Patents by Inventor Masanori Horike
Masanori Horike 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).
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Patent number: 8948638Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a latent image carrier; a latent image writer to write a latent image on the latent image carrier; a developing unit including a toner carrier having first and second electrodes insulated via an insulator member and a voltage applying unit to apply voltages to the first and second electrodes having a potential difference to generate first electric fields to cause the toner to hop from the toner carrier to the latent image carrier to develop a toner image; and a transfer unit to transfer the developed toner image to a transferring member. When alternating voltages having a same phase and same amplitude are applied to the first and second electrodes to form second electric fields between the latent image carrier and the toner carrier, the toner is discharged from the toner carrier to the latent image carrier in a toner discharge mode.Type: GrantFiled: August 23, 2011Date of Patent: February 3, 2015Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Yuji Ishikura, Yasuyuki Ishii, Hideki Kosugi, Tetsuro Hirota, Masaaki Yamada, Yoshiko Ogawa, Atsushi Kurokawa, Hideyasu Seki, Masanori Horike, Shin Kayahara
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Patent number: 8433211Abstract: A disclosed developing device includes a toner carrying member having electrodes, a toner supply unit supplying the toner to the toner carrying member, and a hopping electric field generator unit generating electric field to cause the toner hopping on the toner carrying member by applying a pulse voltage to the electrodes. The hopping electric field generator unit includes a pulse voltage generator circuit generating the pulse voltage, a first direct-current power source supplying bias to the pulse voltage generator circuit for regulating a peak value of the pulse voltage, and a second direct-current power source having a same polarity with a toner charging polarity, and outputting a variable voltage level. The hopping electric field generator unit controls the peak value of the pulse voltage by changing an output of the first power source and a mean thereof by changing an output of the second power source.Type: GrantFiled: September 10, 2010Date of Patent: April 30, 2013Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Masanori Horike, Tetsuro Hirota, Atsushi Kurokawa, Hideki Kosugi, Masaaki Yamada, Yoshiko Ogawa, Yuji Ishikura
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Patent number: 8376494Abstract: An image forming device, including a toner bearer including plural linear electrodes located at a first regular pitch in a crosswise direction thereof, flying a toner on the surface thereof between the plural linear electrodes with a pulse voltage thereto to form a floating toner layer; and a substrate including plural hole-electrode combinations arranged in a longitudinal direction of the linear electrodes, each formed of a through-hole and a hole-adjacent electrode located close to the through-hole, wherein the floating toner layer is formed in an area facing the through-hole, and a toner passes through only the through-holes facing a desired image from the floating toner layer with a record on or off voltage, and the plural hole-electrode combinations are lined at a second regular pitch in a crosswise direction of the toner bearer, and the second regular pitch is an integral multiple of the first regular pitch.Type: GrantFiled: August 18, 2010Date of Patent: February 19, 2013Assignee: Ricoh Company, LimitedInventors: Tetsuro Hirota, Masanori Horike, Shin Kayahara, Osamu Endou, Tomoko Takahashi
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Image forming device based on direct recording method and image forming apparatus including the same
Patent number: 8259141Abstract: An image creating apparatus includes a casing that stores therein an agent, an agent carrier rotatably supported by the casing, a hole defining member defining a plurality of holes therein and opposed to the agent carrier, a plurality of spray electrodes provided on the hole defining member respectively corresponding to the holes and forming an electric field for selectively causing the agent to be sprayed from the agent carrier towards the holes, and a positioning member provided on the casing to cover the agent carrier and positioning the hole defining member with respect to the agent carrier so that the agent carrier and the hole defining member are in a predetermined positional relationship. The angle of the positioning member is adjustable relative to the casing about a rotation shaft that is coaxial with the agent carrier.Type: GrantFiled: December 30, 2009Date of Patent: September 4, 2012Assignee: Ricoh Company, LimitedInventors: Masanori Saitoh, Osamu Endou, Masanori Horike, Nobuaki Kondoh, Tomoko Takahashi -
