Patents by Inventor Keisuke Kuwahara

Keisuke Kuwahara 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: 11845436
    Abstract: A vehicle travel locus transmission system to be mounted on a vehicle includes a GNSS receiver, a vehicle-side transceiver, a locator processor, a wheel speed sensor, a gyro sensor, and an acceleration rate sensor. The locator processor generates, on predetermined cycles, a latest first linear coordinate as a linear function parameter that couples latest first positional coordinates and second positional coordinates on a previous cycle. The first and second positional coordinates are to be acquired on the basis of a positioning signal received by the GNSS receiver. On the condition that an angle formed by the first linear coordinate with an extension of a second linear coordinate generated on the previous cycle exceeds a predetermined threshold, the locator processor sends data regarding the first linear coordinate together with vehicle identification data, from the vehicle-side transceiver to an external device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ryosuke Namba, Keisuke Kuwahara, Masato Mizoguchi
  • Patent number: 11423780
    Abstract: A traffic control system includes a vehicle control apparatus and a traffic control apparatus. The vehicle control apparatus includes a travel environment data transmission unit and a travel control unit. The traffic control apparatus includes a data supplementability determination unit and a data supplementation unit. The data supplementability determination unit determines whether or not data regarding a communication-disrupted vehicle out of a plurality of vehicles is supplementable on the basis of travel environment data received from a nearby vehicle traveling near the communication-disrupted vehicle. The data supplementation unit generates traffic environment data supplemented with the data regarding the communication-disrupted vehicle, on the basis of the travel environment data received from the nearby vehicle, and transmits the traffic environment data generated, to the nearby vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2022
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Keisuke Kuwahara
  • Publication number: 20220169253
    Abstract: A vehicle travel locus transmission system to be mounted on a vehicle includes a GNSS receiver, a vehicle-side transceiver, a locator processor, a wheel speed sensor, a gyro sensor, and an acceleration rate sensor. The locator processor generates, on predetermined cycles, a latest first linear coordinate as a linear function parameter that couples latest first positional coordinates and second positional coordinates on a previous cycle. The first and second positional coordinates are to be acquired on the basis of a positioning signal received by the GNSS receiver. On the condition that an angle formed by the first linear coordinate with an extension of a second linear coordinate generated on the previous cycle exceeds a predetermined threshold, the locator processor sends data regarding the first linear coordinate together with vehicle identification data, from the vehicle-side transceiver to an external device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 18, 2021
    Publication date: June 2, 2022
    Applicant: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ryosuke NAMBA, Keisuke KUWAHARA, Masato MIZOGUCHI
  • Patent number: 11279362
    Abstract: An automatic driving assist apparatus includes a map information acquirer; an own vehicle position estimator; a route information input unit; a traveling environment information acquirer, a traveling route setting unit, an other-vehicle traveling route acquirer, and an automatic driving controller. The automatic driving controller further includes a target travel path generator, an other-vehicle detection determiner, and a relative vehicle speed determiner, an other-vehicle traveling route determiner, and an automatic traveling controller. The automatic traveling controller causes the own vehicle to travel following another vehicle along a target travel path generated by the target travel path generator in a case where the other-vehicle traveling route determiner determines that a traveling route of the other vehicle is set in a direction of a branch path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Keisuke Kuwahara
  • Patent number: 11267488
    Abstract: An automatic driving control apparatus for a vehicle can selectively switch between a manual driving mode in which a driver manually performs driving operation of the vehicle and an automatic driving mode in which driving operation is performed automatically along a target traveling route. The apparatus includes a driver identifier that identifies the driver, a driving experience value evaluation unit that evaluates a driving experience value based on a traveling history in the manual driving mode of the identified driver, a shift permission time setting unit that sets a shift permission time from the manual driving mode to the automatic driving mode based on the driving experience value, and a driving mode switching unit that controls the driving mode so as to be switchable to the automatic driving mode on condition that at least a driving time by the driver in the manual driving mode exceeds the shift permission time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ryosuke Namba, Hajime Oyama, Masato Mizoguchi, Keisuke Kuwahara
