Patents by Inventor Mizuho Shirakura

Mizuho Shirakura 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: 9085437
    Abstract: To enable a sheet to be folded in an accurate position with a simplified folding mechanism in performing folding processing on the sheet with a pair of folding rollers, a second transport path is disposed in a direction for crossing a first transport path for guiding a sheet from a carry-in portion to a carrying-out portion, and in the cross portion are disposed a folding roller pair for performing folding processing on a sheet, and a folding deflecting member for inserting a fold of the sheet in the nip portion. Then, the folding deflecting member is comprised of a driven roller that comes into press-contact with a roller periphery of the folding roller pair, and a shift member for shifting the driven roller from a waiting position to an actuation position, and by the operation of shifting the driven roller from the waiting position outside the path to the actuation position, the sheet front end portion is fed to the nip portion from an upstream-side guide path formed in the second transport path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2015
    Assignee: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mizuho Shirakura, Hiroki Imazu, Shinichi Ito, Toshiaki Kagami, Mitsunori Tomono, Yuichi Kubota
  • Patent number: 8897691
    Abstract: A sheet folding apparatus for forming first folding and second folding in a sheet enables the sheet to be folded in an accurate fold position in second folding, when the front end of the sheet which is first folded in a nip position of a first folding roller pair and transported strikes a stopper member, a guide member guides a fold to undergo second folding of the first-folded sheet to a nip position of a second folding roller pair, and second folding is formed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2014
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroki Imazu, Shinichi Ito, Toshiaki Kagami, Mizuho Shirakura
  • Patent number: 8771159
    Abstract: A sheet folding apparatus for folding a sheet, includes a first transport path for guiding the sheet from a carry-in portion to a carrying-out portion without folding; a second transport path branching off from the first transport path for folding the sheet; folding rollers to fold the sheet; a driving motor; and a control device for controlling the driving motor. The folding rollers are disposed in between the carry-in roller and the carrying-out roller. The first transport path has a pinch roller and a guide cover for covering the folding. The guide cover shifts between an actuation position in which the sheet does not contact the folding rollers and a non-actuation position in which the sheet engages with the folding rollers. The control device controls the guide cover to shift to the actuation position with the pinch roller separated from a periphery of the one of the rollers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroki Imazu, Shinichi Ito, Mizuho Shirakura
  • Patent number: 8733751
    Abstract: According to the present invention, a stacking face (84) is inclined such that a downstream side in a sheet discharging direction is lower, and is composed of a first supporting face (84a) supporting a sheet to be stacked at its front end part in a sheet discharging direction and a second supporting face (84b) supporting the sheet to be stacked at its rear end part in the sheet discharging direction. The first supporting face (84a) is structured to be shorter than ½ of a minimum size length of the sheet to be stacked, and this is provided rotatably upward around a rotating shaft (85x) furnished to a registration part (85r) of regulating the front ends of the sheets. The first supporting face (84a) raises the front ends of the sheets to be discharged by rotation of the registration part (85r).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2014
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Toshiaki Kagami, Shinichi Ito, Mizuho Shirakura
  • Patent number: 8590880
