Patents by Inventor Akiyuki Mitamura

Akiyuki Mitamura 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: 20240064248
    Abstract: An operation unit is provided on a front side of the image forming apparatus. A document feeding portion feeds a document supported by a document supporting portion in a document feeding direction from a front side of the image forming apparatus toward the rear side of the image forming apparatus. A document discharge portion discharges the document in a document discharge direction from the rear side toward the front side. The operation unit is disposed on one side with respect to an apparatus center of the image forming apparatus in a left-right direction orthogonal to a direction from the front side to the rear side. A conveyance center of the document feeding portion in the left-right direction is disposed on the other side with respect to the apparatus center in the left-right direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 3, 2023
    Publication date: February 22, 2024
    Inventors: TAKAHIRO ONO, TAKAYUKI FUKUSHIMA, KAZUKI MATSUO, TAKUMA TACHIBANA, YUYA YASUDA, AKIYUKI MITAMURA, AKIRA MATSUMOTO, AKIRA URITA, NORIKAZU HISHINUMA, TAKATSUGU NAKAMURA, YU HASHIMOTO
  • Publication number: 20240064247
    Abstract: A document supporting portion includes a first supporting portion and a second supporting portion. The first supporting portion has a first supporting surface that supports a document. The second supporting portion has a second supporting surface that supports the document together with the first supporting surface and provided so as to be slidable between a first position at which the second supporting portion located above the first supporting portion and a second position at which the second supporting surface supports the document together with the first supporting surface. In a state where the second supporting portion is located at the first position, the second supporting surface constitutes a portion of an upper surface of the document feeding apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 2, 2023
    Publication date: February 22, 2024
    Inventors: TAKAHIRO ONO, TAKAYUKI FUKUSHIMA, KAZUKI MATSUO, YUYA YASUDA, TAKUMA TACHIBANA, AKIYUKI MITAMURA, AKIRA MATSUMOTO, AKIRA URITA, NORIKAZU HISHINUMA, TAKATSUGU NAKAMURA, YU HASHIMOTO
  • Patent number: 11843742
    Abstract: An operation unit is provided on a front side of the image forming apparatus. A document feeding portion feeds a document supported by a document supporting portion in a document feeding direction from a front side of the image forming apparatus toward the rear side of the image forming apparatus. A document discharge portion discharges the document in a document discharge direction from the rear side toward the front side. The operation unit is disposed on one side with respect to an apparatus center of the image forming apparatus in a left-right direction orthogonal to a direction from the front side to the rear side. A conveyance center of the document feeding portion in the left-right direction is disposed on the other side with respect to the apparatus center in the left-right direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takahiro Ono, Takayuki Fukushima, Kazuki Matsuo, Takuma Tachibana, Yuya Yasuda, Akiyuki Mitamura, Akira Matsumoto, Akira Urita, Norikazu Hishinuma, Takatsugu Nakamura, Yu Hashimoto
  • Patent number: 11843741
    Abstract: A document supporting portion includes a first supporting portion and a second supporting portion. The first supporting portion has a first supporting surface that supports a document. The second supporting portion has a second supporting surface that supports the document together with the first supporting surface and provided so as to be slidable between a first position at which the second supporting portion located above the first supporting portion and a second position at which the second supporting surface supports the document together with the first supporting surface. In a state where the second supporting portion is located at the first position, the second supporting surface constitutes a portion of an upper surface of the document feeding apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2023
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takahiro Ono, Takayuki Fukushima, Kazuki Matsuo, Yuya Yasuda, Takuma Tachibana, Akiyuki Mitamura, Akira Matsumoto, Akira Urita, Norikazu Hishinuma, Takatsugu Nakamura, Yu Hashimoto
  • Publication number: 20230382668
    Abstract: A sheet feeding apparatus includes: a conveying roller; a separating roller which forms a nip portion by pressing the conveying roller and separates a sheet conveyed by the conveying roller one by one in the nip portion; a moving portion configured to move a stacking portion from a first position at which a sheet stacked in the stacking portion and a feeding roller are separated from each other to a second position at which the sheet stacked in the stacking portion abuts on the feeding roller; and a cover member which is movable between a third position to cover a rotation shaft of the separating roller and a fourth position to expose the rotation shaft of the separating roller, in which the cover member placed in the fourth position moves to the third position along with movement of the stacking portion from the first position to the second position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 15, 2023
