Patents by Inventor Shin Kayahara
Shin Kayahara 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: 8483598Abstract: The image forming apparatus includes a latent image bearing member; a charging device charging the surface of the latent image bearing member; a latent image forming device forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the latent image bearing member; a developing device supplying toner to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image; a cover film supplying device supplying a cover film to the surface of the latent image bearing member at a cover film supplying position located on an upstream side from the development position so that the toner image is formed on the cover film covering the surface of the latent image bearing member; and a cover film separating device separating the cover film bearing the toner image thereon from the surface of the image bearing member before the cover film bearing the toner image thereon reaches the cover film supplying position.Type: GrantFiled: April 12, 2010Date of Patent: July 9, 2013Assignee: Ricoh Company, LimitedInventors: Shigekazu Enoki, Takuya Suganuma, Ryuji Yoshida, Yoshinori Nakagawa, Atsushi Kurokawa, Ichiro Kadota, Naoyuki Ozaki, Hiroki Atari, Hiroyuki Sugiyama, Kazuhisa Sudo, Masanori Kawasumi, Hiroshi Nakai, Shin Kayahara, Shuji Tanaka
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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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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: 8200135Abstract: A transfer-fixing device includes a transfer-fixing member, a pressing member, a heating device, and a temperature equalizer. The transfer-fixing member carries the toner image. The pressing member presses against the transfer-fixing member to form a nip portion to which the recording medium is conveyed. The heating device heats the transfer-fixing surface of the recording medium conveyed toward the nip portion. The temperature equalizer equalizes a temperature distribution of a surface of the transfer-fixing member in a width direction of the transfer-fixing member after the surface of the transfer-fixing member passes through the nip portion.Type: GrantFiled: February 15, 2008Date of Patent: June 12, 2012Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Takashi Fujita, Shin Kayahara, Hiromitsu Takagaki, Takashi Seto, Takeshi Takemoto, Hirohmi Tamura
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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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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: 20110229232Abstract: A lubricant applying device includes: a solid lubricant; an applying member that applies lubricant powder scraped off from the solid lubricant to an application target; a holding member that holds the solid lubricant; a biasing unit that biases the holding member to bring the solid lubricant on the holding member into contact with the applying member; and a regulating unit that regulates, when a force of a direction orthogonal to an endless movement direction of the applying member is applied from the applying member to the solid lubricant at a frictional surface therebetween, movement of the solid lubricant and the holding member in the orthogonal direction.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 14, 2011Publication date: September 22, 2011Inventors: Takeshi Kojima, Masanori Kawasumi, Shuji Tanaka, Shin Kayahara, Takuya Suganuma, Hiroyuki Sugiyama, Yuji Ishikura
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Patent number: 7970325Abstract: A transfer fixing member containing a base, and an outermost surface layer composed of an elastic material in which a conductive material is dispersed, wherein when a pressure applied to a surface of the transfer fixing member by making a toner image bearing member in contact with the transfer fixing member upon transferring of a toner image on the toner image bearing member onto the transfer fixing member is 0.2 kg/cm2 to 2.0 kg/cm2, the transfer fixing member has a volume resistance of 106 ?·cm or more to less than 1012 ?·cm, and when a pressure applied to the surface of the transfer fixing member by making the transfer fixing member in contact with the recording medium located between the transfer fixing member and a pressurizing member upon transfer-fixing of the toner image onto the recording medium is 3.0 kg/cm2 to 20 kg/cm2, the transfer fixing is member has a volume resistance of less than 106 ?·cm.Type: GrantFiled: June 30, 2008Date of Patent: June 28, 2011Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Kazumi Suzuki, Takashi Fujita, Hiromitsu Takagaki, Takashi Seto, Shin Kayahara, Atsushi Nagata
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Patent number: 7912412Abstract: A transfer-fixing device transfers and fixes a toner image onto a transfer-fixing surface of a recording medium, and includes a transfer-fixing member, a pressing member, a heating member, and a temperature equalization member. The transfer-fixing member carries the toner image. The pressing member pressingly contacts the transfer-fixing member to form a nip between the pressing member and the transfer-fixing member through which the recording medium passes. The heating member heats the transfer-fixing surface of the recording medium conveyed toward the nip so that the recording medium reaches the nip before a temperature of a back surface opposite the transfer-fixing surface of the recording medium increases. The temperature equalization member equalizes temperature distribution on a surface of the transfer-fixing member in a width direction of the transfer-fixing member perpendicular to a conveyance direction of the recording medium, after the surface of the transfer-fixing member passes the nip.Type: GrantFiled: March 6, 2008Date of Patent: March 22, 2011Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Takashi Fujita, Shin Kayahara, Takeshi Takemoto, Hiromitsu Takagaki, Takashi Seto, Hirohmi Tamura
