Patents by Inventor Akira Shimofuku

Akira Shimofuku 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: 20120038712
    Abstract: A method of producing an electromechanical transducer includes a first step of partially modifying a surface of a first electrode; a second step of applying a sol-gel liquid including a metal composite oxide to a predetermined area of the partially-modified surface of the first electrode; a third step of performing drying, thermal decomposition, and crystallization on the applied sol-gel liquid to form an electromechanical transduction film; a fourth step of repeating the first, second, and third steps to obtain the electromechanical transduction film with a desired thickness; and a fifth step of forming a second electrode on the electromechanical transduction film.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2010
    Publication date: February 16, 2012
    Inventors: Yoshikazu Akiyama, Takakazu Kihira, Keiji Ueda, Akira Shimofuku, Osamu Machida
  • Publication number: 20110205307
    Abstract: A sol-gel liquid for use in forming an individualized electromechanical conversion film of an electromechanical conversion element by inkjet methods, including a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) or the PZT and other metal complex oxides; and an organic solvent having properties surrounded by A, B, C, D, E and F in triangular composition diagram of FIG. 3, and having a viscosity of from 3 to 13 mPa·s, a surface tension of 30±5 mN/m and a dehydration rate of from 70 to 80% relative to pure water.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 15, 2010
    Publication date: August 25, 2011
    Inventors: Keiji UEDA, Yoshikazu Akiyama, Osamu Machida, Akira Shimofuku, Takakazu Kihira
  • Publication number: 20110175967
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing an electromechanical transducer film including a lower electrode and plural layers of a sol-gel solution film formed on the lower electrode by an inkjet method, the method including the steps of a) modifying a surface of the lower electrode, b) forming a first sol-gel solution film on the surface of the lower electrode by ejecting droplets of a sol-gel solution to the surface of the lower electrode, and c) forming a second sol-gel solution film on the first sol-gel solution film by ejecting droplets of the sol-gel solution to a surface of the first sol-gel solution film. Adjacent dots formed on the surface of the lower electrode by the droplets ejected in step b) overlap each other. Adjacent dots formed on the surface of the first sol-gel solution film by the droplets ejected in step c) do not overlap each other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 11, 2011
    Publication date: July 21, 2011
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Osamu MACHIDA, Yoshikazu AKIYAMA, Keiji UEDA, Akira SHIMOFUKU
  • Patent number: 7507523
    Abstract: An optical information recording medium is provided. This medium at least stores information that indicates a maximum recording linear velocity Vh. The medium comprises a substrate having a concentric circular guide groove. This guide grove has land portions and groves portions. At least a phase change type recording layer is formed on the substrate. The recording layer has such a composition and thickness that a dislocation linear velocity V satisfies the relation V?Vh×0.85.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2009
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd
    Inventors: Katsuyuki Yamada, Shinya Narumi, Makoto Harigaya, Katsuhiko Tani, Noriyuki Iwata, Nobuaki Onagi, Kazunori Ito, Takashi Shibaguchi, Eiko Hibino, Hajime Yuzurihara, Hiroko Ohkura, Akira Shimofuku, Yuki Nakamura
  • Publication number: 20050105437
    Abstract: A recording quality is improved when performing information recording or rewriting on a phase-change type optical recording medium according to a multi-speed method. A recording apparatus (1) performs optical informational recording or rewriting on a phase-change type optical recording medium (2) according to the multi-speed method by a recording wave which has been subjected to a pulse-width modulation (PWM). Recording or rewriting of a 1-signal having a signal with nT after modulation is nT is performed by a pulse train recording wave having a pulse part fp, a multipulse part mp and a pulse part ep. On the assumption that a time with of the pulse part fp is x and a time width of the pulse part ep is z, a relationship between the time width x and the time width z satisfies 3z?x?4.5z.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 17, 2003
    Publication date: May 19, 2005
    Inventor: Akira Shimofuku
  • Publication number: 20040165523
    Abstract: A disk-type optical recording medium is disclosed that has a visible pattern in its read-only area. The visible pattern is produced making use of change in reflectance of the disk, which is caused by change in product W*L of a width (W) and a length (L) of an nT pit formed in the read-only area, where n denotes a natural number, and T denotes clock time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 12, 2003
    Publication date: August 26, 2004
    Inventor: Akira Shimofuku
  • Publication number: 20020110063
    Abstract: An optical information recording medium is provided. This medium at least stores information that indicates a maximum recording linear velocity Vh. The medium comprises a substrate having a concentric circular guide groove. This guide grove has land portions and groves portions. At least a phase change type recording layer is formed on the substrate. The recording layer has such a composition and thickness that a dislocation linear velocity V satisfies the relation V≧Vh×0.85.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2001
    Publication date: August 15, 2002
    Inventors: Katsuyuki Yamada, Shinya Narumi, Makoto Harigaya, Katsuhiko Tani, Noriyuki Iwata, Nobuaki Onagi, Kazunori Ito, Takashi Shibaguchi, Eiko Hibino, Hajime Yuzurihara, Hiroko Okura, Akira Shimofuku, Yuki Nakamura