Patents by Inventor Yasuhiko Kachi

Yasuhiko Kachi 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: 8337953
    Abstract: The inkjet recording method includes: a treatment liquid depositing step of applying treatment liquid onto a recording medium on a treatment liquid drum; an image forming step of ejecting ink from a line inkjet head to deposit the ink onto the recording medium on which the treatment liquid has been deposited on a circumferential surface of an image formation drum, the ink containing at least a resin dispersant (A), a pigment (B) that is dispersed by the resin dispersant (A), self-dispersible polymer micro-particles (C) and an aqueous liquid medium (D), the ink having one of a solid component that is aggregated upon making contact with the treatment liquid and a solid component that is precipitated upon making contact with the treatment liquid; and a drying step of drying a solvent in the ink having been deposited on the recording medium on a drying drum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation
    Inventors: Yusuke Nakazawa, Toshiyuki Makuta, Yasuhiko Kachi, Misato Sasada, Terukazu Yanagi
  • Patent number: 8322843
    Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus which ejects an ink so as to record an image on a recording medium has: a conveyance device which conveys a recording medium; a liquid deposition device which deposits a liquid onto a recording surface of the recording medium which is conveyed by the conveyance device; an intermediate conveyance body which moves the recording medium in rotation onto the recording surface of which the liquid has been deposited by the liquid deposition device while holding an edge of the recording medium; a conveyance guide which guides a non-recording surface of the recording medium which is moved in rotation by the intermediate conveyance body; and a pressure application device which applies a pressure differential between the recording surface and the non-recording surface of the recording medium which is moved in rotation by the intermediate conveyance body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation
    Inventor: Yasuhiko Kachi
  • Publication number: 20120281049
    Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus includes: an image forming device; a scanning device; a relative movement device which causes relative movement between the recording medium and the image forming device; a first active light beam irradiation device which radiates an active light beam onto the ink to provisionally cure the ink; a second active light beam irradiation device which radiates an active light beam having an irradiation light quantity for fully curing the ink; an ejection control device which controls ink ejection from the nozzle row, for each of a plurality of nozzle groups; and an irradiation control device which controls irradiation of the active light beam of the first active light beam irradiation device, with respect to each of a plurality of irradiation units, according to an irradiation light quantity of the active light beam of the first active light beam irradiation device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 4, 2012
    Publication date: November 8, 2012
    Inventor: Yasuhiko Kachi
  • Patent number: 8182080
    Abstract: An image forming method includes: moisture-controlling one surface of an inkjet recording medium having an air permeability of 300 seconds or more; feeding the moisture-controlled inkjet recording medium onto a conveyance path in a state where the moisture-controlled inkjet recording medium is curled such that a surface of the moisture-controlled inkjet recording medium that is curved inwards faces the conveyance path for conveying the inkjet recording medium; conveying the fed inkjet recording medium while adhering the inkjet recording medium by suction onto the conveyance path; and forming an image by applying ink by an inkjet method on the inkjet recording medium adhered by suction to the conveyance path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2012
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroshi Kawakami, Naoki Kusunoki, Yasuhiko Kachi
  • Publication number: 20120120168
    Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus and an image forming method in which ink curing defects caused by differences in the activation energy absorption characteristics due to differences in the inks are avoided, and a desirable curing process can be achieved.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2011
    Publication date: May 17, 2012
    Inventors: Yasuhiko KACHI, Kazuo SANADA, Hirofumi SAITA
  • Patent number: 8162429
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a formation unit that forms an image on a recording medium by inkjetting, a suction conveyance unit that conveys the recording medium to the formation unit while adhering the recording medium by suction onto a guide surface which is a conveyance path, and a conditioning unit that conditions one surface of the recording medium before feeding the recording medium to the suction conveyance unit, wherein the conditioning unit controls a rate of moisture absorption of the one surface of the recording medium and causes the recording medium to bend such that the center portion of the recording medium separate from the guide surface of the suction conveyance unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2012
    Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation
    Inventor: Yasuhiko Kachi
  • Patent number: 8162430
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus including a formation unit that forms an image on a first surface of a recording medium; a suction conveyance unit that conveys the recording medium to the formation unit while suctioning the recording medium onto a guide surface; a switchback conveyance unit that inverts the recording medium on whose first surface an image has been formed to allow a second surface of the recording medium to be used as an image formation surface, and conveys the recording medium to the suction conveyance unit; and a conditioning unit that conditions the first surface of the recording medium, wherein the conditioning unit controls a rate of moisture absorption of a surface of the recording medium and causes the recording medium that is fed to the suction conveyance unit via the switchback conveyance unit to bend such that the center portion thereof separates from the guide surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2012
    Assignee: FujiFilm Corporation
