Patents by Inventor Hirokazu Nakamura
Hirokazu Nakamura 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).
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Patent number: 9075382Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a pre-fusing paper sheet guide, a fuser unit and a control section. The pre-fusing paper sheet guide is disposed adjacent to the fuser unit on its upstream side. The fuser unit includes a pressing roller having, an electrically conductive surface, a grounding structure grounding a pressing roller's surface, and a cleaning mechanism cleaning the pressing roller's surface. The cleaning mechanism includes a web and a take-up roller. The control section sets a winding quantity x of the web to 0.7 mm when a setting for printing without margin is not made, and sets the winding quantity x to 2.1 mm when the setting for printing without margin is made. If the number of sheets accumulated through the image forming process becomes not less than 18, the control section causes the take-up roller to wind the web by the winding quantity x, and performs an image forming process.Type: GrantFiled: June 11, 2014Date of Patent: July 7, 2015Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Hirokazu Nakamura, Tatsuya Shinkawa, Kousuke Namisaki, Motoki Ohta
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Publication number: 20150093135Abstract: A fixing apparatus of the present invention includes a fixing rotation member, a rotation drive portion that rotates the fixing rotation member, a cleaning web sheet that cleans a circumferential surface of the fixing rotation member, a cleaning web sheet roller that takes up or feeds out the cleaning web sheet, a swing cam rotationally driven by the rotation drive portion, a rotation transmission portion that transmits a rotation drive force to the cleaning web sheet roller, a one way clutch provided on an input shaft of the rotation transmission portion, and a swing lever connected to the one way clutch and biased so as to be brought into slide contact with the swing cam.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 9, 2014Publication date: April 2, 2015Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Hirokazu NAKAMURA, Masatsugu OHISHI, Noriko INOUE, Masaki AMEMIYA, Masaya ASAKAWA, Takashi YAMANAKA
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Patent number: 8977175Abstract: A fixing apparatus of the invention includes a pressure roller 6 and a fixing roller 7 that make press-contact with each other and an oil roller 8 that makes press-contact with either the pressure roller 6 or the fixing roller 7, and passes a recording sheet through a nip area between the pressure roller 6 and the fixing roller 7 to fix toner on the recording sheet. The fixing apparatus also includes: a pressure roller gear 21 and an oil roller gear 22 that transmit a rotation of a shaft of the pressure roller 6 that makes press-contact with the oil roller 8 to a shaft of the oil roller 8; and a one-way clutch 23 that causes the oil roller 8 to idly rotate in a direction of a driven rotation when the oil roller 8 is driven to rotate by pressing against the pressure roller 6.Type: GrantFiled: February 16, 2012Date of Patent: March 10, 2015Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Masaya Asakawa, Hirokazu Nakamura, Takashi Yamanaka
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Publication number: 20150063858Abstract: Disclosed is an image forming apparatus including: a printing paper transport path in which printing paper is transported; a secondary transfer unit and a fixing section both disposed on the printing paper transport path; an open/close cover that, when opened, exposes the printing paper transport path in a main body of the apparatus; a pressure roller, disposed in the fixing section, that presses the printing paper on a side thereof facing the open/close cover against the printing paper transport path; and cooling fans that cool down the pressure roller, wherein the secondary transfer unit and the cooling fans are attached to the open/close cover and disposed at such positions that the secondary transfer unit and the cooling fans move following overlapping paths when the open/close cover is opened/closed.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 13, 2013Publication date: March 5, 2015Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Hirokazu Nakamura, Kimihide Tsukamoto, Masaki Amemiya
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Patent number: 8948670Abstract: A fixing apparatus of the present invention includes a fixing rotation member, a rotation drive portion that rotates the fixing rotation member, a cleaning web sheet that cleans a circumferential surface of the fixing rotation member, a cleaning web sheet roller that takes up or feeds out the cleaning web sheet, a swing cam rotationally driven by the rotation drive portion, a rotation transmission portion that transmits a rotation drive force to the cleaning web sheet roller, a one way clutch provided on an input shaft of the rotation transmission portion, and a swing lever connected to the one way clutch and biased so as to be brought into slide contact with the swing cam.Type: GrantFiled: May 12, 2011Date of Patent: February 3, 2015Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Hirokazu Nakamura, Masatsugu Ohishi, Noriko Inoue, Masaki Amemiya, Masaya Asakawa, Takashi Yamanaka
