Patents by Inventor Akira Kunieda

Akira Kunieda 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: 9316986
    Abstract: A recording medium discharging device includes a discharging unit configured to discharge a recording medium from a discharge port; a tray unit on which the recording medium discharged from the discharging unit is stacked; and an air blower configured to blow air in a direction substantially parallel to a direction in which the recording medium is discharged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2016
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Shuuya Nagasako, Masahiro Tamura, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Keisuke Sugiyama, Yuusuke Shibasaki, Kyosuke Nakada, Kazuya Yamamoto, Junya Suzuki, Kazunori Konno, Yasuo Niikura, Tomomichi Hoshino, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Tomohiro Yoshizaki, Kiichiro Goto
  • Patent number: 9260264
    Abstract: A sheet discharging device includes a shift tray 202 on which a sheet P1 is stacked, a discharging roller 6 that discharges a sheet P2 onto the shift tray 202, a blowing device 230 that sends air to a lower surface of the sheet P2 discharged by the discharging roller 6, a blocking member 231 that blocks air sent to the lower surface of the sheet P2 from a blowing port 230-2 of the blowing device 230, and a control unit that controls the blocking amount of the blocking member 231. The blocking amount is determined based upon sheet information including sheet-type information, sheet-size information, and sheet-thickness information, for example.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2016
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Tomomichi Hoshino, Masahiro Tamura, Shuuya Nagasako, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Keisuke Sugiyama, Kyosuke Nakada, Kazuya Yamamoto, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Junya Suzuki, Kazunori Konno, Youhei Niitsuma, Takamasa Matsumoto, Kiichiro Goto, Kazuhiko Kitano, Takashi Fukumoto, Yasuo Niikura, Satoru Takano, Hidetoshi Kojima, Kei Sasaki, Yasushi Tsuruoka, Shintaro Matsumoto, Ryo Takahashi, Yuuta Mori, Kohjiroh Haga
  • Patent number: 9221647
    Abstract: A sheet folding apparatus includes: a folded part forming unit that forms a folded part on the sheet by nipping a curved portion formed on a part of the sheet between an upstream first sheet conveying unit and a downstream second sheet conveying unit by holding a part of the sheet by the first sheet conveying unit and applying conveying force to the sheet to reverse the sheet upstream by the second sheet conveying unit; and a sheet leading end detection unit disposed downstream of or at almost same position as the second sheet conveying unit. The sheet is conveyed based on a detection timing of the sheet leading end detection unit such that the leading end of the sheet protrudes by a predetermined protrusion amount from the second sheet conveying unit immediately before applying conveying force to the sheet to reverse the sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2015
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Tomohiro Furuhashi, Shuuya Nagasako, Michitaka Suzuki, Kazuya Yamamoto, Kyosuke Nakada, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Yuji Suzuki, Kiichiro Goto
  • Patent number: 9212020
    Abstract: A sheet processing apparatus including a first conveying member that conveys a sheet, a second conveying member that receives the sheet conveyed by the first conveying member and further conveys the sheet to a subsequent stage, a third conveying member that receives the sheet conveyed by the first conveying member and further folds the sheet, a guiding member that guides the sheet when the sheet is folded by the third conveying member, and is arranged between the second conveying member and the third conveying member. The sheet is guided along the guiding member when a bending part of the sheet is conveyed to the third conveying member by rotating the second conveying member in a reverse direction while the sheet is held by the first conveying member and the second conveying member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2015
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Kyosuke Nakada, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Shuuya Nagasako, Michitaka Suzuki, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Yuji Suzuki, Tomomichi Hoshino
  • Publication number: 20150353315
    Abstract: A sheet ejecting device includes: a sheet ejecting unit configured to eject a sheet; a stacking unit on which the sheet that is ejected by the ejecting unit is stacked; an aligning unit configured to align the sheet in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the sheet is ejected; and a blowing unit configured to be provided to the aligning unit and blow a wind toward the ejected sheet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 15, 2015
    Publication date: December 10, 2015
