Patents by Inventor Kazuhiko Watanabe

Kazuhiko Watanabe 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).

  • Publication number: 20110130285
    Abstract: A composition for promoting root nodule formation, which can be easily applied to soil or plants, and enables efficient formation of root nodules, and a method for promoting root nodule formation using the composition are provided. A composition for promoting root nodule formation, which comprises a compound selected from the group consisting of a nucleoside, a nucleotide, and a nucleobase such as inosine, as an active ingredient, is applied to a leguminous plant to promote root nodule formation of the plant.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2010
    Publication date: June 2, 2011
    Inventors: Kazuhiko Watanabe, Daisuke Yokoi
  • Patent number: 7954104
    Abstract: Overload of communication lines and the drop of through-put of task processing in a center computer is prevented. The center computer executes a plurality of task processing, writes the execution result to a center storage device and remote copies the same data to a plurality of remote storage devices. At this time, the center computer acquires loads of communication lines through load measurement portions and stops the execution of a part of the task processing involved with the transmission of the copy data through the communication line when its load exceeds a predetermined threshold value. When the center storage device and the remote storage devices switch the transmission route of the copy data to other route, the center computer starts again the execution of the task processing previously stopped and starts again the remote copy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2011
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kensuke Amaki, Kazuhiko Watanabe
  • Patent number: 7899382
    Abstract: A lubricant supplier, installable in a process cartridge or an image forming apparatus, includes a ridge line extending crosswise to a longitudinal axis of the image forming member and contacting the surface of the image forming member at a non-perpendicular angle to the longitudinal axis of the image forming member, a first face opposed to the image forming member and located upstream from a contact portion of the ridge line and the surface of the image forming member in a direction of movement of the surface of the image forming member, and a second face opposed to the image forming member and located downstream from the contact portion in the direction of movement of the surface of the image forming member. The first face and the second face intersect at the ridge line and form an obtuse angle therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2011
    Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
    Inventors: Yoshiki Hozumi, Kazuhiko Watanabe, Takeshi Saitoh
  • Patent number: 7827367
    Abstract: A controller sets a specified time which is a time that specifies a time in the future relative to the current time for all of one or more secondary storage systems. The respective secondary storage systems have a logical volume for backup (BVOL), and set a backup preparation end state when a journal up to a specified time has been established, and report information showing a preparation end state to the controller. The controller issues a backup command to all of the one or more secondary storage systems when information showing a preparation end state is reported from all of the one or more secondary storage systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2010
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeyuki Imazu, Yuri Hiraiwa, Nobuhiro Maki, Yoshiyuki Nishi, Kazuhiko Watanabe
  • Patent number: 7774567
    Abstract: In a copy control method, during a process for the acquisition of a data copy at a designated time, a recovery period of time can still be reduced when an input/output request is issued for copy source data at the designated time. For a system that includes a first storage device in which data are stored, a second storage device that obtains a data copy, and a host computer that writes data to the first storage device, the second storage device obtains blank input/output requests that are issued at predetermined time intervals if the host computer does not generate an input/output request for the first storage device, and the second storage device determines that a time closest to a predetermined data copy acquisition time, which is a target time for the acquisition of a data copy, is a copy execution time for the acquisition of a data copy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2010
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki Nishi, Nobuhiro Maki, Kenichi Oyamada, Kazuhiko Watanabe, Hiroshi Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 7769920
    Abstract: An information processing apparatus is connected to a recording or playback apparatus having a file system. The information processing apparatus includes a receiver for receiving a command provided by an operating system in response to a file operating request from an application, and a converter for converting the command provided by the operating system into a request which is to be converted into a command based on a communication protocol capable of handling the file system in communication with said recording or playback apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2010
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Shin Kimura, Kazuhisa Tsuchiya, Nobuhiro Sakai, Kazuhiko Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20100150636
