Patents by Inventor Kimihiro Yoshimura

Kimihiro Yoshimura 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: 11181856
    Abstract: Provided is a fixing member for electrophotography having excellent toner releasability even when used for a long time period. The fixing member includes a base layer, an elastic layer, and a surface layer in the stated order. The surface layer contains a fluorine resin and a fluorine oil having a perfluoropolyether structure. The mass P11 of an adhered substance including the fluorine oil, adhered in the unit area of the detection surface of a QCM sensor when a measurement sample collected from the surface layer is subjected to a predetermined treatment (i), is 1.0×102 ng or more and 1.0×104 ng or less, and the mass P12 of an adhered substance including the fluorine oil, adhered in the unit area of the detection surface of the QCM sensor when the sample is subjected to a predetermined treatment (ii), is 0.5×P11 or more and 1.2×P11 or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yohei Miyauchi, Yasuharu Notoya, Kimihiro Yoshimura
  • Patent number: 10983466
    Abstract: Provided is a fixing member including a base layer, and a surface layer on an outer surface of the base layer directly or with a primer layer interposed between the base layer and the surface layer, in which the surface layer is constituted by a single layer, the surface layer contains a fluororesin, and fluorine oil having a perfluoropolyether structure, and as for a measurement sample taken from the surface layer, when subjecting to predetermined treatments (i) and (ii), masses of an adhered material adhered in a unit area of a detection surface of a QCM sensor and containing the fluorine oil are within specific ranges.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2021
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yohei Miyauchi, Yasuharu Notoya, Kimihiro Yoshimura
  • Publication number: 20210041100
    Abstract: A premixing apparatus for mixing air with a fuel gas in order to supply a burner with an air-fuel mixture through a fan, wherein a downstream end of a gas supply passage is connected to a gas suction part disposed in a portion, on an upstream side of the fan, of an air supply passage. The gas supply passage has interposed therein a zero governor for adjusting a secondary gas pressure to an atmospheric pressure. Even if the calorific value of the fuel gas may fluctuate, excess air ratio of the air-fuel mixture is arranged to be maintained at a constant value. The premixing apparatus is provided with: an excess air ratio detection device for detecting an excess air ratio of the air-fuel mixture; and a flow control valve interposed in a portion, on a downstream side of the zero governor, of the gas supply passage. The flow control valve is controlled such that the excess air ratio of the air-fuel mixture detected by the excess air ratio detection device becomes constant.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 2, 2020
    Publication date: February 11, 2021
    Applicant: RINNAI CORPORATION
    Inventors: Katsuya Noritake, Masaru Takeuchi, Kimihiro Yoshimura
  • Patent number: 10901354
    Abstract: Provided is a fixing member in which hot offset of a toner is difficult to be generated. The fixing member has a substrate and a release layer as a surface layer, wherein the release layer includes PFPE and a second fluororesin, the second fluororesin being at least one selected from PFA and FEP, and in a 19F-NMR spectrum of the release layer measured at a temperature of 200° C., a relaxation time T1 of longitudinal relaxation of a peak derived from PFPE is 0.5 seconds or more and 3.5 seconds or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2021
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yasuharu Notoya, Yohei Miyauchi, Kimihiro Yoshimura
  • Publication number: 20210003953
    Abstract: Provided is a fixing member for electrophotography having excellent toner releasability even when used for a long time period. The fixing member includes a base layer, an elastic layer, and a surface layer in the stated order. The surface layer contains a fluorine resin and a fluorine oil having a perfluoropolyether structure. The mass P11 of an adhered substance including the fluorine oil, adhered in the unit area of the detection surface of a QCM sensor when a measurement sample collected from the surface layer is subjected to a predetermined treatment (i), is 1.0×102 ng or more and 1.0×104 ng or less, and the mass P12 of an adhered substance including the fluorine oil, adhered in the unit area of the detection surface of the QCM sensor when the sample is subjected to a predetermined treatment (ii), is 0.5×P11 or more and 1.2×P11 or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 15, 2020
    Publication date: January 7, 2021
    Inventors: Yohei Miyauchi, Yasuharu Notoya, Kimihiro Yoshimura
  • Publication number: 20200409294
    Abstract: Provided is a fixing member including a base layer, and a surface layer on an outer surface of the base layer directly or with a primer layer interposed between the base layer and the surface layer, in which the surface layer is constituted by a single layer, the surface layer contains a fluororesin, and fluorine oil having a perfluoropolyether structure, and as for a measurement sample taken from the surface layer, when subjecting to predetermined treatments (i) and (ii), masses of an adhered material adhered in a unit area of a detection surface of a QCM sensor and containing the fluorine oil are within specific ranges.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 15, 2020
    Publication date: December 31, 2020
    Inventors: Yohei Miyauchi, Yasuharu Notoya, Kimihiro Yoshimura
  • Patent number: 10739712