    Applicant: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Junya SUZUKI, Kiichiro GOTO, Masahiro TAMURA, Shuuya NAGASAKO, Keisuke SUGIYAMA, Tomohiro FURUHASHI, Kyosuke NAKADA, Kazuya YAMAMOTO, Tomomichi HOSHINO, Akira KUNIEDA, Takahiro WATANABE, Takamasa MATSUMOTO, Kazunori KONNO, Youhei NIITSUMA
  • Publication number: 20150253716
    Abstract: A recording medium discharging device includes a discharging unit configured to discharge a recording medium from a discharge port; a tray unit on which the recording medium discharged from the discharging unit is stacked; and an air blower configured to blow air in a direction substantially parallel to a direction in which the recording medium is discharged.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 20, 2015
    Publication date: September 10, 2015
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Shuuya NAGASAKO, Masahiro TAMURA, Tomohiro FURUHASHI, Keisuke SUGIYAMA, Yuusuke SHIBASAKI, Kyosuke NAKADA, Kazuya YAMAMOTO, Junya SUZUKI, Kazunori KONNO, Yasuo NIIKURA, Tomomichi HOSHINO, Akira KUNIEDA, Takahiro WATANABE, Tomohiro YOSHIZAKI, Kiichiro GOTO
  • Patent number: 9108821
    Abstract: A sheet folding apparatus includes: a first sheet conveying unit; a second sheet conveying unit that is disposed downstream of the first sheet conveying unit; a folded part forming unit that forms a folded part on a sheet by nipping a turned-back portion formed on a part of the sheet between the first sheet conveying unit and the second sheet conveying unit; a second conveying path that bifurcates from the first conveying path and in which a sheet with the folded part is conveyed; and a pushing member that is movable between a pushing position at which the pushing member pushes the turned-back portion toward the folded part forming unit and a retracted position. The pushing member also serves as a changing unit that changes a direction of a leading end of the sheet that is conveyed in the first conveying path into a direction toward a second conveying path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Kyosuke Nakada, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Shuuya Nagasako, Kazuya Yamamoto, Yuji Suzuki, Takahiro Watanabe, Michitaka Suzuki, Akira Kunieda, Kiichiro Goto
  • Publication number: 20150225201
    Abstract: A sheet processing device includes: a folder that forms a plurality of folds on a sheet such that a fold part and a part with no fold of the sheet overlap with each other; a conveyance unit that conveys the sheen on which the folds are formed by the folder; and a pressing part that presses the fold part of the conveyed sheet in which the fold part and the part with no fold overlap with each other, from a side on which the fold part is located.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 30, 2015
    Publication date: August 13, 2015
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Takahiro WATANABE, Tomohiro FURUHASHI, Michitaka SUZUKI, Tomomichi HOSHINO, Akira KUNIEDA, Yuji SUZUKI, Satoshi SAITO, Koki SAKANO
  • Patent number: 9102116
    Abstract: In a sheet creaser, a sheet set is pushed between a pair of folding rollers to fold the sheet set. Then, a re-pressing roller re-presses the sheet set, which has been folded by the folding rollers, by rolling along the crease. Pressure applied on the sheet set by the folding rollers is released when the re-pressing roller re-presses the sheet set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Nobuyoshi Suzuki, Masahiro Tamura, Shuuya Nagasako, Naohiro Kikkawa, Kazuhiro Kobayashi, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Makoto Hidaka, Hitoshi Hattori, Junichi Tokita, Takashi Saito, Akira Kunieda, Hiroshi Maeda, Ichiro Ichihashi, Atsushi Kuriyama
  • Patent number: 9102117
    Abstract: A sheet processing apparatus includes: a first pair of conveying members that convey a sheet; a second pair of conveying members that receive the sheet conveyed by the first pair of the conveying members and further conveys the sheet to a subsequent stage; and a third pair of conveying members that fold the sheet by rotating the second pair of the conveying members in a reverse direction while the sheet is held by the first pair of the conveying members and the second pair of the conveying members. One of the conveying members of the second pair serves as one of the conveying members of the third pair.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2015
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Yuuji Suzuki, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Shuuya Nagasako, Akira Kunieda, Michitaka Suzuki, Kyosuke Nakada, Kazuya Yamamoto, Takahiro Watanabe, Kiichiro Goto
  • Patent number: 9085436
    Abstract: A sheet ejecting device includes: a sheet ejecting unit configured to eject a sheet; a stacking unit on which the sheet that is ejected by the ejecting unit is stacked; an aligning unit configured to align the sheet in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the sheet is ejected; and a blowing unit configured to be provided to the aligning unit and blow a wind toward the ejected sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Junya Suzuki, Kiichiro Goto, Masahiro Tamura, Shuuya Nagasako, Keisuke Sugiyama, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Kyosuke Nakada, Kazuya Yamamoto, Tomomichi Hoshino, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Takamasa Matsumoto, Kazunori Konno, Youhei Niitsuma
