Patents by Inventor Toshimitsu Hirai

Toshimitsu Hirai 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).

  • Publication number: 20210362418
    Abstract: A three-dimensional shaped article production apparatus includes a shaping table, a layer forming section that forms a powder layer, a head that ejects a liquid containing a binder to a shaping region of a three-dimensional shaped article, a liquid supply system that supplies the liquid to the head, and a moving system that relatively moves the head with respect to the shaping table, wherein the head includes a nozzle that ejects the liquid, a pressure chamber that communicates with the nozzle, a supply flow channel that communicates with the pressure chamber upstream in a supply direction of the liquid, and a circulation flow channel that communicates with the pressure chamber downstream in the supply direction, the circulation flow channel includes a first filter, and a pore diameter of the first filter is larger than a particle diameter of a powder for forming the powder layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 19, 2021
    Publication date: November 25, 2021
    Inventors: Manabu WATANABE, Toshimitsu HIRAI, Akihiko TSUNOYA, Kaoru MOMOSE
  • Patent number: 11154932
    Abstract: A manufacturing method for a three-dimensional structure includes forming unit layers using at least one of a first flowable composition including first powder and a second flowable composition including second powder and solidifying at least one of the first flowable composition including the first powder and the second flowable composition including the second powder in the unit layers. In the forming the unit layers, both of the first flowable composition and the second flowable composition are caused to be present in plane directions crossing a thickness direction of the unit layers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2021
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Masaya Ishida, Toshimitsu Hirai, Eiji Okamoto
  • Publication number: 20210162730
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a three-dimensionally formed object includes: forming a layer using a flowable composition including constituent material particles of a three-dimensionally formed object and a flowable composition including support portion-forming particles for forming a support portion which supports the three-dimensionally formed object during the formation of the three-dimensionally formed object; and imparting energy to the constituent material particles and the support portion-forming particles, in which in the imparting of the energy, the energy is imparted such that a temperature of the constituent material particles and a temperature of the support portion-forming particles are equal to or higher than a melting point of the constituent material particles and are lower than a melting point of the support portion-forming particles.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 2, 2021
    Publication date: June 3, 2021
    Inventors: Eiji OKAMOTO, Masaya ISHIDA, Toshimitsu HIRAI
  • Publication number: 20210154743
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a three-dimensionally formed object includes: forming a layer using a flowable composition including constituent material particles of a three-dimensionally formed object and a flowable composition including support portion-forming particles for forming a support portion which supports the three-dimensionally formed object during the formation of the three-dimensionally formed object; and imparting energy to the constituent material particles and the support portion-forming particles, in which in the imparting of the energy, the energy is imparted such that a temperature of the constituent material particles and a temperature of the support portion-forming particles are equal to or higher than a sintering temperature of the constituent material particles and are lower than a sintering temperature of the support portion-forming particles.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 2, 2021
    Publication date: May 27, 2021
    Inventors: Eiji OKAMOTO, Masaya ISHIDA, Toshimitsu HIRAI
  • Publication number: 20210154891
    Abstract: A three-dimensional shaped article production method for producing a three-dimensional shaped article by stacking layers to form a stacked body includes a constituent layer formation step of forming a constituent layer which corresponds to a constituent region of the three-dimensional shaped article, a support layer formation step of forming a support layer which is in contact with the constituent layer and supports the constituent layer, and a sintering step of sintering the constituent layer, wherein the support layer is configured such that as compared with the volume decrement accompanying the sintering step of a space surrounded by the constituent layer from at least two directions, the volume decrement accompanying the sintering step of the support layer which supports the constituent layer in the space is larger.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 2, 2021
    Publication date: May 27, 2021
    Inventors: Eiji OKAMOTO, Masaya ISHIDA, Hiroshi WADA, Toshimitsu HIRAI
  • Patent number: 10926526
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a three-dimensionally formed object in which the three-dimensionally formed object is manufactured by laminating layers to forma laminate, includes: forming a constituent layer corresponding to a constituent region of the three-dimensionally formed object; forming a support layer which is in contact with the constituent layer and supports the constituent layer by ejecting a flowable composition including a resin from an ejecting portion in the form of liquid drops; solidifying the support layer; and heating the laminate which is formed in the formation of the constituent layer, the formation of the support layer, and the solidification of the support layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Eiji Okamoto, Masaya Ishida, Daiki Tokushima, Toshimitsu Hirai
  • Publication number: 20200406355
    Abstract: A three-dimensional shaped article production method for producing a three-dimensional shaped article by stacking layers to form a stacked body includes a first layer formation step of forming a first layer on a support by supplying a first composition containing first particles and a binder, a second layer formation step of forming a second layer composed of one layer or a plurality of layers on the first layer by supplying a second composition containing second particles and a binder, and a separation step of separating the second layer from the support through the first layer, wherein after the separation step, a sintering step of sintering the second layer is performed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 14, 2020
