Patents by Inventor Taiga NIIMI

Taiga NIIMI 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: 12276958
    Abstract: A control system includes a control target and plural devices, and the control target and the devices are connected to a network. The control system includes a program storage provided in each device storing a control program that calculates control data using data exchanged with the control target, an execution module and a disposition module. The execution module is included in each device and causes a processor to execute programs including a disposed control program. The disposition module disposes control programs in one or more of the devices. The disposition module determines a device in which the control program is disposed from among the plural devices based on a communication delay time between the devices and information about a resource usable for execution of the control program of each device for each control program.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2025
    Assignee: OMRON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ryota Akai, Mitsuhiro Yoneda, Taiga Niimi, Nobuyuki Sakatani, Shigenori Sawada
  • Patent number: 12222708
    Abstract: A control system includes one or more control devices, and an information processing device. The information processing device and the one or more control devices are communicatively connected and time-synchronized with each other. The information processing device includes a processor configured to perform control calculation processing of calculating control data in accordance with control calculation based on data received from each of the one or more control devices. Each of the control devices includes a controller configured to perform input/output processing of transferring incoming data from a field device to the information processing device and outputting the control data received from the information processing device to the field device, and the control calculation processing and the input/output processing are performed within a period of time based on the time synchronization and shared between each of the control devices and the information processing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2025
    Assignee: OMRON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mitsuhiro Yoneda, Nobuyuki Sakatani, Ryota Akai, Taiga Niimi, Shigenori Sawada
  • Patent number: 12199822
    Abstract: According to the present invention, when there is a change in a network configuration, timers of a changed network configuration are synchronized with a timer having high accuracy among the timers. This control system has a network configuration in which one or more control devices each for controlling a target can be communicably connected to a network, and each of the one or more control devices has: a timer for managing time with accuracy; a communicator for transmitting a control command to a target corresponding to said control device on the basis of the time managed by the timer; and a timer synchronizer that, when the network configuration is changed, time-synchronizes, among timers of each control device of a changed network configuration, timers with another timer having higher accuracy than the timers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: OMRON Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuhiro Yoneda, Taiga Niimi, Ryota Akai, Nobuyuki Sakatani, Shigenori Sawada
  • Patent number: 12166850
    Abstract: The present invention decides a reference timer for synchronizing time in consideration of an indicator which indicates a length of a transmission path. A timer decision means for deciding a reference timer out of timers having a plurality of transfer apparatuses acquires, for each of the plurality of transfer apparatuses, a path indicator which indicates a length of a path on a network through which data passes from the transfer apparatus to an end apparatus, and decides a reference timer out of timers of one or more transfer apparatuses having the path indicator which indicates that a path to the end apparatus has a predetermined length out of the plurality of transfer apparatuses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: OMRON Corporation
    Inventors: Taiga Niimi, Mitsuhiro Yoneda, Ryota Akai, Nobuyuki Sakatani, Shigenori Sawada
  • Patent number: 12153393
    Abstract: A control system includes plural control devices connected to a network, each of the control devices including a program storage, an operation module, and an arbitration module. The program storage stores a control program including a command to calculate and update a control instruction that is a value related to control of a control target. The operation module operates the control program of the program storage of the control device. The arbitration module disposes plural control programs including a command to calculate and update an identical control instruction in another one of the plural control devices, and arbitrates an operation time between the plural control programs such that updatings of the identical control instruction do not conflict with each other in the plural control programs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2024
    Assignee: OMRON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Taiga Niimi, Mitsuhiro Yoneda, Ryota Akai, Nobuyuki Sakatani, Shigenori Sawada
  • Patent number: 11811547
    Abstract: A control system, apparatus, and method are provided. In the control system, plural apparatuses in time synchronization with one another are connected to a network, and the network transfers a frame periodically exchanged by the apparatuses. The apparatuses include a control device and an apparatus controlled by the control device. Each apparatus in the control system is connected over the network, to a first apparatus that transmits a frame that arrives at each of the apparatuses and a second apparatus that receives a frame transmitted from each of the apparatuses. Each apparatus includes information on a frame transfer path and transfer timing based on a synchronous time. When a frame does not arrive at defined time through the transfer path and when a condition associated with a cycle is satisfied, one or more of the apparatuses is configured to transmit a resend request through the transfer path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: OMRON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mitsuhiro Yoneda, Nobuyuki Sakatani, Ryota Akai, Taiga Niimi, Shigenori Sawada
