Patents by Inventor Yuuya SATO

Yuuya SATO 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: 9383705
    Abstract: In the present wet-type image formation apparatus, when setting a standard image formation condition, a control unit adjusts both a conveyance amount of toner and a charge amount of the toner in order to obtain a predetermined developing characteristic. During normal image formation, the control unit obtains the image density of a patch image formed at a high contrast potential and the image density of a patch image formed at a low contrast potential, adjusts the conveyance amount of the toner when the image density of the patch image formed at the high contrast potential is varied from the developing characteristic for the standard image formation condition, and adjusts the charge amount of the toner when the image density of the patch image formed at the low contrast potential is varied from the developing characteristic for the standard image formation condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2016
    Assignee: KONICA MINOLTA, INC.
    Inventors: Atsuto Hirai, Takeshi Maeyama, Yuuya Sato, Makiko Watanabe
  • Patent number: 9291938
    Abstract: When a toner charging amount for toner in a liquid developer conveyed to a development portion is set, a wet-type image formation apparatus performs a sensing operation in which a sensing unit senses image densities of a plurality of patch images formed at different development biases with the toner charging amount being set to a constant value, and a setting operation in which, in a case where a control unit calculates current development characteristics based on the image densities of the plurality of patch images sensed by the sensing unit, and determines that the current development characteristics are not included within a set target range, the control unit controls a charging unit to set the toner charging amount such that the development characteristics are included within the set target range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2016
    Assignee: KONICA MINOLTA, INC.
    Inventors: Takeshi Maeyama, Atsuto Hirai, Yuuya Sato, Makiko Watanabe
  • Patent number: 9176449
    Abstract: A wet-type image forming apparatus includes an image carrier, a toner developer layer, and a toner amount detection unit. The toner amount detection unit includes a light-emitting unit and a light-receiving unit. The wavelength characteristics of a light emission intensity of the light-emitting unit and light reception sensitivity of the toner amount detection unit are set such that an intensity of detection sensitivity of the toner amount detection unit in accordance with a product of a light emission intensity of the light-emitting unit and light reception sensitivity of the light-receiving unit is greater in a wavelength region in which a characteristic value based on a product of a transmittance of the toner developer layer and a reflectivity of the image carrier as a reference for an emission light wavelength is included in a predetermined range, than in other wavelength regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2015
    Assignee: KONICA MINOLTA, INC.
    Inventor: Yuuya Sato
  • Publication number: 20150078773
    Abstract: When a toner charging amount for toner in a liquid developer conveyed to a development portion is set, a wet-type image formation apparatus performs a sensing operation in which a sensing unit senses image densities of a plurality of patch images formed at different development biases with the toner charging amount being set to a constant value, and a setting operation in which, in a case where a control unit calculates current development characteristics based on the image densities of the plurality of patch images sensed by the sensing unit, and determines that the current development characteristics are not included within a set target range, the control unit controls a charging unit to set the toner charging amount such that the development characteristics are included within the set target range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2014
    Publication date: March 19, 2015
    Applicant: Konica Minolta, Inc.
    Inventors: Takeshi MAEYAMA, Atsuto HIRAI, Yuuya SATO, Makiko WATANABE
  • Publication number: 20150071664
    Abstract: In the present wet-type image formation apparatus, when setting a standard image formation condition, a control unit adjusts both a conveyance amount of toner and a charge amount of the toner in order to obtain a predetermined developing characteristic. During normal image formation, the control unit obtains the image density of a patch image formed at a high contrast potential and the image density of a patch image formed at a low contrast potential, adjusts the conveyance amount of the toner when the image density of the patch image formed at the high contrast potential is varied from the developing characteristic for the standard image formation condition, and adjusts the charge amount of the toner when the image density of the patch image formed at the low contrast potential is varied from the developing characteristic for the standard image formation condition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2014
    Publication date: March 12, 2015
    Inventors: Atsuto Hirai, Takeshi Maeyama, Yuuya Sato, Makiko Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20140079420
    Abstract: A wet-type image forming apparatus includes an image carrier, a toner developer layer, and a toner amount detection unit. The toner amount detection unit includes a light-emitting unit and a light-receiving unit. The wavelength characteristics of a light emission intensity of the light-emitting unit and light reception sensitivity of the toner amount detection unit are set such that an intensity of detection sensitivity of the toner amount detection unit in accordance with a product of a light emission intensity of the light-emitting unit and light reception sensitivity of the light-receiving unit is greater in a wavelength region in which a characteristic value based on a product of a transmittance of the toner developer layer and a reflectivity of the image carrier as a reference for an emission light wavelength is included in a predetermined range, than in other wavelength regions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 16, 2013
    Publication date: March 20, 2014
    Applicant: Konica Minolta, Inc.
    Inventor: Yuuya SATO