Patents by Inventor Michihiro KUROKI

Michihiro KUROKI 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: 11932248
    Abstract: A vehicle control apparatus performs a following travel mode in which an own vehicle travels while following a followed vehicle ahead of the own vehicle. The apparatus includes a surrounding object detection section that acquires detection information regarding a surrounding object, a space determination section that uses the detection information to determine presence/absence of a free space located laterally to an own lane, a setting condition determination section that determines whether a first other vehicle having entered the own lane from the free space or a second other vehicle traveling ahead of a preceding vehicle having entered the free space from the own lane meets a setting condition for setting the first or second other vehicle as the followed vehicle, and an automated driving control section that sets the first or second other vehicle as the followed vehicle to perform the following travel mode if the setting condition is met.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takumi Uematsu, Mitsuhiro Tokimasa, Michihiro Kuroki
  • Patent number: 11878688
    Abstract: In a vehicle control apparatus, an entry determiner determines, while one of the following traveling mode and the constant-speed traveling mode is performed by the vehicle control apparatus, whether an entry condition is satisfied in response to determination that there is at least one other crossing vehicle. The entry condition enables the at least one other crossing vehicle to cross in front of the own vehicle to thereafter enter the enterable space without colliding with the own vehicle. An autonomous driving controller switches, upon the entry condition being determined to be satisfied, the performed one of the following traveling mode and the constant-speed traveling mode to a crossing mode that controls traveling of the own vehicle to ensure a predetermined space in front of the own vehicle. The predetermined space enables the at least one other crossing vehicle to cross in front of the own vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takumi Uematsu, Mitsuhiro Tokimasa, Michihiro Kuroki
  • Patent number: 11428804
    Abstract: To provide a vehicle detection system capable of detecting a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of an own vehicle based on a position of an object by using an electromagnetic wave sensor while suppressing erroneous detection, an ECU determines if first and second positions detected by a millimeter wave radar are included in the same vehicle. The ECU designates calculated information of the preceding vehicle detected based on the first position as a calculation result if it determines that detection of the preceding vehicle is made based on the first position. The ECU uses calculated information of the preceding vehicle detected based on the second position as the calculation result when it determines that detection of the vehicle is not made based on the first position but the first and the second positions had been determined in the past as detected in the same vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignees: DENSO CORPORATION, TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Michihiro Kuroki, Mitsuhiro Tokimasa, Hiroshi Yamada, Naoki Kusumoto
  • Publication number: 20210114595
    Abstract: In a vehicle control apparatus, an entry determiner determines, while one of the following traveling mode and the constant-speed traveling mode is performed by the vehicle control apparatus, whether an entry condition is satisfied in response to determination that there is at least one other crossing vehicle. The entry condition enables the at least one other crossing vehicle to cross in front of the own vehicle to thereafter enter the enterable space without colliding with the own vehicle. An autonomous driving controller switches, upon the entry condition being determined to be satisfied, the performed one of the following traveling mode and the constant-speed traveling mode to a crossing mode that controls traveling of the own vehicle to ensure a predetermined space in front of the own vehicle. The predetermined space enables the at least one other crossing vehicle to cross in front of the own vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2020
    Publication date: April 22, 2021
    Inventors: Takumi UEMATSU, Mitsuhiro TOKIMASA, Michihiro KUROKI
  • Publication number: 20210107482
    Abstract: A vehicle control apparatus performs a following travel mode in which an own vehicle travels while following a followed vehicle ahead of the own vehicle. The apparatus includes a surrounding object detection section that acquires detection information regarding a surrounding object, a space determination section that uses the detection information to determine presence/absence of a free space located laterally to an own lane, a setting condition determination section that determines whether a first other vehicle having entered the own lane from the free space or a second other vehicle traveling ahead of a preceding vehicle having entered the free space from the own lane meets a setting condition for setting the first or second other vehicle as the followed vehicle, and an automated driving control section that sets the first or second other vehicle as the followed vehicle to perform the following travel mode if the setting condition is met.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2020
    Publication date: April 15, 2021
    Inventors: Takumi UEMATSU, Mitsuhiro TOKIMASA, Michihiro KUROKI
  • Patent number: 10906543
    Abstract: A vehicle control system includes a preceding vehicle selector that selects a pair of preceding vehicles, a target pair recognizer that executes a pairing process of storing a distance between a first target and a second target belonging to the respective preceding vehicles as an offset, and an intervehicular distance setter that sets both of a distance between an own vehicle and a first target as an intervehicular distance when the first target and the second target are detected as a target pair, and a distance corrected based on the offset as an intervehicular distance when the first target out of the target pair is not detected. The target pair recognizer stores a history of determination parameters including at least one of changes in relative distance, relative speed, and lateral deviation amount between the first and second targets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Michihiro Kuroki, Takuma Sudo, Yohei Masui
  • Publication number: 20200256981
    Abstract: To provide a vehicle detection system capable of detecting a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of an own vehicle based on a position of an object by using an electromagnetic wave sensor while suppressing erroneous detection, an ECU determines if first and second positions detected by a millimeter wave radar are included in the same vehicle. The ECU designates calculated information of the preceding vehicle detected based on the first position as a calculation result if it determines that detection of the preceding vehicle is made based on the first position. The ECU uses calculated information of the preceding vehicle detected based on the second position as the calculation result when it determines that detection of the vehicle is not made based on the first position but the first and the second positions had been determined in the past as detected in the same vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 5, 2020
    Publication date: August 13, 2020
    Inventors: Michihiro KUROKI, Mitsuhiro TOKIMASA, Hiroshi YAMADA, Naoki KUSUMOTO
  • Publication number: 20190322277
    Abstract: A vehicle control system includes a preceding vehicle selector that selects a pair of preceding vehicles, a target pair recognizer that executes a pairing process of storing a distance between a first target and a second target belonging to the respective preceding vehicles as an offset, and an intervehicular distance setter that sets both of a distance between an own vehicle and a first target as an intervehicular distance when the first target and the second target are detected as a target pair, and a distance corrected based on the offset as an intervehicular distance when the first target out of the target pair is not detected. The target pair recognizer stores a history of determination parameters including at least one of changes in relative distance, relative speed, and lateral deviation amount between the first and second targets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 23, 2019
    Publication date: October 24, 2019
    Inventors: Michihiro KUROKI, Takuma SUDO, Yohei MASUI