Patents by Inventor Hiroyasu Nagato

Hiroyasu Nagato 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: 6070868
    Abstract: A document transport device provided with a document tray comprising a main tray and a foldable auxiliary tray disposed above a discharge tray. A document transport device provided with a projection and a projection on an auxiliary tray to guide ejected sheets to a discharge tray without buckling or bending at the gap and height differential at the order between a main tray and an auxiliary tray, and to allow both large size document and small size documents to be easily removed from a document tray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2000
    Assignee: Minolta Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroyasu Nagato, Akiyoshi Johdai, Tohru Marakami
  • Patent number: 5470051
    Abstract: An automatic document feeder for conveying a document on a platen glass. Back-up rollers for pressing a conveyer belt against the platen glass are loosely supported by a body frame. The shafts of a driving roller and a driven roller for rotating the conveyer belt, and the supporting member of the back-up rollers each have an end which is detachable from the body frame. The body frame has a first frame pivoted on a copying machine and a second frame for holding the conveyer belt and its motor. The second frame is connected with the first frame such that the second frame is movable from and to the platen glass with a specified range, and further the second frame is urged in a direction separating from the platen glass. The second frame is also movable in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the pivot of the first frame extends.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 28, 1995
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuusuke Morigami, Hirokazu Matsuo, Hirofumi Tanahashi, Yoshihito Hirano, Hiroyasu Nagato, Takuma Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 5347352
    Abstract: Copying apparatus capable of high speed document exchange and high speed copying. Sets an original at the exposure position and prefeeds at least two originals to their respective standby positions. Pre-fed originals are detected by various sensors. Prefeeds copy paper for the respective originals based on the aforesaid detection results. Copying efficiency is improved by prefeeding originals and prefeeding copy paper.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 1992
    Date of Patent: September 13, 1994
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuusuk Morigami, Akira Ohhata, Wataru Hamakawa, Hirokazu Matsuo, Hiroyasu Nagato, Takuma Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 5292113
    Abstract: An automatic document feeder for conveying a document on a platen glass. Back-up rollers for pressing a conveyer belt against the platen glass are loosely supported by a body frame. The shafts of a driving roller and a driven roller for rotating the conveyer belt, and the supporting member of the back-up rollers each have an end which is detachable from the body frame. The body frame has a first frame pivoted on a copying machine and a second frame for holding the conveyer belt and its motor. The second frame is connected with the first frame such that the second frame is movable from and to the platen glass with a specified range, and further the second frame is urged in a direction separating from the platen glass. The second frame is also movable in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the pivot of the first frame extends.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 1992
    Date of Patent: March 8, 1994
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuusuke Morigami, Hirokazu Matsuo, Hirofumi Tanahashi, Yoshihito Hirano, Hiroyasu Nagato, Takuma Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 5010371
    Abstract: A copying apparatus provided with an automatic document feeder having a function for sequentially feeding a pair of documents and serially placing them onto a platen in the document feeding direction. In the copying apparatus, the operation of feeding a second document onto the platen is inhibited and the image forming operation to the image of a first document, is allows, when the first document is a size where the longer side thereof in parallel to the longer side of the platen, or the size of the first document is larger than the half of the platen. Meanwhile, one of a plurality of sheet feeders storing a relevant size of copy sheet is selected based on the size of a larger document fed onto the platen. Further, the optimum magnification is determined based on the size of a larger document fed onto the platen and the size of a copy sheet fed from the sheet feeder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 1990
    Date of Patent: April 23, 1991
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hirokazu Matsuo, Hiroyasu Nagato
  • Patent number: 5006904
    Abstract: A copying apparatus provided with an automatic document feeder capable of operating in a first mode, where one document is placed onto a platen, and in a second mode, where a pair of documents are serially placed onto the platen in the document feeding direction. Sheets in the sheet feeder with longer sides parallel to the sheet transport direction are selected in response to the selection of the second mode. The selection of the second mode is inhibited when the longer sides of copy sheets stored in a sheet feeder are perpendicular to the sheet transport direction. Copying and document feeding in the second mode are inhibited when the sheet feeders do not contain sheets of with longer sides parallel to the sheet transport direction. Further, when only one document is fed and placed onto the platen, the image forming operation to a non-document area is inhibited.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 1989
    Date of Patent: April 9, 1991
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hirokazu Matsuo, Hiroyasu Nagato
  • Patent number: 5005055
    Abstract: A copy apparatus provided with an automatic document feeder having a function for sequentially feeding a pair of documents and serially placing them onto a platen in the document feeding direction. In the copying apparatus, the image forming operation is inhibited when the sizes of a pair of documents are different, the size of a first document is larger than the half of the platen, either of document is a size where the longer side thereof in parallel to the longer side of the platen, either of document size is a larger than the half of the platen, the value calculated by adding the size of a first document and the minimum size of document transportable is larger than the size of the platen, or the value calculated by adding the size of a first and second documents is larger than the size of the platen. In the above conditions, the copying apparatus is capable of discharging the documents from the platen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 1989
    Date of Patent: April 2, 1991
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hirokazu Matsuo, Hiroyasu Nagato
  • Patent number: 4912518
    Abstract: An automatic document feeder provided on a copying machine, includes a document feeding unit, a transporting unit for transporting documents to a specified position on a platen and discharging the document therefrom, a pair of pinch rollers for registering the leading edge or trailing edge of the document, and a discharge roller for discharging the documents onto a tray. As the trailing edge of a first document has been registered by the pinch rollers, a second document is fed and the leading edge thereof is registered by the pinch rollers. The document in a pair serially aligned by the pinch rollers, are serially placed at the specified position on the platen. Further, the documents are discharged from the platen with a proper interval so that the leading edge of the second document does not push the trailing edge of the first document.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 1988
    Date of Patent: March 27, 1990
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hirokazu Matsuo, Hiroyasu Nagato
  • Patent number: 4905053
    Abstract: In order to execute the duplex copying operation, a sheet re-feeding apparatus transports sheets having an image formed with an image-forming apparatus one by one into a cassette through a transporting means, and then re-feeds the sheets one by one from the cassette into the same image forming apparatus. The transporting means catches a sheet with rollers and allows the sheet to be widthwise curved, whereby the sheet is transported into the cassette. A plurality of cassettes is prepared in accordance with sheet sizes and is detachable from a main body of the sheet re-feeding apparatus. Inside the cassette are disposed a projection to stack and store a sheet in a condition where the sheet is widthwise curved, stoppers separated by a space approximately equal to the width of a sheet, pressing means for pressing both side portions of a sheet, means for regulating the leading edge of a sheet, a flexible member for catching the leading edge of a sheet together with a stacking surface, and the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 1988
    Date of Patent: February 27, 1990
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hirokazu Matsuo, Hiroyasu Nagato