Patents by Inventor Fumitake TAJIRI
Fumitake TAJIRI 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).
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Patent number: 11906914Abstract: In an image forming device, a first fixing member has a roller. A second fixing member has a belt to form a nip together with the first fixing member. A pressure modifying mechanism modifies a nip pressure at the nip to selected one of a first nip pressure and a second nip pressure smaller than the first nip pressure. A controller drives the first motor to drive the roller and fixes the developer image on a sheet in a state that the nip pressure is the first nip pressure. The controller modifies the nip pressure from the first nip pressure to the second nip pressure while driving the first motor in a case where a final sheet among one or more sheets fixed according to a print job has passed the nip, and halts the first motor after the nip pressure is modified to the second nip pressure.Type: GrantFiled: March 11, 2022Date of Patent: February 20, 2024Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Yusuke Mizuno, Fumitake Tajiri, Tokifumi Tanaka, Tomonori Watanabe, Sadaharu Kato, Hirotaka Imaeda
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Publication number: 20230393499Abstract: In an image forming device, a first fixing member has a roller. A second fixing member has a belt to form a nip together with the first fixing member. A pressure modifying mechanism modifies a nip pressure at the nip to selected one of a first nip pressure and a second nip pressure smaller than the first nip pressure. A controller drives the first motor to drive the roller and fixes the developer image on a sheet in a state that the nip pressure is the first nip pressure. The controller modifies the nip pressure from the first nip pressure to the second nip pressure while driving the first motor in a case where a final sheet among one or more sheets fixed according to a print job has passed the nip, and halts the first motor after the nip pressure is modified to the second nip pressure.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 24, 2023Publication date: December 7, 2023Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Yusuke MIZUNO, Fumitake TAJIRI, Tokifumi TANAKA, Tomonori WATANABE, Sadaharu KATO, Hirotaka IMAEDA
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Publication number: 20230013592Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a developing cartridge, a drum cartridge, a casing, a connector, and a controller. The drum cartridge includes a photosensitive drum, a drum cartridge memory, a charger, and a cleaner. The charger is configured to charge the photosensitive drum and including a wire and a grid electrode. The cleaner is configured to clean the wire. The connector is configured to be electrically connected to the drum cartridge memory. Information is writable to the drum memory through the connector. The detection circuit board is configured to detect a state of discharge of the charger. The controller is configured to perform: determining whether or not the state of discharge detected by the detection circuit board is abnormal; and writing, in the drum cartridge memory, information representing occurrence of the abnormal discharge through the connector in a case where occurrence of the abnormal discharge is determined.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 16, 2022Publication date: January 19, 2023Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Fumitake TAJIRI
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Patent number: 11507002Abstract: In an image forming device, a first fixing member has a roller. A second fixing member has a belt to form a nip together with the first fixing member. A first motor drives the roller. A pressure modifying mechanism modifies a nip pressure at the nip to selected one of a first nip pressure and a second nip pressure smaller than the first nip pressure. A controller starts driving the first motor to drive the roller in a case where a print command is received in a state that the nip pressure is the second nip pressure. The controller modifies the nip pressure from the second nip pressure to the first nip pressure after the driving is performed and fixes the developer image on the sheet in a state that the nip pressure is the first nip pressure.Type: GrantFiled: December 22, 2020Date of Patent: November 22, 2022Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Fumitake Tajiri, Yusuke Mizuno, Tokifumi Tanaka, Tomonori Watanabe, Sadaharu Kato, Hirotaka Imaeda
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Patent number: 11467522Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a developing cartridge, a drum cartridge, a casing, a connector, and a controller. The drum cartridge includes a photosensitive drum, a drum cartridge memory, a charger, and a cleaner. The charger is configured to charge the photosensitive drum and including a wire and a grid electrode. The cleaner is configured to clean the wire. The connector is configured to be electrically connected to the drum cartridge memory. Information is writable to the drum memory through the connector. The detection circuit board is configured to detect a state of discharge of the charger. The controller is configured to perform: determining whether or not the state of discharge detected by the detection circuit board is abnormal; and writing, in the drum cartridge memory, information representing occurrence of the abnormal discharge through the connector in a case where occurrence of the abnormal discharge is determined.Type: GrantFiled: December 9, 2020Date of Patent: October 11, 2022Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Fumitake Tajiri