    Abstract: The invention provides a sheet collecting apparatus for enabling sheets to be loaded and stored in a neatly aligned state with respect to a regulation stopper disposed in a tray when loading and storing the sheets on the tray, where the apparatus has a tray means for bearing and storing sheets from a sheet discharge outlet, a regulation stopper for regulating a sheet by the sheet carried in the tray means striking the stopper, a forward/backward rotation roller for feeding the sheet carried onto the tray means from the sheet discharge outlet against the regulation stopper to align, a roller lifting/lowering means for supporting the forward/backward rotation roller to be able to move up and down between an operating position in which the roller comes into contact with an uppermost sheet and a standby position in which the roller is withdrawn above the sheet with respect to the tray means, a sheet pressing guide disposed between the forward/backward rotation roller and the regulation stopper to press the upperm
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2009
    Publication date: June 17, 2010
    Applicant: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ichitaro Kubota, Kazuhiko Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20100140861
    Abstract: The invention is to enable sheets to be aligned neatly even when front ends of the sheets are displaced to the front and back in overlapping the front and rear sheets and transporting the sheets from a sheet discharge outlet onto the tray, and provides an apparatus having a sheet transport path for transporting a sheet from a carry-in entrance to a predetermined sheet discharge outlet, a tray means for bearing and storing sheets, a regulation stopper for regulating the sheet by an end edge of the sheet striking the stopper, a holding path for temporarily holding a sheet in the sheet transport path, an alignment roller for transporting the sheet fed from the sheet discharge outlet to the regulation stopper, and a control means for controlling transport of the sheet, where the control means controls so that in the first operation mode, the alignment roller applies a transport force to the sheet by a predetermined pressing force after the rear end of the sheet is carried into the tray means, and that in the seco
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2009
    Publication date: June 10, 2010
    Applicant: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ichitaro Kubota, Kazuhiko Watanabe
  • Patent number: 7711308
    Abstract: A blade of a cleaning device includes two surfaces: an upstream side surface and a downstream side surface. The two surfaces adjoin each other with respect to a contact edge of the blade. The upstream side surface has a longer dimension in the direction orthogonal to the contact edge than that of the downstream side surface. A horizontal portion of a blade holder that restricts a warp in the blade is bonded on an opposed surface to the upstream side surface of the blade. The blade is held via the horizontal portion with a vertical portion of the blade holder supported by the main body of the cleaning device in a downstream of a normal line to a contact point on a photoconductor surface in contact with the contact edge, in the photoconductor-surface moving direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2010
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiki Hozumi, Takeshi Saitoh, Kazuhiko Watanabe, Ken Amemiya, Keiji Okamoto
  • Publication number: 20100067945
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a cleaning device that allows the obtaining of a high level of removal performance while reducing wear between a plate-shaped elastic member and a cleaning-targeted surface moving member, while also being able to stably maintain the contact status between the surface moving member and the plate-shaped elastic member, and an image forming apparatus and a process cartridge provided therewith.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 15, 2009
    Publication date: March 18, 2010
    Inventors: Yoshiki HOZUMI, Kazuhiko WATANABE
  • Publication number: 20100067949
    Abstract: A cleaning device for cleaning a surface moving member such as an image carrier of an image forming apparatus, and a process cartridge having the cleaning device. The cleaning device has a cleaning member that is brought into uniform abutment against the surface moving member in a longitudinal direction of the surface moving member. A high removing performance can be obtained while preventing the abrasion of the surface moving member and the cleaning blade, and the state of abutment between the surface moving member and the cleaning blade is securely maintained over time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 14, 2009
    Publication date: March 18, 2010
    Inventors: Kazuhiko WATANABE, Yoshiki HOZUMI
  • Patent number: 7678601
    Abstract: A method of forming a MEMS structure over active circuitry in a semiconductor body includes forming active circuitry in a semiconductor body, and forming the MEMS structure over the active circuitry, wherein at least a portion of the MEMS structure spatially overlaps the active circuitry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Tomomatsu, Kazuhiko Watanabe, Tetsuya Tada, Toshiyuki Tani
  • Patent number: 7620357
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a cleaning brush positioned upstream of a blade nip in the direction of movement of the surface of a photoconductive drum. To prevent toner from accumulating at the blade nip, the surface of the photoconductive drum is moved in the direction opposite to the regular direction for image formation, conveying toner accumulated in a wedge-shaped space upstream of the blade nip 2n to a position where the cleaning brush removes it. With this configuration, the image forming apparatus can stably clear spherical toner particles left on the drum over a long period of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2009
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masahiko Shakuto, Osamu Naruse, Hidetoshi Yano, Kazuhiko Watanabe
  • Patent number: 7610008
