Patents by Inventor Masanobu Tanaka

Masanobu Tanaka 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: 9952544
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion for forming an image, a human presence sensor for detecting presence of a human body adjacent the apparatus, and a controller capable of executing an adjustment process operation for the image forming portion when a first predetermined number of prints are produced. When the human presence sensor detects a human body in the neighborhood of the apparatus, the execution of the adjustment process operation is deferred to reduce the waiting time necessitated by the adjustment operation, but if a second predetermined number of prints are produced, the image forming operation of the image forming portion is interrupted, and the deferred adjustment process is executed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masanobu Tanaka, Yasuharu Chiyoda, Oki Kitagawa, Asuna Fukamachi
  • Publication number: 20170205744
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion for forming a toner image on a sheet; a rotatable heating member and a rotatable pressing member for fixing, at a nip, the toner image formed on the sheet by the image forming portion; an executing portion for executing cleaning mode for cleaning the rotatable heating member by introducing, into the nip, the sheet on which a predetermined toner image is formed by the image forming portion; and a changing mechanism for making positional relationships of a first sheet and a second sheet relative to the rotatable heating member different from each other with respect to a widthwise direction of the rotatable heating member when the first sheet and the second sheet are successively introduced into the nip in the cleaning mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2017
    Publication date: July 20, 2017
    Inventors: Masanobu Tanaka, Oki Kitagawa, Akiyoshi Shinagawa
  • Publication number: 20170160686
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion for forming an image; a human presence sensor for detecting presence of a human body adjacent the apparatus, and a controller capable of executing an adjustment process operation for said image forming portion when a first predetermined number of prints are produced. When the human presence sensor detects a human body in the neighborhood of the apparatus, the execution of the adjustment process operation is deferred to reduce the waiting time necessitated by the adjustment operation, but a second predetermined number of prints are produced, the image forming operation of the image forming portion is interrupted, and the deferred adjustment process is executed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 2, 2016
    Publication date: June 8, 2017
    Inventors: Masanobu Tanaka, Yasuharu Chiyoda, Oki Kitagawa, Asuna Fukamachi
  • Publication number: 20170142278
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a human-body detection unit, an instruction receiver, and a controller. The controller determines whether an adjustment process is to be performed in accordance with a result of a determination, at an end of an image forming process, as to whether a human body is detected. The controller executes the adjustment process when the image forming process is terminated where the human-body detection unit does not detect a human body. The controller starts the image forming process before the adjustment process is executed where a human body is detected and the image forming instruction is received within a predetermined period. The controller executes the adjustment process when the predetermined period has elapsed while the image forming instruction is not received after the end of the image forming process where the human-body detection unit detects a human body.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 17, 2016
    Publication date: May 18, 2017
    Inventors: Masanobu Tanaka, Yasuharu Chiyoda, Oki Kitagawa, Asuna Fukamachi
  • Patent number: 9601696
    Abstract: The present invention is to provide a composition that can provide an electroluminescent device emitting light with high brightness. The present invention provides following: a composition including a polymer compound comprising one or more structural unit(s) selected from the group consisting of a structural unit represented by Formula (1), a structural unit represented by Formula (3), a structural unit represented by Formula (5), a structural unit represented by Formula (16), a structural unit represented by Formula (18), a structural unit represented by Formula (20), and a structural unit represented by Formula (22) and an ionic compound represented by Formula (23); an organic film and an electric device comprising the composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: SUMITOMO CHEMICAL COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Masanobu Tanaka, Rui Ishikawa, Takayuki Iijima, Kensaku Horie, Ken Sakakibara
  • Patent number: 9520569
    Abstract: The present invention provides a compound that has high solubility in a highly polar solvent and is usefully usable for an application method using a highly polar solvent, the compound that can manufacture an electroluminescent device having high light-emitting efficiency. Specifically, the present invention provides a compound containing a structure represented by Formula (1): wherein: Ar1, Ar2, Ar3, and Ar4 each independently represent a divalent aromatic group optionally having substituent(s); Ar5 represents a monovalent aromatic group optionally having substituent(s); p and q each independently represent an integer of 0 or more; and R1 represents a given monovalent group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2016
    Assignee: Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited
    Inventors: Ken Sakakibara, Masanobu Tanaka, Rui Ishikawa, Hideyuki Higashimura
  • Patent number: 9494903
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming device configured to form a toner image on a sheet; a fixing device configured to fix the toner image formed on the sheet by the image forming device at a nip; an executing portion configured to execute an operation in a cleaning mode for cleaning the fixing device by forming a predetermined toner image on a sheet using the image forming device and then by introducing the sheet into the nip; and a notifying device for notifying an operator that a maximum-width sheet usable in the image forming device is to be used in the operation in the cleaning mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akiyoshi Shinagawa, Oki Kitagawa, Masanobu Tanaka
