Patents by Inventor Kan Mukai

Kan Mukai 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: 10520863
    Abstract: The cleaning member is disposed to be opposite to the first roller with the second roller being provided therebetween. Compared to a case when the second roller is placed at a first position on a side of the first roller, if the second roller is placed at a second position on a side of the cleaning roller, a pressure between the second roller and the first roller becomes smaller, and a pressure between the second roller and the cleaning member becomes larger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2019
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kousuke Namisaki, Kan Mukai
  • Publication number: 20190155196
    Abstract: To provide a roller device that can improve the life of a cleaning member and that enables a cleaning member to perform a cleaning operation even when a contact-pressure release operation is performed to release the contact-pressure of the second roller on the first roller and to provide a fixing device and an image forming apparatus. The cleaning member is disposed to be opposite to the first roller with the second roller being provided therebetween. Compared to a case when the second roller is placed at a first position on a side of the first roller, if the second roller is placed at a second position on a side of the cleaning roller, a pressure between the second roller and the first roller becomes smaller, and a pressure between the second roller and the cleaning member becomes larger.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2018
    Publication date: May 23, 2019
    Inventors: KOUSUKE NAMISAKI, KAN MUKAI
  • Patent number: 9651901
    Abstract: A fixing device includes a cleaning member configured to clean a fixing member and a re-adhering member to which toner that adheres to the cleaning member is caused to re-adhere. The re-adhering member is disposed so as to face the fixing member. A surface of the cleaning member, which makes contact with the fixing member, may be constituted by a nonmetal member, and a surface of the re-adhering member, which makes contact with the cleaning member, may be constituted by a metal member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kan Mukai
  • Publication number: 20160313679
    Abstract: A fixing device includes a cleaning member configured to clean a fixing member and a re-adhering member to which toner that adheres to the cleaning member is caused to re-adhere. The re-adhering member is disposed so as to face the fixing member. A surface of the cleaning member, which makes contact with the fixing member, may be constituted by a nonmetal member, and a surface of the re-adhering member, which makes contact with the cleaning member, may be constituted by a metal member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 19, 2016
    Publication date: October 27, 2016
    Inventor: Kan MUKAI
  • Patent number: 8948624
    Abstract: A fixing device includes a fixing roller, a single heating member that heats the fixing roller, a pressure roller, a first temperature detecting element that detects the temperature of the contact region, of the fixing roller, that comes into contact with the recording paper transported, and a second temperature detecting element that detects the temperature of the noncontact region of the fixing roller. The fixing device carries out energization control of the heating member based on the temperature detected by the first temperature detecting element and stops energization control of the heating member when the temperature detected by the second temperature detecting element reaches a prescribed temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kan Mukai, Yoshiharu Yoneda
  • Publication number: 20120201550
    Abstract: A fixing device includes a fixing roller, a heating member, a pressure roller, a first temperature detecting element that detects a temperature of a contact region of the fixing roller that comes into contact with a paper, and a second temperature detecting element that detects a temperature of a noncontact region, and in which energization control of the heating member is carried out by the first one, and energization control is stopped when a temperature detected by the second reaches a prescribed temperature, the device including a conduction shutoff portion that, shuts off the energization where the temperature of the contact region has reached an upper limit, wherein, in which a center of the paper in an axial direction of the fixing roller has been aligned with a reference position of the fixing roller, the paper is transported, and the first one and the shutoff portion are placed symmetrically.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 24, 2012
    Publication date: August 9, 2012
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kan MUKAI, Yoshiharu YONEDA
  • Patent number: 7865100
    Abstract: A paper separation claw is separated from a surface of a pressure roller by a drive source being turned ON at a time t2 before commencement of rotation of the pressure roller, and the paper separation claw is made to contact the surface of the pressure roller by the drive source being turned OFF after commencement of rotation (a time t4) of the pressure roller. Furthermore, the paper separation claw is separated from the surface of the pressure roller by the drive source being turned ON again before stopping of rotation (a time t5) of the pressure roller after an image forming operation of a single job is finished, and the paper separation claw is made to contact the surface of the pressure roller by the drive source being turned OFF again after stopping of rotation (a time t8) of the pressure roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2011
