Patents by Inventor Kenichi Mashiko

Kenichi Mashiko 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: 20140348552
    Abstract: A replenishing developer housing container according to the present invention includes: a container body housing a replenishing developer; a conveying portion; a pipe receiving port; and an uplifting portion, wherein the replenishing developer contains a toner and a carrier, wherein the container body includes a protruding portion protruding from a container body interior side of the container opening portion toward one end of the container body and a curving portion curving so as to conform to the protruding portion, wherein the uplifting portion includes an uplifting wall surface extending from an internal wall surface of the container body toward the protruding portion, wherein the protruding portion is provided such that when the replenishing developer housing container is mounted on the replenishing developer conveying device, the protruding portion is present between the curving portion and the replenishing developer receiving port of a conveying pipe being inserted.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 16, 2014
    Publication date: November 27, 2014
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Hitoshi Iwatsuki, Shigenori YAGUCHI, Hiroshi TOHMATSU, Toyoaki TANO, Hiroyuki KISHIDA, Kenichi MASHIKO, Koichi SAKATA, Hiroshi HOSOKAWA, Shunji KATOH, Shinji TAMAKI, Hiroshi IKEGUCHI, Kenji KIKUCHI, Michiharu SUZUKI
  • Publication number: 20140248557
    Abstract: A carrier is provided. The carrier includes a particulate magnetic core, and a cover layer located on the surface of the particulate magnetic core and including a resin and a filler. When determined from observation of cross-section of the carrier, the shape factor SF2 of the carrier is from 120 to 160, the ratio of the average domain diameter of the particulate magnetic core to the number average particle diameter of the filler is from 1:1 to 1:0.003, and the area ratio of the filler in the cover layer is from 30 to 85%.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2014
    Publication date: September 4, 2014
    Inventors: Shigenori Yaguchi, Koichi Sakata, Hitoshi Iwatsuki, Toyoaki Tano, Hiroyuki Kishida, Kenichi Mashiko, Hiroshi Tohmatsu
  • Publication number: 20140227638
    Abstract: A carrier for use in a two-component developer for developing an electrostatic latent image is provided. The carrier includes a particulate magnetic core; and a cover layer located on a surface of the particulate magnetic core and including a resin and a particulate electroconductive material. The carrier has a BET specific surface area of from 0.8 to 1.6 m2/g.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2013
    Publication date: August 14, 2014
    Inventors: Hiroyuki KISHIDA, Shigenori Yaguchi, Hiroshi Tohmatsu, Koichi Sakata, Hitoshi Iwatsuki, Toyoaki Tano, Kenichi Mashiko
  • Patent number: 8760717
    Abstract: To provide an intermediate transfer belt, containing a base, an elastic layer formed on the base, and spherical particles deposited on a surface of the elastic layer, in which wherein the elastic layer has micro rubber hardness of 40° or lower in the environment of 10° C. and 15% RH, and the intermediate transfer belt is designed to be mounted in an image forming apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hidetaka Kubo, Jun Aoto, Kenichi Mashiko, Sayaka Katoh, Shinichi Nitta
  • Patent number: 8718520
    Abstract: To provide an intermediate transfer belt, which contains a base layer, and an elastic layer formed on the base layer, wherein the base layer contains polyimide which has a constitutional unit derived from pyromellitic acid and a constitutional unit derived from diaminodiphenyl ether, wherein the intermediate layer has a curling amount of 1.5 mm or less in an absolute value, and wherein the intermediate transfer belt is configured to receive, by transferring, a toner image formed by developing, with a toner, a latent image formed on an image bearing member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2014
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hidetaka Kubo, Jun Aoto, Kenichi Mashiko, Sayaka Katoh
  • Publication number: 20140079445
    Abstract: An intermediate transfer belt including a base layer, and an elastic layer on the base layer containing spherical particles on a surface thereof and containing an elastic layer ingredient, wherein the elastic layer contains a fatty acid in an amount of 0.001 parts by mass to 0.040 parts by mass relative to 100 parts by mass of the elastic layer ingredient.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 12, 2013
    Publication date: March 20, 2014
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Sayaka KATOH, Jun AOTO, Kenichi MASHIKO, Shinichi NITTA, Atsuo HIRAI
