Patents by Inventor Kunihiko Nakamura

Kunihiko Nakamura 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: 9285697
    Abstract: Provided is a toner has toner particle containing a crystalline polyester resin A, an amorphous resin B and a colorant, wherein (1) the crystalline polyester resin A is a resin that has a crystal nucleating agent segment (D) on the end of a polyester molecular chain (C), (2) the amorphous resin (B) is a hybrid resin in which a polyester unit (E) and a vinyl polymer unit (F) are chemically bonded, and (3) the SP value of the polyester molecular chain (C) (Sc), the SP value of the crystal nucleating agent segment (D) (Sd), the SP value of the polyester unit (E) (Se) and the SP value of the vinyl polymer unit (F) (Sf) satisfy specific relationships.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kosuke Fukudome, Shuhei Moribe, Naoki Okamoto, Kunihiko Nakamura, Noriyoshi Umeda, Yoshiaki Shiotari, Satoshi Mita, Tetsuya Ida
  • Patent number: 9261806
    Abstract: Provided is a toner having excellent long-term storage stability and exhibiting both low-temperature fixability and uniform gloss in high-speed printing. A toner has a toner particle that contains a crystalline polyester resin A, an amorphous polyester resin B and a colorant, wherein the crystalline polyester resin A has a polyester molecular chain having a nucleating agent segment at the terminal end thereof, and an SP value Sa ((cal/cm3)1/2) of the crystalline polyester resin A ranges from 9.00 to 11.50, and the amorphous polyester resin B has a specific functional group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2016
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shuhei Moribe, Naoki Okamoto, Kosuke Fukudome, Satoshi Mita, Kunihiko Nakamura, Noriyoshi Umeda, Yoshiaki Shiotari, Tetsuya Ida
  • Patent number: 9256148
    Abstract: A toner having toner particles, each of which contains a binder resin, a wax and inorganic fine particles, wherein the inorganic fine particles are fixed at the surface of the toner particles as a result of a surface treatment by hot air, and the degree of uneven distribution of wax in the toner is controlled in a depth direction of the toner, from the toner surface towards a toner central portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2016
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Fujikawa, Kunihiko Nakamura, Nozomu Komatsu, Kosuke Fukudome, Yoshiaki Shiotari, Takayuki Itakura
  • Publication number: 20160011540
    Abstract: A developer supply kit detachably mountable to a developer supplying apparatus comprising a developer supply container and a developer accommodated therein, wherein the developer supply container includes, a developer accommodating portion accommodating the developer, a discharge opening for discharging the developer accommodated in the developer accommodating portion, a drive receiving portion to which a driving force is inputted from the developer supplying apparatus, and a pump portion operable so that an internal pressure of the developer accommodating portion alternately and repetitively changes between a pressure lower than a ambient pressure and a pressure higher than the ambient pressure, by the driving force received by the drive receiving portion, wherein the developer accommodated in the developer supply container includes toner containing binder resin material and a coloring material, the developer satisfies, 10?E (mJ)?80, 0.4?Ea (mJ)?2.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 17, 2015
    Publication date: January 14, 2016
    Inventors: Masato Yamaoka, Hiroyuki Fujikawa, Kunihiko Nakamura, Yusuke Yamada, Emi Watanabe, Nobuo Nakajima, Katsuya Murakami
  • Publication number: 20150361205
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing resin particles, including the step of producing the resin particles by using a liquid which is prepared with a resin having an ionic functional group and a pKa of 6.0 to 9.0, an organic solvent, which can dissolve the resin and which has a solubility parameter of 12.0 or less, water, and a neutralizer, wherein the neutralizer contains an acid having a pKa of 3.0 or less or a base having a pKb of 3.0 or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 26, 2015
    Publication date: December 17, 2015
    Inventors: Kunihiko Nakamura, Akane Masumoto, Tsuneyoshi Tominaga
  • Publication number: 20150286157