    Abstract: To provide a folding mechanism for folding a sheet with a simplified structure having no fear of causing a deviation from the fold position, wrinkle and the like, provided are a transport path 33 for transporting a sheet, and folding processing means 48 disposed in the transport path to fold the sheet. Then, the folding processing means is comprised of folding roll pairs (41b, 49, 50) coming into press-contact with one another to rotate in the opposite directions, and folding deflecting members (53, 54) for guiding the fold of the sheet to the nip portions (Np1, Np2) of the folding roll pairs. Then, the folding deflecting members are provided with driven rollers (53a, 54a) in contact press-contact with the roll periphery of one of the folding roll pair, and curved guides (53a, 54a) along the roll periphery of the other one.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2013
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroki Imazu, Shinichi Ito, Mizuho Shirakura
  • Patent number: 8585032
    Abstract: A sheet folding apparatus for performing folding processing, has a first transport path for guiding a sheet from a carry-in entrance to a carrying-out exit without performing the folding processing; a second transport path for performing the folding processing on the sheet from the carry-in entrance; and a folding processing device disposed in a folding position in the second transport path to fold the sheet from the carry-in entrance. The second transport path is disposed to cross the first transport path, and includes a path end portion for guiding the sheet to the folding position, and another path end portion for guiding the folded sheet from the folding position to a downstream side. The path end portion and the another path end portion are disposed opposite to each other relative to the first transport path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2013
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Kenichi Sano, Hiroki Imazu, Shinichi Ito, Mizuho Shirakura, Toshiaki Kagami
  • Patent number: 8529423
    Abstract: In a sheet folding apparatus, to enable a jammed sheet to be removed with ease when a jam occurs, a casing having a carry-in entrance and a carrying-out exit is divided into an upper unit and a lower unit via a first transport path for carrying a sheet from the carry-in entrance to the carrying-out exit, a second transport path for performing folding processing on a sheet is disposed in the direction for crossing the first transport path, and in the upper unit are disposed a sheet front end switchback path for reversing and carrying the sheet toward a folding roller pair and sheet deflecting means for guiding the sheet to the folding roller pair. Then, the upper unit is coupled to the lower unit to be openable and closable by a hinge shaft rotating around one side end portion orthogonal to the sheet transport direction of the first transport path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2013
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroki Imazu, Shinichi Ito, Toshiaki Kagami, Koji Kanda, Mizuho Shirakura
  • Publication number: 20120275838
    Abstract: In a sheet folding apparatus for forming first folding and second folding in a sheet, to enable the sheet to be folded in an accurate fold position in second folding, when the front end of the sheet which is first folded in a nip position Np1 of a first folding roller pair and transported strikes a stopper member 86, a guide member 54 guides a fold to undergo second folding of the first-folded sheet to a nip position Np2 of a second folding roller pair 101, and second folding is formed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2012
    Publication date: November 1, 2012
    Applicant: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroki IMAZU, Shinichi ITO, Toshiaki KAGAMI, Mizuho SHIRAKURA
  • Publication number: 20120261872
    Abstract: According to the present invention, a stacking face (84) is inclined such that a downstream side in a sheet discharging direction is lower, and is composed of a first supporting face (84a) supporting a sheet to be stacked at its front end part in a sheet discharging direction and a second supporting face (84b) supporting the sheet to be stacked at its rear end part in the sheet discharging direction. The first supporting face (84a) is structured to be shorter than ½ of a minimum size length of the sheet to be stacked, and this is provided rotatably upward around a rotating shaft (85x) furnished to a registration part (85r) of regulating the front ends of the sheets. The first supporting face (84a) raises the front ends of the sheets to be discharged by rotation of the registration part (85r).
