Patents by Inventor Ichitaro Kubota

Ichitaro Kubota 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: 8393616
    Abstract: A sheet collecting apparatus includes a sheet discharge outlet for sequentially carrying out a sheet, a sheet collecting device to load and store the sheet from the sheet discharge outlet, a stopper device for regulating a front end position of the sheet loaded on the sheet collecting device, a stopper driving device for shifting a position of the stopper device, and a carry-in guide member for guiding the sheet from the sheet discharge outlet onto an uppermost sheet collected on the sheet collecting device. The carry-in guide member includes a pivot point, a slide-contact guide surface that swings on the pivot point corresponding to a load amount of the sheet collecting device to guide a sheet front end fed from the sheet discharge outlet onto the uppermost sheet, and a sheet pressing portion continued to the slide-contact guide surface and pressing the uppermost sheet on the sheet collecting device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2013
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Ichitaro Kubota, Tsukasa Kondo
  • Patent number: 8172214
    Abstract: A sheet collecting apparatus has a sheet transport path for transporting a sheet, a tray device for bearing and storing sheets, a regulation stopper for regulating the sheet, a holding path to temporarily hold a sheet, an alignment roller to transport the sheet, and a control device for controlling transport of the sheet. The alignment roller adjusts a level of pressing force acting on the sheet transported onto the tray device. The control device has a first operation mode and a second operation mode. In the first operation mode, the alignment roller applies a transport force to the sheet by a predetermined pressing force after a rear end of the sheet is carried into the tray device, while in the second operation mode, changing the pressing force applied to the sheets from the alignment roller from a first pressing force to a second pressing force and applying varied transport force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Ichitaro Kubota, Kazuhiko Watanabe
  • Patent number: 8123209
    Abstract: A sheet collecting apparatus has a sheet discharge outlet, a tray device for bearing and storing sheets, a regulation stopper disposed in the tray device; a forward/backward rotation roller, a roller lifting/lowering device, a sheet pressing guide disposed between the forward/backward rotation roller and the regulation stopper; a pressing force reducing device for reducing a pressing force, and a control device for controlling the forward/backward rotation roller, the roller lifting/lowering device and the pressing force reducing device. The control device is configured to rotate forward the forward/backward rotation roller in the operating position to move forward a carried-in sheet in the sheet discharge direction by a predetermined distance, and then rotate backward the forward/backward rotation roller. The control device has two operation modes that are selectively executed a first operation mode and a second operation mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2012
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Ichitaro Kubota, Kazuhiko Watanabe
  • Patent number: 8028980
    Abstract: A sheet folding device includes a sheet guide for holding a sheet bunch, a folding roll device having a first folding roll and a second folding roll, a folding blade inserting the sheet bunch supported on the sheet guide to a nip position between the first and second folding rolls, and a blade driving device for moving the folding blade from a standby position to the nip position on the folding rolls. The sheet guide has a curved guide section supporting the sheet bunch and an outlet guide section connected to the curved guide section to guide the sheet bunch to the folding rolls. The curved guide section has a curved guide plate supporting the sheet bunch so that the sheet bunch rolls back toward the folding roll device. The outlet guide section includes a pair of opposite guide plates in folding the sheet bunch by the folding blade.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2011
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Eiji Fukasawa, Ichitaro Kubota, Kenichi Matsuno, Satoshi Iwama
  • Patent number: 7975999
    Abstract: A post-processing apparatus includes a sheet carry-in path along which sheets from a carry-in port are fed through a sheet discharging port to a downstream post-processing position, and a collecting guide, for setting and collecting the sheets into a bunch. The collecting guide is located downstream of the sheet discharging port with a difference in level between the sheet discharging port and the collecting guide, is provided. A post-processing apparatus is provided for executing a stapling process and/or a folding process on the sheet bunch collected on the collecting guide. A sheet leading end regulating device is provided for regulating a position of leading ends of the sheets collected on the collecting guide device. The sheet leading end regulating device is movable according to a sheet size so that trailing ends of the sheet ends are placed at a predetermined position below the sheet discharging port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2011
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Eiji Fukasawa, Ichitaro Kubota, Kenichi Matsuno, Takahisa Kazuno