    Inventor: Yasuhiko Kachi
  • Patent number: 8147043
    Abstract: The back pressure adjustment apparatus for a liquid ejection head has: a container having a liquid accommodating chamber which is connected to the liquid ejection head and accommodates liquid to be supplied to the liquid ejection head, and a gas accommodating chamber which accommodates gas; a movable film which separates the liquid accommodating chamber and the gas accommodating chamber, and forms a portion of whole walls of the liquid accommodating chamber; and a pressure adjustment device which causes all or a portion of the movable film to deform so as to adjust pressure of the liquid accommodated in the liquid accommodating chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2012
    Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation
    Inventors: Toshiya Kojima, Yasuhiko Kachi, Masahito Katada
  • Publication number: 20120075382
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus which includes a line head having a nozzle group in a two-dimensional matrix configuration, or a line head in which a plurality of head modules are joined together in a staggered matrix arrangement.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2011
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Applicant: FUJIFILM CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yasuhiko KACHI
  • Patent number: 8033658
    Abstract: The liquid ejection apparatus includes: a liquid ejection device which ejects liquid; a liquid supply device which supplies the liquid to the liquid ejection device; a saturated dissolved gas amount determination device which determines a saturated dissolved gas amount of the liquid in the liquid ejection device; a dissolved gas amount determination device which determines a dissolved gas amount of the liquid in the liquid ejection device; a liquid restoration device which carries out a liquid restoration processing to reduce the dissolved gas amount of the liquid inside the liquid ejection device; and a liquid restoration control device which controls whether or not the liquid restoration device carries out the liquid restoration processing, according to a differential between the saturated dissolved gas amount determined by the saturated dissolved gas amount determination device and the dissolved gas amount determined by the dissolved gas amount determination device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation
    Inventor: Yasuhiko Kachi
  • Publication number: 20110242184
    Abstract: An image forming device including a droplet ejection head, a medium temperature detection unit, a storage unit and a medium temperature control unit. The droplet ejection head ejects droplets including a volatile component at a recording medium. The medium temperature detection unit detects a temperature of the recording medium. The storage unit stores impact area information representing a relationship between temperatures of the recording medium and impact areas of droplets impacting on the recording medium. On the basis of the temperature of the recording medium detected by the medium temperature detection unit and the impact area information stored by the storage unit, the medium temperature control unit controls the temperature of the recording medium such that the impact areas of the droplets impacting on the recording medium become a pre-specified impact area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2011
    Publication date: October 6, 2011
    Applicant: FUJIFILM CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yasuhiko KACHI
  • Patent number: 8002383
    Abstract: The liquid ejection apparatus comprises: a liquid ejection head having an ejection port surface on which ejection ports for ejecting liquid are formed; a wiping device having a blade member which wipes and cleans the ejection port surface; a sliding device which causes the blade member to slide relatively with respect to the ejection port surface; a state identification device which identifies at least one state, of a state of the ejection ports, a state of the ejection port surface, and an operational state of the blade member when sliding over the ejection port surface; and a cleaning capability modification device which modifies a cleaning capability of the wiping device in accordance with a determination result of the state identification device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2011
    Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation
    Inventors: Yasuhiko Kachi, Tsutomu Takatsuka
  • Patent number: 7984980
    Abstract: The ink cartridge has: a cartridge container having a flat box shape; an ink bag that is made of a plastic material or an elastic body, accommodates ink, is disposed in the cartridge container, and has an ink supply port via which the ink is extracted from the ink bag, wherein: the cartridge container has an air connection port by which an interior of the cartridge container in which the ink bag disposed is able to connect to an atmospheric air; the ink bag has a flat shape matching the flat box shape of the cartridge container; the ink bag is provided with a negative pressure generating device which applies impelling force to the ink bag in a direction of expanding a volume of the ink bag to generate a negative pressure inside the ink bag; and the impelling force applied to generate the negative pressure inside the ink bag by the negative pressure generating device, becomes less in a continuous or a stepwise fashion, as a distance from the ink supply port of the ink bag increases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2011
    Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation
    Inventor: Yasuhiko Kachi
  • Patent number: 7963643
    Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus includes: a casing; an inkjet head; an ink cartridge which has an ink accommodating unit which accommodates ink to be supplied to the inkjet head and is removably installed into the casing via a front face side of the casing and disposed in a position whereby a central position of the ink accommodating unit is situated below the inkjet head in the vertical direction, at a distance of not less than 10 mm and not more 50 mm from the inkjet head in the vertical direction; an ink supply channel; a coupling unit which separates the inkjet head with and from the ink supply channel; and a negative pressure maintaining unit which includes an ink supply port which has a first opening and closing member, couples with the coupling unit, and is connected to an ink flow channel inside the inkjet head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2011
    Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation
    Inventor: Yasuhiko Kachi
  • Patent number: 7878632
    Abstract: The liquid ejection apparatus has: a head which ejects liquid; a carriage which conveys the head; a sub tank which is mounted on the carriage, accommodates the liquid to be supplied to the head, and has an elastic film deforming elastically in accordance with supply of the liquid to the head; a liquid flow channel opening and closing valve which opens and closes a first liquid flow channel between the head and the sub tank; a main tank which stores the liquid to be supplied to the sub tank; a liquid supply coupling section which couples a second liquid flow channel connected to the main tank, to the sub tank, in a state where the carriage is located in a predetermined home position; and an elastic film movement device which moves the elastic film in a direction which causes the elastic film to recover from elastic deformation to assist deformation recovery of the elastic film of the sub tank, in a state where the first liquid flow channel is closed by means of the liquid flow channel opening and closing valve
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2011
    Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation
    Inventor: Yasuhiko Kachi
  • Publication number: 20110001785
    Abstract: An image forming system includes: a recording medium which has a roll shape and is manufactured so as to have both edges curling in a direction opposite to a roll surface of the recording medium; an image forming device which forms an image on the recording medium conveyed along a conveyance path; a recording medium feeder in which the recording medium having the roll shape is loaded in such a manner that the recording medium having the roll shape is conveyed while the roll surface of the recording medium faces the image forming device; a rear end cutter for cutting the recording medium having the roll shape on which the image forming device has formed an image on the roll surface at a position posterior to the formed image; a reverse conveyance path in which the recording medium, on the roll surface of which the image has been formed and which has been cut by the rear end cutter, is reversed in terms of front and back surfaces of the recording medium; and a decurl device for reversing a curl direction of the
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 23, 2010
    Publication date: January 6, 2011
    Applicant: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki Tsuzawa, Yasuhiko Kachi, Hiroshi Kawakami
  • Patent number: 7845776
    Abstract: The inkjet recording apparatus includes: a casing; an inkjet head which is arranged in the casing and ejects ink from nozzles toward a recording medium; a scanning device which is arranged in the casing and moves the inkjet head to scan the recording medium in a scanning direction parallel with a breadthways direction of the recording medium; a recording medium supply device which accommodates the recording medium and is removably installed into the casing via a front face side of the casing and disposed on a lower side of the inkjet head in a vertical direction of the casing; a conveyance device which conveys the recording medium from the recording medium supply device to a recording region where the recording medium receives deposition of the ink ejected from the inkjet head, and conveys the recording medium within the recording region in a direction substantially perpendicular to the scanning direction; an ink cartridge which accommodates the ink to be supplied to the inkjet head and is removably installed
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2010
    Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation
    Inventor: Yasuhiko Kachi
  • Patent number: 7815294
    Abstract: The liquid ejection head includes: a plurality of ejection ports which eject liquid; a plurality of pressure chambers which are respectively connected to the ejection ports; a plurality of piezoelectric elements which respectively deform the pressure chambers, the piezoelectric elements being arranged on sides of the pressure chambers opposite to sides thereof where the ejection ports are formed; a common liquid chamber which supplies the liquid to the pressure chambers, the common liquid chamber being arranged on the sides of the pressure chambers opposite to the sides thereof where the ejection ports are formed; a plurality of wiring members which have electrodes for driving the piezoelectric elements, respectively, each of the wiring members being formed in such a manner that at least a portion thereof rises through the common liquid chamber in a direction substantially perpendicular to a plane on which the piezoelectric elements are arranged; and a drive circuit which drives the piezoelectric elements, th
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2010
    Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation
    Inventors: Toshiya Kojima, Yasuhiko Kachi
  • Publication number: 20100238250
    Abstract: An image forming device provided with: a recording head that renders an image by ejecting liquid droplets onto a recording medium; an attraction image rendering section having a liquid droplet reception flat portion disposed facing the recording head, the attraction image rendering section attracting the recording medium onto the flat portion and maintaining the flatness of the recording medium; an upstream side conveying section that feeds the recording medium out toward the attraction image rendering section; and a reverse-feed-prevented conveying roller disposed at the downstream side of the attraction image rendering section, the reverse-feed-prevented conveying roller being capable of friction-pushed rotation toward the conveying direction downstream side, nipping the recording medium and feeding the recording medium toward the conveying direction downstream side, and prevented from rotation toward the conveying direction upstream side.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 25, 2010
    Publication date: September 23, 2010
    Applicant: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventor: Yasuhiko Kachi
  • Patent number: D621442
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2010
    Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation
    Inventors: Yasuhiko Kachi, Takashi Fukui, Yasushi Uemura, Satoshi Matsuzaka