Patents Examined by Yaovi Ameh
  • Patent number: 9278529
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting head including a head main unit having L (L is an integer of 2 or more) nozzle rows parallel to one another in a first direction in which, for each nozzle row, in a case in which one side in a second direction that intersects the first direction at a predetermined angle in a range of 0 degrees to 90 degrees is the first side, the nozzle row furthest to the first side among the L nozzle rows does not have a nozzle positioned at a distance M or more further to the first side in the second direction than the nozzle furthest to the first side of a nozzle row neighboring in the second direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2016
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Fujio Akahane
  • Patent number: 9278548
    Abstract: According to an aspect of the present invention, a printing apparatus includes a plasma treatment unit configured to acidify at least a surface of a print medium by applying plasma treatment to the surface of the print medium, a first primer applying unit configured to apply primer treatment by applying treatment liquid to the surface of the print medium having undergone the plasma treatment, and a first recording unit configured to perform recording by inkjet recording on the print medium having undergone the primer treatment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2016
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Hiroyoshi Matsumoto, Junji Nakai, Masakazu Yoshida, Toshitaka Osanai
  • Patent number: 9266359
    Abstract: A printer or the like is provided that can increase adhesiveness between cured photo curable ink and a print medium as necessary. The printer includes a discharge unit 8 that discharges UV ink on a print medium S, an ultraviolet ray irradiation unit 15 that is set to a first mode in which, of a first light for curing the UV ink and a second light with higher curing properties than the first light, only the first light is irradiated on the print medium S on which the UV ink has been discharged, or a second mode in which at least the second light is irradiated, an adhesiveness information acquisition unit that acquires adhesiveness information related to ink adhesiveness which is adhesiveness between the UV ink and the print medium S when the UV ink is cured using the first light, and a control unit that sets the ultraviolet ray irradiation unit 15 to the second mode when the acquired adhesiveness information is designated information related to low ink adhesiveness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2016
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Takamitsu Kondo, Toru Takahashi, Hiroshi Wada, Kazuyoshi Tanase
  • Patent number: 9254686
    Abstract: A printing device includes a device main body that has a feeding unit for feeding a recording medium and a printing section for printing by ejecting ink from a liquid drop ejecting head onto the recording medium that has been fed by activation of the feeding unit, and a heating unit disposed on a downstream side in a feed direction of the recording medium with respect to the device main body. The heating unit has a medium passage through which the recording medium after printing passes, a heating unit provided with a heat generator disposed in an intermediate position of the medium passage to heat the recording medium after printing with heat generated by the heat generator, and an air discharging unit for forcibly discharging air in the medium passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2016
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Tsuneyuki Sasaki, Shuichiro Nakano
  • Patent number: 9242474
    Abstract: A printing apparatus which performs printing by ejecting liquid onto a printing medium includes a gas flow generating section that generates a gas flow to collect and exhaust liquid not used for printing, and a gas-liquid separation cyclone that swirls the gas flow so that the liquid is centrifugally separated from a gas which moves along the gas flow, wherein the gas flow generating section exhausts the gas along the gas flow after the liquid is separated from the gas by the gas-liquid separation cyclone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Kobayashi, Toshio Kumagai, Norihiro Masuda
  • Patent number: 9243157
    Abstract: A method of printing a security code on an article includes applying droplets of an ink composition with an ink jet printer to a surface of an article to print an encrypted code. The ink composition includes an organic solvent, a binder resin, and a luminescent dye.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Inventors: Michael Kozee, Jeffrey Pierce, Michael Sullivan, Linfang Zhu
  • Patent number: 9227411
    Abstract: A nozzle face cleaning device and an image recording device includes: a wiping member; cleaning liquid adding means which adds a cleaning liquid to the wiping member; pressing means that brings the wiping member to which the cleaning liquid has been added, into pressure-contact with a nozzle face; and wiping means which makes the wiping member and an ejection head relatively move, and wipes the nozzle face. A cleaning liquid supply flow channel is opened to the air in a connected portion of the cleaning liquid supply flow channel and a cleaning liquid adding nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki Okayama, Noboru Kinomoto
  • Patent number: 9230198
    Abstract: A printer includes a recording head that ejects ink toward a recording medium, a first driving mechanism that moves the recording head in main scanning directions; a second driving mechanism that moves the recording head and the recording medium with respect to each other in sub scanning directions perpendicular to the main scanning directions; an input device that allows a user to input thereto printing information about printing time and image quality; and a control device that controls the recording head, the first driving mechanism and the second driving mechanism based on the printing information input to the input device. The printing information includes at least information about a pass number of the recording head. The input device allows the pass number to be changed continuously.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: ROLAND DG CORPORATION
    Inventor: Koji Owada
  • Patent number: 9227396
    Abstract: In a recording suspension period when a recording head is accelerated or decelerated in a non-recording region on a recording medium, or stops moving in the course of performing a printing process (printing job), a second driving signal is generated from a driving signal generation portion. Second vibration driving pulses of the second driving signal are applied to all piezoelectric elements, so that a vibration operation is performed without ejecting the liquid. Since a second reference potential of the second driving signal is set to be lower than a first reference potential of a first driving signal generated in a recording period as much as possible, a general potential (driving voltage) of the second driving signal is reduced, and reduce power consumption in the recording suspension period is reduced. As a result, it is possible to contribute to the power consumption saving of a printer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Shunya Fukuda
  • Patent number: 9205653
    Abstract: An improved nozzle plate includes a nozzle substrate having nozzle holes through which droplets are ejected, and a layer containing a compound having a perfluoro polyether skeleton its molecule. The layer is formed on the nozzle substrate on the side on which the droplets are ejected. The surface of the nozzle plate has an X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) spectrum ascribable to oxygen atom such that the ratio of the area of peak 1 to the area of peak 2 ranges from 0.35 to 0.45, where the peak 1 represents peaks observed between 534 eV and 540 eV and the peak 2 represents peaks observed between 528 eV and 534 eV among peaks between 528 eV to 540 eV.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2015
