Patents by Inventor Hiroto Endo

Hiroto Endo 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: 11809092
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive member, a charging member, an exposure unit, a developing unit including a developing member, a motor, a contact and separation unit, a controller, an acquiring portion for acquiring information on a switching time which is a time required for switching a state of the developing member from a separated state to a contact state by executing a contact operation by the contact and separation unit, and a setting portion for setting, on the basis of the information on the switching time acquired by the acquiring portion, a start timing which is a timing when the contact operation by the contact and separation unit is started in a preparation operation and which is a timing before a region on the photosensitive member exposed to light in a light emission period reaches a developing position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hiroto Endo
  • Publication number: 20220350273
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive member, a charging member, an exposure unit, a developing unit including a developing member, a motor, a contact and separation unit, a controller, an acquiring portion for acquiring information on a switching time which is a time required for switching a state of the developing member from a separated state to a contact state by executing a contact operation by the contact and separation unit, and a setting portion for setting, on the basis of the information on the switching time acquired by the acquiring portion, a start timing which is a timing when the contact operation by the contact and separation unit is started in a preparation operation and which is a timing before a region on the photosensitive member exposed to light in a light emission period reaches a developing position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2022
    Publication date: November 3, 2022
    Inventor: Hiroto Endo
  • Patent number: 11003118
    Abstract: The fixing apparatus includes a first heat generation member to fix an image on a first recording material or a second recording material whose length in a longitudinal direction is shorter than a length in a longitudinal direction of the first recording material, and a second heat generation member whose length in a longitudinal direction is shorter than a length in a longitudinal direction of the first heat generation member, the second heat generation member configured to fix an image on the second recording material, wherein the fixing apparatus performs a first operation in which the second heat generation member generates heat for a certain period while a first rotary member and a second rotary member rotate after the completion of printing on sheets of the second recording material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2021
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tsuguhiro Yoshida, Kazuhiro Doda, Hiroto Endo
  • Publication number: 20200249600
    Abstract: The fixing apparatus includes a first heat generation member to fix an image on a first recording material or a second recording material whose length in a longitudinal direction is shorter than a length in a longitudinal direction of the first recording material, and a second heat generation member whose length in a longitudinal direction is shorter than a length in a longitudinal direction of the first heat generation member, the second heat generation member configured to fix an image on the second recording material, wherein the fixing apparatus performs a first operation in which the second heat generation member generates heat for a certain period while a first rotary member and a second rotary member rotate after the completion of printing on sheets of the second recording material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 4, 2020
    Publication date: August 6, 2020
    Inventors: Tsuguhiro Yoshida, Kazuhiro Doda, Hiroto Endo
  • Patent number: 9411293
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus performs control to parallelly achieve document image reading by a reading unit and image formation by an image forming unit for forming on a recording material a document image read by the reading unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuki Nakajima, Masaru Aoki, Hiroto Endo, Daisuke Kaneko
  • Patent number: 9304464
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a detection unit, a determination unit, and a control unit. The detection unit detects a length of a conveyed recording medium. The determination unit determines the number of recording media conveyable in double-sided image formation, on the basis of a result of detection by the detection unit. The control unit controls, on the basis of a result of determination by the determination unit, the order in which image forming operations are performed when the double-sided image formation is performed on a plurality of recording media.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hiroto Endo
  • Patent number: 9280117
    Abstract: When images of a plurality of document sheets are to be read and formed on a plurality of recording materials, an image forming apparatus performs control to convey a document sheet and a recording material at one of a recording material conveyance speed and a document conveyance speed, whichever is lower.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuki Nakajima, Masaru Aoki, Hiroto Endo
  • Patent number: 9137403