  • Patent number: 9075377
    Abstract: A recording medium discharging device includes a discharging unit configured to discharge a recording medium from a discharge port; a tray unit on which the recording medium discharged from the discharging unit is stacked; and an air blower configured to blow air in a direction substantially parallel to a direction in which the recording medium is discharged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Shuuya Nagasako, Masahiro Tamura, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Keisuke Sugiyama, Yuusuke Shibasaki, Kyosuke Nakada, Kazuya Yamamoto, Junya Suzuki, Kazunori Konno, Yasuo Niikura, Tomomichi Hoshino, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Tomohiro Yoshizaki, Kiichiro Goto
  • Publication number: 20150123342
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, there is provided a sheet processing apparatus includes a stacking unit that stacks a sheet conveyed thereto; a first alignment unit that aligns the sheet or a bundle of sheets stacked in the stacking unit in a sheet conveying direction; a second alignment unit that aligns the sheet or the bundle of sheets stacked in the stacking unit in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction; a pressing unit that presses the bundle of sheets at an end portion thereof on a predetermined one side; and a control unit that causes at least one of the first and second alignment units to execute an alignment operation during a press operation of the sheet or the bundle of sheets performed by the pressing unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 12, 2015
    Publication date: May 7, 2015
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Tomohiro FURUHASHI, Masahiro TAMURA, Shuuya NAGASAKO, Keisuke SUGIYAMA, Kazuya YAMAMOTO, Kyosuke NAKADA, Tomomichi HOSHINO, Akira KUNIEDA, Takahiro WATANABE, Takamasa MATSUMOTO, Junya SUZUKI, Youhei NIITSUMA, Kazunori KONNO, Kiichiro GOTO
  • Patent number: 9016679
    Abstract: A sheet processing apparatus includes: a folding processing unit that folds a sheet by reversely rotating a second conveying member in a condition in which the sheet is held by a first and the second conveying members; a calculating unit that calculates an amount of deflection of the sheet held by the first and second conveying members from timings at which the sheet is detected by first and second detecting units disposed upstream of the first conveying member and downstream of the second conveying member and a distance between disposed positions of the first and second detecting units; and a control unit that sets, from the calculated amount of deflection of the sheet, an amount of conveyance for the first conveying member in a direction opposite to a sheet conveying direction in a condition in which the sheet is held by the first and second conveying members.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Akira Kunieda, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Shuuya Nagasako, Michitaka Suzuki, Kazuya Yamamoto, Kyosuke Nakada, Takahiro Watanabe, Yuuji Suzuki, Kiichiro Goto
  • Patent number: 8960660
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, there is provided a sheet processing apparatus includes a stacking unit that stacks a sheet conveyed thereto; a first alignment unit that aligns the sheet or a bundle of sheets stacked in the stacking unit in a sheet conveying direction; a second alignment unit that aligns the sheet or the bundle of sheets stacked in the stacking unit in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction; a pressing unit that presses the bundle of sheets at an end portion thereof on a predetermined one side; and a control unit that causes at least one of the first and second alignment units to execute an alignment operation during a press operation of the sheet or the bundle of sheets performed by the pressing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Tomohiro Furuhashi, Masahiro Tamura, Shuuya Nagasako, Keisuke Sugiyama, Kazuya Yamamoto, Kyosuke Nakada, Tomomichi Hoshino, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Takamasa Matsumoto, Junya Suzuki, Youhei Niitsuma, Kazunori Konno, Kiichiro Goto
  • Patent number: 8947681