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Patent number: 7907881Abstract: The transfer-fixing device includes an image carrier, a pressing member, a heater, and an electrical field generator. The image carrier carries a toner image. The pressing member presses against the image carrier to form a transfer-fixing nip between the pressing member and the image carrier. The heater heats the toner image carried by the image carrier so that a temperature of the toner image is not higher than Tm +10 degrees centigrade when a toner softening point is Tm degrees centigrade. The electrical field generator forms a transfer electrical field at the transfer-fixing nip.Type: GrantFiled: March 4, 2008Date of Patent: March 15, 2011Assignee: Ricoh Company LimitedInventors: Shin Kayahara, Takashi Fujita, Takeshi Takemoto, Hiromitsu Takagaki, Takashi Seto, Hirohmi Tamura
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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: 7869752Abstract: A cleaning device including a cleaning member that moves in a predetermined direction and is in contact with a cleaning target that moves in a predetermined direction and which is directly or indirectly heated by a heater, to remove toner particles on a surface of the cleaning target. A contact surface of the cleaning member with the cleaning target includes a plurality of regions of different toner-releasing ability.Type: GrantFiled: June 23, 2008Date of Patent: January 11, 2011Assignee: Ricoh Company LimitedInventors: Shin Kayahara, Takashi Fujita, Takeshi Takemoto, Hiromitsu Takagaki, Takashi Seto, Kazumi Suzuki, Atsushi Nagata
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Patent number: 7856201Abstract: A transfer fixation apparatus includes: a fixing member that carries the toner image; a pressurizing member that becomes in contact with the fixing member with pressure to form a nip through which the recording target medium is transported; and a plurality of heating members that are provided at relatively upstream positions when viewed from the relatively downstream nip and apply heat to the surface of the recording target medium that is transported toward the nip, wherein the number of heating members that apply heat to the surface of the recording target medium is changed depending on whether the transfer of the toner image is performed only on the front side of the recording target medium or the transfer of the toner image is performed also on the reverse side of the recording target medium after the transfer of the toner image on the front side of the recording target medium.Type: GrantFiled: October 27, 2008Date of Patent: December 21, 2010Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Hiromitsu Takagaki, Takashi Fujita, Shin Kayahara, Takashi Seto, Atsushi Nagata, Takeshi Takemoto, Kazumi Suzuki
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Publication number: 20100278558Abstract: The image forming apparatus includes a latent image bearing member; a charging device charging the surface of the latent image bearing member; a latent image forming device forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the latent image bearing member; a developing device supplying toner to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image; a cover film supplying device supplying a cover film to the surface of the latent image bearing member at a cover film supplying position located on an upstream side from the development position so that the toner image is formed on the cover film covering the surface of the latent image bearing member; and a cover film separating device separating the cover film bearing the toner image thereon from the surface of the image bearing member before the cover film bearing the toner image thereon reaches the cover film supplying position.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 12, 2010Publication date: November 4, 2010Inventors: Shigekazu ENOKI, Takuya Suganuma, Ryuji Yoshida, Yoshinori Nakagawa, Atsushi Kurokawa, Ichiro Kadota, Naoyuki Ozaki, Hiroki Atari, Hiroyuki Sugiyama, Kazuhisa Sudo, Masanori Kawasumi, Hiroshi Nakai, Shin Kayahara, Shuji Tanaka
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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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Patent number: 7790343Abstract: A process includes developing toner images on a photoconductor, transferring to an intermediate transfer belt and a transferring-and-fixing roller. The toner images are transferred to and fixed to a paper simultaneously while the paper moves between the transferring-and-fixing roller and a pressure roller which is pressed against the transferring-and-fixing roller. After transfer process to the paper, residual toner particles remaining on the transferring-and-fixing roller are removed by a cleaning roller. In order to achieve a cleanability from the transferring-and-fixing roller and prevent the intermediate belt from becoming too high temperature, the elastic modulus of the toner particles measured when the toner particles are heated is greater than the elastic modulus of the toner particles when cooled in a temperature range where the glass transition temperature and 10° C. lower than the melting temperature of the toner particles.Type: GrantFiled: January 31, 2007Date of Patent: September 7, 2010Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Kazumi Suzuki, Hiromitsu Takagaki, Takashi Fujita, Atsushi Nakafuji, Hiromi Tamura, Shin Kayahara, Tsuyoshi Sugimoto, Takashi Seto, Katsuaki Miyawaki
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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: 7711300Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier for bearing a visible image thereon, an endless transfer-fixing belt stretchedly disposed between a plurality of spanning members, a pressure member for pressing the transfer-fixing belt to the image carrier while contacting a backside of the transfer-fixing belt at the transfer nip, and a heater for heating the visible image. The visible image on the image carrier is transferred onto the front surface of the transfer-fixing belt at the transfer nip and is transported to the transfer-fixing nip while heated by the heater, where the visible image is transferred and fixed on a recording member. The transfer-fixing belt is stretchedly arranged such that the transfer-fixing belt travels in a direction substantially perpendicular to a pressure direction of the pressure member in the proximity of the transfer nip.Type: GrantFiled: September 19, 2007Date of Patent: May 4, 2010Assignee: Ricoh Company Ltd.Inventors: Atsushi Nakafuji, Takashi Fujita, Shin Kayahara, Hiromitsu Takagaki, Takashi Seto, Katsuaki Miyawaki, Kazumi Suzuki, Hirohmi Tamura