Patents Examined by Jannelle M. Lebron
  • Patent number: 11338587
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a fluid circulation apparatus includes a first tank to store fluid to be supplied to a fluid ejection head, a circulation path including a first flow path portion to provide fluid from the first tank to a supply port of the fluid ejection head, and a second flow path portion to return fluid from a collection port of the fluid ejection head to the first tank, a bypass flow path to connect the supply port to the collection port outside of the fluid ejection head, and a pressure sensor configured to measure pressure of the bypass flow path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Taiki Goto, Kazuhiro Hara
  • Patent number: 11318740
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting system includes a liquid ejecting head having a nozzle ejecting liquid, a supply channel communicating with the nozzle, and a recovery channel communicated with the nozzle, and circulates the liquid in the liquid ejecting head through the supply channel and the recovery channel. The supply channel includes a pressurizing section and a first buffer mechanism disposed between the nozzle and the pressurizing section. The recovery channel includes a decompression section and a second buffer mechanism disposed between the nozzle and the decompression section. The first buffer mechanism is configured to increase a buffer capacity as the supply channel is pressurized. The second buffer mechanism is configured to reduce a buffer capacity as the recovery channel is decompressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Yukihiro Hanaoka, Toshiro Murayama
  • Patent number: 11312126
    Abstract: A method of generating alignment data for a printhead. The method includes the steps of: printing a calibration pattern using the printhead, the calibration pattern including rows of spaced apart fiducials, each fiducial having a plurality of concentric shapes representing a code sequence; imaging the fiducials at a first resolution to generate imaged fiducials; cross-correlating a template fiducial with the imaged fiducials at a plurality of different displacement s relative to each imaged fiducial, the template fiducial having a configuration matching the imaged fiducials; determining a two-dimensional set of cross-correlation values for each imaged fiducial, each set of cross-correlation values indicating a center of a respective fiducial; and generating alignment data for the printhead using the sets of cross-correlation values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2022
    Inventors: Nigel Hoschke, Rodney Hardy, Steven Parker
  • Patent number: 11305548
    Abstract: An ink tank includes a cap assembly attached to the ink tank by a preloaded hinge that defines a rotational axis of the cap assembly when the cap assembly is opened and closed. The preloaded hinge biases the cap assembly to an opened position when the cap assembly is unlatched. The cap assembly includes a cap housing, a bung retained within the cap housing, a spring disposed between the cap housing and the bung, a latch to hold the cap assembly in a closed position, where in the closed position the spring applies a force to provide a seal between the bung and the ink tank. The cap assembly also includes an effector that is operative when the cap assembly is unlatched, to sequence a closing of an internal valve of the ink tank and a breaking of the seal between the bung and the ink tank thereafter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: John J Cantrell, Keith Jariabka, Theodore J Conley, William S Osborne
  • Patent number: 11298960
    Abstract: A printer device includes a transport mechanism that transports a continuous sheet in which a plurality of printing media are spaced apart from each other by a gap width and attached on a mount, a transmission sensor that detects transmittance of the continuous sheet, and a control unit that adjusts the transmission sensor. The control unit transports the continuous sheet in the +Y direction by using the transport mechanism, performs reverse transport control to transport the continuous sheet in the ?Y direction by a reverse-feed distance that is greater than the gap by using the transport mechanism when the head position of a printing medium is detected by the transmission sensor, and adjusts the transmission sensor after the reverse transport control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2022
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Masahiro Kawajiri
  • Patent number: 11292269
    Abstract: A method for detecting and compensating for defective printing nozzles in an inkjet printing machine includes printing test sheets each including at least one printing nozzle test chart and at least one gray area for every color separation. The test sheets are recorded and digitized with subsequent pixel-nozzle mapping and amplitude/phase value determination by using a computer. Current measurements are taken at the printing nozzles in between test sheets and customer sheets while being printed. The computer is used for teaching in a SVM model with the results of the current measurement and pixel-nozzle mapping and amplitude/phase determination. The taught-in SVM model and the current measurements are applied to printed, recorded and digitized customer's images to detect defective printing nozzles during production printing on the inkjet printing machine and the detected defective printing nozzles are compensated for.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
    Inventors: Ilias Trachanas, Mina Hakim Latif Abosetta, Andreas Fehlner
  • Patent number: 11292259
    Abstract: In one example, a fluid interconnect to exchange liquid in a first container with air in a second container that is unvented during an exchange. The interconnect includes a first conduit, a second conduit, and an air flow director to direct air in a second container toward the second conduit during an exchange when a first container and a second container are connected to the interconnect.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Kenneth Russell Williams
  • Patent number: 11285718
    Abstract: A liquid jet head and a liquid jet recording device capable of reducing the installation area of the liquid jet head are provided. The liquid jet head according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is to be installed in a carriage of the liquid jet recording device. The liquid jet head includes a jet section provided with a nozzle hole configured to jet liquid, a support member configured to support the jet section, and provided with a hole part including a through hole penetrating in a jet direction of the liquid, a biasing member disposed in the hole part, and configured to bias the support member toward the carriage, and a biased member which is disposed at a predetermined position with respect to the carriage, and is biased in the hole part by the biasing member to thereby set a position of the nozzle hole with respect to the carriage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2022
    Assignee: SII PRINTEK INC.
