Patents by Inventor Hiroki KURATA

Hiroki KURATA 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: 11878307
    Abstract: A coarse crushing device including a rotary cutter portion tearing off a fiber-containing sheet in a first direction, a roller portion pinching the fiber-containing sheet, and a tearing portion provided between the rotary cutter portion and the roller portion, and having a plurality of blades tearing off the fiber-containing sheet in a second direction intersecting the first direction, in which the rotary cutter portion includes a first rotating shaft member rotating about a first axis, a second rotating shaft member rotating reversely to the first rotating shaft member about a second axis parallel to the first axis, a plurality of first rotary cutters provided on the first rotating shaft member and rotating together with the first rotating shaft member, and a plurality of second rotary cutters provided on the second rotating shaft member and rotating together with the second rotating shaft member, and the first rotary cutter and the second rotary cutter are separated from each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroki Kurata, Naotaka Higuchi
  • Patent number: 11802377
    Abstract: A fibrous body manufacturing method includes: a first supplying step of supplying a first raw material containing a first fiber group; a second supplying step of supplying a second raw material containing a second fiber group and a binder, the second fiber group having a length-average fiber length not less than a length-average fiber length of the first fiber group, the binder being configured to bond fibers together; a forming step of forming a first deposited material by depositing a first mixed material containing the first raw material and the second raw material; and a bonding step of bonding first fibers of the first fiber group and second fibers of the second fiber group that are contained in the first deposited material together using the binder to form a first fibrous body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2023
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Masahiko Nakazawa, Shigemi Wakabayashi, Yoshihiro Ueno, Naotaka Higuchi, Hiroki Kurata, Shunichi Seki
  • Patent number: 11566372
    Abstract: A method for defibrating a fiber body includes: a supply step of supplying a liquid to a fiber body containing fibers; and a defibrating step of defibrating the fiber body to which the liquid is supplied, and in the supply step, the liquid is supplied to the fiber body so that a rate in tensile strength of the fiber body immediately before defibrated in the defibrating step to the fiber body before the liquid is supplied thereto is 60.0% or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tetsuya Aoyama, Shinichi Kato, Shigemi Wakabayashi, Yoshihiro Ueno, Shunichi Seki, Takumi Sago, Hiroki Kurata
  • Patent number: 11465387
    Abstract: A sheet forming binder includes a first powder and a second powder having a larger volume average particle size than the first powder. The proportion of the first powder is 10.0% by mass or more relative to the total mass of the first powder and the second powder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroki Kurata, Yoshihiro Ueno, Takumi Sago
  • Publication number: 20220289966
    Abstract: The complex of the present disclosure includes a thermoplastic particle constituted of a thermoplastic material and an inorganic particle surface-treated with at least one surface treatment agent selected from the group consisting of fluorine-containing compounds and silicon-containing compounds and further includes a composite particle composed of the thermoplastic particle and the inorganic particle adhered to the thermoplastic particle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 14, 2022
    Publication date: September 15, 2022
    Inventors: Takumi SAGO, Yoshihiro UENO, Hiroki KURATA
  • Publication number: 20220056642
    Abstract: A fibrous body manufacturing method includes: a first supplying step of supplying a first raw material containing a first fiber group; a second supplying step of supplying a second raw material containing a second fiber group and a binder, the second fiber group having a length-average fiber length not less than a length-average fiber length of the first fiber group, the binder being configured to bond fibers together; a forming step of forming a first deposited material by depositing a first mixed material containing the first raw material and the second raw material; and a bonding step of bonding first fibers of the first fiber group and second fibers of the second fiber group that are contained in the first deposited material together using the binder to form a first fibrous body.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 18, 2021
    Publication date: February 24, 2022
    Inventors: Masahiko NAKAZAWA, Shigemi WAKABAYASHI, Yoshihiro UENO, Naotaka HIGUCHI, Hiroki KURATA, Shunichi SEKI
  • Patent number: 11173495