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to providing a toner having no environmental difference in charging performance, and having high stability of images after output of a large number of copies under environments at high temperature and high humidity in a higher-speed one-component developing system, and a method for producing the toner, and the toner comprises a toner particle including a toner base particle containing a binder resin, a colorant and a releasing agent; and a resin particle adhering to the surface of the toner base particle, wherein the resin particle contains a resin A, and the resin A has an ionic functional group and an acid dissociation constant pKa of 7.0 or more and 9.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2015
    Publication date: October 8, 2015
    Inventors: Akane Masumoto, Kunihiko Nakamura, Tsuneyoshi Tominaga
  • Publication number: 20150277251
    Abstract: A method for producing a toner particle having high charging stability and durability under environments at high temperature and high humidity is provided. A method for producing a toner particle including an step of adhering a resin particle to surface of a toner base particle containing a binder resin and a colorant in an aqueous medium, wherein the resin particle contain a resin having an ionic functional group and having an acid dissociation constant pKa of 6.0 or more and 9.0 or less, and the pH (hydrogen ion concentration) of the aqueous medium is equal to or greater than pKa of the resin particle?2.0.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 19, 2015
    Publication date: October 1, 2015
    Inventors: Tsuneyoshi Tominaga, Kunihiko Nakamura, Akane Masumoto
  • Publication number: 20150177630
    Abstract: A toner manufacturing method includes a first mixing process of mixing toner base particles, each of which contains a colorant, a crystalline resin, an amorphous resin, and wax with inorganic fine particles to obtain a mixture and a second mixing process of further mixing the mixture, in which, in both the mixing processes, a stirring unit for imparting mechanical impact force is used and the processing is performed at a specific processing temperature (° C.) with a specific stirring power (W/kg).
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2014
    Publication date: June 25, 2015
    Inventors: Noriyoshi Umeda, Kunihiko Nakamura, Yoshiaki Shiotari, Shuhei Moribe, Kosuke Fukudome, Satoshi Mita, Naoki Okamoto, Tetsuya Ida
  • Publication number: 20150177635
    Abstract: A toner contains toner particles. The toner particles are made of a resin containing an amorphous polyester resin, a releasing agent, an additive and a coloring agent. The additive has a polyester portion and a crystalline acrylic portion that are chemically bound to each other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2014
    Publication date: June 25, 2015
    Inventors: Kosuke Fukudome, Shuhei Moribe, Satoshi Mita, Kunihiko Nakamura, Noriyoshi Umeda, Yoshiaki Shiotari, Naoki Okamoto, Tetsuya Ida
  • Patent number: 9034549
    Abstract: A toner is provided that exhibits a satisfactory heat-resistant storability and an excellent low-temperature fixability. The toner has toner particles each of which contains at least a binder resin and a wax, and is characterized in that this toner is obtained by attaching a metal compound to the surface of the toner particle and thereafter performing a surface treatment with a hot air current; the binder resin contains at least a polyester resin; and the metal compound is formed by coordinating or bonding a specific aromatic oxycarboxylic acid to a metal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2015
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Shiotari, Hiroyuki Fujikawa, Kunihiko Nakamura, Nozomu Komatsu, Kosuke Fukudome, Takayuki Itakura
  • Patent number: 8986914
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to improve resistance to wraparound during fixing while achieving both low-temperature fixability and resistance to hot offset. A further object is to suppress image density variations and fogging in white background regions during use at high print coverage rate at high temperature and high humidity. A toner containing inorganic fine particles and toner particles containing a binder resin and a wax being provided, the toner being characterized in that the binder resin contains a polyester resin A obtained by condensation polymerization of a polyvalent carboxylic acid and an alcohol component mainly containing an aromatic diol and a polyester resin B obtained by condensation polymerization of a polyvalent carboxylic acid and an alcohol component mainly containing an aliphatic diol, and in that the degree of segregation of the wax in the toner depth direction from the toner surface toward the toner center is controlled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Fujikawa, Kunihiko Nakamura, Nozomu Komatsu, Yoshiaki Shiotari, Koh Ishigami, Kentaro Kamae, Takayuki Itakura