  • Patent number: 7946563
    Abstract: A post-processing apparatus for transferring sheets from a sheet carry-in port to a first post-processing section and a second post-processing section to execute post-processing such as stapling and sheet folding on the sheets, includes a sheet carry-in path located in a substantially horizontal direction. The sheets fed to the carry-in port are sequentially transferred to a predetermined sheet discharging port. A first switchback conveying path branches off from the sheet carry-in path so as to reverse a sheet conveying direction. The first post-processing section connected to the first switchback conveying path executes the post-processing on the sheets. A second switchback conveying path branching off from between the carry-in port and sheet discharging port of the sheet carry-in path is upstream of the first switchback conveying path so as to reverse the sheet conveying direction. The second post-processing section is located downstream of the second switchback conveying path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2011
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Eiji Fukasawa, Ichitaro Kubota, Kenichi Matsuno
  • Publication number: 20110049790
    Abstract: In the invention, to construct, in a simplified structure, a compact sheet collecting apparatus that enables sheets successively carried out of a sheet discharge outlet to be reliably collated and collected in the order of pages, a carry-in guide member is disposed between the sheet discharge outlet and sheet collecting means, and is comprised of a pivot point, a slide-contact guide surface that swings on the pivot point corresponding to a load amount of the sheet collecting means to guide a sheet front end fed from the sheet discharge outlet onto the uppermost sheet, and a sheet pressing portion that is continued to the slide-contact guide surface and that presses the uppermost sheet on the sheet collecting means. Concurrently therewith, the pivot point, slide-contact guide surface and sheet pressing portion are arranged in this order in the sheet discharge direction from the sheet discharge outlet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2010
    Publication date: March 3, 2011
    Applicant: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ichitaro Kubota, Tsukasa Kondo
  • Patent number: 7871065
    Abstract: A sheet folding device has a releasable clutch between a roll driving device and a pair of folding rolls for folding a sheet bunch so that when a folding blade inserts the sheet bunch to a nip position on the pair of folding rolls, the first and second folding rolls rotate following the inserted sheets. The sheet folding device includes a guide for holding the sheet bunch at a predetermined fold position. The first and second folding rolls arranged at the fold position are in pressure contact with each other. The folding blade inserts the sheet bunch supported on the guide to the nip position on the first and second folding rolls. The roll driving device rotationally drives the first and second folding rolls. The first and second folding rolls and the roll driving device are coupled together via the releasable clutch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2011
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Eiji Fukasawa, Ichitaro Kubota, Kenichi Matsuno, Satoshi Iwama
  • Publication number: 20100320672
    Abstract: A sheet folding device includes a sheet guide for holding a sheet bunch, a folding roll device having a first folding roll and a second folding roll, a folding blade inserting the sheet bunch supported on the sheet guide to a nip position between the first and second folding rolls, and a blade driving device for moving the folding blade from a standby position to the nip position on the folding rolls. The sheet guide has a curved guide section supporting the sheet bunch and an outlet guide section connected to the curved guide section to guide the sheet bunch to the folding rolls. The curved guide section has a curved guide plate supporting the sheet bunch so that the sheet bunch rolls back toward the folding roll device. The outlet guide section includes a pair of opposite guide plates in folding the sheet bunch by the folding blade.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 27, 2010
    Publication date: December 23, 2010
    Applicant: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Eiji Fukasawa, Ichitaro Kubota, Kenichi Matsuno, Satoshi Iwama
  • Patent number: 7832718
    Abstract: A sheet post processing apparatus of compact shape with good alignment can be obtained by providing an accumulation tray for aligning and accumulating sheets successively delivered, a post processing unit for performing a post process such as binding to a sheet stack accumulated on the accumulation tray, and a grip unit for gripping the post processed sheet stack. The post processing unit enables the accumulation tray to reciprocate in a direction transverse to a discharging direction of a sheet discharge tray. The grip unit has a grip part for gripping the sheet stack, a guide part for reciprocally guiding the grip part back and forth in the sheet discharging direction. The grip part is separable from the guide part during a movement of the post processing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2010
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Eiji Fukasawa, Ichitaro Kubota, Kenichi Matsuno
  • Publication number: 20100150636
