Patents Examined by Prasad V Gokhale
  • Patent number: 11975933
    Abstract: A sheet feeding cassette includes a main body, a lift plate, a pair of side cursors, and an auxiliary lift plate. The main body is configured to accommodate a sheet fed out in a predetermined sheet feeding direction. The lift plate is provided in the main body in a liftable manner, and has a sheet placement surface on which the sheet is placed. The pair of side cursors is configured to be moved in a width direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction and to come into contact with side edges of the sheet placed on the lift plate to align the sheet. The auxiliary lift plate is detachably attached to a notch portion which is formed in the lift plate so as to allow a moving of the side cursors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Satoshi Ando
  • Patent number: 11975940
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a sensor, a tray, a gear, a protruding portion, and a processor. The sensor has a light transmitting unit and light receiving units and is configured to generate an output signal in accordance with an amount of light received by the light receiving units. The gear is configured to rotate in accordance with an amount of sheets stacked on the tray. The protruding portion is configured to rotate with the gear and move into a light path of light emitted from the light emitting unit to the light receiving units to partially block the light, the protruding portion having a width that determines how much light in the light path is blocked and varies gradually from a first end thereof to a second end thereof. The processor is configured to determine the amount of sheets stacked on the tray based on the output signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kosuke Takeuchi
  • Patent number: 11970358
    Abstract: A medium feeding mechanism includes a feeder that feeds a medium, a transportation path that is coupled to the feeder and includes a bent portion, a transporter that transports the medium on the transportation path, and a transportation control unit that controls the transporter, wherein the transportation control unit adjusts a transportation velocity of the medium transported by the transporter on the basis of medium information of the medium and a transportation route shape for the medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignee: RISO KAGAKU CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ryosuke Miyachi, Yuzuru Iioka
  • Patent number: 11967195
    Abstract: Provided is a circulation-type paper sheet storage unit equipped with circulation units in a casing, enabling to swiftly take measures and perform recovery processing on the user side when the circulation unit malfunctions. The paper sheet storage unit includes circulation units (100 and 200) that are accommodated in a casing 60 to receive paper sheets transported into the casing by operating upon reception of a drive force from a motor and feed paper sheets stored therein to outside of the casing. The casing includes guide members 620 that serve as a guide at the time of attaching or detaching the circulation unit with respect to the casing, and the circulation unit includes guided members (655A, 675A, 655B, and 675B) which respectively detachably engage with the guide member, and are guided to an installation completion position along the guide members in an engaged state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: JAPAN CASH MACHINE CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Keiichi Togano, Shinya Izawa
  • Patent number: 11960314
    Abstract: The control system for attachment to a collective lever in a rotorcraft which comprises a body with an extended horn portion which is generally contoured to provide for a place to rest the palm and grip the collective lever at the end in the form of an open spherical grip as opposed to the more traditional cylindrical grip used to grasp the throttle and/or collective lever directly. The control system generally includes a plurality of controls which can be manipulated by any or all of the four fingers of the hand and the thumb without need to substantially move the palm. The collective lever can also be moved without having to remove the hand from the control system or the fingers or thumb from the controls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: Essex Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Charles Culp, Greg Kemner, Bob Hale
  • Patent number: 11958710
    Abstract: A sheet detection device includes, as detection pieces, a first detection piece integrally provided on a rotary shaft and a second detection piece attached to the first detection piece via a biasing member. The second detection piece is capable of rotation in conjunction with the first detection piece under a biasing force of the biasing member. When the second detection piece is brought into contact with a ceiling at an upper part of the rotary shaft, the second detection piece stops further rotation while the first detection piece is capable of rotation together with the rotary shaft against the biasing force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuki Taniguchi, Tsuyoshi Shibayama
  • Patent number: 11952231
