Patents by Inventor Takaaki CHIBA

Takaaki CHIBA 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: 11965315
    Abstract: The invention of the present application intends to provide a work machine that can ensure high operability by preventing abrupt actuation of an actuator and a shock to a machine body by use of a bleed-off function at the time of starting of the actuator and that can improve the energy-saving performance by reducing a bleed-off flow rate after the starting of the actuator. For this purpose, a controller opens a bleed-off valve at a timing at which an operation device is being operated and before a flow rate of a hydraulic pump starts increasing, and closes the bleed-off valve at a timing at which the operation device is being operated and after the flow rate of the hydraulic pump has started increasing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kento Kumagai, Shinya Imura, Yasutaka Tsuruga, Takaaki Chiba, Hiroaki Amano, Shinji Nishikawa, Akihiro Narazaki, Genroku Sugiyama, Shinjiro Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20240125096
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a work management system that enables efficient extraction of approach events that are likely to result in contact between a work machine and a worker.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2022
    Publication date: April 18, 2024
    Inventors: Akira KANAZAWA, Ryu NARIKAWA, Shinjirou YAMAMOTO, Takaaki CHIBA, Shinya IMURA
  • Patent number: 11920325
    Abstract: A construction machine is provided that can cause each hydraulic actuator to accurately operate according to operation by an operator in combined operation in which a hydraulic fluid of a hydraulic pump is subjected to flow dividing and is supplied to plural hydraulic actuators. A controller 10, in a case of determining that combined operation is being carried out, controls a regulator 7a in such a manner that the delivery flow rate of a hydraulic pump 7 becomes larger than the total target flow rate of plural hydraulic actuators 4a, 5a, and 6a, and controls the respective opening amounts of plural directional control valves 8a1, 8a3, and 8a5 in such a manner that the difference between the respective target flow rates of the plural hydraulic actuators and the respective inflow flow rates of the plural hydraulic actuators sensed by velocity sensors 12 to 14 becomes small.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Akira Kanazawa, Hidekazu Moriki, Takaaki Chiba, Shinya Imura
  • Patent number: 11891775
    Abstract: The hydraulic excavator 1 includes a work implement 7, a detection device that detects an obstacle around the hydraulic excavator 1, and a controller 27 that controls the operation of the work implement 7. The controller 27 has a driving assistance function and a work assistance function. The work assistance function is switchable between enabled and disabled. When the work assistance function is switched to enabled, the controller 27 suppresses, for an obstacle detected in a monitoring range but outside of a work range, the driving assistance function in comparison with when the work assistance function is switched to disabled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takaaki Chiba, Kento Kumagai
  • Publication number: 20240011251
    Abstract: Provided is a work machine including a controller configured to perform area restriction control for preventing a vehicle body from deviating from a work area set in a construction area. In this work machine, it is possible to easily set an area for which operation of the work machine is to be restricted in an actual space to a desired position, and to avoid displacement of the area for which the work machine is to be actually controlled from the set area. The work machine includes a controller configured to perform area restriction control for restricting operation of a vehicle body so as to prevent the vehicle body from deviating from a work area set in a construction area. The controller sets at least a part of the work area based on design data representing a final intended shape of a construction target in the construction area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 15, 2021
    Publication date: January 11, 2024
    Inventors: Takaaki CHIBA, Masamichi ITO, Koji SHIWAKU, Shinya KASAI, Morizo HENMI
  • Patent number: 11851854
    Abstract: An hydraulic excavator calculates an estimated excavation volume Va defined by a bucket claw tip position (first position) at an excavation start, a bucket claw tip position (second position) at an excavation end set in advance, a current landform, a first target surface, and a bucket width w. A second target surface is generated at a position superior to the first target surface when the estimated excavation volume Va exceeds a limit volume Vb; and the second target surface is generated at a position at which the excavation volume defined by the first position, the second position, the current landform, the second target surface, and the bucket width is closer to the limit volume Vb. The hydraulic actuators are controlled such that an operating range of a work implement is limited on the second target surface and to an area superior to the second target surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takaaki Chiba, Hisami Nakano, Hiroaki Tanaka, Manabu Edamura
  • Publication number: 20230358022
    Abstract: The invention of the present application intends to provide a work machine that can ensure high operability by preventing abrupt actuation of an actuator and a shock to a machine body by use of a bleed-off function at the time of starting of the actuator and that can improve the energy-saving performance by reducing a bleed-off flow rate after the starting of the actuator. For this purpose, a controller opens a bleed-off valve at a timing at which an operation device is being operated and before a flow rate of a hydraulic pump starts increasing, and closes the bleed-off valve at a timing at which the operation device is being operated and after the flow rate of the hydraulic pump has started increasing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 8, 2021
    Publication date: November 9, 2023
    Inventors: Kento KUMAGAI, Shinya IMURA, Yasutaka TSURUGA, Takaaki CHIBA, Hiroaki AMANO, Shinji NISHIKAWA, Akihiro NARAZAKI, Genroku SUGIYAMA, Shinjiro YAMAMOTO
  • Patent number: 11739502
