Patents by Inventor Toshihito Ueda

Toshihito Ueda 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: 9364086
    Abstract: Proper article storage management is made possible in the article storage facility which stores articles in containers and in an inactive gas environment. The article storage facility includes a storage rack having storage sections, a transport portion which transports containers to the storage sections, gas supplying portions each of which supplies inactive gas to the container stored in the storage section, and a display. The display displays display sections such that the arrangement of the display sections corresponds to the arrangement of the storage sections in the storage rack and displays a supply state of inactive gas in each of the display sections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignee: Daifuku Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masahiro Takahara, Toshihito Ueda
  • Publication number: 20160152412
    Abstract: In an article storage facility, a door pivotable about a door pivot axis extending in a second direction is provided in an opening which is formed in a path-dividing wall portion that divides a traveling path and through which a transport movable body can pass. The door is configured such that its position is switchable between a closed position in which the door extends along the path-dividing wall portion and blocks the opening and an open position in which the door is located on an internal space side and opens the opening so that the transport movable body can pass through the opening.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 1, 2015
    Publication date: June 2, 2016
    Inventors: Takeshi Abe, Toshihito Ueda
  • Patent number: 9266629
    Abstract: When a controller determines that the maximum simultaneous feed number is exceeded by a total target number which is the total number of inactive gas feeding section determined to be controlled to the first feed state at one time, of the inactive gas feeding sections determined to be controlled to the first feed state at one time, the controller controls some of them not more than the maximum simultaneous feed number to the first feed state and executes a start delaying process for the others in which process starting of the first control state is delayed by a set delay period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2016
    Assignee: Daifuku Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masahiro Takahara, Toshihito Ueda
  • Patent number: 9245781
    Abstract: An article storage facility includes a transport device for transporting containers to a plurality of storage sections, an inactive gas feed section which supplies inactive gas to the interior of the container stored in the storage section, and a controller for controlling operation of the device and operation of the flow rate adjusting device of the inactive gas feed section. The controller is configured to cause a state of the inactive gas feed section associated with the storage section to be both a storage feed state and an unfeeding state depending on if the carrier is stored or not stored be. The controller is also configured to store the transporting container in the storage section after changing the state of the inactive gas feed section associated with the storage section in which the container is to be stored to a pre-storage feed state from the unfeeding state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: Daifuku Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masahiro Takahara, Toshihito Ueda
  • Patent number: 9230845
    Abstract: An article storage facility comprises a plurality of storage units for storing transporting containers for substrates and inactive gas feed passages for supplying inactive gas to each of the plurality of said storage units. The plurality of storage units are divided into a plurality of sections. The inactive gas feed passages include section feeding portions which supply the inactive gas to the sections, and storage unit feeding portions which divert and supply the inactive gas, that is supplied to a respective section by an associated one of the section feeding portions, to the plurality of storage units in the respective section. The article storage facility includes a bypass portion which allows communication between two or more storage unit feeding portions, and a bypass switching valve that can be switched between an open state in which the inactive gas can be communicated through the bypass portion and a closed state in which the inactive gas cannot be communicated through the bypass portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: Daifuku Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Otsuka, Masahiro Takahara, Toshihito Ueda
  • Patent number: 9199793
    Abstract: A storage system comprises a storage structure having storage sections and a carry-in-and-out portion, one or more environment adjusters for adjusting storage environment individually for each of the storage sections, an environment managing portion for collecting information about storage environment and controls operation of the one or more environment adjusters, a storage transport device for performing a transport operation, and a carry-in-and-out managing device for managing the locations of storage sections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2015
    Assignee: Daifuku Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masahiro Takahara, Toshihito Ueda
  • Patent number: 9064918
