Patents by Inventor Noriaki Ikemoto

Noriaki Ikemoto 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: 11186259
    Abstract: A wiper drive device includes: a drive member that is configured to cause a wiper blade to wipe a region of a windshield as a wiping operation, the region of the windshield including a to-be-imaged region of the windshield, the to-be-imaged region being included in a field of view of a camera which images a predefined imaging range near a vehicle through the windshield; and a stop section that is configured to stop the wiper blade in an outside region in response to that an anomaly that hinders the wiping operation occurs while the drive member causes the wiper blade to perform the wiping operation on the windshield, the outside region being a region of the windshield outside of the to-be-imaged region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomomi Hase, Mitsuharu Higashitani, Noriaki Ikemoto, Hidetoshi Suzuki, Shogo Hanai, Keisuke Koide
  • Patent number: 11124198
    Abstract: In an ECU mounted on an own vehicle having a display device or a speaker device, a first acquisition part acquires external environment information outside of the own vehicle. A detection part detects whether the own vehicle has entered a first state based on the acquired external environment information, the first state represents accumulation of snowfall which prevents the own vehicle from performing smooth driving. An information control part instructs the display unit or the speaker device to provide information that the own vehicle has entered the first state to a user of the own vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mitsuharu Higashitani, Noriaki Ikemoto
  • Patent number: 10946764
    Abstract: A controller is applied to a vehicle including an engine (11) and a motor generator (12 and 13) as power sources of the vehicle and a battery (20) that transfers power with the motor generator. The controller charges the battery with a regeneration power that is a power regenerated by the motor generator when the vehicle is decelerated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Youhei Morimoto, Yutaro Ito, Noriaki Ikemoto, Masuhiro Kondo, Takahiro Narita
  • Patent number: 10926778
    Abstract: An autonomous vehicle control device for controlling an own vehicle that is an autonomous vehicle including an alarm sound output device which outputs alarm sound for at least a person. In the autonomous vehicle control device, a determination unit determines whether there is an abnormality in the alarm sound output device during execution of autonomous driving. When the determination unit determines that there is an abnormality in the alarm sound output device, a safety assurance unit performs a safety assurance process for assuring human safety.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomomi Hase, Noriaki Ikemoto, Mitsuharu Higashitani
  • Patent number: 10737692
    Abstract: A parking assistance control apparatus for assisting parking a vehicle including a charging port that is connectable to electrical supply equipment via a charging cable. In the apparatus, a charging port recognizer is configured to recognize a mounting location of the charging port on the vehicle. An electrical supply equipment recognizer is configured to recognize an installation location of the electrical supply equipment. A parking assistance controller is configured to, based on the mounting location of the charging port on the vehicle and the installation location of the electrical supply equipment, determine a parking manner to park the vehicle, and based on the determined parking manner, perform parking assistance control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mitsuharu Higashitani, Noriaki Ikemoto
  • Publication number: 20200233437
    Abstract: A traveling control device includes: a peripheral recognition unit which recognizes a status around an own vehicle; an abnormality determination unit which determines whether an abnormality has occurred in the recognition function of the peripheral recognition unit; and a control unit which, if the abnormality determination unit has determined that an abnormality has occurred in the recognition function of the peripheral recognition unit, executes procedure modification control to modify an automatic driving procedure in the automatic driving system in accordance with an abnormality recognition direction which is a direction in which the abnormality in the recognition function has occurred.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 10, 2020
    Publication date: July 23, 2020
    Applicant: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomomi HASE, Noriaki IKEMOTO, Mitsuharu HIGASHITANI
  • Publication number: 20200166950
    Abstract: An automatic driving control device mounted in an automatic driving vehicle for executing automatic driving along a planned travelling route includes: a driving execution unit that executes driving of the automatic driving vehicle; a communication unit that communicates with outside of the automatic driving vehicle; and a control unit that executes the automatic driving by controlling the driving execution unit. The communication unit has a first receiving unit that receives instruction signals for instructing driving contents of the automatic driving vehicle. The control unit has a first determination unit that determines provisional driving contents which are the driving contents of the automatic driving vehicle according to the instruction signals, when the instruction signals are received during execution of the automatic driving, and the control unit executes the automatic driving using the determined provisional driving contents.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 3, 2020
    Publication date: May 28, 2020
    Applicant: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomomi HASE, Noriaki IKEMOTO, Mitsuharu HIGASHITANI
  • Patent number: 10665102
    Abstract: A parking system includes first and second communicators. The first communicator is configured to be mounted on a vehicle and perform communication. The second communicator is configured to be mounted on a communication device owned by a user and perform communication. The first and second communicators are configured to communicate with a wireless communication service in a mutually exclusive manner by using the same information as service setting information. At least one of the vehicle and the communication device enables the first communicator in the vehicle to communicate by using the wireless communication service in at least one of a first period during execution of automatic parking, and a second period during execution of pick-up traveling, by transmitting a switching request for switching an active communicator in the wireless communication service, to a management apparatus managing a relationship between the service setting information and a related communicator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomomi Hase, Noriaki Ikemoto
