 51 of the camera is disposed at a height position corresponding to a height of eyes of an operator in a case where the operator sits on the operation seat 3.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 21, 2021
    Publication date: February 1, 2024
    Inventors: Yusuke SAWADA, Fumino HASEGAWA, Hitoshi SASAKI, Yoichiro YAMAZAKI
  • Patent number: 11885101
    Abstract: Provided is a system which can avoid instability of an operating state of a working machine, when switching a remote operation actor of the working machine. In a case where a state of one or both of a working machine 40 or a first operator is a specified state when the working machine 40 is remotely operated through a first remote operation apparatus 10, a first notification corresponding to the specified state is transmitted to a remote operation server 30. In the remote operation server 30, a second remote operation apparatus 20 which is appropriate in view of content of the first notification is selected as the remote operation actor of the working machine 40.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masaki Otani, Hitoshi Sasaki, Seiji Saiki, Yoichiro Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 11828607
    Abstract: A memory stores, in advance, target line information indicating an arrangement target of an object to be conveyed and related to a target line denoted by at least one of a curve or a polyline. A controller is configured to: calculate, based on the target line information, target information which is at least one of information about a target coordinate of the object and information about a target direction of the object; calculate, based on the at least one of the coordinate of the object and the direction of the object detected by the detector, detection information which is comparable with the target information; calculate a deviation of the detection information from the target information; and cause a display to display a moving direction of the object which allows the deviation to decrease.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2023
    Assignee: KOBELCO CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Nobuhiro Fukuo, Yoichiro Yamazaki, Koji Yamashita, Yusuke Kamimura, Shingo Sekiguchi, Takayuki Iino, Hiroshi Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 11821171
    Abstract: A work machine 10 includes: a load detection unit 22a that detects a load on an operation mechanism 100; information output devices 43, 44, and 41a that output at least one of an image, a sound, and a vibration to an operator; and a control unit 47a that controls, according to the magnitude of a load detected by the load detection unit 22a, one or more of the level of at least one of the color intensity, the brightness, and the transparency of an image output by the information output device 44, at least one of the intensity and the level of frequency of a sound output by the information output device 43, and at least one of the intensity and the level of frequency of a vibration output by the information output device 41a.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Seiji Saiki, Yoichiro Yamazaki, Hitoshi Sasaki
  • Patent number: 11821170
    Abstract: A remote operation system for a working machine includes a control device enabling an operator wearing a wearable display to grasp the surrounding situation of himself/herself. The control device includes an operation intention judgment section judging the presence/absence of an operator's operation intention to a remote operation lever based on the contents of acquired judgment information, and a display image switching section. With judgment of presence of the operation intention, the display image switching section makes a working area image taken by a working area image taking camera be displayed in a particular display area of the wearable display. With judgment of absence of the operation intention, the display image switching section stops the display of the working area image in the at least a part of the particular display area and switches it to a surrounding visual-recognition allowing area allowing the operator to visually recognize the surroundings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: KOBELCO CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masaki Otani, Yoichiro Yamazaki, Seiji Saiki, Hitoshi Sasaki
  • Publication number: 20230370568
    Abstract: An actual machine control device 100 of a work machine 10 determines whether a connection center C1 of the work machine 10 is in a state of being presumed to deviate into one of vertical directions from a predetermined height range H. If the connection center C1 is in a state of being presumed to deviate into one of the vertical directions from the predetermined height range H, the actual machine control device 100 controls a driving device 150 so that a viewing angle range of an imaging device 112 is changed into the direction of the deviation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 19, 2021
    Publication date: November 16, 2023
    Inventors: Kazuhiro UEDA, Yoichiro YAMAZAKI
  • Patent number: 11761169
    Abstract: Provided is a work machine or the like which can switch between a power supply state and a power supply cutoff state of an actual machine control device irrespective of switching on or off an actual machine switch. On switching an actual machine switch 81 from off to on, a first power supply route from an actual machine power source 80 to an actual machine control device 400 is formed. Consequently, a second power supply route from the actual machine power source 80 to the actual machine control device 400 is formed. Then, the first power supply route is cut off, while the second power supply route not through the actual machine switch 81 is maintained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ryota Hama, Yoichiro Yamazaki, Ryuichi Hirose
  • Publication number: 20230279640
    Abstract: When a remote operation of a work machine 40 through one remote operation apparatus 20 as a first remote operation apparatus is stopped by one operator, operation of an engine 460 of the work machine 40 is continued without being stopped if another operator who may possibly continuously remotely operate the same work machine 40 through another remote operation apparatus 20 as a second remote operation apparatus exists. Therefore, the other operator can immediately remotely operate the work machine 40 through the second remote operation apparatus without causing the engine 460 of the work machine 40, which has been an operation target of the first remote operation apparatus so far, to restart and perform warm-up operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2021
    Publication date: September 7, 2023
    Inventors: Hitoshi SASAKI, Yoichiro YAMAZAKI
  • Patent number: 11732444
    Abstract: An image of a work attachment (operation mechanism) of a work machine and the periphery of the work attachment, which corresponds to captured image data acquired by an imaging device, is displayed on an image output device by means of a first communication mode established between a slave control device mounted in the work machine and a master control device. When the first communication mode is interrupted, instead of the image of the operation mechanism of the work machine and the periphery of the operation mechanism, a point cloud image corresponding to distance image data acquired by a distance sensor is displayed on the image output device by means of a second communication mode established between the slave control device and the master control device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ryota Hama, Seiji Saiki, Yoichiro Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 11732440