Patent number: 8259142Abstract: An image forming apparatus comprises a toner-bearing member that bears toner and makes the toner clouded thereon. A toner passage control device including plural widthwise lines of toner passage holes in a printing medium conveyance direction is provided. Each of the toner passage holes includes a control electrode that controls passage of the toner through each of the toner passage holes toward a printing medium. a control pulse proving device provides a control pulse to the control electrode to operate. The control pulse applied to the control electrode of the one of the plural lines is different from that applied to the control electrode of the other one of the plural lines.Type: GrantFiled: February 17, 2010Date of Patent: September 4, 2012Assignee: Ricoh Company, LimitedInventors: Tetsuro Hirota, Masanori Horike, Nobuaki Kondoh, Osamu Endou, Shin Kayahara, Tomoko Takahashi
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Patent number: 8167410Abstract: The present invention provides an image forming apparatus, which is able to prevent the adherence of toner on the surface of toner controlling means and around a toner passage hole, and to stably carry out toner passage ON/OFF control when forming an image using the direct recording method. This image forming apparatus includes: a toner carrier; recording medium means; toner controlling means, disposed between the toner carrier and recording medium means, and having a plurality of toner passage holes; and cloud electrode means disposed between the toner carrier and toner controlling means, a toner cloud being formed by applying an AC bias between the toner carrier and cloud electrode means.Type: GrantFiled: September 8, 2009Date of Patent: May 1, 2012Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Masanori Horike, Fuyuhiko Matsumoto, Masanori Saitoh, Nobuaki Kondoh, Shin Kayahara, Osamu Endou, Tomoko Takahashi
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Patent number: 8165510Abstract: The development device includes a toner carrier, a toner supplier, and a surface electrical potential controller. When the toner supplier supplies toner particles to the toner carrier, the toner carrier carries toner particles to adhere to a latent image formed on the latent image carrier and has a time constant ?1 of a surface electrical potential change of the toner carrier. The surface electrical potential controller has a time constant ?2 of a surface electrical potential change of the toner carrier smaller than the time constant ?1. The toner carrier includes a plurality of electrodes aligned in parallel and electrically insulated from each other on the surface thereof, and a voltage supplier for supplying each of the plurality of electrodes with a voltage to periodically switch electrical fields therebetween, so that the toner particles form a cloud on the surface of the toner carrier while hopping.Type: GrantFiled: May 15, 2008Date of Patent: April 24, 2012Assignee: Ricoh Company, LimitedInventors: Ichiro Kadota, Yasuyuki Ishii, Tomoko Takahashi, Masaaki Yamada, Hideki Kosugi, Yoshinori Nakagawa, Masanori Horike, Nobuaki Kondoh
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Publication number: 20120057891Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a latent image carrier; a latent image writer to write a latent image on the latent image carrier; a developing unit including a toner carrier having first and second electrodes insulated via an insulator member and a voltage applying unit to apply voltages to the first and second electrodes having a potential difference to generate first electric fields to cause the toner to hop from the toner carrier to the latent image carrier to develop a toner image; and a transfer unit to transfer the developed toner image to a transferring member. When alternating voltages having a same phase and same amplitude are applied to the first and second electrodes to form second electric fields between the latent image carrier and the toner carrier, the toner is discharged from the toner carrier to the latent image carrier in a toner discharge mode.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 23, 2011Publication date: March 8, 2012Inventors: Yuji ISHIKURA, Yasuyuki Ishii, Hideki Kosugi, Tetsuro Hirota, Masaaki Yamada, Yoshiko Ogawa, Atsushi Kurokawa, Hideyasu Seki, Masanori Horike, Shin Kayahara
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Publication number: 20110064432Abstract: A disclosed developing device includes a toner carrying member having electrodes, a toner supply unit supplying the toner to the toner carrying member, and a hopping electric field generator unit generating electric field to cause the toner hopping on the toner carrying member by applying a pulse voltage to the electrodes. The hopping electric field generator unit includes a pulse voltage generator circuit generating the pulse voltage, a first direct-current power source supplying bias to the pulse voltage generator circuit for regulating a peak value of the pulse voltage, and a second direct-current power source having a same polarity with a toner charging polarity, and outputting a variable voltage level. The hopping electric field generator unit controls the peak value of the pulse voltage by changing an output of the first power source and a mean thereof by changing an output of the second power source.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 10, 2010Publication date: March 17, 2011Inventors: Masanori Horike, Tetsuro Hirota, Atsushi Kurokawa, Hideki Kosugi, Masaaki Yamada, Yoshiko Ogawa, Yuji Ishikura
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Development apparatus and image forming apparatus using toner carrier with a plurality of electrodes
