Patents by Inventor Masakazu Terao
Masakazu Terao 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: 9500978Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a first electric charging unit having an electric discharge wire to uniformly electrify a surface of the electrostatic latent image bearer, a second electric charging unit having a second electric discharge wire to execute a pre-electric charge removal electric charging process by electrifying the surface of the electrostatic latent image bearer subsequent to a transfer process to transfer a toner image, and a first electric charge removing device to diselectrify the surface of the electrostatic latent image bearer by irradiating it with electric charge removing light subsequent to the pre-electric charge removal electric charging process. The first electric charge removing device is disposed within an electric discharge region of the second electric discharge wire on a downstream side of an extreme upstream edge of the electric discharge region of the second electric discharge wire in a rotational direction of the electrostatic latent image bearer.Type: GrantFiled: July 8, 2015Date of Patent: November 22, 2016Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.Inventors: Masayoshi Nakayama, Takuma Higa, Hiroyuki Kunil, Masaki Sukesako, Kazuaki Kamihara, Masakazu Terao, Yuichi Aizawa, Masahiro Katoh, Kohei Matsumoto, Toshihiro Sugiyama
-
Patent number: 9488931Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a latent image bearer; a developing device containing two-component developer and including a developer bearer, a development voltage source, and a toner concentration detector; a toner supply device to supply toner to the developing device; a transfer device; and a controller to keep a toner concentration in the developer in the developing device at a target toner concentration during image formation. The controller executes forced toner consumption in which the developing device supplies the toner to the latent image bearer the toner at a predetermined forced toner consumption timing, while inhibiting the toner supply device from supplying toner. When the toner concentration falls to a prescribed toner density lower than the target toner concentration, the controller completes the forced toner consumption and executes a post-consumption toner supply operation.Type: GrantFiled: November 12, 2015Date of Patent: November 8, 2016Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Makoto Yasuda, Jun Hitosugi, Takamasa Ozeki, Mutsuki Morinaga, Emiko Shiraishi, Wakana Itoh, Hitoshi Yamamoto, Takatsugu Komori, Kunio Hasegawa, Tadashi Kasai, Kazuaki Kamihara, Kazumi Kobayashi, Hiroyuki Kunii, Masaki Sukesako, Yuichi Aizawa, Masakazu Terao, Masayoshi Nakayama, Takuma Higa, Masahiro Katoh, Kohei Matsumoto
-
Publication number: 20160147174Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a latent image bearer; a developing device containing two-component developer and including a developer bearer, a development voltage source, and a toner concentration detector; a toner supply device to supply toner to the developing device; a transfer device; and a controller to keep a toner concentration in the developer in the developing device at a target toner concentration during image formation. The controller executes forced toner consumption in which the developing device supplies the toner to the latent image bearer the toner at a predetermined forced toner consumption timing, while inhibiting the toner supply device from supplying toner. When the toner concentration falls to a prescribed toner density lower than the target toner concentration, the controller completes the forced toner consumption and executes a post-consumption toner supply operation.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 12, 2015Publication date: May 26, 2016Inventors: Makoto YASUDA, Jun HITOSUGI, Takamasa OZEKI, Mutsuki MORINAGA, Emiko SHIRAISHI, Wakana ITOH, Hitoshi YAMAMOTO, Takatsugu KOMORI, Kunio HASEGAWA, Tadashi KASAI, Kazuaki KAMIHARA, Kazumi KOBAYASHI, Hiroyuki KUNll, Masaki SUKESAKO, Yuichi AIZAWA, Masakazu TERAO, Masayoshi NAKAYAMA, Takuma HIGA, Masahiro KATOH, Kohei MATSUMOTO
-
Publication number: 20160026109Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a first electric charging unit having an electric discharge wire to uniformly electrify a surface of the electrostatic latent image bearer, a second electric charging unit having a second electric discharge wire to execute a pre-electric charge removal electric charging process by electrifying the surface of the electrostatic latent image bearer subsequent to a transfer process to transfer a toner image, and a first electric charge removing device to diselectrify the surface of the electrostatic latent image bearer by irradiating it with electric charge removing light subsequent to the pre-electric charge removal electric charging process. The first electric charge removing device is disposed within an electric discharge region of the second electric discharge wire on a downstream side of an extreme upstream edge of the electric discharge region of the second electric discharge wire in a rotational direction of the electrostatic latent image bearer.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 8, 2015Publication date: January 28, 2016Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.Inventors: Masayoshi Nakayama, Takuma Higa, Hiroyuki Kunii, Masaki Sukesako, Kazuaki Kamihara, Masakazu Terao, Yuichi Aizawa, Masahiro Katoh, Kohei Matsumoto, Toshihiro Sugiyama