  • Publication number: 20140080052
    Abstract: A carrier for developing electrostatic latent images produced in an image developer includes a magnetic particulate core material and a covering layer covering the surface of the core material. The image developer includes an image bearer, a developer bearer including comprising a magnetic field generator inside and a developer regulation member facing the surface of the image developer with a predetermined gap. The carrier has a bulk density of from 1.6 to 2.25 g/cm3, a BET specific surface area of from 0.5 to 2.0 m3/g, a saturated magnetization (?5000) not less than 70 emu/g at 5 kOe, and a residual magnetization (?r) not greater than 2 emu/g.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 7, 2013
    Publication date: March 20, 2014
    Inventors: Shigenori YAGUCHI, Hiroshi TOHMATSU, Koichi SAKATA, Hitoshi IWATSUKI, Hiroyuki KISHIDA, Toyoaki TANO, Kenichi MASHIKO
  • Publication number: 20130334014
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a belt member including a substrate; and an elastic layer overlying the substrate, an image former forming an image on the surface of the belt member or a recording material borne thereon, and a contact member contacting the surfaces of both ends of the belt member in its width direction, wherein the contact member has a hardness not greater than 30 when measured by Durometer Type C in an environment of 23° C. and 50% RH.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 24, 2013
    Publication date: December 19, 2013
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Kenichi Mashiko, Jun Aoto
  • Patent number: 8521073
    Abstract: An intermediate transfer member including a base layer as first layer, an elastic layer as second layer, and a particle layer as third layer and containing fine spherical particles arranged in plane direction thereof where the particle layer has a concavo-convex pattern formed by the fine spherical particles, the elastic layer and the particle layer being formed on the base layer in this order, wherein the intermediate transfer member has a Martens hardness of 1.0 N/mm2 or lower and an elastic recovery rate of 75% or higher when the intermediate transfer member is indented at a load of 40 mN under conditions of 25° C. and 50% RH, wherein an embedment rate of the fine spherical particles in the elastic layer is 33% to 99%, and wherein the intermediate transfer member is configured to receive a toner image formed by developing, with a toner, a latent image on an image bearing member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2013
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hidetaka Kubo, Jun Aoto, Kenichi Mashiko, Shinichi Nitta, Sayaka Katoh
  • Publication number: 20130129395
    Abstract: To provide a belt for an image forming apparatus, which contains: a base layer; an elastic layer; and spherical particles, wherein the belt for an image forming apparatus is provided across a plurality of rollers of the image forming apparatus to rotate, wherein the belt for an image forming apparatus has a laminate structure where at least the base layer and the elastic layer are provided in this order, wherein the spherical particles are partially embedded in an exposed surface of the elastic layer, and wherein, relative to a width direction of the belt for an image forming apparatus, a thickness of an edge portion of the belt for an image forming apparatus is 50% to 95% of a thickness of a center portion of the belt for an image forming apparatus, and an edge curling amount of the belt is 4 mm or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 15, 2012
    Publication date: May 23, 2013
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Hidetaka Kubo, Jun Aoto, Kenichi Mashiko, Sayaka Katoh, Daisuke Aoki
  • Publication number: 20130004212
    Abstract: To provide an intermediate transfer belt, which contains a base layer, and an elastic layer formed on the base layer, wherein the base layer contains polyimide which has a constitutional unit derived from pyromellitic acid and a constitutional unit derived from diaminodiphenyl ether, wherein the intermediate layer has a curling amount of 1.5 mm or less in an absolute value, and wherein the intermediate transfer belt is configured to receive, by transferring, a toner image formed by developing, with a toner, a latent image formed on an image bearing member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 20, 2012
    Publication date: January 3, 2013
    Inventors: Hidetaka KUBO, Jun Aoto, Kenichi Mashiko, Sayaka Katoh
  • Publication number: 20120262739
