Patents Examined by Carla J Therrien
  • Patent number: 11467523
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a developing roller, a photoconductor drum, a density detector, a current detector, and a controller. The developing roller carries a toner. The photoconductor drum carries a toner patch. The density detector detects toner density of the toner patch. The current detector detects developing current flowing to the toner patch. The controller calculates an inclination of an approximate straight line approximating a relation between the toner density and the developing current. The developing roller develops three or more toner patches, different in toner density and different in developing current from one another, on the photoconductor drum. The controller calculates the inclination, using different mathematical expressions depending on whether three toner patches or four toner patches are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Jun Nakai
  • Patent number: 11460795
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, an exposure unit, a developing member, and a control unit. The exposure unit exposes a surface of the image bearing member to light to form an electrostatic latent image. The developing member develops the electrostatic latent image by using toner to form a toner image. In image formation based on input image data, the control unit uses the exposure unit to control a maximum gradation value of the toner image to be formed on the image bearing member surface, based on a repetition length of a dither pattern. The control unit performs control so that the maximum gradation value is larger in a case where a first dither pattern having a first length as the repetition length is used than where a second dither pattern having a second length longer than the first length as the repetition length is used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Keisuke Ishizumi, Hiroko Yokoyama, Shinji Katagiri
  • Patent number: 11460790
    Abstract: An optical scanning device includes a light source that emits a light beam, a lens member, and a housing that supports the lens member. The housing and the lens member are provided with a housing-side engagement and a lens member-side engagement respectively that engage with each other. The housing-side engagement and the lens member-side engagement are capable of pivoting the lens member around an axis along an optical axis direction of the light beam passing through a contact contacted through concavo-convex engagement with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Manabu Matsuo, Takaharu Motoyama
  • Patent number: 11442385
    Abstract: The heater including a substrate, a first heat generation member, a second heat generation member having a length substantially a same in a longitudinal direction as a length of the first heat generation member, a third heat generation member having a length shorter than lengths of the first heat generation member and the second heat generation member in the longitudinal direction, and a fourth heat generation member having a length shorter than length of the third heat generation member in the longitudinal direction, wherein the first heat generation member, the second heat generation member, the third heat generation member and the fourth heat generation member are arranged on the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Doda, Ken Nakagawa, Tsuguhiro Yoshida, Yutaka Sato, Kohei Wakatsu
  • Patent number: 11442389
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive drum, a transfer unit, a voltage supply circuit, and a controller. The transfer unit is configured to transfer developer onto a printing medium from the photosensitive drum. The voltage supply circuit is configured to supply voltage to the transfer unit. The controller is electrically connected to the voltage supply circuit. The controller is configured to: calculate a cumulative voltage value, the cumulative voltage value being a total of supplied voltage to the transfer unit from the voltage supply circuit after using the transfer unit is started; and determine how long a lifetime of the transfer unit remains based on the calculated cumulative voltage value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tadao Kyotani, Chieko Mimura, Keita Suzuki
  • Patent number: 11435676
    Abstract: A focus adjustment method is disclosed. The focus adjustment method includes depositing, using a print apparatus, print agent onto a printable substrate, the print apparatus comprising a photoconductive surface and a writing head having a first end and a second end, the writing head having an array of light sources to emit radiation onto the photoconductive surface during a printing operation. The method also includes during said depositing, moving the writing head relative to the photoconductive surface, between a first position and a second position, to create a printed image. The method also includes determining, based on the printed image, for each of a plurality of locations along the writing head, a position of the writing head relative to the photoconductive surface at which the writing head is most focussed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Oron Ambar, Zvi Erlich, Haim Vladomirski
  • Patent number: 11429060
    Abstract: A drum unit includes: a frame; a first photosensitive drum; a second photosensitive drum; a charger; and a storage medium. The frame includes: a first frame plate; a second frame plate spaced apart from the first frame plate in a first direction; a third frame plate connecting one end of the first frame plate to one end of the second frame plate; and a fourth frame plate connecting another end of the first frame plate to another end of the second frame plate. The first photosensitive drum and the second photosensitive drum are rotatably supported by the frame. The second photosensitive drum is spaced apart from the first photosensitive drum and positioned closer to the third frame plate than the first photosensitive drum to the third frame plate in a second direction. The storage medium has an electrical contact surface positioned at an outer surface of the fourth frame plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Isao Kishi