    Abstract: A paper feeding device includes a pickup roller mechanism disposed at an entrance of a paper feeding path, and a separation mechanism disposed to a rear end of the pickup roller mechanism. The pickup roller mechanism includes a first pickup unit positioned at the entrance of the paper feeding path, a second pickup unit mounted to a rear end of the first pickup unit, and a third pickup unit disposed to a rear end of the second pickup unit. The second pickup unit includes a first driving gear. The third pickup unit includes a second driving gear, and a transmission belt looped around an outer periphery of the first driving gear and an outer periphery of the second driving gear.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: Foxlink Image Technology Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Wei Pin Hsieh, Chih Cheng Yu
  • Patent number: 11945674
    Abstract: A document stacker (1) for receiving documents from a document processing device (3), wherein the document stacker comprises: a document support (4), and a frame (5), wherein the document support is attached to the frame by a linear guide means configured such that the document support is linearly movable with respect to the frame along a predetermined path of movement (7) inclined to a horizontal plane, and wherein the document stacker further comprises a load cell (14) configured to resist relative movement between the frame and the document support along said predetermined path and to emit an output signal representative of the load applied to the load cell by the document support.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: Plockmatic International AB
    Inventor: Anders Tillman
  • Patent number: 11939180
    Abstract: A sheet handling apparatus configured to feed sheets from outside into the sheet handling apparatus, transport the fed sheets in a storage area which is outside of a storage bag in the sheet handling apparatus and store the transported sheets in the storage bag includes: a holder configured to be capable of detachably holding the storage bag; a pushing member configured to push a plurality of sheets transported in the storage area into the storage bag through the opening of the storage bag; and a pressing member configured to press the sheets stored in the storage bag held by the holder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: GLORY LTD.
    Inventor: Yuji Shimodaira
  • Patent number: 11932511
    Abstract: A medium feeding mechanism includes: a feeder that feeds a medium; a transport path that is coupled to the feeder; a transporter that transports the medium through the transport path; a transport drive that drives the transporter; an entry detection sensor that detects when the medium fed from the feeder has entered the transport path; a take-in transporter that takes in the medium transported by the transporter; and a transport controller that controls the feeder and the take-in transporter, wherein when the entry detection sensor detects entry of the medium at a time that falls within a first range set in advance, the controller controls the take-in transporter so as to take in the medium, and when the entry detection sensor detects entry of the medium at a time that falls within a second range following the first range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: RISO KAGAKU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yuzuru Iioka
  • Patent number: 11919737
    Abstract: A sheet feeding device includes a detachable separation unit, a conveyance unit, a guide member, an urging member, and an opening and closing member. The feeding unit feeds a stored sheet. The separation unit separates sheets fed by the feeding unit one by one. The conveyance unit conveys the sheet. Urged by the urging member, the guide member guides the sheet toward the conveyance unit and rotates about a first rotating shaft. The opening and closing member opens and closes. In a state in which the opening and closing member is closed, the guide member is positioned in a first position in which the guide member forms a conveyance path. In a process in which the opening and closing member is opened, a free end of the guide member moves upwardly about the first rotating shaft, by using an urging force, from the first to a second position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tomoya Uehara
  • Patent number: 11919741
    Abstract: A sheet stacking apparatus includes a pair of sheet alignment mechanisms disposed to face each other in a direction of conveyance of a sheet or in a direction orthogonal to the direction of conveyance. Each one of the pair of sheet alignment mechanisms includes an aligning member, an elastic member, a driver, and a driving source. The aligning member reciprocates with reference to the sheet. The elastic member extends due to reaction force generated in response to pressing force applied to an edge of the sheet by the aligning member when a size of the sheet is larger than a prescribed size. The driver is coupled to the aligning member via the elastic member. The driving source transfers a driving force to the driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Ikumi Kazama
  • Patent number: 11922752
    Abstract: In an illegal-act detecting mechanism including an opening/closing member for detecting an illegal act and preventing pullout, at the time of stopping the opening/closing member at an initial rotation position, it is prevented that a stop position is deviated due to overrun by an inertial force of a motor. The illegal-act detecting mechanism includes an opening/closing member 50 that permits passage of a paper sheet at the initial rotation position, and blocks passage of the paper sheet at a non-initial rotation position deviated from the initial rotation position, a rotary member 70 that integrally rotates with the opening/closing member, a driving member 90 pivotally supported so as to be able to rotate relative to the opening/closing member, and a drive transmission mechanism 100.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: JAPAN CASH MACHINE CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Kohei Haraguchi
