Patents by Inventor Toshiyuki Sano

Toshiyuki Sano 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: 11953708
    Abstract: A camera device includes a first filter configured to restrict a transverse wave component of incident light having light of a plurality of different wavelength bands generated based on birefringence in a car film from a vehicle to which the car film is adhered, a lens on which a vertical wave component of the incident light transmitted through the first filter is incident, a second filter configured to restrict a vertical wave component of the incident light in a visible region among the vertical wave component of the incident light imaged by the lens, and an imaging element configured to image the vehicle as a subject based on a vertical wave component of the incident light in a near-infrared region transmitted through the second filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: I-PRO CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hideaki Yamada, Jyouji Wada, Toshiyuki Sano, Akito Omata, Yuma Kobayashi, Naoaki Tomisaka
  • Patent number: 11912597
    Abstract: A sludge drying apparatus includes a waste fluid bath for storing a waste fluid containing a sludge, an extracting unit for extracting the sludge from the waste fluid stored in the waste fluid bath, a transfer belt for transferring the sludge extracted by the extracting unit, a drying unit for drying the sludge to be transferred by the transfer belt, and a recovering unit for recovering the sludge transferred by the transfer belt and dried by the drying unit. The recovering unit includes a roll brush provided adjacent to the air outlet so as to horizontally extend in the direction perpendicular to the direction of extension of the transfer belt, and a recovery box for recovering the sludge separated from the transfer belt by the roll brush.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: DISCO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Satoshi Sugiyama, Toshiyuki Sano, Miki Yoshida
  • Patent number: 11912873
    Abstract: There is provided a polymer composition using which a molded product having excellent balance between rigidity, wear resistance, viscoelastic properties, and heat resistance can be obtained. A polymer composition according to the disclosure includes (A) a conjugated diene rubber (where, a polymer corresponding to the following component (B) is excluded); and (B) a hydrogenated product of a polymer that satisfies the following (1) to (3), which is a polymer in which 80% or more of structural units derived from butadiene are hydrogenated: (1) being a copolymer of a conjugated diene compound containing butadiene and an aromatic vinyl compound, (2) including a polybutadiene block having a vinyl group content of 20% or less, and (3) including a block composed of a conjugated diene compound and an aromatic vinyl compound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: ENEOS Materials Corporation
    Inventors: Toshimitsu Kikuchi, Takuya Sano, Hirofumi Senga, Yuto Sakagami, Takato Fukumoto, Toshiyuki Hayakawa
  • Patent number: 11906924
    Abstract: A sensor is located upstream of a conveyance roller in a sheet conveyance direction. A switch switches driving and stopping of a photosensitive drum. A controller performs a first mode process as a warm-up process of driving the conveyance roller and a fuser. The first mode process includes: driving the photosensitive drum for a particular time; in response to detecting a sheet within the particular time by the sensor, controlling the switch to continue driving the photosensitive drum after the particular time elapses and to discharge the detected sheet to a sheet discharge tray; and in response to not detecting the sheet within the particular time by the sensor, controlling the switch to stop driving the photosensitive drum at a time point when the particular time elapses, and driving the conveyance roller and the fuser to complete the warm-up process in a state where the photosensitive drum is stopped.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Sano, Masaaki Furukawa
  • Patent number: 11860558
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus is configured to execute image forming processing of forming an image on a sheet. The apparatus includes a photosensitive drum, a fixing device including a heater and a roller, a main motor configured to generate a driving force, a driving mechanism having a connected state in which the driving force is transmittable to both the roller and the photosensitive drum, and a disconnected state in which the driving force is transmittable to the roller but is not transmitted to the photosensitive drum, a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the fixing device, and a controller. In a case where the image forming processing is started, the controller sets the driving mechanism into the disconnected state, rotates the main motor at a preheating speed, and executes preheating processing in which the fixing device is heated by the heater.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masaaki Furukawa, Sota Hirano, Takahito Yamaji, Toshiyuki Sano, Tadao Kyotani
  • Publication number: 20230328365
    Abstract: An evaluation value for evaluating an object surface state is calculated in a more suitable form. An image processing apparatus acquires distance information about a distance between an image capturing apparatus and a subject, acquires image capturing apparatus information about the image capturing apparatus, and calculates a geometric condition on a positional relationship between a light source, the subject, and the image capturing apparatus based on the distance information and the image capturing apparatus information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2023
    Publication date: October 12, 2023
    Inventor: TOSHIYUKI SANO
  • Patent number: 11765322
    Abstract: A vehicle monitoring system includes at least one camera, and a server that is communicably connected to a client terminal. The camera performs capturing a vehicle while switching a first capturing condition including an image parameter for capturing a number of the vehicle entering an angle of view of the camera and a second capturing condition including an image parameter for capturing an occupant's face of the vehicle, and transmits a first captured video under the first capturing condition and a second captured video under the second capturing condition to the server. The server arranges reproduction screens for the first captured video and the second captured video that are reproduceable in the client terminal and displays the reproduction screens on the client terminal based on the first captured video and the second captured video.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: I-PRO CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Toshimasa Funaki, Michinori Kishimoto, Hiroaki Jodan, Toshiyuki Sano, Masahiro Yamashita, Yuma Kobayashi, Yuji Arima, Hideaki Takahashi