  • Patent number: 11429049
    Abstract: An image forming device includes a first detection sensor unit that detects a toner image formed on an image carrier; a second detection sensor unit that detects the toner image disposed to be separated in the main scanning direction with respect to the first detection sensor unit and formed on the image carrier; and a controller. The controller causes: an image carrier to carry toner images indicating a first test pattern and a second test pattern, and discriminate a difference from a determination condition with respect to a first determination result based on a first threshold value and a second determination result. The controller determines a component to be an occurrence cause of the difference based on a combination of the first determination result and the second determination result when it is determined that the difference is present.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Masahiro Kodo
  • Patent number: 11429035
    Abstract: A light emitting device includes: a first light-emitting-element row that includes light emitting elements arranged in a row in a main scanning direction; a second light-emitting-element row that includes light emitting elements arranged in a row in the main scanning direction and that is positioned in such a manner that at least a portion of the second light-emitting-element row overlaps the first light-emitting-element row in a subscanning direction; and a light-emission control unit that switches a light-emitting-element row caused to emit light between the first light-emitting-element row and the second light-emitting-element row at a switching point that is set at a position in an overlapping portion in which the first light-emitting-element row and the second light-emitting-element row overlap each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventor: Kyoji Yagi
  • Patent number: 11415921
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a control portion, a switching processing portion, a determination processing portion, and a release processing portion. The control portion includes a detection portion that detects abnormality regarding an image forming portion, and controls the image forming portion. When the abnormality detected by the detection portion is a first abnormality, the switching processing portion switches an operation mode of the image forming apparatus from a normal mode to a stop mode in which the control portion is stopped. When a specific operation is performed in a case where the operation mode is the stop mode, the determination processing portion determines whether or not a second abnormality is continued, based on a record result of detection of the abnormality. When it is determined that the second abnormality is continued, the release processing portion releases regulation on a removal of a developer storing portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Masayuki Mochizuki
  • Patent number: 11415908
    Abstract: A light source according to the present invention is for an exposure device of a multifunction peripheral and includes a multi-beam light source. Two laser diodes included in the multi-beam light source are individually driven by a laser driver. Reference signals Vref1 and Vref2 used to control the light emitting power of the laser diodes are individually generated by two reference signal generation circuits. The reference signals Vref1 and Vref2 are each generated by processing including digital calculation, and at least one of the reference signals Vref1 and Vref2 includes a component for correcting the relative output difference of the laser diodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazutaka Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 11415906
    Abstract: A housing includes a first side wall having a first opening and a second side wall arranged spaced away from the first side wall in a first direction. A drawer detachably supports a drum unit. The drawer moves through the first opening between an inside position at which the drawer is located inside the housing and an outside position at which the drawer is located outside the housing. An LED unit moves between: a first position at which the LED unit exposes the photosensitive drum; and a second position at which the LED unit is farther away from the photosensitive drum than at the first position and the LED unit is closer to the first side wall in the first direction than at the first position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Shougo Sato
  • Patent number: 11409220
    Abstract: According to examples, an apparatus may include a processor and a memory on which are stored machine-readable instructions that when executed by the processor, may cause the processor to print a first indicia at a first region on a first side of a print medium. The instructions may also cause the processor to print a second indicia at a second region on the first side of the print medium, in which the second region may be spaced a prescribed distance from the first region along a first edge of the print medium. In some examples, a relative position of the first indicia to the second indicia may correlate to a skew correction value for the first edge of the print medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Mark J. Wibbels
  • Patent number: 11409219
