Patents Examined by Roger W Pisha, II
  • Patent number: 9636936
    Abstract: A device for printing on at least one region of a surface of a so-called 3D object, for instance a curved auto body part, includes a manipulator, for instance an articulated-arm robot with six degrees of freedom. The device also includes a system for vibration compensation for the print head. The system includes an active component and a passive component. Manipulator vibration which creates defects in a printed image may thus be effectively avoided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
    Inventors: Steffen Neeb, Roland Stenzel
  • Patent number: 9636909
    Abstract: A liquid ejection device includes a head unit and a control unit. A driving signal generating portion of the control unit is configured to create a driving signal having at least one wave portion for ejecting the liquid from the nozzles. A signal converting portion of the control unit is configured to convert plural types of original control signals including an original latching signal and an original printing data signal into a single serial control signal having a serial form. A signal restoring portion of the head unit is configured to create plural types of restored control signals from the serial control signal received, the restored control signals including a restored latching signal and a restored printing data signal. The nozzles are configured and arranged to eject the liquid based on the driving signal, the restored latching signal, and the restored printing data signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Toshiyuki Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 9636924
    Abstract: A printing apparatus is provided in which a position of a joint of a first yellow nozzle group and a second yellow nozzle group in a predetermined direction is offset from a position of a joint of a first magenta nozzle group and a second magenta nozzle group in a predetermined position and a position of a joint of a first cyan nozzle group and a second cyan nozzle group in the predetermined position, and the position of the joint of the first magenta nozzle group and the second magenta nozzle group in the predetermined position is the same as the position of the joint of the first cyan nozzle group and the second cyan nozzle group in the predetermined direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toru Takahashi, Takamitsu Kondo, Kazuyoshi Tanase, Hiroshi Wada
  • Patent number: 9623683
    Abstract: A thermal printer includes a control unit that performs control to perform: an option operation, whereby upon completion of printing on a label provided on a continuous label body, the printed label is conveyed to a particular position and then conveyance of the continuous label body is stopped; and a retraction operation, whereby when a preset permitted stop time period has elapsed since the stop of conveyance of the continuous label body without performing next printing during the permitted stop time period, an unprinted label retracts to a retraction position where at least a printing region of the unprinted label is not sandwiched between a platen roller and a thermal head. The control unit can change the permitted stop time period for each type and/or each width of a label to be printed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2017
    Assignee: SATO HOLDINGS KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Michitaka Kojima
  • Patent number: 9616686
    Abstract: A printing apparatus (liquid droplet ejecting apparatus) includes a detector configured to output a first signal which denotes that a medium is not supported on a support face of a medium support unit, and a second signal which denotes that a medium is supported on the support face; and a controller that limits executing of a printing operation when the first signal in received and allows executing of a printing operation when the second signal is received. The controller is configured to ignore the first signal or interpret the first signal as the second signal under a specified condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Kobayashi, Yuichi Honobe
  • Patent number: 9616681
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit to form an image on a recording medium by discharging liquid droplets onto the medium; and a media heater to heat the medium by contacting a rear surface of the medium opposite a surface of the medium on which the image is formed, in which the media heater includes a contact member with a contact surface having a predetermined curvature that the medium contacts, the contact member is a roller member, and the medium closely contacts the contact surface of the contact member across an entire width of the medium in a direction perpendicular to the media conveyance direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Hoshino, Kenji Sato, Hirokazu Ikenoue, Satoshi Kitaoka, Hideaki Nishimura, Yoko Ishii
  • Patent number: 9610792
    Abstract: There is provided a recording apparatus including: a recording section that performs recording on a recording medium; a cable relay section that is provided between a first area, in which the recording section is arranged, and a second area in which a control section for control is arranged, and that relays cables; a first cable that is configured to extend from the recording section and is connected to the cable relay section on a side of the first area; and a second cable that is configured to extend from the control section and is connected to the cable relay section on a side of the second area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Shinichiro Yoshikawa, Hiroki Chino, Yuichi Segawa
  • Patent number: 9610784
    Abstract: A medium supporting unit includes a supporting unit which can support a medium, and a pressing unit which can press the medium which is supported by the supporting, in which a coefficient of static friction of a contact face with the medium in the pressing unit is larger than that of a contact face with the medium in the supporting unit. By configuring such a medium supporting unit, it is possible to suppress floating of the medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Nobuhiko Hamada
  • Patent number: 9604477
    Abstract: In order to provide a printer capable of detecting a continuous paper sheet without causing a sensor provided in the downstream side of a thermal head from being hindered by an ink ribbon, the printer includes: a main body (20) defining a conveying passage of a continuous paper sheet (P); a print unit having a thermal head (40) provided in the main body (20) to print predetermined information on the continuous paper sheet (P) by using an ink ribbon, and a platen roller (41) provided to face the thermal head (40) by interposing the continuous paper sheet (P); and a sensor unit (45) installed in the main body (20) and provided with a sensor (48) for detecting the continuous paper sheet (P), the sensor unit (45) being configured to move between a first position where the sensor (48) detects the continuous paper sheet (P) in the downstream side of the thermal head (40) and a second position farther than the first position from the thermal head (40).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2017
    Assignee: SATO HOLDINGS KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hitoshi Maekawa
  • Patent number: 9604448
    Abstract: There is described a transfer member or blanket for use in aqueous ink jet printer. The transfer member includes a non-woven polymer fiber matrix and a polymer dispersed throughout the non-woven polymer fiber matrix. The polymer fiber matrix has a first surface energy and the polymer has a second surface energy. The difference between the first surface energy and the second surface energy is from about 30 mJ/m2 to about 5 mJ/m2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2017
