Patents by Inventor Takanori Imazu

Takanori Imazu 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: 11941988
    Abstract: A parking lot management device configured to manage traveling of vehicles by setting a scheduled passage time for each node indicating a travel route in a parking lot includes: an acquisition unit configured to acquire an actual passage time at which a first vehicle has actually passed a first node; a determination unit configured to determine a collision risk between a second vehicle and the first vehicle based on the actual passage time, the second vehicle being scheduled to pass, following the first vehicle, a second node that is located forward of the first node in a traveling direction of the first vehicle; and a setting unit configured to delay a first scheduled passage time at which the second vehicle passes the second node to cause the second vehicle to pass the second node following the first vehicle when it is determined that there is the collision risk.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Takanori Imazu
  • Patent number: 11897455
    Abstract: A vehicle is autonomously driven in an environment where a first road for vehicles running in a first direction and a second road for vehicles running in a second direction, different from the first direction, are provided alongside each other, and where a first parking space that is entered from the first road and exited to the first road is set and a second parking space that is entered from the second road and exited to the second road is set. When the vehicle is temporarily parked in the first parking space and a running direction of the vehicle heading for the next destination after being parked is the second direction, the vehicle is transferred from the first parking space to the second parking space by autonomous driving after a user of the vehicle gets out of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Satoshi Omi, Takanori Imazu, Yoshiki Fukada, Takashi Hayashi, Yuta Kataoka, Kohki Baba, Ryuji Okamura, Akihiro Kusumoto
  • Patent number: 11893887
    Abstract: Whether a vehicle is parked inside parking lines in a parking lot is detected. When the vehicle is detected not parked inside the parking lines, either the vehicle or the parking lines are moved in such a manner that the vehicle is parked inside the parking lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takanori Imazu, Yoshiki Fukada, Ryuji Okamura, Takashi Hayashi, Kohki Baba, Satoshi Omi, Akihiro Kusumoto, Yuta Kataoka
  • Patent number: 11834036
    Abstract: There is provided an automated valet parking server that causes an autonomous driving vehicle in a parking place to perform automated valet parking by instructing the autonomous driving vehicle. The automated valet parking server includes an illuminance information acquisition unit configured to acquire illuminance information of front lighting devices of the autonomous driving vehicle, an illuminance suppression point setting unit configured to set an illuminance suppression point which is a position in the parking place at which illuminance of the front lighting devices of the autonomous driving vehicle is suppressed based on parking place map information of the parking place and the illuminance information of the front lighting devices of the autonomous driving vehicle, and an illuminance suppression instruction unit configured to instruct the autonomous driving vehicle to perform illuminance suppression at the illuminance suppression point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Takanori Imazu
  • Publication number: 20230294597
    Abstract: A parking action notification device includes an information notification unit configured to give a notice of information to an exterior of a vehicle. The information notification unit displays parking information to the exterior of the vehicle, the parking information being relevant to a parking action of the vehicle when the vehicle performs automatic parking.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 9, 2023
    Publication date: September 21, 2023
    Inventors: Ryuji OKAMURA, Takanori IMAZU, Yoshiki FUKADA, Takashi HAYASHI, Yuta KATAOKA, Kohki BABA, Satoshi OMI, Akihiro KUSUMOTO
  • Patent number: 11749113
    Abstract: A parking lot management device configured to manage traveling of vehicles by setting a scheduled passage time for each node indicating a travel route in a parking lot includes: an acquisition unit configured to acquire an actual passage time at which a first vehicle has actually passed a first node; a determination unit configured to determine a collision risk between a second vehicle and the first vehicle based on the actual passage time, the second vehicle being scheduled to pass, following the first vehicle, a second node that is located forward of the first node in a traveling direction of the first vehicle; and a setting unit configured to delay a first scheduled passage time at which the second vehicle passes the second node to cause the second vehicle to pass the second node following the first vehicle when it is determined that there is the collision risk.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Takanori Imazu
  • Publication number: 20230136213
    Abstract: An upper-limit speed of a vehicle in automatic parking control is set, and the vehicle is caused to park automatically in a parking space at a vehicle speed equal to or lower than the set upper-limit speed. In this case, the upper-limit speed is set according to a vehicle body size of the vehicle, and the upper-limit speed is lower when the vehicle body size of the vehicle is greater than a preset size than when the vehicle body size of the vehicle is less than the preset size.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 18, 2022
    Publication date: May 4, 2023