    Abstract: A crushing apparatus includes a first rotary shaft member, a second rotary shaft member, a plurality of first rotary cutters, a plurality of second rotary cutters, a plurality of first spacers, and a plurality of second spacers, the first rotary cutters and the first spacers being alternately disposed in a first axis direction, the second rotary cutters and the second spacers being alternately disposed in the first axis direction, the first rotary cutters and the second rotary cutters each forming a tearing blade that protrudes in a direction perpendicular to the first axis direction, a portion of each of the first rotary cutters and a portion of each of the second rotary cutters overlapping when viewed from the first axis direction, and a gap being provided between the first rotary cutter and the second rotary cutter in the first axis direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroki Kurata, Yoichi Miyasaka
  • Publication number: 20210301469
    Abstract: A fiber-formed body producing raw material contains fibers and a binder for binding the fibers, wherein the fiber-formed body producing raw material is nongranular, and 1.0?A/B?9.0, wherein A is a weight of the fibers in the fiber-formed body producing raw material and B is a weight of the binder in the fiber-formed body producing raw material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2021
    Publication date: September 30, 2021
    Inventors: Shigemi WAKABAYASHI, Masahiko NAKAZAWA, Hiroki KURATA, Naotaka HIGUCHI, Yoshihiro UENO, Shunichi SEKI, Nobutaka URANO, Takehiko UEHARA
  • Patent number: 11107998
    Abstract: A transparent electrode includes a conductive layer and at least one metal affinity layer adjacent to the conductive layer. The conductive layer is composed of silver as a main component. The metal affinity layer contains an organic compound and a lanthanoid. The organic compound is a compound including a heteroatom having an unshared electron pair in a molecule.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: KONICA MINOLTA, INC.
    Inventors: Noboru Sekine, Hiroki Kurata
  • Publication number: 20210154679
    Abstract: A coarse crushing device including a rotary cutter portion tearing off a fiber-containing sheet in a first direction, a roller portion pinching the fiber-containing sheet, and a tearing portion provided between the rotary cutter portion and the roller portion, and having a plurality of blades tearing off the fiber-containing sheet in a second direction intersecting the first direction, in which the rotary cutter portion includes a first rotating shaft member rotating about a first axis, a second rotating shaft member rotating reversely to the first rotating shaft member about a second axis parallel to the first axis, a plurality of first rotary cutters provided on the first rotating shaft member and rotating together with the first rotating shaft member, and a plurality of second rotary cutters provided on the second rotating shaft member and rotating together with the second rotating shaft member, and the first rotary cutter and the second rotary cutter are separated from each other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 25, 2020
    Publication date: May 27, 2021
    Inventors: Hiroki KURATA, Naotaka HIGUCHI
  • Patent number: 10781554
    Abstract: A processing device, a sheet manufacturing apparatus, a processing method, and a sheet manufacturing method that suppress damage to a substrate when removing color material from the substrate, and are useful for recycling the substrate after color material is removed, are provided. A processing device has a color material removal device including at least one discharge nozzle configured to discharge particles containing cellulose to a substrate holding color material, and remove the color material from the substrate. The color material removal device preferably has a double-walled conduit construction having an internal conduit and an external conduit in which the internal conduit is inserted, at least one of an opening to the internal conduit and an opening to the external conduit functioning as the discharge nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2020
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Shunichi Seki, Hiroki Kurata, Hiroshi Tanaka, Seiichi Taniguchi, Kaneo Yoda
  • Patent number: 10759185
    Abstract: A sheet for a laser printer includes a plurality of fibers, and a binding agent for binding the plurality of fibers, in which an abundance of the binding agent on a surface of the sheet is smaller than an abundance of the binding agent in a center in a thickness direction of the sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Ueno, Takumi Sago, Hiroki Kurata, Shunichi Seki
  • Publication number: 20200238293
    Abstract: A crushing apparatus includes a first rotary shaft member, a second rotary shaft member, a plurality of first rotary cutters, a plurality of second rotary cutters, a plurality of first spacers, and a plurality of second spacers, the first rotary cutters and the first spacers being alternately disposed in a first axis direction, the second rotary cutters and the second spacers being alternately disposed in the first axis direction, the first rotary cutters and the second rotary cutters each forming a tearing blade that protrudes in a direction perpendicular to the first axis direction, a portion of each of the first rotary cutters and a portion of each of the second rotary cutters overlapping when viewed from the first axis direction, and a gap being provided between the first rotary cutter and the second rotary cutter in the first axis direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 22, 2020