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Tomohiro Tamai, Toshiroh Tokuno
  • Patent number: 9193179
    Abstract: A treatment agent liquid application device for an ink jet printer includes a supply pan including a liquid chamber that stores treatment agent liquid; an application roller that applies the treatment agent liquid on a record surface of a recording medium; a squeeze roller that rotates to draw up a part of the treatment agent liquid in which a part of the squeeze roller is immersed in the supply pan and to supply the treatment agent liquid to a pressure contact part between the application roller and the squeeze roller; and a partition member arranged outside the squeeze roller and along a circumferential direction of the squeeze roller in the supply pan, the partition member dividing the liquid chamber in the supply pan into a liquid chamber on a squeeze roller side and an external liquid chamber outside the liquid chamber on the squeeze roller side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventor: Hironori Numata
  • Patent number: 9193166
    Abstract: A cartridge accommodating apparatus includes: a cartridge accommodating section accommodating a cartridge which includes a liquid accommodating section, a liquid lead-out channel, a first blocking member blocking a first portion of the liquid lead-out channel, and a second blocking member blocking a second portion between the first portion and the liquid accommodating section; a hollow tube introducing liquid in the liquid lead-out channel into inside of the hollow tube; a moving mechanism moving the hollow tube between a first position at which a tip portion of the hollow tube is located outside the liquid lead-out channel and a second position at which the tip portion of the hollow tube has entered inside the liquid lead-out channel; a driving source; a driving force transmitting mechanism transmitting driving force of the driving source to the moving mechanism; and a driving source controller controlling driving speed of the driving source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tomoyasu Yabuki
  • Patent number: 9180711
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a carriage that reciprocates and includes a recording head that ejects liquid and a liquid container that supplies the liquid to the recording head and an optical sensor that includes a light emitting section capable of emitting light toward the carriage and a light receiving section that receives reflected light that is light that has been emitted from the light emitting section and has been reflected by the liquid container. The carriage is provided with a projecting section capable of suppressing incidence of ambient light to the light receiving section of the optical sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Katsuyuki Kondo, Satoshi Kawamura
  • Patent number: 9180708
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting unit that ejects ink onto paper, a first removal portion that removes adhering objects that have adhered to the paper by making contact with a first surface of the paper during transport of the paper, and a second removal portion that removes adhering objects that have adhered to the paper by making contact with a second surface of the paper during transport of the paper. The first removal portion and the second removal portion are disposed so as to partially overlap in the transport direction of the paper and so that ends of the first removal portion and the second removal portion on an upstream side in the transport direction are distanced from each other in the transport direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Yasushi Yajima
  • Patent number: 9180659
    Abstract: An aqueous transfix blanket and a printer including the aqueous transfix blanket. The aqueous transfix blanket includes a screen layer including a plurality of mesh wires that define a plurality of spaces between the plurality of mesh wires. The aqueous transfix blanket further includes a first layer that overlies the screen layer and a second layer that underlies the screen layer, wherein the plurality of spaces provide a plurality of air gaps between the first layer overlying the screen layer and the second layer underlying the screen layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2015
    Assignee: XEROX CORPORATION
    Inventor: Anthony S. Condello
  • Patent number: 9174473
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting unit that ejects ink onto paper, a medium holding portion that holds the paper to be fed to the liquid ejecting unit, and a removal portion that removes adhering objects that have adhered to the paper, in a feed path of the paper that is positioned lower than the medium holding portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Yasushi Yajima
  • Patent number: 9168738
    Abstract: A liquid discharge apparatus includes an actuator element configured and arranged to receive a drive signal to discharge a liquid, the liquid being an ink including 0.1 wt % to 10 wt % of a polar solvent. The waveform of the drive signal supplied to the actuator element includes a non-rectangular shaped pulse with a ripple being formed in a falling portion of the non-rectangular shaped pulse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Shuji Otsuka, Tadashi Kiyuna, Toshifumi Asanuma
  • Patent number: 9168770
    Abstract: A roll paper supplying device and a recording apparatus include an unwinding shaft and a bearing that support a roll having a roll paper wound around a core in a manner that the roll paper can be fed out from the roll, a fixed braking section and a movable braking section that is configured to come into contact with an outer peripheral end face of the roll and brake a rotation of the roll in feeding out of the roll paper, and a radial direction movement section that is configured to move the fixed braking section and the movable braking section in a radial direction of the roll according to a diameter of the roll which decreases as the roll paper is fed out.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Akihiro Satake
  • Patent number: 9162505
    Abstract: There is provided a printer including: an ink-jet head; a first rotatable body; a first attaching mechanism attaching a printing medium to the first rotatable body; a separating mechanism separating the printing medium from the first rotatable body; and a control mechanism. In the printer, first to forth routes are formed. In transporting the printing medium, the control mechanism causes the printing medium having been subjected to printing on a first surface by the ink-jet head to pass through the first route, next to pass through the second route and the third route at least once, thereafter to separate from the first rotatable body, and further to pass through the fourth route to be reversed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2015
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hiroto Sugahara
  • Patent number: 9162484
    Abstract: A liquid discharging apparatus includes: a head which discharges liquid on a medium; a transportation section which transports the medium in a transportation direction; a creasing section which performs creasing on the medium; and a clamping section which clamps the medium between the head and the creasing section in the transportation direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Masaru Hoshino