Patents by Inventor Yoshiki Hozumi

Yoshiki Hozumi 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: 11112734
    Abstract: A belt device includes a belt wound around a plurality of rollers, one of the plurality of rollers, and a belt contact member disposed on the one of the plurality of rollers. The belt rotates along with the plurality of rollers. The belt contact member faces an edge of the belt in an axial direction of the one of the plurality of rollers and includes a flat portion and a separation portion. The flat portion forms a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the one of the plurality of rollers. The separation portion is disposed outboard of the flat portion in a radial direction of the one of the plurality of rollers and has a surface located farther from the edge of the belt than the flat portion in the axial direction of the one of the plurality of rollers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Naohiro Kumagai, Masanari Fujita, Katsuya Kawagoe, Masaharu Furuya, Hiroki Nakamatsu, Yoshiki Hozumi
  • Patent number: 10955771
    Abstract: A belt control device includes a plurality of rollers, a belt wound around the plurality of rollers and configured to rotate along with the plurality of rollers, a belt contact member that the belt contacts when the belt moves in an axial direction of the plurality of rollers, and a shaft displacement member movable in the axial direction and including an inclined face inclined with respect to a surface of the belt to control movement of the belt in the axial direction. The belt, the belt contact member, and the shaft displacement member are configured to make a frictional force between an edge of the belt and the belt contact member greater than a frictional force between the belt contact member and the shaft displacement member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Naohiro Kumagai, Masanari Fujita, Katsuya Kawagoe, Masaharu Furuya, Hiroki Nakamatsu, Yoshiki Hozumi
  • Publication number: 20200301322
    Abstract: A belt device includes a belt wound around a plurality of rollers, one of the plurality of rollers, and a belt contact member disposed on the one of the plurality of rollers. The belt rotates along with the plurality of rollers. The belt contact member faces an edge of the belt in an axial direction of the one of the plurality of rollers and includes a flat portion and a separation portion. The flat portion forms a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the one of the plurality of rollers. The separation portion is disposed outboard of the flat portion in a radial direction of the one of the plurality of rollers and has a surface located farther from the edge of the belt than the flat portion in the axial direction of the one of the plurality of rollers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 17, 2020
    Publication date: September 24, 2020
    Inventors: Naohiro KUMAGAI, Masanari FUJITA, Katsuya KAWAGOE, Masaharu FURUYA, Hiroki NAKAMATSU, Yoshiki HOZUMI
  • Publication number: 20200301321
    Abstract: A belt control device includes a plurality of rollers, a belt wound around the plurality of rollers and configured to rotate along with the plurality of rollers, a belt contact member that the belt contacts when the belt moves in an axial direction of the plurality of rollers, and a shaft displacement member movable in the axial direction and including an inclined face inclined with respect to a surface of the belt to control movement of the belt in the axial direction. The belt, the belt contact member, and the shaft displacement member are configured to make a frictional force between an edge of the belt and the belt contact member greater than a frictional force between the belt contact member and the shaft displacement member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2020
    Publication date: September 24, 2020
    Inventors: Naohiro KUMAGAI, Masanari FUJITA, Katsuya KAWAGOE, Masaharu FURUYA, Hiroki NAKAMATSU, Yoshiki HOZUMI
  • Publication number: 20200241450
    Abstract: A belt device includes an endless belt, a plurality of support rollers mounted on rotary shafts to stretch and support the endless belt, and a shaft displacement unit to displace a rotary shaft of one of the plurality of support rollers. The shaft displacement unit includes a belt contact rotator that is rotatable, a belt detector rotatable on the rotary shaft and movable when the belt contact rotator pushes the belt detector, a shaft inclination member not rotatable on the rotary shaft and movable when the belt detector pushes the shaft inclination member. The belt contact rotator contacts an edge of the endless belt and moves in a longitudinal axial direction of the one of the plurality of support rollers when the endless belt moves in the longitudinal axial direction. The shaft inclination member has an inclined face inclined with respect to the endless belt.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2020
    Publication date: July 30, 2020
    Applicant: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshiki HOZUMI
  • Patent number: 10496017
    Abstract: A belt device includes a plurality of support rotators, a belt, a rotator inclination unit, a belt tension adjuster, and a descent stopper. The belt is looped around the plurality of support rotators and rotated by rotation of the plurality support rotators. The rotator inclination unit inclines a rotation axis of a first support rotator of the plurality of support rotators relative to a rotation axis of another support rotator of the plurality of support rotators that is different from the first support rotator. The belt tension adjuster adjusts tension of the belt, and the descent stopper prevents the first support rotator from descending.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2019
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshiki Hozumi
  • Patent number: 10175614
    Abstract: A belt device includes a plurality of support rotators, a belt, a cleaner, and a rotator inclination unit. The belt is looped around the plurality of support rotators and moves according to rotation of the plurality of support rotators. The cleaner contacts a surface of the belt to remove foreign substances. The rotator inclination unit inclines an inclined support rotator that is at least one of the plurality of support rotators. The cleaner is disposed in contact with a portion of the belt stretched taut between the inclined support rotator and another support rotator. A pushing amount of the cleaner relative to the belt varies according to inclination of the inclined support rotator and is smallest in a state in which the inclined support rotator is not inclined by the rotator inclination unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2019
