Patents by Inventor Keiji Sanekata

Keiji Sanekata 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: 11852993
    Abstract: A toner container includes: a container that accommodates toner and transports, by rotating, the toner to an opening disposed at a first end portion in a direction of a rotation axis; a support portion that covers a periphery of the container near the first end portion, and supports the container to be rotatable in a circumferential direction, the support portion being attached to an image forming apparatus body and having a sealant interposed between the support portion and the container; and a fixing portion that fixes the container and the support portion to each other while the sealant is compressed when the support portion is rotated relative to the container in a first circumferential direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventors: Kento Terashima, Kiyoshi Sako, Keiji Sanekata, Chihiro Hagiwara, Masayuki Shimoda
  • Publication number: 20230400796
    Abstract: A toner container includes: a container that accommodates toner and transports, by rotating, the toner to an opening disposed at a first end portion in a direction of a rotation axis; a support portion that covers a periphery of the container near the first end portion, and supports the container to be rotatable in a circumferential direction, the support portion being attached to an image forming apparatus body and having a sealant interposed between the support portion and the container; and a fixing portion that fixes the container and the support portion to each other while the sealant is compressed when the support portion is rotated relative to the container in a first circumferential direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2022
    Publication date: December 14, 2023
    Applicant: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventors: Kento TERASHIMA, Kiyoshi SAKO, Keiji SANEKATA, Chihiro HAGIWARA, Masayuki SHIMODA
  • Patent number: 11841637
    Abstract: A developing device includes: a storage part in which a developer is stored; a transport body that includes a spiral blade and transports the developer via a rotation thereof; a developing body to which the developer is supplied from the transport body; an attachment part which is disposed between the transport body and the developing body and includes an opening allowing the developer supplied from the transport body to the developing body to pass and to which a sealing member sealing the opening is detachably attached; and a connection portion which extends to cross the opening at a spiral angle of the blade as viewed from the developing body toward the transport body and of which one end portion and the other end portion are connected to the attachment part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2023
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventors: Kiyoshi Sako, Chihiro Hagiwara, Keiji Sanekata, Masayuki Shimoda, Kento Terashima
  • Publication number: 20230384709
    Abstract: A developing device includes: a storage part in which a developer is stored; a transport body that includes a spiral blade and transports the developer via a rotation thereof; a developing body to which the developer is supplied from the transport body; an attachment part which is disposed between the transport body and the developing body and includes an opening allowing the developer supplied from the transport body to the developing body to pass and to which a sealing member sealing the opening is detachably attached; and a connection portion which extends to cross the opening at a spiral angle of the blade as viewed from the developing body toward the transport body and of which one end portion and the other end portion are connected to the attachment part.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2022
    Publication date: November 30, 2023
    Applicant: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventors: Kiyoshi SAKO, Chihiro HAGIWARA, Keiji SANEKATA, Masayuki SHIMODA, Kento TERASHIMA
  • Patent number: 11822281
    Abstract: A sensor cleaning device includes: a cleaning member including an inclined portion that wipes and cleans an entire surface of a sensor, which includes a long side portion extending in a longitudinal direction and a short side portion extending in a lateral direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction, while moving relative to the surface of the sensor in the longitudinal direction of the surface of the sensor and is disposed obliquely to a wiping direction so that an upstream end portion of the inclined portion in the wiping direction is positioned outside the surface of the sensor in the lateral direction; and a moving mechanism that moves the cleaning member in the wiping direction and in a direction opposite to the wiping direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventors: Keiji Sanekata, Chihiro Hagiwara, Kiyoshi Sako, Kento Terashima, Masayuki Shimoda
  • Publication number: 20230324830
    Abstract: A developing device includes a housing in which a circulation path is formed by a first path through which a developer passed to a developing roll flows, a second path disposed offset from the first path in a direction of gravity, and a pair of connecting ports connecting the first path and the second path; and a transport member that operates in the housing to transport the developer in a determined direction in the circulation path, in which the transport member transports the developer in the determined direction in a case where a load at a determined time during transportation in the determined direction is equal to or less than a reference value, transports the developer in a reverse direction to the determined direction in a case where the load at the determined time during transportation in the determined direction exceeds the reference value, and transports the developer in the determined direction in a case where a load during or after transportation in the reverse direction is equal to or less than
