Patents by Inventor Akihiko Gotoh

Akihiko Gotoh 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: 8083342
    Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus, includes: a black ink ejecting portion configured to eject a black ink containing a self-dispersion pigment; color ink ejecting portions configured to eject, respectively, a cyan ink, a magenta ink and a yellow ink which contain a polymer emulsion containing a polymer fine particle containing a coloring material which is insoluble in water or slightly soluble in water; and a recording-controlling unit configured to control recording. When the recording medium is optically transparent and is provided, on a transparent base material thereof, with an ink accepting layer, the recording-controlling unit controls recording on the recording medium such that the color ink ejecting portion is used for recording a monochrome image and a color image which has a plurality of colors, leaving the black ink ejecting portion substantially free from being used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2011
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoya Morohoshi, Akihiko Gotoh
  • Publication number: 20110310166
    Abstract: Inkjet recording treatment liquids include: at least one water-soluble organic solvent; water; at least one compound according to formula (I) wherein: each of R1 and R3 independently represents H, a lower alkoxy group, or a lower perfluoroalkoxy group; each of R2 and R4 independently represents a lower perfluoroalkyl group; each of p, q, and r is independently an integer of 1 to 24; m is an integer of 1 to 28; and n is an integer of 0 to 10; and at least one compound according to formula (II) wherein: each of R5, R6, and R7 independently represents a lower alkyl group, a lower perfluoroalkoxy group, or F; and M is Li, Na, or K. Methods of inkjet recording, inkjet recording apparatus, storage bags, and cartridges employing the inkjet recording treatment liquids are also provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 17, 2011
    Publication date: December 22, 2011
    Inventors: Michihiko NAMBA, Hidetoshi Fujii, Takashi Tamai, Akihiko Gotoh
  • Publication number: 20110300353
    Abstract: There is provided an ink for recording, which contains: a coloring agent; a water-dispersible resin; a wetting agent; a surfactant; and water, wherein a total solid content of the coloring agent and the water-dispersible resin is 10% by mass to 30% with respect to a total mass of the ink, a ratio B/C is 0.1 to 1.6 where B is a solid content of the coloring agent in the ink, and C is a solid content of the water-dispersible resin in the ink, a viscosity of the ink is 5 mPa·s to 20 mPa·s at 25° C., and a surface tension of the ink is 35 mN/m or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 22, 2011
    Publication date: December 8, 2011
    Inventors: Hisashi HABASHI, Michihiko NAMBA, Mariko KOJIMA, Akihiko GOTOH, Tamotsu ARUGA, Kiyofumi NAGAI
  • Patent number: 8044114
    Abstract: There is provided an ink for recording, which contains: a coloring agent; a water-dispersible resin; a wetting agent; a surfactant; and water, wherein a total solid content of the coloring agent and the water-dispersible resin is 10% by mass to 30% with respect to a total mass of the ink, a ratio B/C is 0.1 to 1.6 where B is a solid content of the coloring agent in the ink, and C is a solid content of the water-dispersible resin in the ink, a viscosity of the ink is 5 mPa·s to 20 mPa·s at 25° C., and a surface tension of the ink is 35 mN/m or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2011
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hisashi Habashi, Michihiko Namba, Mariko Kojima, Akihiko Gotoh, Tamotsu Aruga, Kiyofumi Nagai
  • Patent number: 8029122
    Abstract: A recording ink containing at least: water; a water-soluble organic solvent; a surfactant; and a carbon black having a hydrophilic group on a surface thereof, wherein at least part of a terminal of the hydrophilic group on the carbon black is substituted with an alkali metal, wherein the carbon black releases humic acid in an aqueous dispersion of the carbon black, which is recovered from the recording ink, a concentration of the humic acid released in the aqueous dispersion containing 20% by mass of the carbon black of is expressed with a maximum absorbance at a wavelength of 230 nm to 260 nm, and the recording ink has the maximum absorbance of 5.0 to 20.0 at the wavelength of 230 nm to 260 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2011
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Mariko Kojima, Kiyofumi Nagai, Akihiko Gotoh, Akiko Bannai, Tomohiro Inoue
  • Publication number: 20110216123
    Abstract: An inkjet recording ink including a water-soluble organic solvent, a colorant, at least one fluorine-based surfactant having a chemical structure represented by Structural Formula (I) below, and water, where Rf represents any one of CF3, CF2CF3, (CF2)3F, and (CF2)4F, and X plus Y is an integer of 4 or 5.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 2, 2011
    Publication date: September 8, 2011
    Inventors: Takashi TAMAI, Michihiko NAMBA, Akihiko MATSUYAMA, Akihiko GOTOH, Kiyofumi NAGAI
  • Publication number: 20110205288