  • Patent number: 9459566
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device for forming an image on a sheet; a fixing device for fixing an image formed on a sheet; a detector for detecting a temperature of the fixing device, and a controller for controlling an image formation start timing in accordance with an output of the detector. In an operation of continuously forming images on a plurality of predetermined sheets, when a number of image formations is not less than a predetermined number, the start of the image formation is delayed until a temperature of the fixing device rises up to a first temperature, and when the number of image formations is less than the predetermined number, the image formation is started when the temperature of the fixing device rises up to a second temperature which is lower than the first temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Oki Kitagawa, Akiyoshi Shinagawa, Masanobu Tanaka
  • Patent number: 9455408
    Abstract: Provided is a layered structure having a first electrode, a second electrode, a light emitting layer or a charge separation layer located between the first electrode and the second electrode, and a layer located between the light emitting layer or the charge separation layer and the first electrode and containing a polymer having a repeating unit containing one or more ionic groups selected from two specific groups and one or more specific polar groups. Also provided is a polymer having, as the repeating unit containing one or more ionic groups selected from two specific groups and one or more specific polar groups, one or more repeating units selected from four specific repeating units containing an aromatic group. The layered structure of the present invention provides an electroluminescent device capable of emitting light at a high luminance and a photoelectric conversion device having a high photoelectric conversion efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2016
    Assignee: SUMITOMO CHEMICAL COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Masanobu Tanaka, Kenta Tanaka, Ken Sakakibara, Hideyuki Higashimura, Rui Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 9405251
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming station; heating and pressing rollers forming a fixing nip therebetween; a mechanism for changing the relative positional relation between the heating and pressing rollers between a contacting position in which they contact each other, a first spacing position in which they are spaced, and the second spacing position in which they are spaced by a shorter distance; and a controller for controlling the changing mechanism such that in a period after the sheet passes through the fixing nip and before a next sheet reaches the fixing nip, the rollers are brought into the first spacing position when the period is longer than a first predetermined period, and that the rollers are brought into the second spacing position when the period is shorter than the first predetermined period and is longer than a second predetermined period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masanobu Tanaka
  • Patent number: 9392642
    Abstract: An image heating apparatus includes: an image heating roller in a nip; a nip forming member; a heating roller rubbing roller; a moving mechanism for moving the rubbing roller between a spaced position and a rubbing position; and a controller for executing operations in first and second modes. In the first mode, the heating roller is rotated with the rubbing roller in the spaced position and the heating roller in contact with the nip forming member with a target temperature of the heating roller higher than that of the nip forming member. In the second mode, the rubbing roller is contacted with the heating roller, rubbing the surface of the heating roller. The temperature difference in the first mode between the target temperature of the heating roller and that of the nip forming member is larger than the temperature difference when the toner image is heated by the nip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masanobu Tanaka, Oki Kitagawa, Shigeaki Takada, Akiyoshi Shinagawa, Hiroki Kawai
  • Publication number: 20160181532
    Abstract: There is provided a method of manufacturing an organic light-emitting device including: forming a first organic material layer on a substrate; and forming a mask in a first region on the first organic material layer, and then selectively removing the first organic material layer to form a first organic layer in the first region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 3, 2014
    Publication date: June 23, 2016
    Inventors: Makoto ANDO, Jun YAMAGUCHI, Masanobu TANAKA, Tomoo FUKUDA, Ryo YASUMATSU, Toshio FUKUDA
  • Patent number: 9372450
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: heating and pressing rollers for fixing a toner image; a contacting and spacing portion for contacting and spacing between the rollers; an air feeder for cooling the pressing roller during a job; a guide for the sheet having been subjected to an image fixing process; an acquiring portion for acquiring the temperature of the guide: and an executing portion for executing a warming-up process of the heating roller and the pressing roller to raise the temperatures of the heating roller and the pressing roller. The executing portion controls the contacting and spacing portion and the air feeder so that the air is fed toward the guide through between the heating roller and the pressing roller at least in a part of the warming-up process, when the temperature is lower than a predetermined temperature upon activation of a main voltage source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Oki Kitagawa, Akiyoshi Shinagawa, Masanobu Tanaka
  • Patent number: 9329557
