Patents by Inventor Kazunori Konno

Kazunori Konno 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: 20150253716
    Abstract: A recording medium discharging device includes a discharging unit configured to discharge a recording medium from a discharge port; a tray unit on which the recording medium discharged from the discharging unit is stacked; and an air blower configured to blow air in a direction substantially parallel to a direction in which the recording medium is discharged.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 20, 2015
    Publication date: September 10, 2015
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Shuuya NAGASAKO, Masahiro TAMURA, Tomohiro FURUHASHI, Keisuke SUGIYAMA, Yuusuke SHIBASAKI, Kyosuke NAKADA, Kazuya YAMAMOTO, Junya SUZUKI, Kazunori KONNO, Yasuo NIIKURA, Tomomichi HOSHINO, Akira KUNIEDA, Takahiro WATANABE, Tomohiro YOSHIZAKI, Kiichiro GOTO
  • Patent number: 9096403
    Abstract: A sheet stacking apparatus including: a discharge unit configured to discharge a sheet through a discharge port; a stack unit configured to stack the discharged sheet thereon; and a plurality of blowing units configured to supply air to a discharge side of the discharge unit while the sheet is discharged, wherein the blowing units are disposed, below the discharge port, aligned with a direction perpendicular to a sheet discharge direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2015
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Satoru Takano, Kiichiro Goto, Takashi Fukumoto, Yasuo Niikura, Shintaro Matsumoto, Hidetoshi Kojima, Kei Sasaki, Junya Suzuki, Kazunori Konno, Yuuta Mori, Kohjiroh Haga, Yasushi Tsuruoka, Takamasa Matsumoto, Ryo Takahashi, Youhei Niitsuma
  • Patent number: 9085436
    Abstract: A sheet ejecting device includes: a sheet ejecting unit configured to eject a sheet; a stacking unit on which the sheet that is ejected by the ejecting unit is stacked; an aligning unit configured to align the sheet in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the sheet is ejected; and a blowing unit configured to be provided to the aligning unit and blow a wind toward the ejected sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Junya Suzuki, Kiichiro Goto, Masahiro Tamura, Shuuya Nagasako, Keisuke Sugiyama, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Kyosuke Nakada, Kazuya Yamamoto, Tomomichi Hoshino, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Takamasa Matsumoto, Kazunori Konno, Youhei Niitsuma
  • Patent number: 9075377
    Abstract: A recording medium discharging device includes a discharging unit configured to discharge a recording medium from a discharge port; a tray unit on which the recording medium discharged from the discharging unit is stacked; and an air blower configured to blow air in a direction substantially parallel to a direction in which the recording medium is discharged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Shuuya Nagasako, Masahiro Tamura, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Keisuke Sugiyama, Yuusuke Shibasaki, Kyosuke Nakada, Kazuya Yamamoto, Junya Suzuki, Kazunori Konno, Yasuo Niikura, Tomomichi Hoshino, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Tomohiro Yoshizaki, Kiichiro Goto
  • Publication number: 20150166280
    Abstract: A sheet feeding device includes: a sheet stacking member; an air blowing unit configured to blow air onto the sheet bundle placed on the sheet stacking member to suspend multiple sheets of the sheet bundle; a lifting/lowering unit configured to lift/lower the sheet stacking member; an optical reflection sensor configured to detect a suspended sheet suspended by the air blowing unit; and a control unit configured to control the lifting/lowering unit based on an output value of the optical reflection sensor. The optical reflection sensor is configured to be capable of detecting an area corresponding to multiple sheets in a sheet suspension zone extending between a non-suspended sheet bundle and a conveying member configured to convey an uppermost sheet of the multiple suspended sheets. The non-suspended sheet bundle is made up of sheets not suspended during a period when air is blown by the air blowing unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2014
    Publication date: June 18, 2015
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Yasunori HINO, Chikara AKATA, Tomoki TAMATE, Hideaki TAKAHASHI, Munehisa FUDA, Toshihiro OKUTSU, Takashi FUKUMOTO, Yasuo NIIKURA, Masaki ISHIZAKI, Kiyotake NAKAMURA, Hidetoshi KOJIMA, Hisayoshi SUGAWARA, Kazunori KONNO, Tatsuya SUGAWARA, Kohjiroh HAGA, Masato HASHIMOTO
  • Publication number: 20150123342
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, there is provided a sheet processing apparatus includes a stacking unit that stacks a sheet conveyed thereto; a first alignment unit that aligns the sheet or a bundle of sheets stacked in the stacking unit in a sheet conveying direction; a second alignment unit that aligns the sheet or the bundle of sheets stacked in the stacking unit in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction; a pressing unit that presses the bundle of sheets at an end portion thereof on a predetermined one side; and a control unit that causes at least one of the first and second alignment units to execute an alignment operation during a press operation of the sheet or the bundle of sheets performed by the pressing unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 12, 2015
