Patents by Inventor Yasuhiro Shimura

Yasuhiro Shimura 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: 8855509
    Abstract: A voltage detection apparatus is configured to detect a voltage value applied to a first or second current path of a heater. The voltage detection apparatus detects a first period during which the voltage value of the first or second current path exceeds a threshold voltage as well as a second period during which electric power is supplied to the first current path or the second current path to control the electric power supplied to the first and second current paths. The voltage detection apparatus uses a detection result to detect a state where over-power is supplied to the heater.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuji Fujiwara, Yasuhiro Shimura
  • Publication number: 20140294416
    Abstract: An apparatus is capable of switching between a mode in which a first resistance heating element and a second resistance heating element are connected in series and a mode in which they are connected in parallel. When a temperature increase rate detected by a temperature detection unit is smaller than a threshold rate although a current detected by a current detection unit is greater than a threshold current, a notification of a failure is issued.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 17, 2014
    Publication date: October 2, 2014
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Shimura, Atsushi Kawarago, Yuta Hojo, Kei Sato
  • Patent number: 8818214
    Abstract: The heating apparatus includes a first detection part which detects whether or not the power supplied to the heat generation member is in an overpower state by detecting a positive phase of a half wave in an alternating voltage of a commercial power supply applied to the first or the second current path of the heat generation member, a second detection part which detects whether the power supplied to the heat generation member is in an overpower state or not by detecting a negative phase of a half wave in an alternating voltage the commercial power supply applied to the first current path or the second current path of the heat generation member, and a control part which controls itself to stop supplying power from the commercial power supply to the heat generation member in a case where an overpower state is detected by the first or second detection part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yasuhiro Shimura
  • Patent number: 8787780
    Abstract: An apparatus is capable of switching between a mode in which a first resistance heating element and a second resistance heating element are connected in series and a mode in which they are connected in parallel. When a temperature increase rate detected by a temperature detection unit is smaller than a threshold rate although a current detected by a current detection unit is greater than a threshold current, a notification of a failure is issued.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Shimura, Atsushi Kawarago, Yuta Hojo, Kei Sato
  • Publication number: 20140193182
    Abstract: The image heating apparatus includes a heater that achieves even heat-generation distribution and suppression of a non-sheet feeding portion temperature increase when an image is printed on a sheet whose size is smaller than a maximum size for the apparatus, and an endless belt, wherein plural heat-generation resistive members having positive temperature coefficients are connected in parallel are provided between first and second conductive members provided along a longitudinal direction of a substrate; plural heat-generation blocks including the plural heat-generation resistive members connected in parallel, are arranged in series along the longitudinal direction; and in the plural heat-generation resistive members included in one of the heat-generation blocks, a heat-generation resistive member arranged at an end portion in the longitudinal direction has a resistivity value higher than that of a heat generation resistive member arranged at a center in the longitudinal direction, or an interval between heat
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 20, 2014
    Publication date: July 10, 2014
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Shimura, Koji Nihonyanagi
  • Patent number: 8761631
    Abstract: A power supply includes a first capacitor, a resistor for discharging an electric charge of the first capacitor and for detecting zero crossing of the AC voltage input from the AC power supply, a second capacitor, and a frame ground o and a discharge resistor having a resistance value smaller than the resistor and configured to discharge an electric charge of the second capacitor, and switches between a state where a current to the discharge resistor is cut off and a state where a current flows through the discharge resistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yasuhiro Shimura
  • Publication number: 20140169845
    Abstract: A heater used for a fixing device includes a substrate, first and second conductor patterns formed at either end of the substrate in the short direction of the substrate, a third conductor pattern formed between the first and second conductor patterns and separated from the two conductor patterns, a first heating member disposed between the first and third conductor patterns and electrically connected to the two conductor patterns, and a second heating member disposed between the second and third conductor patterns and electrically connected to the conductor patterns. The heater has both end regions in which the widths of the third conductor pattern in the short direction is smaller than that of a middle portion of the third conductor pattern. The widths of the first and second heating members in the end regions are smaller than the widths of the first and second heating members in the other region, respectively.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2013
    Publication date: June 19, 2014
    Inventors: Hisashi Nakahara, Hideaki Yonekubo, Satoru Taniguchi, Hiroyuki Sakakibara, Koji Nihonyanagi, Yasuhiro Shimura, Nozomu Nakajima, Yuji Fujiwara, Yusaku Iwasawa