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takashi Yamanaka, Kimihide Tsukamoto, Tatsuya Shinkawa, Kan Mukai
  • Patent number: 7817951
    Abstract: A cleaning member for cleaning the toner remaining on the outer peripheral surface of a heat roller that fixes an unfixed developer image formed on a sheet of paper onto the paper by heating under pressure, includes: a mesh portion having a predetermined mesh in the area abutting the heat roller. The mesh portion is formed of heat resistant wires.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshiki Takiguchi, Kan Mukai, Takashi Yamanaka, Tatsuya Inoue
  • Patent number: 7783239
    Abstract: A fuser unit for an image forming apparatus including: a tape-like cleaning member that abuts on a fuser roller and cleans its peripheral surface; a press roller that presses the fuser roller via the cleaning member; a feed roller that feeds said cleaning member; a wind roller that winds the cleaning member therearound; and a controller that actuates a fixing function before an image formation, stops it after said image formation, and rotates and stops the wind roller and/or the feed roller to control a winding quantity of the cleaning member, wherein said controller calculates a toner image amount based on the prescribed number of pages by tracking from a page on which an image is formed just before the image formation is completed, and determines whether or not said cleaning member is wound around the wind roller during a non-fixing period based on the calculated toner image amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takashi Yamanaka, Kimihide Tsukamoto, Tatsuya Shinkawa, Kan Mukai
  • Patent number: 7742731
    Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention involves a roller drive control method for a fixing apparatus in which a separation claw for separating a recording paper and a cleaning unit for removing toner that has become residual on a surface of a heat roller are arranged near a surface of the heat roller that fixes toner onto the recording paper, wherein a predetermined period different from a fixing process period in which fixing of toner onto the recording paper is carried out is set as a toner removal period for removing toner that has adhered to the separation claw, and the heat roller is rotationally driven so that the rotation velocity of the heat roller is different in the fixing process period and the toner removal period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tatsuya Shinkawa, Kimihide Tsukamoto, Kan Mukai, Takashi Yamanaka, Kenichi Isomi, Yasuhiro Takai
  • Patent number: 7565101
    Abstract: A fixing device mounted in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, for fixing a toner image formed on recording paper includes: a plurality of peeling claws provided for peeling off the recording paper from a fixing roller; a number-of-processed-sheet detecting portion for detecting a number of processed sheets of recording paper which is treated with a fixing process upon passing through the fixing roller; a peeling claw driving section for moving a plurality of the peeling claws in parallel with an axial direction of the fixing roller; and a control unit for controlling the peeling claw driving section to operate so that a relative position between the peeling claw and the fixing roller changes according to a detected output of the number-of-processed-sheet detecting portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2009
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takashi Yamanaka, Kimihide Tsukamoto, Tatsuya Shinkawa, Kan Mukai
  • Patent number: 7542710
    Abstract: A fixing unit includes a heat roller and a pressing roller that comes in pressure contact with the heat roller, and passes the recording paper with an unfixed toner image formed thereon through the nip between the heat roller and pressing roller to thereby fix the toner image to the recording paper by applying heat and pressure thereto. A cleaning device for removing the toner remaining on the heat roller or pressing roller in the fixing unit includes cleaning rollers made of metal arranged in press-contact with the heat roller and pressing roller, the peripheral surface of the cleaning rollers being formed with projected and indented shapes to thereby remove the leftover toner appropriately.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2009
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tatsuya Shinkawa, Takashi Yamanaka, Kan Mukai, Kouji Wakamoto
  • Patent number: 7483662
    Abstract: A fixing apparatus that firmly adheres unfixed toner onto a recording sheet includes a first cleaning unit for cleaning up toner adhering to a surface of a heating roller by using a belt-shaped cleaning member, and a second cleaning unit for cleaning up toner adhering to a surface of a pressurizing roller by using a roller-shaped member, wherein oil for promoting releasability is not supplied from the first cleaning unit whose cleaning member is an oilless member to the heating roller, and the oil is supplied only from the roller-shaped member of the second cleaning unit to the pressurizing roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2009
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tatsuya Shinkawa, Kimihide Tsukamoto, Takashi Yamanaka, Kan Mukai, Yasuhiro Takai
  • Publication number: 20080226325
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a paper separation claw is separated from a surface of a pressure roller by a drive source being turned ON at a time t2 before commencement of rotation of the pressure roller, and the paper separation claw is made to contact the surface of the pressure roller by the drive source being turned OFF after commencement of rotation (a time t4) of the pressure roller. Furthermore, the paper separation claw is separated from the surface of the pressure roller by the drive source being turned ON again before stopping of rotation (a time t5) of the pressure roller after an image forming operation of a single job is finished, and the paper separation claw is made to contact the surface of the pressure roller by the drive source being turned OFF again after stopping of rotation (a time t8) of the pressure roller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2008