    Publication date: November 30, 2023
    Inventor: Akiyuki Mitamura
  • Publication number: 20230370555
    Abstract: An operation unit is provided on a front side of the image forming apparatus. A document feeding portion feeds a document supported by a document supporting portion in a document feeding direction from a front side of the image forming apparatus toward the rear side of the image forming apparatus. A document discharge portion discharges the document in a document discharge direction from the rear side toward the front side. The operation unit is disposed on one side with respect to an apparatus center of the image forming apparatus in a left-right direction orthogonal to a direction from the front side to the rear side. A conveyance center of the document feeding portion in the left-right direction is disposed on the other side with respect to the apparatus center in the left-right direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 21, 2023
    Publication date: November 16, 2023
    Inventors: TAKAHIRO ONO, TAKAYUKI FUKUSHIMA, KAZUKI MATSUO, TAKUMA TACHIBANA, YUYA YASUDA, AKIYUKI MITAMURA, AKIRA MATSUMOTO, AKIRA URITA, NORIKAZU HISHINUMA, TAKATSUGU NAKAMURA, YU HASHIMOTO
  • Publication number: 20230370558
    Abstract: An image reading apparatus includes a transparent member including a document placing surface on which a document is placed, a document pressing portion that presses the document placed on the transparent member against the transparent member, a pivot supporting portion that pivotably supports the document pressing portion so as to be pivotable about a pivot shaft with respect to a casing of the image reading apparatus, an image reading unit, an abutment portion against which an edge portion of the document placed on the document placing surface is abutted in order to position the document at a reference position, and an inclined surface. The abutment portion is provided at one portion of a front end on a side far from the pivot supporting portion. The inclined surface is provided at another portion of the front end and inclined upward toward the side far from the pivot supporting portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2023
    Publication date: November 16, 2023
    Inventors: TAKAHIRO ONO, TAKAYUKI FUKUSHIMA, KAZUKI MATSUO, YUYA YASUDA, TAKUMA TACHIBANA, AKIYUKI MITAMURA, AKIRA MATSUMOTO, AKIRA URITA, NORIKAZU HISHINUMA, TAKATSUGU NAKAMURA, YU HASHIMOTO
  • Publication number: 20230370554
    Abstract: A document supporting portion includes a first supporting portion and a second supporting portion. The first supporting portion has a first supporting surface that supports a document. The second supporting portion has a second supporting surface that supports the document together with the first supporting surface and provided so as to be slidable between a first position at which the second supporting portion located above the first supporting portion and a second position at which the second supporting surface supports the document together with the first supporting surface. In a state where the second supporting portion is located at the first position, the second supporting surface constitutes a portion of an upper surface of the document feeding apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2023
    Publication date: November 16, 2023
    Inventors: TAKAHIRO ONO, TAKAYUKI FUKUSHIMA, KAZUKI MATSUO, YUYA YASUDA, TAKUMA TACHIBANA, AKIYUKI MITAMURA, AKIRA MATSUMOTO, AKIRA URITA, NORIKAZU HISHINUMA, TAKATSUGU NAKAMURA, YU HASHIMOTO
  • Patent number: 11780693
    Abstract: A sheet feeding apparatus includes: a conveying roller; a separating roller which forms a nip portion by pressing the conveying roller and separates a sheet conveyed by the conveying roller one by one in the nip portion; a moving portion configured to move a stacking portion from a first position at which a sheet stacked in the stacking portion and a feeding roller are separated from each other to a second position at which the sheet stacked in the stacking portion abuts on the feeding roller; and a cover member which is movable between a third position to cover a rotation shaft of the separating roller and a fourth position to expose the rotation shaft of the separating roller, in which the cover member placed in the fourth position moves to the third position along with movement of the stacking portion from the first position to the second position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Akiyuki Mitamura
  • Patent number: 11767183
