Patents Issued in May 17, 2016
  • Patent number: 9341960
    Abstract: An exposure apparatus having a projection system configured to project a plurality of radiation beams onto a target and an image slicer. The image slicer is arranged in an inverted configuration such that, if an input image formed of a plurality of separated image regions were provided to the image slicer, it would output an output image formed from the plurality of image regions, each arranged to adjoin an adjacent image region. The exposure apparatus is configured such that each of the radiation beams is input into the image slicer at a location corresponding to a respective one of the separated image regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.
    Inventors: Antonius Johannes Josephus Van Dijsseldonk, Arno Jan Bleeker
  • Patent number: 9341961
    Abstract: Methods for reducing reticle transmission differences and for optimizing layer placement for overlay in MTRs and CTRs are disclosed. Embodiments include providing a reticle having a prime area and a frame area surrounding the prime area; determining RT differences across the prime area; and providing RT adjustment structures on the reticle to decrease the RT differences. Other embodiments include grouping multiple layers of a semiconductor production flow, the layers for each group having an RT difference less than a predetermined value; and placing the layers on plural ordered reticles of a reticle set, each reticle having multiple image fields, by selecting, for each reticle, layers from a single group and optimizing placement of the layers for overlay. Other embodiments include selectively rotating image fields on a reticle having multiple image fields to improve overlay, or optimizing placement of DDLs on CTRs by placing each design orientation on a different reticle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: GLOBALFOUNDRIES SINGAPORE PTE. LTD.
    Inventors: Guo Xiang Ning, Arthur Hotzel, Paul Ackmann, Soon Yoeng Tan
  • Patent number: 9341962
    Abstract: In a method for patterning a workpiece provided with dies in a direct write machine, pattern data associated with a selected die, or group of dies, is transformed into adjusted circuit pattern data dependent both on the original pattern data and the transformed positions, wherein the adjusted circuit pattern data represents the circuit pattern of the plurality of dies, or group of dies, such that the adjusted circuit pattern is fitted to a plurality of sub-areas of the workpiece area, and wherein each sub-area is associated with a die, or group of dies, among the plurality of dies distributed on the workpiece. A pattern is then written on the workpiece according to the adjusted circuit pattern data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: MYCRONIC AB
    Inventors: Mikael Wahlsten, Per-Erik Gustafsson
  • Patent number: 9341963
    Abstract: An electrophotographic photoreceptor includes a conductive substrate; an organic photosensitive layer that is provided on the conductive substrate; and an inorganic protective layer that is provided on the organic photosensitive layer so as to be in contact with a surface of the organic photosensitive layer, wherein the organic photosensitive layer includes at least a charge transport material and silica particles in a region on the surface side in contact with the inorganic protective layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masaki Hirakata, Hideya Katsuhara, Takeshi Iwanaga, Nobuyuki Torigoe, Takashi Imai, Tomoya Sasaki, Shigeto Hashiba, Kenta Ide
  • Patent number: 9341964
    Abstract: In a process for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member, in particular, a process of forming a charge transporting layer, a production process is provided by which the stability of a charge transporting layer coating fluid even after its storage for a long time is improved so as to form a coat for a charge transporting layer having a high uniformity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Harunobu Ogaki, Keiko Yamagishi, Atsushi Okuda, Yohei Miyauchi, Hiroki Uematsu, Kimihiro Yoshimura
  • Patent number: 9341965
    Abstract: A photosensitive layer of an electrophotographic photosensitive member contains a hydroxygallium phthalocyanine crystal of a crystalline form having peaks at Bragg angles 2?±0.2° of 7.0°, 16.6°, 20.8°, and 26.9° in X-ray diffraction with CuK? radiation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tsutomu Nishida, Masato Tanaka, Masataka Kawahara
  • Patent number: 9341966
    Abstract: A process includes dissolving a polyester resin in a mixture of a single organic solvent, a base and water to form a resin mixture; neutralizing the resin mixture with a neutralizing agent to provide a neutralized resin mixture; adding water to the neutralized resin mixture until phase inversion occurs to form a toner resin emulsion; removing the single solvent to form a polyester latex.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: XEROX CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yanjia Zuo, Shigeng Li, Peter Nguyen, Chieh-Min Cheng
  • Patent number: 9341967
    Abstract: A method for producing toner particles by a suspension polymerization method or a dissolution suspension method comprising: applying an inorganic dispersion stabilizer-containing liquid (liquid A) to a part that can come into contact with a polymerizable monomer composition or toner particle composition, the part being on an inner wall of a vessel used in a polymerization step or a vessel used in a solvent removal step; after the application of the liquid A, carrying out the polymerization step or solvent removal step; discharging the contents of the vessel after the completion of this polymerization step or solvent removal step; and after the contents of the vessel have been discharged, bringing an acidic aqueous solution (liquid B) to dissolve the inorganic dispersion stabilizer into contact with the inner wall of the vessel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takeshi Tsujino, Kentaro Yamawaki, Junya Asaoka, Motoya Fukushima
