Patents by Inventor Masaya Nakao
Masaya Nakao 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).
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Patent number: 5930406Abstract: A position detection apparatus for detecting a position of an object includes a video image producer which produces a video image signal representing the object image. The video image signal is divided into first and second level portions by an edge point. An edge point detector detects the edge point where said level difference is greater than a threshold level. A window filter is provided to increase this level difference to a level greater than a threshold so that the edge point detector can detect the edge point even when the level difference is smaller than the threshold level. A shape detector detects the position of the object based on thus detected edge point.Type: GrantFiled: February 22, 1995Date of Patent: July 27, 1999Assignee: Matsushita Electric Insustrial Co., Ltd.Inventors: Yoshihiro Itsuzaki, Kinji Horikami, Masaya Nakao, Misuzu Takano
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Patent number: 5881167Abstract: A method of position recognition, includes a step of obtaining a gray image by picking up an image of an object by an image pickup device; a step of scanning the gray image by a profile scanning window composed of a plurality of gray-level detection areas which cross a scanning profile corresponding to a profile of the object on the gray image and using to measure a gray-level representative value of an inner-side gray-level detection area and a gray-level representative value of an outer-side gray-level detection area which are inside and outside of the scanning profile; a step of calculating for each gray-level detection area an absolute value of a difference between the measured gray-level representative value of an inner-side gray-level detection area and the measured gray-level representative value of an outer-side gray-level detection area, and a step of detecting a position of the profile scanning window where a number of such gray-level detection areas in which the absolute value is greater than a speType: GrantFiled: January 8, 1997Date of Patent: March 9, 1999Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.Inventors: Misuzu Takano, Yoshihiro Itsuzaki, Kinji Horikami, Masaya Nakao
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Patent number: 5742701Abstract: An alignment detection apparatus is able to accurately detect the alignment condition of an upper hole and a lower hole located under the upper hole even when a scanning window does not precisely match either of the two holes. This alignment detection apparatus comprises an image producer which produces a digital density image indicative of these two holes. A position detector detects positions of the holes based on the digital image signal and produces a position signal. A displacement detector detects a distance between the upper hole and lower hole based on the position signal and produces a displacement signal indicative of the thus detected distance. Based on the displacement signal, the alignment condition of two holes including the information of how the lower hole edge is displaced from the upper hole edge can be detected.Type: GrantFiled: February 15, 1995Date of Patent: April 21, 1998Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.Inventors: Misuzu Takano, Kinji Horikami, Yoshihiro Itsuzaki, Masaya Nakao
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Patent number: 5689581Abstract: An inspection method for judging whether an object is defective or not uses a neural network comprising an input neuron which quantizes input feature quantities based on present quantization ranges, a plurality of intermediate neuron coupled to the input neuron with coupling coefficients determined from quantized feature quantities and a pair of output neurons coupled to respective intermediate neurons with intermediate coupling coefficients obtained by learning in which the intermediate coupling coefficients are initially set so that any object is judged to be defective and are fitted so that if an object is nondefective then it is judged to be nondefective by performing learning with use of nondefective objects.Type: GrantFiled: February 27, 1995Date of Patent: November 18, 1997Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.Inventors: Masaya Nakao, Susumu Maruno, Yasuharu Shimeki
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Patent number: 5642434Abstract: Each pixel of a density reference area of a reference image is assigned a predetermined coefficient value in accordance with whether the pixel is located within a peripheral boundary of a to be detected shape, external the peripheral boundary of the to-be-detected shape, or on the peripheral boundary of the to-be-detected shape. An actual image of an object containing the to-be-detected shape is then obtained, and after setting a target pixel of the resultant image, the image density of each pixel is multiplied by the coefficient values of the density reference area of the reference image. The resultant products are transformed into a density correlation value for the target pixel. The location of the target pixel is then scanned to determine the location of a target pixel at which a maximum or a minimum density correlation value is obtained. The thus determined location is detected as the location of the to-be-detected shape within the object.Type: GrantFiled: July 14, 1994Date of Patent: June 24, 1997Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.Inventors: Masaya Nakao, Yoshihiro Itsuzaki, Kinji Horikami, Misuzu Takano
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Patent number: 5579415Abstract: A method for position recognition, includes the steps of: picking up an image of an object having a circular arc shape as at least part of its profile, by an image pickup device; converting image information of the picked-up image in gray image data and storing the gray image data into a storage device; scanning the stored gray image with a profile scanning window composed of plural gray-level detection areas crossing an imaginary scanning circular profile corresponding to the shape on the gray image and arranged in circular along the scanning circular profile and using it to measure gray-level representative values of an inner- and outer-side gray-level detection areas inside and outside of the scanning circular profile; calculating, at each scanning position during scanning and for each detection area, an absolute value of a difference between the measured gray-level representative values of the inner- and outer-side gray-level detection areas; determining a number of such detection areas in which the absolType: GrantFiled: August 29, 1994Date of Patent: November 26, 1996Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.Inventors: Misuzu Takano, Yoshihiro Itsuzaki, Kinji Horikami, Masaya Nakao, Kazumasa Okumura
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Patent number: 5446801Abstract: Positions of overlapping first and second circular holes of respective first and second objects are detected, the first and second objects to be screwed together by a robotic screwing mechanism. An upper surface of the first object is viewed with an image pick-up device to obtain an image of the first circular hole and a partial image of the second circular hole which overlaps the image of the first circular hole. Two maximally spaced-apart boundary points from among the boundary points along an outer periphery of the partial image are detected. First and second circles within an image frame are defined which include the two maximally spaced-apart boundary points and which have respective centers of gravity which are symmetric to each other relative to a line segment connecting the maximally spaced-apart boundary points. The positions of the first and second circular holes are detected based on the defined first and second circles within the image frame.Type: GrantFiled: March 1, 1994Date of Patent: August 29, 1995Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.Inventors: Yoshihiro Itsuzaki, Misuzu Takano, Kinji Horikami, Masaya Nakao
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Patent number: 5392364Abstract: A method for discerning whether an object to be inspected is acceptable or not is based on feature values with respect to a binary-coded image of the object.Type: GrantFiled: May 20, 1992Date of Patent: February 21, 1995Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.Inventors: Haruhiko Yokoyama, Masaya Nakao
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Patent number: 5319720Abstract: An appearance inspecting method includes the steps of dividing a recognized image of an object into regions based on two attributes of image points within the image calculating the minimum distance of each point within a target region to a periphery of the target region, and measuring a size of the target region from the maximum of the calculated minimum distances of the points in the target region.Type: GrantFiled: July 14, 1992Date of Patent: June 7, 1994Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.Inventors: Haruhiko Yokoyama, Masaya Nakao