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 12, 2012
    Publication date: October 18, 2012
    Applicant: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshiaki KAGAMI, Shinichi ITO, Mizuho SHIRAKURA
  • Patent number: 8256757
    Abstract: A sheet folding apparatus for performing folding processing on a sheet from a carry-in entrance to carry out to a carrying-out exit has a sheet feeding apparatus, a first transport path, a second transport path, and a folding processing device. The sheet feeding apparatus includes a transport roller pair in press-contact with each other, a gate stopper device having a stopper member, a register area to curve and deform the sheet with the front end regulated, and a stopper driving device for shifting the gate stopper device. The stopper member is formed so that a shift trajectory of the regulation surface is to guide the front end of the sheet to the press-contact portion of the transport roller pair. The first transport path is provided with the sheet feeding apparatus for aligning a front end of the sheet fed from the carry-in entrance to feed to a predetermined processing position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2012
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroki Imazu, Shinichi Ito, Mizuho Shirakura
  • Publication number: 20120004086
    Abstract: To enable a sheet to be folded in an accurate position with a simplified folding mechanism in performing folding processing on the sheet with a pair of folding rollers, a second transport path is disposed in a direction for crossing a first transport path for guiding a sheet from a carry-in portion to a carrying-out portion, and in the cross portion are disposed a folding roller pair for performing folding processing on a sheet, and a folding deflecting member for inserting a fold of the sheet in the nip portion. Then, the folding deflecting member is comprised of a driven roller that comes into press-contact with a roller periphery of the folding roller pair, and a shift member for shifting the driven roller from a waiting position to an actuation position, and by the operation of shifting the driven roller from the waiting position outside the path to the actuation position, the sheet front end portion is fed to the nip portion from an upstream-side guide path formed in the second transport path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2011
    Publication date: January 5, 2012
    Applicant: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mizuho SHIRAKURA, Hiroki IMAZU, Shinichi ITO, Toshiaki KAGAMI, Mitsunori TOMONO, Yuichi KUBOTA
  • Publication number: 20110294639
    Abstract: In a sheet folding apparatus, to enable a jammed sheet to be removed with ease when a jam occurs, a casing having a carry-in entrance and a carrying-out exit is divided into an upper unit and a lower unit via a first transport path for carrying a sheet from the carry-in entrance to the carrying-out exit, a second transport path for performing folding processing on a sheet is disposed in the direction for crossing the first transport path, and in the upper unit are disposed a sheet front end switchback path for reversing and carrying the sheet toward a folding roller pair and sheet deflecting means for guiding the sheet to the folding roller pair. Then, the upper unit is coupled to the lower unit to be openable and closable by a hinge shaft rotating around one side end portion orthogonal to the sheet transport direction of the first transport path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 26, 2011
    Publication date: December 1, 2011
    Applicant: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroki Imazu, Shinichi Ito, Toshiaki Kagami, Koji Kanda, Mizuho Shirakura
  • Publication number: 20110212817
    Abstract: To reduce a power consumption amount of an apparatus for selectively performing folding processing in carrying a sheet from a carry-in portion to a carrying-out portion, provided are a first transport path 32 for guiding a sheet from the carry-in portion 30 to the carrying-out portion 31 without performing the folding processing, and a second transport path 33 branching off from the first transport path and being disposed in a direction to cross, for performing the folding processing on a sheet from the carry-in portion to guide to the carrying-out portion, and a folding roller 41b disposed in the second transport path is arranged so that at least part of the periphery faces the first transport path 32.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2011
    Publication date: September 1, 2011
    Applicant: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroki Imazu, Shinichi Ito, Mizuho Shirakura
  • Publication number: 20110101591
    Abstract: A sheet transport path extending from a carry-in entrance to a carrying-out exit is made small and compact in an apparatus configuration provided with a path without performing the folding processing and another path to perform the folding processing in between the carry-in entrance and the carrying-out exit. The configuration is provided with a first transport path 32 for guiding a sheet from the carry-in entrance 30 to the carrying-out exit 31 without performing the folding processing, a second transport path 33 for performing the folding processing on a sheet from the carry-in entrance, and folding processing means 48 disposed in the path 33 to fold the sheet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2010
    Publication date: May 5, 2011
    Applicant: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kenichi Sano, Hiroki Imazu, Shinichi Ito, Mizuho Shirakura, Toshiaki Kagami
  • Publication number: 20110101593