    Abstract: An inkjet recording ink containing a colorant, a surfactant A, a surfactant B, a water soluble organic solvent, and water, wherein the surfactant A is expressed by any one of Structural Formula (1) and Structural Formula (2), and the surfactant B is expressed by Structural Formula (3): in Structural Formula (1), R1 represents hydrogen, an alkyl group, or an acyl group; Rf represents —CF3 or —CF2CF3; and m, n and p are natural numbers; in Structural Formula (2), M represents alkali metal, ammonium, phosphonium, or alkanolamine; Rf represents —CF3 or —CF2CF3; and q is a natural number; in Structural Formula (3), R3 and R4 each represent hydrogen or an alkyl group; and r, s, t and u are natural numbers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 29, 2009
    Publication date: August 25, 2011
    Inventors: Akihiko Matsuyama, Ichiroh Fujii, Yuuki Yokohama, Kiyofumi Nagai, Akihiko Gotoh, Mariko Kojima, Masaki Kudoh, Tomohiro Nakagawa
  • Publication number: 20110169889
    Abstract: The present invention provides an inkjet recording inkset including a black ink; and at least one color ink, wherein the black ink and the color ink respectively contains a coloring material, water, a water-soluble organic solvent and a surfactant, and wherein the black ink contains, as the coloring material, a water-dispersible carbon black having a hydrophilic group on its surface, which can be dispersed without using a dispersing agent, and only the color ink contains, as the surfactant, a fluorine surfactant expressed by Chemical Formula 1: Chemical Formula 1 where Rf represents a fluorine-containing alkyl group; R1 represents an anionic group; R2 represents a cationic group; and q represents a positive integer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 15, 2009
    Publication date: July 14, 2011
    Inventors: Mariko Kojima, Akihiko Gotoh
  • Patent number: 7922316
    Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus is provided, wherein the inkjet recording apparatus contains a recording head with a filter, an ink that comprises a colorant, a humectant, a surfactant, and a wetting agent is discharged from the recording head, the viscosity of the ink at 25° C. is 6 mPas to 13 mPas, and the fluid resistance of the filter against the ink is 4.4×109 Pas/m3 and 2.2×1010 Pas/m3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2011
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Akiko Bannai, Eisuke Hori, Akihiko Gotoh, Kiyofumi Nagai
  • Patent number: 7892340
    Abstract: An ink-jet recording ink including water, a water-soluble organic solvent, a pigment (P1) as a colorant (B), and at least one fluorochemical surfactant selected from compounds represented by Structural Formula (1) below, where R1 denotes any one of a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group and a fluorine-containing group, Rf denotes a fluorine-containing group, and each of x, y and z denotes an integer of 1 or greater.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2011
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Michihiko Namba, Naoya Morohoshi, Tohru Ohshima, Akihiko Gotoh, Kiyofumi Nagai
  • Publication number: 20100279035
    Abstract: An ink-jet recording ink including water, a water-soluble organic solvent, a pigment as a colorant (B), and at least one fluorochemical surfactant selected from compounds represented by Structural Formula (1) below, Structural Formula (1) where R1 denotes any one of a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group and a perfluoroalkyl group, R2 denotes any one of a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group and a fluorine-containing group, Rf denotes a fluorine-containing group, and m and n each denote an integer of 1 or greater.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2008
    Publication date: November 4, 2010
    Inventors: Michihiko Namba, Naoya Morohoshi, Tohru Ohshima, Akihiko Gotoh, Kiyofumi Nagai
  • Publication number: 20100271435
    Abstract: The object of the invention to provide a recording ink with excellent discharge stability and storage stability, which rapidly penetrates into a recording medium and forms a coating, and which will never generate smearing upon high-speed printing or double-sided printing, and which excels in marker resistance, and which enables high quality image recording with less bleeding, and the ink cartridge, the ink record, the inkjet recording apparatus, and the inkjet recording method using the recording ink.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 7, 2010
    Publication date: October 28, 2010
    Inventors: Mariko KOJIMA, Tomohiro Inoue, Akihiko Gotoh, Michihiko Namba, Hisashi Habashi, Akiko Bannai, Kiyofumi Nagai
  • Patent number: 7810919
    Abstract: The object of the invention to provide a recording ink with excellent discharge stability and storage stability, which rapidly penetrates into a recording medium and forms a coating, and which will never generate smearing upon high-speed printing or double-sided printing, and which excels in marker resistance, and which enables high quality image recording with less bleeding, and the ink cartridge, the ink record, the inkjet recording apparatus, and the inkjet recording method using the recording ink. The recording ink containing at least water, a colorant, a resin fine-particle, a water-soluble organic solvent and a penetrant, in which the penetrant is a diol compound whose carbon number is 7 to 11 and the resin fine-particle is a silicone modified acrylic resin not containing a hydrolyzable silyl group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2010
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Mariko Kojima, Tomohiro Inoue, Akihiko Gotoh, Michihiko Namba, Hisashi Habashi, Akiko Bannai, Kiyofumi Nagai
