Patents by Inventor Hiroshi Funabiki
Hiroshi Funabiki 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: 9014606Abstract: The image forming apparatus includes a fixing-side member that comes into contact with an image-formation side of a sheet having a toner image formed thereon by an image forming section; a reverse-side supporting member that comes into contact with a reverse side of the sheet by being pressed toward the fixing-side member; a heat source that supplies heat to the sheet via the fixing-side member; an air separation section that discharges compressed air supplied by an air supply source, to a surface of the fixing-side member to separate the sheet from the fixing-side member; and a control section that controls a pressure accumulation operation in the air supply source. Moreover, the control section disables the pressure accumulation operation in the air supply source in a time period when an image forming process is not performed in the image forming section.Type: GrantFiled: October 16, 2012Date of Patent: April 21, 2015Assignee: Konica Minolta, Inc.Inventors: Koji Yamamoto, Hiroshi Funabiki
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Patent number: 8634752Abstract: A fixing device fixing a toner image on a recording material includes a first blowing section that blows air against a leading edge of the recording material that has passed through a nip portion formed by a heated fixing member and a pressing member kept in pressure contact with the fixing member, and a second blowing section that blows air against the recording material that has passed through the nip portion, wherein an air speed of air blown out from a first blowing outlet is higher than that of air blown out from a second blowing outlet, wherein an air flow amount from the first blowing outlet is less than that from the second blowing outlet, and wherein the first and second blowing outlets are arranged at a same positional height next to one another along a rotational axis of the fixing roller.Type: GrantFiled: October 22, 2010Date of Patent: January 21, 2014Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Koji Yamamoto, Hiroshi Funabiki, Masanori Murakami, Jinju Okuno
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Patent number: 8583017Abstract: A fixing device including: a fixing member that heats toner image and fixes it onto a recording material; a pressure member that forms a nip that presses the recording material against the fixing member; a first air separating section that blows air against the fixing member and separates the recording sheet from the fixing member; and a separation claw that separates the recording material from the pressure member, wherein a tip of the separation claw contacts the pressure member at a position which is downstream, in a direction of movement of a surface of the pressure member, of a peak of an air blast pressure distribution on a surface of the pressure member, and wherein the air blast pressure distribution is formed by air blown against the pressure member which is caused by the air blown by the first air separating section against the fixing member.Type: GrantFiled: March 16, 2011Date of Patent: November 12, 2013Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Koji Yamamoto, Hiroshi Funabiki, Masanori Murakami, Jinju Okuno
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Patent number: 8571454Abstract: A fixing device includes: a heating section which heats a recording material; a pressing section which presses the recording material toward the heating section; a separation claw which separates the recording material from the heating section or the pressing section; a fixing unit moving section which reciprocates the heating section, the pressing section and the separation claw in a direction perpendicular to a conveyance direction of the recording material; and a separation claw moving section which reciprocates the separation claw in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction, wherein the separation claw moving section moves the separation claw toward a direction opposite to a moving direction toward which the heating section, the pressing section and the separation claw move in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction.Type: GrantFiled: September 7, 2011Date of Patent: October 29, 2013Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Hiroshi Funabiki, Koji Yamamoto
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Patent number: 8559858Abstract: A fixing device includes: a fixing belt which is supported by one or more rollers; and a fixing roller which is in pressed contact with at least one of the rollers across the fixing belt, wherein the fixing roller includes a core portion which is rotatably provided, an elastic portion which covers the core portion so as to form a cylindrical shape with a rotation axis of the core portion being defined as a center, and a release portion which covers a cylindrical outer peripheral surface of the elastic portion, and an end of the elastic portion in a direction along the rotation axis and an end of the release portion in the direction along the rotation axis project from an end of the core portion, in the direction along the rotation axis, at a part where the core portion and the elastic portion are in contact with each other.Type: GrantFiled: September 6, 2011Date of Patent: October 15, 2013Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Masanori Murakami, Hiroshi Funabiki, Koji Yamamoto
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Patent number: 8433229Abstract: A fixing device including: a fixing member that is heated; a pressure member to form a nip portion between the pressure member and the fixing member; first blowing unit and second blowing unit both located close to an outlet of the nip portion and separate the recording medium from the fixing member by blowing air to the recording medium, a velocity of the air discharged from the first unit is higher than that of the air discharged from the second unit, whereas a volume of the air discharged from the first unit is smaller than that of the air discharged from the second unit; and the first unit starts discharging air before a leading edge of the recording medium reaches the outlet of the nip portion, whereas the second unit starts discharging air after the leading edge of the recording medium has passed through the outlet of the nip portion.Type: GrantFiled: October 13, 2010Date of Patent: April 30, 2013Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Masanori Murakami, Hiroshi Funabiki, Jinju Okuno, Koji Yamamoto
