Patents by Inventor Kazuhiro Umeda

Kazuhiro Umeda 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: 11960232
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable photosensitive member, a charging member, a developing device, a transfer member, a brush, a driving source and a control portion. The control portion controls the driving source to execute an image forming process in which image formation on the recording material is executed and a non-image-forming process in which the photosensitive member is driven to rotate other than in the image forming process. The non-image-forming process between a first recording material and a second recording material, to which the image formation is executed following the first recording material, is defined as a first non-image-forming process, and the non-image-forming process between the second recording material and a third recording material is defined as a second non-image-forming process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ai Suzuki, Kensuke Umeda, Kazuhiro Funatani, Shinsuke Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 11947280
    Abstract: A mechanism that enables developer replenishment by a simpler structure and a mechanism that enables more user-friendly developer replenishment are provided. An attachment port to which a developer supply bottle containing a developer stored therein is detachably attachable is disposed in an interior of an image forming apparatus. The developer supply bottle can be attached when the cover is in an open state. According to this image forming apparatus, when the developer supply bottle is attached to the attachment port, the developer inside the developer supply bottle moves into a developer housing chamber by its own weight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Funatani, Masatake Tanaka, Kentaro Yamawaki, Kenichi Iida, Shinsuke Kobayashi, Kensuke Umeda, Takanori Watanabe, Ai Suzuki
  • Publication number: 20240077823
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus to and from which a replenishment container accommodating toner is attachable and detachable includes a replenishment port to allow replenishment of toner from the replenishment container, an opening/closing portion to open the replenishment port in an open position and close the replenishment port in a closed position, a locking member to move between a restricting position in which the locking member restricts movement of the opening/closing portion from the closed position to the open position, and an allowing position in which the movement of the opening/closing portion from the closed position to the open position is allowed. A developer container accepts more toner for replenishment in a case where a second display is in a second state than in a first state, and a first display more accurately displays information related to the toner accommodated in the developer container than the second display.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2023
    Publication date: March 7, 2024
    Inventors: Kensuke Umeda, Shinsuke Kobayashi, Kazuhiro Funatani, Takanori Watanabe, Ai Suzuki
  • Patent number: 11513539
    Abstract: An autonomous mobile object includes an imaging unit, a positional information sender to acquire and send positional information to a server, and an operation controller to cause the autonomous mobile object to move autonomously based on an operation command. The server includes storage to receive and store the positional information from the autonomous mobile object, a commander to send the operation command to the autonomous mobile object, and a receiver to receive information relating to an emergency report including a target location. When the receiver receives the information relating to the emergency report, the commander sends an emergency operation command to the autonomous mobile object located in a specific area including the target location. The emergency operation command causes the autonomous mobile object to capture an image of a person or a vehicle moving away from the target location, and the autonomous mobile object sends the image to the server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Isao Kanehara, Kazuhiro Umeda, Hideo Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi Okada, Shinjiro Nagasaki
  • Patent number: 11493935
    Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure provide an operation control device for controlling vehicle-to-vehicle distances between a plurality of vehicles autonomously traveling on a circuit route. The operation control device can include a transmission device that is configured to, at a time of removal, remove at least one of the vehicles from the circuit route and transmit future time information and positional information indicative of a target position to each of the at least three vehicles except for a removal target vehicle as a vehicle targeted for the removal. Further, the future time information and positional information being transmitted such that a first vehicle-to-vehicle distance between a first vehicle and a second vehicle and a second vehicle-to-vehicle distance between the second vehicle and a third vehicle becomes equal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Umeda
  • Patent number: 11480979
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a transport operation control method and apparatus. The method includes determining to interchange a vehicle to be changed selected among a plurality of vehicles with a vehicle for replacement, transmitting an instruction such that the vehicle for replacement travels a circuit between the vehicle to he changed and a vehicle traveling behind, and transmitting an instruction such that over a time period from the vehicle for replacement starting traveling on the path until finishing one lap of the path, In the method, a time interval at which each of all remaining vehicles other than the vehicle to be changed among the plurality of vehicles and the vehicle for replacement passes an arbitrary point on the path becomes approximately constant. The method further includes instructing the vehicle to be changed to leave the path after the vehicle for replacement finishes the lap of the path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Umeda
