Patents by Inventor Hirotaka KOMURA

Hirotaka KOMURA 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: 20220251882
    Abstract: A rack includes: a casing; M pairs of supports that are provided inside the casing so as to extend in a depth direction and arrayed at regular intervals in a predetermined direction; and a lock mechanism that locks returnable containers housed while being supported so as to be slidable along the respective M pairs of supports. The lock mechanism has M rotary lock main bodies that are respectively provided at the M pairs of supports and each unlock at a predetermined rotation angle, and a coupling member that couples the M rotary lock main bodies to one another and allows them to rotate in conjunction with one another. The predetermined rotation angle for unlocking is different for each of the M rotary lock main bodies, and the M rotary lock main bodies are driven to rotate by a single driving source.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2021
    Publication date: August 11, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kunihiro IWAMOTO, Yuta ITOZAWA, Hirotaka KOMURA, Yutaro TAKAGI, Yoshiaki NAKAMOTO, Junya OTA
  • Publication number: 20220251881
    Abstract: A rack includes: a casing; M (an integer not less than three) pairs of supports that are provided inside the casing so as to extend in a depth direction and arrayed at regular intervals in a predetermined direction (a height direction or a left-right direction); and a lock mechanism. The rack can house all returnable containers of one or more prespecified sizes along the respective pairs of supports. The lock mechanism includes N (an integer not less than two and meeting N<M?2N?1) shafts that are movable in the predetermined direction. Branches are provided on the shafts such that a combination of engagement and disengagement between the branches and holes provided in protrusions of the returnable container is different in each of the returnable containers housed on the respective M pairs of supports.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 10, 2021
    Publication date: August 11, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kunihiro IWAMOTO, Yuta ITOZAWA, Hirotaka KOMURA, Yutaro TAKAGI, Yoshiaki NAKAMOTO, Junya OTA
  • Publication number: 20220250239
    Abstract: In a conveyance system, an object is conveyed by use of a conveyance robot. The conveyance robot includes: an arm including a shaft portion extensible and retractable in an axial direction of the shaft portion, and a protruding portion extending from the shaft portion in a direction different from the axial direction so as to be engaged with a groove formed on the object; a drive mechanism configured to rotate the arm around the axial direction as a rotating axis; and a detecting portion configured to detect an abnormality in the rotation angle of the arm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2021
    Publication date: August 11, 2022
    Inventors: Kunihiro IWAMOTO, Yuta ITOZAWA, Hirotaka KOMURA, Yutaro TAKAGI
  • Publication number: 20220250528
    Abstract: A rack includes a casing and a plurality of pairs of supports that is provided inside the casing so as to extend in a depth direction and arrayed at regular intervals in an up-down direction. The rack can house all storage boxes of two or more prespecified sizes while supporting the storage boxes so as to be slidable along the respective pairs of supports. Sensors that detect objects are provided one between each two pairs of supports that are adjacent to each other in the up-down direction among the pairs of supports. When storage boxes of a smallest size are housed in the rack so as to be closest to one another in the up-down direction, the sensors are located in clearances between the storage boxes of the smallest size in the up-down direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 29, 2021
    Publication date: August 11, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kunihiro IWAMOTO, Yutaro TAKAGI, Yuta ITOZAWA, Hirotaka KOMURA
  • Publication number: 20220250669
    Abstract: A rack includes: a casing; M pairs of supports that are provided inside the casing so as to extend in a depth direction and arrayed at regular intervals in a predetermined direction; and a lock mechanism. The rack can house all returnable containers of one or more prespecified sizes along the respective pairs of supports. The M pairs of supports are arrayed in N rows in an orthogonal direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction. The lock mechanism is configured such that moving first and second shafts that are provided for the respective rows and for the respective tiers, respectively, so as to be movable in the predetermined direction can switch between engagement and disengagement between branches of the first and second shafts and first and second holes, respectively, of the returnable containers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 4, 2022
    Publication date: August 11, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kunihiro IWAMOTO, Yuta ITOZAWA, Hirotaka KOMURA, Yutaro TAKAGI, Yoshiaki NAKAMOTO, Junya OTA
  • Publication number: 20220250837
    Abstract: A rack includes: a casing; M pairs of supports that are provided inside the casing so as to extend in a depth direction and arrayed at regular intervals in an up-down direction; and a lock mechanism that locks returnable containers each housed while being supported so as to be slidable along one pair of supports. The casing of the rack is divided into N rows by (N?1) partition plates, with the M pairs of supports provided in each row, to be able to house a maximum of (M×N) returnable containers. The lock mechanism is provided in each of the (N?1) partition plates so as to extend through the partition plate and correspond to each tier, and simultaneously locks two returnable containers that are housed adjacent to each other on one side and the other side of the partition plate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 29, 2021