  • Patent number: 9341968
    Abstract: The disclosure provides a toner composition comprising toner particles with a core and a shell, wherein the core comprises a polyester polymer and a styrene acrylate polymer, and the shell comprises a polyester polymer and, optionally, a styrene acrylate polymer, either or both of which can be the same or different from that in the core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: XEROX CORPORATION
    Inventors: David Lawton, Edward G. Zwartz, Kimberly D. Nosella, Melanie Lynn Davis, Richard P. N. Veregin, Guerino G. Sacripante
  • Patent number: 9341969
    Abstract: Toner for electrostatic development in accordance with one aspect of the present invention contains toner base particles produced by subjecting a toner composition containing binder resin, a coloring agent, and wax to melting and kneading and thereafter pulverization and classification, the toner having a volume median particle diameter (D50) of 5.5 to 7.5 ?m, and the toner having particle size distribution in which the toner base particles include 15 to 55% by number of toner base particles of not more than 5 ?m in particle diameter, and include not more than 1.5% by number of toner particles of more than 10 ?m in particle diameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Toshiharu Kataoka, Yasuo Imura
  • Patent number: 9341970
    Abstract: The toner includes a resin component containing a crystalline polyester resin and a polyester-type resin that has a long-chain monomer bonded by condensation at a terminal, the toner having, in a total heat flow measured by a temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimeter, an endothermic peak resulting from the crystalline polyester resin in a specific temperature range, and the percentage of the endothermic quantity of the endothermic peak in a reversing heat flow with respect to the endothermic quantity of the endothermic peak in the total heat flow being at least 20.0%.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Daisuke Yoshiba, Katsuhisa Yamazaki, Koji Nishikawa, Shotaro Nomura, Hiroki Akiyama, Masami Fujimoto
  • Patent number: 9341971
    Abstract: A toner comprised of toner particles including an amorphous resin and a crystalline resin is provided. The coefficient of variation in softening temperature among resin portions in the toner particles is 15% or less when the softening temperature is measured with a scanning probe microscope equipped with a heatable cantilever.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuka Mizoguchi, Hideki Sugiura, Mio Kumai
  • Patent number: 9341972
    Abstract: A method for producing a toner, includes the steps of: preparing a core having a zeta potential at pH 4 of ?5 mV or less; and forming a cationic shell layer on a surface of the core in a solution in which a material of the shell layer having miscibility with a solvent of 250% by mass or more and 1000% by mass or less is dissolved in the solvent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Hidetoshi Miyamoto
  • Patent number: 9341973
    Abstract: There is provided a magnetic carrier having a resin coating layer formed on the surface of each of particles prepared by putting resin in the pores of porous magnetic particles, wherein (i) the surface roughness Ra of the porous magnetic particles ranges from 0.180 ?m to 0.250 ?m, (ii) the pore size ranges from 0.40 ?m to 1.00 ?m, (iii) the amount of the resin held in the pores ranges from 3.0 parts by mass to 5.5 parts by mass relative to 100 parts by mass of the porous magnetic particles, (iv) the amount of resin used for forming the coating resin layer ranges from 1.0 parts by mass to 3.0 parts by mass relative to 100 parts by mass of the porous magnetic particles, and (v) the surface roughness Ra of the magnetic carrier ranges from 0.160 ?m to 0.220 ?m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Minoru Yoshifuku, Wakashi Iida, Hironori Minagawa, Nobuyoshi Sugahara, Yuto Onozaki
  • Patent number: 9341974
    Abstract: A liquid application device includes an application roller, a container, a supply roller, a transfer unit, and a controller. The application roller applies a liquid to a target. The container stores the liquid. The supply roller rotates with the supply roller immersed in the container and supplies the liquid to the application roller. The transfer unit contacts the target with the application roller and causes the application roller to apply the liquid to the target. The controller controls an operation of the liquid application device. In a state in which the transfer unit does not contact the target with the application roller, the controller controls the supply roller to rotate and stop at a position different from a pre-rotation position of the supply roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Hironori Numata
  • Patent number: 9341975
