Patents by Inventor Hitotoshi Kimura

Hitotoshi Kimura has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11135849
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejector that ejects a liquid from a nozzle, a wiping mechanism that wipes a nozzle surface on which a plurality of nozzles is disposed with a wiping member, and a wiping-liquid supply mechanism that supplies a wiping liquid to the wiping member. The liquid ejecting apparatus is configured to perform wet-wiping of wiping the nozzle surface in a state where the wiping member has absorbed the wiping liquid and is configured to change a supply amount of the wiping liquid when the wiping member wipes the nozzle surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroki Matsuoka, Chikashi Nakamura, Shunsuke Kuramata, Shuhei Harada, Hitotoshi Kimura
  • Patent number: 11130342
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a carriage that mounts a liquid ejecting head provided with a nozzle surface in which nozzles to eject a liquid are formed, and is configured to move the liquid ejecting head between an ejection area used to cause the liquid ejecting head to eject the liquid onto a medium and a maintenance area used to perform maintenance of the liquid ejecting head, and a liquid receiving portion that has a size equal to or larger than the nozzle surface, is opposed to the nozzle surface located at a detachment position defined in the maintenance area, and receives the liquid discharged from the nozzles when detaching a liquid supply coupling portion detachably coupled to the liquid ejecting head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Atsushi Yoshida, Kiyoteru Katsuki, Junya Suzuki, Hitotoshi Kimura
  • Publication number: 20210237451
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes: a liquid ejecting portion configured to eject a liquid from a nozzle disposed in a nozzle surface; a wiping mechanism configured to execute a wiping operation of wiping the nozzle surface with a strip-shaped member, which is configured to absorb the liquid ejected by the liquid ejecting portion, in contact with the nozzle surface; a wiping solution supply mechanism configured to supply a wiping solution to the strip-shaped member before the wiping operation is performed; and a control portion, and the control portion reduces the amount of the wiping solution held in the strip-shaped member in the wiping operation when the nozzle surface with a large amount of the liquid adhering thereto is wiped as compared with the amount of the wiping solution when the nozzle surface with a small amount of the liquid adhering thereto is wiped.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 27, 2021
    Publication date: August 5, 2021
    Inventors: Masanobu YAMAGUCHI, Naoki YOKOYAMA, Hitotoshi KIMURA
  • Publication number: 20210206170
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes: a liquid ejecting portion configured to eject a first liquid from a nozzle; a liquid receiving portion configured to receive the first liquid discharged from the nozzle for a purpose of maintenance of the liquid ejecting portion in a state that a second liquid is stored therein; and a discharge portion configured to discharge a liquid stored in the liquid receiving portion. The liquid receiving portion includes: a liquid storing portion that stores the second liquid; a maintenance portion that maintains a liquid surface of the liquid stored in the liquid storing portion at an upper limit position above a discharge port at which the discharge portion discharges the liquid from the liquid storing portion; and a lip portion configured to contact the liquid ejecting portion. The liquid receiving portion is configured to cap a space in which the nozzle opens with the lip portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 4, 2021
    Publication date: July 8, 2021
    Inventors: Satoru KOBAYASHI, Hitotoshi KIMURA
  • Patent number: 11034155
    Abstract: A liquid reservoir unit includes a reservoir portion, an outflow portion disposed at a position near a first end of the reservoir portion, and an inflow portion disposed at a position near the first end of the reservoir portion. The outflow portion includes an outflow opening opened to an interior of the reservoir portion, and the inflow portion includes an inflow opening opened to the interior of the reservoir portion. The outflow opening and the inflow opening are located at different positions in a width direction which is a lengthwise direction of the reservoir portion when the reservoir portion is viewed from the first end, and also located at different positions in a depth direction from the first end toward a second end on the opposite side to the first end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hisashi Sato, Kazuyuki Fujioka, Yuichi Urabe, Hitotoshi Kimura
  • Publication number: 20210138790
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting portion configured to eject a liquid from a nozzle disposed on a nozzle surface, a liquid receiving portion that receives the liquid discharged from the nozzle, a wiping mechanism that includes a wiping portion configured to wipe the nozzle surface, an external force applying mechanism configured to apply an external force in a direction along the nozzle surface to the liquid adhering to the nozzle surface in a non-contact manner, and a control portion that drives the external force applying mechanism to apply the external force to the liquid adhering to the nozzle surface, and then causes the wiping portion to perform a wiping operation of wiping the nozzle surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 11, 2020
    Publication date: May 13, 2021
    Inventors: Chikashi NAKAMURA, Hitotoshi KIMURA
  • Publication number: 20210107285