  • Patent number: 11269333
    Abstract: An automatic drive assist apparatus includes a storage, an own-vehicle position estimator, a route-information input device, a traveling route setter, and an automatic drive controller including a rerouting request determiner, a course comparator, and a course-change achievability determiner. The automatic drive controller causes an own vehicle automatically traveling along a traveling route determined by the traveling route setter. When the rerouting request determiner determines that a new traveling route is reconstructed in response to a rerouting request, the course comparator reads a candidate route of the new traveling route, compares the candidate route with the traveling route determined before the reconstruction, and determines whether a route change is set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Keisuke Kuwahara
  • Patent number: 11209819
    Abstract: A driving control system includes an automatic driving control device and a driver monitoring device. The automatic driving control device includes a driver state determining unit, an override detector, a retreat mode controller, and a retreat mode canceler. During traveling under an automatic driving mode, when the driver state determining unit determines from a driver state detected by the driver monitoring device that the driver is not in a state capable of driving normally, the retreat mode controller sets a retreat mode in which an override operation is disabled and an own vehicle is caused to travel for retreat. When the driver state determining unit determines, during traveling for retreat, that the driver has returned to the state capable of driving normally, the retreat mode canceler cancels the retreat mode, and enables detection of the override operation of the driver by the override detector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Keisuke Kuwahara
  • Publication number: 20210201679
    Abstract: A traffic control system includes a vehicle control apparatus and a traffic control apparatus. The vehicle control apparatus includes a travel environment data transmission unit and a travel control unit. The traffic control apparatus includes a data supplementability determination unit and a data supplementation unit. The data supplementability determination unit determines whether or not data regarding a communication-disrupted vehicle out of a plurality of vehicles is supplementable on the basis of travel environment data received from a nearby vehicle traveling near the communication-disrupted vehicle. The data supplementation unit generates traffic environment data supplemented with the data regarding the communication-disrupted vehicle, on the basis of the travel environment data received from the nearby vehicle, and transmits the traffic environment data generated, to the nearby vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2020
    Publication date: July 1, 2021
    Inventor: Keisuke KUWAHARA
  • Patent number: 11046312
    Abstract: A vehicle travel support device includes: a guide route setting unit; a travel environment information acquisition unit; a target traveling path setting unit; an inter-vehicle distance keep control unit; a lateral movement amount calculation unit; an obstacle avoidance action detection unit; and a preceding vehicle following controller. The guide route setting unit sets a guide route for a host vehicle. The travel environment information acquisition unit acquires travel environment information. The target traveling path setting unit sets a target traveling path. The inter-vehicle distance keep control unit causes the host vehicle to travel to keep a set distance from a preceding vehicle. The lateral movement amount calculation unit calculates a lateral movement amount of the preceding vehicle. The obstacle avoidance action detection unit detects an obstacle avoidance action of the preceding vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventors: Satoshi Terayama, Masatoshi Hoshina, Yasuhiro Sekijima, Keisuke Kuwahara
  • Patent number: 10994740
    Abstract: A vehicle driving control system has an automatic driving mode that enables traveling without a driver's operation. The vehicle driving control system includes a driver monitor that monitors a driver in a vehicle compartment, and detects a driver state, a driver state determining unit that determines, based on the driver state, whether the driver is in a state capable of driving normally, a retreat mode controller that controls a retreat mode that causes an own vehicle to travel for retreat to a place where the own vehicle can safely stop when it is determined, during traveling under the automatic driving mode, that the driver is not in the state capable of driving normally, and a retreat mode canceler that cancels the retreat mode when it is determined, during the travel for retreat, that the driver has returned to the state capable of driving normally.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Keisuke Kuwahara
  • Publication number: 20210078604
