Patents by Inventor Keitaro Nakata
Keitaro Nakata 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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Publication number: 20230341806Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable image bearing member, a charging member, a developing member, a cleaning member, an accommodating portion, and a controller capable of executing an image forming operation and a supplying operation for supplying a metal soap, accommodated in the accommodating portion, onto a surface of the image bearing member by the developing member. The controller carries out control so that when the supplying operation is executed, a surface moving speed of the image bearing member is higher than a surface moving speed of the image bearing member when the image forming operation is executed.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 18, 2023Publication date: October 26, 2023Inventors: SHINICHI AGATA, HISASHI TANIGUCHI, KEITARO NAKATA, TAKUTO KOBAYASHI
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Patent number: 11693335Abstract: A cartridge mountable in an apparatus main body of an image forming apparatus, the cartridge includes a development roller, a frame member including a development chamber, a developer containing chamber, and a first opening portion, the developer containing chamber including an inner wall and a second opening portion, a stirring member including a stirring shaft and a sheet, and a conveyance member driven in such a manner that the developer is replenished into the developer containing chamber through the second opening portion, wherein the sheet is rotated in contact with the inner wall in such a manner that, after the sheet is elastically deformed by contact with a portion of the inner wall, at least a part of the elastic deformation is restored, and wherein the conveyance member is being driven at a timing when the sheet passes through the front side.Type: GrantFiled: March 2, 2022Date of Patent: July 4, 2023Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Takuya Oka, Issei Imamura, Ryohei Tsutsumi, Keitaro Nakata
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Patent number: 11635704Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a developer bearing member, a driving unit, a latent image forming unit that forms an electrostatic image having light area potential and a dark area potential, and an application unit that applies a developing bias. The driving unit drives the image bearing member and the developer bearing member in a first peripheral speed ratio and a second peripheral speed ratio larger than the first peripheral speed ratio. The image forming apparatus further includes an acquiring unit acquiring information related to a change in an electrostatic capacitance of the image bearing member and a determining unit determining a developing contrast according to the electrostatic capacitance. The determining unit determines the developing contrast based on the acquired information when the driving unit drives the image bearing member and the developer bearing member in the second peripheral speed ratio.Type: GrantFiled: March 9, 2022Date of Patent: April 25, 2023Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Masataka Mochizuki, Keitaro Nakata
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Publication number: 20230091090Abstract: An image forming apparatus comprising: an image bearing member, a developing member that forms a toner image with a toner including a metal soap having a polarity opposite to that of the toner, a supply member that supplies the toner to the developing member, and a control unit that executes a metal soap supply operation of supplying the metal soap from the developing member to the image bearing member when an operation other than the image forming operation is executed, wherein the metal soap supply operation includes a first mode and a second mode, and a potential difference between the supply member and the developing member, which causes an electrostatic force in the direction from the supply member to the developing member to act on the metal soap, is smaller in the metal soap supply operation in the second mode than in the first mode.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 8, 2022Publication date: March 23, 2023Inventors: Hisashi Taniguchi, Bunro Noguchi, Shinichi Agata, Kodai Hayashi, Keitaro Nakata
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Patent number: 11579556Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes first and second image forming portions and a belt. The first and second image forming portions include first and second image bearing members, and first and second transferring members, respectively. The belt nips and feeds a recording material. The first image forming portion is disposed upstream of the second image forming portion in a moving direction of the recording material, and a plurality of members including the first and second image bearing members are integrally assembled and are mountable on or dismountable from a main assembly of the image forming apparatus. A film thickness of a surface of the first image bearing member is larger than a film thickness of a surface of the second image bearing member, circumferential speed ratios or contact pressures of rotating components differ, and/or mass ratios of components of respective developers differ.Type: GrantFiled: February 10, 2022Date of Patent: February 14, 2023Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Kazunori Hashimoto, Bunro Noguchi, Keitaro Nakata
