Patents by Inventor Masanobu Hongo

Masanobu Hongo 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: 20240020871
    Abstract: An object recognition device includes an illuminator configured to illuminate an object, an imager configured to take a first-type image of the object when the object is illuminated by the illuminator under a first illumination condition, and take a second-type image of the object when the object is illuminated by the illuminator under a second illumination condition different than the first illumination condition, and circuitry configured to calculate a position of the object based on the first-type image and the second-type image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 26, 2023
    Publication date: January 18, 2024
    Inventors: Masanobu HONGO, Jian LI
  • Publication number: 20230364651
    Abstract: An object recognition device includes an illuminator configured to illuminate an object, an imager configured to generate an image of the object such that overexposure occurs in the image, and circuitry configured to calculate a position of the object based on the image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2023
    Publication date: November 16, 2023
    Inventors: Masanobu HONGO, Jian Li
  • Patent number: 10348918
    Abstract: An image reading apparatus includes a shooter where a first mounting surface that is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane is formed thereon, a stacker, a supporting unit that movably supports the stacker in such a manner that the stacker is arranged in a first region or a second region, a conveyance unit that conveys a document from the shooter to the stacker when the stacker is arranged in the first region, and a reading unit that reads an image from the document when the document is conveyed by the conveyance unit, wherein a surface area of a region of the first mounting surface that is covered by the stacker when the stacker is arranged in the first region is greater as compared with that when the stacker is arranged in the second region, and the stacker is formed to be capable of being lengthened or shortened.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2019
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventors: Masanobu Hongo, Masaaki Yamashita
  • Publication number: 20180352099
    Abstract: An image reading apparatus includes a shooter where a first mounting surface that is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane is formed thereon, a stacker, a supporting unit that movably supports the stacker in such a manner that the stacker is arranged in a first region or a second region, a conveyance unit that conveys a document from the shooter to the stacker when the stacker is arranged in the first region, and a reading unit that reads an image from the document when the document is conveyed by the conveyance unit, wherein a surface area of a region of the first mounting surface that is covered by the stacker when the stacker is arranged in the first region is greater as compared with that when the stacker is arranged in the second region, and the stacker is formed to be capable of being lengthened or shortened.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 10, 2018
    Publication date: December 6, 2018
    Inventors: Masanobu HONGO, Masaaki YAMASHITA
  • Patent number: 9902580
    Abstract: A sheet feeding device includes a document mounting board, in which a downstream end of the document mounting board in the feeding direction of the documents in the feed mechanism is connected to a scanner body so as to be rotatable about a first turning shaft parallel to a rotation shaft of a pickup roller, the first turning shaft is located downstream from the feed mechanism in the feeding direction of the documents in the feed mechanism, a mounting surface of the document mounting board on which the documents are mounted is located above the pickup roller when the documents are mounted on the document mounting board, and the document mounting board turns about the first turning shaft such that the mounting surface moves downward and the mounting surface moves downward from a contact portion of the pickup roller with the document when the documents mounted on the document mounting board are fed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: PFU LIMITED
    Inventors: Hideyuki Okumura, Masanobu Hongo
  • Patent number: 9868599
    Abstract: In a sheet feeding device, a document mounting board includes a first member that includes a first mounting surface and is located on the feed mechanism side in the feeding direction of the documents in the feed mechanism, the first mounting surface being inclined to a lower side toward the feed mechanism, and a second member that includes a second mounting surface on which the documents are mounted and is disposed on a side opposite to the side of the first member on which the feed mechanism is located, and the second member is connected to the first member to be rotatable about a second turning shaft and turns about the second turning shaft depending on the weight of the documents detected by the weight sensor to change an angle with respect to the first member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2018
    Assignee: PFU LIMITED
    Inventors: Hideyuki Okumura, Masanobu Hongo
  • Patent number: 9745160
    Abstract: Provided is a paper transporting device and the like capable of suppressing errors in determining jam occurrences. A paper transporting device has: a transport mechanism; an audio signal output unit that outputs an audio signal according to the sound generated during paper transport; an audio jam determination unit that determines, on the basis of the audio signal, whether a jam has occurred; and a control unit that stops paper transport when the audio jam determination unit determines that a jam has occurred. The control unit controls, in the case of card stock or paperboard being transported by the transport mechanism, so that the audio jam determination unit determines whether a jam has occurred at predetermined times using a determination method that is different than the method at other times or so that the audio jam determination unit does not determine whether a jam has occurred.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventors: Masanobu Hongo, Takayuki Umi, Shuichi Morikawa
