Patents by Inventor Eijiro AOKI

Eijiro AOKI 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: 12466645
    Abstract: A traveling vehicle system includes: a plurality of traveling vehicles; and a controller that is capable of communicating with the plurality of traveling vehicles and that controls the plurality of traveling vehicles, a traveling region of the traveling vehicles having designated therein a plurality of blocking sections each of which undergoes, when occupied by one of the plurality of traveling vehicles, exclusive control to prohibit another traveling vehicle from moving thereinto. The controller determines, where in a series of operations to be executed by the traveling vehicle, the operation of the traveling vehicle from the start of traveling to stopping before executing a predetermined operation included in the series of operations is demarcated, whether or not to grant the traveling vehicle an occupation permission for the blocking sections to be occupied for the traveling vehicle to execute operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2025
    Assignee: Murata Machinery, Ltd.
    Inventors: Wataru Kitamura, Eijiro Aoki, Toshikazu Nakagawa
  • Publication number: 20250229994
    Abstract: A transport system includes transport vehicles to travel along a track and transport a load, and a controller. The track includes a first main track and branch tracks connecting to the first main track via different confluence points. The controller is configured or programmed to execute departure control that causes the transport vehicles stopped at respective stop positions of the branch tracks to depart toward the first main track for each of the branch tracks. The departure control prohibits, in accordance with whether the transport vehicle is present in a certain section on the track, departure of at least one of the transport vehicles stopped at the respective stop positions of the branch tracks.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2023
    Publication date: July 17, 2025
    Inventors: Naohisa ITO, Eijiro AOKI
  • Patent number: 12119250
    Abstract: A transport system includes a plurality of transport vehicles and a controller. The transport vehicle includes a travel unit and transfer unit. The controller performs a blocking control to prohibit transport vehicles other than the transport vehicle from entering a blocking zone corresponding to the area occupied by the transport vehicle when transferring an article in a plan view. To transfer an article from/to a placement table, the transport vehicle travels along the route to the placement table in a first direction. An area of the blocking zone when the transport vehicle accesses to the placement table in the first direction is equal to or less than an area of the blocking zone identified when the transport vehicle accesses to the placement table in the second direction different from the first direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2024
    Assignee: Murata Machinery, Ltd.
    Inventors: Wataru Kitamura, Eijiro Aoki, Toshikazu Nakagawa
  • Patent number: 12110177
    Abstract: A transport system includes transport vehicles, and a controller to control traveling of the transport vehicles. The track includes a first main track, junction points on the first main track and spaced apart from each other, and branch tracks each connected to the first main track via the junction points different from one another. The junction points are spaced apart from each other on the first main track. On each of the branch tracks, a stop position corresponding to a delivery port for each transport vehicle to deliver and receive a load is provided. The controller controls the respective transport vehicles stopping at the stop positions of the branch tracks to control a transport vehicle on a downstream branch track to start simultaneously with or before a transport vehicle on an upstream branch track.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2024
    Assignee: MURATA MACHINERY, LTD.
    Inventors: Naohisa Ito, Eijiro Aoki
  • Patent number: 12025989
    Abstract: A traveling vehicle system includes a plurality of traveling vehicles, a controller that controls the plurality of transport vehicles, a traveling region of the traveling vehicles having a plurality of blocking sections each of which undergoes exclusive control to prohibit another traveling vehicle from moving thereinto. The traveling vehicle makes a request to the controller for occupation permissions regarding a plurality of blocking sections to be occupied by the traveling vehicle and are designated by instructions. The controller then determines, among the plurality of blocking sections for which the traveling vehicle makes a request for occupation permissions, one or more of the blocking sections that are able to allow permissions consecutively from an end thereof to be primarily occupied, based on the traveling direction of the traveling vehicle, and the controller grants the traveling vehicle the permissions for one or more blocking sections determined to allow the permissions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2024
    Assignee: Murata Machinery, Ltd.
    Inventors: Wataru Kitamura, Eijiro Aoki, Toshikazu Nakagawa
  • Patent number: 11635770
    Abstract: A controller determines, when a traveling vehicle to proceed in a first direction from a predetermined cell toward a destination is present, whether or not to grant the traveling vehicle occupation permission for a cell adjacent to the predetermined cell in the first direction. The traveling vehicle proceeds in the first direction if occupation permission for the adjacent cell has been granted from the controller, whereas the traveling vehicle stops at the predetermined cell if occupation permission has not been granted. The controller assigns to the traveling vehicle a traveling instruction in which a cell situated at a plurality of cells ahead of the predetermined cell in the second direction is designated as a waypoint to the destination if the traveling vehicle has not obtained occupation permission for the adjacent cell and has continuously been in a stop state at the predetermined cell for a predetermined period of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2023
    Assignee: Murata Machinery, Ltd.