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takanori IMAZU, Yoshiki FUKADA, Ryuji OKAMURA, Takashi HAYASHI, Kohki BABA, Satoshi OMI, Akihiro KUSUMOTO, Yuta KATAOKA
  • Publication number: 20230117379
    Abstract: The position of the vehicle for loading articles on a cart with a self-propelled function is acquired, the travel route of the cart to the vehicle is determined, and the cart is self-propelled to the vehicle along the determined travel route and stopped around the vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 12, 2022
    Publication date: April 20, 2023
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takanori IMAZU, Yoshiki FUKADA, Ryuji OKAMURA, Takashi HAYASHI, Kohki BABA, Satoshi OMI, Akihiro KUSUMOTO, Yuta KATAOKA
  • Publication number: 20230114453
    Abstract: When an autonomous vehicle is caused to depart from a current position to a pickup location, a waiting location for temporarily parking the autonomous vehicle is set between the current position and the pickup location. The autonomous vehicle is autonomously driven from the current position to the waiting location, temporarily parked at the waiting location, and then autonomously driven to the pickup location.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2022
    Publication date: April 13, 2023
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takanori IMAZU, Yoshiki FUKADA, Ryuji OKAMURA, Takashi HAYASHI, Kohki BABA, Satoshi OMI, Akihiro KUSUMOTO, Yuta KATAOKA
  • Publication number: 20230116789
    Abstract: A parking lot management device configured to manage traveling of vehicles by setting a scheduled passage time for each node indicating a travel route in a parking lot includes: an acquisition unit configured to acquire an actual passage time at which a first vehicle has actually passed a first node; a determination unit configured to determine a collision risk between a second vehicle and the first vehicle based on the actual passage time, the second vehicle being scheduled to pass, following the first vehicle, a second node that is located forward of the first node in a traveling direction of the first vehicle; and a setting unit configured to delay a first scheduled passage time at which the second vehicle passes the second node to cause the second vehicle to pass the second node following the first vehicle when it is determined that there is the collision risk.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2022
    Publication date: April 13, 2023
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Takanori Imazu
  • Publication number: 20230103109
    Abstract: A parking lot management system for managing a parking lot intended for autonomous vehicles and manually driven vehicles includes: a reservation unit configured to reserve a parking space for an autonomous vehicle; and a reserved parking space notification unit configured to notify a manually driven vehicle in the parking lot of the reserved parking space.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 11, 2022
    Publication date: March 30, 2023
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takanori IMAZU, Yoshiki Fukada, Ryuji Okamura, Takashi Hayashi, Kohki Baba, Satoshi Omi, Akihiro Kusumoto, Yuta Kataoka
  • Publication number: 20230100856
    Abstract: Whether a vehicle is parked inside parking lines in a parking lot is detected. When the vehicle is detected not parked inside the parking lines, either the vehicle or the parking lines are moved in such a manner that the vehicle is parked inside the parking lines.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 22, 2022
    Publication date: March 30, 2023
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takanori IMAZU, Yoshiki FUKADA, Ryuji OKAMURA, Takashi HAYASHI, Kohki BABA, Satoshi OMI, Akihiro KUSUMOTO, Yuta KATAOKA
  • Publication number: 20230062923
    Abstract: Provided is an automatic parking service causes a vehicle that has arrived at a platform to enter one parking space among a plurality of parking spaces by autonomous driving and that causes the vehicle parked in the parking space exit the platform by autonomous driving. A congestion degree of a platform requested to be used in an entry-exit time zone specified by a user that uses the automatic parking service is determined when an entry-exit request in which one platform among the plurality of platforms is used is received from the user. The use of another platform is proposed to the user when the congestion degree of the platform requested to be used is high, the other platform having a lower congestion degree than the platform requested to be used.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2022
    Publication date: March 2, 2023
    Inventors: Satoshi OMI, Takanori IMAZU, Yoshiki FUKADA, Takashi HAYASHI, Yuta KATAOKA, Kohki BABA, Ryuji OKAMURA, Akihiro KUSUMOTO
  • Publication number: 20230055038
    Abstract: A vehicle is autonomously driven in an environment where a first road for vehicles running in a first direction and a second road for vehicles running in a second direction, different from the first direction, are provided alongside each other, and where a first parking space that is entered from the first road and exited to the first road is set and a second parking space that is entered from the second road and exited to the second road is set. When the vehicle is temporarily parked in the first parking space and a running direction of the vehicle heading for the next destination after being parked is the second direction, the vehicle is transferred from the first parking space to the second parking space by autonomous driving after a user of the vehicle gets out of the vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2022
    Publication date: February 23, 2023
    Inventors: Satoshi OMI, Takanori IMAZU, Yoshiki FUKADA, Takashi HAYASHI, Yuta KATAOKA, Kohki BABA, Ryuji OKAMURA, Akihiro KUSUMOTO
  • Publication number: 20220388499
