Patents Examined by Mark A. Chapman
  • Patent number: 8785094
    Abstract: An electrostatic latent image developing toner contains toner particles that contain a binder resin and a pigment; and an external additive that contains inorganic particles, a ratio (C/D) of an average maximum thickness C to an average equivalent circle diameter D in the toner particles is from 0.05 to 0.7, the inorganic particles include silicone oil-treated inorganic particles in which the amount of free silicone oil with respect to the inorganic particles is from 0.1% by weight to 10% by weight, and the amount of the silicone oil-treated inorganic particles added with respect to 100 parts by weight of the toner particles is from 0.1 part by weight to 10 parts by weight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shuji Sato, Atsushi Sugitate, Masaru Takahashi, Shotaro Takahashi
  • Patent number: 7534534
    Abstract: An electrophotographic photosensitive member hard to cause the problem of chatter and wear-out of the cleaning blade and the problem of a rubbing memory, and both a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus having the photosensitive member are provided. The peripheral surface of the photosensitive member has a plurality of dimple-shaped concaves, a 10-point average roughness Rzjis (A) as measured by sweeping along the circumference of the peripheral surface of the photosensitive member is 0.3 to 2.5 ?m, a 10-point average roughness Rzjis (B) as measured by sweeping along the generating line of the peripheral surface of the photosensitive member is 0.3 to 2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2009
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Koichi Nakata, Akira Shimada, Tatsuya Ikezue, Takahiro Mitsui, Hiroki Uematsu, Shuji Ishii, Shoji Amamiya, Akio Maruyama
  • Patent number: 7534540
    Abstract: An improved organophotoreceptor comprises an electrically conductive substrate and a photoconductive element on the electrically conductive substrate, the photoconductive element comprising: (a) a charge transport material having the formula where X and X? are, each independently, a linking group; Ar comprises an aromatic group; R1, R2, and R3 comprise, each independently, H, an alkyl group, an alkenyl group, an alkynyl group, an aromatic group, or a heterocyclic group; and E1 and E2 are, each independently, a reactive ring group; and (b) a charge generating compound. Corresponding electrophotographic apparatuses, imaging methods, and a polymeric charge transport material prepared from the charge transport material above are described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2009
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Zbigniew Tokarski, Nusrallah Jubran, Vytautas Getautis, Vygintas Jankauskas, Tadas Malinauskas, Edmundas Montrimas
  • Patent number: 7381511
    Abstract: A photoreceptor including an electroconductive substrate; a photosensitive layer; and optionally a protective layer, wherein an outermost layer thereof includes a filler, an organic compound having an acid value of from 10 to 700 mg KOH/g and at least one compound selected from the group consisting of compounds having the following formulae (1) and (2): wherein R1 (R3) and R2 (R4) independently represent a substituted or an unsubstituted aromatic hydrocarbon group, or a substituted or an unsubstituted alkyl group, and optionally share bond connectivity to form a heterocyclic group including a nitrogen atom; Ar1 (Ar3) and Ar2 (Ar4) independently represent a substituted or a unsubstituted aromatic ring group; k (K) and m (M) independently represent 0 or an integer of from 1 to 3, wherein k (K) and m (M) are not 0 at the same time; and n (n?) represents an integer of from 1 to 3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2008
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takaaki Ikegami, Tomoyuki Shimada, Yasuo Suzuki, Nozomu Tamoto, Hidetoshi Kami, Yuuji Takana
  • Patent number: 7379696
    Abstract: A toner including toner particles including a colorant; a binder resin; and a release agent, wherein the binder resin includes a polyester resin (A) having a crystallinity and a specific formula (1), wherein a molar ratio of the ester bond of the crystalline polyester resin to total ester bonds included in the binder resin is not less than 0.60, and wherein the toner has a weight average particle diameter of from 3.0 to 9.0 ?m, and includes toner particles having a particle diameter not greater than 5 ?m in an amount of from 60 to 90% by quantity. A fixing method in which a toner image of the toner is fixed with a fixing device including a fixing roller having a thickness not greater than 1.0 mm and a pressure roller, wherein the fixing pressure is not greater than 1.5×105 Pa. An image forming method and a process cartridge using the toner are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2008
    Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
    Inventors: Toyoshi Sawada, Keiko Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 7374851
    Abstract: A toner which includes a toner material, wherein the toner satisfies the following formula: 0° C.??Tm?20° C. where ?Tm represents Tma (° C.)?Tmb (° C.), Tma (° C.) is ½ flown-out temperature of the toner by a capillary type flow tester, and Tmb (° C.) is ½ flown-out temperature of a melt kneaded mixture of the toner by the capillary type flow tester, and wherein Tma is from 130° C. to 200° C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2008
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinya Nakayama, Satoshi Mochizuki, Yasuaki Iwamoto, Yasuo Asahina, Akihiro Kotsugai, Masayuki Ishii, Osamu Uchinokura, Hisashi Nakajima, Tomoyuki Ichikawa, Tomoko Utsumi, Koichi Sakata, Hideki Sugiura, Shigeru Emoto, Junichi Awamura, Masami Tomita, Takahiro Honda, Shinichiro Yagi, Tomomi Suzuki, Hiroshi Yamada, Toshiki Nanya, Hiroto Higuchi, Fumihiro Sasaki, Naohito Shimota
  • Patent number: 7374852
    Abstract: A liquid toner composition and a preparation method utilize a colorant, an organosol, a charge control agent, a carrier liquid, a dispersion assistant agent, and a photoreactive catalyst, in which the dispersion assistant agent is a polymer including an unsaturated functional group to cause photopolymerization in a presence of the photoreactive catalyst, and the photoreactive catalyst produces a free radical through an irradiation of light, and initiates the photopolymerization of the dispersion assistant agent. According to embodiments of the present invention, the toner organosol rarely affects the physical properties required of the liquid toner, and an offset error in a fixing operation is removed, resulting in an improved quality of a printed image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2008
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kyung-yol Yon, Min-young Cheong, Ki-won Seok, Jung-wook Kim, Hae-ree Joo, Nam-jeong Lee
  • Patent number: 7371495
    Abstract: A toner is formed of toner particles including a polyester resin as a principal component, and at least a colorant and a charge control agent, and externally added inorganic fine particles and organic fine particles. The toner has a volume-average diameter of 4 to 10 ?m, contains the charge control agent at 0.1 to 1.5%, and has an acid value of 2 to 33 mgKOH/g. The charge control agent exhibits a number-basis isolation percentage of at most 10% with respect to the toner particle. The charge control agent, the inorganic fine particles and organic fine particles exhibit number-basis isolation percentages from the toner particles satisfying a following relationship: 30%>inorganic fine particles>organic fine particles>charge control agent>0%.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2008
    Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shuitsu Sato
  • Patent number: 7371498
    Abstract: The present invention relates to methods of drying and recovering toner particles from a liquid carrier. The methods are very effective to generate discrete, substantially non-agglomerated dry toner particles in a manner that preserves the particle size and particle distribution of the wet particles. The resultant dried toner particles free-flowing with a relatively narrow particle size distribution. The present invention uses extrusion techniques to coat wet toner particles onto a substrate surface. Because the resultant coating has a relatively large drying surface area per gram of particle incorporated into the coating, drying may occur relatively quickly under moderate temperature and pressure conditions. After drying, the dried toner particles are readily recovered and may then be used in dry or even wet toners for electrophotographic applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2008
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ronald J. Moudry, Hsin Hsin Chou
  • Patent number: 7371496
    Abstract: A liquid toner for electrophotography and a method of preparing the liquid toner are disclosed. The liquid toner includes a carrier liquid, an organosol, a colorant, a charge controlling agent (CCA), and (meth)acrylic (co)polymer soluble in the carrier liquid. The liquid toner has a low solidification rate and good redispersion when left for a long period of time, especially at a high temperature for a long period of time, while maintaining the existing physical properties of a liquid toner, such as image density, at certain levels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2008