  • Patent number: 11458990
    Abstract: An automatic driving vehicle is appropriately fielded into a travel route. Provided is an automatic driving vehicle that is controlled by an operation management center, and has an automatic mode to automatically travel along a set travel route. An input to shift to the automatic mode is performed by an operator, a travel start instruction is received from the operation management center, a state of waiting for a start manipulation by the operator is provided, and in the start manipulation waiting state, in a case where the start manipulation is performed and a case where the start manipulation is not performed and a predetermined time elapses, start is performed to start travel in the automatic mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hirohito Ide, Yuchi Yamanouchi, Kazuhiro Umeda
  • Patent number: 11427220
    Abstract: An automatic driving vehicle is appropriately fielded into a travel route. Provided is an automatic driving vehicle that is controlled by an operation management center, and has an automatic mode to automatically travel along a set travel route. An input to shift to the automatic mode is performed by an operator, a travel start instruction is received from the operation management center, a state of waiting for a start manipulation by the operator is provided, and in the start manipulation waiting state, in a case where the start manipulation is performed and a case where the start manipulation is not performed and a predetermined time elapses, start is performed to start travel in the automatic mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hirohito Ide, Yuchi Yamanouchi, Kazuhiro Umeda
  • Publication number: 20220260175
    Abstract: An electromagnetic operation part of an electromagnetic valve includes a bobbin, a fixed iron core, a movable iron core, a return spring, a magnetic cover, and a magnetic plate. A coil is would around the bobbin. The fixed iron core and the movable iron core are housed in a bobbin hole extending through the bobbin. The return spring places the movable iron core back into an initial position. The magnetic cover covers the electromagnetic operation part. The magnetic plate provides magnetic coupling between the magnetic cover and the movable iron core. The fixed iron core has a spring housing hole extending within and through the fixed iron core. The return spring is housed in the spring housing hole. A proximal end of the return spring is in contact with the magnetic cover, and a distal end of the return spring is in contact with the movable iron core.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 13, 2020
    Publication date: August 18, 2022
    Applicant: SMC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki TAKADA, Shinichi YOSHIMURA, Minehiko MITA, Kazuhiro UMEDA
  • Patent number: 11380192
    Abstract: An autonomous mobile object includes a sensor unit configured to sense the condition of a road, an operation controller configured to cause the autonomous mobile object to move autonomously on the basis of an operation command, an obtainer configured to obtain surveyed place data, which is information about a surveillance target place and data relating to a method of surveillance associated with each other, and an information collector configured to collect information about the condition of the surveillance target place by the sensor unit when the autonomous mobile object reaches the surveillance target place while travelling on the basis of the operation command.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Isao Kanehara, Kazuhiro Umeda, Hideo Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi Okada, Shinjiro Nagasaki
  • Patent number: 11378201
    Abstract: A solenoid valve is formed by engaging locking protrusions with engagement holes and thereby joining a valve body and a magnetic cover to each other. A top wall of the magnetic cover is formed by a pair of bent portions that extend from a pair of respective sidewalls of the magnetic cover and that are bent toward the space between the sidewalls. The bent portions are fastened to each other in the width direction Wd by a circuit board spacer (first fastening member), and the circuit board spacer and the valve body are fastened to each other in the axial direction Ld by a connector cover.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: SMC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shinichi Yoshimura, Kazuhiro Umeda
  • Patent number: 11325618
    Abstract: An operation control apparatus executes sending operation instructions to vehicles running in an autonomous driving mode such that a time interval at which the vehicles running in the autonomous driving mode pass a selected point in a route is substantially constant, receiving, from any one vehicle running in the autonomous driving mode, a notification that the vehicle switches into a manual driving mode in response to an instruction of a boarding staff, and sending operation instructions to the vehicle having switched into the manual driving mode and the vehicle that continues running in the autonomous driving mode such that a time interval at which the vehicle having switched into the manual driving mode and the vehicle that continues running in the autonomous driving mode pass a selected point in the route is substantially constant in a set time from when the operation control apparatus has received the notification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Umeda
  • Patent number: 11275384
    Abstract: An operation control apparatus is for a plurality of vehicles traveling in a self-driving manner on a cyclic route having a plurality of stop points. The operation control apparatus includes a controller that acquires vehicle interval information between a preceding vehicle and a succeeding vehicle, based on a time period of a stop of the preceding vehicle at a stop point and a distance from the succeeding vehicle to the stop point when the preceding vehicle is stopping at the stop point, and controls the plurality of vehicles based on the information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Umeda
  • Publication number: 20210397203