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an exposure device configured to expose image bearing members charged by charging devices to form latent images on the image bearing members, and a control unit configured to, in ether one or both of an image forming unit A and an image forming unit B, adjust an amount of exposure by which the image bearing member is exposed and a charging voltage based on information about the image bearing members of the image forming units A and B. The control unit is configured to make the charging voltage and the amount of exposure in the image forming unit A different from the charging voltage and the amount of exposure in the image forming unit B.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akimichi Suzuki, Motoki Adachi, Yusuke Shimizu, Yuichiro Hirata, Naoki Fukushima
  • Patent number: 9341976
    Abstract: The apparatus includes a CPU which executes, based on a detection result of a BD sensor, start-up control for controlling driving of a scanner motor, so that a rotation number of the scanner motor reaches a predetermined rotation number, and executes determination control for determining a voltage to be applied to a primary transfer unit based on a detection result of a transfer current detection circuit by a transfer voltage output circuit upon execution of image formation, and when an image forming station K which executes image formation is different from an image forming station Y including the BD sensor, the CPU parallelly executes the start-up control and determination control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiroki Hashii, Yuya Kojima
  • Patent number: 9341977
    Abstract: A light emission apparatus includes a detection unit, a first drive unit, and a second drive unit. The detection unit detects the state of a detection element. The first drive unit controls the light amount of a light beam to be emitted by a first light emitting element based on the state of the detection element detected by the detection unit. The second drive unit controls the light amount of a light beam to be emitted by a second light emitting element based on the state of the detection element detected by the detection unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tomohiro Kawamoto, Yuta Nito
  • Patent number: 9341978
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a light scan head having a plurality of LED elements disposed along a main-scanning direction of a photoreceptor drum and configured to expose the photoreceptor drum with light, a developing device disposed to face the photoreceptor drum in the main-scanning direction and including a development roller configured to supply a developer to the photoreceptor drum, and a non-uniform density correction unit configured to control an intensity of light emitted from the plurality of LED elements of the light scan head based on correction data that corresponds to a tendency pattern of an expected non-uniform image density so as to correct the non-uniform density of an image that is to be formed on a recording medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignees: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA, TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yoji Sato
  • Patent number: 9341979
    Abstract: A system for focusing light including a gradient index lens array positioned at a first distance from a surface, and first and second positioning elements arranged to modify the first distance. The first and second positioning elements modify the first distance based on an analysis of an image formed on the surface across substantially a full width of a cross process direction of the surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Frank B. Tamarez Gomez, Paul A. Hosier, Timothy P. Foley, Douglas A. Gutberlet
  • Patent number: 9341980
    Abstract: A process unit includes a latent image bearer, a developer bearer, a regulator, a supplier, and at least one voltage applicator. The latent image bearer bears a latent image on a surface thereof. The developer bearer supplies a developer onto the latent image bearer to make the latent image a visible image. The regulator regulates a thickness of a layer of the developer on the surface of the developer bearer. The supplier supplies the developer to the developer bearer. At least one voltage applicator applies a voltage to the developer bearer and the latent image bearer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Takahiro Sanada
  • Patent number: 9341981
    Abstract: In one example, a printer includes a printer housing, a photoconductor to apply toner to a print substrate, a developer to apply toner to the photoconductor, a light source to expose parts of the photoconductor to light, and a toner container to supply toner to the developer. The toner container housing is integrated into the printer housing as a load bearing structure or as an exterior feature, and/or the light source is integrated into the toner container as a single sub-assembly within the printer housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Richard L Swantner, Robin P Yergenson, Dean J Richtsmeier
  • Patent number: 9341982
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus may include a photosensitive member, a developing device including a developing roller, pressing members configured to engage with the developing device and springs configured to urge the pressing members. In some examples, each of the pressing members may be configured to contact and move the developing device between various positions based on the urging of the springs. Additionally or alternatively, various ends of a contact surface of the developing roller configured to contact developer may be disposed relative to an axis line of the developing roller and pressing surfaces of the pressing members.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoh Nishimura, Shougo Sato
  • Patent number: 9341983