  • Publication number: 20220357715
    Abstract: A control system includes plural control devices connected to a network, each of the control devices including a program storage, an operation module, and an arbitration module. The program storage stores a control program including a command to calculate and update a control instruction that is a value related to control of a control target. The operation module operates the control program of the program storage of the control device. The arbitration module disposes plural control programs including a command to calculate and update an identical control instruction in another one of the plural control devices, and arbitrates an operation time between the plural control programs such that updatings of the identical control instruction do not conflict with each other in the plural control programs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 10, 2020
    Publication date: November 10, 2022
    Applicant: OMRON Corporation
    Inventors: Taiga NIIMI, Mitsuhiro YONEDA, Ryota AKAI, Nobuyuki SAKATANI, Shigenori SAWADA
  • Publication number: 20220286267
    Abstract: The present invention decides a reference timer for synchronizing time in consideration of an indicator which indicates a length of a transmission path. A timer decision means for deciding a reference timer out of timers having a plurality of transfer apparatuses acquires, for each of the plurality of transfer apparatuses, a path indicator which indicates a length of a path on a network through which data passes from the transfer apparatus to an end apparatus, and decides a reference timer out of timers of one or more transfer apparatuses having the path indicator which indicates that a path to the end apparatus has a predetermined length out of the plurality of transfer apparatuses.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 10, 2020
    Publication date: September 8, 2022
    Applicant: OMRON Corporation
    Inventors: Taiga NIIMI, Mitsuhiro YONEDA, Ryota AKAI, Nobuyuki SAKATANI, Shigenori SAWADA
  • Publication number: 20220247632
    Abstract: According to the present invention, when there is a change in a network configuration, timers of a changed network configuration are synchronized with a timer having high accuracy among the timers. This control system has a network configuration in which one or more control devices each for controlling a target can be communicably connected to a network, and each of the one or more control devices has: a timer for managing time with accuracy; a communicator for transmitting a control command to a target corresponding to said control device on the basis of the time managed by the timer; and a timer synchronizer that, when the network configuration is changed, time-synchronizes, among timers of each control device of a changed network configuration, timers with another timer having higher accuracy than the timers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 10, 2020
    Publication date: August 4, 2022
    Applicant: OMRON Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuhiro YONEDA, Taiga NIIMI, Ryota AKAI, Nobuyuki SAKATANI, Shigenori SAWADA
  • Publication number: 20220173922
    Abstract: A control system, apparatus, and method are provided. In the control system, plural apparatuses in time synchronization with one another are connected to a network, and the network transfers a frame periodically exchanged by the apparatuses. The apparatuses include a control device and an apparatus controlled by the control device. Each apparatus in the control system is connected over the network, to a first apparatus that transmits a frame that arrives at each of the apparatuses and a second apparatus that receives a frame transmitted from each of the apparatuses. Each apparatus includes information on a frame transfer path and transfer timing based on a synchronous time. When a frame does not arrive at defined time through the transfer path and when a condition associated with a cycle is satisfied, one or more of the apparatuses is configured to transmit a resend request through the transfer path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 18, 2020
    Publication date: June 2, 2022
    Applicant: OMRON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mitsuhiro YONEDA, Nobuyuki SAKATANI, Ryota AKAI, Taiga NIIMI, Shigenori SAWADA
  • Publication number: 20220147022
    Abstract: A control system includes one or more control devices, and an information processing device. The information processing device and the one or more control devices are communicatively connected and time-synchronized with each other. The information processing device includes a processor configured to perform control calculation processing of calculating control data in accordance with control calculation based on data received from each of the one or more control devices. Each of the control devices includes a controller configured to perform input/output processing of transferring incoming data from a field device to the information processing device and outputting the control data received from the information processing device to the field device, and the control calculation processing and the input/output processing are performed within a period of time based on the time synchronization and shared between each of the control devices and the information processing device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 18, 2020
    Publication date: May 12, 2022
    Applicant: OMRON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mitsuhiro YONEDA, Nobuyuki SAKATANI, Ryota AKAI, Taiga NIIMI, Shigenori SAWADA