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Publication number: 20220269214Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes first and second image forming portions and a belt. The first and second image forming portions include first and second image bearing members, and first and second transferring members, respectively. The belt nips and feeds a recording material between itself and the first image bearing member and between itself and the second image bearing member in a first transferring portion and a second transferring portion, respectively. The first image forming portion is disposed upstream of the second image forming portion in a moving direction of the recording material, and a plurality of members including the first and second image bearing members are integrally assembled and are mountable on or dismountable from a main assembly of the image forming apparatus. A film thickness of a surface of the first image bearing member is larger than a film thickness of a surface of the second image bearing member.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 10, 2022Publication date: August 25, 2022Inventors: Kazunori Hashimoto, Bunro Noguchi, Keitaro Nakata
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Publication number: 20220197178Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a developer bearing member, a driving unit, a latent image forming unit that forms an electrostatic image having light area potential and a dark area potential, and an application unit that applies a developing bias. The driving unit drives the image bearing member and the developer bearing member in a first peripheral speed ratio and a second peripheral speed ratio larger than the first peripheral speed ratio. The image forming apparatus further includes an acquiring unit acquiring information related to a change in an electrostatic capacitance of the image bearing member and a determining unit determining a developing contrast according to the electrostatic capacitance. The determining unit determines the developing contrast based on the acquired information when the driving unit drives the image bearing member and the developer bearing member in the second peripheral speed ratio.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 9, 2022Publication date: June 23, 2022Inventors: Masataka Mochizuki, Keitaro Nakata
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Publication number: 20220187739Abstract: A cartridge mountable in an apparatus main body of an image forming apparatus, the cartridge includes a development roller, a frame member including a development chamber, a developer containing chamber, and a first opening portion, the developer containing chamber including an inner wall and a second opening portion, a stirring member including a stirring shaft and a sheet, and a conveyance member driven in such a manner that the developer is replenished into the developer containing chamber through the second opening portion, wherein the sheet is rotated in contact with the inner wall in such a manner that, after the sheet is elastically deformed by contact with a portion of the inner wall, at least a part of the elastic deformation is restored, and wherein the conveyance member is being driven at a timing when the sheet passes through the front side.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 2, 2022Publication date: June 16, 2022Inventors: Takuya Oka, Issei Imamura, Ryohei Tsutsumi, Keitaro Nakata
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Patent number: 11300897Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a developer bearing member, a driving unit, a latent image forming unit that forms an electrostatic image having light area potential and a dark area potential, and an application unit that applies a developing bias. The driving unit drives the image bearing member and the developer bearing member in a first peripheral speed ratio and a second peripheral speed ratio larger than the first peripheral speed ratio. The image forming apparatus further includes an acquiring unit acquiring information related to a change in an electrostatic capacitance of the image bearing member and a determining unit determining a developing contrast according to the electrostatic capacitance. The determining unit determines the developing contrast based on the acquired information when the driving unit drives the image bearing member and the developer bearing member in the second peripheral speed ratio.Type: GrantFiled: May 20, 2021Date of Patent: April 12, 2022Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Masataka Mochizuki, Keitaro Nakata
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Patent number: 11300900Abstract: A cartridge mountable in an apparatus main body of an image forming apparatus, the cartridge includes a development roller, a frame member including a development chamber, a developer containing chamber, and a first opening portion, the developer containing chamber including an inner wall and a second opening portion, a stirring member including a stirring shaft and a sheet, and a conveyance member driven in such a manner that the developer is replenished into the developer containing chamber through the second opening portion, wherein the sheet is rotated in contact with the inner wall in such a manner that, after the sheet is elastically deformed by contact with a portion of the inner wall, at least a part of the elastic deformation is restored, and wherein the conveyance member is being driven at a timing when the sheet passes through the front side.Type: GrantFiled: May 21, 2021Date of Patent: April 12, 2022Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Takuya Oka, Issei Imamura, Ryohei Tsutsumi, Keitaro Nakata
