Patents by Inventor Minoru Higuchi

Minoru Higuchi 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: 20260244222
    Abstract: A patrol robot includes: an imaging device that captures an image; a notification device that notifies an event increasing an industrial accident risk of a worker; and a control device that controls an overall operation of the patrol robot. The control device includes a movement control unit that controls the patrol robot to move in a plant based on a patrol route for patrolling a work area in the plant, a detection unit that processes moving image data captured by the imaging device after start of patrol, during the patrol, thereby detecting the event increasing the industrial accident risk of a worker, and a notification instruction unit that, when the event increasing the industrial accident risk of a worker is detected, performs a notification via the notification device to prompt reduction of the industrial accident risk.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 10, 2026
    Publication date: August 20, 2026
    Inventors: Minoru HIGUCHI, Masahiro KOBAYASHI
  • Publication number: 20260221030
    Abstract: This driving assistance system comprises: an alarming object recognition unit that recognizes a participant who has a high degree of influence on safe driving as an alarming object; a display object setting unit that sets, as a display object, a preceding vehicle 2a recognized as the alarming object; a display control unit that emphasizes the presence of the preceding vehicle 2a set as the display object, on a front glass 51; and a driver recognition detection device that detects the presence or absence of the driver's recognition of surrounding traffic participants. The display object setting unit cancels the setting of the preceding vehicle 2a as the display object when the driver's recognition of the preceding vehicle 2a set as the display object is detected, and thereafter sets the preceding vehicle 2a as the display object again when the degree of influence of the preceding vehicle 2a increases.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 20, 2023
    Publication date: July 30, 2026
    Inventors: Koji DAN, Toshiaki SEO, Takaya YAMAZAKI, Minoru HIGUCHI, Aya SASAKI, Shinichi MURAKAMI
  • Patent number: 12397713
    Abstract: A drive assistance system includes a display object configurator that sets, as a display object or a non-display object, each of traffic participants recognized as alert objects from among nearby traffic participants, and a display controller that performs highlight image processing for highlighting the presence of the display object. When a first traffic participant set as the display object and a second traffic participant set as the non-display object are present in the vicinity of the subject vehicle and recognized as alert objects with the recognition of the first traffic participant by the driver being detected while the highlight image processing is performed, the display object configurator compares the degrees of influence of the first and second traffic participants, sets, as the display object, one of the first and second traffic participants designated on the basis of a result of the comparison, and sets the other as the non-display object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2024
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2025
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD
    Inventors: Koji Dan, Toshiaki Seo, Takaya Yamazaki, Minoru Higuchi, Aya Sasaki, Shinichi Murakami
  • Patent number: 12337862
    Abstract: To reduce a chance that the driver overlooks the object that should be seen, a visual guidance device for guiding a visual line of a driver of the vehicle to an object existing ahead of the vehicle includes an object recognition unit for recognizing the object, and a display control unit for causing the display device to display the visual guidance virtual image for guiding the driver's visual line to a position corresponding to the object recognized by the object recognition unit on a windshield of the vehicle. The display control unit sets a length of the visual guidance virtual image to be displayed by the display device in the vehicle width direction to a length in accordance with a status of the object existing ahead of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2025
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masaki Maruyama, Toshiaki Seo, Minoru Higuchi, Yuya Kishimoto
  • Patent number: 12252149
    Abstract: The alert system includes a projection device, a display control unit, and a target object recognition unit. When a state changes from a state where a target object is not recognized by the target object recognition unit to a state where a target object is recognized by the target object recognition unit, the display control unit causes the projection device to output an alert display on a front window such that the length of the alert display is gradually shortened toward a position where a direction from an operator to the target object intersects with a front window.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2025
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masaki Maruyama, Minoru Higuchi, Yuya Kishimoto, Toshiaki Seo, Masuhito Tanaka, Kazuki Takano, Hidehiro Takeda, Misaki Koseki
  • Patent number: 12122406
    Abstract: An information display device includes a display unit configured to display information about an object such that the information about the object at least partially overlaps with forward view of a user, and a controller configured to control display of the display unit. The controller is configured to estimate or acquire a prospective moving direction of the object, acquire a sight-line frequency representing a frequency with which a sight-line of the user is directed to the object within a prescribed period, determine whether the sight-line frequency is equal to or more than a prescribed frequency threshold, and cause the display unit to display the prospective moving direction of the object at least on condition that the controller determines that the sight-line frequency is less than the frequency threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2024
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Toshiaki Seo, Minoru Higuchi, Shinichi Murakami, Koji Dan, Ryo Iitaka, Takashi Adachi, Takaya Yamazaki, Aya Sasaki
  • Publication number: 20240246489