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2022
    Publication date: October 12, 2023
    Applicant: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventors: Chihiro HAGIWARA, Kiyoshi SAKO, Keiji SANEKATA, Masayuki SHIMODA, Kento TERASHIMA
  • Publication number: 20230305479
    Abstract: A sensor cleaning device includes: a cleaning member including an inclined portion that wipes and cleans an entire surface of a sensor, which includes a long side portion extending in a longitudinal direction and a short side portion extending in a lateral direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction, while moving relative to the surface of the sensor in the longitudinal direction of the surface of the sensor and is disposed obliquely to a wiping direction so that an upstream end portion of the inclined portion in the wiping direction is positioned outside the surface of the sensor in the lateral direction; and a moving mechanism that moves the cleaning member in the wiping direction and in a direction opposite to the wiping direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2022
    Publication date: September 28, 2023
    Applicant: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventors: Keiji SANEKATA, Chihiro HAGIWARA, Kiyoshi SAKO, Kento TERASHIMA, Masayuki SHIMODA
  • Patent number: 11054779
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes image forming units, supply devices, and a speed changing unit. The image forming units form toner images of different colors. Each of the image forming units includes a developing device containing toner of a corresponding one of the different colors. The supply devices supply toner to the developing devices. In a high development mode, the speed changing unit changes a drive rotational speed of the developing device or a speed of an image formation operation to a lower speed compared with a case of a normal mode. The normal mode is a mode in which a toner image is formed with a normal amount of toner adhesion. The high development mode is a mode in which at least one of the image forming units forms a toner image with a large amount of toner adhesion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2021
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventors: Satoshi Tanaka, Junichi Ishibashi, Keiji Sanekata, Chihiro Hagiwara
  • Publication number: 20200096924
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes image forming units, supply devices, and a speed changing unit. The image forming units form toner images of different colors. Each of the image forming units includes a developing device containing toner of a corresponding one of the different colors. The supply devices supply toner to the developing devices. In a high development mode, the speed changing unit changes a drive rotational speed of the developing device or a speed of an image formation operation to a lower speed compared with a case of a normal mode. The normal mode is a mode in which a toner image is formed with a normal amount of toner adhesion. The high development mode is a mode in which at least one of the image forming units forms a toner image with a large amount of toner adhesion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2019
    Publication date: March 26, 2020
    Applicant: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Satoshi TANAKA, Junichi ISHIBASHI, Keiji SANEKATA, Chihiro HAGIWARA
  • Publication number: 20160266530
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes image forming sections each including a developing section having a developer bearing member and a developer supply unit and a transfer unit that transfers an image developed on a photoconductor by the developing unit onto a transfer body, a controller that controls a driving time of the developer bearing member so that developer is born on the developer bearing member during a period when image formation is not performed and the developer attached to the transfer body by the image forming sections does not overlap, a detector that detects the attached developer by each image forming section, and a specification unit that specifies the image forming section which attaches the developer to the transfer body, on the basis of a time from when the controller starts driving the developer bearing member to when the detector detects the developer attached to the transfer body.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2015
    Publication date: September 15, 2016
    Inventors: Junichi ISHIBASHI, Satoshi TANAKA, Keiji SANEKATA, Shinji MITSUI, Chihiro HAGIWARA
  • Patent number: 9423747