    Abstract: An article storage facility includes a controller for controlling operations of flow rate adjusting devices of inactive gas feeding sections and a specified feeding section selecting section for selecting one or some or all of a plurality of inactive gas feeding sections as specified feeding sections. For the inactive gas feeding sections of the storage sections storing the transport containers therein, the controller causes the flow rate adjusting devices to be operated according to a container storage mode in which mode the inactive gas is fed to the transport container in a predetermined feed manner. For the specified feeding sections selected by the specified feeding section selecting section, the controller causes the flow rate adjusting devices to be operated according to a specified feeding section feed mode in which mode the inactive gas is fed through the discharge openings thereof in a specified feeding section feed manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2015
    Assignee: Daifuku Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masahiro Takahara, Toshihito Ueda
  • Patent number: 9064921
    Abstract: An inactive gas introducing facility includes an introducing device for introducing inactive gas to the inside of a container stored in a storage section of a storage shelf with discharging gas present inside the container to the inside of a storage space partitioned from the outside and a controller for controlling operation of the introducing device. In a normal stop mode, the controller controls the operation of the introducing device to stop feeding of inactive gas to the container in response to detection of an opened state of an inspection door. And, in a stop nullification mode, the controller controls the operation of the introducing device to continue feeding of inactive gas to the container even in response to detection of the opened state of the inspection door.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2015
    Assignee: Daifuku Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeshi Shin, Masahiro Takahara, Toshihito Ueda
  • Patent number: 8942844
    Abstract: An article storage facility includes a transport device for transporting the transporting containers to the plurality of storage units, a controller, and a supply state detecting device for detecting a supply state of the inactive gas to the plurality of storage units. The controller makes a determination based on detected information from the supply state detecting device as to whether the inactive gas is properly supplied, and manages the plurality of storage units by distinguishing the disallowed storage units for which it is determined that the inactive gas is not properly supplied from the allowed storage units that are the storage units that are not the disallowed storage units. The controller performs a retreating transport operation in which a transporting container, that is stored in the storage unit that is changed from the allowed storage unit to the disallowed storage unit, is transported to an allowed storage unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2015
    Assignee: Daifuku Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masahiro Takahara, Toshihito Ueda
  • Publication number: 20150003941
    Abstract: A storage system comprises a storage structure having storage sections and a carry-in-and-out portion, one or more environment adjusters for adjusting storage environment individually for each of the storage sections, an environment managing portion for collecting information about storage environment and controls operation of the one or more environment adjusters, a storage transport device for performing a transport operation, and a carry-in-and-out managing device for managing the locations of storage sections.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 20, 2014
    Publication date: January 1, 2015
    Inventors: Masahiro Takahara, Toshihito Ueda
  • Publication number: 20150003942
    Abstract: Proper article storage management is made possible in the article storage facility which stores articles in containers and in an inactive gas environment. The article storage facility includes a storage rack having storage sections, a transport portion which transports containers to the storage sections, gas supplying portions each of which supplies inactive gas to the container stored in the storage section, and a display. The display displays display sections such that the arrangement of the display sections corresponds to the arrangement of the storage sections in the storage rack and displays a supply state of inactive gas in each of the display sections.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 20, 2014
    Publication date: January 1, 2015
    Inventors: Masahiro Takahara, Toshihito Ueda
  • Publication number: 20150000785
    Abstract: A first control device executes, if it is determined that a second control device has become unable to output an operation instruction, continued operation processing for operating an inactive gas supply portion based on the operation instruction that was last output by the second control device. The first control device further executes, if it is determined during execution of continued operation processing that a stop condition is satisfied, operation stop processing for stopping the inactive gas supply portion by suspending the continued operation processing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2014
    Publication date: January 1, 2015
    Inventors: Takeshi Shin, Tadashi Nishikawa, Masahiro Takahara, Toshihito Ueda
  • Publication number: 20150000759
    Abstract: A storage facility includes a controller for monitoring a supply state of the inactive gas for the plurality of storage sections and for controlling the plurality of supply amount adjusting devices. The controller is configured to monitor the supply state of the inactive gas for the plurality of storage sections by dividing the plurality of storage sections into a plurality of monitoring areas, and to control a plurality of supply amount adjusting devices such that the supply state of the inactive gas supplied to the storage sections belonging to each of the plurality of monitoring areas satisfies a set restricting condition defined in advance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2014