    Inventors: Masatoshi Seki, Takanori Koyano, Masaru Midorikawa
  • Patent number: 11267271
    Abstract: A head module includes: a plurality of heads, a base on which the plurality of heads is arrayed in a head array direction, a plurality of individual heatsinks respectively attached to the plurality of heads, and a common heatsink standing on the base, the common heatsink including a connector thermally connected to each of the plurality of individual heatsinks. The connector of the common heatsink is along the head array direction and is adjacent to each of the plurality of individual heatsinks in a direction perpendicular to the head array direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Takashi Kinokuni, Takeshi Miyazaki
  • Patent number: 11267260
    Abstract: A conveyance mechanism is configured to sandwich a label including the adhesive side, on which an adhesive has been provided, between a drive roller and a rotatably provided assist roller and to drive the drive roller in order to unwind the label from a label roll in which the label is wound. The assist roller includes a contact portion configured to come into contact with at least a part of the print side of the label. The contact portion is provided so as to avoid coming into contact with an adhesive oozing from at least one of edges of the label along a conveyance direction of the label.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: Ishida Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Taro Sano, Koji Araki
  • Patent number: 11247456
    Abstract: An electrical circuit for measuring the shape of a voltage waveform in a print head of a printer includes an integrated circuit for generating one or more voltage amplitude waveforms. The electrical circuit includes an inkjet drop forming unit including a plurality of inkjet chambers, wherein each of the plurality of inkjet chambers includes a piezoelectric actuator and an ink nozzle, and a connecting circuit between the integrated circuit and the inkjet drop forming unit suitable for applying one of the one or more voltage amplitude waveforms generated by the integrated circuit to the piezoelectric actuator in one of the plurality of inkjet chambers. In order to measure the shape of the one or more generated voltage amplitude waveforms via capacitive crosstalk, the electrical circuit also includes a conductor in physical proximity to the connecting circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Production Printing Holding B.V.