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes image forming sections each including a developing section having a developer bearing member and a developer supply unit and a transfer unit that transfers an image developed on a photoconductor by the developing unit onto a transfer body, a controller that controls a driving time of the developer bearing member so that developer is born on the developer bearing member during a period when image formation is not performed and the developer attached to the transfer body by the image forming sections does not overlap, a detector that detects the attached developer by each image forming section, and a specification unit that specifies the image forming section which attaches the developer to the transfer body, on the basis of a time from when the controller starts driving the developer bearing member to when the detector detects the developer attached to the transfer body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2016
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Junichi Ishibashi, Satoshi Tanaka, Keiji Sanekata, Shinji Mitsui, Chihiro Hagiwara
  • Patent number: 7505701
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus including a thermostat arranged in a housing of a fixing device with terminals on both ends arranged slanted with respect to a longitudinal direction. A non-contact type temperature sensor is arranged adjacent to the thermostat. Discharge rollers are arranged at equidistance from a center reference line according to a smallest width of paper on a downstream side in a conveying direction of the paper of a housing. A center part of the thermostat and an opening for temperature detection of the temperature sensor are positioned between the discharge rollers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2009
    Assignee: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Keiji Sanekata, Yasuki Tanaka
  • Patent number: 7461841
    Abstract: Disclosed is a sheet discharging apparatus in which an apparatus main body portion is provided with plural discharging rollers for discharging sheets by rotation, and a shaft coaxially fixed to the discharging rollers. The shaft has an outer diameter smaller than an outer diameter of the discharging roller. At the discharging roller side of the shaft is provided a small-diameter portion, with the outer diameter of the small-diameter portion smaller than the outer diameter of another portion. A projection projects from a portion of the apparatus main body portion, a tip end of the projection being disposed in a step between the small-diameter portion and the other portion of the shaft. Also disclosed is an image forming apparatus having the sheet discharging apparatus, in which an image is formed on a sheet, and the sheet on which the image is formed is discharged by the sheet discharging apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2008
    Assignee: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuki Tanaka, Keiji Sanekata
  • Publication number: 20070047984
    Abstract: In the image forming apparatus, a thermostat is arranged in a housing of the fixing device, and the terminals on both ends are arranged slanted with respect to the longitudinal direction. A non-contact type temperature sensor is arranged adjacent to the thermostat. The discharge rollers are arranged at equidistance from the center reference line according to the smallest width of the paper on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the paper of the housing. A center part of the thermostat and the opening for temperature detection of the temperature sensor are positioned between the discharge rollers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2006
    Publication date: March 1, 2007
    Applicant: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Keiji Sanekata, Yasuki Tanaka
  • Publication number: 20070018375
    Abstract: Disclosed is a sheet discharging apparatus in which an apparatus main body portion is provided with plural discharging rollers for discharging sheets by rotation, and a shaft coaxially fixed to the discharging rollers. The shaft has an outer diameter smaller than an outer diameter of the discharging roller. At the discharging roller side of the shaft is provided a small-diameter portion, with the outer diameter of the small-diameter portion smaller than the outer diameter of another portion. A projection projects from a portion of the apparatus main body portion, a tip end of the projection being disposed in a step between the small-diameter portion and the other portion of the shaft. Also disclosed is an image forming apparatus having the sheet discharging apparatus, in which an image is formed on a sheet, and the sheet on which the image is formed is discharged by the sheet discharging apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 5, 2006
    Publication date: January 25, 2007
    Applicant: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yasuki Tanaka, Keiji Sanekata
  • Patent number: 6721518
    Abstract: The part of a halogen heater 90 corresponding to the position of a temperature sensing member 110 is positioned at a part where the temperature gradient of light distribution ripple 120 along the length direction of the halogen heater 90 is moderate (a top 122 or a bottom 124).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2004
    Assignee: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideo Oshida, Yasuki Tanaka, Keiji Sanekata, Hitoshi Nanba
  • Publication number: 20020061201
    Abstract: The part of a halogen heater 90 corresponding to the position of a temperature sensing member 110 is positioned at a part where the temperature gradient of light distribution ripple 120 along the length direction of the halogen heater 90 is moderate (a top 122 or a bottom 124).
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 19, 2001
    Publication date: May 23, 2002
    Applicant: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hideo Oshida, Yasuki Tanaka, Keiji Sanekata, Hitoshi Nanba