Patents by Inventor Hirokazu Okugawa

Hirokazu Okugawa 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: 11029627
    Abstract: In a fixing apparatus 200 having a heater 300 capable of selectively causing a plurality of heat generating blocks divided in a longitudinal direction of a substrate 305 to generate heat, an energization control portion 400 acquires, when performing a fixing operation, a cumulative amount of heat generation in each of a plurality of heating areas, a cumulative rotation time of a pressure roller 208, and information on a recording material that passes through a fixing nip portion, and controls energization of heat generating elements 302a and 302b on the basis of the acquired information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2021
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroshi Kataoka, Atsushi Iwasaki, Hirokazu Okugawa, Munehito Kurata
  • Publication number: 20200174409
    Abstract: In a fixing apparatus 200 having a heater 300 capable of selectively causing a plurality of heat generating blocks divided in a longitudinal direction of a substrate 305 to generate heat, an energization control portion 400 acquires, when performing a fixing operation, a cumulative amount of heat generation in each of a plurality of heating areas, a cumulative rotation time of a pressure roller 208, and information on a recording material that passes through a fixing nip portion, and controls energization of heat generating elements 302a and 302b on the basis of the acquired information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 3, 2020
    Publication date: June 4, 2020
    Inventors: Hiroshi Kataoka, Atsushi Iwasaki, Hirokazu Okugawa, Munehito Kurata
  • Patent number: 10345745
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion, a first fixing member, and a second fixing member that forms a nip with the first fixing member. An air blowing device blows air for cooling an end portion region of at least one of the first and second fixing members with respect to a longitudinal direction, perpendicular to a recording material feeding direction, in the nip. In addition, a controller capable of selecting one of an operation in a first mode, in which cooling of the end portion region by the air blowing device is carried out depending on a recording material size, with respect to a widthwise direction of the recording material, and an operation in a second mode, in which the cooling is carried out depending on a size of a print region of the image, with respect to a direction perpendicular to the recording material feeding direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2019
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hirokazu Okugawa, Tohru Saito
  • Publication number: 20180356753
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion, first and second fixing members configured to form a nip in which the recording material carrying the image thereon is nipped and fed, air blowing portion configured to blow air for cooling an end portion region of at least one of the first and second fixing members with respect to a longitudinal direction perpendicular to a recording material feeding direction in the nip, and a controller capable of selecting an operation in a first mode in which cooling of the end portion region by the air blowing portion is carried out depending on a recording material size with respect to a widthwise direction of the recording material and an operation in a second mode in which the cooling is carried out depending on an image size with respect to a direction perpendicular to the recording material feeding direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 6, 2018
    Publication date: December 13, 2018
    Inventors: Hirokazu Okugawa, Tohru Saito