  • Patent number: 10661780
    Abstract: A controller includes a SOC prediction unit to predict a SOC, based on a predicted result of a road grade and a vehicle speed in a scheduled travel route, and a discharge control unit to execute a discharge increasing control to previously increase a discharge quantity of the battery to prevent the battery from becoming in a saturation state based on a predicted SOC, when the battery becomes in the saturation state. The discharge control unit includes a first mode to execute an assist discharge increasing control in an assist travel, and a second mode to execute an EV discharge increasing control by decreasing the vehicle speed and by increasing an opportunity of an EV travel, as the discharge increasing control. When the EV discharge increasing control can be executed, the EV discharge increasing control is executed with priority relative to the assist discharge increasing control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Youhei Morimoto, Yutaro Ito, Noriaki Ikemoto, Masuhiro Kondo, Takahiro Narita
  • Publication number: 20200130710
    Abstract: A control device includes a device status sensor which senses the status of a safety device installed to an autonomous vehicle, and a vehicle controller which controls the autonomous vehicle. The vehicle controller is capable of implementing each of a normal travel mode and a safe travel mode in which the level of safety is higher than in the normal travel mode. In response to the device status sensor sensing that the safety device has been unlocked, the vehicle controller performs the process of switching from the normal travel mode to the safe travel mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2019
    Publication date: April 30, 2020
    Applicant: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomomi HASE, Noriaki IKEMOTO, Mitsuharu HIGASHITANI
  • Publication number: 20200134335
    Abstract: In a control apparatus for an automated driving vehicle, a receiving unit receives an external start signal that is a signal for starting automated driving in the automated driving vehicle and is transmitted from outside the automated driving vehicle. A control unit performs processes required for automated driving. A person determining unit determines whether a person is present inside a vehicle cabin of the automated driving vehicle. An operating unit is provided inside the vehicle cabin and receives a single or a plurality of operations for starting automated driving in the automated driving vehicle. In response to the person determining unit determining that a person is present inside the vehicle cabin, the control unit does not start automated driving even when the receiving unit receives the external start signal and starts automated driving only when an operation on the operating unit is performed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2019
    Publication date: April 30, 2020
    Applicant: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mitsuharu HIGASHITANI, Noriaki IKEMOTO, Tomomi HASE
  • Publication number: 20200079324
    Abstract: A wiper drive device includes: a drive member that is configured to cause a wiper blade to wipe a region of a windshield as a wiping operation, the region of the windshield including a to-be-imaged region of the windshield, the to-be-imaged region being included in a field of view of a camera which images a predefined imaging range near a vehicle through the windshield; and a stop section that is configured to stop the wiper blade in an outside region in response to that an anomaly that hinders the wiping operation occurs while the drive member causes the wiper blade to perform the wiping operation on the windshield, the outside region being a region of the windshield outside of the to-be-imaged region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 18, 2019
    Publication date: March 12, 2020
    Applicant: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomomi HASE, Mitsuharu HIGASHITANI, Noriaki IKEMOTO, Hidetoshi SUZUKI, Shogo HANAI, Keisuke KOIDE
  • Publication number: 20200079366
    Abstract: An automatic driving control system includes power sources, a relay device changing connection states of the power sources, a relay control device controlling the relay device, a status recognizing unit recognizing a status of the own vehicle on a planned traveling route, and an automatic driving control unit controlling automatic driving. The status recognizing unit recognizes that a collision probability of a collision with an object during the automatic driving is a predetermined threshold or more, and also recognizes a damage-expected power source included in the power sources and expected to be damaged in a collision with the object. When the collision probability is the predetermined threshold or more, the automatic driving control unit instructs the relay control device to disconnect the damage-expected power source from particular auxiliary units and to connect, to the particular auxiliary units, a power source that is not the damage-expected power source.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2019
    Publication date: March 12, 2020
    Applicant: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mitsuharu HIGASHITANI, Noriaki IKEMOTO, Tomomi HASE
  • Publication number: 20200079347
    Abstract: A travel control device includes: a first planning unit that, in response to the automobile being predicted to enter a restricted section in which a traveling condition is restricted, plans a traveling mode satisfying the restricted traveling condition as a first traveling mode in the restricted section; a second planning unit that plans a second traveling mode in a preparation section so as to perform the first traveling mode planned by the first planning unit, the preparation section being defined as a section extending to the restricted section before the automobile enters the restricted section, the second traveling mode adjusting a value of at least one parameter related to the first traveling mode to a preparation value appropriate for the first traveling mode; a control unit that controls travel of the automobile in the preparation section so as to perform the second traveling mode planned by the second planning unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2019