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Publication number: 20140369724Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a pre-fusing paper sheet guide, a fuser unit and a control section. The pre-fusing paper sheet guide is disposed adjacent to the fuser unit on its upstream side. The fuser unit includes a pressing roller having, an electrically conductive surface, a grounding structure grounding a pressing roller's surface, and a cleaning mechanism cleaning the pressing roller's surface. The cleaning mechanism includes a web and a take-up roller. The control section sets a winding quantity x of the web to 0.7 mm when a setting for printing without margin is not made, and sets the winding quantity x to 2.1 mm when the setting for printing without margin is made. If the number of sheets accumulated through the image forming process becomes not less than 18, the control section causes the take-up roller to wind the web by the winding quantity x, and performs an image forming process.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 11, 2014Publication date: December 18, 2014Inventors: Hirokazu NAKAMURA, Tatsuya SHINKAWA, Kousuke NAMISAKI, Motoki OHTA
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Publication number: 20140356018Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a pre-fixing sheet guide and a toner collection device. The pre-fixing sheet guide is to let a sheet conveyed along it, the sheet with a toner image transferred thereon at a transfer portion to an end part of the sheet. The sheet guide has a width shorter than a maximum printable sheet width. The toner collection device includes an adsorption member (pressure roller) that is disposed in the vicinity of the pre-fixing sheet guide and having a surface exhibiting conductivity, and a potential difference formation mechanism (earth mechanism) configured to form a potential difference between the surface of the adsorption member and the toner.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 29, 2014Publication date: December 4, 2014Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Hirokazu NAKAMURA, Kousuke NAMISAKI, Motoki OHTA
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Publication number: 20140193181Abstract: A fixing device in accordance with the present invention comprises: a rotary member for transporting printing paper; a pressure member for press-contacting the rotary member to apply pressure onto the printing paper; and a cleaning member capable of freely moving into contact with, or away from, a peripheral surface of the rotary member and/or a peripheral surface of the pressure member. A toner image formed on the printing paper is fixed while the printing paper is being held between the rotary member and the pressure member. The fixing device further comprises a contact and separation unit for moving the pressure member into contact with, or away from, the rotary member. The cleaning member moves into contact with, or away from, the peripheral surface of the rotary member and/or the peripheral surface of the pressure member in conjunction with the contact and separation unit moving the pressure member into contact with, or away from, the rotary member.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 27, 2013Publication date: July 10, 2014Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Hirokazu Nakamura, Kousuke Namisaki, Motoki Ohta
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Publication number: 20140009740Abstract: An ophthalmic apparatus includes: a main unit including a unit for observing or photographing an examinee's eye; a movable part in which the main unit is mounted; a vertical movement mechanism provided with a drive part to move the movable part up and down; an operating member to be operated by an examiner to move the movable part up and down; a sensing part to detect an operation signal of the operating member; and a driving control part to convert the operation signal detected by the sensing part to a drive signal to move the movable part up and down, and drive the drive part based on the drive signal, wherein the drive part includes a motor having a hollow portion about a rotation axis thereof, the motor being controlled by the driving control part to rotate.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 19, 2013Publication date: January 9, 2014Inventors: Kenichiro MAKINO, Hirokazu NAKAMURA, Daisuke BABA, Toshiya KOBAYASHI
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Patent number: 8626047Abstract: A fixing device includes: a fixing belt in an endless form; a fixing roller; a separating roller for separating, from the fixing belt, a paper sheet onto which a developer is fixed and fused; a heating roller for heating the fixing belt; a pressurizing roller for forming a fixing nip portion between the fixing belt and the pressurizing roller; a first lever to which the fixing roller and the separating roller are fixed, the first lever pivoting around a first supporting point used as the center point; a second lever to which the fixing roller and the heating roller are fixed, the second lever pivoting around a second supporting point used as the center point; a first spring for biasing the first lever; and a second spring for biasing the second lever.Type: GrantFiled: September 21, 2011Date of Patent: January 7, 2014Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Hirokazu Nakamura