    Abstract: A drive assistance system includes a display object configurator that sets, as a display object or a non-display object, each of traffic participants recognized as alert objects from among nearby traffic participants, and a display controller that performs highlight image processing for highlighting the presence of the display object. When a first traffic participant set as the display object and a second traffic participant set as the non-display object are present in the vicinity of the subject vehicle and recognized as alert objects with the recognition of the first traffic participant by the driver being detected while the highlight image processing is performed, the display object configurator compares the degrees of influence of the first and second traffic participants, sets, as the display object, one of the first and second traffic participants designated on the basis of a result of the comparison, and sets the other as the non-display object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 17, 2024
    Publication date: July 25, 2024
    Inventors: Koji DAN, Toshiaki SEO, Takaya YAMAZAKI, Minoru HIGUCHI, Aya SASAKI, Shinichi MURAKAMI
  • Publication number: 20240166229
    Abstract: To reduce a chance that the driver overlooks the object that should be seen, a visual guidance device for guiding a visual line of a driver of the vehicle to an object existing ahead of the vehicle includes an object recognition unit for recognizing the object, and a display control unit for causing the display device to display the visual guidance virtual image for guiding the driver's visual line to a position corresponding to the object recognized by the object recognition unit on a windshield of the vehicle. The display control unit sets a length of the visual guidance virtual image to be displayed by the display device in the vehicle width direction to a length in accordance with a status of the object existing ahead of the vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 17, 2022
    Publication date: May 23, 2024
    Inventors: Masaki Maruyama, Toshiaki Seo, Minoru Higuchi, Yuya Kishimoto
  • Patent number: 11966052
    Abstract: An alert system includes a display device, a display control unit, and a target recognition unit. The display control unit: when the number of targets recognized by the target recognition unit is equal to or more than an upper limit number, sets a display range of a surrounding icon as a whole circular area; and in a state where the number of targets is equal to or more than the upper limit number and the display range of the surrounding icon is set as the whole circular area, when the number of targets increases, reduces the size of the surrounding icon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masaki Maruyama, Minoru Higuchi, Yuya Kishimoto, Toshiaki Seo, Masuhito Tanaka, Kazuki Takano, Hidehiro Takeda, Misaki Koseki
  • Publication number: 20240017673
    Abstract: The virtual image display device comprises a surrounding state recognizer that acquires a travel direction distance and a lateral direction distance to an object, and a display controller that displays object icon images I1, I2 in a screen 51. The display controller is capable of switching between displaying an image in a normal mode, in which the display positions of the images I1, I2 move closer in a lateral direction to a lateral reference line L1 as the travel direction distance increases, and move farther away in a screen vertical direction from a screen bottom line L2 as the travel direction distance increases, and displaying the image in a magnification mode, in which a vertical scale, which is the ratio of the distance between the line L2 and the display positions in the screen vertical direction to the orientation direction distance, is larger than in the normal display mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 11, 2023
    Publication date: January 18, 2024
    Inventors: Toshiaki SEO, Minoru HIGUCHI, Shinichi MURAKAMI, Koji DAN, Ryo IITAKA, Takaya YAMAZAKI, Aya SASAKI
  • Patent number: 11745754
    Abstract: The attention calling system includes a detection unit for detecting an object around a moving body, and a attention calling unit for outputting a visual display in a horizontally extending belt-like range on an interior structure of the moving body using a light projection device. The attention calling unit outputs the visual display in the belt-like range at a position corresponding to a direction of the object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masaki Maruyama, Toshiaki Seo, Yuya Kishimoto, Minoru Higuchi
  • Patent number: 11673606
    Abstract: A driving support device includes: a trajectory deriving unit configured to derive a reference trajectory in a predetermined section corresponding to a predetermined curve shape; a frequency deriving unit configured to derive a first frequency which is determined according to a frequency component of a steering angle of a vehicle when it is assumed that the vehicle has passed through the predetermined section along the reference trajectory; a detection value acquiring unit configured to acquire a detection value of the steering angle; a component deriving unit configured to derive a frequency component of the steering angle acquired in the predetermined section when the vehicle has passed through the predetermined section; and a driving support unit configured to determine a driving support operation for a driver of the vehicle on the basis of a result of comparison between an integrated value of the frequency component in a first band equal to or greater than the first frequency and equal to or less than a s
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ryo Iitaka, Minoru Higuchi, Aya Sasaki, Yoshimitsu Akuta
  • Publication number: 20230150528
    Abstract: An information display device includes a display unit configured to display information about an object such that the information about the object at least partially overlaps with forward view of a user, and a controller configured to control display of the display unit. The controller is configured to estimate or acquire a prospective moving direction of the object, acquire a sight-line frequency representing a frequency with which a sight-line of the user is directed to the object within a prescribed period, determine whether the sight-line frequency is equal to or more than a prescribed frequency threshold, and cause the display unit to display the prospective moving direction of the object at least on condition that the controller determines that the sight-line frequency is less than the frequency threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 16, 2022