    Abstract: A automatic driving control apparatus for a vehicle can selectively switch a driving mode between a manual driving mode in which a driver manually performs driving operation of the own vehicle and an automatic driving mode in which driving operation is performed automatically along a set target traveling route. The automatic driving control apparatus includes a driving skill evaluation unit and a driving mode switching unit. The driving skill evaluation unit is configured to monitor the driving operation by the driver during traveling in the manual driving mode and evaluate a driving skill of the driver. The driving mode switching unit is configured to control the driving mode so as to be switchable to the automatic driving mode on condition that at least an evaluation value of the driver by the driving skill evaluation unit exceeds a threshold set in advance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2020
    Publication date: March 18, 2021
    Inventors: Ryosuke NAMBA, Hajime OYAMA, Masato MIZOGUCHI, Keisuke KUWAHARA
  • Publication number: 20210078605
    Abstract: An automatic driving control apparatus for a vehicle can selectively switch between a manual driving mode in which a driver manually performs driving operation of the vehicle and an automatic driving mode in which driving operation is performed automatically along a target traveling route. The apparatus includes a driver identifier that identifies the driver, a driving experience value evaluation unit that evaluates a driving experience value based on a traveling history in the manual driving mode of the identified driver, a shift permission time setting unit that sets a shift permission time from the manual driving mode to the automatic driving mode based on the driving experience value, and a driving mode switching unit that controls the driving mode so as to be switchable to the automatic driving mode on condition that at least a driving time by the driver in the manual driving mode exceeds the shift permission time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2020
    Publication date: March 18, 2021
    Inventors: Ryosuke NAMBA, Hajime OYAMA, Masato MIZOGUCHI, Keisuke KUWAHARA
  • Publication number: 20200377102
    Abstract: An automatic driving assist apparatus includes a map information acquirer; an own vehicle position estimator; a route information input unit; a traveling environment information acquirer, a traveling route setting unit, an other-vehicle traveling route acquirer, and an automatic driving controller. The automatic driving controller further includes a target travel path generator, an other-vehicle detection determiner, and a relative vehicle speed determiner, an other-vehicle traveling route determiner, and an automatic traveling controller. The automatic traveling controller causes the own vehicle to travel following another vehicle along a target travel path generated by the target travel path generator in a case where the other-vehicle traveling route determiner determines that a traveling route of the other vehicle is set in a direction of a branch path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 3, 2020
    Publication date: December 3, 2020
    Inventor: Keisuke KUWAHARA
  • Patent number: 10795376
    Abstract: An automatic driving control apparatus includes a controller. Upon execution of an automatic driving control of a vehicle, the controller determines, on the basis of a result of positioning and map information, presence or absence of a tollgate within a predetermined distance from the vehicle. The controller makes a transition to a tollgate passing mode, on a condition that the presence of the tollgate is determined within the predetermined distance and an increase in width of the road is further recognized on the basis of a result of recognition of an outside environment. In the tollgate passing mode, the controller sets a first target path on the basis of position information, of the tollgate, that is recognized on the basis of the result of the recognition of the outside environment. The first target path is a target path along which the vehicle is to pass through the tollgate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2020
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akiyuki Abe, Masatoshi Hoshina, Keisuke Kuwahara, Yasuhiro Sekijima
  • Publication number: 20200262441
    Abstract: A vehicle driving control system has an automatic driving mode that enables traveling without a driver's operation. The vehicle driving control system includes a driver monitor that monitors a driver in a vehicle compartment, and detects a driver state, a driver state determining unit that determines, based on the driver state, whether the driver is in a state capable of driving normally, a retreat mode controller that controls a retreat mode that causes an own vehicle to travel for retreat to a place where the own vehicle can safely stop when it is determined, during traveling under the automatic driving mode, that the driver is not in the state capable of driving normally, and a retreat mode canceler that cancels the retreat mode when it is determined, during the travel for retreat, that the driver has returned to the state capable of driving normally.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2019
    Publication date: August 20, 2020
    Inventor: Keisuke KUWAHARA
  • Publication number: 20200264606