    Publication date: December 31, 2020
    Inventors: Masaya ISHIDA, Eiji OKAMOTO, Hiroshi WADA, Toshimitsu HIRAI
  • Patent number: 10814389
    Abstract: A three-dimensional shaped article production method for producing a three-dimensional shaped article by stacking layers to form a stacked body includes a first layer formation step of forming a first layer on a support by supplying a first composition containing first particles and a binder, a second layer formation step of forming a second layer composed of one layer or a plurality of layers on the first layer by supplying a second composition containing second particles and a binder, and a separation step of separating the second layer from the support through the first layer, wherein after the separation step, a sintering step of sintering the second layer is performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2020
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Masaya Ishida, Eiji Okamoto, Hiroshi Wada, Toshimitsu Hirai
  • Patent number: 10589501
    Abstract: A three-dimensional modeling apparatus includes an ejection portion capable of ejecting a fluid material, which is a material of an object, and a control portion that forms a laminated body in which one layer or more of cross-section bodies are laminated by executing one or more repetitions of a cross-section body formation process, which forms a cross-section body equivalent to one layer of the object by controlling the ejection portion and ejecting the fluid material. The control portion executes a correction process that ejects the fluid material onto a target correction location, which is at least a portion of an outline section of an upper surface of the laminated body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2020
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Masaya Ishida, Toshimitsu Hirai, Eiji Okamoto, Akihiko Tsunoya, Junichi Sano
  • Publication number: 20200081416
    Abstract: A manufacturing device for a three-dimensional shaped object has artificial intelligence to perform machine learning. The manufacturing device includes: an acquisition unit acquiring monitoring data of the three-dimensional shaped object and improvement condition data; a housing unit housing reference data of the monitoring data; a storage unit storing the monitoring data acquired by the acquisition unit; an inference unit classifying the monitoring data acquired by the acquisition unit into normal data and abnormal data, based on the reference data of the monitoring data housed in the housing unit, updating an inference criterion by machine learning, based on the monitoring data stored in the storage unit and classified as the normal data, and inferring what abnormality occurs when an abnormality is generated in updated data of the monitoring data newly acquired by the acquisition unit; and a decision unit deciding the improvement condition according to the abnormality inferred by the inference unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2019
    Publication date: March 12, 2020
    Inventors: Akihiko TSUNOYA, Toshimitsu HIRAI, Eiji OKAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20200047249
    Abstract: A metal shaped article production method includes a shaping data input step, a step of forming a constituent material layer using a constituent material, a step of forming a support material layer using a support material, a step of cutting a cut face in the constituent material layer of a stacked body formed by performing the constituent material layer forming step and the support material layer forming step, a step of degreasing a thermoplastic resin contained in the stacked body for which the cut face cutting step was performed, and a step of sintering metal particles by heating the stacked body, wherein in the support material layer forming step, the support material layer is formed so that a support face comes into contact with a face to be supported at an opposite side to the cut face at a position of the constituent material layer based on the shaping data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 9, 2019
    Publication date: February 13, 2020
    Inventors: Akihiko TSUNOYA, Toshimitsu HIRAI
  • Publication number: 20190351576
    Abstract: A ceramic component is provided that is suitable to be placed in high temperature environment. The component includes a first member that is formed of a first material, and a ceramic layer that is bonded to a surface of the first member, which is a side exposed to the high temperature environment and that is formed of a ceramic material having a higher heat resistance than that of the first member. A bonding portion between the first member and the ceramic layer is formed of a composite material having the first material and the ceramic material, and a gradient composition in which an abundance ratio of the first material gradually decreases and an abundance ratio of the ceramic material gradually increases in a direction from the first member to the ceramic layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 31, 2017
    Publication date: November 21, 2019
    Applicant: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Masaya ISHIDA, Toshimitsu HIRAI, Eiji OKAMOTO
  • Patent number: 9962967
    Abstract: A recording device includes a conveyance mechanism, a recording mechanism, a rotational mechanism of a plurality of take-up spindles, and a control unit. The conveyance mechanism is configured to convey a recording medium intermittently in a conveyance direction. The recording mechanism is configured to record by reciprocatingly scanning a recording head in a direction that intersects with the conveyance direction. The rotational mechanism is configured to take up the recording medium. The control unit is configured to control the conveyance mechanism and the rotational mechanism to substantially synchronize conveying of the recording medium by the conveyance mechanism and taking-up of the recording medium by the rotational mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hidemasa Kanada, Masato Mitsuhashi, Koji Higuchi, Toshimitsu Hirai, Mitsuhiro Isobe
  • Publication number: 20180079193
