Patents by Inventor Hiromitsu Kobayashi

Hiromitsu Kobayashi 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: 20240126257
    Abstract: The vehicle control system, in response to transmission of a command from a remote assistance apparatus to a vehicle, sets a cancellable period during which the command can be cancelled by the remote assistance apparatus. Also, the vehicle control system acquires a communication delay time between the vehicle and the remote assistance apparatus. The vehicle control system adjusts a control amount of the vehicle related to a speed in accordance with the communication delay time on condition that current time is within the cancellable period and the communication delay time is equal to or greater than a predetermined time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2023
    Publication date: April 18, 2024
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiromitsu URANO, Takefumi Goto, Hiromitsu Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 11938971
    Abstract: In a vehicle control device for an autonomous driving vehicle that autonomously travels based on an operation command, a gesture image of a person around the autonomous driving vehicle is acquired, and a stored reference gesture image is collated with the acquired gesture image. At this time, when it is discriminated that the gesture of the person around the autonomous driving vehicle is a gesture requesting the autonomous driving vehicle to stop, it is determined whether a disaster has occurred. When it is determined that the disaster has occurred, the autonomous driving vehicle is caused to stop around the person requesting the autonomous driving vehicle to stop.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiromitsu Kobayashi, Taizo Masuda, Yuta Kataoka, Miki Nomoto, Yoshiki Ueda, Satoshi Omi, Yuki Nishikawa
  • Publication number: 20240094725
    Abstract: A remote assistance system according to the present disclosure comprises a memory storing a database and one or more processors. The database manages, for each of a plurality of operators, feature values of a plurality of feature items regarding a last assistance scene. The one or more processors are configured to execute the following first to third processes. The first process is, when a new assistance request is received from s vehicle, specifying one or more index items from the plurality of feature items. The second process is specifying, from the plurality of operators, one or more candidate operators whose the last assistance scene is similar to a current assistance scene based on the feature values of the one or more index items. The third process is selecting an operator to process the new assistance request from the one or more candidate operators.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 7, 2023
    Publication date: March 21, 2024
    Inventors: Hiromitsu KOBAYASHI, Hiromitsu URANO
  • Patent number: 11891074
    Abstract: A remote driving device configured to remotely operate a vehicle includes a remote operation device, a reaction force unit, a receiver, and a processor. The remote operation device is operated by an operator in order to remotely operate the vehicle. The reaction force unit is configured to generate an operation reaction force to be applied to the remote operation device. The receiver is configured to receive a parameter affecting vehicle characteristics of the vehicle from the vehicle. The processor is configured to control the reaction force unit so as to generate a magnitude of the operation reaction force according to the received parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kosuke Akatsuka, Toru Takashima, Satoru Niwa, Takashi Suzuki, Rio Suda, Hiromitsu Urano, Sho Otaki, Hiromitsu Kobayashi, Hojung Jung
  • Publication number: 20230406334
    Abstract: A vehicle is operated in accordance with a second operation amount corresponding to a first operation amount of a remote operation member by an operator. A first maximum operation range is a maximum operation range of the remote operation member. A second maximum operation range is a maximum operation range of an operation member of the vehicle. When the first maximum operation range is smaller than the second maximum operation range, a correspondence relationship between the first and second operation amounts is adjusted such that the second operation amount becomes larger than the first operation amount. When the first maximum operation range is larger than the second maximum operation range, an operable range of the remote operation member is restricted or the correspondence relationship is adjusted such that the second operation amount becomes smaller than the first operation amount.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 31, 2023
    Publication date: December 21, 2023
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Toru TAKASHIMA, Sho OTAKI, Hiromitsu URANO, Hojung JUNG, Hiromitsu KOBAYASHI, Satoru NIWA, Kosuke AKATAUKA
  • Publication number: 20230376867
    Abstract: The method of the present disclosure is a method for assigning a remote operation on a vehicle to a remote operator by a computer. According to the method of the present disclosure, a requested remote operation is classified into a first type of operation in which only one operation can be assigned to one remote operator at a time and a second type of operation in which a plurality of operations can be assigned to one operator at a time. When the requested remote operation is the first type of operation, the requested remote operation is assigned to an idle remote operator. When the requested remote operation is the second type of operation, the requested remote operation is assigned to an active remote operator already engaged in the second type of operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2023
    Publication date: November 23, 2023
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiromitsu URANO, Takefumi GOTO, Masahiro HARADA, Hiromitsu KOBAYASHI
  • Publication number: 20230347936