Patent number: 7907856Abstract: An apparatus for developing a latent image on a latent image carrier includes a toner carrier and multiple electrodes arranged at intervals on a surface of the toner carrier. A potential difference is formed between even-numbered electrodes and odd-numbered electrodes of the electrodes by applying a first pulse voltage to the even-numbered electrodes and a second pulse voltage to the odd-numbered electrodes so that toner on the surface of the toner carrier moves back and forth between the electrodes, where the first and second pulse voltages are in different phases, and the toner moving back and forth between the electrodes is conveyed to a position facing the latent image carrier by movement of the surface of the toner carrier and thereby caused to adhere to the latent image on the latent image carrier.Type: GrantFiled: October 12, 2006Date of Patent: March 15, 2011Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Takeo Tsukamoto, Nobuaki Kondoh, Masanori Horike, Tomoko Takahashi, Masaaki Yamada, Hideki Kosugi, Ichiro Kadota, Yoshinori Nakagawa, Yasuyuki Ishii -
Publication number: 20110043589Abstract: An image forming device, including a toner bearer including plural linear electrodes located at a first regular pitch in a crosswise direction thereof, flying a toner on the surface thereof between the plural linear electrodes with a pulse voltage thereto to form a floating toner layer; and a substrate including plural hole-electrode combinations arranged in a longitudinal direction of the linear electrodes, each formed of a through-hole and a hole-adjacent electrode located close to the through-hole, wherein the floating toner layer is formed in an area facing the through-hole, and a toner passes through only the through-holes facing a desired image from the floating toner layer with a record on or off voltage, and the plural hole-electrode combinations are lined at a second regular pitch in a crosswise direction of the toner bearer, and the second regular pitch is an integral multiple of the first regular pitch.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 18, 2010Publication date: February 24, 2011Inventors: Tetsuro HIROTA, Masanori Horike, Shin Kayahara, Osamu Endou, Tomoko Takahashi
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Patent number: 7821527Abstract: An image forming apparatus, which reduces toner spatter and produces a good quality image when forming a toner image using the direct recording method. An image forming part includes: a toner carrier for carrying toner; and toner controlling means, which is disposed between the toner carrier and recording paper on which the toner is made to adhere, and which has a plurality of toner passage holes, the toner controlling means having a control electrode for controlling the passage of toner on the toner carrier side surface in the area around the toner passage hole, and forming a toner image by causing the toner to fly to the recording paper, and the image forming apparatus having liquid applying/humidifying means for either applying a liquid to or humidifying the imaging surface of the recording paper prior to forming a toner image.Type: GrantFiled: August 7, 2008Date of Patent: October 26, 2010Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Masanori Horike, Yasuo Katano, Masanori Saitoh, Nobuaki Kondoh, Shin Kayahara
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Patent number: 7817174Abstract: A direct image-recording device in which a predetermined gap set between an image carrier and a hole forming member can be maintained, and an image forming apparatus provided with the direct image-recording device.Type: GrantFiled: October 22, 2009Date of Patent: October 19, 2010Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Masanori Saitoh, Shin Kayahara, Masanori Horike, Osamu Endo, Tomoko Takahashi, Nobuaki Kondoh
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Publication number: 20100214364Abstract: An image forming apparatus comprises a toner-bearing member that bears toner and makes the toner clouded thereon. A toner passage control device including plural widthwise lines of toner passage holes in a printing medium conveyance direction is provided. Each of the toner passage holes includes a control electrode that controls passage of the toner through each of the toner passage holes toward a printing medium. a control pulse proving device provides a control pulse to the control electrode to operate. The control pulse applied to the control electrode of the one of the plural lines is different from that applied to the control electrode of the other one of the plural lines.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 17, 2010Publication date: August 26, 2010Inventors: Tetsuro HIROTA, Masanori Horike, Nobuaki Kondoh, Osamu Endou, Shin Kayahara, Tomoko Takahashi
