Patents by Inventor Nobuhide Kamata

Nobuhide Kamata 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: 20210107513
    Abstract: A vehicle travel control device executes vehicle travel control such that a vehicle follows a target trajectory. An automated driving control device generates a first target trajectory that is the target trajectory for automated driving of the vehicle. The vehicle travel control device further determines whether or not an activation condition of travel assist control is satisfied. When the activation condition is satisfied, the vehicle travel control device generates a second target trajectory that is the target trajectory for the travel assist control. Even when the second target trajectory is generated during the automated driving, or when the second target trajectory is generated during the automated driving and a priority condition for giving priority to the first target trajectory is satisfied, the vehicle travel control device executes the vehicle travel control by giving more weight to the first target trajectory than to the second target trajectory.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 14, 2020
    Publication date: April 15, 2021
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takayuki GOTO, Yoshinori WATANABE, Nobuhide KAMATA, Kazuyuki FUJITA, Masahiro HARADA
  • Publication number: 20210107516
    Abstract: A vehicle control system generates at least one primary candidate of a target trajectory for an automated driving of a vehicle and executes a primary evaluation. An evaluation index of the primary evaluation includes a travel safety level of a travel to follow the primary candidate. The primary candidate having highest travel safety level is selected as at least one strong candidate of the target trajectory. If only one is selected as the strong candidate, the vehicle control system determines the selected strong candidate as a finalist candidate of the target trajectory. If two or more strong candidates are selected, the vehicle control system executes a secondary evaluation for the strong candidates to determine the finalist candidate. An additional evaluation index is used in the secondary evaluation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 13, 2020
    Publication date: April 15, 2021
    Inventors: Kazuyuki Fujita, Yoshinori Watanabe, Takayuki Goto, Masahiro Harada, Nobuhide Kamata
  • Publication number: 20210107521
    Abstract: The vehicle control system includes a first unit configured to generate a target trajectory for the automated driving, and a second unit configured to execute vehicle travel control such that the vehicle follows the target trajectory. During the automated driving, the second unit is configured to control a travel control amount of the vehicle travel control, acquire driving environment information, and perform preventive safety control for intervening in the travel control amount so as to prevent or avoid a collision between the vehicle and an obstacle based on the driving environment information. In the preventive safety control, the second unit is configured to acquire a driving involvement degree indicating a degree of involvement of a person in driving of the vehicle, and to change an intervention degree to the travel control amount in the preventive safety control based on the driving involvement degree.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 12, 2020
    Publication date: April 15, 2021
    Inventors: Kazuyuki Fujita, Yoshinori Watanabe, Takayuki Goto, Masahiro Harada, Nobuhide Kamata
  • Publication number: 20210055741
    Abstract: An autonomous driving system that performs a traveling of an autonomous driving vehicle based on a remote instruction by a remote commander includes: a vehicle position acquisition unit configured to acquire a position of the autonomous driving vehicle on the map; an external environment recognition unit configured to recognize an external environment of the autonomous driving vehicle; a remote instruction location situation recognition unit configured to recognize a remote instruction location situation on a target route of the autonomous driving vehicle set in advance based on the target route, the position of the autonomous driving vehicle on the map, and map information; and a remote instruction request determination unit configured to determine whether or not to request the remote commander for the remote instruction with regard to the remote instruction location situation, based on the external environment of the autonomous driving vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2020
    Publication date: February 25, 2021
    Inventors: Taichi KAWANAI, Kazuhiko KAMIKADO, Hideyuki MATSUI, Hayato ITO, Nobuhide KAMATA, Tomoyuki KURIYAMA, Yasuhiro KOBATAKE
  • Publication number: 20200348682
    Abstract: A vehicle control device includes a tracking unit estimating a motion of a moving object, a model selection unit selecting a motion model corresponding to a moving object type, an abnormality determination unit determining a presence or absence of an abnormality of the estimation of the motion of the moving object based on the estimated moving object motion and the motion indicated by the motion model, and a control unit. A control mode in which the control unit controls traveling of a host vehicle when the abnormality determination unit determines that the abnormality is present differs from a control mode in which the control unit controls the traveling of the host vehicle when the abnormality determination unit determines that the abnormality is absent.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 16, 2020