    Publication date: August 11, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kunihiro IWAMOTO, Yuta ITOZAWA, Hirotaka KOMURA, Yutaro TAKAGI, Yoshiaki NAKAMOTO, Junya OTA
  • Publication number: 20220242663
    Abstract: A control device for a conveyance robot including a telescopic portion which is extensible in a height direction is provided. The control device includes an estimation unit configured to estimate a natural frequency of the conveyance robot according to an amount of extension of the telescopic portion and a control unit configured to control a drive mechanism of the conveyance robot such that the natural frequency of the conveyance robot and an angular frequency of a vibration generating portion when the conveyance robot operates do not match.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2022
    Publication date: August 4, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Junya OTA, Kunihiro IWAMOTO, Yuta ITOZAWA, Hirotaka KOMURA, Yutaro TAKAGI, Yoshiaki NAKAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20220241966
    Abstract: An embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a detection system used in a case where a transport robot transports a package in a state where the package in which an opening portion of a container is closed by a lid is placed on a placing portion of the transport robot. The detection system is configured to detect that the lid is opened.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 23, 2021
    Publication date: August 4, 2022
    Inventors: Yutaro Takagi, Kunihiro Iwamoto, Yuta Itozawa, Hirotaka Komura, Yoshiaki Nakamoto, Junya Ota
  • Publication number: 20220242708
    Abstract: This carrying system is a carrying system in which a load is carried by an autonomous mobile robot. The autonomous mobile robot has: a platform on which the load is placed; a control unit that controls the level of the platform; and an engaging part that engages with a predetermined object in a surrounding environment when the platform is raised.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2021
    Publication date: August 4, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuta ITOZAWA, Kunihiro IWAMOTO, Hirotaka KOMURA, Yutaro TAKAGI
  • Publication number: 20220234828
    Abstract: An opening-closing control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is a device that controls opening and closing of a plurality of doors of an accommodating portion when a robot executes a task of loading or unloading an object to and from the accommodating portion. The opening-closing control device includes a door opening information acquisition unit that acquires information indicating a door to be opened in order to execute the task; and a control unit that controls, based the on the information indicating the door to be opened in order to execute the task, a lock unit that is arranged corresponding to each of the plurality of doors and that is configured to restrict a door other than the door to be opened in order to execute the task in a closed state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 1, 2021
    Publication date: July 28, 2022
    Inventors: Yuta ITOZAWA, Kunihiro IWAMOTO, Hirotaka KOMURA, Yutaro TAKAGI, Yoshiaki NAKAMOTO, Junya OTA
  • Publication number: 20220237394
    Abstract: A detection system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a plurality of proximity sensors provided in a mounting portion of a transport robot; an information acquisition unit that is provided in the mounting portion of the transport robot and that acquires information from an integrated circuit (IC) tag provided in a standard object; and an estimation unit that estimates a placement status of the standard object based on detection results of the proximity sensors and an acquisition result of the information acquisition unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 8, 2021
    Publication date: July 28, 2022
    Inventors: Yutaro TAKAGI, Kunihiro IWAMOTO, Yuta ITOZAWA, Hirotaka KOMURA, Yoshiaki NAKAMOTO, Junya OTA
  • Publication number: 20220234826
    Abstract: An opening-closing control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is an opening-closing control device of a door of an accommodating portion to and from which a robot loads and unloads an object, in which the opening-closing control device includes: a state acquisition unit that acquires a state of the robot; and a control unit that controls a drive unit of the door for opening and closing the door based on the state of the robot.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 3, 2021
    Publication date: July 28, 2022
    Inventors: Yutaro TAKAGI, Kunihiro IWAMOTO, Yuta ITOZAWA, Hirotaka KOMURA, Yoshiaki NAKAMOTO, Junya OTA
  • Publication number: 20220226986
    Abstract: A garbage box includes an opening-closing unit and a switch on a predetermined surface, the switch being a switch by which the opening-closing unit is opened. The garbage box is installed such that the predetermined surface faces a base surface with a predetermined interval from the base surface, the base surface being a floor surface or a ground surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 8, 2021
    Publication date: July 21, 2022
    Inventors: Kunihiro IWAMOTO, Yutaro TAKAGI, Yuta ITOZAWA, Hirotaka KOMURA
  • Publication number: 20220227576
    Abstract: A trash box is a trash box including a trash box main body in which trash is accommodated. A top surface or a side surface of the trash box main body includes an input port via which the trash is put into the trash box main body. A bottom surface of the trash box main body includes an opening-closing portion. The trash box main body is placed such that the opening-closing portion faces a reference plane that is a floor face or ground. The trash box main body is changeable in height from the reference plane.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 8, 2021