    Abstract: A cleaning device including an elastic blade whose tip is contacted with a surface of a rotating member in such a manner as to counter the rotated member to remove particles of a toner on the rotated member; and a holder configured to support the elastic blade, wherein a nip formed by longitudinal end portions of the tip of the blade and the surface of the rotated member has a first nip width in a rotation direction of the rotated member, and a nip formed by a central portion of the blade and the surface of the rotated member has a second nip width, and wherein the first nip width is less than the second nip width.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2009
    Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
    Inventors: Kazuhiko Watanabe, Osamu Naruse, Masahiko Shakuto, Hidetoshi Yano
  • Publication number: 20090123205
    Abstract: A cleaning device including a cleaning blade configured to clean a surface of a cleaning target that is moving. A leading edge which is formed between lower and leading surfaces of the cleaning blade is obtuse-angled with respect to the lower surface and is in contact with the surface of the cleaning target during use. The leading surface of the cleaning blade is curved outward when the cleaning blade is not in contact with the cleaning target.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2008
    Publication date: May 14, 2009
    Inventors: Kazuhiko Watanabe, Yoshiki Hozumi, Takeshi Saitoh
  • Publication number: 20090070044
    Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide both a two-body interaction calculation circuit that can reduce the number of arithmetic elements of a circuit for virial calculation and that can decrease circuit scale and a many-body problem calculation device that uses this two-body interaction calculation circuit, the two-body interaction calculation circuit of the present invention including: a coordinate difference calculation unit for receiving as input coordinates of center particles i, the size of a basic cell, lattice vectors, and coordinates of particles j and for calculating the difference between coordinates of a center particle i and coordinates in which the coordinates of a particle j have been converted to a mirror-image particle; a distance-squaring calculation unit for calculating the square of distances based on the difference; a function calculation unit for calculating an interaction function that depends on distance based on the square of distance; a force calculation unit for calculatin
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2008
    Publication date: March 12, 2009
    Inventor: Kazuhiko Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20090010692
    Abstract: A lubricant supplier, installable in a process cartridge or an image forming apparatus, includes a ridge line extending crosswise to a longitudinal axis of the image forming member and contacting the surface of the image forming member at a non-perpendicular angle to the longitudinal axis of the image forming member, a first face opposed to the image forming member and located upstream from a contact portion of the ridge line and the surface of the image forming member in a direction of movement of the surface of the image forming member, and a second face opposed to the image forming member and located downstream from the contact portion in the direction of movement of the surface of the image forming member. The first face and the second face intersect at the ridge line and form an obtuse angle therebetween.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 25, 2008
    Publication date: January 8, 2009
    Inventors: Yoshiki Hozumi, Kazuhiko Watanabe, Takeshi Saitoh
  • Publication number: 20080286020
    Abstract: A blade, including: a cut surface provided by obliquely cutting a part of a tip surface to set an angle forming a tip ridge portion of the blade as an obtuse angle, wherein the tip ridge portion is configured to be pressed to a surface to be cleaned.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 23, 2008
    Publication date: November 20, 2008
    Inventors: Kazuhiko WATANABE, Masahiko Shakuto, Osamu Naruse, Hidetosi Yano
  • Patent number: 7451285
    Abstract: A computer includes a management computer connected to a host computer, first and second primary storage systems, first and second secondary storage systems, a primary external storage system connected to the first and second primary storage systems and a secondary external storage system connected to the first and second secondary storage systems. The management computer controls to start copying as processing for storing copied data in the second storage area into a fourth storage area in response to a command for starting processing for storing copied data in the first storage area into a third storage area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2008
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Nobuhiro Maki, Makoto Uchikado, Kazuhiko Watanabe, Yuri Hiraiwa
  • Publication number: 20080209146
    Abstract: A controller sets a specified time which is a time that specifies a time in the future relative to the current time for all of one or more secondary storage systems. The respective secondary storage systems have a logical volume for backup (BVOL), and set a backup preparation end state when a journal up to a specified time has been established, and report information showing a preparation end state to the controller. The controller issues a backup command to all of the one or more secondary storage systems when information showing a preparation end state is reported from all of the one or more secondary storage systems.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 8, 2008
    Publication date: August 28, 2008
    Inventors: Takeyuki Imazu, Yuri Hiraiwa, Nobuhiro Maki, Yoshiyuki Nishi, Kazuhiko Watanabe