    Publication date: November 5, 2020
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Nobuhide Kamata
  • Publication number: 20200301409
    Abstract: A remote control system able to remotely control an autonomously driving vehicle, comprises a communication device able to communicate with the vehicle, an input device to be operated by an operator for intervening in control of the vehicle, a margin calculating part configured to calculate an operator intervention margin showing a possibility of an operator being able to intervene in control of the vehicle, and an instructing part configured to send the vehicle instructions relating to control of the vehicle through the communication device. The instructing part is configured to send the vehicle instructions from the operator when the input device is operated by the operator and send the vehicle an instruction for changing a driving plan of the vehicle when the operator intervention margin is equal to or less than a predetermined value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2020
    Publication date: September 24, 2020
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Nobuhide Kamata, Yasuo Uehara, Nozomu Hatta, Shunsuke Tanimori
  • Publication number: 20200298880
    Abstract: A self-driving vehicle driving control system and a self-driving vehicle are provided. The system comprises: a self-driving vehicle which is capable of autonomous driving, and which includes a vehicle sensor which acquires first information representing a status of surroundings of the self-driving vehicle, etc.; a first server which generates a first driving instruction based on the first information, and which transmits the generated first driving instruction to the self-driving vehicle; and a second server which acquires second information representing the status of the surroundings of the self-driving vehicle, etc. from an external sensor, the second server generating a second driving instruction based on the second information, and transmitting the generated second driving instruction to the self-driving vehicle; wherein driving of the self-driving vehicle is controlled in accordance with the first or second driving instruction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 17, 2020
    Publication date: September 24, 2020
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Nobuhide Kamata, Yasuo Uehara, Nozomu Hatta, Shunsuke Tanimori
  • Patent number: 10754347
    Abstract: A vehicle control device includes a tracking unit estimating a motion of a moving object, a model selection unit selecting a motion model corresponding to a moving object type, an abnormality determination unit determining a presence or absence of an abnormality of the estimation of the motion of the moving object based on the estimated moving object motion and the motion indicated by the motion model, and a control unit. A control mode in which the control unit controls traveling of a host vehicle when the abnormality determination unit determines that the abnormality is present differs from a control mode in which the control unit controls the traveling of the host vehicle when the abnormality determination unit determines that the abnormality is absent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Nobuhide Kamata
  • Publication number: 20200265720
    Abstract: A dispatch device includes an information acquisition unit that acquires, for each of a plurality of vehicles, location information indicating a location of the vehicle and loaded object information indicating a status of an object of transportation loaded on the vehicle and a vehicle dispatching unit that dispatches an unfilled vehicle that can carry an object of transportation so that a predetermined number or higher number of unfilled vehicles, are present around an operating vehicle that is carrying an object of transportation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2020
    Publication date: August 20, 2020
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yasuo Uehara, Nobuhide Kamata, Nozomu Hatta, Shunsuke Tanimori
  • Publication number: 20200262454
    Abstract: A travel control device is configured to make an autonomous driving vehicle travel in such a way that the autonomous driving vehicle arrives at a specified position specified by a user who intends to board the autonomous driving vehicle, when the autonomous driving vehicle has reached a predetermined range from the specified position, transmit an information sending request notifying the user terminal that the autonomous driving vehicle has reached a vicinity of the specified position and requesting sending of position identifying information for identifying a position at which the user intends to board the autonomous driving vehicle to the user terminal via a communication circuit, and when receiving the position identifying information via the communication circuit, change a position of the autonomous driving vehicle, based on the position identifying information in such a way that the autonomous driving vehicle comes close to the user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 12, 2020