    Publication date: March 12, 2020
    Applicant: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kensuke UEDA, Yutaro ITO, Noriaki IKEMOTO, Youhei MORIMOTO
  • Publication number: 20200039527
    Abstract: A travel control apparatus includes a state detection unit that detects whether each of at least three power sources of the autonomous driving system including one or more electricity storage devices and one or more power generators is in a normal state or in a malfunctioning state; and a mode setting unit that sets a fail operation mode corresponding to a type of at least one of the power sources upon determination that the at least one of the power sources is in the malfunctioning state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 15, 2019
    Publication date: February 6, 2020
    Applicant: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomomi HASE, Mitsuharu HIGASHITANI, Noriaki IKEMOTO
  • Publication number: 20200043254
    Abstract: A data storage device is mounted on a vehicle on which an autonomous driving control device performs an autonomous driving control. The data storage device includes an abnormality detector and a controller. The abnormality detector detects an abnormal state including at least one of an abnormality in an occupant of the vehicle and an abnormality in the surrounding environment of the vehicle. When the abnormality detector detects the abnormal state, the controller causes a storage medium to store determination information allowing for determination of whether a subject driving the vehicle is the autonomous driving control device. The determination information includes at least one of a control amount of the autonomous driving control, basis information for the control amount, an operation amount of the vehicle, actual output information of the vehicle, and information directly indicating whether autonomous driving is ON.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 11, 2019
    Publication date: February 6, 2020
    Applicant: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomomi HASE, Noriaki IKEMOTO, Mitsuharu HIGASHITANI
  • Patent number: 10538234
    Abstract: A vehicle control device that includes a search unit that searches, based on geographic information to be supplied from a navigation device, for a deceleration start position before a downhill that is suited to regeneration by a motor; and a charge level control unit that performs, when a vehicle reaches the deceleration start position, deceleration control for reducing a charge level of a battery by reducing a vehicle speed. When the charge level control unit performs the deceleration control, the vehicle speed is reduced by reducing a driving force of the vehicle to a level at which only motor output is used as the driving force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2020
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yutaro Ito, Youhei Morimoto, Noriaki Ikemoto, Takahiro Narita, Masuhiro Kondo
  • Publication number: 20200017115
    Abstract: An autonomous driving control system is configured to perform autonomous driving of a vehicle. The autonomous driving control system includes: an electric power supply circuit including a plurality of electric power supplies, electric power supply lines respectively belonging to a plurality of systems and a relay device; a fault detector configured to detect a fault state of the relay device; an electric power supply controller configured to control the electric power supply circuit; and an autonomous driving control unit provided to control the autonomous driving of the vehicle. The autonomous driving control unit is configured to perform, upon detection by the fault detector of occurrence of a fault corresponding to a specific fault pattern in the relay device, a restricted autonomous driving control in which part of a control function of the autonomous driving is restricted compared to when no fault corresponding to the specific fault pattern is detected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2019
    Publication date: January 16, 2020
    Applicant: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mitsuharu HIGASHITANI, Noriaki IKEMOTO, Tomomi HASE
  • Patent number: 10532729
    Abstract: A vehicle control device includes an engine, and a motor that is driven by power to be supplied from a battery, the vehicle control device controlling a vehicle that uses at least one of engine output and motor output as a driving force. The vehicle control device includes a regeneration control and a downhill-acceleration control unit. The regeneration control unit causes the motor to perform regeneration on a downhill. The downhill-acceleration control unit performs downhill acceleration control for causing, in a specific zone on the downhill, the vehicle to travel at increased speed without allowing the vehicle to use the engine output as drive output, and without causing the motor to perform the regeneration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2020
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yutaro Ito, Youhei Morimoto, Noriaki Ikemoto, Takahiro Narita, Masuhiro Kondo
  • Publication number: 20190347934
    Abstract: A parking system includes first and second communicators. The first communicator is configured to be mounted on a vehicle and perform communication. The second communicator is configured to be mounted on a communication device owned by a user and perform communication. The first and second communicators are configured to communicate with a wireless communication service in a mutually exclusive manner by using the same information as service setting information. At least one of the vehicle and the communication device enables the first communicator in the vehicle to communicate by using the wireless communication service in at least one of a first period during execution of automatic parking, and a second period during execution of pick-up traveling, by transmitting a switching request for switching an active communicator in the wireless communication service, to a management apparatus managing a relationship between the service setting information and a related communicator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2019
    Publication date: November 14, 2019
    Applicant: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomomi HASE, Noriaki IKEMOTO