  • Publication number: 20150037728
    Abstract: Provided is a toner having excellent long-term storage stability and exhibiting both low-temperature fixability and uniform gloss in high-speed printing. A toner has a toner particle that contains a crystalline polyester resin A, an amorphous polyester resin B and a colorant, wherein the crystalline polyester resin A has a polyester molecular chain having a nucleating agent segment at the terminal end thereof, and an SP value Sa ((cal/cm3)1/2) of the crystalline polyester resin A ranges from 9.00 to 11.50, and the amorphous polyester resin B has a specific functional group.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 28, 2014
    Publication date: February 5, 2015
    Inventors: Shuhei Moribe, Naoki Okamoto, Kosuke Fukudome, Satoshi Mita, Kunihiko Nakamura, Noriyoshi Umeda, Yoshiaki Shiotari, Tetsuya Ida
  • Publication number: 20150037727
    Abstract: Provided is a toner has toner particle containing a crystalline polyester resin A, an amorphous resin B and a colorant, wherein (1) the crystalline polyester resin A is a resin that has a crystal nucleating agent segment (D) on the end of a polyester molecular chain (C), (2) the amorphous resin (B) is a hybrid resin in which a polyester unit (E) and a vinyl polymer unit (F) are chemically bonded, and (3) the SP value of the polyester molecular chain (C) (Sc), the SP value of the crystal nucleating agent segment (D) (Sd), the SP value of the polyester unit (E) (Se) and the SP value of the vinyl polymer unit (F) (Sf) satisfy specific relationships.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 30, 2014
    Publication date: February 5, 2015
    Inventors: Kosuke Fukudome, Shuhei Moribe, Naoki Okamoto, Kunihiko Nakamura, Noriyoshi Umeda, Yoshiaki Shiotari, Satoshi Mita, Tetsuya Ida
  • Patent number: 8826742
    Abstract: A pressure sensor including: a MEMS resonator; a sweeping unit which sweeps a frequency of an excitation signal in a predetermined direction of sweeping, over a predetermined frequency range including a resonance frequency f0 of a vibrator in the MEMS resonator, while outputting the excitation signal to the MEMS resonator; an integrating unit which inputs a vibrating-state information signal as a characteristic amount indicative of a vibrating state of the vibrator from the MEMS resonator while the sweeping unit sweeps the frequency, integrates a plurality of the vibrating-state information signals at different frequencies of the excitation signal, and outputs the integrated value; and a conversion unit adapted to determine a pressure acting on the MEMS resonator, based on the integrated value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventor: Kunihiko Nakamura
  • Publication number: 20140202260
    Abstract: A pressure sensor including: a MEMS resonator; a sweeping unit which sweeps a frequency of an excitation signal in a predetermined direction of sweeping, over a predetermined frequency range including a resonance frequency f0 of a vibrator in the MEMS resonator, while outputting the excitation signal to the MEMS resonator; an integrating unit which inputs a vibrating-state information signal as a characteristic amount indicative of a vibrating state of the vibrator from the MEMS resonator while the sweeping unit sweeps the frequency, integrates a plurality of the vibrating-state information signals at different frequencies of the excitation signal, and outputs the integrated value; and a conversion unit adapted to determine a pressure acting on the MEMS resonator, based on the integrated value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 12, 2013
    Publication date: July 24, 2014
    Applicant: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventor: Kunihiko Nakamura
  • Patent number: 8742872
    Abstract: In a MEMS device having a substrate 1, a sealing membrane 7, and a movable portion 3 of beam and an electrode 5 which have a region wherein they overlap with a gap in perpendicular to a substrate 1 surface, a first cavity 9 is on the side of the movable portion 3 in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate, and a second cavity is the other cavity, and an inner surface a of a side wall A in contact with the electrode 5, of the first cavity 9, is positioned more inside than an inner surface b of a side wall B in contact with the electrode 5, of the second cavity 10, in the direction parallel to the substrate surface, such that the movable portion 3 does not collide with the electrode 5 when mechanical stress is applied from outside to the sealing membrane 7.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2014