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Publication number: 20210373462Abstract: A cartridge mountable in an apparatus main body of an image forming apparatus, the cartridge includes a development roller, a frame member including a development chamber, a developer containing chamber, and a first opening portion, the developer containing chamber including an inner wall and a second opening portion, a stirring member including a stirring shaft and a sheet, and a conveyance member driven in such a manner that the developer is replenished into the developer containing chamber through the second opening portion, wherein the sheet is rotated in contact with the inner wall in such a manner that, after the sheet is elastically deformed by contact with a portion of the inner wall, at least a part of the elastic deformation is restored, and wherein the conveyance member is being driven at a timing when the sheet passes through the front side.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 21, 2021Publication date: December 2, 2021Inventors: Takuya Oka, Issei Imamura, Ryohei Tsutsumi, Keitaro Nakata
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Patent number: 11144007Abstract: A process cartridge using an image forming apparatus, including a rotatable image bearing member having a circumferential surface; a developing unit configured to supply a developing agent to the image bearing member; and a cleaning member that cleans the circumferential surface, wherein the developing agent contains a toner including toner particles and a metal soap, the image bearing member includes a plurality of grooves formed on the circumferential surface to extend in a circumferential direction of the circumferential surface and to be arranged side by side in a rotation axis direction, and the plurality of grooves and portions between the grooves form concave-convex portions on the circumferential surface. The circumferential surface of the image bearing member had surface roughness Rz of 0<Rz?0.70 ?m and average interval Sm between concave-convex portions on the circumferential surface of 0<Sm?70.0 ?m.Type: GrantFiled: November 12, 2019Date of Patent: October 12, 2021Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Shinichi Hagiwara, Yasukazu Ikami, Kosuke Ikada, Keitaro Nakata, Hideharu Shimozawa
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Publication number: 20210271184Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a developer bearing member, a driving unit, a latent image forming unit that forms an electrostatic image having light area potential and a dark area potential, and an application unit that applies a developing bias. The driving unit drives the image bearing member and the developer bearing member in a first peripheral speed ratio and a second peripheral speed ratio larger than the first peripheral speed ratio. The image forming apparatus further includes an acquiring unit acquiring information related to a change in an electrostatic capacitance of the image bearing member and a determining unit determining a developing contrast according to the electrostatic capacitance. The determining unit determines the developing contrast based on the acquired information when the driving unit drives the image bearing member and the developer bearing member in the second peripheral speed ratio.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 20, 2021Publication date: September 2, 2021Inventors: Masataka Mochizuki, Keitaro Nakata
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Patent number: 11073781Abstract: An image forming apparatus that executes an image forming operation for forming a toner image on a recording material and an application operation of applying a metal soap to a surface of an image bearing member by supplying a toner stored in a toner storing unit to the surface of the image bearing member from the developing member. A surficial moving speed of the image bearing member during the application operation is lower than the surficial moving speed of the image bearing member during the image forming operation, and a speed difference between the surficial moving speed of the developing member and the surficial moving speed of the image bearing member during the application operation is larger than that during the image forming operation.Type: GrantFiled: June 18, 2020Date of Patent: July 27, 2021Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Kosuke Ikada, Go Shindo, Keitaro Nakata, Hisashi Yamauchi, Shinichi Agata, Yoshihiro Mitsui, Masahito Kato, Yuichiro Hirata
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Patent number: 11042104Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a developer bearing member, a driving unit, a latent image forming unit that forms an electrostatic image having light area potential and a dark area potential, and an application unit that applies a developing bias. The driving unit drives the image bearing member and the developer bearing member in a first peripheral speed ratio and a second peripheral speed ratio larger than the first peripheral speed ratio. The image forming apparatus further includes an acquiring unit acquiring information related to a change in an electrostatic capacitance of the image bearing member and a determining unit determining a developing contrast according to the electrostatic capacitance. The determining unit determines the developing contrast based on the acquired information when the driving unit drives the image bearing member and the developer bearing member in the second peripheral speed ratio.Type: GrantFiled: July 21, 2020Date of Patent: June 22, 2021Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Masataka Mochizuki, Keitaro Nakata