  • Publication number: 20140169811
    Abstract: There is disclosed an image forming apparatus where at suitable positions in a power supply path of a first heat generating member and a second heat generating member which can be switched to a series connection condition and a parallel connection condition, there are arranged a current detection section including a circuit which detects a current subjected to rectification of a positive half wave and a circuit which detects a current subjected to rectification of a negative half wave, and an applied voltage detection section including a circuit which detects a voltage subjected to full-wave rectification. Consequently, in the image forming apparatus which can be used in districts using different power supply voltages, failure of the apparatus can be detected, and reliability of the apparatus can be enhanced.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 2012
    Publication date: June 19, 2014
    Applicant: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yasuhiro Shimura
  • Publication number: 20140169846
    Abstract: The heater is capable of improving heat generation uniformity in a sheet feeding area while suppressing the temperature rise of a non-sheet feeding portion. Each of heat generation lines includes a plurality of heat blocks in which a plurality of heat generating resistors are electrically connected in parallel between two conductive members. The heat generation lines are arranged in a lateral direction of the substrate, and the heat blocks are arranged so that the end of the heat block in the heat generation line of a first row does not overlap with the end of the heat block in the heat generation line of a second row in a longitudinal direction of a heater.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2013
    Publication date: June 19, 2014
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Shimura, Koji Nihonyanagi
  • Patent number: 8744289
    Abstract: The present invention provides a low-cost and safe image forming apparatus that has a first state in which first and second resistance heating bodies of a heater are connected in series, a second state in which the first and second resistance heating bodies are connected in parallel, and a third state in which a first switching unit shuts off a power supply path and a second switching unit is connected to a first power source terminal to block power supply to the heater.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yasuhiro Shimura
  • Publication number: 20140110394
    Abstract: The image heating apparatus includes first and second lines having a first and second heat generation blocks, the first and second lines being disposed at different positions in a transverse direction, wherein the first and second lines are arranged so that a whole of first heat generation block in the first line and a whole of second heat generation block in the second line overlap with each other in the longitudinal direction, and a whole of second heat generation block in the first line and a whole of first heat generation block in the second line overlap with each other in the longitudinal direction. By the virtue of the present invention, it achieves to be capable of suppressing a temperature rise in a non-sheet feeding area in a case of printing a sheet smaller in size than a maximum size supported by the image heating apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2013
    Publication date: April 24, 2014
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yasuhiro Shimura
  • Patent number: 8704289
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory includes a gate insulating film, a floating gate, first and second silicon oxide films, an insulating film and a control gate. The floating gate is formed on the gate insulating film. The first silicon oxide film is formed on an upper surface of the floating gate. The insulating film is formed on the first silicon oxide film on the upper surface of the floating gate and has a dielectric constant higher than that of the silicon oxide film. The second silicon oxide film is formed on the insulating film on the upper surface of the floating gate and on a side surface of the floating gate. The control gate is formed on the second silicon oxide film formed on the upper and side surfaces of the floating gate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2014
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventor: Yasuhiro Shimura
  • Patent number: 8698046
    Abstract: The image heating apparatus includes a heater that achieves even heat-generation distribution and suppression of a non-sheet feeding portion temperature increase when an image is printed on a sheet whose size is smaller than a maximum size for the apparatus, and an endless belt, wherein plural heat-generation resistive members having positive temperature coefficients are connected in parallel are provided between first and second conductive members provided along a longitudinal direction of a substrate; plural heat-generation blocks including the plural heat-generation resistive members connected in parallel, are arranged in series along the longitudinal direction; and in the plural heat-generation resistive members included in one of the heat-generation blocks, a heat-generation resistive member arranged at an end portion in the longitudinal direction has a resistivity value higher than that of a heat generation resistive member arranged at a center in the longitudinal direction, or an interval between heat
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Shimura, Koji Nihonyanagi
  • Publication number: 20140076878
    Abstract: A heater of the present invention includes jointed heat generating resistors having a positive temperature characteristic of resistance and provided between a first conductive element and a second conductive element on a substrate in a longitudinal direction of the substrate, and a plurality of heating blocks provided in the longitudinal direction, each of which is a set of the first conductive element, the second conductive element, and the heat generating resistor, and power supplied to at least one of the plurality of heating blocks can be controlled independent of other heating blocks.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 17, 2013