    Abstract: In a parking area of a parking place, a plurality of parking spaces are aligned in a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction. An automated valet parking system acquires a vehicle attribute of an automated valet parking subject vehicle, sets a parking subarea that is at least part of the parking area in accordance with the vehicle attribute, based on the vehicle attribute, sets priorities of the parking spaces for parking the automated valet parking subject vehicle in the parking subarea, based on positional information on the parking spaces in the parking subarea, determines a target parking space that is the parking space serving as a target for parking the automated valet parking subject vehicle, based on vacancy information on the parking spaces in the parking subarea and the priorities, and causes the automated valet parking subject vehicle to be parked in the target parking space.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2022
    Publication date: December 8, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tatsuya Sugano, Noriyuki Tsuruoka, Takanori Imazu
  • Publication number: 20220363245
    Abstract: There is provided an automated valet parking server that causes an autonomous driving vehicle in a parking place to perform automated valet parking by instructing the autonomous driving vehicle. The automated valet parking server includes an illuminance information acquisition unit configured to acquire illuminance information of front lighting devices of the autonomous driving vehicle, an illuminance suppression point setting unit configured to set an illuminance suppression point which is a position in the parking place at which illuminance of the front lighting devices of the autonomous driving vehicle is suppressed based on parking place map information of the parking place and the illuminance information of the front lighting devices of the autonomous driving vehicle, and an illuminance suppression instruction unit configured to instruct the autonomous driving vehicle to perform illuminance suppression at the illuminance suppression point.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 10, 2022
    Publication date: November 17, 2022
    Inventor: Takanori IMAZU
  • Publication number: 20220366790
    Abstract: A vehicle management system manages a vehicle in a management area via communication. The vehicle management system includes one or more processors. The one or more processors are configured to: acquire first vehicle information indicating at least a position of a first vehicle configured to switch between autonomous driving and manual driving; acquire second vehicle information indicating at least a position of a second vehicle that performs at least autonomous driving; determine whether a possibility of collision between the first vehicle being driven manually and the second vehicle being driven autonomously is higher than a first threshold, based on the first vehicle information and the second vehicle information; and when the possibility of collision is higher than the first threshold, instruct the first vehicle being driven manually to impose a driving limitation on the first vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2022
    Publication date: November 17, 2022
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ryuji Okamura, Takanori Imazu
  • Publication number: 20220252405
    Abstract: A localization device configured to consecutively estimate a location of an own vehicle based on behavior of the own vehicle and configured to correct the estimated location by making reference to a landmark in a vicinity of the own vehicle includes a calculation unit configured to calculate an index related to a self-location based on a displacement error of the own vehicle and a changing unit configured to change a determination criterion for identifying the landmark based on the index.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 1, 2022
    Publication date: August 11, 2022
    Inventor: Takanori Imazu
  • Publication number: 20220230543
    Abstract: A vehicle control apparatus loads a vehicle into a parking space of a parking lot or unloads the vehicle from the parking space, by causing the vehicle to run in a self-propelled manner. The vehicle control apparatus is equipped with a reception unit that receives, from a control center at the parking lot, map information including mark information on a plurality of marks for identifying a position of the vehicle at the parking lot, a computation unit that computes each of intervals between the marks, based on the mark information included in the map information, and a determination unit that determines whether or not each of the computed intervals is a predetermined interval.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2021
    Publication date: July 21, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Takanori Imazu
  • Publication number: 20210362704
    Abstract: An AVP system comprises a parking facility and a management center. The parking facility comprises a boarding space for a passenger to get in or out of a vehicle, a path for the vehicle to travel, and a parking space for the vehicle to park. The management center manages an AVP of the vehicle in the parking facility. The management center is configured to execute traveling route calculation processing to calculate a traveling route of the vehicle in the parking facility. In the traveling route calculation processing, the traveling route including location data of nodes from a boarding space to a scheduled parking space and that of nodes to perform a swing or a turning of wheels is calculated. The location data of the nodes to perform the turning of the wheels includes that of the nodes in a vacant parking space that differs from the scheduled parking space.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 10, 2021
    Publication date: November 25, 2021
    Inventor: Takanori Imazu