Patents by Inventor Akihiro Watanabe
Akihiro Watanabe 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).
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Publication number: 20200070826Abstract: A lane keep control apparatus includes a first calculator. The first calculator includes a first determiner, a second determiner, a third determiner, and a second calculator. The first determiner is configured to determine whether a preceding vehicle travels on a traveling lane of an own vehicle. The second determiner is configured to determine whether a blinker of the preceding vehicle blinks. The third determiner is configured to determine whether widening of one or both of lane lines is present. The second calculator is configured to set, on a condition that the blinker of the preceding vehicle is determined as blinking and the widening is determined as being present, a target traveling course on the basis of one of the lane lines positioned on opposite side of the other of the lane lines that is positioned on a side on which the blinker of the preceding vehicle is determined as blinking.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 6, 2019Publication date: March 5, 2020Inventor: Akihiro WATANABE
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Patent number: 10503797Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes a selection unit selecting at least a part of a text included in contents, an acquisition unit acquiring a processing result of natural language processing for the part of the text selected by the selection unit, a specifying unit specifying a predetermined part of the text based on the processing result acquired by the acquisition unit, a detection unit detecting a keyword from the predetermined part of the text based on the processing result acquired by the acquisition unit, a tag generation unit automatically generating a tag in accordance with the keyword detected by the detection unit, and an association unit associating the tag generated by the tag generation unit with the predetermined part of the text.Type: GrantFiled: June 24, 2016Date of Patent: December 10, 2019Assignee: SONY CORPORATIONInventors: Masaaki Hoshino, Kenichiro Kobayashi, Shouichi Doi, Akihiro Watanabe
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Patent number: 10422634Abstract: An estimating device includes: a movement amount computing section that, on the basis of a position of a predetermined region within an image picked-up at a first time, and a position of a region that corresponds to the predetermined region and is within an image picked-up in a same direction at a second time that is after the first time, computing a movement amount of the predetermined region in a vertical direction; a movement amount integrating section that computes an integrated value of the movement amounts, each time the movement amount is computed; a correcting section that corrects the integrated value of a current point in time on the basis of time series data of the integrated values of the movement amounts within a past predetermined time period; and an estimating section that estimates a pitch angle of the vehicle on the basis of a corrected integrated value.Type: GrantFiled: June 24, 2016Date of Patent: September 24, 2019Assignees: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, DENSO CORPORATIONInventors: Akihiro Watanabe, Yusuke Kataoka, Tadashi Sakai, Naoki Kawasaki
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Publication number: 20190188497Abstract: An apparatus for identifying a line marking on a road surface. In the apparatus, an extractor extracts a paint candidate that is a candidate for road surface paint used to identify a line marking in an image captured by a camera mounted on a vehicle to capture an image of an area including a road surface ahead of the vehicle. A determiner determines whether or not the paint candidate has at least one predefined flare feature. A line marking identifier identifies a line marking using the paint candidate which meets an identification condition used to identify a line marking. The line marking identifier sets the identification condition to be more stringent for a flare paint candidate that is the paint candidate determined by the determiner to have the at least one predefined flare feature than for the paint candidate determined by the determiner to have no predefined flare feature.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 17, 2018Publication date: June 20, 2019Inventors: Taiki KAWANO, Shunsuke SUZUKI, Shunya KUMANO, Akihiro WATANABE
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Publication number: 20190182566Abstract: There is provided an information processing apparatus to allow a user to use a device network by a natural and simple operation by automatically selecting a device for providing a response to a request, the information processing apparatus including: a request acquiring part configured to acquire a request to a system; a response determining part configured to determine a response to the request; a device selecting part configured to select, on the basis of at least an attribute of the response, a device that provides the response among devices included in the system; and a device controller configured to perform control that causes the selected device to provide the response.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 19, 2019Publication date: June 13, 2019Applicant: SONY CORPORATIONInventors: Akihiro WATANABE, Motoki TSUNOKAWA
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Patent number: 10244293Abstract: There is provided an information processing apparatus to allow a user to use a device network by a natural and simple operation by automatically selecting a device for providing a response to a request, the information processing apparatus including: a request acquiring part configured to acquire a request to a system; a response determining part configured to determine a response to the request; a device selecting part configured to select, on the basis of at least an attribute of the response, a device that provides the response among devices included in the system; and a device controller configured to perform control that causes the selected device to provide the response.Type: GrantFiled: December 15, 2017Date of Patent: March 26, 2019Assignee: SONY CORPORATIONInventors: Akihiro Watanabe, Motoki Tsunokawa