    Publication date: August 20, 2020
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yasuo UEHARA, Nobuhide KAMATA, Nozomu HATTA, Shunsuke TANIMORI
  • Publication number: 20200239032
    Abstract: The vehicle allocation apparatus includes a vehicle assignment unit that assigns a self-driving vehicle to a vehicle dispatch request including ride location information indicating a ride location of a prospective passenger wishing for dispatch of the self-driving vehicle, a travel instruction unit that instructs, through a communication unit, the assigned self-driving vehicle to move via the ride location, and a ride confirmation unit that acquires, from the assigned self-driving vehicle, ride information indicating whether the prospective passenger has ridden in the assigned self-driving vehicle after arrival of the assigned self-driving vehicle at the ride location.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 22, 2020
    Publication date: July 30, 2020
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Nobuhide Kamata, Yasuo Uehara, Nozomu Hatta, Shunsuke Tanimori
  • Publication number: 20200224466
    Abstract: A luggage lock device includes: a plurality of luggage lock mechanisms able to store luggage of a user of a vehicle so that when locked, the luggage is restricted from being taken out; and a luggage lock control device connected to the plurality of luggage lock mechanisms. The luggage lock control device is configured to: control the plurality of luggage lock mechanisms; acquire a destination of a user; and recognize a user who stowed luggage in the luggage lock mechanism and the luggage lock mechanism in which the user stowed the luggage, and wherein the luggage lock control device is configured to unlock a luggage lock mechanism storing luggage of the user arriving at the destination when the vehicle reaches the destination of the user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 9, 2020
    Publication date: July 16, 2020
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Nobuhide Kamata, Yasuo Uehara, Nozomu Hatta, Shunsuke Tanimori
  • Publication number: 20200193734
    Abstract: The control device of a vehicle configured to: control a door lock mechanism locking a door of the vehicle; make the vehicle stop when the vehicle is in a specific abnormal state; and determine if it is safe for a user of the vehicle to get off the vehicle from each door of the vehicle while the vehicle is stopped when the vehicle is in the specific abnormal state, wherein the control device controls the door lock mechanism such that a door is maintained in a locked state while the vehicle is being driven and while the vehicle is stopped when the vehicle is not in the specific abnormal state, unlocks the door determined to be safe to get off by the door lock mechanism, and does not unlock the door determined to not be safe to get off when the vehicle is stopped when entering the specific abnormal state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2019
    Publication date: June 18, 2020
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Nobuhide Kamata, Yasuo Uehara, Nozomu Hatta, Shunsuke Tanimori
  • Publication number: 20200191584
    Abstract: A control part of a traffic control apparatus receives from a car-mounted device of one vehicle among a plurality of vehicles through a communicating part a projected time of arrival of that one vehicle at a destination and, if so, judges if there is a simultaneously arriving vehicle with the same desired drop-off position at the destination as the one vehicle and with the projected time of arrival at the destination in the same time frame from among the plurality of vehicles and, if there is a simultaneously arriving vehicle, determines vehicle stopping priorities at the desired drop-off position between the one vehicle and the simultaneously arriving vehicle based on information relating to the passengers in the one vehicle and the simultaneously arriving vehicle to be dropped off at the destination.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 10, 2019
    Publication date: June 18, 2020
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Nobuhide Kamata, Yasuo Uehara, Nozomu Hatta, Shunsuke Tanimori
  • Publication number: 20200193839
    Abstract: The platooning management system organizes a platoon for performing platooning by electronically connecting vehicle-to-vehicle of a plurality of vehicles. The system is configured to include a list presentation process for presenting a list including information of active vehicles corresponding to platooning travel by electronic connection among target vehicles stopped in a target area, an acceptance process for accepting designated platoon candidate vehicles and their platoon order for platooning travel from among active vehicles, a determination process for determining suitability of a designated platoon organized according to the platoon candidate vehicle and the platoon order to the platooning travel, and an output process for outputting a determination result determined by the determination process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 12, 2019