    Publication date: July 30, 2020
    Inventors: Hiroki KURATA, Yoichi MIYASAKA
  • Publication number: 20200173102
    Abstract: A method for defibrating a fiber body includes: a supply step of supplying a liquid to a fiber body containing fibers; and a defibrating step of defibrating the fiber body to which the liquid is supplied, and in the supply step, the liquid is supplied to the fiber body so that a rate in tensile strength of the fiber body immediately before defibrated in the defibrating step to the fiber body before the liquid is supplied thereto is 60.0% or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 2, 2019
    Publication date: June 4, 2020
    Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tetsuya AOYAMA, Shinichi KATO, Shigemi WAKABAYASHI, Yoshihiro UENO, Shunichi SEKI, Takumi SAGO, Hiroki KURATA
  • Publication number: 20200102703
    Abstract: A recording medium manufacturing apparatus includes at least one material supplying section which includes a storage unit which stores a fiber-containing material containing cellulose fibers and a resin, at least one carrying body which carries the fiber-containing material which is supplied from the material supplying section, a transfer-target body onto which the fiber-containing material which is carried by the carrying body is electrostatically transferred, and an after-treatment unit which performs an after-treatment on the fiber-containing material which is electrostatically transferred onto the transfer-target body.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2017
    Publication date: April 2, 2020
    Inventors: Kaneo YODA, Yasumasa NAKAJIMA, Seiichi TANIGUCHI, Shunichi SEKI, Akira ARAI, Kazuhiro ICHIKAWA, Hiroshi TANAKA, Hiroki KURATA
  • Publication number: 20200080262
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a sheet manufacturing binding material which includes a polyester obtained by a reaction between a polyvalent alcohol having a secondary hydroxyl group and a polybasic acid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 3, 2019
    Publication date: March 12, 2020
    Inventors: Takumi SAGO, Yoshihiro UENO, Hiroki KURATA, Shunichi SEKI, Haruna SUDA
  • Publication number: 20200031090
    Abstract: A sheet forming binder includes a first powder and a second powder having a larger volume average particle size than the first powder. The proportion of the first powder is 10.0% by mass or more relative to the total mass of the first powder and the second powder.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 22, 2019
    Publication date: January 30, 2020
    Inventors: Hiroki KURATA, Yoshihiro UENO, Takumi SAGO
  • Publication number: 20190389226
    Abstract: A sheet for a laser printer includes a plurality of fibers, and a binding agent for binding the plurality of fibers, in which an abundance of the binding agent on a surface of the sheet is smaller than an abundance of the binding agent in a center in a thickness direction of the sheet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 20, 2019
    Publication date: December 26, 2019
    Inventors: Yoshihiro UENO, Takumi SAGO, Hiroki KURATA, Shunichi SEKI
  • Patent number: 10369816
    Abstract: Provided is technology enabling reliably erasing information on recovered paper, and whitening (reducing blackening) of the sheet. A sheet processing device has an image inspector configured to determine from a sheet printed with image information at least one of a background color of the sheet, and position, size, and color of the image information on the sheet; an image analyzer configured to determine, based on the evaluation result from the image inspector, a type of ink masking agent and an amount of ink masking agent; an ink masking agent applicator configured to apply to the image information printed on the sheet an ink masking agent of the specific type and specific amount determined by the image analyzer; and a shredder configured to comminute the sheet to which the ink masking agent was applied by the ink masking agent applicator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2019
    Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shunichi Seki, Hiroki Kurata, Shinichi Kato, Kaneo Yoda
  • Publication number: 20190189932
    Abstract: A transparent electrode includes a conductive layer and at least one metal affinity layer adjacent to the conductive layer. The conductive layer is composed of silver as a main component. The metal affinity layer contains an organic compound and a lanthanoid. The organic compound is a compound including a heteroatom having an unshared electron pair in a molecule.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 4, 2017
    Publication date: June 20, 2019
    Inventors: Noboru SEKINE, Hiroki KURATA