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Nam-Jeong Lee, Kyung-Yol Yon, Joong-Hwan Choi, Min-Young Cheong, Ki-Won Seok
  • Patent number: 7368214
    Abstract: An electrostatic latent image developing toner including, as a binder resin, a crystalline resin and at least one kind of non-crystalline resin, wherein, in a dynamic viscoelasticity measurement by a sine wave vibration method, a minimum value of the relaxation elasticity H in a relaxation spectrum obtained from frequency dispersion characteristics measured at temperatures of 60 and 80 degrees centigrade with a measurement frequency set in the range of 0.1 to 100 rad/sec and measurement strain set in the range of 0.02 to 4.5% is in the range of 10 to 900 Pa/cm2, and a relaxation time ? corresponding to the minimum value is in the range of 1 to 10,000 sec.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2008
    Assignee: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takao Ishiyama, Hiroshi Nakazawa, Masanobu Ninomiya, Hideo Maehata, Yutaka Sugizaki, Shinpei Takagi
  • Patent number: 7368213
    Abstract: A toner containing toner particles having a core-shell structure containing a binder resin, a colorant and a release agent. The toner particles are prepared by dissolving or dispersing at least one of the binder resin and a precursor thereof in an organic solvent or a polymeric monomer and reacting the resultant in an aqueous medium for reaction, wherein the toner satisfies the following relationship: ?Tm=Tm1?Tm2>10 ° C., wherein Tm1 represents half efflux temperature of the toner and Tm2 represents half efflux temperature of a toner which is prepared by melting and kneading the toner particles and wherein a content of the release agent existing close to the surface portion of the toner particles is from 7 to 30% by volume based on an entire portion close to the surface portion of the toner particles when the content is determined by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy Attenuated Total Reflection (FTIR-ATR) method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2008
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Shinya Nakayama, Fumihiro Sasaki, Satoshi Mochizuki, Akihiro Kotsugai, Yasuo Asahina, Osamu Uchinokura, Hisashi Nakajima, Sonoh Matsuoka, Takuya Saito, Tomoyuki Ichikawa, Koichi Sakata
  • Patent number: 7368211
    Abstract: To provide a magnetic toner which is excellent in durability and developability even in the case of being applied to high-speed developing process or being used in a large-capacity process cartridge amount of toner in which is increased, and which has high degree of blackness. Provided is a magnetic toner having magnetic toner particles containing at least a binder resin and magnetic material particles each comprising a predetermined amount of a titanium compound, characterized in that: 1) the magnetic material particles have a predetermined amount of adsorbed moisture at a relative vapor pressure of 50%; and 2) a difference between the amount of moisture adsorbed to the magnetic material particles in an adsorbing process for increasing a relative vapor pressure and the amount of moisture adsorbed to the magnetic material particles in a desorbing process for reducing a relative vapor pressure is reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2008
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yusuke Hasegawa, Yoshihiro Ogawa, Shinichiro Abe, Junko Nishiyama, Takashige Kasuya
  • Patent number: 7364825
    Abstract: Improved organophotoreceptor comprises an electrically conductive substrate and a photoconductive element on the electrically conductive substrate, the photoconductive element comprising: (a) a charge transport material having the formula: where E comprises a functional group selected from the group consisting of a reactive ring group, an ethylenically unsaturated group, a hydrazone group, and an azine group; R1, R2, and R3 comprise, each independently, H or an organic group; X is a bond or a linking group, with the proviso that when E comprises a reactive ring group, X is a linking group; and Y is a nitrogen-containing aromatic heterocyclic group; and (b) a charge generating compound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ramunas Lygaitis, Juozas V. Grazulevicius, Valentas Gaidelis, Vygintas Jankauskas
  • Patent number: 7358015
    Abstract: Plasticizers in a charge transfer layer to reduce surface cracking and crazing having a hydrocarbon chain, attached to a hindered phenol containing triazole or triazine moiety. Plasticizers found useful for this application can be used in a concentration (by weight of the charge transfer layer) in the order of magnitude of 10% to about 25%. The plasticizer additive may also be used in combination with other known plasticizers such as those containing a 2-ethylhexyl group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2008
    Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark Thomas Bellino, Catherine Mailhé Randolph, Kasturi Rangan Srinivasan
  • Patent number: 7358024
    Abstract: In a toner production process having at least a kneading step, a pulverization step and the step of simultaneously carrying out a surface modification step and a classification step to obtain toner particles, the surface modification and the classification are simultaneously carried out using a batch-wise surface modifying apparatus having at least a cylindrical main-body casing, a classifying rotor, a surface modifying means having a dispersing rotor and a liner. The positional relationship between the dispersing rotor and the liner is set in an appropriate specific state so that toner particles having a sharp particle size distribution with less fine powder and having a high sphericity can be obtained in a good efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2008
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takeshi Naka, Osamu Tamura
  • Patent number: 7358020
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus for enabling an image forming which is stable for a long time, by using a charging method in which the amount of generated ozone or nitrogen oxides is reduced and consumed electric power is low. An image forming method includes: a charging section for charging a photoreceptor by contacting on the photoreceptor; an exposure section for forming a static latent image on the photoreceptor by an exposure; a developing section for developing a toner image on the static latent image by a toner having a toner particle which uses a binder resin and a colorant as a component, in which a total quantity of a volatile material measured by a headspace method is 350 ppm or less; and a transfer section for transferring the toner image on a transfer material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2008
    Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Kazuhisa Shida, Kageyuki Tomoyori, Hirofumi Hayata, Masao Asano, Tomoe Kitani
  • Patent number: 7358016
    Abstract: A top surface layer of an electrophotographic photosensitive element (e.g., a charge-transporting layer) is rendered to contain a cyclic polysilane represented by the following formula (1). In the formula, R1 and R2 are the same or different from each other and each represents a group such as an alkyl group, an aryl group, and “m” denotes an integer of not less than 4. The cyclic polysilane may be a copolysilane. The content of the cyclic polysilane may be about 0.01 to 10% by weight relative to the whole components of the top surface layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2008
    Assignee: Osaka Gas Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Fujiki, Hiroki Sakamoto, Hiroaki Murase, Masashi Tanaka, Shinichi Kawasaki, Mitsuaki Yamada
  • Patent number: 7358019
    Abstract: The present invention provides a developing process including the steps of charging toner particles supported on a developer carrier; and providing the charged toner particles to an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier, wherein, the charged toner particles satisfy formulas (1) and (2) shown below, when being measured by the laser doppler method in an oscillation field in an acoustic alleviation cell to determine individual particle size and charged amount thereof: k1=(B2?B1)/(A1?A2)<???(1) B2<0??(2) wherein A1 [?m] and B1 [fC] represent the particle size and the charged amount of the charged toner particle in the division that has the largest number proportion in the distribution divided by the measured particle size and the measured charged amount, respectively; A2 [?m] represents the particle size in the division that has the smallest particle size in the particle size distribution, provided that the number proportion of the division is 1% or more; and B2 [fC] represents the charge
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2008
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroshi Toyama, Ken Ikuma
  • Patent number: 7358021
    Abstract: A toner process that includes a first heating of a colorant dispersion, a first polyester resin free latex emulsion, a second polyester latex emulsion, and a wax dispersion in the presence of a coagulant containing a metal ion; adding a third polyester free latex; adding an organic sequestering compound or a silicate salt sequestering compound, followed by a second heating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2008
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Raj D. Patel, Guerino G. Sacripante, Edward G. Zwartz, Enno E. Agur, Allan K. Chen, T Hwee Ng, Kimberly D. Nosella, Cuong Vong, Karen A. Moffat