    Abstract: A driving control system includes an automatic driving control device and a driver monitoring device. The automatic driving control device includes a driver state determining unit, an override detector, a retreat mode controller, and a retreat mode canceler. During traveling under an automatic driving mode, when the driver state determining unit determines from a driver state detected by the driver monitoring device that the driver is not in a state capable of driving normally, the retreat mode controller sets a retreat mode in which an override operation is disabled and an own vehicle is caused to travel for retreat. When the driver state determining unit determines, during traveling for retreat, that the driver has returned to the state capable of driving normally, the retreat mode canceler cancels the retreat mode, and enables detection of the override operation of the driver by the override detector.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2019
    Publication date: August 20, 2020
    Inventor: Keisuke KUWAHARA
  • Publication number: 20200103903
    Abstract: An automatic drive assist apparatus includes a storage, an own-vehicle position estimator, a route-information input device, a traveling route setter, and an automatic drive controller including a rerouting request determiner, a course comparator, and a course-change achievability determiner. The automatic drive controller causes an own vehicle automatically traveling along a traveling route determined by the traveling route setter. When the rerouting request determiner determines that a new traveling route is reconstructed in response to a rerouting request, the course comparator reads a candidate route of the new traveling route, compares the candidate route with the traveling route determined before the reconstruction, and determines whether a route change is set.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 3, 2019
    Publication date: April 2, 2020
    Inventor: Keisuke KUWAHARA
  • Patent number: 10569788
    Abstract: An automatic driving control apparatus includes a controller. Upon execution of automatic driving control, the controller determines, on the basis of positioning and map information, presence of a tollgate within a predetermined distance from a vehicle. The controller makes a transition to a tollgate passing mode, on a condition that the presence of the tollgate is determined within the predetermined distance and an increase in width of the road is recognized on the basis of the recognition of the outside environment. The controller causes the vehicle to approach the tollgate, on the basis of one or both of the map information and position information of an object recognized on the basis of the recognition of the outside environment, in a first period of time during which the tollgate passing mode is set and a position of the tollgate is unrecognizable on the basis of the recognition of the outside environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2020
    Assignee: SUBARU CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akiyuki Abe, Masatoshi Hoshina, Yasuhiro Sekijima, Keisuke Kuwahara
  • Publication number: 20180281793
    Abstract: A vehicle travel support device includes: a guide route setting unit; a travel environment information acquisition unit; a target traveling path setting unit; an inter-vehicle distance keep control unit; a lateral movement amount calculation unit; an obstacle avoidance action detection unit; and a preceding vehicle following controller. The guide route setting unit sets a guide route for a host vehicle. The travel environment information acquisition unit acquires travel environment information. The target traveling path setting unit sets a target traveling path. The inter-vehicle distance keep control unit causes the host vehicle to travel to keep a set distance from a preceding vehicle. The lateral movement amount calculation unit calculates a lateral movement amount of the preceding vehicle. The obstacle avoidance action detection unit detects an obstacle avoidance action of the preceding vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 10, 2018
    Publication date: October 4, 2018
    Inventors: Satoshi TERAYAMA, Masatoshi HOSHINA, Yasuhiro SEKIJIMA, Keisuke KUWAHARA
  • Publication number: 20180150084
    Abstract: An automatic driving control apparatus includes a controller. Upon execution of an automatic driving control of a vehicle, the controller determines, on the basis of a result of positioning and map information, presence or absence of a tollgate within a predetermined distance from the vehicle. The controller makes a transition to a tollgate passing mode, on a condition that the presence of the tollgate is determined within the predetermined distance and an increase in width of the road is further recognized on the basis of a result of recognition of an outside environment. In the tollgate passing mode, the controller sets a first target path on the basis of position information, of the tollgate, that is recognized on the basis of the result of the recognition of the outside environment. The first target path is a target path along which the vehicle is to pass through the tollgate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 15, 2017
    Publication date: May 31, 2018
    Inventors: Akiyuki ABE, Masatoshi HOSHINA, Keisuke KUWAHARA, Yasuhiro SEKIJIMA