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshiki Hozumi
  • Publication number: 20180267437
    Abstract: A belt device includes a plurality of support rotators, a belt, a rotator inclination unit, a belt tension adjuster, and a descent stopper. The belt is looped around the plurality of support rotators and rotated by rotation of the plurality support rotators. The rotator inclination unit inclines a rotation axis of a first support rotator of the plurality of support rotators relative to a rotation axis of another support rotator of the plurality of support rotators that is different from the first support rotator. The belt tension adjuster adjusts tension of the belt, and the descent stopper prevents the first support rotator from descending.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2018
    Publication date: September 20, 2018
    Applicant: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshiki Hozumi
  • Patent number: 10031463
    Abstract: A belt control device includes a holder to movably support a rotation shaft of at least one of the plurality of rotators around which a belt is looped, a contact part to contact an end of the belt as the belt moves in a belt width direction, a stationary frame part disposed facing the holder, a shaft moving device to move the rotation shaft as the belt moves, and at least one projection disposed on one of the stationary frame part and the holder. The projection is to contact the other of the stationary frame part and the holder. The projection includes a long projection having a contact portion extending in a shaft moving direction in which the rotation shaft moves, and the contact portion is contactable with the other of the stationary frame part and the holder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiki Hozumi, Naomi Sugimoto, Hisashi Kikuchi
  • Publication number: 20180120739
    Abstract: A belt device includes a plurality of support rotators, a belt, a cleaner, and a rotator inclination unit. The belt is looped around the plurality of support rotators and moves according to rotation of the plurality of support rotators. The cleaner contacts a surface of the belt to remove foreign substances. The rotator inclination unit inclines an inclined support rotator that is at least one of the plurality of support rotators. The cleaner is disposed in contact with a portion of the belt stretched taut between the inclined support rotator and another support rotator. A pushing amount of the cleaner relative to the belt varies according to inclination of the inclined support rotator and is smallest in a state in which the inclined support rotator is not inclined by the rotator inclination unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 18, 2017
    Publication date: May 3, 2018
    Applicant: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshiki Hozumi
  • Publication number: 20170242387
    Abstract: A belt control device includes a holder to movably support a rotation shaft of at least one of the plurality of rotators around which a belt is looped, a contact part to contact an end of the belt as the belt moves in a belt width direction, a stationary frame part disposed facing the holder, a shaft moving device to move the rotation shaft as the belt moves, and at least one projection disposed on one of the stationary frame part and the holder. The projection is to contact the other of the stationary frame part and the holder. The projection includes a long projection having a contact portion extending in a shaft moving direction in which the rotation shaft moves, and the contact portion is contactable with the other of the stationary frame part and the holder.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 1, 2017
    Publication date: August 24, 2017
    Inventors: Yoshiki HOZUMI, Naomi SUGIMOTO, Hisashi KIKUCHI
  • Patent number: 9708143
    Abstract: A belt device for an image forming apparatus, includes an endless belt; a first and second support rollers, each including a rotary shaft, that support the belt with tension; a contacted member that contacts the belt; a shaft displacement device to displace any of the rotary shafts of the support rollers; and a main rotary shaft disposed at a side of the rotary shaft of the first support roller moved by the shaft displacement device along a stretching direction of the stretched surface of the endless belt that the contacted member contacts, relative to a contact portion between the endless belt and the contacted member, and at an opposite side of the contacted member in a direction perpendicular to the stretching direction of the endless belt. As the first support roller and the second roller rotate about the main rotary shaft, the endless belt is separated from the contacted member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiki Hozumi, Naoki Iwaya, Masaharu Furuya, Yasufumi Takahashi, Naomi Sugimoto, Kazuchika Saeki
  • Patent number: 9599934
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a toner image forming device to form a toner image on a rotatable toner image bearer, a looped belt to carry a recording medium, a support roller to rotate the belt, a pressing member to press the belt against the toner image bearer, a transfer electric field generator to form an electric field to transfer the toner image onto the recording medium, and a contact member to contact an end surface of the belt as the belt moves to one side in a belt width direction. The belt includes a first portion pressed against the toner image bearer by the pressing member and a second portion adjoining the first portion. A relative position of the support roller relative to the toner image bearer and the pressing member is determined such that the second portion of the belt contacts the toner image bearer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiki Hozumi, Naomi Sugimoto, Kazuchika Saeki, Yasufumi Takahashi, Naoki Iwaya, Masaharu Furuya
  • Patent number: 9561912
