Patents by Inventor Miki Kai

Miki Kai 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: 5510886
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus having a photoconductive element or similar image carrier, and an intermediate transfer belt or similar intermediate image carrier to which a toner image is transferred from the image carrier. A lubricating oil additive whose major component is zinc stearate is melted and then solidified by cooling to form a flat plate-like agent. The agent is transformed to fine particles and applied to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt to eliminate toner filming on the belt. The agent also serves to enhance the parting ability of the belt surface, thereby insuring efficient image transfer from the belt to a recording medium. The surfaces of the photoconductive element, belt and recording medium are so conditioned as to satisfy a predetermined relation with respect to the coefficient of friction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 23, 1996
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Sugimoto, Miki Kai, Makoto Arai