    Publication date: June 18, 2020
    Inventors: Nobuhide Kamata, Eiji Sakaguchi, Tomoyuki Kuriyama
  • Publication number: 20200193835
    Abstract: A control part of a traffic control apparatus preparing scheduled driving routes of a plurality of vehicles based on current positions and destinations of the plurality of vehicles received through a communicating part or receiving scheduled driving routes of the plurality of vehicles through the communicating part, judging if, among the plurality of vehicles, there are two or more close vehicles with projected times of driving or projected times of arrival in an area in which the scheduled driving routes overlap becoming the same time frame, and, when there are close vehicles, determining the driving/stopping priorities of the close vehicles in the area based on information relating to the passengers picked up in the respective close vehicles.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 10, 2019
    Publication date: June 18, 2020
    Inventors: Nobuhide Kamata, Yasuo Uehara, Nozomu Hatta, Shunsuke Tanimori
  • Publication number: 20200168102
    Abstract: The platooning system performs platooning of a vehicle group in which a plurality of vehicles are electronically connected. When a part of the electronic connection is interrupted and the vehicle group is divided into a first vehicle group and a second vehicle group, the platooning system determines a feasible driving support level of a lead vehicle of the second vehicle group. Then, when the determined driving support level is a high-grade driving support level, the platooning system performs platooning of the second vehicle group by driving support based on the high-grade driving support level. On the other hand, when the determined driving support level is a low-grade driving support level, the platooning system controls the operation of the platooning of the second vehicle group on the basis of the information as to whether or not the driver is on board the lead vehicle of the second vehicle group.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 22, 2019
    Publication date: May 28, 2020
    Inventors: Nobuhide Kamata, Eiji Sakaguchi, Tomoyuki Kuriyama
  • Patent number: 10663584
    Abstract: Systems and methods for publishing LIDAR cluster data are described. The vehicle can identify one or more clusters based on data from the LIDAR sensor. The identified one or more clusters can be representative of at least one object in an external environment of the vehicle. Additionally, the vehicle can publish the identified one or more clusters before the LIDAR sensor completes a full 360 degree rotation about the axis of rotation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Katsuhiro Sakai, Nobuhide Kamata, Michael J. Delp, Michael R. James
  • Publication number: 20200148223
    Abstract: A vehicle control device controlling a vehicle capable of switching between an automatic driving mode and a driver involvement mode in which a driver is involved includes a blind spot boundary specifying unit configured to specify a boundary of a region becoming a blind spot of the vehicle, a traveling plan generation unit configured to generate a traveling plan in which the vehicle does not collide with a moving body assumed to be positioned on the blind spot boundary specified by the blind spot boundary specifying unit, a determination unit configured to determine whether or not the traveling plan generated by the traveling plan generation unit satisfies a predetermined condition, and a switching unit configured to switch the vehicle from the automatic driving mode to the driver involvement mode when the determination unit determines that the traveling plan satisfies the predetermined condition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 5, 2019
    Publication date: May 14, 2020
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Ryosuke FUKATANI, Nobuhide KAMATA
  • Publication number: 20200139979
    Abstract: A map information system includes a map database including map information; and a driving assist level determination device. The map information is associated with an evaluation value indicating a certainty of the map information for each location in an absolute coordinate system. Information indicating that the intervention operation is performed is included in driving environment information indicating a driving environment of a vehicle. The driving assist level determination device is configured to acquire, based on the driving environment information, intervention operation information indicating an intervention operation location where the intervention operation is performed, acquire, based on the map information, the evaluation value for each point or section in a target range, and determine, based on the evaluation value and the intervention operation location, an allowable level for each point or section within the target range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2019
    Publication date: May 7, 2020
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Taichi KAWANAI, Yasuhiro TAKAGI, Masahiro HARADA, Nobuhide KAMATA, Eiji SAKAGUCHI, Keisuke HOKAI, Hideyuki MATSUI, Kazuhiko KAMIKADO, Yusuke HAYASHI, Hideo FUKAMACHI