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Patent number: 10185250Abstract: A developing device includes a developing container including a first conveyance chamber and a second conveyance chamber disposed above the first conveyance chamber, a first stirring-conveyance member which conveys developer in the first conveyance chamber in a first direction, a second stirring-conveyance member which conveys the developer in the second conveyance chamber in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and a developer carrier. A second communication portion is formed which allows the first and second conveyance chambers to communicate with each other at their end portions on a downstream side in the second direction. In the first conveyance chamber, a guide member is disposed which guides, to the downstream side in the first direction, the developer passing through the second communication portion to fall into the first conveyance chamber.Type: GrantFiled: March 20, 2018Date of Patent: January 22, 2019Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.Inventor: Akihiro Watanabe
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Publication number: 20190000960Abstract: The present invention relates to a vaccine containing fixed virus particles, wherein a summed fever response of three rabbits to the fixed virus particles in a pyrogen test is less than 80% based on a summed fever response of three rabbits to original virus particles of the fixed virus particles or corresponding inactivated virus particles.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 10, 2017Publication date: January 3, 2019Inventors: Hiroto ONUMA, Yukari TSURUDOME, Kazuyuki IKEDA, Ryo YAMAUE, Kazuhiko KIMACHI, Motoharu ABE, Akihiro WATANABE, Yuki OHARA
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Patent number: 10131349Abstract: A steering assistant includes a lane width setting unit and a determination unit. The lane width setting unit provides setting of a lane width between lane lines on right and left sides of an own vehicle. The determination unit monitors a lane line state to determine how the lane line state has transited, in which the lane line state involves presence or absence of the lane lines on the right and left sides of the own vehicle. The lane width setting unit provides the setting of the lane width, with a virtual lane line assumed on side on which the lane line is missing, when it is determined that the lane line state has transited to a state in which the lane line is provided on either one of the right and left sides of the own vehicle.Type: GrantFiled: July 20, 2016Date of Patent: November 20, 2018Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATIONInventor: Akihiro Watanabe
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Publication number: 20180321616Abstract: A developing device includes a developing container including a first conveyance chamber and a second conveyance chamber disposed above the first conveyance chamber, a first stirring-conveyance member which conveys developer in the first conveyance chamber in a first direction, a second stirring-conveyance member which conveys the developer in the second conveyance chamber in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and a developer carrier. A second communication portion is formed which allows the first and second conveyance chambers to communicate with each other at their end portions on a downstream side in the second direction. In the first conveyance chamber, a guide member is disposed which guides, to the downstream side in the first direction, the developer passing through the second communication portion to fall into the first conveyance chamber.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 20, 2018Publication date: November 8, 2018Applicant: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.Inventor: Akihiro WATANABE
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Publication number: 20180245952Abstract: Provided is an encoder apparatus including: a scale provided to a rotation shaft of a drive apparatus and having a predetermined pattern; a detector that detects the predetermined pattern; a rotation information calculator that calculates rotation information on the rotation shaft by using detection results of the detector; an eccentricity information calculator; and a corrector that corrects the rotation information.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 15, 2016Publication date: August 30, 2018Applicant: NIKON CORPORATIONInventors: Taiyo TAKAHASHI, Akihiro WATANABE
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Publication number: 20180204075Abstract: In an apparatus for recognizing a travel lane of a vehicle, a deviation determiner is configured to, if two or more shape change points are extracted by a shape change point extractor and the second derivative value of curvature of an extracted boundary line at at least one of the two or more shape change points is inverted in sign, determine whether or not the extracted boundary line and an estimated boundary line estimated from travel lane parameters estimated by a travel lane parameter estimator are deviating from each other beyond a predetermined allowable range. A driving aid is configured to, if it is determined that the extracted boundary line and the estimated boundary line are deviating from each other beyond the predetermined allowable range, perform control upon deviation to prevent occurrence of undesirable situations that may be caused by deviation between the extracted boundary line and the estimated boundary line.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 15, 2018Publication date: July 19, 2018Inventors: Shunya Kumano, Naoki Nitanda, Akihiro Watanabe
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Publication number: 20180180409Abstract: An estimating device includes: a movement amount computing section that, on the basis of a position of a predetermined region within an image picked-up at a first time, and a position of a region that corresponds to the predetermined region and is within an image picked-up in a same direction at a second time that is after the first time, computing a movement amount of the predetermined region in a vertical direction; a movement amount integrating section that computes an integrated value of the movement amounts, each time the movement amount is computed; a correcting section that corrects the integrated value of a current point in time on the basis of time series data of the integrated values of the movement amounts within a past predetermined time period; and an estimating section that estimates a pitch angle of the vehicle on the basis of a corrected integrated value.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 24, 2016Publication date: June 28, 2018Applicants: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, DENSO CORPORATIONInventors: Akihiro WATANABE, Yusuke KATAOKA, Tadashi SAKAI, Naoki KAWASAKI