    Abstract: A three-dimensional modeling apparatus includes an ejection portion capable of ejecting a fluid material, which is a material of an object, and a control portion that forms a laminated body in which one layer or more of cross-section bodies are laminated by executing one or more repetitions of a cross-section body formation process, which forms a cross-section body equivalent to one layer of the object by controlling the ejection portion and ejecting the fluid material. The control portion executes a correction process that ejects the fluid material onto a target correction location, which is at least a portion of an outline section of an upper surface of the laminated body.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2017
    Publication date: March 22, 2018
    Inventors: Masaya ISHIDA, Toshimitsu HIRAI, Eiji OKAMOTO, Akihiko TSUNOYA, Junichi SANO
  • Publication number: 20170217097
    Abstract: A three-dimensional shaped article production method for producing a three-dimensional shaped article by stacking layers to form a stacked body includes a constituent layer formation step of forming a constituent layer which corresponds to a constituent region of the three-dimensional shaped article, a support layer formation step of forming a support layer which is in contact with the constituent layer and supports the constituent layer, and a sintering step of sintering the constituent layer, wherein the support layer is configured such that as compared with the volume decrement accompanying the sintering step of a space surrounded by the constituent layer from at least two directions, the volume decrement accompanying the sintering step of the support layer which supports the constituent layer in the space is larger.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 24, 2017
    Publication date: August 3, 2017
    Inventors: Eiji OKAMOTO, Masaya ISHIDA, Hiroshi WADA, Toshimitsu HIRAI
  • Publication number: 20170209929
    Abstract: A three-dimensional shaped article production method for producing a three-dimensional shaped article by stacking layers to form a stacked body includes a first layer formation step of forming a first layer on a support by supplying a first composition containing first particles and a binder, a second layer formation step of forming a second layer composed of one layer or a plurality of layers on the first layer by supplying a second composition containing second particles and a binder, and a separation step of separating the second layer from the support through the first layer, wherein after the separation step, a sintering step of sintering the second layer is performed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 20, 2017
    Publication date: July 27, 2017
    Inventors: Masaya ISHIDA, Eiji OKAMOTO, Hiroshi WADA, Toshimitsu HIRAI
  • Publication number: 20170136693
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a three-dimensionally formed object in which the three-dimensionally formed object is manufactured by laminating layers to forma laminate, includes: forming a constituent layer corresponding to a constituent region of the three-dimensionally formed object; forming a support layer which is in contact with the constituent layer and supports the constituent layer by ejecting a flowable composition including a resin from an ejecting portion in the form of liquid drops; solidifying the support layer; and heating the laminate which is formed in the formation of the constituent layer, the formation of the support layer, and the solidification of the support layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 8, 2016
    Publication date: May 18, 2017
    Inventors: Eiji OKAMOTO, Masaya ISHIDA, Daiki TOKUSHIMA, Toshimitsu HIRAI
  • Publication number: 20170120331
    Abstract: A manufacturing method for a three-dimensional structure includes forming unit layers using at least one of a first flowable composition including first powder and a second flowable composition including second powder and solidifying at least one of the first flowable composition including the first powder and the second flowable composition including the second powder in the unit layers. In the forming the unit layers, both of the first flowable composition and the second flowable composition are caused to be present in plane directions crossing a thickness direction of the unit layers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 26, 2016
    Publication date: May 4, 2017
    Inventors: Masaya ISHIDA, Toshimitsu HIRAI, Eiji OKAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20170106596
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a three-dimensionally formed object includes: forming a layer using a flowable composition including constituent material particles of a three-dimensionally formed object and a flowable composition including support portion-forming particles for forming a support portion which supports the three-dimensionally formed object during the formation of the three-dimensionally formed object; and imparting energy to the constituent material particles and the support portion-forming particles, in which in the imparting of the energy, the energy is imparted such that a temperature of the constituent material particles and a temperature of the support portion-forming particles are equal to or higher than a melting point of the constituent material particles and are lower than a melting point of the support portion-forming particles.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 12, 2016
    Publication date: April 20, 2017
    Inventors: Eiji OKAMOTO, Masaya ISHIDA, Toshimitsu HIRAI
  • Publication number: 20170106446
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a three-dimensionally formed object includes: forming a layer using a flowable composition including constituent material particles of a three-dimensionally formed object and a flowable composition including support portion-forming particles for forming a support portion which supports the three-dimensionally formed object during the formation of the three-dimensionally formed object; and imparting energy to the constituent material particles and the support portion-forming particles, in which in the imparting of the energy, the energy is imparted such that a temperature of the constituent material particles and a temperature of the support portion-forming particles are equal to or higher than a sintering temperature of the constituent material particles and are lower than a sintering temperature of the support portion-forming particles.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 12, 2016
    Publication date: April 20, 2017
    Inventors: Eiji OKAMOTO, Masaya ISHIDA, Toshimitsu HIRAI