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Publication number: 20130336688Abstract: A fixing apparatus of the invention includes a pressure roller 6 and a fixing roller 7 that make press-contact with each other and an oil roller 8 that makes press-contact with either the pressure roller 6 or the fixing roller 7, and passes a recording sheet through a nip area between the pressure roller 6 and the fixing roller 7 to fix toner on the recording sheet. The fixing apparatus also includes: a pressure roller gear 21 and an oil roller gear 22 that transmit a rotation of a shaft of the pressure roller 6 that makes press-contact with the oil roller 8 to a shaft of the oil roller 8; and a one-way clutch 23 that causes the oil roller 8 to idly rotate in a direction of a driven rotation when the oil roller 8 is driven to rotate by pressing against the pressure roller 6.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 16, 2012Publication date: December 19, 2013Applicant: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Masaya Asakawa, Hirokazu Nakamura, Takashi Yamanaka
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Patent number: 8611801Abstract: The fixing apparatus is provided with a cleaning pad that is pressed against at least one of roller members composed of a fixing roller, a pressurizing roller and an external heating roller to clean a surface of the roller member, and the cleaning pad is composed of a pad member that cleans the surface of the roller member, and a support member that press the pad member against the surface of the roller member to support. The support member has a plurality of opening portions formed along a thrust direction of the roller member, and has a larger opening area per unit length of the support member at a center part of the support member than that at both edge parts thereof. For example, an interval of holes or slits is narrower at the center part of the support member than that at the both edge parts thereof.Type: GrantFiled: March 9, 2011Date of Patent: December 17, 2013Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Hirokazu Nakamura, Masaki Amemiya, Takashi Yamanaka
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Patent number: 8554122Abstract: A fixing device is provided in which a rotation member and a roller are caused to rotate pressing against each other, a recording paper is sandwiched and transported in a nip region between the rotation member and the roller, a leading edge of a peeling plate is positioned with respect to a peripheral surface of the rotation member, and the recording paper is separated from the rotation member by the peeling plate. In this fixing device, a surface of the peeling plate faces a transport route of the recording paper. Furthermore, in this fixing device, a contact member is provided that contacts a rear surface of the peeling plate displaced in a direction in which the leading edge of the peeling plate approaches the peripheral surface of the rotation member and prohibits displacement of the peeling plate after contact of the peeling plate to the contact member.Type: GrantFiled: March 22, 2011Date of Patent: October 8, 2013Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Masaya Asakawa, Takashi Yamanaka, Hirokazu Nakamura, Noriko Inoue, Masaki Amemiya
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Patent number: 8364066Abstract: A fixing apparatus 12 in one embodiment of the present invention includes a fixing roller 31, a pressure roller 32, a pressing apparatus 100 for pressing the pressure roller 32 toward the fixing roller 31, a pressure cancellation apparatus 200 that cancels pressure applied by the pressing apparatus 100 to the pressure roller 32 against the fixing roller 31, an external heating apparatus 300 that presses the fixing roller 31 from the outside on an opposite side to the pressure roller 32, and a regulation member 400 that regulates the amount of pressure the external heating apparatus 300 applies to the fixing roller 31.Type: GrantFiled: August 13, 2009Date of Patent: January 29, 2013Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Hirokazu Nakamura, Kousuke Namisaki, Takashi Yamanaka, Kimihide Tsukamoto
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Patent number: 8280289Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention includes a fixing member; a pressure member for pressing against the fixing member so as to form a nip region between the pressure member and the fixing member; a pressure cancellation unit for pressing the pressure member against the fixing member and for cancelling the state in which the pressure member is pressed against the fixing member; a paper detachment member for detaching paper held between the fixing member and the pressure member in the nip region from the pressure member; and a separation mechanism for cleaning the paper detachment member by separating the paper detachment member from the pressure member in conjunction with a pressure cancellation operation of the pressure cancellation unit.Type: GrantFiled: July 21, 2010Date of Patent: October 2, 2012Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Takashi Yamanaka, Masaya Asakawa, Hirokazu Nakamura, Noriko Inoue, Masaki Amemiya