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Patent number: 10000210Abstract: A lane recognition apparatus includes a lane recognizer, a lane evaluator, and a recognition state monitor. The lane recognizer recognizes lane lines of a road on which a vehicle travels. The lane lines include a first lane line and a second lane line. The lane evaluator evaluates, as recognition reliability, reliability of the recognition of the lane lines recognized by the lane recognizer, based on a plurality of characteristic amounts that are obtained from the recognition of the lane lines. The recognition state monitor monitors, upon completion of the recognition of the first lane line following the evaluation on the recognition reliability, a state of the recognition of the second lane line to adjust a timing at which a result of the recognition of the lane lines is provided to a driver.Type: GrantFiled: July 20, 2016Date of Patent: June 19, 2018Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATEONInventor: Akihiro Watanabe
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Patent number: 9990549Abstract: A complex marking determining device includes a brightness state calculating portion configured to calculate a lane marking representative value indicative of a brightness state of a plurality of pixels that make up a lane marking display region, and calculate a road surface representative value indicative of a brightness state of a plurality of pixels that make up the road surface display region; and a complex marking determining portion configured to determine that the lane marking is a complex marking at least when a degree of deviation between the lane marking representative value and the road surface representative value is equal to or greater than a first threshold value.Type: GrantFiled: January 13, 2016Date of Patent: June 5, 2018Assignees: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, DENSO CORPORATIONInventors: Yusuke Kataoka, Naoki Kawasaki, Tadashi Sakai, Akihiro Watanabe
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Publication number: 20180109853Abstract: There is provided an information processing apparatus to allow a user to use a device network by a natural and simple operation by automatically selecting a device for providing a response to a request, the information processing apparatus including: a request acquiring part configured to acquire a request to a system; a response determining part configured to determine a response to the request; a device selecting part configured to select, on the basis of at least an attribute of the response, a device that provides the response among devices included in the system; and a device controller configured to perform control that causes the selected device to provide the response.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 15, 2017Publication date: April 19, 2018Applicant: SONY CORPORATIONInventors: Akihiro WATANABE, Motoki TSUNOKAWA
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Publication number: 20180005073Abstract: In a road recognition apparatus mounted in a vehicle, a shape change point detector is configured to detect a shape change point along each of lane lines of an own lane. A turn-off lane determiner is configured to, if the shape change point is detected, determine whether or not a shape changing lane line that is one of the lane lines including the shape change point constitutes a border of a turn-off lane branching off from the own lane. A road recognizer is configured to, when the shape change point has been detected, use only feature points of the left and right lane lines of the own lane located within a distance from the own vehicle to the shape change point to recognize the shape of the own lane, before a result of determination by the turn-off lane determiner is produced.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 30, 2017Publication date: January 4, 2018Inventors: Taiki KAWANO, Naoki KAWASAKI, Shunsuke SUZUKI, Akihiro WATANABE
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Patent number: 9848253Abstract: There is provided an information processing apparatus to allow a user to use a device network by a natural and simple operation by automatically selecting a device for providing a response to a request, the information processing apparatus including: a request acquiring part configured to acquire a request to a system; a response determining part configured to determine a response to the request; a device selecting part configured to select, on the basis of at least an attribute of the response, a device that provides the response among devices included in the system; and a device controller configured to perform control that causes the selected device to provide the response.Type: GrantFiled: November 27, 2014Date of Patent: December 19, 2017Assignee: Sony CorporationInventors: Akihiro Watanabe, Motoki Tsunokawa
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Patent number: 9829829Abstract: A developing device includes a developing roller, a conveyor roller, a developer stirring unit and a development bias applying unit. The developing roller is arranged to face a photoconductive drum at a predetermined developing position and supplies the toner. The conveyor roller is arranged to face the developing roller at a predetermined facing position and supplies the developer to the developing roller. The development bias applying unit applies development biases to the first sleeve of the developing roller and the second sleeve of the conveyor roller during a developing operation of developing the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductive drum with the toner. The development bias applying unit applies the development biases such that a shifting electric field to move the toner on the first sleeve of the developing roller toward the second sleeve of the conveyor roller is formed at the facing position during the developing operation.Type: GrantFiled: March 13, 2017Date of Patent: November 28, 2017Assignee: KYOCERA DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS INC.Inventors: Tamotsu Shimizu, Eiji Gyotoku, Akihiro Watanabe, Norio Kubo, Minoru Wada, Ryo Taniguchi, Yasushi Imanishi, Takahiro Okubo
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Patent number: 9809223Abstract: A driving assistant for vehicles provides lane change assistance, and includes a proposed lane change section setting unit and a lane change determination unit. The proposed lane change section setting unit provides setting of a proposed lane change section that is a proposed section where an own vehicle enters an adjacent lane, based on relative speeds and relative positions of the own vehicle to respective ones of a plurality of parallel-travelling vehicles on the adjacent lane. The lane change determination unit determines whether or not the own vehicle is allowed to enter the proposed lane change section, based on a moving speed of the proposed lane change section and a speed of the own vehicle.Type: GrantFiled: July 1, 2016Date of Patent: November 7, 2017Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATIONInventor: Akihiro Watanabe