Patents Examined by Jannelle M. Lebron
  • Patent number: 11376860
    Abstract: A printing fluid container (100) for use in a printing system is described. An example container includes a base (110) and a light transmissive side wall (120). The side wall extends from the base to define a chamber (130) for receiving and storing printing fluid within the container. The side wall has an internal surface (122) facing the chamber, said internal surface comprising a channel (140). The channel comprises a portion (142) indicating a height from the base, the height representing a predetermined fill amount. The channel is configured such that when the chamber contains printing fluid, printing fluid resides within the channel (140) and indicates the predetermined fill amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Ben Smith, Bryan Murphy, Christopher Wallace
  • Patent number: 11370232
    Abstract: The medium detection unit is a component constituting an optical path of the detection light, and includes a first optical element disposed on an upper side of the medium transport path and a second optical element disposed on a lower side of the medium transport path so as to face the first optical element, the second optical element has a facing surface that faces the first optical element, the facing surface being located at a position that is not in contact with a medium nipped by both the first roller pair and the second roller pair, and a medium feeding direction by the first roller pair is a direction by which a leading edge of a medium fed out abuts a position upstream in the medium transport direction relative to a position where the detection light is received on the facing surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Junko Ao, Koji Oda, Toshihiro Imae, Soichiro Kii
  • Patent number: 11370227
    Abstract: An example laser assembly for a laser printer may include a plurality of lasers to emit respective photons; a prism to redirect the respective laser beams emitted from the plurality of lasers toward a collimator lens of the laser printer to generate a photon beam; and one or more processors to: determine a timing schedule for individually activating the plurality of lasers based on a resolution setting of the laser printer, and when printing at a resolution corresponding to the resolution setting, control activation of each of the plurality of lasers to emit the respective photons according to the timing schedule to form the photon beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: Capital One Services, LLC
    Inventor: David Kelly Wurmfeld
  • Patent number: 11370233
    Abstract: A base material processing apparatus includes a transport mechanism, a mark detector, and a calculating unit. The transport mechanism transports an elongated strip-shaped base material in a longitudinal direction thereof along a predetermined transport path. The mark detector acquires a detection result by detecting a mark continuously at a detecting position on the transport path. The mark is applied previously to an end of the base material in a width direction thereof. The calculating unit calculates a transport speed of the base material, the amount of positional deviation of the base material in a transport direction, and tension on the base material applied in the transport direction on the basis of the detection result and information about the mark applied previously to the base material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: SCREEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Mitsuhiro Yoshida, Hiroaki Usumoto, Takaharu Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 11347982
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid container and a control unit. The liquid container has an upper limit mark. The upper limit mark is arranged so that in a first case where an entire amount of liquid stored in a refilling container is injected into a storage portion when a notification unit notifies of a first state, a liquid level of the liquid in the storage portion is located between an inlet port and the upper limit mark, and in a second case where the entire amount of liquid stored in the refilling container is injected into the storage portion when the notification unit notifies of a second state, the liquid level overlaps with the upper limit mark.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shuichi Koganehira, Tomoyuki Hirano
  • Patent number: 11338601
    Abstract: A recording condition determining method executed by a recording device performing recording by a main scanning, in which while moving a recording head in a main scanning direction, dots are ejected from nozzles onto a recording medium, and a sub scanning, in which the recording medium is transported in a sub scanning direction. The method includes a patch recording step, the patch recording step being performed by recording patches at a plurality of different positions in the sub scanning direction by a plurality of types of overlap-processing under respectively different recording conditions, in a single recording job performed by the recording device. The method further includes a selection accepting step, and a determination step of determining, as a recording condition of the overlap-processing of an actual recording, the recording condition of the overlap processing corresponding to the patch selected in the selection accepting step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Toru Fujita
  • 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: 11338590
    Abstract: A recording condition determining method is executed by a recording device performing recording by a main scanning and a sub scanning. The method includes a patch recording step of recording patches onto a recording medium by the overlap-processing in which the main scanning is performed on a partial region of the recording medium in an overlapping manner a plurality of times, the patch recording step including recording the patches at a plurality of different positions in a main scanning direction by a plurality of types of the overlap-processing under respectively different recording conditions. The method further includes a selection accepting step of accepting selection of a patch from among a plurality of the recorded patches, and a determination step of determining, as the recording condition of the overlap-processing of an actual recording, the recording condition of the overlap-processing associated with the patch selected in the selection accepting step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Toru Fujita
  • Patent number: 11338580
    Abstract: A printing apparatus has a conveyance roller configured to convey a sheet in a first direction, an encoder provided at the conveyance roller, a head having a plurality of nozzles aligned in a second direction intersecting with the first direction and being configured to jet liquid to the sheet which is conveyed in the first direction by the conveyance roller and a controller having a power circuit configured to apply voltage to the head for jetting the liquid. The controller is configured to: determine a jetting frequency for the head based on a signal outputted from the encoder; and change an output voltage of the power circuit depending on the determined jetting frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masahiro Makino, Taro Nagano, Daiki Kato, Haru Inoue, Jeongbin Lee
  • 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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