Patents Examined by Erika J. Villaluna
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Patent number: 11086253Abstract: During a print cycle of a print apparatus, a liquid print agent including a carrier fluid is applied to a photoconductive surface. A proportion of the carrier fluid in the liquid print agent on the photoconductive surface is reduced at a first location by removably collecting a portion of the carrier fluid from the liquid print agent applied to the photoconductive surface. During a non-print cycle of the print apparatus, the removably collected portion of the carrier fluid is added to the photoconductive surface at the first location.Type: GrantFiled: July 2, 2020Date of Patent: August 10, 2021Assignee: HP Indigo B.V.Inventors: Asaf Anufa, Ronen Bitan, Doron Schlumm, Shmuel Borenstain
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Patent number: 11079363Abstract: The systems and methods of this disclosure enable evaluation, verification, and testing of toxic gas sensors without the need for a target gas cylinder. The systems and methods for testing toxic gas sensors over a broad range of frequencies facilitates evaluation and diagnosis of mechanisms underlying sensor performance. The systems and methods of this disclosure may be incorporated into portable gas sensing equipment for in field diagnostics.Type: GrantFiled: October 24, 2017Date of Patent: August 3, 2021Assignee: Industrial Scientific CorporationInventor: Jonathan Eric Dinsmore
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Patent number: 11079711Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable cylindrical component to be cleaned, and a bar brush having a base substrate and bristles. The base substrate of the bar brush is located at a fixed position relative to the component to be cleaned. The bristles extend from the base substrate to contact the component to be cleaned. The bristles have free ends that form a tip end surface of the bar brush. The tip end surface has a curved shape that conforms with a surface of the component, when the bristles are not in contact with the surface to be cleaned.Type: GrantFiled: June 24, 2019Date of Patent: August 3, 2021Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.Inventors: Koji Miyake, Satoru Furuya, Kensuke Nakajima, Shun Ikeura
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Patent number: 11073793Abstract: An example device includes a conveyor to convey a printed medium along a path from a print engine towards a printed media output. The device further includes a housing to hold the conveyor. The housing defines an air intake, an exhaust port, and a conveyor volume to contain the conveyor. The air intake provides air to the conveyor volume to dry the printed medium. The device further includes a tortuous exhaust passage extending from the conveyor volume to the exhaust port to exhaust air from the conveyor volume.Type: GrantFiled: May 22, 2019Date of Patent: July 27, 2021Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.Inventors: Kevin Lo, Matthew Raisanen, Alan Shibata
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Patent number: 11060892Abstract: In this vortex flowmeter provided with a vortex generator and a flow rate measuring unit the flow rate measurement unit includes a piezoelectric element and a piezoelectric element case. The piezoelectric element case includes: a fitted part fitted in the body case; a pressure receiving part protruding out from a distal end face of the fitted part and placed in a body passage; a hollow portion formed along the axial direction of the piezoelectric element case in the fitted part to separate the fitted part and the pressure receiving part; and a slit formed inside of the pressure receiving part and configured to accommodate the piezoelectric element.Type: GrantFiled: August 24, 2018Date of Patent: July 13, 2021Assignee: CKD CORPORATIONInventors: Yasushi Ohshima, Yuki Sakaki, Takaharu Matsuura, Ryo Eguchi
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Patent number: 11054766Abstract: A fixing device in an image forming apparatus includes a partition member providing a partition between a pressure roller and a housing. The partition member is disposed against the pressure roller along a rotation-axis direction X of the pressure roller. The partition member has a first side face against the pressure roller. The first side face is provided with a thermal insulation member thereon. The thermal insulation member is separated from the pressure roller by a prescribed distance.Type: GrantFiled: March 5, 2020Date of Patent: July 6, 2021Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Tetsunori Mitsuoka
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Patent number: 11054768Abstract: A fixing device includes a fixing rotating member, a heater, a fixing pad, a pressurizing member, a lubricant, and a surface layer. The fixing rotating member is configured to fix a toner image on a recording medium and is heated by the heater. The fixing pad is positioned on an inner circumferential side of the fixing rotating member, and presses the fixing rotating member from the inner circumferential side. The pressurizing member faces an outer circumferential surface of the fixing rotating member, and forms a nip for fixing between the pressurizing member and the fixing rotating member. The lubricant is applied to the fixing rotating member. The surface layer is disposed in a vicinity of an end portion of a pressurizing surface of the fixing pad and returns the lubricant to a longitudinal central side of the pressurizing surface.Type: GrantFiled: July 9, 2020Date of Patent: July 6, 2021Assignee: TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Atsushi Yamazoe
