Patents Examined by Renee I Wilson
  • Patent number: 9725612
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for producing a water-based ink for ink-jet printing, including the step of dispersing a pigment in a polymer by means of a disperser using dispersing media particles containing a zirconium compound to introduce the solid zirconium compound into the water-based ink, the water-based ink including the pigment-containing polymer particles and the solid zirconium compound, and having a zirconium compound content of not less than 2 ppm and not more than 200 ppm in terms of a concentration of zirconium in the water-based ink.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: KAO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takeshi Ashizawa, Teruyuki Fukuda, Satoshi Tanaka
  • Patent number: 9714353
    Abstract: An ink composition contains the following (A) to (D): (A) a polymerizable compound having an ethylenically unsaturated group, (B) a photopolymerization initiator other than a photopolymerization initiator having a biimidazole structure, (C) water, and (D) a chain transfer agent precursor represented by the following Formula (1). In Formula (1), each of R1 to R4 represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent; X represents an oxygen atom or a sulfur atom; and M represents an alkali metal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2017
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventor: Katsuyuki Yofu
  • Patent number: 9700241
    Abstract: A system for gait analysis may include a mobile data recording device configured to record accelerations associated with user motion and a data processing device in communication with the mobile data recording device. The data processing device can be configured to receive acceleration data from the mobile data recording device and process the acceleration data to extract stride data sequences from the acceleration data through use of bounding boxes on one or more points of the acceleration data. Each of the stride data sequences comprising data for a corresponding stride. The bounding boxes may define time and acceleration bounds. The data processing system may further determine one or more stride metrics. According to one embodiment, the data recording device may be a smartphone or other device having an accelerometer with a limited range that is inadequate to capture the full range of accelerations experienced by a runner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2017
    Assignee: Under Armour, Inc.
    Inventors: Kyler Eastman, Kevin Callahan, Robin Thurston
  • Patent number: 9682563
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus including: a plurality of pressure chambers communicating with a plurality of nozzles respectively; and a plurality of liquid ejecting heads having a common liquid chamber configured to supply liquid common to the plurality of pressure chambers, wherein each of the liquid ejecting heads includes a liquid supply channel communicating with the common liquid chamber and supplying liquid from the liquid storage tank toward the common liquid chamber by the liquid feeding unit and a liquid discharge channel communicating with the common liquid chamber and discharging the liquid from the communicating chamber toward the liquid storage tank by the liquid feeding unit, and the directions of flows of the liquid in the common liquid chamber flowing from the liquid supply channels through the common liquid chamber toward the liquid discharge channels are opposite from each other between the adjacent liquid ejecting heads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki Suzuki, Masaaki Ando
  • Patent number: 9683120
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides fixer fluid compositions and related systems and methods. In one example, a fixer fluid can comprise a liquid vehicle, a surfactant, and a cationic polymer. The liquid vehicle can include water and co-solvent having a boiling point from 160° C. to 250° C., the co-solvent present in the fixer fluid in an amount of 1 wt % to 40 wt %. The surfactant can be present in the fixer fluid in an amount of 0.1 wt % to 10 wt %. The cationic polymer can be present in the fixer fluid in an amount of 0.1 wt % to 25 wt %. The fixer fluid can be formulated for printing on non-porous media and does not include more than 5 wt % volatile co-solvent and more than 3 wt % non-volatile co-solvent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Phillip C. Cagle, Jr., David Michael Ingle, Yohannes Chonde
  • Patent number: 9676210