-
Patent number: 9152104Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, multiple toners are superimposed, formed and layered, on a recording medium and a toner image is made. The toner that superimposed lastly on the recording medium, that is, a top layer of toner, has a toner fixing characteristic value that causes the top layer of toner to be fixed on the recording medium by lower temperature than one or all of the other multiple toners. This provides for a better fixing quality.Type: GrantFiled: March 16, 2015Date of Patent: October 6, 2015Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITEDInventors: Tadashi Kasai, Shinya Kobayashi, Yoshihiro Sonohara, Masakazu Terao, Yoichi Sakurai
-
Patent number: 9116450Abstract: A toner including a petroleum wax, wherein the petroleum wax comprises a paraffin wax having a polarity.Type: GrantFiled: September 20, 2011Date of Patent: August 25, 2015Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Masato Iio, Kentarou Matsumoto, Shinya Kobayashi, Akio Tsujita, Katsuhiro Shinohara, Tadashi Kasai, Masakazu Terao, Tsuyoshi Asami
-
Publication number: 20150205237Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, multiple toners are superimposed, formed and layered, on a recording medium and a toner image is made. The toner that superimposed lastly on the recording medium, that is, a top layer of toner, has a toner fixing characteristic value that causes the top layer of toner to be fixed on the recording medium by lower temperature than one or all of the other multiple toners. This provides for a better fixing quality.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 16, 2015Publication date: July 23, 2015Inventors: Tadashi KASAI, Shinya KOBAYASHI, Yoshihiro SONOHARA, Masakazu TERAO, Yoichi SAKURAI
-
Patent number: 9014580Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, multiple toners are superimposed, formed and layered, on a recording medium and a toner image is made. The toner that superimposed lastly on the recording medium, that is, a top layer of toner, has a toner fixing characteristic value that causes the top layer of toner to be fixed on the recording medium by lower temperature than one or all of the other multiple toners. This provides for a better fixing quality.Type: GrantFiled: September 5, 2012Date of Patent: April 21, 2015Assignee: Ricoh Company, LimitedInventors: Tadashi Kasai, Shinya Kobayashi, Yoshihiro Sonohara, Masakazu Terao, Yoichi Sakurai
-
Patent number: 8947732Abstract: An inverse image data generating unit that generates inverse image data that indicates a transparent developer amount that indicates an amount of a transparent developer, and a region where the transparent developer amount is used, based on a color plane image data that indicates a color developer amount that indicates an amount of a color developer, and a region where the color developer amount is used; a conversion unit that converts the transparent developer amount of the inverse image data into a transparent developer amount larger than the transparent developer amount by referring to a conversion table; and a transparent developer plane image data generating unit that generates transparent developer plane image data used in image formation of a transparent developer in an image forming apparatus based on the inverse image data indicating a transparent developer amount after the conversion.Type: GrantFiled: April 12, 2013Date of Patent: February 3, 2015Assignee: Ricoh Company, LimitedInventors: Masanori Kurosawa, Hiroaki Suzuki, Masato Iio, Tadashi Kasai, Makoto Yasuda, Masakazu Terao, Yuichi Aizawa, Yoichi Sakurai
-
Patent number: 8923713Abstract: An image forming apparatus and method that compute a total amount of toner to be deposited per unit area of a target image in which a first unit area is computed to form a first toner image using a highest total amount of toner, and a second unit area is computed to form a second toner image using a lowest total amount of toner. When the highest total amount of toner computed by a computing unit exceeds a given level, a transfer bias determination unit identifies a transfer bias to transfer a toner image of the target image from an overlapping portion that can effectively transfer the first toner image, and the second toner image.Type: GrantFiled: July 13, 2012Date of Patent: December 30, 2014Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Masakazu Terao, Shinya Kobayashi, Tadashi Kasai, Yoshihiro Sonohara, Yoichi Sakurai
-