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Patent number: 11035751Abstract: A positioning device for arrangement of a basin false bottom in ocean engineering comprises a laser transmitting system, a rotating platform system, and a control and calculation system. The laser transmitting system comprises a laser transmitter used for providing laser beams. The rotating platform system comprises a two-degree-of-freedom rotating platform used for carrying the laser transmitter and making the laser beams have spatially arbitrary directivity. The control and calculation system is used for calculating, according to given coordinates, the angle by which the two-degree-of-freedom rotating platform needs to rotate, controlling rotation of the two-degree-of-freedom rotating platform, and making the laser beams transmitted by the laser transmitter accurately indicate the given coordinates at the basin false bottom.Type: GrantFiled: September 15, 2015Date of Patent: June 15, 2021Assignee: Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityInventors: Jianmin Yang, Xinliang Tian, Xiaoxian Guo, Longfei Xiao, Tao Peng
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Patent number: 11035767Abstract: An apparatus to determine the swollen cross-link density of a polymeric specimen. The apparatus includes a support structure, a fluid-holding structure to hold a solvent, a first gripping assembly engaged with a weight scale and adapted to grip a specimen and a second gripping assembly adapted to grip the specimen. The fluid-holding structure is attached to a multi-stage device attached to the support structure and displaceable upward or downward. A mechanism supported by the support structure and engaged with the multi-stage device and configured to displace the multi-stage device in fine gradations. When a specimen is gripped by the gripping assemblies and submerged in the solvent and the mechanism displaces the multi-stage device downward, a tensile force is exerted on the specimen. The tensile force is measured by a displacement gauge.Type: GrantFiled: May 1, 2019Date of Patent: June 15, 2021Assignee: The United States of Americas as represented by the Secretary of the NavyInventors: William F. Bryant, Jr., John N. Kelley
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Patent number: 11022936Abstract: In a developing cartridge, a first supporting member is attached to a housing and has a first developing supporting portion and a driving-force-receiving-member supporting portion, the first developing supporting portion being configured to rotatably support a first part of a rotational shaft, the driving-force-receiving-member supporting portion being configured to rotatably support a driving-force-receiving member. The second supporting member is attached to the housing and has a second developing supporting portion and a detection-rotational-body supporting portion, the second developing supporting portion being configured to rotatably support a second part of the rotational shaft, the detection-rotational-body supporting portion being configured to rotatably support a detection rotational body.Type: GrantFiled: August 10, 2020Date of Patent: June 1, 2021Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Nao Itabashi, Hideshi Nishiyama, Yasuo Fukamachi
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Patent number: 11016432Abstract: A sensor holder includes a holder body that accommodates a sensor, a first snap fit that presses the sensor from a rear surface of the sensor, and two second snap fits that fix the holder body to the housing at at least two points.Type: GrantFiled: March 11, 2019Date of Patent: May 25, 2021Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.Inventors: Shota Makita, Takashi Akaike, Yosuke Kuwata
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Patent number: 11016438Abstract: A cartridge is detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The cartridge includes a rotatable member capable of carrying developer, the rotatable member being rotatable about a rotational axis thereof. The cartridge also includes a coupling member provided at one end portion of the cartridge with respect to a rotational axis direction of the rotatable member, the coupling member including at least one projection and being configured to transmit a rotational force to the rotatable member. A holding member holds the coupling member, and two pins support the holding member, with each of the two pins including a shaft portion elongated in a direction substantially perpendicular to the rotational axis of the rotatable member and the two pins being disposed substantially parallel to each other.Type: GrantFiled: July 17, 2020Date of Patent: May 25, 2021Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Shigemi Kamoshida, Takuya Kawakami, Hiroki Ogino, Kazuhiko Kanno
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Patent number: 11003129Abstract: A cartridge includes a rotatable member, a rotatable rotational force receiving member, a preventing member including an accommodating portion, a rotatable coupling member including a free end portion which includes a rotational force receiving portion and including a connecting portion connected with the preventing portion to be partly accommodated in the accommodating portion so that a rotational axis of the coupling member permits tilting thereof relative to a rotational axis of the rotational force receiving member, a shaft portion. The preventing member includes a supporting portion for supporting ends of the shaft portion so as to prevent the shaft portion from moving in a rotational direction of the rotatable member to transmit the rotational force received from the shaft portion via the supporting portion to the rotational force receiving member.Type: GrantFiled: April 23, 2020Date of Patent: May 11, 2021Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Shunsuke Uratani, Yu Fukasawa
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Patent number: 10996616Abstract: An operating mechanism for an image forming apparatus includes a translating member, a rotating member, and a rib. The translating member defines a first engagement surface. The translating member moves along an axis that extends in a first direction. The rotating member is coupled to the translating member such that the translating member is both (a) movable relative to the rotating member along the axis and (b) rotatable relative to the rotating member about the axis. The rotating member defines a second engagement surface configured to engage the first engagement surface to regulate movement of the translating member such that a rotational displacement of the translating member about the axis has a corresponding linear displacement of the translating member along the axis. The rib is coupled to the rotating member and configured to reinforce the rotating member in order to resist deformation of the rotating member.Type: GrantFiled: March 24, 2020Date of Patent: May 4, 2021Assignee: TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Takahiro Kojima
