Patents by Inventor Koji Minamino

Koji Minamino 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: 20240102528
    Abstract: In this shock absorber, a piston includes a first piston body, a second piston body, and a piston band. The first piston body includes a first passage, a second passage, a first seat, and a second seat. The first seat communicates with the first passage and on which a first damping valve is placed. A second damping valve is placed on the second seat. The second piston body includes a third passage, a fourth passage, a third seat, and a fourth seat. The third seat communicates with the fourth passage and on which a third damping valve is placed. A fourth damping valve is placed on the fourth seat.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2022
    Publication date: March 28, 2024
    Inventors: Joel DONAHUE, Jordan TRUITT, Takeru YOKOTA, Koji MINAMINO
  • Publication number: 20240073400
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is an information processing apparatus including an image correction section that corrects a camera image captured by a camera of a head-mounted display, a state estimation section that estimates a state of an actual physical body with use of the corrected camera image, and a calibration section that causes the head-mounted display to display a guide image that represents an extraction situation of feature points from the camera image, the feature points being necessary for calibration of the camera, collects data of the feature points, performs calibration, and updates a correction parameter used by the image correction section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 25, 2023
    Publication date: February 29, 2024
    Inventors: Koji Ichikawa, TAKANORI MINAMINO, MASAKI UCHIDA
  • Patent number: 11898615
    Abstract: A cylinder apparatus is provided with a stopper mechanism that operates when a piston rod extends and moves toward an upper end portion in an inner cylinder. This stopper mechanism includes a second cylinder provided movably relative to the piston rod and including a bottom portion on an upper end side in the inner cylinder and a cylinder portion extending from the bottom portion toward a lower end side, and a second piston provided so as to be able to move along with a movement of the piston rod to be fitted to the second cylinder. While being configured in this manner, the cylinder apparatus is configured in such a manner that a spring member 21 is provided between the second cylinder and a rod guide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: HITACHI ASTEMO, LTD.
    Inventors: Toshihiro Inuzuka, Urban Anta Carlos, Atsushi Maeda, Koji Minamino, Aakash Patwa
  • Publication number: 20210246961
    Abstract: A cylinder apparatus is provided with a stopper mechanism that operates when a piston rod extends and moves toward an upper end portion in an inner cylinder. This stopper mechanism includes a second cylinder provided movably relative to the piston rod and including a bottom portion on an upper end side in the inner cylinder and a cylinder portion extending from the bottom portion toward a lower end side, and a second piston provided so as to be able to move along with a movement of the piston rod to be fitted to the second cylinder. While being configured in this manner, the cylinder apparatus is configured in such a manner that a spring member 21 is provided between the second cylinder and a rod guide.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 14, 2019
    Publication date: August 12, 2021
    Inventors: Toshihiro INUZUKA, Urban Anta CARLOS, Atsushi MAEDA, Koji MINAMINO, Aakash PATWA
  • Patent number: 11067934
    Abstract: A toner container including non-volatile memory is mounted to a first mounting section, and a toner container already used is mounted as a waste toner bottle to a second mounting section. Every time a supplied amount of toner is calculated, a writing section writes an integrated value of the supplied amount as a current value and a maximum value in the non-volatile memory. Every time the generated amount of waste toner is calculated, an updating section updates the current value stored in the non-volatile memory by subtracting the generated amount from the current value. A detecting section detects fullness of the waste toner bottle when the current value stored in the non-volatile memory of the toner container mounted as the waste toner bottle to the second mounting section becomes no greater than a value obtained by subtracting an initial remaining space of the toner container from 0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventors: Yui Kato, Koji Minamino
  • Patent number: 10992829
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming device; a recording paper conveyance device discharging, to an outside of the image forming apparatus, a print result obtained by forming an image on a recording paper by the image forming device; a microphone; and a control device functioning as a controller that controls the image forming device and the recording paper conveyance device in accordance with a print condition and as a voice recognition device that recognizes voice collected by the microphone during a predefined detection period starting after the print result is discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus and detects, from the recognized voice, a word indicating a predefined complaint against appearance of the print result. Upon detecting the word indicating the predefined complaint by the voice recognition device, the controller performs predefined processing as processing of resolving a cause of the complaint indicated by the word.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2021
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Koji Minamino
  • Publication number: 20210011414
    Abstract: A toner container including non-volatile memory is mounted to a first mounting section, and a toner container already used is mounted as a waste toner bottle to a second mounting section. Every time a supplied amount of toner is calculated, a writing section writes an integrated value of the supplied amount as a current value and a maximum value in the non-volatile memory. Every time the generated amount of waste toner is calculated, an updating section updates the current value stored in the non-volatile memory by subtracting the generated amount from the current value. A detecting section detects fullness of the waste toner bottle when the current value stored in the non-volatile memory of the toner container mounted as the waste toner bottle to the second mounting section becomes no greater than a value obtained by subtracting a maximum capacity of the toner container from an initial amount of the toner in the toner container.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 7, 2020
    Publication date: January 14, 2021
    Applicant: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventors: Yui KATO, Koji MINAMINO
  • Publication number: 20200177748
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming device; a recording paper conveyance device discharging, to an outside of the image forming apparatus, a print result obtained by forming an image on a recording paper by the image forming device; a microphone; and a control device functioning as a controller that controls the image forming device and the recording paper conveyance device in accordance with a print condition and as a voice recognition device that recognizes voice collected by the microphone during a predefined detection period starting after the print result is discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus and detects, from the recognized voice, a word indicating a predefined complaint against appearance of the print result. Upon detecting the word indicating the predefined complaint by the voice recognition device, the controller performs predefined processing as processing of resolving a cause of the complaint indicated by the word.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2019