  • Patent number: 11128571
    Abstract: A communication system in which a plurality of communication apparatuses in time synchronization with one another are connected over a network is provided. Each of the communication apparatuses includes management means for allowing transmission in accordance with a predetermined communication schedule, of cyclically transmitted first data to be used for control of a manufacturing apparatus or a production facility, second data which should be delivered to a destination within a designated time period, and third data different from the first and second data, selection means for selecting a data transfer scheme for each piece of data to be transmitted from among an on-the-fly scheme, a cut-through scheme, and a store-and-forward scheme based on the communication schedule, and a transmission and reception circuit which transfers each piece of data received from another communication apparatus to yet another communication apparatus in accordance with the data transfer scheme determined for that data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: OMRON Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuhiro Yoneda, Taiga Niimi, Hiroshi Sawada, Nobuyuki Sakatani, Tatsuya Kitaguchi
  • Patent number: 10999367
    Abstract: A communication apparatus connected to a network over which data is updated every predetermined cycle is provided. The communication apparatus includes first scheduling means for securing a first communication band necessary for updating every predetermined cycle, first data to be used for control of a manufacturing apparatus or a production facility, second scheduling means for securing a second communication hand necessary for delivering second data to a destination within a designated time period in a communication hand other than the first communication band of communication bands of the network, and third scheduling means for securing a third communication band for transmitting third data in a communication band set as neither of the first communication band and the second communication band of the communication bands of the network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignee: OMRON Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuhiro Yoneda, Taiga Niimi, Hiroshi Sawada, Nobuyuki Sakatani, Hiroaki Yamada
  • Publication number: 20200119975
    Abstract: A communication system includes first transmission means for transmitting first data to be used for control of a manufacturing apparatus or a production facility every predetermined cycle and second transmission means for transmitting, during a period in which the first data is not being transmitted, second data which should he delivered to a destination within a designated time period. The second transmission means includes determination means for determining whether or not the second data can be delivered to the destination through a first transmission path over a network within the designated time period and path changing means for changing, when it is determined that the second data cannot he delivered to the destination within the designated time period, a path to transmit at least a part of the second data to the destination through a second transmission path different from the first transmission path over the network.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 16, 2017
    Publication date: April 16, 2020
    Applicant: OMRON Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuhiro YONEDA, Taiga NIIMI, Hiroshi SAWADA, Nobuyuki SAKATANI, Tatsuya KITAGUCHI
  • Publication number: 20200099626
    Abstract: A communication system in which a plurality of communication apparatuses in time synchronization with one another are connected over a network is provided. Each of the communication apparatuses includes management means for allowing transmission in accordance with a predetermined communication schedule, of cyclically transmitted first data to be used for control of a manufacturing apparatus or a production facility, second data which should be delivered to a destination within a designated time period, and third data different from the first and second data, selection means for selecting a data transfer scheme for each piece of data to be transmitted from among an on-the-fly scheme, a cut-through scheme, and a store-and-forward scheme based on the communication schedule, and a transmission and reception circuit which transfers each piece of data received from another communication apparatus to yet another communication apparatus in accordance with the data transfer scheme determined for that data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 16, 2017
    Publication date: March 26, 2020
    Applicant: OMRON Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuhiro YONEDA, Taiga NIIMI, Hiroshi SAWADA, Nobuyuki SAKATANI, Tatsuya KITAGUCHI
  • Publication number: 20200036786
    Abstract: A communication apparatus connected to a network over which data is updated every predetermined cycle is provided. The communication apparatus includes first scheduling means for securing a first communication band necessary for updating every predetermined cycle, first data to be used for control of a manufacturing apparatus or a production facility, second scheduling means for securing a second communication hand necessary for delivering second data to a destination within a designated time period in a communication hand other than the first communication band of communication bands of the network, and third scheduling means for securing a third communication band for transmitting third data in a communication band set as neither of the first communication band and the second communication band of the communication bands of the network.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 13, 2017
    Publication date: January 30, 2020
    Applicant: OMRON Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuhiro YONEDA, Taiga NIIMI, Hiroshi SAWADA, Nobuyuki SAKATANI, Hiroaki YAMADA