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Publication number: 20200409297Abstract: An image forming apparatus that executes an image forming operation for forming a toner image on a recording material and an application operation of applying a metal soap to a surface of an image bearing member by supplying a toner stored in a toner storing unit to the surface of the image bearing member from the developing member. A surficial moving speed of the image bearing member during the application operation is lower than the surficial moving speed of the image bearing member during the image forming operation, and a speed difference between the surficial moving speed of the developing member and the surficial moving speed of the image bearing member during the application operation is larger than that during the image forming operation.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 18, 2020Publication date: December 31, 2020Inventors: Kosuke Ikada, Go Shindo, Keitaro Nakata, Hisashi Yamauchi, Shinichi Agata, Yoshihiro Mitsui, Masahito Kato, Yuichiro Hirata
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Publication number: 20200348612Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a developer bearing member, a driving unit, a latent image forming unit that forms an electrostatic image having light area potential and a dark area potential, and an application unit that applies a developing bias. The driving unit drives the image bearing member and the developer bearing member in a first peripheral speed ratio and a second peripheral speed ratio larger than the first peripheral speed ratio. The image forming apparatus further includes an acquiring unit acquiring information related to a change in an electrostatic capacitance of the image bearing member and a determining unit determining a developing contrast according to the electrostatic capacitance. The determining unit determines the developing contrast based on the acquired information when the driving unit drives the image bearing member and the developer bearing member in the second peripheral speed ratio.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 21, 2020Publication date: November 5, 2020Inventors: Masataka Mochizuki, Keitaro Nakata
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Patent number: 10754265Abstract: An image forming apparatus including: an image bearing member; a developing member to supply a developer to the image bearing member; and a cleaning member to clean a peripheral surface of the image bearing member in contact with the peripheral surface, wherein a plurality of grooves extend in a circumferential direction on the peripheral surface, and have a width in a generatrix direction of the peripheral surface within a range of at least 0.5 ?m and not more than 40 ?m, and are formed to be side by side in the generatrix direction; the number of the grooves is at least 20 and not more than 1000 per a width of 1000 ?m in the generatrix direction of the peripheral surface; and an average depth (Rvk) of a valley of a projection under a core section of a roughness curve of the peripheral surface is 0.08 ?m or less.Type: GrantFiled: November 11, 2019Date of Patent: August 25, 2020Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Hisashi Yamauchi, Keitaro Nakata, Yasukazu Ikami, Kosuke Ikada, Kentaro Yamawaki
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Patent number: 10754273Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a developer bearing member, a driving unit, a latent image forming unit that forms an electrostatic image having light area potential and a dark area potential, and an application unit that applies a developing bias. The driving unit drives the image bearing member and the developer bearing member in a first peripheral speed ratio and a second peripheral speed ratio larger than the first peripheral speed ratio. The image forming apparatus further includes an acquiring unit acquiring information related to a change in an electrostatic capacitance of the image bearing member and a determining unit determining a developing contrast according to the electrostatic capacitance. The determining unit determines the developing contrast based on the acquired information when the driving unit drives the image bearing member and the developer bearing member in the second peripheral speed ratio.Type: GrantFiled: September 10, 2019Date of Patent: August 25, 2020Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Masataka Mochizuki, Keitaro Nakata
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Publication number: 20200150584Abstract: A process cartridge using an image forming apparatus, including a rotatable image bearing member having a circumferential surface; a developing unit configured to supply a developing agent to the image bearing member; and a cleaning member that cleans the circumferential surface, wherein the developing agent contains a toner including toner particles and a metal soap, the image bearing member includes a plurality of grooves formed on the circumferential surface to extend in a circumferential direction of the circumferential surface and to be arranged side by side in a rotation axis direction, and the plurality of grooves and portions between the grooves form concave-convex portions on the circumferential surface. The circumferential surface of the image bearing member had surface roughness Rz of 0<Rz?0.70 ?m and average interval Sm between concave-convex portions on the circumferential surface of 0<Sm?70.0 ?m.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 12, 2019Publication date: May 14, 2020Inventors: Shinichi Hagiwara, Yasukazu Ikami, Kosuke Ikada, Keitaro Nakata, Hideharu Shimozawa