    Abstract: A developer accommodating unit for accommodating a developer includes: a flexible container provided with a plurality of openings for permitting discharge of developer. The openings are formed and arranged in a longitudinal direction of the developer accommodating unit. The openings have opening areas such that with respect to the longitudinal direction, the opening area of the opening provided at an end portion is larger than the opening area of the opening provided at a central portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masatomi Yoshida, Kojiro Yasui, Masaaki Matsushita, Koji Yamaguchi
  • Patent number: 9341984
    Abstract: This developing apparatus includes a toner supply passage for supplying new toner fed from a toner cartridge to a toner carrying region where a toner carrier is arranged, and the toner supply passage is provided with a backflow prevention portion for preventing old toner from backflowing toward the toner cartridge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Toshinori Asai
  • Patent number: 9341985
    Abstract: A developing device includes a developer bearing member. A lubricant is applied to a surface of the developer bearing member. In an axial direction of the developer bearing member, an end of the developer bearing member is located further outward than an outer end of a seal member, and an end of a cleaning member is located further outward than the end of the developer bearing member. In the axial direction of the developer bearing member, a first application quantity of the lubricant applied to the surface of the developer bearing member at a position further outward than the outer end of the seal member is larger than a second application quantity of the lubricant applied to the surface of the developer bearing member at a position corresponding to an opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shunsuke Mizukoshi
  • Patent number: 9341986
    Abstract: A drawing-up magnetic pole and a control magnetic pole of a magnetic field generator that is disposed in a developer carrier are adjacent to each other and a prevention member is provided that secures, between the prevention member and an upper end of a side wall of a developer supply conveyance path, a supply path through which a developer in the developer supply conveyance path passes toward the developer carrier at least over the entire width of a developing area and that prevents a control retained developer, which is prevented by a developer control member from passing through a control gap, from moving toward the surface of the developer carrier along lines of the control magnetic force. The peak of the magnetic flux density of the drawing-up magnetic pole in the normal direction is disposed below the lower end of the supply path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Atsushi Nakamoto, Tadashi Ogawa, Koichi Yamazaki, Hironori Ohshima
  • Patent number: 9341987
    Abstract: A development roller includes a substantially cylindrical development sleeve that has an axis and rotates about the axis; and a magnet portion that is provided in the development sleeve and has plural magnetic poles. The development sleeve has a surface and a groove in the surface along a direction of the axis. The development sleeve has an outer peripheral surface and the groove has a bottom portion, the development sleeve having a deflection of the outer peripheral surface in a radial direction of the development sleeve being larger than about 20 ?m and smaller than about 30 ?m, and a deflection of the bottom portion in the radial direction being equal to or smaller than about 35 ?m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Akihisa Maruyama
  • Patent number: 9341988
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member; an intermediary transfer member; a controller; and a cleaning unit. The cleaning unit includes a cleaning member for collecting a residual toner in contact with the intermediary transfer member, a charging member, which is provided downstream of the cleaning member with respect to a movement direction of the intermediary transfer member, for electrically charging the residual toner, and an accommodating member for accommodating the residual toner. The controller is capable of executing an operation in a discharging mode in which the toner is discharged from the charging member onto the intermediary transfer member. When the operation in the discharging mode is executed, the cleaning unit collects the toner, discharged from the charging member on the intermediary transfer member, by the cleaning member and then accommodates the collected toner in the accommodating member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Funatani, Tetsuichiro Fujimoto
  • Patent number: 9341989
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus is provided. The image forming apparatus includes a chassis having a first opening on a first side, photosensitive members, an intermediate transfer belt arranged to have a surface thereof facing the photosensitive members, primary-transfer members, a secondary-transfer roller, a first feed roller, a cleaner device, a waste toner container, which is removably installed in the chassis through the first opening and settled in a position opposite from the photosensitive members across the intermediate transfer belt, a connector, a first feeding path extending in a range between the first feed roller and the secondary-transfer roller, and a second feeding path being formed in clearance between the intermediate transfer belt and the waste toner container to convey a recording sheet being inserted through a sheet inlet and merging into the first feeding path in the vicinity of the first feed roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hirotaka Mori, Hiroshi Nakano, Noboru Suzuki, Shougo Sato
