Patents by Inventor Koichi Inui

Koichi Inui 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: 5598252
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus provides a photosensitive body, a main charger, an exposing unit, developing unit and a contact-transfer charger. The main charger charges the photosensitive body with a predetermined electric potential. The exposing unit applies a laser beam on the surface of the photosensitive body to form an electric latent image. The developing unit develops the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image. The contact-transfer charger transfers the toner image on an image transfer paper. The image forming apparatus further provides controller for power supplies. The controller controls the power supplies after an image forming operation in a manner to enhance the electric potential of the photosensitive body to a high level by the main charger, drop the surface potential of the photosensitive body to a low level by the contact-transfer charger and then to cut off a bias voltage of the developing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 1995
    Date of Patent: January 28, 1997
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hideo Yamasa, Fumio Shimazu, Koichi Inui, Shirou Wakahara, Yuuhi Yui, Eiichi Kido, Hiromu Yoshimoto
  • Patent number: 5546169
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a charging roller for charging a surface of a photoconductive layer in a photoreceptor so as to have a prescribed polarity, a first exposing unit which is arranged on a downstream side of the charging roller on the basis of a direction in which the photoreceptor moves, a developer unit which is placed on a downstream side of the first exposing unit and which keeps toner, to which a charge with a polarity opposite to the prescribed polarity is applied, in contact with a photoconductive layer, and a second exposing unit for directing light generated according to an image signal to a back of the photoconductive layer at a contact position of the toner and the photoconductive layer. The first exposing unit directing light reflected from a document to which a light is applied to the surface of photoconductive layer so as to form a first electrostatic latent image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 13, 1996
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takasumi Wada, Hirokazu Fujita, Koichi Inui
  • Patent number: 5459555
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus provides a photosensitive body, a main charger, an exposing unit, developing unit and a contact-transfer charger. The main charger charges the photosensitive body with a predetermined electric potential. The exposing unit applies a laser beam on the surface of the photosensitive body to form an electric latent image. The developing unit develops the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image. The contact-transfer charger transfers the toner image on an image transfer paper. The image forming apparatus further provides controller for power supplies. The controller controls the power supplies after an image forming operation in a manner to enhance the electric potential of the photosensitive body to a high level by the main charger, drop the surface potential of the photosensitive body to a low level by the contact-transfer charger and then to cut off a bias voltage of the developing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 1993
    Date of Patent: October 17, 1995
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hideo Yamasa, Fumio Shimazu, Koichi Inui, Shirou Wakahara, Yuuhi Yui, Eiichi Kido, Hiromu Yoshimoto
  • Patent number: 5313359
    Abstract: A contact charger includes a photoreceptor having a photosensitive layer formed on a surface of an electrically conductive drum base and a fixed coil connected to the drum base and ground. The contact charger charges the photosensitive layer by making a charge roller in contact with the photosensitive layer while being applied thereto DC voltage from a power supply. With this arrangement, in the case where a pin hole exists on the photosensitive layer, there may have a continuity between the charge roller and the drum base which may results in a sudden increase in current flowing between the drum base and ground. When this happens, however, since self-induced electromotive force, having a direction opposite to the electromotive force of the power supply, is generated by the fixed coil in response to a sudden increase in current, excessive current will not flow between the drum base and ground, thereby eliminating the possibility of a large drop in voltage of the power supply.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 1992
    Date of Patent: May 17, 1994
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shinji Imagawa, Koichi Inui
  • Patent number: 5278612
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus has a charging roller disposed in contact with a photoconductor having a photoconducting layer for charging the surface of the photoconductor, and a photoconductor life judging device including an element for detecting the change of the value of the current flowing through the charging roller and an element for judging the photoconductor life on the basis of the change of the current value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 1992
    Date of Patent: January 11, 1994
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Koichi Inui
  • Patent number: 4929970
    Abstract: A laser printer comprising a photoreceptive means, a laser beam emitting device, a detecting means for detecting a factor of degradation of the image quality, the factor originating in the photoreceptive means, and a control means which controls the output level of said laser beam emitting device in accordance with the detected level of said factor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1988
    Date of Patent: May 29, 1990
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Koichi Inui
  • Patent number: 4611591
    Abstract: An expiration valve for an automatic respirator comprises a main body which is separable into a valve body and a diaphragm and a container which engages to a tube for supplying control pressure to one side of the diaphragm. A means for controlling such an expiration valve comprises a means for generating pressure for opening and closing the valve, a means for controlling this pressure, a pressure detector means, an exhaust means and a control means so that the valve can be electronically controlled for both the valve opening/closing functions and for the positive end expiratory pressure function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1985
    Date of Patent: September 16, 1986
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Koichi Inui, Hiroshi Makita