  • Patent number: 11673757
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a main apparatus body having an image forming unit and a discharge tray; and a controller. The main apparatus body includes a conveyance path along which a sheet passed through the image forming unit is conveyed; a discharge path branched from the conveyance path and connected to the discharge tray; and a reconveyance path having a first path different from the discharge path and a second path for conveying the sheet to the image forming unit. In a double-sided printing, if a first sheet has passed through the first path when a forward end of a second sheet arrives at a predetermined position in the conveyance path, the controller conveys the second sheet to the first path and then conveys the second sheet to the second path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Sano, Shintaro Sakaguchi
  • Publication number: 20230168620
    Abstract: A sensor is located upstream of a conveyance roller in a sheet conveyance direction. A switch switches driving and stopping of a photosensitive drum. A controller performs a first mode process as a warm-up process of driving the conveyance roller and a fuser. The first mode process includes: driving the photosensitive drum for a particular time; in response to detecting a sheet within the particular time by the sensor, controlling the switch to continue driving the photosensitive drum after the particular time elapses and to discharge the detected sheet to a sheet discharge tray; and in response to not detecting the sheet within the particular time by the sensor, controlling the switch to stop driving the photosensitive drum at a time point when the particular time elapses, and driving the conveyance roller and the fuser to complete the warm-up process in a state where the photosensitive drum is stopped.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2022
    Publication date: June 1, 2023
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Toshiyuki SANO, Masaaki FURUKAWA
  • Publication number: 20230038853
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus is configured to execute image forming processing of forming an image on a sheet. The apparatus includes a photosensitive drum, a fixing device including a heater and a roller, a main motor configured to generate a driving force, a driving mechanism having a connected state in which the driving force is transmittable to both the roller and the photosensitive drum, and a disconnected state in which the driving force is transmittable to the roller but is not transmitted to the photosensitive drum, a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the fixing device, and a controller. In a case where the image forming processing is started, the controller sets the driving mechanism into the disconnected state, rotates the main motor at a preheating speed, and executes preheating processing in which the fixing device is heated by the heater.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 4, 2022
    Publication date: February 9, 2023
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masaaki FURUKAWA, Sota HIRANO, Takahito YAMAJI, Toshiyuki SANO, Tadao KYOTANI
  • Publication number: 20230043977
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus is configured to perform image forming processing. The image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive drum, a main motor configured to generate a driving force, a drum clutch having a transmission state in which the driving force is transmitted to the photosensitive drum and a disconnected state in which the driving force is not transmitted to the photosensitive drum, a sheet sensor configured to detect a rear edge of a sheet upstream of the photosensitive drum in a sheet conveying direction, and a controller. In a case where a start command for subsequent image forming processing is not received after the sheet sensor detects a rear edge of a last sheet in image forming processing performed based on received print data, the controller executes drum clutch disconnection processing, and then executes main motor rotation stop processing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 4, 2022
    Publication date: February 9, 2023
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masaaki FURUKAWA, Sota HIRANO, Takahito YAMAJI, Toshiyuki SANO, Tadao KYOTANI
  • Patent number: 11548749
    Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, a sheet is guided into a first conveyor path or a second conveyor path selectively when a first cover is in a closed position, and is ejected onto the first cover when the first cover is in an open position. Upon power-up, a controller causes a first conveyor roller to rotate but if the first cover is in the open position, when a sheet sensor detects a sheet, the controller does not cause a second conveyor roller to rotate, and causes a flapper to swing from a first position to a second position, and when a front end of the sheet reaches a position downstream of an upstream end of the flapper in a conveyance direction of the sheet conveyed by the first conveyor roller, the controller causes the flapper to swing from the second position to the first position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yusuke Ikegami, Shintaro Sakaguchi, Toshiyuki Sano
  • Patent number: 11378895
    Abstract: A controller is configured to: when an inter-sheet time is shorter than or equal to a first time, maintain a developing roller in contact with a photosensitive drum during an inter-sheet time; when the inter-sheet time is longer than the first time and shorter than or equal to a second time longer than the first time, perform, during the inter-sheet time, at least part of temporary separation processing of temporarily separating the developing roller from the photosensitive drum in a state where the photosensitive drum is rotating; and when the inter-sheet time is longer than the second time, perform, during the inter-sheet time, at least part of temporary stop processing of separating the developing roller from the photosensitive drum and then stopping rotation of the photosensitive drum, and subsequently restarting rotation thereof and then bringing the developing roller into contact with the photosensitive drum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Sano, Yusuke Ikegami, Junya Sumida, Chieko Mimura, Shintaro Sakaguchi
  • Patent number: 11372362
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a developing roller, a photo-interrupter, and a separation mechanism. The developing roller is movable between a contact position and a separated position. The photo-interrupter includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element. The separation mechanism includes a cam configured to move the developing roller between the contact position and the separated position. The cam includes a phase detection wall extending in a circumference direction. The phase detection wall has a first slit and a second slit. The first slit allows the light emitted from the light emitting element to pass therethrough when the developing roller is at the separated position. The second slit allows the light emitted from the light emitting element to pass therethrough when the developing roller is at the contact position. A size of the first slit in the circumferential direction is different from that of the second slit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yusuke Ikegami, Masahito Saeki, Toshiyuki Sano, Shintaro Sakaguchi