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Patent number: 10969307Abstract: An extractive system, such as SPME, has an adsorptive phase in the form of a porous coating that has essentially vertical, mutually supporting, columnar structures with nanospaces at the boundaries of the grains.Type: GrantFiled: July 23, 2019Date of Patent: April 6, 2021Assignee: Moxtek, Inc.Inventors: Matthew R. Linford, Anubhav Diwan, Bhupinder Singh
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Patent number: 10969707Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a photoconductive body, a light source, a lens, a light housing, a first fulcrum, a second fulcrum, a stay, and a repositioning mechanism. The lens is positioned to focus light emitted from the light source at a focal position. The light housing holds the light source and the lens. The fulcrums are positioned such that a surface of the photoconductive body is positioned at the focal position when the light housing engages the first fulcrum and the second fulcrum. The stay is positioned to support the light housing at two or more points between the fulcrums. The repositioning mechanism is coupled to the stay. The light housing presses against the fulcrums when the repositioning mechanism is in a first orientation and is spaced from the fulcrums when the repositioning mechanism is in a second orientation.Type: GrantFiled: August 24, 2020Date of Patent: April 6, 2021Assignee: TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Masahiro Kodo
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Patent number: 10959800Abstract: A force sensor includes a substrate, a plurality of sensing elements, a seal, and a cover plate. The substrate includes a proximal surface and a distal surface, with the plurality of sensing elements coupled to the distal surface of the substrate. The seal includes a base wall and a flange extending proximally from the base wall. The flange is positioned against the distal surface of the substrate to define a cavity between the base wall of the seal and the distal surface of the substrate within which the plurality of sensing elements are disposed. The cover plate is positioned over the seal and fixed to the substrate. The cover plate applies a closure force on the seal to inhibit the ingress of fluids into the cavity.Type: GrantFiled: October 30, 2017Date of Patent: March 30, 2021Assignee: COVIDIEN LPInventor: Ramiro Cabrera
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Patent number: 10955791Abstract: An image forming apparatus, having a first photosensitive drum, a first developing roller, a first shifting member movable between a contacting position and a separating position, a motor, a first joint, a first clutch operable in one of a transmittable condition and a discontinuing condition, a first shifting cam rotatable between a first position, in which the first shifting cam locates the first shifting member at the contacting position, and a second position, in which the first shifting cam locates the first shifting member at the separating position, and a first switching cam rotatable between a third position, in which the first switching cam places the first clutch in the transmittable condition, and a fourth position, in which the first switching cam places the first clutch in the discontinuing condition, alongside the first shifting cam rotating between the first position and the second position, is provided.Type: GrantFiled: June 28, 2019Date of Patent: March 23, 2021Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Hiroshi Nakano, Masahito Saeki, Kotaro Haruta
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Patent number: 10935911Abstract: A fixing device includes an endless belt rotatable in a predetermined direction of rotation and a nip formation assembly disposed opposite an inner circumferential surface of the endless belt. An opposed rotary body is pressed against the nip formation assembly via the endless belt to form a fixing nip between the endless belt and the opposed rotary body through which a recording medium bearing a toner image is conveyed. A belt holder contacts and supports each lateral end of the endless belt in an axial direction thereof. The belt holder is isolated from the opposed rotary body with a first interval interposed therebetween in the axial direction of the endless belt.Type: GrantFiled: October 30, 2017Date of Patent: March 2, 2021Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Teppei Kawata, Masahiko Satoh, Masaaki Yoshikawa, Kenji Ishii, Hiroshi Yoshinaga, Tadashi Ogawa, Takahiro Imada, Hiromasa Takagi, Kazuya Saito, Naoki Iwaya, Kensuke Yamaji, Takamasa Hase, Toshihiko Shimokawa, Shuutaroh Yuasa, Takuya Seshita, Takeshi Uchitani, Arinobu Yoshiura, Hajime Gotoh, Akira Suzuki
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Patent number: 10928770Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a top cover configured to cover a part of an opening of a housing; a front cover configured to cover a part of the remaining of the opening; a toner cartridge; and a drum cartridge, wherein in a state where the front cover is located at the opened position, the drum cartridge having the toner cartridge mounted thereto is mountable and demountable to and from the housing, whereas the drum cartridge is prevented from being mounted and demounted to and from the housing in a state where the front cover is located at the closed position, wherein when the top cover is located at the opened position, the toner cartridge is mountable and demountable to and from the drum cartridge, and wherein when the top cover is located at the closed position, the toner cartridge is prevented from being demounted from the drum cartridge.Type: GrantFiled: March 20, 2019Date of Patent: February 23, 2021Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Koji Abe