Image glossing apparatus, image glossing method, and recording medium storing image glossing program
Patent number: 8918045Abstract: An image glossing apparatus including a recording sheet feeder feeding a recording sheet bearing a toner image; a glossing device including a heater heating a glossing portion of the toner image to gloss the portion; a glossiness information obtaining device obtaining position information on the position of the glossing portion; and a position detector including a tip detector detecting tip of the fed recording sheet, and a distance measuring device measuring the moving distance of the recording sheet after the tip of the recording sheet is detected. The position detector detects the position of a portion of the recording sheet facing the heater based on the information on the tip of the recording sheet and the information on the moving distance of the recording sheet. When the portion of the recording sheet facing the heater is the glossing portion, the heater heats the portion to gloss the glossing portion.Type: GrantFiled: June 27, 2012Date of Patent: December 23, 2014Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Yoichi Sakurai, Shinya Kobayashi, Tadashi Kasai, Masakazu Terao, Yoshihiro Sonohara -
Patent number: 8761628Abstract: An image forming apparatus and method compute a total amount of toner to be deposited per unit area of a target image. When the highest total amount of toner computed exceeds a given level, a heating determination unit, using a processor, determines whether a first heating amount range enabling fusing of the computed highest total amount of toner and a second heating amount range enabling fusing of the computed lowest total amount of toner have an overlapping portion that can effectively fuse a first toner image, a second toner image, and identifies a heating amount to fuse a toner image of the target image from an overlapping portion that can effectively fuse the first toner image, and the second toner image.Type: GrantFiled: July 13, 2012Date of Patent: June 24, 2014Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Masakazu Terao, Shinya Kobayashi, Tadashi Kasai, Yoshihiro Sonohara, Yoichi Sakurai
-
Patent number: 8655206Abstract: An image forming apparatus which transfers clear toner and at least one of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black color toner onto a recording medium to form an image based on image information and image classification information, the apparatus including a clear priority determiner configured to determine a clear priority based on the image classification information; a toner adherence amount determiner determining amounts of the color toners and the clear toner to be adhered to the recording medium based on the image information and the clear priority; and a toner transferer transferring the color toners and the clear toner onto the recording medium in amounts determined by the toner adherence amount determiner.Type: GrantFiled: November 17, 2011Date of Patent: February 18, 2014Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Shinya Kobayashi, Tadashi Kasai, Yoshihiro Sonohara, Masakazu Terao
-
Patent number: 8626040Abstract: After at least one toner image is transferred to a medium to which an image is transferred from at least one of a plurality of image forming stations used, at least one toner image is transferred from at least one of the rest of the image forming stations, and this transfer operation is repeated a plurality of times to transfer toner images to the medium to which an image is transferred. In this manner, the toner images on the medium to which an image is transferred are formed using a desired number of color toner including a transparent toner. In addition, the order in which the transparent toner is transferred from the image forming station that is used for the transparent toner and toner other than the transparent toner is transferred from image forming stations in which the transparent toner is not used can be freely or automatically selected.Type: GrantFiled: September 13, 2011Date of Patent: January 7, 2014Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Tadashi Kasai, Shinya Kobayashi, Akio Tsujita, Masato Iio, Katsuhiro Shinohara, Masakazu Terao
-
Publication number: 20130342859Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device to form an image on a sheet of recording media according to a toner adhering amount of each pixel and position data indicating a position of the pixel on the sheet, a storage device to store post-processing position data that indicates a position of post processing on the sheet, a retriever to retrieve the post-processing position data from the storage device, and a converter to convert the toner adhering amount of the pixel designated by the post-processing position data.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 28, 2013Publication date: December 26, 2013Inventors: Tadashi KASAI, Yuichi Aizawa, Makoto Yasuda, Masato Iio, Yoichi Sakurai, Masakazu Terao
-