    Abstract: A sheet feeding apparatus includes: a conveying roller; a separating roller which forms a nip portion by pressing the conveying roller and separates a sheet conveyed by the conveying roller one by one in the nip portion; a moving portion configured to move a stacking portion from a first position at which a sheet stacked in the stacking portion and a feeding roller are separated from each other to a second position at which the sheet stacked in the stacking portion abuts on the feeding roller; and a cover member which is movable between a third position to cover a rotation shaft of the separating roller and a fourth position to expose the rotation shaft of the separating roller, in which the cover member placed in the fourth position moves to the third position along with movement of the stacking portion from the first position to the second position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Akiyuki Mitamura
  • Patent number: 11760590
    Abstract: A sheet feeding apparatus includes: a conveying roller; a separating roller which forms a nip portion by pressing the conveying roller and separates a sheet conveyed by the conveying roller one by one in the nip portion; a moving portion configured to move a stacking portion from a first position at which a sheet stacked in the stacking portion and a feeding roller are separated from each other to a second position at which the sheet stacked in the stacking portion abuts on the feeding roller; and a cover member which is movable between a third position to cover a rotation shaft of the separating roller and a fourth position to expose the rotation shaft of the separating roller, in which the cover member placed in the fourth position moves to the third position along with movement of the stacking portion from the first position to the second position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Akiyuki Mitamura
  • Patent number: 11368596
    Abstract: A sheet feeding device includes a stacking tray for stacking a sheet; a sheet detector for detecting presence/absence of the sheet on the stacking tray; a feeder for feeding the sheet detected by the sheet detector; an LED, provided adjacent to the sheet stacked on the stacking tray, for emitting light; a display, provided substantially in parallel with an optical axis of the LED, for being illuminated by the light emitted from the LED; a reflector, provided opposed to the display portion, for reflecting and scattering the light emitted by the LED, toward the display; and a controller for controlling emission of the light of the LED on the basis of a signal outputted by the sheet detector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Akiyuki Mitamura
  • Patent number: 11345557
    Abstract: In a first mode, the control unit controls the driving source such that the rotary feeding member starts to move toward the first position based on an elapse of a first time since the detection portion detected a leading edge of the sheet, and positions the rotary feeding member at the first position when a trailing edge of the sheet passes through the separation nip. In a second mode, the control unit controls the driving source such that the rotary feeding member starts to move toward the first position based on an elapse of a second time longer than the first time since the detection portion detected the leading edge of the sheet, and positions the rotary feeding member at a position separated more from the stacking portion than the first position when the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the separation nip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Akiyuki Mitamura
  • Publication number: 20220041385
    Abstract: A sheet feeding apparatus includes: a conveying roller; a separating roller which forms a nip portion by pressing the conveying roller and separates a sheet conveyed by the conveying roller one by one in the nip portion; a moving portion configured to move a stacking portion from a first position at which a sheet stacked in the stacking portion and a feeding roller are separated from each other to a second position at which the sheet stacked in the stacking portion abuts on the feeding roller; and a cover member which is movable between a third position to cover a rotation shaft of the separating roller and a fourth position to expose the rotation shaft of the separating roller, in which the cover member placed in the fourth position moves to the third position along with movement of the stacking portion from the first position to the second position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 25, 2021
    Publication date: February 10, 2022
    Inventor: Akiyuki Mitamura
  • Publication number: 20220041386
    Abstract: A sheet feeding apparatus includes: a conveying roller; a separating roller which forms a nip portion by pressing the conveying roller and separates a sheet conveyed by the conveying roller one by one in the nip portion; a moving portion configured to move a stacking portion from a first position at which a sheet stacked in the stacking portion and a feeding roller are separated from each other to a second position at which the sheet stacked in the stacking portion abuts on the feeding roller; and a cover member which is movable between a third position to cover a rotation shaft of the separating roller and a fourth position to expose the rotation shaft of the separating roller, in which the cover member placed in the fourth position moves to the third position along with movement of the stacking portion from the first position to the second position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 25, 2021
