Patents Examined by Quana Grainger
  • Patent number: 11960236
    Abstract: Proposed are a home port and a substrate processing apparatus using the same. The home port is installed in the substrate processing apparatus to temporarily mount a nozzle for discharging a process liquid to a substrate, and includes a main body having a space therein, a nozzle holder provided at an upper portion of the main body and configured to mount the nozzle, an inclined surface formed below the nozzle holder in the space, a first supply pipe configured to discharge a rinse liquid to a tip of the nozzle, a second supply pipe configured to inject the rinse liquid into the main body, a conductive wire configured to electrically connect the inclined surface and the first supply pipe, and a first switch installed on the conductive wire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: SEMES CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Young Jun Son, Tae Hoon Lee, Hyun Yoon, Do Yeon Kim
  • Patent number: 11960232
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable photosensitive member, a charging member, a developing device, a transfer member, a brush, a driving source and a control portion. The control portion controls the driving source to execute an image forming process in which image formation on the recording material is executed and a non-image-forming process in which the photosensitive member is driven to rotate other than in the image forming process. The non-image-forming process between a first recording material and a second recording material, to which the image formation is executed following the first recording material, is defined as a first non-image-forming process, and the non-image-forming process between the second recording material and a third recording material is defined as a second non-image-forming process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ai Suzuki, Kensuke Umeda, Kazuhiro Funatani, Shinsuke Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 11960230
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus main body including an electric substrate and first and second main body electrical contacts electrically connected to the electric substrate, and a cartridge detachably attached to the apparatus main body, wherein the cartridge includes first and second process members, and first and second cartridge electrical contacts electrically connected to the first and second process members, respectively. The apparatus main body includes a common holding member holding a first end portion of the first main body electrical contact and a second end portion of the second main body electrical contact, wherein the holding member is configured to move between a contact position at which the first and second end portions contact with the first and second cartridge electrical contacts, respectively, and a separation position at which the first and second end portions are separated from the first and second cartridge electrical contacts, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yuichiro Okawa
  • Patent number: 11960227
    Abstract: A power transmission member includes: a male member formed from a resin material and including a plurality of engagement teeth arranged at regular intervals in a circumferential direction when viewed in an axial direction, the engagement teeth having a uniform thickness in a radial direction; a female member including a to-be-engaged portion to which the engagement teeth are fitted as a result of the female member moving in the axial direction relative to the male member; and a fitting member disposed at the male member and the female member, the fitting member fitting the engagement teeth to the to-be-engaged portion while the male member and the female member are located in predetermined opposing positions in the circumferential direction to engage the male member and the female member with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventors: Kohei Tachibana, Yuya Shiokawa
  • Patent number: 11949825
    Abstract: A scanning optical device includes a deflector, a reflecting mirror, a housing to accommodate the deflector and the mirror; and an elastic member to urge the mirror toward the housing. The mirror includes a first surface urged by the elastic member, a second surface opposite to the first surface, a third surface and a fourth surface perpendicular to the first and second surfaces. The housing includes a bearing surface to support the second surface and a regulating portion to regulate movement of the mirror to a mirror widthwise direction, perpendicular to a mirror longitudinal direction and parallel with the second surface, and toward an opening of the housing. The regulating portion is provided opposite to only a part of the third surface so that a ridge line of the mirror between the second surface and the third surface does not contact the regulating member even an attitude of the mirror changes in a direction away from the bearing surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Mitsuhiro Obara, Taku Murotani, Hiroki Katayama
  • Patent number: 11949351
    Abstract: A linear comb drive may include a stator. The linear comb drive may include a rotor. At least one of the stator or the rotor may include a comb with one or more horizontally-extending fingers that have a tooth-shape formed by one or more prongs that extend vertically from the one or more fingers in a plane formed by the one or more fingers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: Lumentum Operations LLC
    Inventors: Wenlin Jin, Gonzalo Wills
  • Patent number: 11940751