    Abstract: An autonomous mobile object includes an imaging unit, a positional information sender to acquire and send positional information to a server, and an operation controller to cause the autonomous mobile object to move autonomously based on an operation command. The server includes storage to receive and store the positional information from the autonomous mobile object, a commander to send the operation command to the autonomous mobile object, and a receiver to receive information relating to an emergency report including a target location. When the receiver receives the information relating to the emergency report, the commander sends an emergency operation command to the autonomous mobile object located in a specific area including the target location. The emergency operation command causes the autonomous mobile object to capture an image of a person or a vehicle moving away from the target location, and the autonomous mobile object sends the image to the server.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 7, 2021
    Publication date: December 23, 2021
    Inventors: Isao Kanehara, Kazuhiro Umeda, Hideo Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi Okada, Shinjiro Nagasaki
  • Publication number: 20210383418
    Abstract: A car sharing management device includes a communication device and an information processing device. The communication device is configured to acquire, from an information terminal owned by a user of a car sharing service, commercial facility information acquired by the information terminal at a commercial facility. The information processing device is configured to determine, based on the commercial facility information, whether the user uses the commercial facility while using the car sharing service. The information processing device is configured to provide the user with a reward in a case where the user uses the commercial facility while using the car sharing service.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 24, 2021
    Publication date: December 9, 2021
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Umeda, Takumi Fukunaga, Makoto Akahane, Satoshi Usui
  • Publication number: 20210332909
    Abstract: A solenoid valve is formed by engaging locking protrusions with engagement holes and thereby joining a valve body and a magnetic cover to each other. A top wall of the magnetic cover is formed by a pair of bent portions that extend from a pair of respective sidewalls of the magnetic cover and that are bent toward the space between the sidewalls. The bent portions are fastened to each other in the width direction Wd by a circuit board spacer (first fastening member), and the circuit board spacer and the valve body are fastened to each other in the axial direction Ld by a connector cover.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2019
    Publication date: October 28, 2021
    Applicant: SMC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shinichi YOSHIMURA, Kazuhiro UMEDA
  • Patent number: 11150659
    Abstract: The autonomous mobile object includes an imaging unit, a positional information sender to acquire and send positional information to a server, and an operation controller to cause the autonomous mobile object to move autonomously based on an operation command. The server includes storage to receive and store the positional information from the autonomous mobile object, a commander to send the operation command to the autonomous mobile object, and a receiver to receive information relating to an emergency report including a target location. When the receiver receives the information relating to the emergency report, the commander sends an emergency operation command to the autonomous mobile object located in a specific area including the target location. The emergency operation command causes the autonomous mobile object to capture an image of the target location, and the autonomous mobile object sends the image to the server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Isao Kanehara, Kazuhiro Umeda, Hideo Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi Okada, Shinjiro Nagasaki
  • Patent number: 11144073
    Abstract: An autonomous mobile object includes an imaging unit, a positional information sender to acquire and send positional information to a server, and an operation controller to cause the autonomous mobile object to move autonomously based on an operation command. The server includes storage to receive and store the positional information from the autonomous mobile object, a commander to send the operation command to the autonomous mobile object, and a receiver to receive information relating to an emergency report including a target location. When the receiver receives the information relating to the emergency report, the commander sends an emergency operation command to the autonomous mobile object located in a specific area including the target location. The emergency operation command causes the autonomous mobile object to capture an image of a person or a vehicle moving away from the target location, and the autonomous mobile object sends the image to the server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Isao Kanehara, Kazuhiro Umeda, Hideo Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi Okada, Shinjiro Nagasaki
  • Patent number: 11127029
    Abstract: A car sharing management device includes a communication device and an information processing device. The communication device is configured to acquire, from an information terminal owned by a user of a car sharing service, commercial facility information acquired by the information terminal at a commercial facility. The information processing device is configured to determine, based on the commercial facility information, whether the user uses the commercial facility while using the car sharing service. The information processing device is configured to provide the user with a reward in a case where the user uses the commercial facility while using the car sharing service.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Umeda, Takumi Fukunaga, Makoto Akahane, Satoshi Usui
  • Patent number: D991194
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: SMC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Umeda