    Abstract: Provided is a fixing member having an outer surface including excellent toner releasability and excellent scratch resistance, wherein the fixing member has a base material, an elastic layer, and a release layer in this order, the release layer including a tetrafluoroethylene/perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer, and has a loss tangent at a frequency of 10 Hz and 180° C. of 5.0×10?2 or more and 3.0×10?1 or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yohei Miyauchi, Yasuharu Notoya, Kimihiro Yoshimura
  • Publication number: 20190294089
    Abstract: Provided is a fixing member having an outer surface including excellent toner releasability and excellent scratch resistance, wherein the fixing member has a base material, an elastic layer, and a release layer in this order, the release layer including a tetrafluoroethylene/perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer, and has a loss tangent at a frequency of 10 Hz and 180° C. of 5.0×10?2 or more and 3.0×101 or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2019
    Publication date: September 26, 2019
    Inventors: Yohei Miyauchi, Yasuharu Notoya, Kimihiro Yoshimura
  • Publication number: 20190294090
    Abstract: Provided is a fixing member in which hot offset of a toner is difficult to be generated. The fixing member has a substrate and a release layer as a surface layer, wherein the release layer includes PFPE and a second fluororesin, the second fluororesin being at least one selected from PFA and FEP, and in a 19F-NMR spectrum of the release layer measured at a temperature of 200° C., a relaxation time T1 of longitudinal relaxation of a peak derived from PFPE is 0.5 seconds or more and 3.5 seconds or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2019
    Publication date: September 26, 2019
    Inventors: Yasuharu Notoya, Yohei Miyauchi, Kimihiro Yoshimura
  • Patent number: 10025232
    Abstract: An intermediate transfer member for electrophotography comprising a substrate and a surface layer provided on the substrate. The surface layer comprises a binder resin and a perfluoropolyether. An extraction amount of the perfluoropolyether per 10 mm3 of the surface layer, is 0.10 mg to 5.00 mg, the extraction amount of the perfluoropolyether obtained by immersing the intermediate transfer member into a solvent that can dissolve the perfluoropolyether at 25° C. for 24 hours. A surface of the intermediate transfer member that is not subjected to first and second treatments, has a n-hexadecane contact angle of 55° or more. A surface of the intermediate transfer member that has been subjected to the first treatment, has a n-hexadecane contact angle of 40° or less. A surface of the intermediate transfer member that has been subjected to the second treatment, has a n-hexadecane contact angle of 50° or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2018
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Rieko Sakamoto, Kenji Onuma, Naoto Kameyama, Kimihiro Yoshimura, Akira Watanabe, Koichi Sato
  • Patent number: 9791792
    Abstract: An electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a surface layer with a hexagonal boron nitride dispersed therein. The hexagonal boron nitride has a graphitization index (GI) of at least 3.0 and less than 15.0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yohei Miyauchi, Kimihiro Yoshimura, Harunobu Ogaki, Atsushi Okuda, Yuki Yamamoto, Wataru Kitamura, Mai Murakami
  • Patent number: 9720353
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an electrophotographic intermediate transfer member that, even if an image is repeatedly and continuously transferred, can retain its transfer performance and can obtain an excellent image for a long time. The electrophotographic intermediate transfer member has a base layer and a surface layer, the surface layer has a matrix-domain structure in the cross section in the thickness direction, the matrix is formed of a binder resin, the domains contains a perfluoropolyether, and a microhardness of a surface of the electrophotographic intermediate transfer member measured by an ultramicro-hardness meter is 50 MPa or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Rieko Sakamoto, Koichi Sato, Kenji Onuma, Kimihiro Yoshimura, Naoto Kameyama, Yasushi Shimizu, Akira Watanabe
  • Patent number: 9611951
    Abstract: A solenoid valve has: a valve body; a moving core with a valve body on one end; a guide tube slidably enclosing the moving core; a stationary core disposed in an inner circumference of an opposite end portion of the guide tube so as to face an opposite end of the moving core; a valve spring to urge the moving core in a direction away from the stationary core; an electromagnetic coil disposed to enclose the guide tube; and a magnetic plate disposed on an opposite end of the guide tube having a caulked portion. The guide tube has a caulked portion formed to fix in position the stationary core by engagement of the caulked portion with a recessed groove formed on an outer periphery of the stationary core. When the stationary core is fixed in position by the caulked portion, that surface of the stationary core which faces the magnetic plate is either flush with, or is protruding beyond, the opposite end of the guide tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignee: RINNAI CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kimihiro Yoshimura
  • Patent number: 9599232