  • Patent number: 11353806
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a photosensitive drum; a developing roller; a separation mechanism for moving the developing roller between a contacting position contacting the photosensitive drum and a separated position separated from the photosensitive drum; a first tray; a first sheet feed mechanism for feeding a sheet from the first tray toward the photosensitive drum; a first sheet sensor for detecting passage of the sheet at a prescribed position; and a controller. The controller of the image forming apparatus is configured to perform: when a printing operation is performed onto the sheet ted from the first tray, feeding the sheet in the first tray to the prescribed position and maintain the sheet; moving, on or after the first sheet sensor detects the sheet, the developing roller to the contacting position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shintaro Sakaguchi, Toshiyuki Sano, Masahito Saeki
  • Patent number: 11334022
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive drum, a developing roller, a cam, a developing motor, a first transmission mechanism, and a second transmission mechanism. The cam moves the developing roller between a contacting position where the developing roller is in contact with the photosensitive drum and a separated position where the developing roller is separated from the photosensitive drum. The developing motor drives both the developing roller and the cam, and is rotatable in a normal rotating direction and a reverse rotating direction. The first transmission mechanism engages power transmission from the developing motor to the developing roller when the developing motor rotates in the normal rotating direction, and disengages the power transmission when the developing motor rotates in the reverse rotating direction. The second transmission mechanism can engage power transmission from the developing motor to the cam, irrespective of the rotating direction of the developing motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yusuke Ikegami, Masahito Saeki, Shintaro Sakaguchi, Toshiyuki Sano
  • Patent number: 11256190
    Abstract: A controller is configured to, when forming an image on one sheet, in a case where a length of one sheet in a conveyance direction is larger than a first length, drive a moving mechanism to move a plurality of developing rollers from a separation position to a contact position, temporarily stop driving of the moving mechanism, and then, at a first timing, again drive the moving mechanism to move the plurality of developing rollers from the contact position to the separation position; and in a case where the length of the one sheet in the conveyance direction is smaller than or equal to the first length, drive the moving mechanism to move the plurality of developing rollers from the separation position to the contact position and then to move the plurality of developing rollers from the contact position to the separation position without stopping driving of the moving mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yusuke Ikegami, Shintaro Sakaguchi, Toshiyuki Sano
  • Patent number: 11237497
    Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, when a first sheet and a second sheet are subjected to printing and the second sheet is being conveyed at a particular timing after a sheet sensor detected passage of a trailing end of the first sheet, and when a sheet interval between the first sheet and the second sheet is equal to or greater than a particular threshold interval, a controller positions first and second developing rollers to first and second separated positions, respectively, after developing of images to be transferred onto the first sheet has been completed, positions the developing rollers to be used for printing on the second sheet to respective contact positions, and starts developing images to be transferred on the second sheet. The controller is further configured to perform a color printing using both the first and second developing rollers, and a monochromatic printing using only the second developing roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shintaro Sakaguchi, Toshiyuki Sano, Masahito Saeki
  • Patent number: 11231659
    Abstract: In response to determining that image forming in a color mode is performed on a first sheet and then image forming in a monochrome mode is successively performed on the second sheet, perform charging bias reduction processing gradually reducing a charging bias from first to second charging bias and developing bias reduction processing of gradually reducing a developing bias from first to second developing bias during a first inter-sheet period after the first sheet passes a first photosensitive drum and before the second sheet reaches the first photosensitive drum, and perform separation processing such that an execution period of the separation processing overlaps at least one of an execution period of the charging bias reduction processing and an execution period of the developing bias reduction processing, the separation processing being processing of controlling a moving mechanism to move a first developing roller from a contact position to a separation position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Junya Sumida, Shunsuke Ishii, Toshio Furukawa, Toshiyuki Sano, Shintaro Sakaguchi
  • Patent number: 11209744
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus, having first, second, and third photosensitive drums, a first developing cartridge including a first developing roller, a second developing cartridge including a second developing roller, a third developing cartridge including a third developing roller, an exposure device, a conveyer, and a moving mechanism, is provided. The first developing roller, the second developing roller, and the third developing roller are arranged in the recited order from upstream to downstream in a moving direction for the sheet to be conveyed. When the second developing roller is at the separated position thereof, the second developing cartridge coincides with a light path of the laser beam for scanning the first photosensitive drum. When the third developing roller is at the separated position thereof, the third developing cartridge coincides with a light path of the laser beam for scanning the second photosensitive drum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masahito Saeki, Toshiyuki Sano, Shintaro Sakaguchi, Kotaro Haruta, Shoichiro Nishimura