    Abstract: An image heating apparatus includes a heating roller; a nip forming member for forming the nip with the roller; a sheet jam sensor; a first controller for interrupting a heating operation when the sensor detects the sheet jamming, and for resuming the heating operation after the jamming is cleared; a rubbing member for rubbing a heating roller surface; a moving mechanism for moving the rubbing member to a position for spacing the rubbing member from the roller to a position for rubbing the roller surface; and a second controller for executing an operation of moving the rubbing member to the rubbing position to rub the heating roller surface when a predetermined condition is reached, wherein the second controller delays, when the condition is reached during a period in which a predetermined count of sheets pass the nip after the jam clearance, the moving operation to after the period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Oki Kitagawa, Shigeaki Takada, Akiyoshi Shinagawa, Masanobu Tanaka, Hiroki Kawai
  • Publication number: 20160116867
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes image forming means for forming an image on a sheet; fixing means for fixing an image formed on a sheet; detecting means for detecting a temperature of the fixing means; and controlling means for controlling an image formation start timing in accordance with an output of the detecting means, wherein in an operation of continuously forming images on a plurality of predetermined sheets, when a number of image formations is not less than a predetermined number, start of the image formation is delayed until a temperature of the fixing means rises up to a first temperature, and when the number of image formations is less than the predetermined number, the image formation is started when the temperature of the fixing means rises up to a second temperature which is lower than the first temperature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 4, 2016
    Publication date: April 28, 2016
    Inventors: Oki Kitagawa, Akiyoshi Shinagawa, Masanobu Tanaka
  • Publication number: 20160098004
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming device configured to form a toner image on a sheet; a fixing device configured to fix the toner image formed on the sheet by the image forming device at a nip; an executing portion configured to execute an operation in a cleaning mode for cleaning the fixing device by forming a predetermined toner image on a sheet using the image forming device and then by introducing the sheet into the nip; and a notifying device for notifying an operator that a maximum-width sheet usable in the image forming device is to be used in the operation in the cleaning mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 6, 2015
    Publication date: April 7, 2016
    Inventors: Akiyoshi Shinagawa, Oki Kitagawa, Masanobu Tanaka
  • Patent number: 9306169
    Abstract: An electronic device that serves as a high-brightness electroluminescent device includes a layer containing a polymer compound having one or more structural units selected from a structural unit represented by formula (1) and a structural unit represented by formula (7) as a charge injection layer and/or a charge transport layer: Wherein R1, R2, R6 and R7 represent certain groups; m1 and m5 represent an integer of 0 or more; when R2 and R7 are plurally present, they may be the same or different; and a hydrogen atom in formula (1) or (7) may be replaced with a substituent other than the certain groups.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited
    Inventors: Masanobu Tanaka, Rui Ishikawa, Ken Sakakibara, Hideyuki Higashimura
  • Patent number: 9306170
    Abstract: An electronic device that serves as a high-brightness electroluminescent device includes a layer containing a polymer compound having one or more structural units selected from a structural unit represented by formula (1) and a structural unit represented by formula (14) as a charge injection layer and/or a charge transport layer: wherein Ar1 and Ar2 represent certain fused polycyclic aromatic groups; R1, R2, R6 and R7 represent certain organic groups; m1, m2 and m6 represent an integer of 1 or more; m7 represents an integer of 0 or more; and when R1, R2, R6 and R7 are each plurally present, they each may be the same or different.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited
    Inventors: Masanobu Tanaka, Rui Ishikawa, Norifumi Kobayashi, Ken Sakakibara, Hideyuki Higashimura
  • Patent number: 9201355
    Abstract: An image heating apparatus includes: an endless belt configured to heat an image on a sheet at a nip; a heating mechanism configured to heat the endless belt; a fan configured to send air toward a predetermined region of the endless belt; a heat pipe configured to move heat in a direction of uniformizing a temperature distribution of the endless belt with respect to a widthwise direction of the endless belt; and a controller configured to operate the fan such that the air flow rate is larger during heating of the image on a predetermined sheet providing an overlapping positional relationship with the predetermined region, than the air flow rate during the heating of the image on a sheet providing a non-overlapping positional relationship with the predetermined region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masanobu Tanaka
  • Publication number: 20150338807
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming station; a heating roller and a pressing roller forming a fixing nip therebetween; a changing mechanism for changing a relative positional relation between the heating roller and the pressing rotatable member between a contacting position in which they are contacted, a first spacing position in which they are spaced, and the second spacing position in which they are spaced by a shorter distance; and a controller for the changing mechanism such that in a period after the sheet passes through the fixing nip and before a next sheet reaches the fixing nip, the relation is brought into the first spacing position when the period is longer than a first predetermined period, and that the relation is brought into the second spacing position when the period is shorter than the first predetermined period and is longer than a second predetermined period.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 20, 2015
    Publication date: November 26, 2015
    Inventor: Masanobu Tanaka