    Abstract: A belt tracking system for controlling the lateral position of a movable belt entrained about a plurality of generally parallel rollers for moving in a trans-axial direction perpendicular to an axial direction in which the rollers extend parallel to each other includes a roller shaft, a slidable member, and a rotation restrictor. The roller shaft extends outward in the axial direction from an axial end of a specific one of the plurality of generally parallel rollers. The slidable member is slidably disposed around the roller shaft to move along the roller shaft as the belt moves laterally outward in the axial direction. The rotation restrictor is disposed adjacent to the slidable member to restrict rotation of the slidable member around the roller shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2017
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiki Hozumi, Naomi Sugimoto, Yuuji Sawai, Kazuchika Saeki
  • Patent number: 9541881
    Abstract: A recording medium conveying device includes an endless belt to convey a recording medium, a plurality of support rollers around which the belt is wound, to rotate the belt, and a cleaner in contact with the belt to clean the belt. One of the plurality of support rollers is a separation support roller, mounted on a tiltable rotary shaft, to separate the recording medium from the belt using a curvature of the separation support roller. The separation support roller includes a contact member to contact an edge of the belt when the belt laterally moves toward one side of the belt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2017
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiki Hozumi, Naomi Sugimoto, Kazuchika Saeki
  • Patent number: 9499361
    Abstract: A belt conveyor unit includes a plurality of rollers around which a belt is entrained, including a first roller, a second roller disposed opposite the first roller via the belt, and a third roller other than the first roller and the second roller, and a belt alignment device including a shaft moving device to tilt a rotary shaft of the third roller upon receiving a moving force of the belt moving in a width direction of the belt in an axial direction of the rotary shaft to adjust displacement of the belt. The shaft moving device includes an axial-direction displacement member including a slanted surface that moves to a first side in the width direction of the belt along the rotary shaft upon receiving the moving force of the belt, and a fixation member to contact the slanted surface from the first side in the width direction of the belt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2016
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoki Iwaya, Masaharu Furuya, Yoshiki Hozumi, Yasufumi Takahashi
  • Publication number: 20160251166
    Abstract: A belt tracking system for controlling the lateral position of a movable belt entrained about a plurality of generally parallel rollers for moving in a trans-axial direction perpendicular to an axial direction in which the rollers extend parallel to each other includes a roller shaft, a slidable member, and a rotation restrictor. The roller shaft extends outward in the axial direction from an axial end of a specific one of the plurality of generally parallel rollers. The slidable member is slidably disposed around the roller shaft to move along the roller shaft as the belt moves laterally outward in the axial direction. The rotation restrictor is disposed adjacent to the slidable member to restrict rotation of the slidable member around the roller shaft.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2016
    Publication date: September 1, 2016
    Inventors: Yoshiki HOZUMI, Naomi SUGIMOTO, Yuuji SAWAI, Kazuchika SAEKI
  • Patent number: 9417565
    Abstract: A conveyor system includes a first conveyor belt entrained about a separation roller and a support roller disposed upstream from the separation roller, a second conveyor belt entrained about a first roller disposed at an uppermost stream in a transport direction of a sheet-type medium and a second roller disposed downstream therefrom, a belt alignment device to tilt a rotary shaft of the separation roller to restrict a range of belt mistracking of the first conveyor belt in a width direction thereof within a predetermined range, and a restriction member to restrict an amount of inclination of the rotary shaft such that a hypothetical extended plane, which is a hypothetical extension of the outer circumferential surface of the first conveyor belt between the separation roller and the support roller to a downstream side in the transport direction, does not contact a rotational center axis of the first roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2016
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiki Hozumi, Naoki Iwaya, Yasufumi Takahashi, Masaharu Furuya, Naomi Sugimoto, Kazuchika Saeki
  • Patent number: 9376257
    Abstract: A belt tracking system for controlling the lateral position of a movable belt entrained about a plurality of generally parallel rollers for moving in a trans-axial direction perpendicular to an axial direction in which the rollers extend parallel to each other includes a roller shaft, a slidable member, and a rotation restrictor. The roller shaft extends outward in the axial direction from an axial end of a specific one of the plurality of generally parallel rollers. The slidable member is slidably disposed around the roller shaft to move along the roller shaft as the belt moves laterally outward in the axial direction. The rotation restrictor is disposed adjacent to the slidable member to restrict rotation of the slidable member around the roller shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2016
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiki Hozumi, Naomi Sugimoto, Yuuji Sawai, Kazuchika Saeki
  • Publication number: 20160139553
    Abstract: A recording medium conveying device includes an endless belt to convey a recording medium, a plurality of support rollers around which the belt is wound, to rotate the belt, and a cleaner in contact with the belt to clean the belt. One of the plurality of support rollers is a separation support roller, mounted on a tiltable rotary shaft, to separate the recording medium from the belt using a curvature of the separation support roller. The separation support roller includes a contact member to contact an edge of the belt when the belt laterally moves toward one side of the belt.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2015
    Publication date: May 19, 2016
    Inventors: Yoshiki HOZUMI, Naomi SUGIMOTO, Kazuchika SAEKI