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Publication number: 20120093549Abstract: A fixing device includes: a fixing belt in an endless form; a fixing roller; a separating roller for separating, from the fixing belt, a paper sheet onto which a developer is fixed and fused; a heating roller for heating the fixing belt; a pressurizing roller for forming a fixing nip portion between the fixing belt and the pressurizing roller; a first lever to which the fixing roller and the separating roller are fixed, the first lever pivoting around a first supporting point used as the center point; a second lever to which the fixing roller and the heating roller are fixed, the second lever pivoting around a second supporting point used as the center point; a first spring for biasing the first lever; and a second spring for biasing the second lever.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 21, 2011Publication date: April 19, 2012Applicant: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Hirokazu NAKAMURA
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Patent number: 8099034Abstract: In one embodiment, when a hot roller is driven to rotate, a driving gear rotates so that a swing gear and a swing cam rotate. Then, a sliding contact edge on the right side of a swing lever that abuts against the circumferential face of the swing cam repeatedly moves up and down, and the swing lever repeatedly rotates clockwise and counterclockwise with a shaft of a pressure release cam as the center. At this time, since only the clockwise rotation of the swing lever is transmitted via a one-way clutch to the shaft of the pressure release cam, the clockwise rotation is intermittently transmitted to the shaft of the pressure release cam. As a result of this, the pressure release cam intermittently rotates clockwise, and the pressure release cam pushes away a roller of a displacement frame, so that the pressure roller separates from the hot roller.Type: GrantFiled: June 18, 2009Date of Patent: January 17, 2012Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Kimihide Tsukamoto, Hirokazu Nakamura, Takashi Yamanaka, Kousuke Namisaki
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Publication number: 20110280636Abstract: A fixing apparatus of the present invention includes a fixing rotation member, a rotation drive portion that rotates the fixing rotation member, a cleaning web sheet that cleans a circumferential surface of the fixing rotation member, a cleaning web sheet roller that takes up or feeds out the cleaning web sheet, a swing cam rotationally driven by the rotation drive portion, a rotation transmission portion that transmits a rotation drive force to the cleaning web sheet roller, a one way clutch provided on an input shaft of the rotation transmission portion, and a swing lever connected to the one way clutch and biased so as to be brought into slide contact with the swing cam.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 12, 2011Publication date: November 17, 2011Inventors: Hirokazu NAKAMURA, Masatsugu OHISHI, Noriko INOUE, Masaki AMEMIYA, Masaya ASAKAWA, Takashi YAMANAKA
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Publication number: 20110249996Abstract: A fixing device is provided in which a rotation member and a roller are caused to rotate pressing against each other, a recording paper is sandwiched and transported in a nip region between the rotation member and the roller, a leading edge of a peeling plate is positioned with respect to a peripheral surface of the rotation member, and the recording paper is separated from the rotation member by the peeling plate. In this fixing device, a surface of the peeling plate faces a transport route of the recording paper. Furthermore, in this fixing device, a contact member is provided that contacts a rear surface of the peeling plate displaced in a direction in which the leading edge of the peeling plate approaches the peripheral surface of the rotation member and prohibits displacement of the peeling plate after contact of the peeling plate to the contact member.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 22, 2011Publication date: October 13, 2011Inventors: Masaya ASAKAWA, Takashi Yamanaka, Hirokazu Nakamura, Noriko Inoue, Masaki Amemiya
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Publication number: 20110229221Abstract: The fixing apparatus is provided with a cleaning pad that is pressed against at least one of roller members composed of a fixing roller, a pressurizing roller and an external heating roller to clean a surface of the roller member, and the cleaning pad is composed of a pad member that cleans the surface of the roller member, and a support member that press the pad member against the surface of the roller member to support. The support member has a plurality of opening portions formed along a thrust direction of the roller member, and has a larger opening area per unit length of the support member at a center part of the support member than that at both edge parts thereof. For example, an interval of holes or slits is narrower at the center part of the support member than that at the both edge parts thereof.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 9, 2011Publication date: September 22, 2011Inventors: Hirokazu Nakamura, Masaki Amemiya, Takashi Yamanaka