    Publication date: May 7, 2015
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Tomohiro FURUHASHI, Masahiro TAMURA, Shuuya NAGASAKO, Keisuke SUGIYAMA, Kazuya YAMAMOTO, Kyosuke NAKADA, Tomomichi HOSHINO, Akira KUNIEDA, Takahiro WATANABE, Takamasa MATSUMOTO, Junya SUZUKI, Youhei NIITSUMA, Kazunori KONNO, Kiichiro GOTO
  • Patent number: 8960660
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, there is provided a sheet processing apparatus includes a stacking unit that stacks a sheet conveyed thereto; a first alignment unit that aligns the sheet or a bundle of sheets stacked in the stacking unit in a sheet conveying direction; a second alignment unit that aligns the sheet or the bundle of sheets stacked in the stacking unit in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction; a pressing unit that presses the bundle of sheets at an end portion thereof on a predetermined one side; and a control unit that causes at least one of the first and second alignment units to execute an alignment operation during a press operation of the sheet or the bundle of sheets performed by the pressing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Tomohiro Furuhashi, Masahiro Tamura, Shuuya Nagasako, Keisuke Sugiyama, Kazuya Yamamoto, Kyosuke Nakada, Tomomichi Hoshino, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Takamasa Matsumoto, Junya Suzuki, Youhei Niitsuma, Kazunori Konno, Kiichiro Goto
  • Patent number: 8936240
    Abstract: A sheet discharging device includes a shift tray 202 on which a sheet P1 is stacked, a discharging roller 6 that discharges a sheet P2 onto the shift tray 202, a blowing device 230 that sends air to a lower surface of the sheet P2 discharged by the discharging roller 6, a blocking member 231 that blocks air sent to the lower surface of the sheet P2 from a blowing port 230-2 of the blowing device 230, and a control unit that controls the blocking amount of the blocking member 231. The blocking amount is determined based upon sheet information including sheet-type information, sheet-size information, and sheet-thickness information, for example.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Tomomichi Hoshino, Masahiro Tamura, Shuuya Nagasako, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Keisuke Sugiyama, Kyosuke Nakada, Kazuya Yamamoto, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Junya Suzuki, Kazunori Konno, Youhei Niitsuma, Takamasa Matsumoto, Kiichiro Goto, Kazuhiko Kitano, Takashi Fukumoto, Yasuo Niikura, Satoru Takano, Hidetoshi Kojima, Kei Sasaki, Yasushi Tsuruoka, Shintaro Matsumoto, Ryo Takahashi, Yuuta Mori, Kohjiroh Haga
  • Patent number: 8931773
    Abstract: A sheet handling apparatus includes a sheet folding unit configured to perform folding on a sheet; and a sheet stacking unit configured to stack the folded sheet on a sheet stacking surface having an inclined surface and a horizontal surface in order from upstream to downstream in a sheet conveying direction. A downstream end of the inclined surface is higher than an upstream end of the inclined surface with respect to a horizontal plane. The sheet handling apparatus also includes a discharging unit configured to discharge the folded sheet to the sheet stacking unit; a sheet conveying unit configured to convey the discharged sheet from the inclined surface to the horizontal surface; and a conveying force applying unit configured to apply a conveying force to the sheet in contact with an upper surface of the sheet from above the inclined surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Keisuke Sugiyama, Masahiro Tamura, Shuuya Nagasako, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Yuusuke Shibasaki, Kazuya Yamamoto, Kyosuke Nakada, Tomomichi Hoshino, Yasuo Niikura, Junya Suzuki, Kazunori Konno, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Tomohiro Yoshizaki, Kiichiro Goto
  • Patent number: 8925917
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, provided is a sheet output device including: a sheet output unit configured to output a sheet; a tray unit on which the sheet output by the sheet output unit is to be stacked; an air blower unit configured to blow air onto the sheet output by the sheet output unit; and a control unit configured to control an airflow rate of the air blower unit according to an amount of the sheet output from the sheet output unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Takahiro Watanabe, Masahiro Tamura, Shuuya Nagasako, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Keisuke Sugiyama, Kyosuke Nakada, Kazuya Yamamoto, Tomomichi Hoshino, Akira Kunieda, Junya Suzuki, Kazunori Konno, Takamasa Matsumoto, Youhei Niitsuma, Kiichiro Goto
  • Patent number: 8876107