    Abstract: An automatic assembly tool can be used to perform placement of a conductive wire material that passes through a plurality of surfaces in a power feed path unit, thus enabling reduced costs and improved assembly productivity for the power feed path unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Ryoichi Kawasumi
  • Patent number: 11940752
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a housing; a powered body for image formation provided inside the housing; an attachable/detachable body that is attached to and detached from the housing; a power supply path body that is attached to and detached from the attachable/detachable body to form a power supply path; and a substrate that supplies power to the powered body, is directly mounted on the attachable/detachable body or the power supply path body, and is separated from the attachable/detachable body or the power supply path body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventor: Atsushi Kaneko
  • Patent number: 11940747
    Abstract: In a longitudinal direction of a heater, a distance from a center portion of the heater to a first temperature detection element is a first distance, and a distance from the center portion of the heater to a second temperature detection element is a second distance greater than the first distance. In a first area which is farther from the center portion of the heater than the second temperature detection element is from the center portion of the heater in the longitudinal direction of the heater, a distance between a first conductor and a second conductor in a transverse direction of the heater is a first inter-conductor distance and a distance between a third conductor and a fourth conductor in the transverse direction is a second inter-conductor distance longer than the first inter-conductor distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Atsushi Iwasaki
  • Patent number: 11940742
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus to which a cartridge including a cartridge substrate is attachable includes a main body electrical substrate, a main body ground terminal connected to the main body electrical substrate and configured to take a ground voltage, a first main body terminal connected to the main body electrical substrate and configured to transmit one of a power supply voltage, a data signal that indicates information, and a synchronization signal, a second main body terminal connected to the main body electrical substrate and configured to transmit remaining two of the power supply voltage, the data signal, and the synchronization signal. The cartridge substrate includes a cartridge ground terminal connected to the main body ground terminal, a first cartridge terminal connected to the first main body terminal, and a second cartridge terminal connected to the second main body terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masato Sueyasu, Yoshiyuki Tsujimoto, Takuya Nagai
  • Patent number: 11934125
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a heating rotary member that heats toner born on a recording material, and a pressure rotary member that pressurizes the heating rotary member. These rotary members form a fixing nip portion and fix a toner image to the recording material at the fixing nip portion while nipping and conveying the recording material. The apparatus further includes a web that collects toner adhering to a surface of the heating rotary member, a winding roller that winds the web, a motor that rotates the winding roller, a contact member that makes contact with an outer surface of the wound web and moves based on a position of the outer surface, a variable resistor that is connected to change a resistance value depending on a position of the contact member, and a control unit that controls a rotation amount of the motor based on the resistance value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hideki Ohta
  • Patent number: 11934133
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device and circuitry. The image forming device forms an image. The circuitry corrects an amount of deviation based on a pattern formed by the image forming device, changes a magnification of the pattern, and calculates the amount of deviation based on the magnification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Ryoichi Kuboki
  • Patent number: 11926501
    Abstract: An accommodating device includes a device body, an accommodating unit that is movable to a supply position where a user is able to supply a medium by being pulled out from the device body in a pulling direction and of which a centroid position is located on one side surface side with respect to a center in an intersecting direction with the pulling direction, a first expanding and contracting member that expands and contracts to connect the accommodating unit to the device body so as to be able to be pulled out and is fixed to one side surface of the accommodating unit in the intersecting direction, and a second expanding and contracting member that expands and contracts to connect the accommodating unit to the device body so as to be able to be pulled out and is fixed at a position higher than the first expanding and contracting member on the other side surface of the accommodating unit in the intersecting direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventors: Kota Tomioka, Hiroyuki Tanaka, Yoichi Yamakawa, Shinya Hasegawa
  • Patent number: 11927902