    Abstract: The invention enables skew of a sheet to be reliably corrected with a simplified structure in feeding the sheet to a processing position of sheet folding or the like using a roller pair. Provided are a transport roller pair (41a, 41b) in press-contact with each other, gate stopper means (43) disposed on the upstream side of a press-contact portion (p1) of the transport roller pair to strike and regulate a front end of a sheet, register area (Ar) disposed on the upstream side of the gate stopper means to curve and deform the sheet with the front end regulated, and stopper driving means (44) for shifting the gate stopper means to positions between an operating position of a sheet transport path and a retracted position outside the transport path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2010
    Publication date: May 5, 2011
    Applicant: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroki Imazu, Shinichi Ito, Mizuho Shirakura
  • Publication number: 20110103866
    Abstract: To provide a folding mechanism for folding a sheet with a simplified structure having no fear of causing a deviation from the fold position, wrinkle and the like, provided are a transport path 33 for transporting a sheet, and folding processing means 48 disposed in the transport path to fold the sheet. Then, the folding processing means is comprised of folding roll pairs (41b, 49, 50) coming into press-contact with one another to rotate in the opposite directions, and folding deflecting members (53, 54) for guiding the fold of the sheet to the nip portions (Np1, Np2) of the folding roll pairs. Then, the folding deflecting members are provided with driven rollers (53a, 54a) in contact press-contact with the roll periphery of one of the folding roll pair, and curved guides (53a, 54a) along the roll periphery of the other one.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2010
    Publication date: May 5, 2011
    Applicant: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroki Imazu, Shinichi Ito, Mizuho Shirakura
  • Patent number: 7059597
    Abstract: A sheet supply apparatus includes a sheet supply tray for stacking a sheet, and an auxiliary tray movable between a support position where the auxiliary tray supports a portion of the sheet stacked on the sheet supply tray and a storage position where the auxiliary tray overlaps the sheet supply tray. A sheet supply device supplies the sheet stacked on the sheet supply tray. A sheet detection device is mounted on the auxiliary tray for detecting the sheet stacked on the sheet supply tray, and a tray position detection device detects a position of the auxiliary tray between the support position and the storage position. An identifying device identifies a length of the sheet in a sheet supply direction based on detection results of the sheet detection device and the tray detection device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2006
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Mizuho Shirakura, Naoki Suzuki
  • Patent number: 6837488
    Abstract: The document feeder apparatus is equipped with a sheet supply unit including a sheet supply member for supplying an original to a reading position; a transport unit including a transport member for receiving the original from the sheet supply member and transporting the original to the reading position; a discharge unit including a discharge member for discharging the original read at the reading position; and a flat plate shape support frame for supporting the respective units. The sheet supply unit and discharge unit are mounted on one of front and rear sides of the support frame, and the transport unit is mounted on the other of the front and rear sides of the support frame, so that each unit is unitized. Further, a sheet supply opening for guiding the original from the sheet supply unit to the transport unit is established on one side of the support frame, and an opening for guiding the original from the transport unit to the discharge unit is established on the other side of the support frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2005
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Atsumi Kobayashi, Kunihide Suzuki, Yutaka Tanaka, Akiharu Higaki, Akihiko Tukui, Mizuho Shirakura
  • Patent number: 6810231
    Abstract: A sheet transfer apparatus transfers a sheet to a predetermined position. The apparatus includes a discharge tray; a support device for rotationally supporting the discharge tray; an interconnecting device that activates according to a rotation of the discharge tray; and a sheet regulating device engaging the interconnecting means to be movable between a regulating position for regulating a movement of the sheet and a retracted position for allowing the sheets on the discharge tray to move. A control device prevents the sheet regulating device from moving to the regulating position from the retracted position even though the discharge tray is rotated when a load greater than a predetermined value is applied to the sheet regulating device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2004
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Atsumi Kobayashi, Kunihide Suzuki, Yutaka Tanaka, Akiharu Higaki, Akihiko Tsukui, Mizuho Shirakura
  • Publication number: 20040056413
    Abstract: A sheet supply apparatus includes a sheet supply tray for stacking a sheet, and an auxiliary tray movable between a support position where the auxiliary tray supports a portion of the sheet stacked on the sheet supply tray and a storage position where the auxiliary tray overlaps the sheet supply tray. A sheet supply device supplies the sheet stacked on the sheet supply tray. A sheet detection device is mounted on the auxiliary tray for detecting the sheet stacked on the sheet supply tray, and a tray position detection device detects a position of the auxiliary tray between the support position and the storage position. An identifying device identifies a length of the sheet in a sheet supply direction based on detection results of the sheet detection device and the tray detection device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 3, 2003
    Publication date: March 25, 2004
    Inventors: Mizuho Shirakura, Naoki Suzuki