    Publication date: February 10, 2022
    Inventor: Akiyuki Mitamura
  • Publication number: 20210168259
    Abstract: A sheet feeding device includes a stacking tray for stacking a sheet; a sheet detector for detecting presence/absence of the sheet on the stacking tray; a feeder for feeding the sheet detected by the sheet detector; an LED, provided adjacent to the sheet stacked on the stacking tray, for emitting light; a display, provided substantially in parallel with an optical axis of the LED, for being illuminated by the light emitted from the LED; a reflector, provided opposed to the display portion, for reflecting and scattering the light emitted by the LED, toward the display; and a controller for controlling emission of the light of the LED on the basis of a signal outputted by the sheet detector.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 17, 2020
    Publication date: June 3, 2021
    Inventor: Akiyuki Mitamura
  • Publication number: 20200385225
    Abstract: In the first mode, the control unit controls the driving source such that the rotary feeding member starts to move toward the first position based on an elapse of a first time since the detection portion detected a leading edge of the sheet, and position the rotary feeding member at the first position when a trailing edge of the sheet passes through the separation nip. In the second mode, the control unit controls the driving source such that the rotary feeding member starts to move toward the first position based on an elapse of a second time longer than the first time since the detection portion detected the leading edge of the sheet, and position the rotary feeding member at a position separated more from the stacking portion than the first position when the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the separation nip.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 2, 2020
    Publication date: December 10, 2020
    Inventor: Akiyuki Mitamura
  • Publication number: 20200231395
    Abstract: A sheet feeding apparatus includes: a conveying roller; a separating roller which forms a nip portion by pressing the conveying roller and separates a sheet conveyed by the conveying roller one by one in the nip portion; a moving portion configured to move a stacking portion from a first position at which a sheet stacked in the stacking portion and a feeding roller are separated from each other to a second position at which the sheet stacked in the stacking portion abuts on the feeding roller; and a cover member which is movable between a third position to cover a rotation shaft of the separating roller and a fourth position to expose the rotation shaft of the separating roller, in which the cover member placed in the fourth position moves to the third position along with movement of the stacking portion from the first position to the second position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 9, 2020
    Publication date: July 23, 2020
    Inventor: Akiyuki Mitamura
  • Patent number: 10202249
    Abstract: A sheet feeding device includes a stacking unit, a feeding unit, a rotating member, a separation unit, a holding unit, a swinging member, and a guiding unit. The stacking unit stacks sheets. The feeding unit feeds stacked sheets. The rotating member conveys sheets, and is on a feeding unit downstream side. The separation unit separates fed sheets one by one, and contacts the rotating member. The holding unit holds the feeding unit and rotating member, and is rotatable about a rotating member rotation shaft. The swinging members swingably disposed on the holding unit and the guiding unit on a swinging member lower side guides the sheets with contact. A first contact portion of the swinging member and the guiding unit is on a second contact portion upstream side, that is a rotating member/separation unit contact portion. A swinging member swinging shaft is on the first contact portion upstream side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2019
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Akiyuki Mitamura
  • Publication number: 20160320735
    Abstract: A sheet feeding device includes a stacking unit, a feeding unit, a rotating member, a separation unit, a holding unit, a swinging member, and a guiding unit. The stacking unit stacks sheets. The feeding unit feeds stacked sheets. The rotating member conveys sheets, and is on a feeding unit downstream side. The separation unit separates fed sheets one by one, and contacts the rotating member. The holding unit holds the feeding unit and rotating member, and is rotatable about a rotating member rotation shaft. The swinging members swingably disposed on the holding unit and the guiding unit on a swinging member lower side guides the sheets with contact. A first contact portion of the swinging member and the guiding unit is on a second contact portion upstream side, that is a rotating member/separation unit contact portion. A swinging member swinging shaft is on the first contact portion upstream side.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 25, 2016
    Publication date: November 3, 2016
    Inventor: Akiyuki Mitamura