    Inventors: Wataru Kitamura, Masahiro Ikeda, Eijiro Aoki, Toshikazu Nakagawa
  • Publication number: 20220384229
    Abstract: A transport system includes a plurality of transport vehicles and a controller. The transport vehicle includes a travel unit and transfer unit. The controller performs a blocking control to prohibit transport vehicles other than the transport vehicle from entering a blocking zone corresponding to the area occupied by the transport vehicle when transferring an article in a plan view. To transfer an article from/to a placement table, the transport vehicle travels along the route to the placement table in a first direction. An area of the blocking zone when the transport vehicle accesses to the placement table in the first direction is equal to or less than an area of the blocking zone identified when the transport vehicle accesses to the placement table in the second direction different from the first direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 27, 2020
    Publication date: December 1, 2022
    Inventors: Wataru Kitamura, Eijiro Aoki, Toshikazu Nakagawa
  • Publication number: 20220315330
    Abstract: A traveling vehicle system includes: a plurality of traveling vehicles; and a controller that is capable of communicating with the plurality of traveling vehicles and that controls the plurality of traveling vehicles, a traveling region of the traveling vehicles having designated therein a plurality of blocking sections each of which undergoes, when occupied by one of the plurality of traveling vehicles, exclusive control to prohibit another traveling vehicle from moving thereinto. The controller determines, where in a series of operations to be executed by the traveling vehicle, the operation of the traveling vehicle from the start of traveling to stopping before executing a predetermined operation included in the series of operations is demarcated, whether or not to grant the traveling vehicle an occupation permission for the blocking sections to be occupied for the traveling vehicle to execute operations.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 13, 2020
    Publication date: October 6, 2022
    Inventors: Wataru Kitamura, Eijiro Aoki, Toshikazu Nakagawa
  • Publication number: 20220317703
    Abstract: A traveling vehicle system includes a plurality of traveling vehicles, a controller that controls the plurality of transport vehicles, a traveling region of the traveling vehicles having a plurality of blocking sections each of which undergoes exclusive control to prohibit another traveling vehicle from moving thereinto. The traveling vehicle makes a request to the controller for occupation permissions regarding a plurality of blocking sections to be occupied by the traveling vehicle and are designated by instructions. The controller then determines, among the plurality of blocking sections for which the traveling vehicle makes a request for occupation permissions, one or more of the blocking sections that are able to allow permissions consecutively from an end thereof to be primarily occupied, based on the traveling direction of the traveling vehicle, and the controller grants the traveling vehicle the permissions for one or more blocking sections determined to allow the permissions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 17, 2020
    Publication date: October 6, 2022
    Inventors: Wataru Kitamura, Eijiro Aoki, Toshikazu Nakagawa
  • Publication number: 20220244742
    Abstract: A controller determines, when a traveling vehicle to proceed in a first direction from a predetermined cell toward a destination is present, whether or not to grant the traveling vehicle occupation permission for a cell adjacent to the predetermined cell in the first direction. The traveling vehicle proceeds in the first direction if occupation permission for the adjacent cell has been granted from the controller, whereas the traveling vehicle stops at the predetermined cell if occupation permission has not been granted. The controller assigns to the traveling vehicle a traveling instruction in which a cell situated at a plurality of cells ahead of the predetermined cell in the second direction is designated as a waypoint to the destination if the traveling vehicle has not obtained occupation permission for the adjacent cell and has continuously been in a stop state at the predetermined cell for a predetermined period of time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 29, 2020
    Publication date: August 4, 2022
    Inventors: Wataru Kitamura, Masahiro Ikeda, Eijiro Aoki, Toshikazu Nakagawa
  • Publication number: 20210155406
    Abstract: A transport system includes transport vehicles, and a controller to control traveling of the transport vehicles. The track includes a first main track, junction points on the first main track and spaced apart from each other, and branch tracks each connected to the first main track via the junction points different from one another. The junction points are spaced apart from each other on the first main track. On each of the branch tracks, a stop position corresponding to a delivery port for each transport vehicle to deliver and receive a load is provided. The controller controls the respective transport vehicles stopping at the stop positions of the branch tracks to control a transport vehicle on a downstream branch track to start simultaneously with or before a transport vehicle on an upstream branch track.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 30, 2019
    Publication date: May 27, 2021
    Inventors: Naohisa ITO, Eijiro AOKI