    Publication date: July 21, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshiaki NAKAMOTO, Yuta ITOZAWA, Hirotaka KOMURA, Yutaro TAKAGI, Junya OTA, Kunihiro IWAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20220227577
    Abstract: The garbage box includes an opening-closing unit on a predetermined surface, and the garbage box is installed such that the opening-closing unit faces a base surface with a predetermined interval from the base surface, the base surface being a floor surface or a ground surface. The garbage box opens the opening-closing unit when the garbage box detects that an autonomous mobile robot has come to a predetermined position in a vicinity of an installation position of the garbage box.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 1, 2021
    Publication date: July 21, 2022
    Inventors: Kunihiro IWAMOTO, Yutaro TAKAGI, Yuta ITOZAWA, Hirotaka KOMURA
  • Publication number: 20220207590
    Abstract: A management system manages automatic ordering of a consumable product. The management system includes: a first acquisition unit that acquires information about an allowable timing of arrival of a target consumable product; a second acquisition unit that acquires information about a delivery timing or an order timing of another article other than the target consumable product; and a determination unit that determines a delivery timing or an order timing of the target consumable product such that the allowable timing is satisfied and the number of times of delivery of the target consumable product and the other article is reduced.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2021
    Publication date: June 30, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yutaro Takagi, Kunihiro Iwamoto, Yuta Itozawa, Hirotaka Komura, Yoshiaki Nakamoto, Junya Ota
  • Publication number: 20220203537
    Abstract: A control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is a control device for a robot that operates in a facility used by a user, and includes a state acquisition unit that acquires a biological state of the user, and a control unit that limits an operation of the robot when the biological state of the user is a sleep onset state. Here, when the biological state of the user is the sleep onset state, the control unit stops the operation of the robot or limits the operation of the robot to a set maximum operation speed or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2021
    Publication date: June 30, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hirotaka Komura, Kunihiro Iwamoto, Yuta Itozawa, Yutaro Takagi, Yoshiaki Nakamoto, Junya Ota
  • Publication number: 20220203529
    Abstract: A control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a completion time calculation unit that calculates the time a task is completed; a position acquisition unit that acquires position information of a user; an arrival time calculation unit that calculates the time the user arrives; an execution time acquisition unit that acquires information indicating a time slot for causing a robot to execute the task; a determination unit that determines whether the task is completed by the time the user arrives; and a control unit that controls the robot based on a determination result of the determination unit or the time slot for causing the robot to execute the task. The execution time acquisition unit acquires information indicating the time slot for causing the robot to execute the task for each robot of a plurality of robots or for each task of a plurality of tasks.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 27, 2021
    Publication date: June 30, 2022
    Inventors: Yoshiaki NAKAMOTO, Yuta ITOZAWA, Hirotaka KOMURA, Yutaro TAKAGI, Junya OTA, Kunihiro IWAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20220203527
    Abstract: A control device according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a control device for a robot that operates in a facility used by a user, and includes a detection information acquisition unit that acquires detection information of the user who is present in a preset area of the facility, and a control unit that controls the robot such that the robot operates at a speed equal to or lower than a set maximum operation speed based on the detection information of the user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 11, 2021
    Publication date: June 30, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hirotaka KOMURA, Kunihiro IWAMOTO, Yuta ITOZAWA, Yutaro TAKAGI, Yoshiaki NAKAMOTO, Junya OTA
  • Patent number: 11371593
    Abstract: An extension/contraction mechanism capable of preventing a swing of an extension/contraction part when it is extended or contracted is provided. An extension/contraction mechanism according to one aspect of the present disclosure is an extension/contraction mechanism including a telescopic extension/contraction part and a base part that supports the extension/contraction part so that it can be extended/contracted, in which the extension/contraction mechanism includes a support part that contacts an inner peripheral surface or an outer peripheral surface of the extension/contraction part in order to prevent a wobble in a root part of the extension/contraction part with respect to the base part, and the support part is provided on a side surface of the base part that is opposed to the inner peripheral surface or the outer peripheral surface of the extension/contraction part that the support part contacts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kunihiro Iwamoto, Hirotaka Komura