  • Publication number: 20170137241
    Abstract: In a sheet feeding device, a document mounting board includes a first member that includes a first mounting surface and is located on the feed mechanism side in the feeding direction of the documents in the feed mechanism, the first mounting surface being inclined to a lower side toward the feed mechanism, and a second member that includes a second mounting surface on which the documents are mounted and is disposed on a side opposite to the side of the first member on which the feed mechanism is located, and the second member is connected to the first member to be rotatable about a second turning shaft and turns about the second turning shaft depending on the weight of the documents detected by the weight sensor to change an angle with respect to the first member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 30, 2017
    Publication date: May 18, 2017
    Inventors: Hideyuki OKUMURA, Masanobu HONGO
  • Publication number: 20170137242
    Abstract: A sheet feeding device includes a document mounting board, in which a downstream end of the document mounting board in the feeding direction of the documents in the feed mechanism is connected to a scanner body so as to be rotatable about a first turning shaft parallel to a rotation shaft of a pickup roller, the first turning shaft is located downstream from the feed mechanism in the feeding direction of the documents in the feed mechanism, a mounting surface of the document mounting board on which the documents are mounted is located above the pickup roller when the documents are mounted on the document mounting board, and the document mounting board turns about the first turning shaft such that the mounting surface moves downward and the mounting surface moves downward from a contact portion of the pickup roller with the document when the documents mounted on the document mounting board are fed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 27, 2017
    Publication date: May 18, 2017
    Inventors: Hideyuki OKUMURA, Masanobu HONGO
  • Patent number: 9592980
    Abstract: There is provided the paper conveying apparatus, jam determining method, and computer program, which can suppress the mistaken determining of the occurrence of a jam by sound due to a sound generated by a moving member driven in relation to conveyance of a paper. The paper conveying apparatus according to an embodiment includes a moving member driven in relation to conveyance of a paper, a drive module for driving the moving member, a sound signal generator for generating a sound signal corresponding to a sound generated by a paper during conveyance of the paper, a sound jam detector for determining whether a jam has occurred based on the sound signal, and a control module for stopping conveyance of a paper when the sound jam detector determines that a jam has occurred.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2017
    Assignee: PFU LIMITED
    Inventor: Masanobu Hongo
  • Publication number: 20160297635
    Abstract: Provided is a paper transporting device and the like capable of suppressing errors in determining jam occurrences. A paper transporting device has: a transport mechanism; an audio signal output unit that outputs an audio signal according to the sound generated during paper transport; an audio jam determination unit that determines, on the basis of the audio signal, whether a jam has occurred; and a control unit that stops paper transport when the audio jam determination unit determines that a jam has occurred. The control unit controls, in the case of card stock or paperboard being transported by the transport mechanism, so that the audio jam determination unit determines whether a jam has occurred at predetermined times using a determination method that is different than the method at other times or so that the audio jam determination unit does not determine whether a jam has occurred.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 26, 2013
    Publication date: October 13, 2016
    Inventors: Masanobu Hongo, Takayuki Umi, Shuichi Morikawa
  • Publication number: 20160251183
    Abstract: There is provided the paper conveying apparatus, jam determining method, and computer program, which can suppress the mistaken determining of the occurrence of a jam by sound due to a sound generated by a moving member driven in relation to conveyance of a paper. The paper conveying apparatus according to an embodiment includes a moving member driven in relation to conveyance of a paper, a drive module for driving the moving member, a sound signal generator for generating a sound signal corresponding to a sound generated by a paper during conveyance of the paper, a sound jam detector for determining whether a jam has occurred based on the sound signal, and a control module for stopping conveyance of a paper when the sound jam detector determines that a jam has occurred.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2013
    Publication date: September 1, 2016
    Inventor: Masanobu Hongo
  • Patent number: 9039010
    Abstract: There are provided a paper conveying apparatus, a jam detection method and a computer-readable, non-transitory medium that can suppress erroneous detection of an occurrence of a jam by sound due to the sound generated along with conveyance of a paper. The paper conveying apparatus includes a first sound signal generator for generating a first sound signal corresponding to a sound generated by a paper during conveyance, at least a part of the first sound signal generator is provided at one end of a conveyance path of the paper, a second sound signal generator for generating a second sound signal corresponding to the sound, at least a part of the second sound signal generator is provided at the other end of the conveyance path, and a sound jam detector for determining whether a jam has occurred based on a difference of the first sound signal and the second sound signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2015