    Abstract: To provide an intermediate transfer belt, containing a base, an elastic layer formed on the base, and spherical particles deposited on a surface of the elastic layer, in which wherein the elastic layer has micro rubber hardness of 40° or lower in the environment of 10° C. and 15% RH, and the intermediate transfer belt is designed to be mounted in an image forming apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 14, 2012
    Publication date: October 18, 2012
    Applicant: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hidetaka Kubo, Jun Aoto, Kenichi Mashiko, Sayaka Katoh, Shinichi Nitta
  • Publication number: 20120201578
    Abstract: An intermediate transfer belt configured to receive a toner image formed by developing, with a toner, a latent image on an image bearing member, the intermediate transfer belt including a base layer and an elastic layer laid on the base layer, wherein the elastic layer includes spherical resin particles and a layer formed of an elastic body, and has a concavo-convex pattern in a surface of the elastic layer, wherein the spherical resin particles are arranged in a plane direction in the surface of the elastic layer, and wherein the intermediate transfer belt has glossiness of 35% or higher as determined based on reflected light at 85° on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 2, 2012
    Publication date: August 9, 2012
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD
    Inventors: Kenichi MASHIKO, Jun Aoto, Hidetaka Kubo, Sayaka Katoh, Shinichi Nitta
  • Publication number: 20120082488
    Abstract: An intermediate transfer member including a base layer as first layer, an elastic layer as second layer, and a particle layer as third layer and containing fine spherical particles arranged in plane direction thereof where the particle layer has a concavo-convex pattern formed by the fine spherical particles, the elastic layer and the particle layer being formed on the base layer in this order, wherein the intermediate transfer member has a Martens hardness of 1.0 N/mm2 or lower and an elastic recovery rate of 75% or higher when the intermediate transfer member is indented at a load of 40 mN under conditions of 25° C. and 50% RH, wherein an embedment rate of the fine spherical particles in the elastic layer is 33% to 99%, and wherein the intermediate transfer member is configured to receive a toner image formed by developing, with a toner, a latent image on an image bearing member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2011
    Publication date: April 5, 2012
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Hidetaka KUBO, Jun Aoto, Kenichi Mashiko, Shinichi Nitta, Sayaka Katoh
  • Publication number: 20110293824
    Abstract: To provide an intermediate transfer belt for use in an electrophotographic apparatus, including as an outermost surface thereof: uniform convex regions formed by aligning independent spherical resin particles in a surface direction; and depressed regions formed of a lubricant layer which respectively lie between the convex regions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 17, 2011
    Publication date: December 1, 2011
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Jun AOTO, Hidetaka Kubo, Kenichi Mashiko, Sayaka Katoh, Shinichi Nitta
  • Publication number: 20110177238
    Abstract: An intermediate transfer belt including a resin layer, which is a surface layer of the intermediate transfer belt, wherein the resin layer has a concavo-convex pattern formed by spherical resin particles which are independently embedded in the resin layer so that the embedment rate of the spherical resin particles in the thickness direction of the resin layer is higher than 50% but lower than 100%.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 17, 2011
    Publication date: July 21, 2011
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Jun Aoto, Hidetaka Kubo, Kenichi Mashiko, Sayaka Katoh, Shinichi Nitta, Shigeo Oonuma
  • Publication number: 20110042856
    Abstract: An electrophotographic intermediate transfer belt obtained by applying a coating liquid to any of an inner surface and an outer surface of the mold, and then drying or curing so as to form a film, and demolding the film, including a surface having a black density of 2.2 to 3, and the other surface having a black density which is different from that of the surface by 0.5 or less, wherein the black density is measured by a spectrodensitometer, and the other surface has been in contact with the mold and the surface having the black density of 2.2 to 3 has been exposed to air during the production of the intermediate transfer belt, and wherein the coating liquid comprises at least a carbon black, any of a resin and a resin precursor, and a solvent.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2010
    Publication date: February 24, 2011
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Jun AOTO, Hidetaka Kubo, Kenichi Mashiko