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Publication number: 20220197197Abstract: In an image forming device, a first fixing member has a roller. A second fixing member has a belt to form a nip together with the first fixing member. A pressure modifying mechanism modifies a nip pressure at the nip to selected one of a first nip pressure and a second nip pressure smaller than the first nip pressure. A controller drives the first motor to drive the roller and fixes the developer image on a sheet in a state that the nip pressure is the first nip pressure. The controller modifies the nip pressure from the first nip pressure to the second nip pressure while driving the first motor in a case where a final sheet among one or more sheets fixed according to a print job has passed the nip, and halts the first motor after the nip pressure is modified to the second nip pressure.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 11, 2022Publication date: June 23, 2022Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Yusuke MIZUNO, Fumitake TAJIRI, Tokifumi TANAKA, Tomonori WATANABE, Sadaharu KATO, Hirotaka IMAEDA
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Patent number: 11340544Abstract: In an image-forming apparatus, a fixing device includes first and second fixing members; and a pressure modifying mechanism. The first and second fixing members form a nip. The pressure modifying mechanism modifies a nip pressure at the nip to one of a first nip pressure and a second nip pressure smaller than the first nip pressure. A controller performs: a converting process to convert print data into raster image data; an image-forming process to form a developer image on a sheet using the raster image data; and a fixing process to fix the developer image to the sheet with the fixing device at the first nip pressure. When a second converting process is not completed before a prescribed time following completion of a first fixing process has elapsed, the controller further performs a nip pressure reducing process to modify the nip pressure from the first to the second nip pressure.Type: GrantFiled: December 17, 2020Date of Patent: May 24, 2022Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Fumitake Tajiri, Yusuke Mizuno
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Patent number: 11294308Abstract: In an image forming device, a first fixing member has a roller. A second fixing member has a belt to form a nip together with the first fixing member. A pressure modifying mechanism modifies a nip pressure at the nip to selected one of a first nip pressure and a second nip pressure smaller than the first nip pressure. A controller drives the first motor to drive the roller and fixes the developer image on a sheet in a state that the nip pressure is the first nip pressure. The controller modifies the nip pressure from the first nip pressure to the second nip pressure while driving the first motor in a case where a final sheet among one or more sheets fixed according to a print job has passed the nip, and halts the first motor after the nip pressure is modified to the second nip pressure.Type: GrantFiled: December 21, 2020Date of Patent: April 5, 2022Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Yusuke Mizuno, Fumitake Tajiri, Tokifumi Tanaka, Tomonori Watanabe, Sadaharu Kato, Hirotaka Imaeda
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Patent number: 11288099Abstract: An electronic apparatus performs: acquiring an input file name from a removable memory connected to an interface; determining whether the input file name includes a first character string and whether the input file name includes a second character string; when the input file name includes the first character string, changing current setting information into specified setting information, the current setting information being among a plurality of setting information stored in the internal memory and corresponding to a first setting item specified by first input information, the specified setting information being included in the first input information and corresponding to the first setting item; and when the input file name includes the second character string, acquiring current setting information corresponding to a second setting item specified by second input information; and storing, in the removable memory, a file including output information indicating the acquired current setting information, as an outType: GrantFiled: October 24, 2017Date of Patent: March 29, 2022Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Tetsuya Okuno, Katsunori Enomoto, Fumitake Tajiri, Yoshihiro Itogawa, Sho Ogura, Hideki Nogawa
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Patent number: 11112739Abstract: In an image-forming apparatus, a fixing device includes: a first fixing member; a heater; a motor; a second fixing member; and a pressure modifying mechanism. The second fixing member forms a nip together with the first fixing member. The pressure modifying mechanism modifies a nip pressure at a nip to one of a first nip pressure and a second nip pressure smaller than the first nip pressure. In a first case where a sheet jam occurs in the image-forming apparatus and no sheet exists in the nip, a controller performs: reducing the nip pressure from the first nip pressure to the second nip pressure; and halting rotation of the first fixing member after completed the reducing. In a second case where a sheet jam occurs in the image-forming apparatus and a sheet exists in the nip, the controller performs: the halting; and the reducing after completed the halting.Type: GrantFiled: December 18, 2020Date of Patent: September 7, 2021Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Yusuke Mizuno, Fumitake Tajiri
