Patents by Inventor Shinji Souma

Shinji Souma 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).

  • Publication number: 20120091610
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a developing blade including a blade member located along one side edge of a support member, comprising providing a top mold with a cavity, sandblasting the cavity with an abrasive in a range of #150 to #1000, clamping together the top mold and a bottom mold while the top mold is in alignment with the bottom mold while at least a part of the support member is positioned in the cavity, and pouring a molding material from a gate to fill the cavity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2011
    Publication date: April 19, 2012
    Applicant: FUJIKURA RUBBER LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroshi NAKAMURA, Junji Tsuboi, Shinji Souma
  • Patent number: 8129014
    Abstract: A developing blade (11) comprises a blade member (14) located along one side edge of a support member (12) and having a surface shape defined by a maximum height roughness Ry of 0.35 to 4.5 ?m and a length ratio under load tp (at a 30% cut level) of 15% or less. Such a developing blade is manufactured by bringing a top mold (2) having a mold surface (2A) with a cavity (4) formed for the formation of a blade member and a gate (6) in communication with the cavity (4) in alignment with a bottom mold (3) having a flat mold surface (3A) such that at least a part of the support member (12) is positioned in the cavity (4), clamping together both the top and bottom molds, and pouring a molding material from the gate (6) to fill in the cavity (4).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2012
    Assignee: Fujikura Rubber Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Nakamura, Junji Tsuboi, Shinji Souma
  • Patent number: 8005408
    Abstract: A developing blade (1) comprises a support member (2) having a coefficient of elasticity in the range of 0.5×104 to 4.0×104 kg/mm2 and a moment of inertia of area (Iz) in the range of 6.5E-04 to 1.2E-02, and a blade member (4) located on one surface of the support member (2) along one side edge (2A). The blade member (4) is made of a rubber material having a 25% modulus of no greater than 0.85 MPa, and has a moment of inertia of area (Iz) in the range of 8E-02 to 1.2E+01, and the blade member (4) has a warping of no greater than 10 mm in the longitudinal direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2011
    Assignee: Fujikura Rubber Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Nakamura, Hitoshi Yamauchi, Koji Abe, Katsuhiko Sekine, Junji Tsuboi, Shinji Souma
  • Patent number: 7783237
    Abstract: The blade member of the invention is composed mainly of silicone rubber and contains as an additive component at least one selected from the group consisting of ultra-high molecular-weight-polyethylene, carbon nanotube, and fullerene. It is thus possible to decrease the coefficient of friction of silicone rubber in a practical range and without detrimental to its flexibility or other physical properties to let the developing blade slip off more, thereby diminishing the amount of abrasion of the rubber and improving on the robustness of the developing blade without detrimental to image quality. Decreasing the coefficient of friction to let the developing blade slip off more has additional advantages: a decrease in the force of contact of the developing blade with a developing roll, which contributes more to energy savings resulting from the size reductions of a driving motor, and making the developer equipment compact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2010
    Assignee: Fujikura Rubber Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinji Souma, Hiroshi Nakamura
  • Publication number: 20100166467
    Abstract: A developing blade (1) comprises a support member (2) having a coefficient of elasticity in the range of 0.5×104 to 4.0×104 kg/mm2 and a moment of inertia of area (Iz) in the range of 6.5E-04 to 1.2E-02, and a blade member (4) located on one surface of the support member (2) along one side edge (2A). The blade member (4) is made of a rubber material having a 25% modulus of no greater than 0.85 MPa, and has a moment of inertia of area (Iz) in the range of 8E-02 to 1.2E+01, and the blade member (4) has a warping of no greater than 10 mm in the longitudinal direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2007
    Publication date: July 1, 2010
    Applicant: FUJIKURA RUBBER LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Nakamura, Hitoshi Yamauchi, Koji Abe, Katsuhiko Sekine, Junji Tsuboi, Shinji Souma
  • Publication number: 20090016780
    Abstract: The blade member of the invention is composed mainly of silicone rubber and contains as an additive component at least one selected from the group consisting of ultra-high molecular-weight-polyethylene, carbon nanotube, and fullerene. It is thus possible to decrease the coefficient of friction of silicone rubber in a practical range and without detrimental to its flexibility or other physical properties to let the developing blade slip off more, thereby diminishing the amount of abrasion of the rubber and improving on the robustness of the developing blade without detrimental to image quality. Decreasing the coefficient of friction to let the developing blade slip off more has additional advantages: a decrease in the force of contact of the developing blade with a developing roll, which contributes more to energy savings resulting from the size reductions of a driving motor, and making the developer equipment compact.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 18, 2007
    Publication date: January 15, 2009
    Applicant: FUJIKURA RUBBER LTD
    Inventors: Shinji Souma, Hiroshi Nakamura
  • Publication number: 20080145662
    Abstract: A developing blade (11) comprises a blade member (14) located along one side edge of a support member (12) and having a surface shape defined by a maximum height roughness Ry of 0.35 to 4.5 ?m and a length ratio under load tp (at a 30% cut level) of 15% or less. Such a developing blade is manufactured by bringing a top mold (2) having a mold surface (2A) with a cavity (4) formed for the formation of a blade member and a gate (6) in communication with the cavity (4) in alignment with a bottom mold (3) having a flat mold surface (3A) such that at least a part of the support member (12) is positioned in the cavity (4), clamping together both the top and bottom molds, and pouring a molding material from the gate (6) to fill in the cavity (4).
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 7, 2007
    Publication date: June 19, 2008
    Applicant: FUJIKURA RUBBER LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroshi NAKAMURA, Junji Tsuboi, Shinji Souma