Patents by Inventor Toshimichi Aoki

Toshimichi Aoki 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: 11292074
    Abstract: A spot welding apparatus includes a spot welding gun and a welding gun control apparatus. The welding gun control apparatus includes a pressurizing force control part controlling the pressurizing force, a position control part controlling the position of at least one electrode, and a determination part determining whether or not the welding is performed in a normal state. The position control part controls an electrode drive motor so as to hold the electrodes, after the supply of the electric current is started, at positions when the initial pressurizing force is applied before the electric current is supplied. The determination part acquires the pressurizing force and determines whether or not the welding is performed in a normal state based on change tendency in the pressurizing force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: Fanuc Corporation
    Inventors: Toshimichi Aoki, Yasuhiro Amagata
  • Patent number: 11192204
    Abstract: A machining system includes a laser irradiation device, a camera that captures an image of a workpiece, and a display that displays the image captured by the camera. The machining system includes a robot control device that controls the camera and the display. The camera captures the image of the workpiece before machining. The robot control device calculates a laser-beam irradiation position on the workpiece and virtually displays the laser-beam irradiation position on the display so as to overlap the workpiece image captured by the camera.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: Fanuc Corporation
    Inventor: Toshimichi Aoki
  • Patent number: 10946472
    Abstract: A spot welding system includes a spot welding gun, a robot, and a tip dresser that polishes a face of electrode. The tip dresser includes a blade that cuts the face of the electrode and a blade driving motor that rotates the blade. A dresser control section of a control device detects torque of the blade driving motor. When the torque of the blade driving motor exceeds a predetermined torque upper limit value, the dresser control section carries out speed reduction control that reduces the rotation speed of the blade driving motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: Fanuc Corporation
    Inventor: Toshimichi Aoki
  • Patent number: 10870172
    Abstract: A laser processing head emits a laser beam to a workpiece that moves during laser processing and includes: optical path changing members that reflect, toward the workpiece, the laser beam emitted from a laser beam output section; a driver that changes posture of each of the optical path changing members; a control unit that controls the driver; and a memory device that stores target path information indicating a target path of the laser processing, in which the control unit receives information relating to a relative position of the workpiece with respect to the laser processing head, and controls the driver on the basis of the received information relating to the relative position and the target path information to perform the laser processing along the target path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiromitsu Takahashi, Toshimichi Aoki
  • Patent number: 10870168
    Abstract: A laser machining robot system that simplifies programming of a scanner operation is provided. A laser machining robot system includes a robot controller that controls a robot that performs remote laser machining and a scanner controller that controls a scanner. The robot controller includes: a machining information input unit that inputs machining information; a G-code generation unit that generates a G-code program using the machining information; and a G-code communication unit that transmits the G-code program to the scanner controller. The scanner controller includes a scanner program processing unit that applies the G-code program as a scanner operation program for operating the scanner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshimichi Aoki, Masanobu Hatada, Takayoshi Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 10780577
    Abstract: A machine learning device for learning operations of a robot and a laser scanner, includes a state observation unit observing a state of a tip end of the robot where the laser scanner is mounted and a state of an optical component in the laser scanner as a state data; a determination data obtaining unit receiving at least one of a machining time of the robot where the laser scanner is mounted, a drive current driving the robot, a command path of the laser scanner, a passing time in a processable area where the laser scanner performs processing, and a distance between the robot and a part where the laser scanner performs processing as a determination data; and a learning unit learning operations of the robot and the laser scanner based on an output of the state observation unit and an output of the determination data obtaining unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2020
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoshinori Murakami, Toshimichi Aoki
  • Patent number: 10413994
    Abstract: A laser processing robot system, in which an augmented reality processing technology is used to enable a processing laser beam and its irradiation position to be safely and easily seen, is provided. A laser processing robot system includes an image processing device having an augmented reality image processing unit for performing augmented reality image processing for an actual image including an image of a robot captured by an imaging device. The augmented reality image processing unit is adapted to superimpose a virtual image representing at least one of a laser beam obtained by assuming that the laser beam is emitted from a laser irradiation device to a workpiece, and an irradiation position of the laser beam, onto the actual image, and to display the superimposed image on the display device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2019
