Patents by Inventor Muneharu Itoh

Muneharu Itoh 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: 7769337
    Abstract: An image forming method using a cleaning blade which prevents the spherical toner to pass through a gap between the blade and a photosensitive member and which has durability so as to be less worn away or chipped, wherein it is possible to maintain cleaning performance over a long term even in high-speed printing using spherical toner, and a non-transferred toner and external additives dropping out from colored particles less causes filming on the photosensitive member and less gives damage to the surface of the photosensitive member, is provided. A method of forming an image using a toner having an average circularity of 0.95 to 0.998 to perform developing, transferring, fixing and cleaning for removing the toner remaining on the photosensitive member after the transferring by a cleaning blade 6 abutting on the photosensitive member, wherein an abutting portion of the cleaning blade 6 on the photosensitive member has an indentation modulus (A) of 5 to 15 KPa at an indenting load of 10 mN and 23° C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2010
    Assignee: Zeon Corporation
    Inventors: Muneharu Itoh, Hiroto Kidokoro
  • Publication number: 20090154971
    Abstract: An image forming method using a cleaning blade which prevents the spherical toner to pass through a gap between the blade and a photosensitive member and which has durability so as to be less worn away or chipped, wherein it is possible to maintain cleaning performance over a long term even in high-speed printing using spherical toner, and a non-transferred toner and external additives dropping out from colored particles less causes filming on the photosensitive member and less gives damage to the surface of the photosensitive member, is provided. A method of forming an image using a toner having an average circularity of 0.95 to 0.998 to perform developing, transferring, fixing and cleaning for removing the toner remaining on the photosensitive member after the transferring by a cleaning blade 6 abutting on the photosensitive member, wherein an abutting portion of the cleaning blade 6 on the photosensitive member has an indentation modulus (A) of 5 to 15 KPa at an indenting load of 10 mN and 23° C.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2006
    Publication date: June 18, 2009
    Applicant: ZEON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Muneharu Itoh, Hiroto Kidokoro
  • Patent number: 7344814
    Abstract: A toner for an image-forming apparatus and method which apparatus has a cleaning means with a cleaning blade to remove a residual toner remaining on a surface of a photoconductive member after transfer; the toner being a mixture of a colored polymer particle and an external additive. The colored polymer particle has an average circle degree in the range of 0.95-0.995 and a volume average particle diameter in the range of 3-8 ?m. The toner has an absolute value of charge amount in the range of 20-70 ?C/g in a toner layer formed on a developing roll when the toner is used with the image-forming apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2008
    Assignee: Zeon Corporation
    Inventor: Muneharu Itoh
  • Publication number: 20080057434
    Abstract: The present invention is to provide a method of producing a non-magnetic one-component toner for developing an electrostatic image which is well-balanced between shelf stability and fixing ability at low temperature and has a good charge property so that printing performance is excellent from the viewpoint of hardly producing printing soiling such as fogs or the like.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 31, 2007
    Publication date: March 6, 2008
    Applicant: ZEON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Muneharu Itoh
  • Publication number: 20070099105
    Abstract: The present invention aims to provide a non-magnetic toner for developing electrostatic image which is able to perform stable high-quality printing in spite of environmental changes in, for example, temperature, humidity and so on. The non-magnetic toner for developing electrostatic image comprising a colored particle, produced by a method comprising a step of forming a droplet in an aqueous dispersion medium containing a dispersion stabilizer, wherein a volume average particle diameter of the toner for developing electrostatic image is from 3 to 10 ?m and an amount of adsorbed moisture of the non-magnetic toner for developing electrostatic image at 32° C. and a relative humidity of 80% is from 0.1 to 0.25 wt %.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 31, 2006
    Publication date: May 3, 2007
    Applicant: ZEON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Muneharu Itoh
  • Publication number: 20050238986
    Abstract: A toner for an image forming apparatus and method which apparatus has a cleaning means with a cleaning blade to remove a residual toner remaining on a surface of a photoconductive member after transfer; the toner being a mixture of a colored polymer particle and an external additive. The colored polymer particle has an average circle degree in the range of 0.95-0.995 and a volume average particle diameter in the range of 3-8 ?m. The toner has an absolute value of charge amount in the range of 20-70 ?C/g in a toner layer formed on a developing roll when the toner is used with the image-forming apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2005
    Publication date: October 27, 2005
    Applicant: ZEON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Muneharu Itoh
  • Publication number: 20040106058
    Abstract: A toner for an image-forming apparatus and method which apparatus has a cleaning means with a cleaning blade to remove a residual toner remaining on a surface of a photoconductive member after transfer; the toner being a mixture of a colored polymer particle and an external additive. The colored polymer particle has an average circle degree in the range of 0.95-0.995 and a volume average particle diameter in the range of 3-8 &mgr;m. The toner has an absolute value of charge amount in the range of 20-70 &mgr;C/g in a toner layer formed on a developing roll when the toner is used with the image-forming apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2003
    Publication date: June 3, 2004
    Applicant: ZEON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Muneharu Itoh