Patents by Inventor Shinya Tanigami

Shinya Tanigami 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: 10491767
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: image former forming an image on a sheet; a sheet storage storing the sheet; a sheet feeder feeding the sheet stored in the sheet storage to the image former; a sheet characteristic detector detecting characteristics of the sheet fed by the sheet feeder; and a hardware processor controlling image forming in the image former on the basis of the sheet characteristics detected by the sheet characteristic detector, wherein the sheet feeder feeds a first sheet in order to detect the sheet characteristics by the sheet characteristic detector before forming an image by the image former, and after the sheet characteristic detector has finished detecting the characteristics of the first sheet, the sheet feeder feeds a second sheet on which the image is to be formed by the image former under image forming conditions set on the basis of the detected characteristics of the first sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignee: Konica Minolta, Inc.
    Inventor: Shinya Tanigami
  • Patent number: 10308463
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: sheet feed trays on which sheets are placed; a transferrer that transfers an image formed by an image forming part onto a sheet at a transfer position; conveyance roller pairs provided along conveyance paths from the sheet feed trays to the transfer position and that conveys a fed sheet; a conveyance position detector that detects a conveyance position of a conveyed sheet in a width direction; a sheet position adjuster that performs adjustment of the conveyance position of the sheet in the width direction by using an amount of displacement; and a hardware processor that determines, on the basis of a sheet feed tray that is to be used among the sheet feed trays and a sheet length of a sheet that is to be fed from the sheet feed tray, whether or not the adjustment of the conveyance position is to be performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Konica Minolta, Inc.
    Inventor: Shinya Tanigami
  • Publication number: 20190082067
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: image former forming an image on a sheet; a sheet storage storing the sheet; a sheet feeder feeding the sheet stored in the sheet storage to the image former; a sheet characteristic detector detecting characteristics of the sheet fed by the sheet feeder; and a hardware processor controlling image forming in the image former on the basis of the sheet characteristics detected by the sheet characteristic detector, wherein the sheet feeder feeds a first sheet in order to detect the sheet characteristics by the sheet characteristic detector before forming an image by the image former, and after the sheet characteristic detector has finished detecting the characteristics of the first sheet, the sheet feeder feeds a second sheet on which the image is to be formed by the image former under image forming conditions set on the basis of the detected characteristics of the first sheet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2018
    Publication date: March 14, 2019
    Applicant: KONICA MINOLTA, INC.
    Inventor: Shinya Tanigami
  • Publication number: 20180050881
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: sheet feed trays on which sheets are placed; a transferrer that transfers an image formed by an image forming part onto a sheet at a transfer position; conveyance roller pairs provided along conveyance paths from the sheet feed trays to the transfer position and that conveys a fed sheet; a conveyance position detector that detects a conveyance position of a conveyed sheet in a width direction; a sheet position adjuster that performs adjustment of the conveyance position of the sheet in the width direction by using an amount of displacement; and a hardware processor that determines, on the basis of a sheet feed tray that is to be used among the sheet feed trays and a sheet length of a sheet that is to be fed from the sheet feed tray, whether or not the adjustment of the conveyance position is to be performed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 1, 2017
    Publication date: February 22, 2018
    Applicant: Konica Minolta, Inc.
    Inventor: Shinya TANIGAMI
  • Patent number: 9869958
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus of the present invention includes: an image forming unit for forming an image on a continuous paper; a fixing unit for fixing by heat the image which has been formed on the continuous paper by the image forming unit; conveyance units for conveying the continuous paper; and a control unit for controlling the conveyance units to convey the continuous paper in such a manner that, when an image forming operation by the image forming unit is stopped, the same portion of the continuous paper, on which the image is not formed, does not remain in the fixing unit for a predetermined period of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2018
    Assignee: KONICA MINOLTA, INC.
    Inventors: Shinya Tanigami, Shingo Sasami, Shougo Fukai, Hideo Yamane
  • Publication number: 20150078771
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus of the present invention includes: an image forming unit for forming an image on a continuous paper; a fixing unit for fixing by heat the image which has been formed on the continuous paper by the image forming unit; conveyance units for conveying the continuous paper; and a control unit for controlling the conveyance units to convey the continuous paper in such a manner that, when an image forming operation by the image forming unit is stopped, the same portion of the continuous paper, on which the image is not formed, does not remain in the fixing unit for a predetermined period of time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 4, 2014
    Publication date: March 19, 2015
    Applicant: KONICA MINOLTA, INC.