    Abstract: The invention provides a sheet collecting apparatus for enabling sheets to be loaded and stored in a neatly aligned state with respect to a regulation stopper disposed in a tray when loading and storing the sheets on the tray, where the apparatus has a tray means for bearing and storing sheets from a sheet discharge outlet, a regulation stopper for regulating a sheet by the sheet carried in the tray means striking the stopper, a forward/backward rotation roller for feeding the sheet carried onto the tray means from the sheet discharge outlet against the regulation stopper to align, a roller lifting/lowering means for supporting the forward/backward rotation roller to be able to move up and down between an operating position in which the roller comes into contact with an uppermost sheet and a standby position in which the roller is withdrawn above the sheet with respect to the tray means, a sheet pressing guide disposed between the forward/backward rotation roller and the regulation stopper to press the upperm
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2009
    Publication date: June 17, 2010
    Applicant: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ichitaro Kubota, Kazuhiko Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20100140861
    Abstract: The invention is to enable sheets to be aligned neatly even when front ends of the sheets are displaced to the front and back in overlapping the front and rear sheets and transporting the sheets from a sheet discharge outlet onto the tray, and provides an apparatus having a sheet transport path for transporting a sheet from a carry-in entrance to a predetermined sheet discharge outlet, a tray means for bearing and storing sheets, a regulation stopper for regulating the sheet by an end edge of the sheet striking the stopper, a holding path for temporarily holding a sheet in the sheet transport path, an alignment roller for transporting the sheet fed from the sheet discharge outlet to the regulation stopper, and a control means for controlling transport of the sheet, where the control means controls so that in the first operation mode, the alignment roller applies a transport force to the sheet by a predetermined pressing force after the rear end of the sheet is carried into the tray means, and that in the seco
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2009
    Publication date: June 10, 2010
    Applicant: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ichitaro Kubota, Kazuhiko Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20100143015
    Abstract: The invention is to provide a sheet processing apparatus enabling a piled amount of debris paper scraps in a debris storage box to be detected accurately in a simplified mechanism in performing cutting processing on sheets, and the sheet processing apparatus is provided with an apparatus frame, sheet processing means disposed in the apparatus frame to perform cutting such as punching and trimming on a transported sheet, debris storage box for storing paper debris generated in the sheet processing means, and debris amount detecting means for detecting a debris amount inside the debris storage box, where the debris storage box is supported by the apparatus frame to be able to move to positions between an installation position for storing the paper debris and a non-installation position for removing stored paper debris in an orthogonal direction to a transport direction of the transported sheet, and the debris amount detecting means is formed of a pair of sensors arranged to oppose each other in positions for en
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2009
    Publication date: June 10, 2010
    Applicant: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ichitaro Kubota, Eiji Fukasawa, Kenichi Matsuno
  • Patent number: 7467794
    Abstract: A sheet conveyance release mechanism has a movable guide unit and a fixed guide unit adjacent to the movable guide unit. The mechanism has a horizontal conveyance guide unit for conveying a sheet in a substantially horizontal direction, and a vertical conveyance guide unit for conveying a sheet in a substantially vertical direction. A jam release lever moves the movable guide unit from a first position adjacent to the fixed guide unit in the horizontal direction to a second position below the fixed guide unit, and moves the vertical conveyance guide unit so as to separate from a guide surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2008
    Assignee: NISCA Corporation
    Inventors: Ichitaro Kubota, Daisuke Kaneoya, Kunihide Suzuki
  • Publication number: 20080265484
    Abstract: A sheet post processing apparatus of compact shape with good alignment can be obtained by providing an accumulation tray for aligning and accumulating sheets successively delivered, a post processing unit for performing a post process such as binding to a sheet stack accumulated on the accumulation tray, and a grip unit for gripping the post processed sheet stack. The post processing unit enables the accumulation tray to reciprocate in a direction transverse to a discharging direction of a sheet discharge tray. The grip unit has a grip part for gripping the sheet stack, a guide part for reciprocally guiding the grip part back and forth in the sheet discharging direction. The grip part is separable from the guide part during a movement of the post processing unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 29, 2008
    Publication date: October 30, 2008