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Patent number: 8385798Abstract: A fixing device including: a fixing member; a pressing member to form a nip portion between the pressing member and the fixing member, wherein the fixing member and the pressing member sandwich a recording medium, fix a toner image on the recording medium and convey the recording medium; a detection unit for detecting that a leading edge of the recording medium is located at the nip portion; a first air jetting unit for separating the recording medium from the fixing member by jetting air only to a position close to the leading edge of the recording medium having passed the nip portion based on the detection result by the detection unit; and a second jetting unit for jetting air to the recording medium whose leading edge has passed through the nip portion.Type: GrantFiled: August 4, 2010Date of Patent: February 26, 2013Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Hiroshi Funabiki, Masanori Murakami, Jinju Okuno, Koji Yamamoto
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Patent number: 8340560Abstract: A fixing device including: a heated fixing member to fix a toner image on a recording medium; a pressing member to form a nip portion between the pressing member and the fixing member; a first blowing unit that blows air to a position close to a leading edge of the recording medium; and a second blowing unit that blows air to the recording medium, wherein a discharge pressure of the air discharged by the first blowing unit is larger than that of the air ejected by the second blowing unit; a discharged air volume discharged by the first blowing unit is less than that discharged by the second blowing unit; and a first discharge port from which air is blown by the first blowing unit is arranged upstream of a second discharge port from which air is blown by the second blowing unit.Type: GrantFiled: August 17, 2010Date of Patent: December 25, 2012Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Jinju Okuno, Hiroshi Funabiki, Masanori Murakami, Koji Yamamoto
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Patent number: 8320807Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a first rotary body; a second rotary body provided to face the first rotary body, wherein the first rotary body and the second rotary body form a nip portion by coming in contact with each other to rotate, at which a sheet bearing a toner image is conveyed while being heated and pressed, thereby fixing the toner image onto the sheet; a first nozzle which blows air to a first air blowing position established on a circumferential surface of the first rotary body and on a side of an outlet of the nip portion; and a second nozzle which blows air to a second air blowing position established on a circumferential surface of the second rotary body and established downstream of the first air blowing position in a traveling direction of the sheet.Type: GrantFiled: October 7, 2009Date of Patent: November 27, 2012Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Masahiro Onodera, Junichi Hamada, Hiroshi Funabiki, Hidetoshi Katayanagi
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Patent number: 8254810Abstract: An image forming apparatus, comprises an image forming section; a pair of fixing members coming in pressure contact with each other so as to form a nip portion and to fix a toner image on a sheet conveyed from the image forming section with the nip portion; an oscillating section to oscillate the fixing members in a width direction perpendicular to a sheet conveying direction; an inclining section to incline the fixing members to the width direction in parallel to a conveyance surface; and a control section to control the oscillating section and the inclining section such that when a sheet is passing through the nip portion, a direction of a one-sided oscillation shift of the sheet due to the oscillation of the fixing members is made opposite to that of a one-sided inclination shift of the sheet due to the inclination of the fixing members.Type: GrantFiled: July 16, 2010Date of Patent: August 28, 2012Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Hisayoshi Nagase, Hiroshi Funabiki
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Publication number: 20120063821Abstract: A fixing device includes: a fixing belt which is supported by one or more rollers; and a fixing roller which is in pressed contact with at least one of the rollers across the fixing belt, wherein the fixing roller includes a core portion which is rotatably provided, an elastic portion which covers the core portion so as to form a cylindrical shape with a rotation axis of the core portion being defined as a center, and a release portion which covers a cylindrical outer peripheral surface of the elastic portion, and an end of the elastic portion in a direction along the rotation axis and an end of the release portion in the direction along the rotation axis project from an end of the core portion, in the direction along the rotation axis, at a part where the core portion and the elastic portion are in contact with each other.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 6, 2011Publication date: March 15, 2012Applicant: KONICA MINOLTA BUSINESS TECHNOLOGIES, INC.Inventors: Masanori MURAKAMI, Hiroshi FUNABIKI, Koji YAMAMOTO
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Publication number: 20120063822Abstract: A fixing device includes: a heating section which heats a recording material; a pressing section which presses the recording material toward the heating section; a separation claw which separates the recording material from the heating section or the pressing section; a fixing unit moving section which reciprocates the heating section, the pressing section and the separation claw in a direction perpendicular to a conveyance direction of the recording material; and a separation claw moving section which reciprocates the separation claw in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction, wherein the separation claw moving section moves the separation claw toward a direction opposite to a moving direction toward which the heating section, the pressing section and the separation claw move in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 7, 2011Publication date: March 15, 2012Applicant: KONICA MINOLTA BUSINESS TECHNOLOGIES, INC.Inventors: Hiroshi FUNABIKI, Koji YAMAMOTO
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Publication number: 20120051812Abstract: A glossing apparatus including: a first roller comprising a heating member; a second roller disposed downstream of the first roller with respect to the recording medium feeding direction; a belt member extended by the first roller and the second roller; and a third roller which presses the first roller via the belt member, wherein the recording medium is conveyed in such a manner that the image forming surface of the recording member is adhered to the belt member after the recording member is heated and pressed between the belt member and the first roller, wherein a plurality of through-holes is provided to the belt member, and a releasing agent is applied to inner surfaces of the through-holes.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 9, 2011Publication date: March 1, 2012Applicant: KONICA MINOLTA BUSINESS TECHNOLOGIES, INC.Inventors: Miho YAMANO, Hiroshi FUNABIKI