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Toshimichi Aoki
  • Patent number: 10376988
    Abstract: A laser processing robot system and a laser processing method, by which the motion accuracy of a robot in the system can be improved and laser processing with high accuracy can be carried out. The robot system is configured to: execute a first robot motion for moving an laser irradiation device to a predetermined command position; measure an actual three-dimensional position of the irradiation device in the first robot motion; calculate a deviation between the command position and the measured actual three-dimensional position of the irradiation device in the first robot motion; store the calculated deviation as a time series of deviation data; and execute a second robot motion in which a robot motion similar to the first robot motion is executed while correcting the laser irradiation position so that the laser irradiation position coincides with a desired position, based on the stored deviation data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2019
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Toshimichi Aoki
  • Patent number: 10315271
    Abstract: A dressing system that can appropriately control the dressing amount of the electrode of a spot welding gun so as to not excessively and insufficiently dress the electrode. The dressing system for dressing the electrode of the spot welding gun includes a cutter that dresses the electrode, a controller that controls the rotational operation of the cutter, and a measuring part that measures the dressing amount of the electrode. The controller determines the rotational speed of the cutter based on the dressing amount measured by the measuring part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Toshimichi Aoki
  • Patent number: 10203666
    Abstract: A cell controller includes an inside information acquiring unit for acquiring the inside information of the plurality of manufacturing machines, and an inside information comparing unit which compares, with regard to a first manufacturing machine and a second manufacturing machine, which are selected by the comparison object selecting unit, first inside information and second inside information, which are acquired, and the inside information comparing unit extracting a difference therebetween. The cell controller also includes an abnormality cause finding unit for finding a cause of an abnormality that occurs in the first manufacturing machine or the second manufacturing machine, based on the difference, and an abnormality cause conveying unit for conveying the cause of the abnormality to the outside of the cell controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2019
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiromitsu Takahashi, Toshimichi Aoki
  • Publication number: 20190009360
    Abstract: A laser machining robot system that simplifies programming of a scanner operation is provided. A laser machining robot system includes a robot controller that controls a robot that performs remote laser machining and a scanner controller that controls a scanner. The robot controller includes: a machining information input unit that inputs machining information; a G-code generation unit that generates a G-code program using the machining information; and a G-code communication unit that transmits the G-code program to the scanner controller. The scanner controller includes a scanner program processing unit that applies the G-code program as a scanner operation program for operating the scanner.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2018
    Publication date: January 10, 2019
    Inventors: Toshimichi AOKI, Masanobu HATADA, Takayoshi MATSUMOTO
  • Patent number: 10175684
    Abstract: A laser processing robot system including a laser irradiation device that carries out an irradiation point shifting operation, a robot that moves the laser irradiation device, a laser irradiation device controller that controls the irradiation point shifting operation, and a robot controller that controls the robot. When moving the laser irradiation device by the robot, the robot controller instructs the robot on a plurality of first interpolated positions at every first interpolation period, and outputs a command value associated with the irradiation point shifting operation to the laser irradiation device controller at every second interpolation period shorter than the first interpolation period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2019
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiromitsu Takahashi, Toshimichi Aoki, Masanobu Hatada
  • Patent number: 10146203
    Abstract: A spot welding system comprises a robot which changes a relative position of a spot welding gun and a workpiece. A control device drives an electrode drive motor so that a movable electrode of the spot welding gun abuts on the workpiece, and is formed so as to perform a position detection control which detects a position of the workpiece based on a position of the movable electrode when a state value of the electrode drive motor deviates from a predetermined range. An operation program includes a workpiece detection parameter for performing the position detection control. The workpiece detection parameter is set at each of welding points in the operation program.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2018
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masanobu Hatada, Toshimichi Aoki
  • Publication number: 20180221990
    Abstract: A machining system includes a laser irradiation device, a camera that captures an image of a workpiece, and a display that displays the image captured by the camera. The machining system includes a robot control device that controls the camera and the display. The camera captures the image of the workpiece before machining. The robot control device calculates a laser-beam irradiation position on the workpiece and virtually displays the laser-beam irradiation position on the display so as to overlap the workpiece image captured by the camera.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 2, 2018