    Abstract: Provided is a work machine which can increase the operation speed of an actuator by a regeneration function while securing the position control accuracy of the actuator. A controller is configured to calculate a regeneration flow rate on the basis of an input amount of an operation lever and a target actuator flow rate, subtract the regeneration flow rate from the target actuator flow rate to calculate a target actuator supply flow rate, calculate a target flow rate control valve opening amount on the basis of the target actuator supply flow rate, calculate a target pump flow rate that is equal to or higher than a total target actuator supply flow rate, control a selector valve on the basis of the input amount of the operation lever, control a flow rate control valve according to the target flow rate control valve opening amount, and control a hydraulic pump according to the target pump flow rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kento Kumagai, Shinya Imura, Yasutaka Tsuruga, Takaaki Chiba, Hiroaki Amano, Shinji Nishikawa, Akihiro Narazaki, Genroku Sugiyama, Shinjiro Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 11718977
    Abstract: Provided is a work machine which can achieve both of excellent operability when an operator manually operates a machine body or a work device and an accuracy of control of the machine body or the work device when a controller performs automatic control. The controller is configured to, in a case where the automatic control function selector switch gives an instruction to disable the automatic control function, adjust an opening amount of a bleed-off valve to a maximum opening amount or an opening amount corresponding to input amounts of control levers, and in a case where the automatic control function selector switch gives the instruction to enable the automatic control function, adjust the opening amount of the bleed-off valve, in at least part of an operation region of the control levers, so as to be smaller than the opening amount with the instruction to disable the automatic control function being given.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kento Kumagai, Shinya Imura, Yasutaka Tsuruga, Takaaki Chiba, Hiroaki Amano, Shinji Nishikawa, Akihiro Narazaki, Genroku Sugiyama
  • Publication number: 20230235539
    Abstract: An overhead-view image of a work site is presented to an operator of a work machine even when the number of imaging devices at a construction site is lacking. The present disclosure provides an information presentation device for generating and outputting a terrain image relating to a construction site. The information presentation device includes a storage device that stores a program for performing a predetermined imaging process on the terrain image, and a processor for reading the program from the storage device and generating the terrain image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2022
    Publication date: July 27, 2023
    Inventors: Yuho SAITO, Takaaki CHIBA, Shinjiro YAMAMOTO, Shinya IMURA
  • Publication number: 20230167622
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a work machine that can increase the operation speed of an actuator by a regenerating function while ensuring accuracy of position control of the actuator. For this purpose, a controller computes a target actuator supply flow rate by subtracting a regeneration flow rate from a target actuator flow rate, computes a target flow control valve opening amount on the basis of the target actuator supply flow rate, computes a target pump flow rate equal to or more than the sum of a plurality of the target actuator supply flow rates, controls flow control valves according to the target flow control valve opening amount, and controls a hydraulic pump according to the target pump flow rate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2021
    Publication date: June 1, 2023
    Inventors: Kento KUMAGAI, Shinya IMURA, Yasutaka TSURUGA, Takaaki CHIBA, Hiroaki AMANO, Shinji NISHIKAWA, Akihiro NARAZAKI, Genroku SUGIYAMA, Shinjiro YAMAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20230137344
    Abstract: A type of an object is determined and the movement direction of the object is predicted on the basis of a sensing result of the object sensed by an on-machine obstacle sensor. Information relating to the object that is the object sensed by the on-machine obstacle sensor and has been determined to have moved to the outside of a sensing range of the on-machine obstacle sensor is immediately deleted from an environment map on the basis of the type and the movement direction of the object. This can properly process information on the object that has gotten out of the sensing range, according to the cause of the object getting out of the sensing range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 5, 2021
    Publication date: May 4, 2023
    Inventors: Yuho SAITO, Hidekazu MORIKI, Shinya IMURA, Takaaki CHIBA
  • Patent number: 11591769
    Abstract: A controller mounted in a work machine limits a velocity at which a work device approaches a design surface to be equal to or lower than a predetermined limiting velocity in such a manner that the work machine is located above the design surface when an operation device is operated. The controller determines whether a work phase of the work device is compaction work on the basis of a posture of a bucket with respect to the design surface in a case in which the operation device instructs the work device to approach the design surface, and sets the limiting velocity when determining that the work phase of the work device is the compaction work to be higher than the limiting velocity when determining that the work phase of the work device is other than the compaction work.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takaaki Chiba, Hiroaki Tanaka, Hisami Nakano
  • Publication number: 20220333348
    Abstract: Provided is a work machine which can increase the operation speed of an actuator by a regeneration function while securing the position control accuracy of the actuator. A controller is configured to calculate a regeneration flow rate on the basis of an input amount of an operation lever and a target actuator flow rate, subtract the regeneration flow rate from the target actuator flow rate to calculate a target actuator supply flow rate, calculate a target flow rate control valve opening amount on the basis of the target actuator supply flow rate, calculate a target pump flow rate that is equal to or higher than a total target actuator supply flow rate, control a selector valve on the basis of the input amount of the operation lever, control a flow rate control valve according to the target flow rate control valve opening amount, and control a hydraulic pump according to the target pump flow rate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2021