    Inventors: Shinya TANIGAMI, Shingo SASAMI, Shougo FUKAI, Hideo YAMANE
  • Patent number: 8422935
    Abstract: In an image forming system equipped with a small-sized post-processing apparatus capable of producing pamphlets without being limited in terms of the number of sets, a folding device, an interposing device and an ejecting device for ejecting a pamphlet formed by interposing a sheet into a sheet to be folded are provided in the post-processing apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2013
    Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Shinya Tanigami
  • Publication number: 20110299870
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus has a controller, when a continuous two-sided printing is carried out, which causes two image forming sections to print images of image data on an Nth page and an (N+1)th page onto respective surfaces of a preceding recording sheet, causes the same image forming section as the image forming section that has formed the image on the (N+1)th page to print an image of image data on an (N+2)th page onto a following sheet, causes a sheet reversing section to reverse the sheet on which the image of the (N+2)th page has printed before the sheet is ejected from the apparatus, and then controls a sheet ejection so that a surface of the (N+1)th page of the preceding sheet faces a surface of the (N+2)th page of the following sheet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 1, 2011
    Publication date: December 8, 2011
    Applicant: KONICA MINOLTA BUSINESS TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventor: Shinya TANIGAMI
  • Patent number: 7722306
    Abstract: An image forming system including a binding system section that generates a stack of sheets by accumulating a plurality of sheets and that binds the sheets by wrapping the stack of sheets with a cover sheet in the shape of a horizontal U, the image forming system having: a measurement section to measure the thickness of the stack of sheets; a spine cover width determining section to determine a spine cover width in the cover sheet based on the thickness of the stack of sheets measured by the measurement section; and an image forming section to form on the cover sheet a front cover image and a back cover image separating them by a spacing equal to the spine cover width.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2010
    Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Jun Yokobori, Shinya Tanigami
  • Publication number: 20080205955
    Abstract: In an image forming system equipped with a small-sized post-processing apparatus capable of producing pamphlets without being limited in terms of the number of sets, a folding device, an interposing device and an ejecting device for ejecting a pamphlet formed by interposing a sheet into a sheet to be folded are provided in the post-processing apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2007
    Publication date: August 28, 2008
    Applicant: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Shinya Tanigami
  • Patent number: 7345784
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus comprises: an image reading section for reading a plurality of document images of a document having a plurality of sheets page by page, the document being set on a reading position in a state that image directions of the document images are mixed; a designating section for designating each image direction of the document images of the document set on the reading position; a storing section for storing the document images read by the image reading section; an image forming section for recognizing each rotation angle for directing the stored document images to a reference direction which is previously set, in accordance with each designated image direction, and for forming a plurality of output images by rotating the document images by each recognized rotation angle; and an output section for outputting the formed output images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2008
    Assignee: Konica Corporation
    Inventors: Masahiro Osawa, Takao Kurohata, Shinya Tanigami
  • Publication number: 20070172279
    Abstract: An image forming system including a binding section that generates a stack of sheets by accumulating a plurality of sheets and that binds by wrapping the stack of sheets with a cover sheet in the shape of a horizontal U, the image forming system comprising: a measurement section to measure the thickness of the stack of sheets; a spine cover width determining section to determine a spine cover width in the cover sheet based on the thickness of the stack of sheets measured by said measurement section; and an image forming section to form on the cover sheet a front cover image and a back cover image separating them by a spacing equal to said spine cover width.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 27, 2006
    Publication date: July 26, 2007
    Inventors: Jun Yokobori, Shinya Tanigami
  • Patent number: 7201368
    Abstract: A sheet finisher includes: a sheet stacker for stacking sheets outputted from an image forming apparatus to form a sheet bundle; a binder for binding the sheet bundle stacked on the sheet stacker; an ejection device for ejecting out of the sheet finisher at least one of the sheet bundle stacked on the sheet stacker and the sheet bundle which has been bound; an ejection tray for stacking the ejected sheet bundle or the bound sheet bundle sequentially; and a controller for controlling the ejection device to make the bound sheet bundle to wait on the sheet stacker, to make a sheet outputted from the apparatus which have not been bound to stack sequentially on the bound sheet bundle, and to make the bound sheet bundle and the sheet stacked on the bound sheet bundle as a unit to eject to the ejection tray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2007
    Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Shinya Tanigami, Masaru Ushio, Kenichi Hosoi
  • Publication number: 20060022395
    Abstract: A sheet finisher includes: a sheet stacker for stacking sheets outputted from an image forming apparatus to form a sheet bundle; a binder for binding the sheet bundle stacked on the sheet stacker; an ejection device for ejecting out of the sheet finisher at least one of the sheet bundle stacked on the sheet stacker and the sheet bundle which has been bound; an ejection tray for stacking the ejected sheet bundle or the bound sheet bundle sequentially; and a controller for controlling the ejection device to make the bound sheet bundle to wait on the sheet stacker, to make a sheet outputted from the apparatus which have not been bound to stack sequentially on the bound sheet bundle, and to make the bound sheet bundle and the sheet stacked on the bound sheet bundle as a unit to eject to the ejection tray.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 19, 2005
    Publication date: February 2, 2006
    Applicant: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Shinya Tanigami, Masaru Ushio, Kenichi Hosoi