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting portion that ejects a liquid, a belt-shaped member absorbs the liquid, a feeding portion that retains the belt-shaped member in a rolled state, a pressing portion presses a contact portion of a portion of the belt-shaped member wound off from the feeding portion and bring the contact portion into contact with the liquid ejecting portion, the contact portion being located in a contact area, a winding portion moves the contact portion in a moving direction by winding up the belt-shaped member, and a control portion that, when it is assumed that a contact length is a length of the contact portion along the direction of movement, causes the winding portion to wind up the belt-shaped member corresponding to a length longer than the contact length after bringing the contact portion into contact with the liquid ejecting portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 6, 2020
    Publication date: April 15, 2021
    Inventors: Yuji KANAZAWA, Naoki YOKOYAMA, Masanobu YAMAGUCHI, Hitotoshi KIMURA
  • Publication number: 20210107277
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus including a liquid ejecting portion that ejects a liquid in a pressure chamber from a nozzle that communicates with the pressure chamber, a liquid supply flow path that supplies the liquid stored in a liquid storing portion to the liquid ejecting portion, a degas module provided in the liquid supply flow path, a vacuum degree adjustment mechanism configured to adjust a vacuum degree of the degas module, a state detecting mechanism configured to detect a state inside the pressure chamber, and a control portion that drives and controls the vacuum degree adjustment mechanism based on a detecting result of the state detecting mechanism.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 8, 2020
    Publication date: April 15, 2021
    Inventors: Shinya Komatsu, Hitotoshi Kimura
  • Patent number: 10967637
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting head configured to eject a liquid onto a medium; a maintenance unit that performs a maintenance operation for the liquid ejecting head; a mounting mechanism in which is mounted a waste liquid container that houses a portion of the liquid discharged as a waste liquid from the liquid ejecting head; and an access area that is provided vertically below a transport path along which the medium is transported and that is accessible from an apparatus front side, which is a downstream side in a transport direction in which the medium is transported, the mounting mechanism including a housing portion that houses the waste liquid container and being disposed so that a mounting port for mounting the waste liquid container in the housing portion opens to the access area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hiromichi Nakashima, Hitotoshi Kimura
  • Patent number: 10906319
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting unit, a carriage, an optical machine, a liquid receiving unit, and a suction mechanism. The liquid ejecting unit is designed to form an image by ejecting a droplet from a nozzle formed in a nozzle forming surface to a medium. The carriage holds the liquid ejecting unit. The optical machine is held by the carriage. The liquid receiving unit is designed to receive a liquid discharged from the liquid ejecting unit in a discharge operation for maintenance of the liquid ejecting unit. The suction mechanism has a surface provided with a suction opening that allows ambient air on a liquid ejecting unit side to be sucked therefrom during the discharge operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroki Matsuoka, Hitotoshi Kimura
  • Publication number: 20210001631
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting portion having a filter configured to filter a supplied liquid and eject the liquid filtered by the filter from nozzles, a liquid ejecting portion holding portion replaceably holding the liquid ejecting portion, a liquid supply flow channel coupled to the liquid ejecting portion so as to supply the liquid to the liquid ejecting portion, a flow mechanism configured to flow the liquid, and a control portion configured to drive the flow mechanism to cause the liquid to flow in the liquid supply flow channel toward the liquid ejecting portion in replacement of the liquid ejecting portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2020
    Publication date: January 7, 2021
    Inventors: Tomoki SHINODA, Takeshi IWAMURO, Hitotoshi KIMURA
  • Publication number: 20200398572
    Abstract: A waste liquid collecting device is a device which is located to face a nozzle surface in which nozzles of a liquid ejecting portion are disposed, which includes a waste liquid receiving member to receive a liquid to be discharged from the nozzles, and which collects the liquid, and the waste liquid receiving member has dripping waste liquid receiving areas which are provided with through-holes and which receive the liquid to drip down after being discharged from the nozzles and staying on the nozzle surface and flushing receiving areas which are not provided with the through-holes and which receive the liquid to be ejected from the nozzles.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2020
    Publication date: December 24, 2020
    Inventors: Chikashi NAKAMURA, Hitotoshi KIMURA
  • Publication number: 20200369034
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting portion that has a nozzle opening surface on which a plurality of nozzles open, and that ejects a liquid from the nozzles to a medium in an inclined state in which the nozzle opening surface is inclined, a first cleaning portion that has a wiping member configured to wipe the nozzle opening surface by moving relative to the liquid ejecting portion in a state of being in contact with the nozzle opening surface, and a second cleaning portion that is formed of an absorbing member configured to absorb the liquid and that has an end portion cleaning member configured to wipe a lower end of the nozzle opening surface in the inclined state by moving relative to the liquid ejecting portion in a state of being in contact with the lower end.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 19, 2020
    Publication date: November 26, 2020
    Inventors: Tomohiro NUMAJIRI, Satoru KOBAYASHI, Hitotoshi KIMURA
