Patents by Inventor Koichi IMAZU

Koichi IMAZU 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: 20230174331
    Abstract: A paper transport device includes a transport mechanism that transports paper to which an image is transferred to a fixing device while sucking the paper and a switching mechanism that switches between suction regions in a width direction of the transport mechanism, which corresponds to a width direction of the paper, according to a size of the paper.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 19, 2022
    Publication date: June 8, 2023
    Applicant: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventors: Yasutaka NAITO, Koichi IMAZU, Noriyuki MIYOSHI, Kouichi KIMURA, Makoto HASEGAWA, Satoshi NAKAMURA, Masakatsu EDA
  • Publication number: 20200041939
    Abstract: A fixing device includes a rotary first fixing unit, a second fixing unit that is formed of an endless belt and is in contact with the first fixing unit at a position other than an uppermost point and a lowermost point in a vertical direction to form a fixing nip, and a lubricant retaining unit arranged at a position including the lowermost point to retain a lubricant to be supplied to an inner peripheral surface of the belt.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 7, 2019
    Publication date: February 6, 2020
    Applicant: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Koichi IMAZU
  • Patent number: 10539911
    Abstract: A fixing device includes a circulating endless belt, a fixing unit that is in contact with the belt to form a fixing nip, a heat source provided on an inner side of the belt or on an inner side of the fixing unit, a pressurizing unit arranged on the inner side of the belt to pressurize the belt against the fixing unit, a sheet interposed between the belt and the pressurizing unit to reduce a sliding resistance, and a restricting unit that restricts movement of the sheet in a direction opposite to a moving direction of the belt at a position near a downstream side of the pressurizing unit in the moving direction of the belt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2020
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Koichi Imazu
  • Patent number: 9791811
    Abstract: A fixing device includes a belt member, a fixing member facing an outer peripheral surface of the belt member and forming a fixing nip portion between the belt member, and a separating pad portion disposed inside the belt member, including a pressing surface for pressing the fixing member at downstream of the fixing nip portion in a moving direction of the belt member and separating a recording material from the fixing member. The pressing surface of the separating pad portion curves so as to protrude toward the fixing member as approaching a central portion thereof in a rotation axis direction of the fixing member. An upstream end portion and a downstream end portion of the pressing surface curve so as to protrude toward an upstream side in the moving direction as they approach the central portion in the rotation axis direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Koichi Imazu
  • Publication number: 20170242378
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body having an image forming unit that is configured to an image on a recording material, and a fixing unit removably attached to the apparatus body to fix the image on the recording material. The fixing unit includes a roll member having a roll body and a bearing provided at each end of the roll body to support the roll body rotatably, a pressurizing member provided in contact with the roll member to form a fixing pressurizing portion through which the recording material passes, and a storage member that stores the roll member and the pressurizing member in a state in which the roll member and the pressurizing member are pressed with a predetermined pressure. The apparatus body includes a positioning member that is in contact with the bearing to position the roll member in a transport direction of the recording material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2016
    Publication date: August 24, 2017
    Applicant: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yuichiro SAITO, Koichi IMAZU
  • Publication number: 20170227896
    Abstract: A fixing device includes a belt member, a fixing member facing an outer peripheral surface of the belt member and forming a fixing nip portion between the belt member, and a separating pad portion disposed inside the belt member, including a pressing surface for pressing the fixing member at downstream of the fixing nip portion in a moving direction of the belt member and separating a recording material from the fixing member. The pressing surface of the separating pad portion curves so as to protrude toward the fixing member as approaching a central portion thereof in a rotation axis direction of the fixing member. An upstream end portion and a downstream end portion of the pressing surface curve so as to protrude toward an upstream side in the moving direction as they approach the central portion in the rotation axis direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2016
    Publication date: August 10, 2017
    Applicant: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Koichi IMAZU
  • Patent number: 8723946
    Abstract: A workpiece inspecting apparatus for rotating a workpiece having a shape portion containing a convex portion and a concave portion which are periodically and repetitively formed on the workpiece and picking up images of the shape portion of the workpiece to inspect the workpiece, including a workpiece rotating mechanism that outputs reference pulses at a fixed interval while rotating the workpiece at a fixed rotational speed, an image pickup mechanism that picks up images of the shape portions of the workpiece every image pickup timing based on the reference pulses, an image pickup controller that synchronizes each of the shape portions of the workpiece with the image pickup timing, and an inspection controller that executes image processing of taking a difference between a pickup k-th (k represents an integer) image and a pickup (k+1)-th image and detects a defect on the basis of differential data representing the difference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2014
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hisashi Takahashi, Ryo Obara, Koichi Imazu
  • Publication number: 20120069173
    Abstract: A workpiece inspecting apparatus for rotating a workpiece having a shape portion containing a convex portion and a concave portion which are periodically and repetitively formed on the workpiece and picking up images of the shape portion of the workpiece to inspect the workpiece, including a workpiece rotating mechanism that outputs reference pulses at a fixed interval while rotating the workpiece at a fixed rotational speed, an image pickup mechanism that picks up images of the shape portions of the workpiece every image pickup timing based on the reference pulses, an image pickup controller that synchronizes each of the shape portions of the workpiece with the image pickup timing, and an inspection controller that executes image processing of taking a difference between a pickup k-th (k represents an integer) image and a pickup (k+1)-th image and detects a defect on the basis of differential data representing the difference.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 2, 2011
    Publication date: March 22, 2012
    Applicant: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hisashi TAKAHASHI, Ryo OBARA, Koichi IMAZU