    Publication date: March 20, 2014
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yasuhiro Shimura
  • Patent number: 8653422
    Abstract: The heater is capable of improving heat generation uniformity in a sheet feeding area while suppressing the temperature rise of a non-sheet feeding portion. Each of heat generation lines includes a plurality of heat blocks in which a plurality of heat generating resistors are electrically connected in parallel between two conductive members. The heat generation lines are arranged in a lateral direction of the substrate, and the heat blocks are arranged so that the end of the heat block in the heat generation line of a first row does not overlap with the end of the heat block in the heat generation line of a second row in a longitudinal direction of a heater.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Shimura, Koji Nihonyanagi
  • Patent number: 8642927
    Abstract: The image heating apparatus includes first and second lines having a first and second heat generation blocks, the first and second lines being disposed at different positions in a transverse direction, wherein the first and second lines are arranged so that a whole of first heat generation block in the first line and a whole of second heat generation block in the second line overlap with each other in the longitudinal direction, and a whole of second heat generation block in the first line and a whole of first heat generation block in the second line overlap with each other in the longitudinal direction. By the virtue of the present invention, it achieves to be capable of suppressing a temperature rise in a non-sheet feeding area in a case of printing a sheet smaller in size than a maximum size supported by the image heating apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yasuhiro Shimura
  • Publication number: 20130343791
    Abstract: In order to suppress excessive temperature rise at a non-sheet-passing region while suppressing the deterioration of fixability in case of heating small size sheets, a heater includes a first heat-generation line and a second heat-generation line, which are independently controllable, wherein the first heat-generation line is configured so that a plurality of heat-generation resistors having positive resistance-temperature characteristics is electrically connected in parallel to each other between a first electro-conductive element and a second electro-conductive element, and the heat-generation resistors are adjusted so that a heat-generation amount per unit length of the first heat-generation line in a lengthwise direction of the heater decreases from a recording material conveyance reference towards a end portion in the lengthwise direction, and an image heating device having the heater.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2012
    Publication date: December 26, 2013
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yasuhiro Shimura
  • Publication number: 20130343790
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to providing a heater in which uniformity of a temperature distribution in a widthwise direction of the heater can be improved while inhibiting a temperature rise of a non-sheet-passing part, and an image heating device equipped with the heater. In a first heat-generation line and a second heat-generation line, a plurality of heat-generation resistors including positive resistance-temperature characteristics between two electro-conductive elements provided on a substrate along the lengthwise direction of the substrate are connected in parallel. The first heat-generation line and the second heat-generation line are connected in parallel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2012
    Publication date: December 26, 2013
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yasuhiro Shimura
  • Patent number: 8606136
    Abstract: The voltage detection device includes a first voltage detection part for detecting whether or not a time period ratio during which a voltage of an AC power supply is equal to or larger than a first threshold value is equal to or larger than a first ratio and a second voltage detection part for detecting whether or not a time period ratio during which the voltage of the AC power supply is lower than the first threshold value and equal to or larger than a second threshold value is equal to or larger than a second ratio higher than the first ratio, and determines whether the voltage of the AC power supply is a first commercial voltage or a second commercial voltage lower than the first commercial voltage based on results obtained by the first voltage detection part and by the second voltage detection part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Shimura, Yuji Fujiwara
  • Patent number: 8593879
    Abstract: A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device according to an embodiment includes a control circuit controlling a read operation of applying a read voltage to a selected memory cell to read data, and a write verify operation of applying a verify voltage to the selected memory cell. In a first case, the control circuit sets a voltage to a first write verify voltage and a first read voltage. In a second case in which the memory cells deteriorate more than in the first case, the control circuit sets a voltage to a second write verify voltage and a second read voltage. The control circuit sets a difference between a maximum value of the first write verify voltage and a maximum value of the first read voltage to be more than a difference between a maximum value of the second write verify voltage and a maximum value of the second read voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2013
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventor: Yasuhiro Shimura