    Inventors: Aart Nijkamp, Johannes M. M. Simons, Cornelis W. M. Venner
  • Patent number: 11198291
    Abstract: A droplet ejecting device includes: a first nozzle group consisting of N pieces of first nozzles aligned in a first direction; a second nozzle group consisting of N pieces of second nozzles aligned in the first direction and at the same positions in the first direction as the first nozzles; and a controller. The controller is configured to determine whether an ejection quantity per unit time is not smaller than a first threshold. When the ejection quantity is equal to or greater than the first threshold, a first combination of N pieces of nozzles from among the N pieces of first nozzles and the N pieces of second nozzles is selected. When the ejection quantity is smaller than the first threshold, a second combination of N pieces of nozzles from among the N pieces of first nozzles and the N pieces of second nozzles is selected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuya Tsuneoka, Takaichiro Umeda
  • Patent number: 11186101
    Abstract: A base material processing apparatus includes a first edge sensor, a second edge sensor, and a displacement amount calculation part. The first edge sensor acquires a first detection result (R1) by detecting the position of an edge of a base material in the width direction at a first detection position. The second edge sensor acquires a second detection result (R2) by detecting the position of the edge of the base material in the width direction at a second detection position. The displacement amount calculation part calculates the amount of displacement in the position of the base material in the transport direction on the basis of the first detection result (R1) and the second detection result (R2). Accordingly, the amount of displacement in the position of the base material in the transport direction can be detected without depending on images such as register marks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: SCREEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Mitsuhiro Yoshida, Yuichi Hanada
  • Patent number: 11173712
    Abstract: In some examples, a system includes a device support to receive a fluid dispensing device, and a controller to identify, based on data controlling activation of fluidic actuators, a fluidic actuator that is to be activated in a first activation cycle of a group of activation cycles that correspond to activation intervals of respective fluidic actuators of a group of fluidic actuators of the fluid dispensing device, the identified fluidic actuator being part of the group of fluidic actuators. To perform a sense measurement for the identified fluidic actuator, the controller suppresses activation of the identified fluidic actuator in the first activation cycle, and causes activation of the identified fluidic actuator in a sense measurement cycle different from the first activation cycle, the sense measurement cycle being part of the group of activation cycles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Eric T. Martin, Daryl E. Anderson, James R. Przybyla
  • Patent number: 11155103
    Abstract: A printer including a print bar and a dryer system. The print bar operates to deposit printing material in accordance with a print job. The dryer system operates to intake and heat air from an internal region in which one or more electrical components of the printer are located. The dryer system directs the heated air through multiple outlets that are acutely angled with respect to a location or media of deposited printing material, to dry the printing material while cooling the internal region of the printer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2021
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Robert Yraceburu, William Winters, Timothy Jacob Luedeman
  • Patent number: 11155107
    Abstract: A recording medium conveying apparatus includes: a mount member having an outer peripheral surface on which a recording medium is placed; a ventilation member provided along part of an inner peripheral surface of the mount member; an air chamber having air permeability to/from the outer peripheral surface side of the mount member through the holes provided in the mount member and the ventilation member; a suction unit; and a side wall member having side wall surfaces covering part of side surfaces of the ventilation member. A buffer region that is not provided with the ventilation member is included in a ventilation member-disposed region enclosed by straight lines passing through the first surface, the second surface, and the pair of side wall surfaces, in an arbitrary cross section that intersects the pair of side wall surfaces across the ventilation member and is perpendicular to the first surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2021
    Assignee: KONICA MINOLTA, INC.
    Inventor: Tasuku Asanuma
  • Patent number: 11155094
    Abstract: A fluid ejection device includes a fluid ejection assembly including a fluid ejection die, and a service assembly to be rotated to different positions relative to the fluid ejection assembly for different service operations of the fluid ejection die.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2021
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Si-lam Choy
  • Patent number: 11155098
    Abstract: In some examples, a method includes applying a negative pressure to a gas-filled volume through a vent. While a pressure in the volume decreases, the method draws a gas out through the vent and moves a liquid into the volume. The volume is filled with the liquid so that one side of the vent is covered with the liquid and the pressure in the volume increases up to a specified point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2021
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Kevin E. Swier, David R Otis, Jr.
  • Patent number: 11155086
    Abstract: In one example in accordance with the present disclosure, a fluidic ejection device is described. The device includes a fluidic ejection die embedded in a moldable material. The die includes an array of nozzles. Each nozzle includes an ejection chamber and an opening. A fluid actuator is disposed within the ejection chamber. The fluidic ejection die also includes an array of passages, formed in a substrate, to deliver fluid to and from the ejection chamber. The fluidic ejection die also includes an array of enclosed cross-channels. Each enclosed cross-channel of the array of enclosed cross-channels is fluidly connected to a respective plurality of passages of the array of passages. The device also includes the moldable material which includes supply slots to deliver fluid to and from the fluidic ejection die. A carrier substrate of the device supports the fluidic ejection die and moldable material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2021
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Si-Iam Choy, Michael W Cumbie, Chien-Hua Chen, Jeffrey R Pollard
  • Patent number: 11148431
    Abstract: Applying a metallic ink, then applying a chromatic color ink with high dye aggregability, and then applying a chromatic color ink with low dye aggregability improve the color development of the chromatic color ink with low dye aggregability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiromitsu Yamaguchi, Fumitaka Goto, Yuto Kajiwara