  • Publication number: 20100227067
    Abstract: An ink-jet recording ink including water, a water-soluble organic solvent, a pigment (P1) as a colorant (B), and at least one fluorochemical surfactant selected from compounds represented by Structural Formula (1) below, where R1 denotes any one of a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group and a fluorine-containing group, Rf denotes a fluorine-containing group, and each of x, y and z denotes an integer of 1 or greater.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 20, 2008
    Publication date: September 9, 2010
    Inventors: Michihiko Namba, Naoya Morohoshi, Tohru Ohshima, Akihiko Gotoh, Kiyofumi Naigai
  • Publication number: 20100112219
    Abstract: An ink set for ink-jet recording which includes multiple inks having different colors. Each of the multiple inks includes a colorant, a water-soluble organic solvent, a fluorine-based surfactant, and water. The viscosity difference among the multiple inks is 2.0 mPa·s or less at a temperature of 25° C. and a shearing speed of 230 1/s, and the viscosity difference among the multiple inks is 0.5 mPa·s or less at a temperature of 25° C. and a shearing speed of 100,000 1/s.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 23, 2009
    Publication date: May 6, 2010
    Inventors: Yuuki Yokohama, Akihiko Gotoh, Mariko Kojima, Hisashi Habashi
  • Patent number: 7699457
    Abstract: The recording ink having a water, a water-soluble organic solvent, a colorant, and at least one fluorochemical surfactant selected from the following Structural Formulae (1) to (3). Structural Formula (1): where, Rf is a fluorine-containing group; and m, n, and p are integers in the Structural Formula (1). Structural Formula (2): where, Rf is a fluorine-containing group; X is a cationic group; Y is an anionic group; and q is an integer in the Structural Formula (2). Structural Formula (3): where, Rf is a fluorine-containing group; X is a cationic group; Y is an anionic group; and q is an integer in the Structural Formula (3).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2010
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Michihiko Namba, Hisashi Habashi, Akihiko Gotoh, Kiyofumi Nagai, Tomohiro Inoue
  • Patent number: 7682011
    Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide a recording ink which is excellent in color developing properties, has a high delivery stability, can improve remarkably color saturation and can form a high-quality image, when the ink is used for printing a plain paper, further an ink cartridge, an ink record, an inkjet recording apparatus and an inkjet recording process, wherein the recording ink having water, a wetting agent, a surfactant, and a colorant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2010
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Michihiko Namba, Hisashi Habashi, Mariko Kojima, Tomohiro Inoue, Akiko Bannai, Akihiko Gotoh, Kiyofumi Nagai
  • Publication number: 20100020142
    Abstract: A refill ink with which a used ink cartridge is to be refilled, including: a colorant, a wetting agent, and a surfactant, wherein in a mixed ink formed by mixing a residual ink remaining in the used ink cartridge and the refill ink at a volume ratio (residual ink:refill ink) of 1:1, the number A of coarse particles of 0.5 ?m or greater in diameter measured immediately after the mixing and the number B of coarse particles of 0.5 ?m or greater in diameter measured after the mixed ink has been left to stand at 25° C. and at RH of 50% for 24 hours satisfy the relationship B/A?2.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 26, 2007
    Publication date: January 28, 2010
    Inventors: Akiko Bannai, Akihiko Gotoh
  • Publication number: 20090263632
    Abstract: The present invention provides a recording ink set containing a black ink, a cyan ink, a magenta ink, and a yellow ink, each of which contains water, a water-insoluble color material, a water-soluble organic solvent, and a surfactant, wherein the black ink and at least one of the inks other than the black ink respectively contain a different water-soluble organic solvent; and the surface tension of the water-soluble organic solvent(s) used only for the inks other than the black ink is higher than that of the water-soluble organic solvent used only for the black ink; and the present invention also provides a recording method using the recording ink set.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2006
    Publication date: October 22, 2009
    Inventors: Mariko Kojima, Akihiko Gotoh, Michihiko Namba, Kiyofumi Nagai, Naoya Morohoshi, Tohru Ohshima
  • Publication number: 20090239044
    Abstract: There is provided an ink for recording, which contains: a coloring agent; a water-dispersible resin; a wetting agent; a surfactant; and water, wherein a total solid content of the coloring agent and the water-dispersible resin is 10% by mass to 30% with respect to a total mass of the ink, a ratio B/C is 0.1 to 1.6 where B is a solid content of the coloring agent in the ink, and C is a solid content of the water-dispersible resin in the ink, a viscosity of the ink is 5 mPa·s to 20 mPa·s at 25° C., and a surface tension of the ink is 35 mN/m or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 22, 2006
    Publication date: September 24, 2009
    Inventors: Hisashi Habashi, Michihiko Namba, Mariko Kojima, Akihiko Gotoh, Tamotsu Aruga, Kiyofumi Nagai