    Publication date: May 18, 2023
    Inventors: Toshiaki SEO, Minoru HIGUCHI, Shinichi MURAKAMI, Koji DAN, Ryo IITAKA, Takashi ADACHI, Takaya YAMAZAKI, Aya SASAKI
  • Patent number: 11628854
    Abstract: The attention calling system includes the classification unit for classifying an object into a category based on a traffic scene, the risk calculation unit for calculating the risk value with respect to contact with the object based on the category, and the attention calling unit for outputting the visual display in the horizontally extending belt-like range on the windshield of the moving body. The attention calling unit outputs the visual display in the mode adapted to the risk value of the object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masaki Maruyama, Toshiaki Seo, Yuya Kishimoto, Minoru Higuchi
  • Publication number: 20230113575
    Abstract: An alert system includes a display device, a display control unit, and a target recognition unit. The display control unit: when the number of targets recognized by the target recognition unit is equal to or more than an upper limit number, sets a display range of a surrounding icon as a whole circular area; and in a state where the number of targets is equal to or more than the upper limit number and the display range of the surrounding icon is set as the whole circular area, when the number of targets increases, reduces the size of the surrounding icon.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2022
    Publication date: April 13, 2023
    Inventors: Masaki Maruyama, Minoru Higuchi, Yuya Kishimoto, Toshiaki Seo, Masuhito Tanaka, Kazuki Takano, Hidehiro Takeda, Misaki Koseki
  • Publication number: 20230112294
    Abstract: The alert system includes a projection device, a display control unit, and a target object recognition unit. When a state changes from a state where a target object is not recognized by the target object recognition unit to a state where a target object is recognized by the target object recognition unit, the display control unit causes the projection device to output an alert display on a front window such that the length of the alert display is gradually shortened toward a position where a direction from an operator to the target object intersects with a front window.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2022
    Publication date: April 13, 2023
    Inventors: Masaki Maruyama, Minoru Higuchi, Yuya Kishimoto, Toshiaki Seo, Masuhito Tanaka, Kazuki Takano, Hidehiro Takeda, Misaki Koseki
  • Publication number: 20220297755
    Abstract: A driving support device includes: a trajectory deriving unit configured to derive a reference trajectory in a predetermined section corresponding to a predetermined curve shape; a frequency deriving unit configured to derive a first frequency which is determined according to a frequency component of a steering angle of a vehicle when it is assumed that the vehicle has passed through the predetermined section along the reference trajectory; a detection value acquiring unit configured to acquire a detection value of the steering angle; a component deriving unit configured to derive a frequency component of the steering angle acquired in the predetermined section when the vehicle has passed through the predetermined section; and a driving support unit configured to determine a driving support operation for a driver of the vehicle on the basis of a result of comparison between an integrated value of the frequency component in a first band equal to or greater than the first frequency and equal to or less than a s
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2022
    Publication date: September 22, 2022
    Inventors: Ryo Iitaka, Minoru Higuchi, Aya Sasaki, Yoshimitsu Akuta
  • Publication number: 20220289225
    Abstract: The attention calling system includes the classification unit for classifying an object into a category based on a traffic scene, the risk calculation unit for calculating the risk value with respect to contact with the object based on the category, and the attention calling unit for outputting the visual display in the horizontally extending belt-like range on the windshield of the moving body. The attention calling unit outputs the visual display in the mode adapted to the risk value of the object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 18, 2022
    Publication date: September 15, 2022
    Inventors: Masaki Maruyama, Toshiaki Seo, Yuya Kishimoto, Minoru Higuchi
  • Publication number: 20220289226
    Abstract: The attention calling system includes a detection unit for detecting an object around a moving body, and a attention calling unit for outputting a visual display in a horizontally extending belt-like range on an interior structure of the moving body using a light projection device. The attention calling unit outputs the visual display in the belt-like range at a position corresponding to a direction of the object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2022
    Publication date: September 15, 2022
    Inventors: Masaki Maruyama, Toshiaki Seo, Yuya Kishimoto, Minoru Higuchi
  • Patent number: 11390297
    Abstract: A recognition device includes a processor and a memory storing program instructions executable by the processor. The processor is configured to recognize a visual field range which extends from a viewpoint of a driver of a moving object in a line-of-sight direction and extends at a predetermined angle as moving away from the viewpoint with reference to a detection result of a line-of-sight detection device, recognize a target present in a surrounding environment of the moving object shown within image data on the basis of the image data in which surroundings of the moving object are imaged by a visual sensor disposed in the moving object and set an area of the recognized target in a predetermined shape, and set a plurality of determination points in the area of the target and determine whether or not the driver is recognizing the target on the basis of a degree of overlap between the plurality of determination points and the visual field range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masaki Maruyama, Minoru Higuchi