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventors: Takayuki Umi, Masanobu Hongo
  • Patent number: 8991820
    Abstract: There are provided a paper conveying apparatus, a jam detection method and a computer-readable, non-transitory medium that can suppress erroneous detection of a jam. The paper conveying apparatus includes a sound signal generator, provided with a sound detector near a conveyance path of a paper, for generating a sound signal, and a sound jam detector for determining whether a jam has occurred based on a variation of a component of the sound signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventors: Masanobu Hongo, Tetsuo Funada, Nobuhisa Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 8934115
    Abstract: There are provided a paper conveying apparatus that can precisely determine the presence of occurrence of a jam by a jam sound. The paper conveying apparatus includes an analog sound signal generator for generating an analog sound signal corresponding to a sound generated by the paper during conveyance of the paper, a corrected signal generator for generating a signal acquiring the peak hold of the analog sound signal or a signal detecting the analog sound signal as a corrected signal, a digital converter for sampling the corrected signal and converting the corrected signal to a digital format to generate a digital sound signal, and a sound jam detector for determining whether a jam has occurred based on the digital sound signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventors: Masanobu Hongo, Takayuki Umi
  • Patent number: 8925921
    Abstract: There are provided a paper conveying apparatus, an abnormality detection method and a computer-readable, non-transitory medium which can precisely determine whether an abnormality has occurred when paper is conveyed. The paper conveying apparatus includes a sound generator for generating a paper sound by contacting a paper, a first sound signal generator for generating a first sound signal corresponding to the paper sound, and an abnormal conveyance detector for determining whether an abnormal conveyance has occurred when the paper is being conveyed according to a detection method, wherein the abnormal conveyance detector is configured to change the detection method based on the first sound signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventors: Shuichi Morikawa, Masanobu Hongo, Ryoichi Yasukawa, Takayuki Umi
  • Patent number: 8925920
    Abstract: There are provided a paper conveying apparatus, a jam detection method and a computer-readable, non-transitory medium that suppress erroneous detection of occurrence of a jam by a sound due to a sound generated from the apparatus. The paper conveying apparatus includes a sound signal generator, provided with a sound detector near a conveyance path of paper, for generating a sound signal, a sound jam detector for determining whether a jam has occurred based on the sound signal output during a paper conveying operation, a control module for performing abnormal processing when the sound jam detector determines that the jam has occurred, and an abnormal sound detector for determining whether an abnormal sound has been generated based on the sound signal output before a paper conveying operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventors: Takayuki Umi, Masanobu Hongo
  • Publication number: 20140327925
    Abstract: There are provided a paper conveying apparatus that can precisely determine the presence of occurrence of a jam by a jam sound. The paper conveying apparatus includes an analog sound signal generator for generating an analog sound signal corresponding to a sound generated by the paper during conveyance of the paper, a corrected signal generator for generating a signal acquiring the peak hold of the analog sound signal or a signal detecting the analog sound signal as a corrected signal, a digital converter for sampling the corrected signal and converting the corrected signal to a digital format to generate a digital sound signal, and a sound jam detector for determining whether a jam has occurred based on the digital sound signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 12, 2014
    Publication date: November 6, 2014
    Applicant: PFU LIMITED
    Inventors: Masanobu Hongo, Takayuki Umi
  • Patent number: 8870181
    Abstract: There are provided a paper conveying apparatus which can effectively detect a sound which is generated when a jam occurs for various types of jams. The paper conveying apparatus includes a side guide, arranged to be movable in a direction which is perpendicular to a conveyance direction of a paper placed on a paper tray, for restricting a width direction of the paper, a sound signal generator, provided at the side guide so that a sound detector moves in accordance with movement of the side guide, for generating a sound signal corresponding to a sound generated by the paper during conveyance of the paper, and a sound jam detector for determining whether a jam has occurred based on the sound signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2014
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventors: Shuichi Morikawa, Masanobu Hongo, Takayuki Umi
  • Patent number: 8864131
    Abstract: A paper conveying apparatus includes a sound signal generator for generating a sound signal, a sound jam detector for determining whether a jam has occurred based on the sound signal, a control module for stopping conveyance of a paper when the sound jam detector determines that the jam has occurred, a paper state detector for detecting a state of the paper, and a recovery processing module for performing recovery processing which resumes conveyance of the paper in accordance with a content of detection of the paper state detector when the sound signal generator outputs a predetermined sound signal after stopping conveyance of the paper by the control module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventors: Masanobu Hongo, Takayuki Umi