    Publication date: August 9, 2018
    Applicant: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Toshimichi Aoki
  • Publication number: 20180178323
    Abstract: A laser processing head emits a laser beam to a workpiece that moves during laser processing and includes: optical path changing members that reflect, toward the workpiece, the laser beam emitted from a laser beam output section; a driver that changes posture of each of the optical path changing members; a control unit that controls the driver; and a memory device that stores target path information indicating a target path of the laser processing, in which the control unit receives information relating to a relative position of the workpiece with respect to the laser processing head, and controls the driver on the basis of the received information relating to the relative position and the target path information to perform the laser processing along the target path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 15, 2017
    Publication date: June 28, 2018
    Inventors: Hiromitsu TAKAHASHI, Toshimichi AOKI
  • Publication number: 20180178311
    Abstract: A spot welding system includes a spot welding gun, a robot, and a tip dresser that polishes a face of electrode. The tip dresser includes a blade that cuts the face of the electrode and a blade driving motor that rotates the blade. A dresser control section of a control device detects torque of the blade driving motor. When the torque of the blade driving motor exceeds a predetermined torque upper limit value, the dresser control section carries out speed reduction control that reduces the rotation speed of the blade driving motor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2017
    Publication date: June 28, 2018
    Applicant: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Toshimichi Aoki
  • Publication number: 20180169856
    Abstract: A machine learning device for learning operations of a robot and a laser scanner, includes a state observation unit observing a state of a tip end of the robot where the laser scanner is mounted and a state of an optical component in the laser scanner as a state data; a determination data obtaining unit receiving at least one of a machining time of the robot where the laser scanner is mounted, a drive current driving the robot, a command path of the laser scanner, a passing time in a processable area where the laser scanner performs processing, and a distance between the robot and a part where the laser scanner performs processing as a determination data; and a learning unit learning operations of the robot and the laser scanner based on an output of the state observation unit and an output of the determination data obtaining unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 5, 2017
    Publication date: June 21, 2018
    Inventors: Yoshinori MURAKAMI, Toshimichi AOKI
  • Patent number: 9999937
    Abstract: A spot welding system 10 includes a spot welding gun having an opposite electrode 44, a movable electrode 48, and a drive part 52, a position detection part 54 that detects a position of the movable electrode 48, and a pressure change calculation part that calculates an amount of change between first pressurizing force at a first attitude and second pressurizing force at a second attitude based on a first position of the movable electrode 48 when the drive part 52 has been driven by a first pressurizing force command at the first attitude, a second position of the movable electrode 48 when the drive part 52 has been driven by the first pressurizing force command at the second attitude, and the first pressurizing force command. The first pressurizing force command and the first pressurizing force coincide with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2018
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Toshimichi Aoki
  • Publication number: 20180164793
    Abstract: A laser processing robot system including a laser irradiation device that carries out an irradiation point shifting operation, a robot that moves the laser irradiation device, a laser irradiation device controller that controls the irradiation point shifting operation, and a robot controller that controls the robot. When moving the laser irradiation device by the robot, the robot controller instructs the robot on a plurality of first interpolated positions at every first interpolation period, and outputs a command value associated with the irradiation point shifting operation to the laser irradiation device controller at every second interpolation period shorter than the first interpolation period.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 6, 2017
    Publication date: June 14, 2018
    Applicant: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiromitsu Takahashi, Toshimichi Aoki, Masanobu Hatada
  • Publication number: 20180056434
    Abstract: A spot welding apparatus includes a spot welding gun and a welding gun control apparatus. The welding gun control apparatus includes a pressurizing force control part controlling the pressurizing force, a position control part controlling the position of at least one electrode, and a determination part determining whether or not the welding is performed in a normal state. The position control part controls an electrode drive motor so as to hold the electrodes, after the supply of the electric current is started, at positions when the initial pressurizing force is applied before the electric current is supplied. The determination part acquires the pressurizing force and determines whether or not the welding is performed in a normal state based on change tendency in the pressurizing force.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 16, 2017
    Publication date: March 1, 2018
    Applicant: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshimichi Aoki, Yasuhiro Amagata