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Publication number: 20210191296Abstract: In an image forming device, a first fixing member has a roller. A second fixing member has a belt to form a nip together with the first fixing member. A pressure modifying mechanism modifies a nip pressure at the nip to selected one of a first nip pressure and a second nip pressure smaller than the first nip pressure. A controller drives the first motor to drive the roller and fixes the developer image on a sheet in a state that the nip pressure is the first nip pressure. The controller modifies the nip pressure from the first nip pressure to the second nip pressure while driving the first motor in a case where a final sheet among one or more sheets fixed according to a print job has passed the nip, and halts the first motor after the nip pressure is modified to the second nip pressure.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 21, 2020Publication date: June 24, 2021Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Yusuke MIZUNO, Fumitake TAJIRI, Tokifumi TANAKA, Tomonori WATANABE, Sadaharu KATO, Hirotaka IMAEDA
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Publication number: 20210191295Abstract: In an image forming device, a first fixing member has a roller. A second fixing member has a belt to form a nip together with the first fixing member. A first motor drives the roller. A pressure modifying mechanism modifies a nip pressure at the nip to selected one of a first nip pressure and a second nip pressure smaller than the first nip pressure. A controller starts driving the first motor to drive the roller in a case where a print command is received in a state that the nip pressure is the second nip pressure. The controller modifies the nip pressure from the second nip pressure to the first nip pressure after the driving is performed and fixes the developer image on the sheet in a state that the nip pressure is the first nip pressure.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 22, 2020Publication date: June 24, 2021Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Fumitake TAJIRI, Yusuke MIZUNO, Tokifumi TANAKA, Tomonori WATANABE, Sadaharu KATO, Hirotaka !MAEDA
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Publication number: 20210191302Abstract: In an image-forming apparatus, a fixing device includes: a first fixing member; a heater; a motor; a second fixing member; and a pressure modifying mechanism. The second fixing member forms a nip together with the first fixing member. The pressure modifying mechanism modifies a nip pressure at a nip to one of a first nip pressure and a second nip pressure smaller than the first nip pressure. In a first case where a sheet jam occurs in the image-forming apparatus and no sheet exists in the nip, a controller performs: reducing the nip pressure from the first nip pressure to the second nip pressure; and halting rotation of the first fixing member after completed the reducing. In a second case where a sheet jam occurs in the image-forming apparatus and a sheet exists in the nip, the controller performs: the halting; and the reducing after completed the halting.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 18, 2020Publication date: June 24, 2021Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Yusuke MIZUNO, Fumitake TAJIRI
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Publication number: 20210191300Abstract: In an image-forming apparatus, a fixing device includes first and second fixing members; and a pressure modifying mechanism. The first and second fixing members form a nip. The pressure modifying mechanism modifies a nip pressure at the nip to one of a first nip pressure and a second nip pressure smaller than the first nip pressure. A controller performs: a converting process to convert print data into raster image data; an image-forming process to form a developer image on a sheet using the raster image data; and a fixing process to fix the developer image to the sheet with the fixing device at the first nip pressure. When a second converting process is not completed before a prescribed time following completion of a first fixing process has elapsed, the controller further performs a nip pressure reducing process to modify the nip pressure from the first to the second nip pressure.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 17, 2020Publication date: June 24, 2021Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Fumitake Tajiri, Yusuke Mizuno
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Publication number: 20210088954Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a developing cartridge, a drum cartridge, a casing, a connector, and a controller. The drum cartridge includes a photosensitive drum, a drum cartridge memory, a charger, and a cleaner. The charger is configured to charge the photosensitive drum and including a wire and a grid electrode. The cleaner is configured to clean the wire. The connector is configured to be electrically connected to the drum cartridge memory. Information is writable to the drum memory through the connector. The detection circuit board is configured to detect a state of discharge of the charger. The controller is configured to perform: determining whether or not the state of discharge detected by the detection circuit board is abnormal; and writing, in the drum cartridge memory, information representing occurrence of the abnormal discharge through the connector in a case where occurrence of the abnormal discharge is determined.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 9, 2020Publication date: March 25, 2021Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Fumitake TAJIRI