    Abstract: Provided is a system which can supply appropriate information to one operator from a viewpoint that the one operator grasps a remotely operated action of a working machine by another operator. In a first remote operation apparatus 10, a sight line detector 112 detects a sight line of a first operator, and transmits sight line detection data corresponding to the sight line of the first operator. In a second remote operation apparatus 20, a second image output device 221 displays a designated image region spreading with reference to the sight line of the first operator corresponding to the sight line detection data in an environmental image corresponding to captured image data acquired by an imaging device 401 of a working machine 40, in a form different from a form of an image region around the designated image region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masaki Otani, Hitoshi Sasaki, Seiji Saiki, Yoichiro Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 11680383
    Abstract: On detection of a difference between the operation amount detected by a first sensor and the operation amount received by a first communication unit from a slave, a master side controller executes at least one of stop control to automatically stop a construction machine and alarm control to cause a warning device to issue an alarm. On detection of a difference between the operation amount detected by a second sensor and the operation amount received by a communication unit from the master, a slave side controller executes at least one of the stop control to automatically stop the construction machine and the alarm control to cause the warning device to issue the alarm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: KOBELCO CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Ueda, Yoichiro Yamazaki, Seiji Saiki, Ryota Hama
  • Publication number: 20230177732
    Abstract: A device or the like capable of improving continuity of a moving image outputted to an image output device of a remote operation device even in circumstances where an inter-frame difference of the moving image becomes large. When it is predicted that a data amount of a captured image is to exceed a threshold in consideration of a detection result of a moving mode of a working machine, high frequency components exceeding a specified frequency in a second specified image area excluding a first specified image area of the captured image are eliminated Thus, the data amount of the captured image is reduced so that the data amount becomes equal to or smaller than the threshold. Then, not only inter-frame continuity of the first specified image area of an environment image outputted to an image output device of a remote operation device but also visibility by an operator is improved.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 28, 2021
    Publication date: June 8, 2023
    Inventors: Ryota HAMA, Yusuke FUJIWARA, Yoichiro YAMAZAKI, Seiji SAIKI
  • Publication number: 20230169422
    Abstract: There are provided a server and a system that can cause content of work to be achieved using a work machine at each of a plurality of work positions, and the like to be intuitively recognized by a worker of the work machine A work environment image of a worksite showing extension aspects of specified areas A1 and A2 specified through an input interface (for example, an input interface 610) of a first client (for example, a worker terminal 60) is outputted to an output interface (for example, a remote output interface 220) of a second client (for example, a remote operation device 20) together with specified area related information about the specified areas similarly specified through the input interface of the first client.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2020
    Publication date: June 1, 2023
    Inventors: Yusuke SAWADA, Hitoshi SASAKI, Seiji SAIKI, Yoichiro YAMAZAKI
  • Publication number: 20230167626
    Abstract: A remote operation assistance server, or the like, capable of providing an operator of a work machine with information about influence of various regional weather conditions, such as precipitation and temperature, on the transfer and work of the work machine includes a first operation reference information Img(info1), representing weather conditions (actual measurement values or analytic values) over a first designated period in the past and weather conditions (predictive values) over a second designated period in the future at a designated area A where a work machine 40 is present, which is output to a remote output interface 220 of a remote operation apparatus 20.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 28, 2021
    Publication date: June 1, 2023
    Inventors: Masaki OTANI, Hitoshi SASAKI, Seiji SAIKI, Yoichiro YAMAZAKI
  • Patent number: 11657342
    Abstract: A server includes: a communication part which receives from an orderer terminal operation request information input by an orderer and including a specific operation content and an operation time set for the specific operation content; and a display data generation part which generates based on the operation request information display data on which a master device displays an operation selection image showing the operation content and the operation time set in combination with each other to allow a selection of a desired time segment of the operation time set. The master device includes: a display control part which generates the operation selection image based on the display data so that a display part displays the operation selection image; and an operation part which receives a selection instruction of the operator that the operator selects the desired time segment of the operation time set shown in the operation selection image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: KOBELCO CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Seiji Saiki, Yoichiro Yamazaki
  • Publication number: 20230128501
    Abstract: There is provided a device or the like capable of causing a result of an operator, remotely operating a working machine, perceiving a motion aspect of the working machine to approximate to a result of the operator perceiving a motion aspect of the working machine when the operator gets on the working machine. When there is represented a relative motion of a first component (lower traveling body 410, upper revolving body 420) and a second component (upper revolving body 420, bucket 445 (working unit)) that constitute working machine 40, based on a result of detecting an operation aspect of a remote operation device 20, control is performed on individual sound output aspects of a plurality of sound output devices 2220, 2221 and 2222, each arranged at different locations in a remote operation space for the operator who operates the remote operation device 20.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 28, 2021
    Publication date: April 27, 2023
    Inventors: Yuki MORITA, Yoichiro YAMAZAKI, Seiji SAIKI, Yusuke FUJIWARA