    Abstract: A printing system includes a media transport device to move a medium at a speed ranging from about 15.24 mpm to about 609.6 mpm. The system includes an ink applicator to apply ink on the medium, and a treatment applicator to apply a treatment composition (including liquid vehicle, polyvalent metal salt fixing agent, and latex resin having an acid number less than 20) before or after the ink is applied, to form a printed-on medium. The system further includes a heating system programmed to: i) dry the printed-on medium at a predetermined temperature for a reduced dwell time (from about 1 second to about 40 seconds); and ii) leave residual moisture in the printed-on medium for a predetermined time after the reduced dwell time. The residual moisture is at a level that is higher than an initial moisture content of the medium prior to treatment composition and ink application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Ali Emamjomeh, Jayanta C. Panditaratne, Radha Sen, Nathan Kazutoshi Denni, Donna M. Sirenski
  • Patent number: 9657187
    Abstract: An ink composition includes a pigment; polymer particles; and a polar solvent with a boiling point of 150° C. or higher, in which the polymer particles include a core polymer and a shell polymer that covers at least a portion of the core polymer, a glass transition point of the polymer that configures the core polymer is more than 30° C. lower than the glass transition point of the polymer that configures the shell polymer, the polymer that configures the shell polymer includes a polymer having a (meth)acrylate monomer unit and a carboxylic acid monomer unit, the content (solid content conversion) of the polymer particles is 1.0 mass % to 10 mass % with respect to the total amount of the ink composition, and the content of the polar solvent is 10 mass % to 40 mass % of the total amount of the ink composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Takayoshi Kagata, Masahiro Yatake, Hiroshi Mukai
  • Patent number: 9650530
    Abstract: To provide a non-aqueous photopolymerizable composition, which contains: a (meth)acrylic acid ester compound containing at least diethylene glycol dimethacrylate; a photoradical polymerization initiator, which is at least one selected from the group consisting of 1- hydroxy- cyclohexyl- phenyl- ketone, 2- hydroxy- 2- methyl- 1- phenyl- propan- 1- one, and 2- hydroxy- 1- {4- [4- (2- hydroxy- 2- methyl- propionyl)benzyl]phenyl}- 2- methyl- 1- propan- 1- one; and a triazine compound, wherein an amount of the photoradical polymerization initiator is 10 parts by mass or greater relative to 100 parts by mass of the (meth)acrylic acid ester compound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Takao Hiraoka
  • Patent number: 9643419
    Abstract: An adaptor includes an adaptor main body capable of being mounted with respect to a liquid accommodation body mounting portion of a printer to which an ink cartridge configured to accommodate ink is mounted in an attachable or detachable manner; a memory cell MC that is updated by a control portion of the printer, and maintains information about whether or not the printing operation is possible in the printer; an electrical terminal that is used in communication between the memory cell and the printer; and an operation button that outputs an update signal that updates information about whether or not the printing operation is possible to information permitting the printing operation of the printer with respect to the memory cell, when the information about whether or not the printing operation is possible maintained in the memory cell does not permit the printing operation of the printer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Yoshihiro Koizumi
  • Patent number: 9618401
    Abstract: The technology provides an external device for estimating a core body temperature of a human subject. The wrist monitor device includes a casing sized and shaped to fit onto a wrist of a human subject. The casing has a first face and a second face. In addition there is a cavity in the casing that houses a heat trap. The heat trap has an opening oriented to receive incoming thermal energy from the skin and a shell of a thermal-insulation material that has an inner thermal energy-reflective surface. Detected temperature data is compiled in a database and used to estimate whether an identified individual has a core body temperature indicative of a fever.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Inventor: Alan C. Heller
  • Patent number: 9616683
    Abstract: Disclosed are a process for inkjet printing color images on various substrates using a formaldehyde-free crosslinking agent in the ink composition, which is therefore devoid of formaldehyde emission and suitable for health-aware manufacturing practices, as well as objects having images and designs printed thereon which are devoid of formaldehyde and therefore suitable for use by infants.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: Kornit Digital Ltd.