    Publication date: October 20, 2022
    Inventors: Kento KUMAGAI, Shinya IMURA, Yasutaka TSURUGA, Takaaki CHIBA, Hiroaki AMANO, Shinji NISHIKAWA, Akihiro NARAZAKI, Genroku SUGIYAMA, Shinjiro YAMAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20220333352
    Abstract: Provided is a work machine which can achieve both of excellent operability when an operator manually operates a machine body or a work device and an accuracy of control of the machine body or the work device when a controller performs automatic control. The controller is configured to, in a case where the automatic control function selector switch gives an instruction to disable the automatic control function, adjust an opening amount of a bleed-off valve to a maximum opening amount or an opening amount corresponding to input amounts of control levers, and in a case where the automatic control function selector switch gives the instruction to enable the automatic control function, adjust the opening amount of the bleed-off valve, in at least part of an operation region of the control levers, so as to be smaller than the opening amount with the instruction to disable the automatic control function being given.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 2, 2020
    Publication date: October 20, 2022
    Inventors: Kento KUMAGAI, Shinya IMURA, Yasutaka TSURUGA, Takaaki CHIBA, Hiroaki AMANO, Shinji NISHIKAWA, Akihiro NARAZAKI, Genroku SUGIYAMA
  • Publication number: 20220298752
    Abstract: There is provided a work machine which can improve accuracy of control of an actuator when a pressure difference between a hydraulic pump and the actuator is large and the demanded flow rate of the actuator is small. An auxiliary flow rate controller is configured such that an opening area of a main valve changes between a maximum opening area and zero according to the opening area of a pilot variable restrictor when the opening area of the pilot variable restrictor is equal to or more than a predetermined opening area and that the opening area of the main valve is zero irrespective of the opening area of the pilot variable restrictor when the opening area of the pilot variable restrictor is less than the predetermined opening area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 21, 2020
    Publication date: September 22, 2022
    Inventors: Kento KUMAGAI, Shinya IMURA, Genroku SUGIYAMA, Katsuaki KODAKA, Yasutaka TSURUGA, Takaaki CHIBA
  • Publication number: 20220290406
    Abstract: A work machine that can keep the control accuracy of actuators irrespective of temperature variation of a hydraulic operating fluid that passes through flow rate controllers that control the flow rates of supply to the actuators is provided. For this purpose, the flow rate controllers each have a valve body that is disposed on a main hydraulic line connecting a delivery line of a hydraulic pump and the actuator and that moves according to an operation pressure from a solenoid proportional pressure reducing valve, a sampling hydraulic line that branches from the main hydraulic line, and a temperature sensor set on the sampling hydraulic line. The controller is configured to correct a command electrical signal to the solenoid proportional pressure reducing valve according to a signal from the temperature sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2021
    Publication date: September 15, 2022
    Inventors: Kento KUMAGAI, Shinya IMURA, Yasutaka TSURUGA, Takaaki CHIBA, Hiroaki AMANO, Shinji NISHIKAWA, Akihiro NARAZAKI
  • Publication number: 20220282459
    Abstract: Provided is an operation assistance system for a work machine having both operation assistance and work assistance functions, capable of reducing the inconvenience to an operator or the like of setting an area of the operation assistance function and an area of the work assistance function, and preventing a collision of the work machine with an object in a work area. The operation assistance system for a work machine has the operation assistance function of stopping a hydraulic excavator (work machine) 1 when an object is detected in a stop area 40 set in advance and the work assistance function of preventing the hydraulic excavator (work machine) 1 from going out of a work area 51 set in advance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2020
    Publication date: September 8, 2022
    Inventors: Takaaki CHIBA, Shinya IMURA, Shinjiro YAMAMOTO, Masamichi ITO, Koji SHIWAKU
  • Publication number: 20220259834
    Abstract: An hydraulic excavator calculates an estimated excavation volume Va defined by a bucket claw tip position (first position) at an excavation start, a bucket claw tip position (second position) at an excavation end set in advance, a current landform, a first target surface, and a bucket width w. A second target surface is generated at a position superior to the first target surface when the estimated excavation volume Va exceeds a limit volume Vb; and the second target surface is generated at a position at which the excavation volume defined by the first position, the second position, the current landform, the second target surface, and the bucket width is closer to the limit volume Vb. The hydraulic actuators are controlled such that an operating range of a work implement is limited on the second target surface and to an area superior to the second target surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 2, 2022
    Publication date: August 18, 2022
    Inventors: Takaaki CHIBA, Hisami NAKANO, Hiroaki TANAKA, Manabu EDAMURA
  • Publication number: 20220186470
    Abstract: The hydraulic excavator 1 includes a work implement 7, a detection device that detects an obstacle around the hydraulic excavator 1, and a controller 27 that controls the operation of the work implement 7. The controller 27 has a driving assistance function and a work assistance function. The work assistance function is switchable between enabled and disabled. When the work assistance function is switched to enabled, the controller 27 suppresses, for an obstacle detected in a monitoring range but outside of a work range, the driving assistance function in comparison with when the work assistance function is switched to disabled.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 7, 2020
    Publication date: June 16, 2022
    Inventors: Takaaki CHIBA, Kento KUMAGAI