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).

  • Patent number: 8235506
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignees: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc., National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
    Inventors: Shigeru Nishio, Hironobu Iwashita, Kazunori Yamamoto, Kazuhiro Murata
  • Patent number: 7712874
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2010
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shigeru Nishio, Hironobu Iwashita, Kazunori Yamamoto, Kazuhiro Murata
  • Patent number: 7703870
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2010
    Assignee: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
    Inventors: Kazunori Yamamoto, Yasuo Nishi, Hironobu Iwashita, Shigeru Nishio, Kazuhiro Murata
  • Patent number: 7604326
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2009
    Assignees: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc., National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
    Inventors: Shigeru Nishio, Hironobu Iwashita, Kazunori Yamamoto, Kazuhiro Murata
  • Publication number: 20070146399
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2004
    Publication date: June 28, 2007
    Applicants: Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc., Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
    Inventors: Kazunori Yamamoto, Yasuo Nishi, Hironobu Iwashita, Shigeru Nishio, Kazuhiro Murata
  • Publication number: 20070101934
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: August 6, 2004
    Publication date: May 10, 2007
    Applicants: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc., National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
    Inventors: Shigeru Nishio, Hironobu Iwashita, Kazunori Yamamoto, Kazuhiro Murata
  • Publication number: 20070097162
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2004
    Publication date: May 3, 2007
    Applicants: KONICA MINOLTA HOLDINGS, INC., SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOLGY
    Inventors: Hironobu Iwashita, Kazunori Yamamoto, Shigeru Nishio, Kazuhiro Murata
  • Publication number: 20060262163
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: August 5, 2004
    Publication date: November 23, 2006
    Applicants: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc., National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
    Inventors: Shigeru Nishio, Hironobu Iwashita, Kazunori Yamamoto, Kazuhiro Murata
  • Patent number: 5522931
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 1994
    Date of Patent: June 4, 1996
    Assignee: Konica Corporation
    Inventors: Hironobu Iwashita, Takemasa Namiki, Shigetoshi Kawabe
  • Patent number: 5336322
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 1993
    Date of Patent: August 9, 1994
    Assignee: Konica Corporation
    Inventors: Seiichi Tobisawa, Hironobu Iwashita