    Publication date: January 1, 2015
    Inventors: Masahiro Takahara, Toshihito Ueda
  • Publication number: 20140366983
    Abstract: An inactive gas introducing facility for a storage rack is provided in which supply of inactive gas to a container is stopped if an open state of an inspection door is detected while in a normal stop state in which a stop nullifying command is not issued and in which the supply of the inactive gas based on the immediately preceding supply pattern is continued and any changes, through manual operation, to a parameter that defines the immediately preceding supply pattern are prohibited, if an open state of an inspection door is detected while in a stop nullifying state in which the stop nullifying command is issued.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 10, 2014
    Publication date: December 18, 2014
    Inventors: Masahiro Takahara, Toshihito Ueda
  • Publication number: 20140009045
    Abstract: An article storage facility comprises a plurality of storage units for storing transporting containers for substrates and inactive gas feed passages for supplying inactive gas to each of the plurality of said storage units. The plurality of storage units are divided into a plurality of sections. The inactive gas feed passages include section feeding portions which supply the inactive gas to the sections, and storage unit feeding portions which divert and supply the inactive gas, that is supplied to a respective section by an associated one of the section feeding portions, to the plurality of storage units in the respective section. The article storage facility includes a bypass portion which allows communication between two or more storage unit feeding portions, and a bypass switching valve that can be switched between an open state in which the inactive gas can be communicated through the bypass portion and a closed state in which the inactive gas cannot be communicated through the bypass portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2012
    Publication date: January 9, 2014
    Applicant: DAIFUKU CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Otsuka, Masahiro Takahara, Toshihito Ueda
  • Publication number: 20140003893
    Abstract: An article storage facility includes a transport device for transporting the transporting containers to the plurality of storage units, a controller, and a supply state detecting device for detecting a supply state of the inactive gas to the plurality of storage units. The controller makes a determination based on detected information from the supply state detecting device as to whether the inactive gas is properly supplied, and manages the plurality of storage units by distinguishing the disallowed storage units for which it is determined that the inactive gas is not properly supplied from the allowed storage units that are the storage units that are not the disallowed storage units. The controller performs a retreating transport operation in which a transporting container, that is stored in the storage unit that is changed from the allowed storage unit to the disallowed storage unit, is transported to an allowed storage unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2012
    Publication date: January 2, 2014
    Applicant: DAIFUKU CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masahiro Takahara, Toshihito Ueda
  • Patent number: 7953514
    Abstract: A learning marker configured such that one of learning horizontal distance information and learning vertical distance information can be learned based on detection information from a horizontal travel distance detection device or a vertical travel distance detection device upon detection of at least one edge section of the learning marker in one direction of a horizontal travel direction and a vertical travel direction of a transfer means by a learning marker detector for detecting the learning marker, and the other of the learning horizontal distance information and learning vertical distance information can be learned based on detection information from the horizontal travel distance detection device or the vertical travel distance detection device upon detection of each of both edge sections of the learning marker in the one direction by the learning marker detector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2011
    Assignee: Daifuku Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jaesook Kim, Toshihito Ueda
  • Publication number: 20080044262
    Abstract: A learning marker configured such that one of learning horizontal distance information and learning vertical distance information can be learned based on detection information from a horizontal travel distance detection device or a vertical travel distance detection device upon detection of at least one edge section of the learning marker in one direction of a horizontal travel direction and a vertical travel direction of a transfer means by a learning marker detector for detecting the learning marker, and the other of the learning horizontal distance information and learning vertical distance information can be learned based on detection information from the horizontal travel distance detection device or the vertical travel distance detection device upon detection of each of both edge sections of the learning marker in the one direction by the learning marker detector.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 17, 2007
    Publication date: February 21, 2008
    Applicant: DAIFUKU CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jaesook Kim, Toshihito Ueda