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Patent number: 8107867Abstract: An image fixing device, having a belt-driving method to drive an endless belt which is entrained about at least two supporting members, including: a first supporting member on which a light transmitting area is provided; a heater which is housed within the first supporting member; a sensor which is mounted at a position to detect light rays, emitted from the heater and passed through the light transmitting area; and a control section which is configured to detect a lateral displacement of the endless belt in a width direction, based on a detected result of the light rays, detected by the sensor.Type: GrantFiled: April 6, 2009Date of Patent: January 31, 2012Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.Inventor: Hiroshi Funabiki
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Patent number: 8045906Abstract: A belt-type fixing device having therein an endless fixing belt, a pressure roller arranged inside the aforesaid fixing belt and a pressure member that presses the fixing belt against the pressure roller, wherein a toner image on a recording material is fixed in a nip portion formed between the fixing belt and the pressure member, and wherein the pressure roller has an elastic layer made of solid rubber, and the elastic layer is covered by a resin layer, and further plural undulations are formed in the circumferential direction of the outer circumferential surface of the pressure roller.Type: GrantFiled: June 10, 2008Date of Patent: October 25, 2011Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.Inventor: Hiroshi Funabiki
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Publication number: 20110229220Abstract: A fixing device including: a fixing member that heats toner image and fixes it onto a recording material; a pressure member that forms a nip that presses the recording material against the fixing member; a first air separating section that blows air against the fixing member and separates the recording sheet from the fixing member; and a separation claw that separates the recording material from the pressure member, wherein a tip of the separation claw contacts the pressure member at a position which is downstream, in a direction of movement of a surface of the pressure member, of a peak of an air blast pressure distribution on a surface of the pressure member, and wherein the air blast pressure distribution is formed by air blown against the pressure member which is caused by the air blown by the first air separating section against the fixing member.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 16, 2011Publication date: September 22, 2011Inventors: Koji YAMAMOTO, Hiroshi FUNABIKI, Masanori MURAKAMI, Jinju OKUNO
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Publication number: 20110222921Abstract: A fixing device for fixing a toner image onto a recording sheet by applying a pressure and a heat during conveying the recording sheet at a nip portion, includes: a fixing member including a heating section; a pressure-applying member forming the nip portion with the fixing member; an air blow duct provided with an air discharge opening which opens toward a vicinity of a recording sheet outlet of the nip portion; and an air blowing section which blows air toward the vicinity, wherein fixing device further includes an air drain path provided with an air suction opening at the vicinity of the outlet of the recording sheet and suctioning the air blown toward the vicinity of the outlet of the recording sheet thereby draining the air. The air drain path is separated from a sheet conveyance path by a separation wall member and formed above the sheet conveyance path.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 9, 2011Publication date: September 15, 2011Inventors: Masanori MURAKAMI, Hiroshi Funabiki, Jinju Okuno, Koji Yamamoto
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Patent number: 7991338Abstract: A belt-type fixing device having therein a pressure roller that has an elastic layer which is made of solid rubber, wherein, the elastic layer is covered by a resin layer on which a plurality of cracks are formed to be substantially deep enough to arrive at the elastic layer, and cracks harmful for the elastic layer are not caused by pressurization at a nip portion.Type: GrantFiled: June 24, 2008Date of Patent: August 2, 2011Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.Inventor: Hiroshi Funabiki
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Publication number: 20110097121Abstract: A fixing device fixing a toner image on a recording material, includes: a first blowing section that blows air against a leading edge of the recording material that has passed through a nip portion formed by a heated fixing member and a pressing member kept in pressure contact with the fixing member, and a second blowing section that blows air against the recording material that has passed through the nip portion, wherein an air speed of air blown out from a first blowing outlet is higher than that of air blown out from a second blowing outlet, wherein an air flow amount from the first blowing outlet is less than that from the second blowing outlet, and wherein the first and second blowing outlets are arranged at the same position in a direction in parallel with a rotational axis of the fixing member.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 22, 2010Publication date: April 28, 2011Inventors: Koji YAMAMOTO, Hiroshi Funabiki, Masanori Murakami, Jinju Okuno
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Publication number: 20110091249Abstract: A fixing device including: a heated fixing member; a pressure member to form a nip portion between the pressure member and the fixing member; first blowing unit and second blowing unit both located close to an outlet of the nip portion and separate the recording medium from the fixing member by blowing air to the recording medium, wherein a velocity of the air discharged from the first unit is higher than that of the air discharged from the second unit, whereas a volume of the air discharged from the first unit is smaller than that of the air discharged from the second unit; and the first unit starts discharging air before a leading edge of the recording medium reaches the outlet of the nip portion, whereas the second unit starts discharging air after the leading edge of the recording medium has passed through the outlet of the nip portion.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 13, 2010Publication date: April 21, 2011Inventors: Masanori Murakami, Hiroshi Funabiki, Jinju Okuno, Koji Yamamoto