    Abstract: A single coil dual solenoid valve includes: first and second moving cores having connected to respective ends thereof first and second valve bodies; first and second plunger tubes having slidably inserted thereinto the first and second moving cores, respectively; first and second stationary cores disposed at respective opposite ends of the first and second plunger tubes so as to lie opposite to the first and second moving cores, respectively; a first frame disposed to connect the first and second stationary cores; a second frame disposed to connect one end of the first and second plunger tubes, respectively; and a single solenoid disposed to enclose one of the first and second plunger tubes. By activating the solenoid, the first and second moving cores are sucked to move toward the respective first and second stationary cores, whereby the first and second valve bodies are changed over.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: RINNAI CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kimihiro Yoshimura
  • Patent number: 9575422
    Abstract: Provided are a method of producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member, particularly, a method of producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member and an organic device by which, in a method of forming a charge transporting layer, the stability of an application liquid for the layer after long-term storage is improved while the usage of an organic solvent in the application liquid is curtailed, and the layer having high uniformity is formed. The method is a method of producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member which includes a support and a charge transporting layer formed thereon, the method including: preparing a solution including: a first liquid whose solubility in water under 25° C. and 1 atmosphere is 1.0 mass % or less; a second liquid whose solubility in water under 25° C. and 1 atmosphere is 5.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi Okuda, Keiko Yamagishi, Harunobu Ogaki, Yohei Miyauchi, Hiroki Uematsu, Kimihiro Yoshimura
  • Patent number: 9494882
    Abstract: The invention has a process of preparing a dispersion liquid by dispersing particles containing a charge transporting substance and a binder resin in liquid medium containing a specific liquid to prepare a dispersion liquid and a process of forming a coat of the dispersion liquid, and heating and drying the coat to dissolve the particles containing the charge transporting substance and the binder resin with liquid medium to form a charge transporting layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Keiko Yamagishi, Harunobu Ogaki, Kimihiro Yoshimura, Hiroki Uematsu, Yohei Miyauchi, Atsushi Okuda
  • Publication number: 20160327876
    Abstract: An electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a surface layer with a hexagonal boron nitride dispersed therein. The hexagonal boron nitride has a graphitization index (GI) of at least 3.0 and less than 15.0.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 18, 2016
    Publication date: November 10, 2016
    Inventors: Yohei Miyauchi, Kimihiro Yoshimura, Harunobu Ogaki, Atsushi Okuda, Yuki Yamamoto, Wataru Kitamura, Mai Murakami
  • Patent number: 9341964
    Abstract: In a process for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member, in particular, a process of forming a charge transporting layer, a production process is provided by which the stability of a charge transporting layer coating fluid even after its storage for a long time is improved so as to form a coat for a charge transporting layer having a high uniformity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Harunobu Ogaki, Keiko Yamagishi, Atsushi Okuda, Yohei Miyauchi, Hiroki Uematsu, Kimihiro Yoshimura
  • Publication number: 20160123476
    Abstract: A single coil dual solenoid valve includes: first and second moving cores having connected to respective ends thereof first and second valve bodies; first and second plunger tubes having slidably inserted thereinto the first and second moving cores, respectively; first and second stationary cores disposed at respective opposite ends of the first and second plunger tubes so as to lie opposite to the first and second moving cores, respectively; a first frame disposed to connect the first and second stationary cores; a second frame disposed to connect one end of the first and second plunger tubes, respectively; and a single solenoid disposed to enclose one of the first and second plunger tubes. By activating the solenoid, the first and second moving cores are sucked to move toward the respective first and second stationary cores, whereby the first and second valve bodies are changed over.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 4, 2014
    Publication date: May 5, 2016
    Applicant: RINNAI CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kimihiro Yoshimura
  • Publication number: 20160084399
    Abstract: A solenoid valve has: a valve body; a moving core with a valve body on one end; a guide tube slidably enclosing the moving core; a stationary core disposed in an inner circumference of an opposite end portion of the guide tube so as to face an opposite end of the moving core; a valve spring to urge the moving core in a direction away from the stationary core; an electromagnetic coil disposed to enclose the guide tube; and a magnetic plate disposed on an opposite end of the guide tube having a caulked portion. The guide tube has a caulked portion formed to fix in position the stationary core by engagement of the caulked portion with a recessed groove formed on an outer periphery of the stationary core. When the stationary core is fixed in position by the caulked portion, that surface of the stationary core which faces the magnetic plate is either flush with, or is protruding beyond, the opposite end of the guide tube.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 1, 2015
    Publication date: March 24, 2016
    Applicant: RINNAI CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kimihiro Yoshimura