    Inventors: Jacob Mozel, Jacob Mann
  • Patent number: 9616685
    Abstract: A recording apparatus includes an endless belt that transports a recording medium by supporting a first surface of a tape-like recording medium on a support surface; and a recording head that performs recording by ejecting ink on a second surface that is an attachment surface coated with an adhesive on the opposite side to the first surface of the recording medium transported by the endless belt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Takashi Oyanagi
  • Patent number: 9598815
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a reducing agent containing thiourea dioxide. The reducing agent contains thiourea. The reducing agent contains carboxylate. The carboxylate includes at least one of aliphatic monocarboxylate, an aliphatic monocarboxylic acid derivative salt, and malonate. Therefore, the reducing agent exerts a good reducing ability and a good long-term stability effect.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Goro Okada, Kunihiro Fujita
  • Patent number: 9566834
    Abstract: A system includes an acceleration sensor for detecting a centrifugal acceleration, and a processing unit, which is coupled to the acceleration sensor and which is configured to determine numerical values from measured values of the centrifugal acceleration. The determined numerical values are representative of a mileage of a tire and/or wear of the tire and/or an installation radius of the system in the tire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Michael Kandler, Thomas Lange, Christoph Steiner
  • Patent number: 9566781
    Abstract: A transfer-type image recording method including the steps of applying a treatment liquid that causes aggregation of a component contained in ink to an image formation surface of an intermediate transfer member; applying ink to the surface to form an intermediate image; transferring the image from the surface to an recording medium; and applying an aqueous cleaning liquid to the surface. The treatment liquid contains a nonionic surfactant. In the step of applying a treatment liquid, T1<Tc1 is satisfied, where T1 and Tc1 are respectively the temperature and cloud point of the treatment liquid. In the step of applying an aqueous cleaning liquid, T2>Tc2 is satisfied, where T2 is the temperature of a liquid mixture, formed on the surface, of a remainder of the treatment liquid and the aqueous cleaning liquid, and Tc2 is the cloud point of the liquid mixture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Keiichirou Takeuchi, Masaki Nitta, Toru Ohnishi, Takao Ogata
  • Patent number: 9568862
    Abstract: A digital printing system is disclosed having two independently operable printing towers arranged in series such that a substrate sheet passes sequentially through both printing towers, and in which a perfecting mechanism is provided between the two towers to reverse each substrate sheet during transfer from the first printing tower to the second printing tower, the perfecting mechanism being selectively operable to enable the second tower to print either on the same side of each substrate sheet as the first tower or on the opposite side of each substrate sheet. As well as allowing a duplex mode, the system provides a higher speed simplex mode during which different separations of the same image are printed by the two towers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignee: LANDA CORPORATION LTD.
    Inventors: Aharon Shmaiser, Benzion Landa
  • Patent number: 9557360
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a capacitance estimation apparatus of a DC-link capacitance in an inverter. The apparatus according to the present invention may estimate a DC-link voltage, and compare it with a ripple size of the measured DC-link voltage to estimate a DC-link capacitance. According to the present invention, the capacitance of the DC-link capacitance contained in the inverter may be estimated in real time to detect the fault status in real time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2017
    Assignee: LSIS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Anno Yoo
  • Patent number: 9556357
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is an ink composition, including: a pigment; acetylenediol having an HLB of less than 4; and an anionic surfactant, in which the mass ratio of the acetylene diol to the anionic surfactant is 0.30 to 4.0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoyuki Okuyama
  • Patent number: 9556348
    Abstract: A photo-curable ink composition including colorant, water, photo-initiator, UV curable polyurethane dispersions, hydrophobic radiation-curable monomers and water-soluble or water-miscible radiation curable monomers. Also disclosed herein is a method for forming a printed article and an inkjet printing system using said photo-curable ink composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2017
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Industrial Printing LTD.
    Inventors: Or Brandstein, Nataly Lisitsin, Alex Trubnikov, Eytan Cohen
  • Patent number: 9555630
    Abstract: A printhead assembly for an inkjet-printing device includes a printhead die and a flexible circuit connected to the printhead die. The printhead die includes a substrate, a first ground network electrically connected to the substrate, a device layer, and a second ground network electrically connected to the device layer. The first ground network and the second ground network are electrically isolated from one another within the printhead die. The first ground network and the second ground network are electrically connected to one another at the flexible circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2017
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Kevin Bruce, Gregory N. Burton, Joseph M. Torgerson