    Publication date: June 4, 2020
    Applicant: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Koji MINAMINO
  • Patent number: 10423100
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming section, a fixing section, a detector, and a controller. A recording medium has a first surface and a second surface. A pair of marks is formed on the second surface with ink that becomes transparent at a specific temperature or higher. The controller calculates a distance between the marks based on a detection result of the detector after the fixing section has fixed toner to the first surface. The controller calculates a shrinkage of the recording medium based on the calculated distance. The image forming section forms an image on the second surface according to the shrinkage. The fixing section fixes the toner to the first surface at a first fixing temperature which is lower than the specific temperature. The fixing section fixes the toner to the second surface at a second fixing temperature which is higher than the specific temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2019
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Koji Minamino
  • Patent number: 10386771
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a cassette that has a placement plate on which a sheet is set, a paper feed roller, a raising/lowering mechanism that raises and lowers the placement plate, a print unit, a sheet sensor, an upper limit sensor and a control unit. The control unit recognizes, based on an output of the sheet sensor, that the sheet supplied from a paper feed device reaches an installation position of the sheet sensor. The control unit detects, based on an output of the upper limit sensor, that the paper feed roller reaches a predetermined upper limit position or that the raising/lowering mechanism raises the placement plate such that the sheet reaches a feed position and uses the sheet sensor and the upper limit sensor so as to detect that the paper feed device encounters overload.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2019
    Assignee: KYOCERA DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS INC.
    Inventors: Koji Minamino, Hitoshi Asaka
  • Publication number: 20190196370
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming section, a fixing section, a detector, and a controller. A recording medium has a first surface and a second surface. A pair of marks is formed on the second surface with ink that becomes transparent at a specific temperature or higher. The controller calculates a distance between the marks based on a detection result of the detector after the fixing section has fixed toner to the first surface. The controller calculates a shrinkage of the recording medium based on the calculated distance. The image forming section forms an image on the second surface according to the shrinkage. The fixing section fixes the toner to the first surface at a first fixing temperature which is lower than the specific temperature. The fixing section fixes the toner to the second surface at a second fixing temperature which is higher than the specific temperature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 26, 2018
    Publication date: June 27, 2019
    Applicant: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Koji MINAMINO
  • Publication number: 20170357199
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a cassette that has a placement plate on which a sheet is set, a paper feed roller, a raising/lowering mechanism that raises and lowers the placement plate, a print unit, a sheet sensor, an upper limit sensor and a control unit. The control unit recognizes, based on an output of the sheet sensor, that the sheet supplied from a paper feed device reaches an installation position of the sheet sensor. The control unit detects, based on an output of the upper limit sensor, that the paper feed roller reaches a predetermined upper limit position or that the raising/lowering mechanism raises the placement plate such that the sheet reaches a feed position and uses the sheet sensor and the upper limit sensor so as to detect that the paper feed device encounters overload.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 1, 2017
    Publication date: December 14, 2017
    Applicant: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventors: Koji MINAMINO, Hitoshi ASAKA
  • Patent number: 9538035
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an environment obtaining portion, a storage portion, an environment determination portion, a firmware selection portion, and a firmware rewriting portion. The environment obtaining portion obtains environment information from an environmental sensor. In the storage portion, an environmental condition table and a firmware table are stored. In the environmental condition table, in association with registered environment information indicating a specific environment, identification information for identifying the specific environment is stored. In the firmware table, in association with the identification information, firmware that corresponds to an environmental condition indicated by the identification information is stored. The environment determination portion determines whether the obtained environment information corresponds to the registered environment information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Koji Minamino
  • Publication number: 20160330340
    Abstract: This image formation device (100) is provided with: a device main unit storage (212) for storing rewrite firmware (520) for an optional device (120), even when the optional device (120) is not attached; an I/F unit (213) for communicating with the optional device (120); and an update unit (210) for transmitting to the optional device (120) the rewrite firmware stored in the device main unit storage (120), and prompting the optional device (120) to execute a rewrite process of optional device firmware (420).
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 19, 2015
    Publication date: November 10, 2016
    Applicant: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Koji MINAMINO
  • Publication number: 20160182758
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an environment obtaining portion, a storage portion, an environment determination portion, a firmware selection portion, and a firmware rewriting portion. The environment obtaining portion obtains environment information from an environmental sensor. In the storage portion, an environmental condition table and a firmware table are stored. In the environmental condition table, in association with registered environment information indicating a specific environment, identification information for identifying the specific environment is stored. In the firmware table, in association with the identification information, firmware that corresponds to an environmental condition indicated by the identification information is stored. The environment determination portion determines whether the obtained environment information corresponds to the registered environment information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2015
    Publication date: June 23, 2016
    Inventor: Koji Minamino