Publication number: 20130278943Abstract: An inverse image data generating unit that generates inverse image data that indicates a transparent developer amount that indicates an amount of a transparent developer, and a region where the transparent developer amount is used, based on a color plane image data that indicates a color developer amount that indicates an amount of a color developer, and a region where the color developer amount is used; a conversion unit that converts the transparent developer amount of the inverse image data into a transparent developer amount larger than the transparent developer amount by referring to a conversion table; and a transparent developer plane image data generating unit that generates transparent developer plane image data used in image formation of a transparent developer in an image forming apparatus based on the inverse image data indicating a transparent developer amount after the conversion.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 12, 2013Publication date: October 24, 2013Inventors: Masanori KUROSAWA, Hiroaki Suzuki, Masato Iio, Tadashi Kasai, Makoto Yasuda, Masakazu Terao, Yuichi Aizawa, Yoichi Sakurai
-
Patent number: 8565633Abstract: An image forming system including an image forming device forming on a recording sheet a first chromatic toner image, and a second chromatic toner image having an outermost layer of transparent toner, wherein the transparent toner has lower glass transition temperature than the chromatic toners; a fixing device having a fixing member contacting the recording sheet to heat the toner images to temperature not lower than the glass transition temperature of the chromatic toners so that the toner images are fixed; and a glossing device having a glossing member contacting the recording sheet to heat the toner images to temperature not lower than the glass transition temperature of the transparent toner and lower than the glass transition temperatures of the chromatic toners so that only the transparent toner achieves a rubber state and to cool the heated first and second toner images so that the transparent toner is solidified.Type: GrantFiled: October 26, 2011Date of Patent: October 22, 2013Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Yoshihiro Sonohara, Shinya Kobayashi, Tadashi Kasai, Masakazu Terao
-
Patent number: 8520261Abstract: An image glossiness controller has a main component color specifying unit that identifies a prescribed component color and output identification information thereof. A change in amplitude of a convexoconcavity of a toner layer of the prescribed component color is greatest among those of the other component colors when each of the component color toner is formed and fixed alone. Three or more halftone dot signal generators convert clear toner image information into three or more binary clear toner image signals corresponding to three or more component colors per component color pixel using multiple halftone dot characteristics, respectively. Each of the multiple halftone dot characteristics generating three or more binary clear toner image signals has a reversed phase from that generating three or more binary component color image signals.Type: GrantFiled: October 27, 2011Date of Patent: August 27, 2013Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Shinya Kobayashi, Kentarou Matsumoto, Akio Tsujita, Masato Iio, Tadashi Kasai, Katsuhiro Shinohara, Masakazu Terao, Yoshihiro Sonohara
-
Patent number: 8494385Abstract: An image forming apparatus including a color toner image forming unit that forms a color toner image on a recording medium; a first colorless transparent toner image forming unit that forms a first colorless transparent toner image on the color toner image; a first fixing unit that fixes the image on the recording medium; a gloss level increasing device that increases a gloss level of the entire image on the recording medium that has been fixed; a second colorless transparent toner image forming unit that forms a second colorless transparent toner image on the image whose gloss level has been increased; and a second fixing unit that fixes the second colorless transparent toner image on the recording medium.Type: GrantFiled: February 1, 2011Date of Patent: July 23, 2013Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Masakazu Terao, Kentarou Matsumoto, Shinya Kobayashi, Akio Tsujita, Masato Lio, Katsuhiro Shinohara, Tadashi Kasai
-
Publication number: 20130101303Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, multiple toners are superimposed, formed and layered, on a recording medium and a toner image is made. The toner that superimposed lastly on the recording medium, that is, a top layer of toner, has a toner fixing characteristic value that causes the top layer of toner to be fixed on the recording medium by lower temperature than one or all of the other multiple toners. This provides for a better fixing quality.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 5, 2012Publication date: April 25, 2013Inventors: Tadashi KASAI, Shinya KOBAYASHI, Yoshihiro SONOHARA, Masakazu TERAO, Yoichi SAKURAI