Patents by Inventor Yoshiharu Okabe

Yoshiharu Okabe 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: 11503681
    Abstract: A lighting device for a vehicle includes a light emission units, a control device, and an operating unit to be operated when the vehicle is started. The control device increases an emission intensity of light emission units in a first period. The first period includes a second period including a plurality of time intervals. The control device changes the emission intensity of light emission units in each time interval of the second period so that two light emission units in at least one pair of light emission units adjacent to each other differ from each other in light emission parameters. The light emission parameters include at least two parameters out of a magnitude of changing amount in emission intensity in the time interval, a direction indicating whether the emission intensity is increasing or decreasing in the time interval, and the emission intensity at an end point of the time interval.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masahiro Yamashita, Yoshiharu Okabe, Mitsuhisa Shida
  • Patent number: 11440461
    Abstract: A vehicle headlight control device includes: an indicator value acquiring unit configured to acquire an indicator value that represents a brightness of an object detected ahead of an own vehicle; a light distribution control unit configured to control a light distribution of a headlight such that a quantity of light irradiated to the irradiation region where a dimming target object is present is reduced when the dimming target object is detected, the dimming target object being an object of which the indicator value is greater than a reference value; a reference-value varying unit configured to set the reference value to a first reference value when the object is detected within the gaze area and set the reference value to a second reference value that is greater than the first reference value when the object is detected outside of the gaze area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yukimi Murase, Yoshiharu Okabe
  • Publication number: 20220053616
    Abstract: A lighting device for a vehicle includes a light emission units, a control device, and an operating unit to be operated when the vehicle is started. The control device increases an emission intensity of light emission units in a first period. The first period includes a second period including a plurality of time intervals. The control device changes the emission intensity of light emission units in each time interval of the second period so that two light emission units in at least one pair of light emission units adjacent to each other differ from each other in light emission parameters. The light emission parameters include at least two parameters out of a magnitude of changing amount in emission intensity in the time interval, a direction indicating whether the emission intensity is increasing or decreasing in the time interval, and the emission intensity at an end point of the time interval.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2021
    Publication date: February 17, 2022
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masahiro YAMASHITA, Yoshiharu OKABE, Mitsuhisa SHIDA
  • Publication number: 20210253021
    Abstract: A vehicle headlight control device includes: an indicator value acquiring unit configured to acquire an indicator value that represents a brightness of an object detected ahead of an own vehicle; a light distribution control unit configured to control a light distribution of a headlight such that a quantity of light irradiated to the irradiation region where a dimming target object is present is reduced when the dimming target object is detected, the dimming target object being an object of which the indicator value is greater than a reference value; a reference-value varying unit configured to set the reference value to a first reference value when the object is detected within the gaze area and set the reference value to a second reference value that is greater than the first reference value when the object is detected outside of the gaze area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2020
    Publication date: August 19, 2021
    Inventors: Yukimi MURASE, Yoshiharu OKABE
  • Patent number: 10821883
    Abstract: A control unit of a headlamp control device for a vehicle is configured so that, when an occupant of the vehicle performs a predetermined interruption operation while the illumination mode of a headlamp is a high beam mode during automatic illumination control, the control unit sets the illumination mode to a low beam mode until an interruption time passes. The interruption time is set to a smaller value as a vehicle speed correlation value is larger. The vehicle speed correlation value is a value that increases as a speed at which the vehicle has been traveling since the start of the interruption operation is higher.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yukimi Murase, Kazuhiko Nakashima, Yoshiharu Okabe, Tomonari Sawada, Tomoyuki Watanabe, Haruya Iwatsuki
  • Publication number: 20200317115
    Abstract: A control unit of a headlamp control device for a vehicle is configured so that, when an occupant of the vehicle performs a predetermined interruption operation while the illumination mode of a headlamp is a high beam mode during automatic illumination control, the control unit sets the illumination mode to a low beam mode until an interruption time passes. The interruption time is set to a smaller value as a vehicle speed correlation value is larger. The vehicle speed correlation value is a value that increases as a speed at which the vehicle has been traveling since the start of the interruption operation is higher.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2020
    Publication date: October 8, 2020
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yukimi MURASE, Kazuhiko NAKASHIMA, Yoshiharu OKABE, Tomonari SAWADA, Tomoyuki WATANABE, Haruya IWATSUKI
  • Patent number: 7579707
    Abstract: A discharge prevention circuit and electronic equipment with the discharge prevention circuit are provided. The discharging prevention circuit includes a first power line, a second power line, a capacitor, a current detector and a switch. The first and second power lines directly or indirectly connect a power feed line to a load. The capacitor and the current detector are directly or indirectly connected in series between the first and second power lines. The switch is disposed in the first or second power line. The current detector detects at least charging current to the capacitor and discharging current from the capacitor. And if the current detector detects discharging current from the capacitor, the switch acts to stop current flow between the capacitor and the power feed line through the switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2009
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshiharu Okabe, Takanori Muto
  • Publication number: 20060261751
    Abstract: A discharge prevention circuit and electronic equipment with the discharge prevention circuit are provided. The discharging prevention circuit includes a first power line, a second power line, a capacitor, a current detector and a switch. The first and second power lines directly or indirectly connect a power feed line to a load. The capacitor and the current detector are directly or indirectly connected in series between the first and second power lines. The switch is disposed in the first or second power line. The current detector detects at least charging current to the capacitor and discharging current from the capacitor. And if the current detector detects discharging current from the capacitor, the switch acts to stop current flow between the capacitor and the power feed line through the switch.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 15, 2006
    Publication date: November 23, 2006
    Inventors: Yoshiharu Okabe, Takanori Muto