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a first conveying path which connects between a sheet feed portion and a sheet discharging portion, and on which a image forming portion is arranged. The image forming apparatus further includes a second conveying path configured to guide the sheet on which the image has been formed on one surface thereof by the image forming portion to the first conveying path again, a document conveying path, and a reading portion. The document conveying path includes a document feeding path, a document discharging path, and a common conveying path which serves as at least a part of the second conveying path, and guides the document from a document feed portion to a document discharging portion through the document feeding path, the common conveying path and the document discharging path without causing the document to pass through the image forming position. The reading portion reads a first face and a second face of the document which is fed from the document feed portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Atsushi Ogata, Ichiro Yasumaru, Kazushi Ino, Hiroshi Kato, Daisuke Kaneko, Tomoyuki Iwakoshi, Hiroto Endo
  • Publication number: 20150253711
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a detection unit, a determination unit, and a control unit. The detection unit detects a length of a conveyed recording medium. The determination unit determines the number of recording media conveyable in double-sided image formation, on the basis of a result of detection by the detection unit. The control unit controls, on the basis of a result of determination by the determination unit, the order in which image forming operations are performed when the double-sided image formation is performed on a plurality of recording media.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 3, 2015
    Publication date: September 10, 2015
    Inventor: Hiroto Endo
  • Patent number: 8955841
    Abstract: An actual sheet interval from a preceding sheet to a succeeding sheet is detected by a top sensor. A registration roller is accelerated or decelerated such that the sheet interval from the preceding sheet to the succeeding sheet is an ideal value by the time that the leading edge of the succeeding sheet reaches a transfer nip part. Note that a time period during which acceleration or deceleration is applied and a sub-scan synchronization signal output timing are determined from the actual sheet interval. Note that a recording sheet P does not stop at the registration roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hiroto Endo
  • Publication number: 20140320939
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a first conveying path which connects between a sheet feed portion and a sheet discharging portion, and on which a image forming portion is arranged. The image forming apparatus further includes a second conveying path configured to guide the sheet on which the image has been formed on one surface thereof by the image forming portion to the first conveying path again, a document conveying path, and a reading portion. The document conveying path includes a document feeding path, a document discharging path, and a common conveying path which serves as at least a part of the second conveying path, and guides the document from a document feed portion to a document discharging portion through the document feeding path, the common conveying path and the document discharging path without causing the document to pass through the image forming position. The reading portion reads a first face and a second face of the document which is fed from the document feed portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 15, 2014
    Publication date: October 30, 2014
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi Ogata, Ichiro Yasumaru, Kazushi Ino, Hiroshi Kato, Daisuke Kaneko, Tomoyuki Iwakoshi, Hiroto Endo
  • Publication number: 20140079457
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus performs control to parallelly achieve document image reading by a reading unit and image formation by an image forming unit for forming on a recording material a document image read by the reading unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 17, 2013
    Publication date: March 20, 2014
    Applicant: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuki Nakajima, Masaru Aoki, Hiroto Endo, Daisuke Kaneko
  • Publication number: 20140079456
    Abstract: When images of a plurality of document sheets are to be read and formed on a plurality of recording materials, an image forming apparatus performs control to convey a document sheet and a recording material at one of a recording material conveyance speed and a document conveyance speed, whichever is lower.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 17, 2013
    Publication date: March 20, 2014
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuki Nakajima, Masaru Aoki, Hiroto Endo
  • Publication number: 20140042693
    Abstract: An actual sheet interval from a preceding sheet to a succeeding sheet is detected by a top sensor. A registration roller is accelerated or decelerated such that the sheet interval from the preceding sheet to the succeeding sheet is an ideal value by the time that the leading edge of the succeeding sheet reaches a transfer nip part. Note that a time period during which acceleration or deceleration is applied and a sub-scan synchronization signal output timing are determined from the actual sheet interval. Note that a recording sheet P does not stop at the registration roller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 18, 2013
    Publication date: February 13, 2014
    Inventor: Hiroto Endo
  • Publication number: 20130293909
    Abstract: The image forming apparatus includes a conveyance path that is used to convey a recording material to form an image on the recording material, a reading unit that reads an original conveyed in the conveyance path, and a control unit that controls a recording material conveyance operation to selectively convey the recording material and the original to the conveyance path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 24, 2013
    Publication date: November 7, 2013
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiroto Endo, Masaru Aoki, Atsushi Ogata