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Yu Qi, Carolyn Patricia Moorlag, Brynn Mary Dooley, Barkev Keoshkerian
  • Patent number: 9604467
    Abstract: A printing apparatus capable of realizing a high quality printing at low cost is provided. In the printing apparatus, an ink film is wound around and stretched between a first bobbin and a second bobbin, while a transfer film is wound around and stretched between a third bobbin and a fourth bobbin, and the printing apparatus has a platen roller and a thermal head configured to put the ink film and the transfer film into pressed contact, in the transfer operation, and a driving unit configured to move the ink film between the first bobbin and the second bobbin. The driving unit has a motor, a first transmission route portion configured to constantly transmit a torque to the first bobbin, and a second transmission route portion, branching from the first transmission route portion, configured to selectively transmit the torque to the second bobbin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2017
    Assignee: JVC KENWOOD CORPORATION
    Inventor: Keiji Ihara
  • Patent number: 9597906
    Abstract: A print device includes a housing, a lid body, an input device, and a mounting portion. An opening is formed in an upper portion of the housing. The lid body opens and closes the opening of the housing by a second end portion side of the lid body pivoting around a predetermined rotation axis provided at a first end portion of the lid body. The mounting portion is provided on an upper portion of the lid body when the opening is closed. The input device can be attached to and detached from the mounting portion along a predetermined attachment/detachment direction with respect to the lid body. The attachment/detachment direction is orthogonal to an extending direction of a tangent line. The tangent line is tangential to a circumferential direction of the rotation axis at a position of the second end portion of the lid body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masashi Tanizaki, Nobuo Kato
  • Patent number: 9586403
    Abstract: In a printing apparatus a print bar assembly is provided with multiple print bars, a designed space being present between the print bars and a recording medium. A climate control has a feed channel running parallel to a length of the recording medium. Openings lead from the feed channel to the print bars to introduce a conditioned gas flow of predetermined temperature and moisture to the print bars such that a laminar gas flow is generated in the designed space between nozzle plates of the print bars and the recording medium. A barrier is arranged at an intake of the print bar assembly which blocks an air boundary layer entrained with the moving recording medium before the print bar assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2017
    Assignee: Océ Printing Systems GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Matthias Andres
  • Patent number: 9586414
    Abstract: A method for applying an image onto a receiving medium uses an ultraviolet curable phase change ink. The method includes the steps of pre-curing the ultraviolet curable ink and post-curing the ultraviolet curable ink. An ink jet apparatus is configured to perform the above mentioned method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2017
    Assignee: OCE-TECHNOLOGIES B.V.
    Inventors: Paul Kuiper, Hassan Nnafie
  • Patent number: 9586407
    Abstract: A liquid container includes: a container portion that is configured to contain ink; and an ink inlet portion that is connected with the container portion and is configured to pour ink into the container portion. The container portion includes a fifth wall that is arranged to intersect with the ink inlet portion; a third wall that has optical transparency and is arranged to intersect with the fifth wall; and a partition wall that is located between the third wall and an intersecting part at which the ink inlet portion intersects with the fifth wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Naomi Kimura, Shoma Kudo, Munehide Kanaya
  • Patent number: 9579910
    Abstract: A recording apparatus includes a feeding section that feeds a rolled continuous paper into an apparatus body, a recording section disposed in the apparatus body, the recording section performing recording onto the continuous paper fed from the feeding section in the apparatus body, a first transport path along which the continuous paper is transported during the recording performed on the medium by the recording section, and a second transport path along which the continuous paper is transported to be rewound onto the feeding section. The second transport path is different from the first transport path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Kiyoshi Mukaiyama
  • Patent number: 9579911
    Abstract: A sweep speed is determined for sweeping a printer head of a printer across a print medium for printing a swath of an image on the print medium. A distance by which to advance the print medium is at least partially determined in accordance with the determined sweep speed and the print medium is advanced by the determined distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2017
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: David E. De Bellis, Teresa Gene Trueba Embree, Hsue-Yang Liu, Elizabeth Ezetta
  • Patent number: 9579033
    Abstract: This disclosure relates generally to medical devices, particularly to drawer-type paper tray structures for loading paper into electrocardiograph machines. A paper tray structure provided comprises a paper tray and a door component. The door component comprises a door located in front of the paper tray. The door component is connected to the paper tray movably and is configured to move repeatedly between a first position and a second position relative to the paper tray; the paper tray comprises a first restriction surface and a second restriction surface corresponding to the first and second positions respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2017
    Assignee: SHENZHEN MINDRAY BIO-MEDICAL ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Xuegang Zhang, Shen Luo
  • Patent number: 9573360
    Abstract: An intermediate transfer member containing a thermally conductive nanofiller dispersed in a polymer base, a method of forming the intermediate transfer member, and a method of printing an image to a substrate using the intermediate transfer member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Assignee: XEROX CORPORATION
    Inventors: Carolyn Moorlag, Barkev Keoshkerian, Yu Qi, Brynn Mary Dooley
  • Patent number: 9570874
    Abstract: An optical system including a laser apparatus, a spatial light modulator to receive a laser beam, an optical-conditioning system to capture a propagating diffracted beam of the optical pattern and to form at least one of a magnified version and a demagnified version of the optical pattern and to control a quality of the optical pattern, a uniformity maintaining optical amplifier to receive the laser beam output from the spatial light modulator and generate an amplified laser beam such that a final optical pattern is an amplified version of the optical pattern as generated by the spatial light modulator, the amplified laser beam having a substantially uniform amplification across the cross-section of the beam, and at least one of a time-bandwidth pulse duration control mechanism including at least one of a pulse stretching element and pulse compression element, and a frequency conversion device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignee: VARDEX LASER SOLUTIONS, LLC
    Inventors: Farzan Ghauri, Mohammad Umar