    Abstract: The power supply method includes: determining whether power supply to a power supply target is necessary; determining whether provision of a predetermined service by the autonomous driving electrified vehicle is stopped or service provision can be stopped; and supplying power from the autonomous driving electrified vehicle to the power supply target in response to determining that power supply to the power supply target is necessary and determining that service provision is stopped or service provision can be stopped.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2023
    Publication date: November 2, 2023
    Inventors: Taizo MASUDA, Yuta KATAOKA, Yoshiki UEDA, Hiromitsu KOBAYASHI, Miki NOMOTO, Satoshi OMI, Yuki NISHIKAWA
  • Publication number: 20230347935
    Abstract: Flood damage information at the position of the autonomous vehicle and a flood index representing the likelihood of flooding at the position of the automatically driving vehicle are acquired. Based on the flood damage information and the flood index, a predicted flood water level at the position of the autonomous vehicle is obtained. A predicted flood water level is displayed in the form of a height position from the road surface on a display mounted on the autonomous vehicle so that it can be visually recognized from the outside of the autonomous vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 8, 2023
    Publication date: November 2, 2023
    Inventors: Hiromitsu KOBAYASHI, Miki NOMOTO, Yoshiki UEDA, Taizo MASUDA, Yuta KATAOKA, Satoshi OMI, Yuki NISHIKAWA
  • Patent number: 11780454
    Abstract: A vehicle is operated in accordance with a second operation amount corresponding to a first operation amount of a remote operation member by an operator. A first maximum operation range is a maximum operation range of the remote operation member. A second maximum operation range is a maximum operation range of an operation member of the vehicle. When the first maximum operation range is smaller than the second maximum operation range, a correspondence relationship between the first and second operation amounts is adjusted such that the second operation amount becomes larger than the first operation amount. When the first maximum operation range is larger than the second maximum operation range, an operable range of the remote operation member is restricted or the correspondence relationship is adjusted such that the second operation amount becomes smaller than the first operation amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Toru Takashima, Sho Otaki, Hiromitsu Urano, Hojung Jung, Hiromitsu Kobayashi, Satoru Niwa, Kosuke Akatsuka
  • Patent number: 11769401
    Abstract: A vehicle includes a sensor that detects a traffic signal installed in a travel route of the own vehicle, another vehicle traveling around the own vehicle, and another mobile object around the own vehicle. After recognizing that the own vehicle has passed the traffic signal, the vehicle determines whether or not there are the other mobile object moving toward the traffic signal and the other vehicle moving beside the other mobile object toward the traffic signal. When determining that there are the other mobile object moving toward the traffic signal and the other vehicle moving beside the other mobile object toward the traffic signal, the vehicle controls the traffic signal based on a traveling state of the other vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Taizo Masuda, Miki Nomoto, Yuta Kataoka, Hiromitsu Kobayashi, Yoshiki Ueda, Satoshi Omi, Yuki Nishikawa
  • Publication number: 20230295963
    Abstract: A door control device has a processor configured to determine whether or not an emergency situation has occurred in a vehicle, based on operation by a user on an operating unit that is to be operated to open a door of the vehicle, and to decide to open the door when it has been determined by the first assessment unit that the emergency situation has occurred.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 15, 2023
    Publication date: September 21, 2023
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiromitsu KOBAYASHI, Hiromitsu Urano, Takefumi Goto
  • Publication number: 20230166734
    Abstract: In an example, a method determines a reference vehicle traveling in a first lane. The first lane merges with a second lane at a merging point. The method can determine a merging plan for a merging vehicle traveling in the second lane to merge into the first lane based on a vehicle position, and in some cases the speed, of the reference vehicle in the first lane. The method can overlay, via a display device, a virtual target in a field of view of a roadway environment of a driver of the merging vehicle based on the merging plan of the merging vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 10, 2022
    Publication date: June 1, 2023
    Inventors: Ziran Wang, BaekGyu Kim, Hiromitsu Kobayashi
  • Publication number: 20230138577
    Abstract: A device for notification to a moving body passenger includes an information processing device, a moving-body-mounted output device configured to output the notification content, and a communication device configured to transmit the notification content to a device carried by the passenger. The information processing device includes a storage device in which travel information, passenger information and information about a notification content list, and a processor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2022
    Publication date: May 4, 2023
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiromitsu KOBAYASHI, Takashi TOKUYAMA, Sokfan YEE
  • Publication number: 20230134362
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to an evaluation apparatus which evaluates autonomous driving performed by the autonomous driving vehicle. The present disclosure provides a technique which enables carrying out a questionnaire composed of one or more appropriate questions while reducing the number of the questions. The questionnaire apparatus includes a question management unit configured to manage one or more questions prepared for a passenger of an autonomous driving vehicle to evaluate autonomous driving, an information acquisition unit configured to acquire driving environment information and driving state information related to the autonomous driving, and a question determination unit configured to determine one or more request questions for requesting an answer from the passenger from among one or more managed questions based on at least one of the driving environment information and the driving state information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 2, 2022