    Abstract: A sheet stacking device includes: a stacking unit that stacks thereon a sheet discharged in a sheet discharging direction; a conveying unit that performs a moving-back operation of conveying the stacked sheet in a direction opposite to the sheet discharging direction; a pressing unit that performs a pressing operation of pressing the conveyed sheet; and a driving unit that drives the conveying unit and the pressing unit by a same driving source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 4, 2014
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Junya Suzuki, Kiichiro Goto, Takashi Fukumoto, Yasuo Niikura, Shintaro Matsumoto, Satoru Takano, Hidetoshi Kojima, Kei Sasaki, Kazunori Konno, Yuuta Mori, Kohjiroh Haga, Takamasa Matsumoto, Ryo Takahashi, Youhei Niitsuma
  • Publication number: 20140203501
    Abstract: A sheet discharging device includes a shift tray 202 on which a sheet P1 is stacked, a discharging roller 6 that discharges a sheet P2 onto the shift tray 202, a blowing device 230 that sends air to a lower surface of the sheet P2 discharged by the discharging roller 6, a blocking member 231 that blocks air sent to the lower surface of the sheet P2 from a blowing port 230-2 of the blowing device 230, and a control unit that controls the blocking amount of the blocking member 231. The blocking amount is determined based upon sheet information including sheet-type information, sheet-size information, and sheet-thickness information, for example.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2014
    Publication date: July 24, 2014
    Applicant: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Tomomichi HOSHINO, Masahiro Tamura, Shuuya Nagasako, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Keisuke Sugiyama, Kyosuke Nakada, Kazuya Yamamoto, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Junya Suzuki, Kazunori Konno, Youhei Niitsuma, Takamasa Matsumoto, Kiichiro Goto, Kazuhiko Kitano, Takashi Fukumoto, Yasuo Niikura, Satoru Takano, Hidetoshi Kojima, Kei Sasaki, Yasushi Tsuruoka, Shintaro Matsumoto, Ryo Takahashi, Yuuta Mori, Kohjiroh Haga
  • Patent number: 8770569
    Abstract: A sheet processing apparatus is disclosed which includes front and back trailing-end reference fences that are movable and on which the sheet trailing-end abuts to align the sheet trailing-end; a side-stitching stapler that moves along the sheet trailing-end and binds a bundle of sheets aligned; a length-direction moving mechanism that moves the trailing-end reference fences in a sheet conveying direction; and a position changing unit that drives the length-direction moving mechanism to change the position of one of the trailing-end reference fences in the sheet conveying direction relative to the position of the other one. The front and back trailing-end reference fences are moved to change binding positions such that the distances from the sheet trailing-end to staple positions are made equal in front-side binding and in back-side binding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Tomohiro Furuhashi, Masahiro Tamura, Shuuya Nagasako, Keisuke Sugiyama, Yuusuke Shibasaki, Kazuya Yamamoto, Kyosuke Nakada, Tomomichi Hoshino, Yasuo Niikura, Junya Suzuki, Kazunori Konno, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Tomohiro Yoshizaki, Kiichiro Goto
  • Publication number: 20140159301
    Abstract: A sheet stacking device includes: a stacking unit that stacks thereon a sheet discharged in a sheet discharging direction; a conveying unit that performs a moving-back operation of conveying the stacked sheet in a direction opposite to the sheet discharging direction; a pressing unit that performs a pressing operation of pressing the conveyed sheet; and a driving unit that drives the conveying unit and the pressing unit by a same driving source.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 4, 2013
    Publication date: June 12, 2014
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Junya SUZUKI, Kiichiro GOTO, Takashi FUKUMOTO, Yasuo NIIKURA, Shintaro MATSUMOTO, Satoru TAKANO, Hidetoshi KOJIMA, Kei SASAKI, Kazunori KONNO, Yuuta MORI, Kohjiroh HAGA, Takamasa MATSUMOTO, Ryo TAKAHASHI, Youhei NIITSUMA
  • Publication number: 20140145395
    Abstract: A sheet stacking apparatus including: a discharge unit configured to discharge a sheet through a discharge port; a stack unit configured to stack the discharged sheet thereon; and a plurality of blowing units configured to supply air to a discharge side of the discharge unit while the sheet is discharged, wherein the blowing units are disposed, below the discharge port, aligned with a direction perpendicular to a sheet discharge direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2013
    Publication date: May 29, 2014
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Satoru TAKANO, Kiichiro GOTO, Takashi FUKUMOTO, Yasuo NIIKURA, Shintaro MATSUMOTO, Hidetoshi KOJIMA, Kei SASAKI, Junya SUZUKI, Kazunori KONNO, Yuuta MORI, Kohjiroh HAGA, Yasushi TSURUOKA, Takamasa MATSUMOTO, Ryo TAKAHASHI, Youhei NIITSUMA
  • Patent number: 8727345