    Publication date: September 18, 2008
    Inventors: Takashi Yamanaka, Kimihide Tsukamoto, Tetsuya Shinkawa, Kan Mukai
  • Publication number: 20080226315
    Abstract: A fuser unit for an image forming apparatus including: a tape-like cleaning member that abuts on a fuser roller and cleans its peripheral surface; a press roller that presses the fuser roller via the cleaning member; a feed roller that feeds said cleaning member; a wind roller that winds the cleaning member therearound; and a controller that actuates a fixing function before an image formation, stops it after said image formation, and rotates and stops the wind roller and/or the feed roller to control a winding quantity of the cleaning member, wherein said controller calculates a toner image amount based on the prescribed number of pages by tracking from a page on which an image is formed just before the image formation is completed, and determines whether or not said cleaning member is wound around the wind roller during a non-fixing period based on the calculated toner image amount.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2008
    Publication date: September 18, 2008
    Inventors: Takashi Yamanaka, Kimihide Tsukamoto, Tatsuya Shinkawa, Kan Mukai
  • Patent number: 7391984
    Abstract: The present invention provides a fixing device for fixing a toner image formed on paper by sandwiching the paper in a nip region between a heating roller and a pressing roller and pressing the paper while heating the paper to a fixing temperature. This fixing device includes a cleaning roller that is in contact with the pressing roller, and temperature control means that sets a temperature of the heating roller to a cleaning temperature that is higher than the fixing temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2008
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shinji Sugita, Tatsuya Shinkawa, Takashi Yamanaka, Kan Mukai, Kouji Wakamoto
  • Publication number: 20080124143
    Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention involves a roller drive control method for a fixing apparatus in which a separation claw for separating a recording paper and a cleaning unit for removing toner that has become residual on a surface of a heat roller are arranged near a surface of the heat roller that fixes toner onto the recording paper, wherein a predetermined period different from a fixing process period in which fixing of toner onto the recording paper is carried out is set as a toner removal period for removing toner that has adhered to the separation claw, and the heat roller is rotationally driven so that the rotation velocity of the heat roller is different in the fixing process period and the toner removal period.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2007
    Publication date: May 29, 2008
    Inventors: Tatsuya SHINKAWA, Kimihide Tsukamoto, Kan Mukai, Takashi Yamanaka, Kenichi Isomi, Yasuhiro Takai
  • Publication number: 20070122212
    Abstract: A fixing apparatus that firmly adheres unfixed toner onto a recording sheet includes a first cleaning unit for cleaning up toner adhering to a surface of a heating roller by using a belt-shaped cleaning member, and a second cleaning unit for cleaning up toner adhering to a surface of a pressurizing roller by using a roller-shaped member, wherein oil for promoting releasability is not supplied from the first cleaning unit whose cleaning member is an oilless member to the heating roller, and the oil is supplied only from the roller-shaped member of the second cleaning unit to the pressurizing roller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2006
    Publication date: May 31, 2007
    Inventors: Tatsuya SHINKAWA, Kimihide Tsukamoto, Takashi Yamanaka, Kan Mukai, Yasuhiro Takai
  • Publication number: 20070048040
    Abstract: A cleaning member for cleaning the toner remaining on the outer peripheral surface of a heat roller that fixes an unfixed developer image formed on a sheet of paper onto the paper by heating under pressure, includes: a mesh portion having a predetermined mesh in the area abutting the heat roller. The mesh portion is formed of heat resistant wires.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 12, 2006
    Publication date: March 1, 2007
    Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Toshiki Takiguchi, Kan Mukai, Takashi Yamanaka, Tatsuya Inoue
  • Publication number: 20060269332
    Abstract: A fixing device mounted in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, for fixing a toner image formed on recording paper includes: a plurality of peeling claws provided for peeling off the recording paper from a fixing roller; a number-of-processed-sheet detecting portion for detecting a number of processed sheets of recording paper which is treated with a fixing process upon passing through the fixing roller; a peeling claw driving section for moving a plurality of the peeling claws in parallel with an axial direction of the fixing roller; and a control unit for controlling the peeling claw driving section to operate so that a relative position between the peeling claw and the fixing roller changes according to a detected output of the number-of-processed-sheet detecting portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2006
    Publication date: November 30, 2006
    Inventors: Takashi YAMANAKA, Kimihide TSUKAMOTO, Tatsuya SHINKAWA, Kan MUKAI