    Publication date: May 4, 2023
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Sokfan Yee, Hiromitsu Kobayashi, Takashi Tokuyama
  • Publication number: 20230106666
    Abstract: A processor performs a mediation process of mediating remote support of at least one vehicle when receiving a request for remote support from the at least one vehicle. In the mediation process, at least two vehicles are organized into at least one group based on map information and position and traveling direction information of the at least two vehicles when requests for remote support from the at least two vehicles have been received in the same time period. The support order of the vehicles in the at least one group is determined for each group based on the map information and the position and traveling direction information of the at least two vehicles. The surrounding image information of the corresponding vehicle is transmitted to at least one support device that performs remote support of the vehicles organized into the at least one group in the support order.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 21, 2022
    Publication date: April 6, 2023
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiromitsu Urano, Hiromitsu Kobayashi, Sho Otaki
  • Publication number: 20230064634
    Abstract: An abnormality notification system includes: a vehicle that travels regularly on a predetermined travel route; a communication device configured to be able to communicate with a sensor mounted on the vehicle and an outside, the sensor being a sensor that acquires road data obtained by imaging or measuring a road along the travel route; and a control device. The control device is configured to determine whether an abnormality has occurred on the road along the travel route based on a different part when the road data acquired by the sensor is compared with reference road data obtained by imaging or measuring the road along the travel route in the past, and transmit predetermined abnormality occurrence information to an external client via the communication device when the control device determines that an abnormality has occurred on the road along the travel route.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2022
    Publication date: March 2, 2023
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Marie Ishikawa, Aya Hamajima, Daichi Hotta, Hayato Ito, Hidekazu Sasaki, Yasuhiro Kobatake, Akihiro Kusumoto, Yoshiki Ueda, Taizo Masuda, Yuta Kataoka, Hiromitsu Kobayashi, Miki Nomoto, Satoshi Omi, Yuki Nishikawa
  • Publication number: 20220397898
    Abstract: A remote control request method has requesting, by a computer, a remote operator to perform remote control on an autonomous driving vehicle when the autonomous driving vehicle currently has or is expected to have difficulty in continuing autonomous driving, requesting remote assistance in which the remote operator makes at least a part of determination for the autonomous driving inside an autonomous driving domain, and requesting, outside the autonomous driving domain, remote driving in which the remote operator performs at least one of a steering operation and an acceleration or deceleration operation of the autonomous driving vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 6, 2022
    Publication date: December 15, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiromitsu Urano, Sho Otaki, Takashi Suzuki, Toru Takashima, Hojung Jung, Hiromitsu Kobayashi, Satoru Niwa, Kosuke Akatsuka
  • Patent number: 11507110
    Abstract: A vehicle remote assistance system including: a remote assistance example database in which a past assistance request situation and a remote assistance content made by a remote operator are stored in association with each other, and a server. The server is configured to, upon receipt of a remote assistance request from an autonomous vehicle, determine whether or not a remote assistance request situation of the autonomous vehicle is similar to the past assistance request situation stored in the remote assistance example database, based on a position of the autonomous vehicle transmitting the remote assistance request and an external environment around the autonomous vehicle; and the server is configured to, when the server determines that the remote assistance request situation is similar to the past assistance request situation, transmit the remote assistance content corresponding to the past assistance request situation to the autonomous vehicle in substitution for the remote operator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiromitsu Kobayashi, Hiromitsu Urano, Sho Otaki
  • Publication number: 20220342417
    Abstract: A remote function selection device selects a remote function in an automated drive vehicle configured to execute automated drive and remote travel and provided with a plurality of remote functions. The remote function selection device is configured to determine whether executing the automated drive at a predetermined timing is impossible; determines the remote function that is executable at the predetermined timing when it is determined that executing the automated drive is impossible; predict an action of a target around the automated drive vehicle based on a detection result from an external sensor configured to detect the target; calculate an action prediction confidence degree for the predicted action of the target; and selects the remote function. The remote function selection device configured to select the remote function based on the calculated action prediction confidence degree when it is determined that a plurality of remote functions is executable.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 21, 2022
    Publication date: October 27, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiromitsu Kobayashi, Hiromitsu Urano, Sho Otaki, Hojung Jung, Toru Takashima, Satoru Niwa, Takashi Suzuki, Kosuke Akatsuka
  • Patent number: D1013246
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Aitec System Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiromitsu Kobayashi