    Abstract: An insertion system includes an enclosure supply device, an envelope supply device, an insertion device to insert an enclosure supplied from the enclosure supply device into the envelope supplied from the envelope supply device, a first input unit to input identification data of the enclosure inserted into the envelope in each of multiple insertion setting records, a second input unit to input identification data of the enclosure set in the enclosure container of the enclosure supply device, and a controller to determine whether the identification data of the enclosure to be inserted, input by the first input unit, matches the identification data of the enclosure set in the enclosure container, input by the second input unit, and to control supply of the envelope by the envelope supply device as well as supply of the enclosure by the enclosure supply device based on a result of the determination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shingo Matsushita, Takeshi Sasaki, Satoshi Saito, Ikuhisa Okamoto, Junichi Tokita, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Jun Yamada
  • Publication number: 20150031520
    Abstract: A sheet processing apparatus including a first conveying member that conveys a sheet, a second conveying member that receives the sheet conveyed by the first conveying member and further conveys the sheet to a subsequent stage, a third conveying member that receives the sheet conveyed by the first conveying member and further folds the sheet, a guiding member that guides the sheet when the sheet is folded by the third conveying member, and is arranged between the second conveying member and the third conveying member. The sheet is guided along the guiding member when a bending part of the sheet is conveyed to the third conveying member by rotating the second conveying member in a reverse direction while the sheet is held by the first conveying member and the second conveying member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2014
    Publication date: January 29, 2015
    Inventors: Kyosuke NAKADA, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Shuuya Nagasako, Michitaka Suzuki, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Yuji Suzuki, Tomomichi Hoshino
  • Patent number: 8936240
    Abstract: A sheet discharging device includes a shift tray 202 on which a sheet P1 is stacked, a discharging roller 6 that discharges a sheet P2 onto the shift tray 202, a blowing device 230 that sends air to a lower surface of the sheet P2 discharged by the discharging roller 6, a blocking member 231 that blocks air sent to the lower surface of the sheet P2 from a blowing port 230-2 of the blowing device 230, and a control unit that controls the blocking amount of the blocking member 231. The blocking amount is determined based upon sheet information including sheet-type information, sheet-size information, and sheet-thickness information, for example.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Tomomichi Hoshino, Masahiro Tamura, Shuuya Nagasako, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Keisuke Sugiyama, Kyosuke Nakada, Kazuya Yamamoto, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Junya Suzuki, Kazunori Konno, Youhei Niitsuma, Takamasa Matsumoto, Kiichiro Goto, Kazuhiko Kitano, Takashi Fukumoto, Yasuo Niikura, Satoru Takano, Hidetoshi Kojima, Kei Sasaki, Yasushi Tsuruoka, Shintaro Matsumoto, Ryo Takahashi, Yuuta Mori, Kohjiroh Haga
  • Patent number: 8931773
    Abstract: A sheet handling apparatus includes a sheet folding unit configured to perform folding on a sheet; and a sheet stacking unit configured to stack the folded sheet on a sheet stacking surface having an inclined surface and a horizontal surface in order from upstream to downstream in a sheet conveying direction. A downstream end of the inclined surface is higher than an upstream end of the inclined surface with respect to a horizontal plane. The sheet handling apparatus also includes a discharging unit configured to discharge the folded sheet to the sheet stacking unit; a sheet conveying unit configured to convey the discharged sheet from the inclined surface to the horizontal surface; and a conveying force applying unit configured to apply a conveying force to the sheet in contact with an upper surface of the sheet from above the inclined surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Keisuke Sugiyama, Masahiro Tamura, Shuuya Nagasako, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Yuusuke Shibasaki, Kazuya Yamamoto, Kyosuke Nakada, Tomomichi Hoshino, Yasuo Niikura, Junya Suzuki, Kazunori Konno, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Tomohiro Yoshizaki, Kiichiro Goto
  • Patent number: 8925917
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, provided is a sheet output device including: a sheet output unit configured to output a sheet; a tray unit on which the sheet output by the sheet output unit is to be stacked; an air blower unit configured to blow air onto the sheet output by the sheet output unit; and a control unit configured to control an airflow rate of the air blower unit according to an amount of the sheet output from the sheet output unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Takahiro Watanabe, Masahiro Tamura, Shuuya Nagasako, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Keisuke Sugiyama, Kyosuke Nakada, Kazuya Yamamoto, Tomomichi Hoshino, Akira Kunieda, Junya Suzuki, Kazunori Konno, Takamasa Matsumoto, Youhei Niitsuma, Kiichiro Goto