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus according to one embodiment includes a maintenance management prediction device that predicts and determines the necessity of maintenance for a fixing unit, the type of the required maintenance, and the like by obtaining the difference between initial data (an initial detected temperature and an initial temperature estimation value) and latest data (a latest detected temperature and a latest temperature estimation value) of the fixing unit and comparing the difference to a predetermined range. Based on the comparison of the difference to the predetermined range the prediction device issues or not warning information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takeshi Kojima
  • Patent number: 11927904
    Abstract: Provided is an electrophotographic belt of an endless shape including a substrate, wherein the substrate contains a polyimide resin and carbon nanotubes, wherein a content of the carbon nanotubes in the substrate is 15 vol % or less with respect to a total volume of the polyimide resin, wherein the substrate has a tensile strength of 200 MPa or more in each of a peripheral direction thereof and a direction perpendicular to the peripheral direction, and wherein the substrate has a thermal conductivity of 0.9 W/(m·K) or more in a thickness direction thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akeshi Asaka, Taiki Watanabe, Yuma Kobayashi, Hidetaka Kawamura, Satoru Nishiuma, Akihiro Taya, Ryunosuke Kawahara
  • Patent number: 11921450
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a fixing unit, a varnish coater, and a controller. When a first image forming job in which a toner image is formed to a first recording material and varnish is not applied is executed, the controller controls conveyance of the first recording material at a fixing nip portion such that a conveyance speed of the first recording material at the fixing nip portion is a first conveyance speed. When a second image forming job in which a toner image is formed to a second recording material of which a grammage is the same as a grammage of the first recording material and varnish is applied is executed, the controller controls conveyance of the second recording material at the fixing nip portion such that the second recording material is conveyed at a second conveyance speed faster than the first conveyance speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshiro Tsukada
  • Patent number: 11914319
    Abstract: A digital printing system incorporating in-track position corrections includes one or more printing subsystems, a data processing system; and a digital memory for storing a representation of an in-track position correction function, wherein the in-track position correction function is a non-linear function that specifies in-track position corrections to be applied as a function of cross-track position, and wherein the representation of the in-track position correction function includes the cross-track positions and transition direction of transitions in the in-track position correction function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY
    Inventor: Chung-Hui Kuo
  • Patent number: 11914309
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a toner cartridge. The toner cartridge includes a toner hopper containing toner, a waste toner bin containing waste toner, and a developing part disposed in the toner hopper. The toner hopper and the waste toner bin are movably connected; and the toner hopper is capable of moving from a first position to a second position relative to the waste toner bin. When the toner hopper is at the first position, the developing part is electrically connected to a printer and capable of receiving a developing voltage signal sent by the printer; and when the toner hopper is at the second position, the developing unit is electrically disconnected from the printer and not capable of receiving the developing voltage signal sent by the printer or not capable of sending an electrical signal to the printer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: GEEHY MICROELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventor: Weichen Liu
  • Patent number: 11904531
    Abstract: Disclosed are selective deposition based additive manufacturing systems (10) and methods for printing a 3D part. Layers of a powder material (22) are developed using one or more electrostatography-based engines (12). The layers (22) are transferred for deposition on a part build surface. For each of the layers (22), the part build surface is heated to a temperature within a range between a flowable temperature and a thermal oxidation threshold to form a flowable part build surface, and the developed layer (22) is pressed into contact with the flowable build surface (88) to heat the developed layers (22) to a flowable state and form a new part build surface (88) which is fully consolidated. The new part build surface (88) is then cooled to remove the heat energy added during heating step before repeating the steps for the next developed layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Inventors: Chris Counts, J. Samuel Batchelder
  • Patent number: 11899385
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a temperature control device includes a temperature estimation unit and a frequency generation unit. The temperature estimation unit is configured to estimate a temperature of an object being heated by an induction heating coil, the temperature being estimated based on a frequency of a drive signal supplied to an inverter connected to the induction heating coil. The frequency generation unit is configured to set the frequency of the drive signal based on the temperature estimated by the temperature estimation unit, a detected temperature of the object from a temperature sensor, and a target temperature for the object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yutaka Usami