Patents by Inventor Hironobu Iwashita
Hironobu Iwashita 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: 8235506Abstract: An electrostatic suction type fluid discharge method and device include a voltage applying means that applies a pulse voltage between a nozzle and a substrate, the nozzle having a diameter ranging from 0.01 ?m to 25 ?m, an upper limit voltage of the pulse voltage being equal to or greater than a discharge-inducing minimum voltage. A lower limit first voltage can be provided immediately before a rise of the pulse voltage, an absolute value of the lower limit first voltage being set smaller than the discharge-inducing minimum voltage. A lower limit second voltage can be provided immediately after a rise of the pulse voltage, an absolute value of the lower limit second voltage being set smaller than the discharge-inducing minimum voltage. With this structure, it is possible to simultaneously achieve miniaturization of nozzle, discharge of micro fluid droplet, high accuracy for discharge position, and decrease in drive voltage.Type: GrantFiled: August 6, 2004Date of Patent: August 7, 2012Assignees: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc., National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and TechnologyInventors: Shigeru Nishio, Hironobu Iwashita, Kazunori Yamamoto, Kazuhiro Murata
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Patent number: 7712874Abstract: An electrostatic suction type fluid discharge device supplies a drive voltage from a power source between a nozzle and an insulating substrate, so as to supply an electric charge to a discharge material supplied into the nozzle. As a result, the discharge material is discharged from the nozzle hole onto the insulating substrate. The diameter of the hole of the nozzle falls within the range between ?0.01 ?m and ?25 ?m, the power source outputs, as the drive voltage, a bipolar pulse voltage that alternates between positive and negative and has a frequency of not less than 1 Hz.Type: GrantFiled: August 5, 2004Date of Patent: May 11, 2010Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Shigeru Nishio, Hironobu Iwashita, Kazunori Yamamoto, Kazuhiro Murata
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Patent number: 7703870Abstract: A liquid ejection apparatus includes: a liquid ejection head (26) having a nozzle (21) with an inner diameter of 15 ?m or less to eject droplets of charged solution onto a substrate; an ejection voltage supply (25) to apply an ejection voltage to a solution inside the nozzle; a convex meniscus generator (40) to form a state in which the solution inside the nozzle rises from the nozzle in a convex shape; and an operation controller (50) to control application of a drive voltage to drive the convex meniscus generator and application of an ejection voltage by the ejection voltage supply so that the drive voltage to the convex meniscus generator is applied in timing overlapped with the application of a pulse voltage as the ejection voltage by the ejection voltage supply.Type: GrantFiled: November 29, 2004Date of Patent: April 27, 2010Assignee: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and TechnologyInventors: Kazunori Yamamoto, Yasuo Nishi, Hironobu Iwashita, Shigeru Nishio, Kazuhiro Murata
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Patent number: 7604326Abstract: With a micro nozzle in which the fluid discharge head has a nozzle with a micro hole having a diameter of 0.01 ?m to 25 ?m, the drive voltage during discharging operation is reduced. Further, by disposing an electrode section for applying a drive voltage to a discharge fluid on an external wall of a nozzle section, a distance between the electrode section and the nozzle hole is shortened. With this structure, the subject invention achieves both miniaturization of nozzle and reduction in drive voltage in an electrostatic suction type fluid discharge device. The subject invention also achieves an increase in discharge limit frequency while allowing use of materials with higher resistance for the fluid to be discharged.Type: GrantFiled: August 4, 2004Date of Patent: October 20, 2009Assignees: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc., National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and TechnologyInventors: Shigeru Nishio, Hironobu Iwashita, Kazunori Yamamoto, Kazuhiro Murata
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Publication number: 20070146399Abstract: A liquid ejection apparatus includes: a liquid ejection head (26) having a nozzle (21) with an inner diameter of 15 ?m or less to eject droplets of charged solution onto a substrate; an ejection voltage supply (25) to apply an ejection voltage to a solution inside the nozzle; a convex meniscus generator (40) to form a state in which the solution inside the nozzle rises from the nozzle in a convex shape; and an operation controller (50) to control application of a drive voltage to drive the convex meniscus generator and application of an ejection voltage by the ejection voltage supply so that the drive voltage to the convex meniscus generator is applied in timing overlapped with the application of a pulse voltage as the ejection voltage by the ejection voltage supply.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 29, 2004Publication date: June 28, 2007Applicants: Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc., Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and TechnologyInventors: Kazunori Yamamoto, Yasuo Nishi, Hironobu Iwashita, Shigeru Nishio, Kazuhiro Murata