  • Patent number: 9341990
    Abstract: A transfer unit detachably mountable relative to an image forming apparatus includes a plurality of rotational supports, an endless-looped belt disposed opposite to an image bearer and movably supported by the plurality of rotational support to contact the image bearer to form a transfer portion at which the toner image is transferred, a contact-and-separation device to move the belt to contact and separate from the image bearer, a base to support the plurality of rotational supports, a belt pressing member disposed facing the belt and detachably mountable relative to the base to contact an end portion of the belt, and a first stopper to prevent the belt pressing member from separating from the base while the belt is in contact with the image bearer by the contact-and-separation device and to allow the belt pressing member to separate from the base while the belt is separated from the image bearer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Ryo Hasegawa
  • Patent number: 9341991
    Abstract: An electrophotographic printer having an intermediate transfer belt (ITB) module having an endless belt wrapped around a first and second roll and a plurality of imaging drums, all mounted in a frame between a rear panel and an access panel pivotally mounted to the front panel. The first and second rolls lie in an ITB reference plane and the imaging drums lie in an imaging drum reference plane that is mutually planar to the ITB reference plane. A camming device, mounted to one of the front panel and the access panel, rotates the access panel to provide a skewing adjustment to ITB module and plurality of imaging drums to substantially correct a skew error caused by the racking of the front panel with respect to the rear panel with the access panel maintaining mutual planarity between the ITB reference plane and the imaging drum reference plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.
    Inventors: Paul Horrall, Donn Duane Bryant, Geoffrey Kirk Carlson, Billy Joe Jones
  • Patent number: 9341992
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes first and second forming units that form first and second to-be-transferred images and first and second not-to-be-transferred images with first and second toners, respectively, the first toner containing a metal pigment; a transfer body to which the first and second to-be-transferred and not-to-be-transferred images are to be transferred; a transfer member that transfers the first and second to-be-transferred images to a recording medium at a transfer nip between the transfer member and the transfer body; and a removing member that removes, with an electrostatic force, the first and second toners forming the first and second not-to-be-transferred images from the transfer member. In a transfer mode, the first not-to-be-transferred image is transferred to a position that do not overlap the recording medium to be introduced into the transfer nip after the first not-to-be-transferred image when seen in a direction of introduction of the recording medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masaaki Takahashi, Yoshiki Shimodaira
  • Patent number: 9341993
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: an image bearing member; an electrostatic image forming unit; a developing unit; an intermediary transfer member; a rotatable secondary transfer member; a constant voltage element; a voltage source; and a controller. The apparatus is operable in a lowering mode in which a secondary transfer electric field in a trailing end region of a recording material passing through a secondary transfer position with respect to a recording material feeding direction is made lower than the secondary transfer electric field in a region from a leading end to the trailing end region of the recording material. The controller sets a toner image distance so as to be longer than the toner image distance when the operation in the lowering mode is not performed to prevent a toner image from being primary-transferred in a period in which the secondary transfer electric field is lowered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Tohru Nakaegawa
  • Patent number: 9341994
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a belt, a cling unit, an application unit and a controller. The controller when a leading end portion of the belt where a leading end of a sheet in a conveying direction is disposed is present at a facing position where the belt and the cling unit face each other, controls the application unit to apply a clinging bias to the cling unit for supplying electric charge to the leading end portion, and when an intermediate portion of the belt disposed between the leading end portion and a trailing end portion thereof where a trailing end of the sheet is disposed is present at a facing position, reduces the clinging bias to be less than the clinging bias when the leading end portion is present at the facing position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kohei Kanehara
  • Patent number: 9341995