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, an acquisition unit, and a controller. The image forming unit forms images of an output material set including multiple types of output materials. The acquisition unit acquires image information of the output material set transmitted from a terminal apparatus. The terminal apparatus provides an identifier for identifying the output material set to each of the multiple types of output materials included in the output material set and transmits image information of each of the multiple types of output materials. The controller controls, in a case where the image information of the multiple types of output materials for each output material set is ready, the image forming unit to form the images of the output material set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventors: Kazuma Hosoda, Kana Omura, Hideo Kimura, Kyoko Matsushita, Takumi Nishikata
  • Patent number: 11402774
    Abstract: A fixing device includes a fixing film, a heater for heating the fixing film, a heater holder including a heater holding portion holding the heater, and a pressing roller forming a nip between itself and the fixing film to be heated by the heater. In the nip, a toner image carried on a recording material is fixed. The heater holder includes an opposing surface which is provided on a side upstream of the heater holding portion with respect to a recording material feeding direction and which opposes the pressing roller, a lubricant holding portion provided on the opposing surface, for supplying a lubricant to between the fixing film and the heater, and a projected portion provided on the side upstream of the heater holding portion with respect to the recording material feeding direction and projecting toward the pressing roller from the opposing surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Toru Imaizumi
  • Patent number: 11397397
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier, a charging unit, an exposure unit, a developing unit, a transfer device, a sensor, and a processor. The processor compares a surface potential difference between a first surface potential and a second surface potential of the image carrier to a threshold to detect that a surface potential difference exceeding the threshold is generated in the image carrier in a state where the supply of the developer from the developing unit to the image carrier is inhibited, the first surface potential being a surface potential of the image carrier to which the transfer bias measured by the sensor is not applied, and the second surface potential being a surface potential of the image carrier to which the transfer bias is applied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2022
    Assignee: TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hiroki Tashiro
  • Patent number: 11385582
    Abstract: An image forming device includes a transfer unit that transfers a toner image onto a recording medium that has first and second surfaces and is conveyed in a conveyance direction; a main heating unit arranged downstream of the transfer unit in the conveyance direction, and which contacts and heats the recording medium and fixes the toner image onto the recording medium; a reversing unit that reverses front and back of the recording medium having a first toner image fixed onto the first surface; and a preheating unit arranged between the transfer and main heating units in the conveyance direction and that heats the recording medium having a second toner image transferred onto the second surface. The preheating unit heats the recording medium so that a temperature of the first surface is lower than a softening point of a toner before the recording medium is heated by the main heating unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventors: Tokuya Sakamoto, Takayuki Yamashita, Tetsuro Kodera, Kosuke Yamada, Yoshiki Shimodaira, Masato Yamashita
  • Patent number: 11385587
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a first detector detecting an operation sound based on a sound wave received by a receiver; a second detector detecting basis weight of recording material based on an ultrasonic wave transmitted from a transmitter and received by the receiver; a switching unit that switches destination of a reception signal from the receiver between a first path to the first detector and a second path to the second detector; and a controller that controls the switching unit such that the reception signal is output to the first path at a first timing and to the second path at a second timing. When a predetermined condition is satisfied, the controller controls the switching unit such that the reception signal is output to the second path at the first timing or to the first path at the second timing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Atsunobu Mori, Yohei Suzuki, Seiji Hara, Yasuhisa Matsumoto, Junya Azami, Masafumi Monde, Hirotaka Shiomichi, Tatsuya Hotogi
  • Patent number: 11385579
    Abstract: According to at least one embodiment, an image forming apparatus includes a voltage measuring device, a fixing device, and a controller. The voltage measuring device measures an input voltage. The fixing device includes a heater that heats a sheet. When the measured voltage becomes equal to or greater than a threshold value, the controller determines a heating timing of the heater based on the voltage and activates the heater at the determined heating timing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yohei Doi
  • Patent number: 11378896
    Abstract: According to aspects of the present disclosures, a controller of an image forming apparatus is configured to determine, when printing is started, whether a particular condition is satisfied, the particular condition being satisfied when an elapsed time from a time when the polygon mirror starts rotating to a time when a rotation speed of the polygon mirror has reached a determination speed which is slower than a target speed is less than an upper limit time, when the particular condition is determined to be satisfied, feed the sheet from the sheet tray with the feed roller before the rotation speed reaches the target speed, and when the particular condition is determined not to be satisfied, feed the sheet from the sheet tray with the feed roller after the rotation speed has reached the target speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Takato Mori