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Tomohiro Iwasaki, Keiji Onishi, Kunihiko Nakamura
  • Publication number: 20140113228
    Abstract: A toner has a weight-average particle diameter (D4) of 3.0 ?m or more and 8.0 ?m or less, wherein the average circularity analyzed by dividing particles of the toner having an equivalent circle diameter of 1.98 ?m or more and less than 200.00 ?m into 800 in a range of a circularity of 0.200 or more and 1.000 or less is 0.960 or more and 0.985 or less, the proportion of particles A having a circularity of 0.990 or more and 1.000 or less is 25.0% or less on a basis of the number of particles, and the ratio of particles B having an equivalent circle diameter of 0.50 ?m or more and less than 1.98 ?m to the total particles having an equivalent circle diameter of 0.50 ?m or more and less than 200.00 ?m is 10.0% or less on a basis of the number of particles.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 30, 2012
    Publication date: April 24, 2014
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Shiotari, Kosuke Fukudome, Nozomu Komatsu, Kunihiko Nakamura, Kentaro Kamae, Hiroyuki Fujikawa, Koh Ishigami, Takayuki Itakura
  • Publication number: 20140111061
    Abstract: A vibration power generator comprises: a fixed substrate; a vibrating body having a surface opposed to the fixed substrate, the vibrating body being vibratable to the fixed substrate; electret electrodes aligned in a vibration direction on one of the surface of the fixed substrate and the surface of the vibrating body; and first fixed electrodes and second fixed electrodes alternately aligned in the vibration direction on the other thereof, wherein when the vibrating body is at a resting position, each of the electret electrodes overlaps with both electrodes of a corresponding fixed electrode pair, the corresponding fixed electrode pair being one of the first fixed electrodes and one of the second fixed electrodes that are opposed to the electret electrode, and when the vibrating body is not at a resting position, each of the electret electrodes always overlaps with at least one electrode of the corresponding fixed electrode pair.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2013
    Publication date: April 24, 2014
    Applicants: Stichting IMEC Nederland, Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Takehiko YAMAKAWA, Yasuyuki NAITO, Keiji ONISHI, Kunihiko NAKAMURA, Hiroshi NAKATSUKA, Michael RENAUD, Robertus T.F. van SCHAIJK
  • Patent number: 8698569
    Abstract: In order to provide a MEMS resonator having a higher Q factor, by suppressing losses in high-frequency signals due to barriers of thin-film lamination portions, in cases where there exist junction interfaces (barriers), such as pn junctions, in AC-current input/output lines for a vibrator (1) and electrodes (2, 3), the MEMS resonator is structured such that a DC current is flowed therethrough along with an AC current at the same time, in order to reduce resistance losses applied to the AC current, wherein there are provided DC bias circuits (22, 23, 24) for continuously flowing DC currents through the junction interfaces, in an input-electrode side and/or output-electrode side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventor: Kunihiko Nakamura
  • Patent number: 8698257
    Abstract: A resonator using the MEMS technology is provided which improves the accuracy of a shape of electrodes so as avoid a short circuit that would otherwise be caused between input and output electrodes to thereby increase the reliability thereof. A resonator includes a substrate 101, an insulation layer 102 formed selectively on the substrate 101 as a sacrificial surface, a beam 103 formed on the substrate 101 via a space, a first support portion 104A formed on the insulation layer 102 of the same material as that of the beam 103, and electrodes formed with a space defined between the beam 103 and themselves for signals to be inputted thereinto and outputted therefrom. A sectional area of the beam 103 and a sectional area of the first support portion 104A are substantially equal in a section which is perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the beam 103.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Tomohide Kamiyama, Tomohiro Iwasaki, Takehiko Yamakawa, Kunihiko Nakamura, Keiji Onishi