    Abstract: To provide a transfer apparatus that uniforms peeling characteristics and peeling characteristics in transfer processing and that enables a stabilized transfer result to be obtained, in a transfer apparatus for nipping a transfer film 46 and recording medium K with a transfer roller 33 and transfer platen 31 to form an image on the recording medium, preheating treatment of the recording medium K is performed before transfer processing. At this point, by determining a preheating amount corresponding to the temperature of the recording medium K, it is possible to obtain a stabilized transfer result in response to a change in transfer conditions due to a change in environmental temperature and a change in the transfer surface. Particularly, in the case of performing backside transfer subsequently to frontside transfer, since the temperature of the recording medium K is high, a preheating amount in backside transfer is made smaller than in frontside transfer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yuichi Aihara, Tetsuya Noda
  • Patent number: 9341996
    Abstract: A hub-based drive coupling mechanism for a fusing assembly, including a gear operatively coupled to a motor; a hub member; and a backup roll having a shaft rotatably coupled to the gear via the hub member, the gear including an outer cylindrical portion having a plurality of tabs disposed along an inner surface thereof, the hub member including an annular portion having a plurality of protrusions radially extending therefrom, and the backup roll shaft having a pin member. The gear rotates for a first fraction of a revolution without rotating the hub member and the backup roll due to the tabs of the gear not contacting the protrusions of the hub member, and rotates for a second fraction of the revolution with the hub member due to contact between the tabs and protrusions, but without rotating the backup roll.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffery James Buchanan, Alexander J Geyling
  • Patent number: 9341997
    Abstract: A fixing device includes: a plurality of laser irradiation sections each of which emits a laser beam whose wavelength exhibits an absorbance of 80% or more with respect to a corresponding toner; and a control device for controlling the plurality of irradiation sections so that in order to fuse a black toner, (i) a laser irradiation section corresponding to the black toner among the plurality of laser irradiation sections irradiates the black toner with a laser beam thereof, and (ii) the other laser irradiation sections irradiate the black toner with laser beams thereof, where the other laser irradiation sections do not correspond to the black toner among the plurality of laser irradiation sections. Therefore, it is possible to provide a laser fixing device which can fix a color toner while preventing an increase in size of the fixing device as much as possible.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Tetsunori Mitsuoka
  • Patent number: 9341998
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, an image forming apparatus has a fixing unit which heats an image formed on a recording medium at a fixing temperature, to fix the image on the recording medium. When a heating temperature of the fixing unit becomes a temperature higher than the fixing temperature, the image forming apparatus switches image forming, from image forming by a first mode using a discolorable coloring material, to image forming by a second mode using a non-discolorable coloring material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignees: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA, TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Junichi Katayama
  • Patent number: 9341999
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a fixing member, a heat source, a nip forming member, a pressing member, a recording medium conveyor, a first temperature detector to detect a temperature of a non-sheet-passing area of the fixing member through which a recording medium does not pass, a second temperature detector to detect a temperature of the recording medium, and a controller to adjust a time to drive the recording medium conveyer to control a time interval between successive recording media and a changing time to change the time interval, according to a temperature detected by the second temperature detector in response to a temperature rise in the non-sheet-passing area of the fixing member detected by the first temperature detector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takuya Seshita, Takeshi Yamamoto, Yasunori Ishigaya, Hajime Gotoh, Takahiro Imada, Akira Suzuki
  • Patent number: 9342000
    Abstract: An image-forming apparatus supplies power to a heater at the smaller duty ratio of: an upper-limit duty ratio which is set according to the current detected by an inlet current detecting unit in a warm-up period of a fixing unit; and a duty ratio which is continuously corrected according to a change in a heater resistance value and is required for supplying a predetermined target power to the heater. By this arrangement, the image-forming apparatus can output a first page of recording material in a short period time so that a current consumption of the entire apparatus does not exceed rated current consumption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yuki Sugiyama
  • Patent number: 9342001
    Abstract: An image formation device includes a power controller that controls transition to an energy-saving mode to reduce power consumption in a standby state and startup in the energy-saving mode and a timer in which a timing schedule that starts up the device in the energy-saving mode is set. The power controller controls the surface temperature of the fixing roller of the image generator to be a temperature lower than the fixing temperature that enables image formation when the image formation device is started up in the energy-saving mode according to the timing schedule set in the timer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Ishikura