  • Patent number: 11905138
    Abstract: A sheet conveyance device capable of reducing occurrence of creases on a sheet includes first conveyance rollers that nip and convey a sheet, second conveyance rollers arranged downstream that convey the sheet, registration rollers arranged further downstream that nip and convey the sheet after correcting skew of the sheet, a switching portion that switches a state of the second conveyance rollers between contact and separated states, and a control unit that controls the rollers and the switching mechanism. The control unit switches between first and second conveyance operations. In both conveyance operations, the registration rollers start rotating to convey the sheet of which the skew has been corrected by the first conveyance rollers and the registration rollers and the second conveyance rollers are in the separated state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yuta Suzuki
  • Patent number: 11905137
    Abstract: A sheet feeding device includes a first feeding roller pair, an upstream feeding roller pair, a downstream feeding roller pair, a second feeding roller pair, a first detecting portion, a second detecting portion, a third detecting portion, and a controller. The controller calculates a sheet feeding speed on the basis of a first time and a first distance. The controller calculates a length of the sheet with respect to the sheet feeding direction on the basis of the sheet feeding speed, a second time, and a second distance. The controller controls a sheet feeding timing by the second feeding roller pair on the basis of information of the length of the sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yuma Inui
  • Patent number: 11905134
    Abstract: A recording apparatus includes a recording head that performs recording; a feeding roller that feeds out a medium that has been set, a transport roller that transports the medium fed out by the feeding roller toward a facing position facing the recording head; an auxiliary roller that is provided between the feeding roller and the transport roller and that assists in the transport of the medium; a motor that generates a driving force; and a drive train that is configured to transmit the driving force of the motor to the auxiliary roller and the transport roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Keisuke Sasaki, Shinji Kanemaru, Katsumi Yamada
  • Patent number: 11891266
    Abstract: A medium conveying apparatus includes a conveying roller to convey a rectangular medium, and a processor to generate an input image acquired by imaging the conveyed medium, detect an overlap of the conveyed medium, detect an object area from the input image, determine whether an outer shape of the object area is rectangular, determine whether a multi-feed of the medium has occurred based on whether the overlap of the medium has been detected and whether the outer shape of the object area is rectangular, and execute an abnormality processing when it is determined that the multi-feed of the medium has occurred.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: PFU LIMITED
    Inventor: Masaaki Sakai
  • Patent number: 11891256
    Abstract: A recording apparatus includes a housing having a feeding port through which a medium is introduced into the housing, a feeding tray for supporting the medium fed through the feeding port, and a rotary damper configured to generate torque, in which the feeding tray includes a rotation shaft about which the feeding tray is rotatable, relative to the housing, between a close position at which the feeding tray holds the feeding port in a close state and an open position at which the feeding tray holds the feeding port in an open state, and the rotation shaft and the rotary damper are interlocked with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Eiji Taketsugu, Atsuhiko Takeuchi, Shun Ito
  • Patent number: 11884504
    Abstract: A sheet conveying device includes a separation member, a second conveyance member, a third conveyance member, and a first drive control portion. The separation member separates a sheet in contact with a first conveyance member from another at a first position where the first conveyance member comes into contact with the sheet. The second and third conveyance members are respectively downstream of the first and second positions. The first drive control portion stops driving the first conveyance member (1) after the leading edge of the sheet reaches the second position and before the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the first position when the sheet length is not exceeding a specific distance based on a distance between the first and third positions and (2) after the leading edge reaches the third position and before the trailing edge passes through the first position when the length exceeds the specific distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Takuro Murata
  • Patent number: 11878884
    Abstract: A document feed device including a document tray and a document guide. The document guide has a document guide side document loader and a document guide member. The document tray includes a groove. The document guide, at an end of the document guide side document loader in the width direction, includes: a scooper, and an upstream outline portion that is formed so as to gradually approach the document guide member toward an upstream side in the conveying direction with the scooper as an apex.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kenji Kuroda