Patents by Inventor Shuichi Hiroko

Shuichi Hiroko 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).

  • Publication number: 20090117477
    Abstract: To solve a thin image density and sweeping occurring when a toner carrying member having a small diameter is used, provided is an image-forming method including: a charging step; an electrostatic latent image-forming step; a developing step; a transferring step; and a fixing step, in which a magnetic toner to be used in the method has a specific weight average particle diameter (D4); the magnetic toner has a specific intensity of magnetization in a specific magnetic field; and a surface free energy of a surface of the magnetic toner and a surface free energy of a surface of a toner carrying member to be used in the method satisfy specific relationships.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 29, 2008
    Publication date: May 7, 2009
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Michihisa Magome, Tadashi Dojo, Eriko Yanase, Takashi Matsui, Tomohisa Sano, Shuichi Hiroko
  • Publication number: 20090092919
    Abstract: To provide a magnetic toner which has superior low-temperature fixing performance and pressure roller anti-staining properties even in various forms of use, has been kept from image defects such as image non-uniformity even during long-time image reproduction and can achieve high-level image quality. In a magnetic toner having toner particles containing at least a binder resin and a magnetic material, the activation energy Ea (kJ/mol) that is determined from a shift factor aT120 in a master curve of the toner, prepared when 120° C. is set as reference temperature, and the activation energy Eb (kJ/mol) that is determined from a shift factor aT150 in a master curve of the toner, prepared when 150° C. is set as reference temperature, satisfy Expression (1), and the Ea is 110 kJ/mol or less: 1.00?Ea/Eb<1.20??(1).
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2008
    Publication date: April 9, 2009
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shuichi Hiroko, Tadashi Dojo, Michihisa Magome, Eriko Yanase, Takashi Matsui, Tomohisa Sano, Akira Sakakibara
  • Publication number: 20090047043
    Abstract: An image-forming method is provided which can provide stable image density irrespective of use environments and does not cause image defects such as fogging, tailing, or transfer voids, even when being applied to a developing sleeve with a reduced diameter. In the image-forming method, a latent image bearing member and a toner bearing member bearing a magnetic toner on its surface and having inside a unit for generating a magnetic field are placed with a predetermined interval, and an alternating field is applied between the latent image bearing member and the toner bearing member, and an electrostatic latent image borne by the latent image bearing member is developed with the magnetic toner. The toner bearing member has a specific diameter, and the magnetic toner has a specific circularity and a specific compressibility. The total energy of the toner measured with a powder flowability measuring apparatus satisfies a specific value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 20, 2008
    Publication date: February 19, 2009
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tadashi Dojo, Michihisa Magome, Eriko Yanase, Takashi Matsui, Tomohisa Sano, Akira Sakakibara, Shuichi Hiroko
  • Publication number: 20080124643
    Abstract: A toner is provided which can stably provide a favorable density stability, line reproducibility and dot reproducibility even in high-speed copying machines, printers and the like which form high resolution latent images over a long period regardless of environmental conditions, and can provide the image quality adaptable to embedded pattern printing, QR code printing and the like. The present invention is characterized in that the toner which includes toner particles including at least a binder resin and a colorant, and a fine silica powder, has a volume median diameter (D50) of not less than 0.70 ?m and not more than 3.00 ?m, and a total pore volume of not more than 0.200 cm3/g, measured in the range of the pore diameter from not less than 1.7 nm and not more than 300.0 nm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2007
    Publication date: May 29, 2008
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Daisuke Yoshiba, Katsuhisa Yamazaki, Syuhei Moribe, Junko Nishiyama, Shuichi Hiroko, Masami Fujimoto, Takashige Kasuya
  • Publication number: 20070141499
    Abstract: The invention provides a toner which is excellent in its low-temperature fixing property and high-temperature offset resistance regardless of the types of paper, and constantly provides high-quality images regardless of environments and does not generate image defects even after prolonged use. In a master curve of the toner at a reference temperature of 150° C., a difference between a storage modulus at a frequency of 0.1 Hz and a storage modulus at a frequency of 1000 Hz is set in a rage from 0 to 2.5×105 Pa, where the activation energy determined from a shift factor is brought to a range from 50 to 130 kJ/mol.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2007
    Publication date: June 21, 2007
    Inventors: Katsuhisa Yamazaki, Shuichi Hiroko, Shuhei Moribe
  • Publication number: 20070105033
    Abstract: The present invention provides a toner which is excellent in low-temperature fixability and transparency and has high gloss, and which is excellent in offset resistance, storage stability, and development stability. The toner is characterized in that: a square radius of inertia Rt at a peak top of a main peak in GPC-RALLS-viscometer analysis of tetrahydrofuran (THF) soluble matter when the toner is dissolved in a THF solvent at 25° C. for 24 hours is 1.0 nm to 3.8 nm; and the square radius of inertia Rt and a square radius of inertia Rp at a peak top of a main peak in GPC-RALLS-viscometer analysis of THF soluble matter when linear polystyrene, having an absolute peak molecular weight value at the same value as a main peak value of the toner, is dissolved in a THF solvent at 25° C. for 24 hours satisfy the relationship of Rt/Rp<0.85.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 3, 2006
    Publication date: May 10, 2007
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Syuhei Moribe, Katsuhisa Yamazaki, Shuichi Hiroko
  • Publication number: 20070026336
    Abstract: Provided is a toner including at least: a binder resin; and a colorant, in which: the binder resin contains at least a polyester unit and a vinyl copolymer unit; a main peak MpA is present in the molecular weight region of 2,000 to 7,000 in a molecular weight distribution measured by means of gel permeation chromatography (GPC) of a specific tetrahydrofuran (THF) soluble matter A measured by a specific method; a main peak MpB is present in the molecular weight region of 5,000 to 10,000 in a molecular weight distribution measured by means of GPC of a specific THF soluble matter B which contains a component of a molecular weight region of 100,000 or less in range from 70 to 100 mass %, and the peak molecular weight MpA of the THF soluble matter A and the peak molecular weight MpB of the THF soluble matter B satisfy a specific equation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2006
    Publication date: February 1, 2007
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: KATSUHISA YAMAZAKI, Masami Fujimoto, Shuichi Hiroko, Masaaki Taya