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Publication number: 20070101934Abstract: Voltage applying means applies a pulse voltage between a nozzle and a substrate, the nozzle having a diameter ranging from 0.01 ?m to 25 ?m, an upper limit voltage (10) of the pulse voltage being equal to or greater than a discharge-inducing minimum voltage (30), that is a voltage required to start discharge of fluid. A lower limit first voltage (20a) is provided immediately before a rise of the pulse voltage, the lower limit first voltage (20a) having a same polarity as that of the upper limit voltage (10), an absolute value of the lower limit first voltage (20a) being set smaller than the discharge-inducing minimum voltage (30). A lower limit second voltage (20b) is provided immediately after a rise of the pulse voltage, the lower limit second voltage (20b) having an opposite polarity as that of the upper limit voltage (10), an absolute value of the lower limit second voltage (20b) being set smaller than the discharge-inducing minimum voltage (30).Type: ApplicationFiled: August 6, 2004Publication date: May 10, 2007Applicants: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc., National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and TechnologyInventors: Shigeru Nishio, Hironobu Iwashita, Kazunori Yamamoto, Kazuhiro Murata
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Publication number: 20070097162Abstract: A liquid ejection apparatus includes: a liquid ejection head (56) having a nozzle (51) for ejecting a droplet of charged solution from the tip portion; an ejection electrode (58) provided on the liquid ejection head, to which a voltage is applied for generating an electric field to eject the droplet; a voltage applying unit (35) for applying the voltage to the ejection electrode; a substrate K including insulative material for receiving the ejected droplet; and an ejection atmosphere adjusting unit (70) for keeping an atmosphere subject to ejection from the liquid ejection head, to a dew point of 9 degrees centigrade or more and less than a water saturation temperature.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 29, 2004Publication date: May 3, 2007Applicants: KONICA MINOLTA HOLDINGS, INC., SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOLGYInventors: Hironobu Iwashita, Kazunori Yamamoto, Shigeru Nishio, Kazuhiro Murata
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Publication number: 20060262163Abstract: An electrostatic suction type fluid discharge device supplies a drive voltage from a power source between a nozzle and an insulating substrate, so as to supply an electric charge to a discharge material supplied into the nozzle. As a result, the discharge material is discharged from the nozzle hole onto the insulating substrate. The diameter of the hole of the nozzle falls within the range between ?0.01 ?m and ?25 ?m, the power source outputs, as the drive voltage, a bipolar pulse voltage that alternates between positive and negative and has a frequency of not less than 1 Hz.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 5, 2004Publication date: November 23, 2006Applicants: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc., National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and TechnologyInventors: Shigeru Nishio, Hironobu Iwashita, Kazunori Yamamoto, Kazuhiro Murata
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Patent number: 5522931Abstract: An extrusion-type coating apparatus for performing a uniform coating on a web by equalizing a flow rate distribution of a coating material along the widthwise direction of the web. The apparatus has a slit in a coating head to pass the coating material from the bottom of the slit to an opening of the same opened on a surface portion of the coating head, a feeder to feed the web on the surface portion in a direction from a front edge to a rear edge of the opening of the slit and a restricting member to restrict a gap of the slit by an insertion of the restricting member into the slit. The restricting member has a thickness pattern along its length so as to equalize the flow rate of the coating material along the length of the slit.Type: GrantFiled: March 1, 1994Date of Patent: June 4, 1996Assignee: Konica CorporationInventors: Hironobu Iwashita, Takemasa Namiki, Shigetoshi Kawabe
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Patent number: 5336322Abstract: Disclosed is an apparatus for coating by extrusion a coating solution on a surface of a beltlike material continuously running comprising a coater die having a plurality of edges and a slit being provided between said edges, wherein a part of said coater die, which has contact with said beltlike material or said coating solution, is covered with a film having Vickers hardness of not less than HV 1,700 wherein the film is prepared by an ion plating method. The apparatus is capable of achieving a stable coatability.Type: GrantFiled: March 3, 1993Date of Patent: August 9, 1994Assignee: Konica CorporationInventors: Seiichi Tobisawa, Hironobu Iwashita