  • Patent number: 9342002
    Abstract: A fixing device includes a rotary member comprising a heat generation layer; an excitation coil generating magnetic flux, disposed along an axial direction of the rotary member and opposite the rotary member, to heat by induction the heat generation layer; a first demagnetizing coil layered on the excitation coil and generating magnetic flux in a direction reverse to and cancel the magnetic flux that the excitation coil generates; a sheet size detector to obtain a size of a recording sheet on which an image is to be formed by passing through the rotary member; and a drive controller to control driving of the first demagnetizing coil. The drive controller drives the first demagnetizing coil after information including the sheet size information has been obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoko Morisawa, Susumu Matsusaka, Motokazu Hasegawa, Yukari Isoe
  • Patent number: 9342003
    Abstract: A fixing device includes a rotatable, endless first belt and a rotatable, endless second belt contacting an outer circumferential surface of the first belt. A first nip formation pad contacts an inner circumferential surface of the first belt to form a fixing nip between the first belt and the second belt, through which a recording medium bearing a toner image is conveyed. A rotatable driver contacts an inner circumferential surface of the second belt to press against the first nip formation pad via the first belt and the second belt to frictionally drive and rotate the first belt and the second belt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Akira Suzuki, Takuya Seshita, Takeshi Yamamoto, Takahiro Imada, Hajime Gotoh
  • Patent number: 9342004
    Abstract: Provided is a heating device, including a transparent belt that travels along a determined path, a first transparent member that comes into contact with an outer circumferential surface of the belt to form a nip at a first position in the belt, and an irradiating section that irradiates a beam which reaches a second position which comes into contact with a heating-target member and differs from the first position in a circumferential direction of the belt via the transparent member and the nip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tetsuro Kodera, Takashi Matsubara, Tomoko Miyahara
  • Patent number: 9342005
    Abstract: A fixing apparatus includes a rotating member including a conductive layer; a helical coil arranged inside the rotating member, a helical axis of the coil extending in a generatrix direction of the rotating member; and a magnetic member provided inside the coil, the magnetic member including a first magnetic member and a second magnetic member arranged in a line extending in the generatrix direction. A toner image is fixed on a recording material by heat which the conductive layer generates by electromagnetic induction. In the generatrix direction, a protruded portion is provided on an end surface of the first magnetic member and a recessed portion is provided in an end surface of the second magnetic member. The protruded portion and the recessed portion are disposed so as to oppose each other and overlap each other in the generatrix direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Satoshi Murasaki
  • Patent number: 9342006
    Abstract: Provided is a belt member used in a fixing device of an electromagnetic induction heating system. The belt member includes an endless resin base layer, heat layers, and an insulating resin layer. The heat layers are two or more layers including a non-magnetic metal stacked on the resin base layer. The insulating resin layer is an insulating layer stacked between the heating layers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: KYOCERA DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS INC.
    Inventor: Shoko Gon
  • Patent number: 9342007
    Abstract: A polyimide seamless belt for an image forming apparatus, which contains: polyimide containing a segment derived from aromatic diamine, and a segment derived from aromatic tetracarboxylic acid; and two types of carbon black, which are high-structure carbon black capable of imparting high conductivity, and acidic carbon black, where the two types of the carbon black are dispersed in the polyimide seamless belt, wherein the polyimide seamless belt has surface resistivity of 108?/? or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Sachiko Takeda, Shigeru Hashiura, Kenji Ohta, Asae Kamata
  • Patent number: 9342008
    Abstract: A fuser member that contains a mixture of a polyimide and an aramid polymer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Jin Wu, David J. Gervasi, Matthew M. Kelly
  • Patent number: 9342009
    Abstract: A fixing device configured to fix an image on a recording material, includes: a rotary member including an electroconductive layer; a coil which has a spiral shaped portion and is disposed in the inside of the rotary member; and a core disposed in the spiral shaped portion; with magnetic resistance of the core being, with an area from one end to the other end of the maximum passage region of the image on the recording material regarding the generatrix direction, equal to or smaller than 30% of combined magnetic resistance made up of magnetic resistance of the electroconductive layer and magnetic resistance of a region between the electroconductive layer and the core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuki Nishizawa, Hiroshi Mano, Minoru Hayasaki, Aoji Isono, Akira Kuroda, Toshio Miyamoto, Michio Uchida, Seiji Uchiyama