    Abstract: A sheet discharging device includes: sheet discharging rollers that receive each of sheets conveyed thereto and discharge the sheets one by one; a shift tray on which the sheets discharged by the sheet discharging rollers are to be stacked; an air blower; and a CPU. The air blower forms an air layer between the shift tray and a sheet when the sheet is discharged onto the shift tray by the sheet discharging rollers, or between a sheet and the sheet that is already placed on the shift tray when the sheet is discharged. The CPU controls an air velocity of air to be delivered by the air blower based on sheet information, thereby causing the air layer to extend to the entire surface of the sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2014
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Kazunori Konno, Masahiro Tamura, Shuuya Nagasako, Tomohiro Furuhashi, Keisuke Sugiyama, Yuusuke Shibasaki, Kazuya Yamamoto, Kyosuke Nakada, Tomomichi Hoshino, Yasuo Niikura, Junya Suzuki, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Tomohiro Yoshizaki, Kiichiro Goto
  • Patent number: 8702087
    Abstract: A sheet handling apparatus includes a sheet reception unit configured to receive a sheet; an alignment unit configured to align the sheet in a conveying direction of the sheet, a trailing edge of the sheet in the conveying direction coming into contact with the alignment unit; and a moving unit configured to move the alignment unit along the sheet reception unit in the conveying direction. A first position for aligning and binding sheets and a second position located above the first position in the sheet reception unit are set for the alignment unit as receiving positions at which the sheet is received from the sheet reception unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2014
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Tomohiro Furuhashi, Masahiro Tamura, Shuuya Nagasako, Keisuke Sugiyama, Yuusuke Shibasaki, Kazuya Yamamoto, Kyosuke Nakada, Yasuo Niikura, Junya Suzuki, Kazunori Konno, Tomomichi Hoshino, Akira Kunieda, Takahiro Watanabe, Tomohiro Yoshizaki, Kiichiro Goto
  • Publication number: 20140062005
    Abstract: A sheet ejecting device includes: a sheet ejecting unit configured to eject a sheet; a stacking unit on which the sheet that is ejected by the ejecting unit is stacked; an aligning unit configured to align the sheet in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the sheet is ejected; and a blowing unit configured to be provided to the aligning unit and blow a wind toward the ejected sheet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 28, 2013
    Publication date: March 6, 2014
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Junya SUZUKI, Kiichiro GOTO, Masahiro TAMURA, Shuuya NAGASAKO, Keisuke SUGIYAMA, Tomohiro FURUHASHI, Kyosuke NAKADA, Kazuya YAMAMOTO, Tomomichi HOSHINO, Akira KUNIEDA, Takahiro WATANABE, Takamasa MATSUMOTO, Kazunori KONNO, Youhei NIITSUMA
  • Publication number: 20140062016
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, provided is a sheet output device including: a sheet output unit configured to output a sheet; a tray unit on which the sheet output by the sheet output unit is to be stacked; an air blower unit configured to blow air onto the sheet output by the sheet output unit; and a control unit configured to control an airflow rate of the air blower unit according to an amount of the sheet output from the sheet output unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 28, 2013
    Publication date: March 6, 2014
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Takahiro WATANABE, Masahiro TAMURA, Shuuya NAGASAKO, Tomohiro FURUHASHI, Keisuke SUGIYAMA, Kyosuke NAKADA, Kazuya YAMAMOTO, Tomomichi HOSHINO, Akira KUNIEDA, Junya SUZUKI, Kazunori KONNO, Takamasa MATSUMOTO, Youhei NIITSUMA, Kiichiro GOTO
  • Publication number: 20140062003
    Abstract: A sheet processing apparatus for receiving and processing a sheet conveyed from an image forming apparatus, the sheet processing apparatus comprising: a discharging unit configured to discharge the sheet; a stacking unit configured to stack thereon the sheet discharged by the discharging unit; a blowing air unit configured to blow air along a direction parallel to a surface of the sheet being stacked; a first alignment unit having a pair of alignment plane opposed each other, the first alignment unit configured to align the sheet in a direction parallel to a discharging direction of the sheet; and a second alignment unit configured to align the sheet in a direction orthogonal to the discharging direction of the sheet, wherein the blowing air unit is provided at a position opposed to the alignment plane.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 28, 2013
    Publication date: March 6, 2014
    Applicant: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Youhei NIITSUMA, Masahiro TAMURA, Shuuya NAGASAKO, Tomohiro FURUHASHI, Keisuke SUGIYAMA, Kyosuke NAKADA, Kazuya YAMAMOTO, Tomomichi HOSHINO, Akira KUNIEDA, Takahiro WATANABE, Junya SUZUKI, Kazunori KONNO, Takamasa MATSUMOTO, Kiichiro GOTO