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Patent number: 7783235Abstract: A development apparatus using a hopping method and an image formation apparatus including the development apparatus are disclosed. The development apparatus includes a toner supporting object for supporting and conveying a toner by a movement of the toner supporting object, while the toner is hopping on a surface of the toner supporting object by an electric field; a regulating member made of a flexible material for constituting a toner thickness regulation position; a latent image supporting object for supporting a latent image; and a development position, which is a position of the toner supporting object, that counters the latent image supporting object; wherein the toner is conveyed through the regulation position to the development position where the toner is adhered to the latent image, and wherein one end of the regulating member is supported, and the other end contacts the toner supporting object.Type: GrantFiled: October 8, 2007Date of Patent: August 24, 2010Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Takeo Tsukamoto, Nobuaki Kondoh, Masanori Horike, Tomoko Takahashi, Masaaki Yamada, Hideki Kosugi, Ichiro Kadota, Yoshinori Nakagawa, Yasuyuki Ishii
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IMAGE FORMING DEVICE BASED ON DIRECT RECORDING METHOD AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCLUDING THE SAME
Publication number: 20100183342Abstract: An image creating apparatus includes a casing that stores therein an agent, an agent carrier rotatably supported by the casing, a hole defining member defining a plurality of holes therein and opposed to the agent carrier, a plurality of spray electrodes provided on the hole defining member respectively corresponding to the holes and forming an electric field for selectively causing the agent to be sprayed from the agent carrier towards the holes, and a positioning member provided on the casing to cover the agent carrier and positioning the hole defining member with respect to the agent carrier so that the agent carrier and the hole defining member are in a predetermined positional relationship. The angle of the positioning member is adjustable relative to the casing about a rotation shaft that is coaxial with the agent carrier.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 30, 2009Publication date: July 22, 2010Inventors: Masanori SAITOH, Osamu ENDOU, Masanori HORIKE, Nobuaki KONDOH, Tomoko TAKAHASHI -
Patent number: 7734233Abstract: A disclosed development device includes: a latent image carrier; a conveying member disposed so as to face the latent image carrier, the conveying member having plural electrodes insulated from one another and arranged at predetermined intervals so as to generate an electric field for moving toner on the conveying member; a voltage application unit applying a voltage of n phases (n is a positive integer not less than one) to the electrodes so as to form a cloud of the toner and the toner is adhered to the latent image carrier so as to form a visualized toner image; a toner supply unit supplying the toner to the conveying member; and a height adjusting member adjusting a uniform height for a toner layer of the toner immediately before a development area on the conveying member in which development is performed.Type: GrantFiled: April 12, 2007Date of Patent: June 8, 2010Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Katsuhiro Aoki, Hideki Zemba, Tomoko Takahashi, Nobuaki Kondoh, Masanori Horike, Masaaki Yamada, Takeo Tsukamoto, Hideki Kosugi, Ichiro Kadota, Yoshinori Nakagawa, Yasuyuki Ishii
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Patent number: 7712989Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus performs a print operation by controlling an ink jet recording head to eject ink drops there from against front and back surfaces of a recording sheet at a print position. The apparatus includes a transporting mechanism for transporting a portion of the recording sheet to a location outside of the apparatus after a completion of the print operation on the front surface of the recording sheet and just before printing of the back surface of the recording sheet.Type: GrantFiled: December 12, 2005Date of Patent: May 11, 2010Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Motokazu Yasui, Tsumori Sato, Masanori Horike, Masato Yokoyama, Masumi Sato
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Publication number: 20100104319Abstract: A direct image-recording device in which a predetermined gap set between an image carrier and a hole forming member can be maintained, and an image forming apparatus provided with the direct image-recording device.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 22, 2009Publication date: April 29, 2010Inventors: Masanori SAITOH, Shin Kayahara, Masanori Horike, Osamu Endo, Tomoko Takahashi, Nobuaki Kondoh
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Publication number: 20100061751Abstract: The present invention provides an image forming apparatus, which is able to prevent the adherence of toner on the surface of toner controlling means and around a toner passage hole, and to stably carry out toner passage ON/OFF control when forming an image using the direct recording method. This image forming apparatus includes: a toner carrier; recording medium means; toner controlling means, disposed between the toner carrier and recording medium means, and having a plurality of toner passage holes; and cloud electrode means disposed between the toner carrier and toner controlling means, a toner cloud being formed by applying an AC bias between the toner carrier and cloud electrode means.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 8, 2009Publication date: March 11, 2010Inventors: Masanori HORIKE, Fuyuhiko Matsumoto, Masanori Saitoh, Nobuaki Kondoh, Shin Kayahara, Osamu Endou, Tomoko Takahashi