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Patent number: 10866552Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a developing cartridge, a drum cartridge, a casing, a connector, and a controller. The drum cartridge includes a photosensitive drum, a drum cartridge memory, a charger, and a cleaner. The charger is configured to charge the photosensitive drum and including a wire and a grid electrode. The cleaner is configured to clean the wire. The connector is configured to be electrically connected to the drum cartridge memory. Information is writable to the drum memory through the connector. The detection circuit board is configured to detect a state of discharge of the charger. The controller is configured to perform: determining whether or not the state of discharge detected by the detection circuit board is abnormal; and writing, in the drum cartridge memory, information representing occurrence of the abnormal discharge through the connector in a case where occurrence of the abnormal discharge is determined.Type: GrantFiled: March 25, 2019Date of Patent: December 15, 2020Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Fumitake Tajiri
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Patent number: 10571838Abstract: A controller of an image forming apparatus executes acquisition processing of acquiring an area of an image which exists in a predetermined region of a first page where a developer image is first to be formed, heating processing of heating a heating member such that a temperature of the heating member reaches a fixing temperature, and feeding processing of starting feed of a sheet to a process unit after a predetermined period of time elapses from a predetermined timing after a start of print processing. The predetermined region is laid at both end portions in a width direction of the first page. In a case where the area of the image is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value, the controller sets the predetermined period of time in the feeding processing shorter as compared with a case where the area of the image is larger than the predetermined value.Type: GrantFiled: February 25, 2019Date of Patent: February 25, 2020Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Fumitake Tajiri, Yusuke Mizuno, Tatsuya Koyama, Hisashi Tsukawaki
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Publication number: 20190302669Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a developing cartridge, a drum cartridge, a casing, a connector, and a controller. The drum cartridge includes a photosensitive drum, a drum cartridge memory, a charger, and a cleaner. The charger is configured to charge the photosensitive drum and including a wire and a grid electrode. The cleaner is configured to clean the wire. The connector is configured to be electrically connected to the drum cartridge memory. Information is writable to the drum memory through the connector. The detection circuit board is configured to detect a state of discharge of the charger. The controller is configured to perform: determining whether or not the state of discharge detected by the detection circuit board is abnormal; and writing, in the drum cartridge memory, information representing occurrence of the abnormal discharge through the connector in a case where occurrence of the abnormal discharge is determined.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 25, 2019Publication date: October 3, 2019Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Fumitake TAJIRI
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Publication number: 20190265622Abstract: A controller of an image forming apparatus executes acquisition processing of acquiring an area of an image which exists in a predetermined region of a first page where a developer image is first to be formed, heating processing of heating a heating member such that a temperature of the heating member reaches a fixing temperature, and feeding processing of starting feed of a sheet to a process unit after a predetermined period of time elapses from a predetermined timing after a start of print processing. The predetermined region is laid at both end portions in a width direction of the first page. In a case where the area of the image is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value, the controller sets the predetermined period of time in the feeding processing shorter as compared with a case where the area of the image is larger than the predetermined value.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 25, 2019Publication date: August 29, 2019Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Fumitake TAJIRI, Yusuke MIZUNO, Tatsuya KOYAMA, Hisashi TSUKAWAKI
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Patent number: 10018953Abstract: A controller calculates a first time period T1 and a second time period T2. The first time period T1 is defined as a time period required for conveying the end portion of the sheet, which is conveyed in a first conveyance direction E, disposed on the upstream side in the first conveyance direction E up to a reversal position A3. The second time period T2 is defined as a time period required for conveying an end portion of the reversed sheet disposed on an upstream side in a second conveyance direction R from the reversal position A3 to a branching point A1.Type: GrantFiled: October 25, 2016Date of Patent: July 10, 2018Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Fumitake Tajiri