  • Patent number: 10780702
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting head unit includes a liquid ejecting head having a nozzle forming portion in which a nozzle that ejects a liquid to a medium is formed, a shutter that has an opening portion exposing the nozzle and that is movable between a cover position in which a recessed portion including the nozzle is covered and an exposure position in which the nozzle is exposed, and a first communication portion that communicates with an inside of the recessed portion and that is capable of supplying a fluid into the recessed portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2020
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Chikashi Nakamura, Hitotoshi Kimura
  • Patent number: 10780692
    Abstract: A droplet discharging apparatus includes: a droplet discharger including a pressure chamber, an actuator and a nozzle provided corresponding to the pressure chamber, and a discharge flow path coupled to the pressure chamber, the droplet discharger performing a recording process by discharging liquid in the pressure chamber from the nozzle in the form of droplets; and a return flow path coupled to the discharge flow path and forming a circulation path. The droplet discharging apparatus performs as a maintenance operation for the droplet discharger, a first discharge operation of causing the liquid in the pressure chamber to be discharged toward the return flow path via the discharge flow path when no droplets are discharged from the nozzle during the recording process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2020
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Atsushi Ono, Hitotoshi Kimura
  • Publication number: 20200282737
    Abstract: A damper unit includes a damper chamber which has a wall partially composed of a flexible membrane with a rubber elasticity and which is configured to store a liquid; a gas chamber partitioned from the damper chamber by the flexible membrane; a communication portion provided for the gas chamber so that the gas chamber is in communication with an outside of the damper unit; and a one-way valve provided in the communication portion to allow a gas to flow into the gas chamber from the outside of the damper unit and to restrict a gas to flow from the gas chamber to an outside thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 3, 2020
    Publication date: September 10, 2020
    Inventors: Toshio KUMAGAI, Yuki SHIOHARA, Hitotoshi KIMURA
  • Publication number: 20200254778
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid supply path through which liquid is supplied to a liquid ejecting head, a liquid discharge path through which the liquid is discharged from the liquid ejecting head, a supply-side pressure adjustment mechanism that adjusts a pressure in a supply-side liquid chamber provided in the liquid supply path to a first pressure at which a gas-liquid interface formed at a nozzle of the liquid ejecting head is maintained, a discharge-side pressure adjustment valve that introduces fluid into a discharge-side liquid chamber when a pressure in the discharge-side liquid chamber provided in the liquid discharge path becomes a second pressure which is lower than the first pressure and at which the gas-liquid interface formed at the nozzle is maintained, and a flow mechanism that discharges the liquid in the liquid ejecting head toward the liquid discharge path via the discharge-side liquid chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 11, 2020
    Publication date: August 13, 2020
    Inventors: Nobutoshi OTSUKA, Hitotoshi KIMURA
  • Patent number: 10737495
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a transport belt that transports a medium in a transport direction in a state in which the medium is supported on a medium supporting surface, a liquid ejecting head that ejects a liquid from a plurality of nozzles formed on a nozzle surface with respect to the medium supported on the medium supporting surface of the transport belt, and a controller that performs a flushing operation of ejecting the liquid from the nozzles as a maintenance operation for the liquid ejecting head, on a flushing area on the medium supporting surface adjacent to the medium with an interval therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Shigenori Nakagawa, Hitotoshi Kimura, Junpei Yamashita, Kazuyoshi Mizuno
  • Patent number: 10737496
    Abstract: Disclosed is a liquid ejecting apparatus including a liquid ejecting portion provided with a liquid ejecting head and configured to move the liquid ejecting head in a head moving area in a scanning direction, and the head moving area includes a landing area in which the liquid is ejected from the nozzle and landed onto a medium that is placed in a placement portion, an receiving area in which a liquid receiving portion is provided, and a maintenance area in which a maintenance cap is provided, and the receiving area is disposed at a position farther from the landing area than from the maintenance area in the scanning direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Ito, Hitotoshi Kimura, Atsushi Ono
  • Publication number: 20200230960
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting unit, a carriage, an optical machine, a liquid receiving unit, and a suction mechanism. The liquid ejecting unit is designed to form an image by ejecting a droplet from a nozzle formed in a nozzle forming surface to a medium. The carriage holds the liquid ejecting unit. The optical machine is held by the carriage. The liquid receiving unit is designed to receive a liquid discharged from the liquid ejecting unit in a discharge operation for maintenance of the liquid ejecting unit. The suction mechanism has a surface provided with a suction opening that allows ambient air on a liquid ejecting unit side to be sucked therefrom during the discharge operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 2, 2020
    Publication date: July 23, 2020
    Inventors: Hiroki MATSUOKA, Hitotoshi KIMURA