    Applicant: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Eiji Fukasawa, Ichitaro Kubota, Kenichi Matsuno
  • Publication number: 20080211158
    Abstract: A post-processing apparatus includes a sheet carry-in path along which sheets from a carry-in port are fed through a sheet discharging port to a downstream post-processing position, and a collecting guide, for setting and collecting the sheets into a bunch. The collecting guide is located downstream of the sheet discharging port with a difference in level between the sheet discharging port and the collecting guide, is provided. A post-processing apparatus is provided for executing a stapling process and/or a folding process on the sheet bunch collected on the collecting guide. A sheet leading end regulating device is provided for regulating a position of leading ends of the sheets collected on the collecting guide device. The sheet leading end regulating device is movable according to a sheet size so that trailing ends of the sheet ends are placed at a predetermined position below the sheet discharging port.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 31, 2008
    Publication date: September 4, 2008
    Applicant: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Eiji Fukasawa, Ichitaro Kubota, Kenichi Matsuno, Takahisa Kazuno
  • Patent number: 7411706
    Abstract: An original feeding apparatus includes a sheet feeding tray for stacking an original; a feeding device for feeding the original stacked on the sheet feeding tray one at a time; a transport roller for receiving the original from the feeding means at a predetermined nipping position and transporting the original along an outer surface of the roller; a drive device for driving the transport roller; and a detection device for detecting that a predetermined fixed position on the outer surface of the transport roller matches the nipping position. The transport roller can be controlled such that the transport roller receives a leading edge of the original fed from the feeding means at the fixed position, i.e. an original transport starting position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2008
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventor: Ichitaro Kubota
  • Publication number: 20080181701
    Abstract: A post-processing apparatus for transferring sheets from a sheet carry-in port to a first post-processing section and a second post-processing section to execute post-processing such as stapling and sheet folding on the sheets, includes a sheet carry-in path located in a substantially horizontal direction. The sheets fed to the carry-in port are sequentially transferred to a predetermined sheet discharging port. A first switchback conveying path branches off from the sheet carry-in path so as to reverse a sheet conveying direction. The first post-processing section connected to the first switchback conveying path executes the post-processing on the sheets. A second switchback conveying path branching off from between the carry-in port and sheet discharging port of the sheet carry-in path is upstream of the first switchback conveying path so as to reverse the sheet conveying direction. The second post-processing section is located downstream of the second switchback conveying path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 31, 2008
    Publication date: July 31, 2008
    Applicant: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Eiji Fukasawa, Ichitaro Kubota, Kenichi Matsuno
  • Publication number: 20080182740
    Abstract: A sheet folding device has a releasable clutch between a roll driving device and a pair of folding rolls for folding a sheet bunch so that when a folding blade inserts the sheet bunch to a nip position on the pair of folding rolls, the first and second folding rolls rotate following the inserted sheets. The sheet folding device includes a guide for holding the sheet bunch at a predetermined fold position. The first and second folding rolls arranged at the fold position are in pressure contact with each other. The folding blade inserts the sheet bunch supported on the guide to the nip position on the first and second folding rolls. The roll driving device rotationally drives the first and second folding rolls. The first and second folding rolls and the roll driving device are coupled together via the releasable clutch.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 31, 2008
    Publication date: July 31, 2008
    Applicant: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Eiji Fukasawa, Ichitaro Kubota, Kenichi Matsuno, Satoshi Iwama
  • Publication number: 20060244208
    Abstract: A sheet discharge tray for stacking discharged sheets has a detachable member detachably mounted to a main unit from which the sheets are discharged, and a fastening member, attached to the main unit, for fastening the detachable member to the main unit. By mounting the detachable member to the main unit, the tray is configured to link the detachable member and the fastening member, thereby increasing the structural rigidity of a multi-bin sorter. The sheet discharge tray ensures the rigidity of the apparatus, makes packaging work easier when shipping the product, has a compact structure, and is capable of protecting accessory parts such as a static electricity discharging member and sheet detecting members.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 25, 2006
    Publication date: November 2, 2006
    Applicant: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ichitaro Kubota, Daisuke Kaneoya