Patents by Inventor Toshio Sugiura

Toshio Sugiura 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: 7393082
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus includes an ink cartridge having an ink storage section and an ink outlet port; a holder to which the ink cartridge is detachably attached; a recording section to which the ink is supplied through an ink tube coupled to the holder; a cartridge coupling section being on a bottom of the holder and communicating with the ink outlet port to draw the ink cartridge when the ink cartridge is attached to the holder; a lock arm body provided on the bottom of the holder, the lock arm body having an engagement lug retaining unremovably the ink cartridge; and a urging member formed by a spring elastic body to be engagable with the lock arm body. The forcing member urges the engagement lug of the lock arm body to engage the engagement lug with the ink cartridge attached to the holder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2008
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shingo Ito, Toshio Sugiura
  • Patent number: 7384042
    Abstract: When a cover body at a closing position is pulled up with respect to a main body, then a lock lever attached to the cover body abuts against a hook body of the main body, regulating a rattle of the cover body with respect to the main body. When a user lifts up a multi-function peripheral device by grabbing the lock lever, the lock lever comes into engagement with the hook body, thereby preventing the lock lever from opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2008
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akihiro Sakakibara, Masato Moribe, Toshio Sugiura
  • Publication number: 20070285478
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus including a housing; a recording head which ejects droplets of ink; a carriage which is provided in the housing and which carries the recording head and reciprocates in opposite directions; an ink supply tube which is connected, at one end thereof, to a tube connection portion of the carriage so as to supply the ink to the recording head, and is fixed, at a fixed portion thereof, to the housing such that an intermediate portion thereof located between the one end thereof and the fixed portion thereof forms a curved portion convex in one of the opposite directions, wherein the ink supply tube has a flexibility assuring that when the carriage reciprocates, the ink supply tube follows reciprocation of the carriage while the curved portion thereof changes a shape thereof; a pivotable support member which is supported by the housing such that the support member is pivotable about a supporting point, wherein the support member includes an arm portion having a support portion that suppor
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2007
    Publication date: December 13, 2007
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kenji Samoto, Toshio Sugiura
  • Publication number: 20070252875
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus including a housing; a recording head which ejects droplets of one or more sorts of inks; a carriage which is provided in the housing and which carries the recording head and reciprocates in opposite directions; one or more ink supply tubes which are connected, at respective one ends thereof, to a tube connection portion of the carriage so as to supply the sorts of inks to the recording head, and is fixed, at respective fixed portions thereof, to the housing such that respective intermediate portions thereof located between the respective one ends thereof and the respective fixed portions thereof forms respective curved portions that are each convex in one of the opposite directions, wherein the ink supply tubes have respective flexibilities assuring that when the carriage reciprocates, the ink supply tubes follow reciprocation of the carriage while the respective curved portions thereof change respective shapes thereof, a pivotable support member which is supported by the housing
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 25, 2007
    Publication date: November 1, 2007
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kenji Samoto, Toshio Sugiura
  • Publication number: 20070201930
    Abstract: A multifunction apparatus includes a belt drive mechanism configured to move a carriage reciprocally placed on guide rails. The belt drive mechanism is comprised of a drive pulley, a driven pulley, and a timing belt, which is stretched between the drive pulley and the driven pulley. The carriage includes a belt holder, which is configured to hold the timing belt, and a torsion coil spring, which is configured to urge elastically the belt holder to the carriage. The belt holder is disposed in a position to urge the carriage to one of the guide rail, and movable toward the guide rail relative to the carriage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2007
    Publication date: August 30, 2007
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Toshio Sugiura
  • Publication number: 20070159509
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus includes a recording head, a carriage mounted with the recording head and reciprocates in a reciprocation direction, a conductive wire extending from the carriage, a regulating wall which extends along a reciprocation direction of the carriage and suppresses the conductive wire from swelling in a direction separating away from the carriage, and a fixing member which fixes other end side of the conductive wire to an apparatus body by forming a curved portion inverted in the reciprocation direction of the carriage at a predetermined position between the regulating wall and the carriage in the conductive wire and pressing the other end side of the conductive wire toward the regulating wall.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 5, 2007
    Publication date: July 12, 2007
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Noriyuki Kawamata, Toshio Sugiura
  • Publication number: 20070155561
    Abstract: A pulley holder for rotatably supporting a pulley around which a belt is wound, in which the pulley holder includes a shaft having a shaft body for supporting the pulley and a projection at least one end of the shaft body in its axial direction, and a holder body having a bearing for supporting the shaft body, and a fitting part for fitting the projection. Since the projection is biased from an axis of the shaft body, once the projection is fit into the fitting part, the shaft body would not rotate around the axis. Accordingly, a friction wear of the bearing of the holder body is prevented and thus a shift in conveying a carriage is prevented.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 26, 2006
    Publication date: July 5, 2007
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Toshio Sugiura
  • Publication number: 20070146422
    Abstract: A carriage driving unit comprises a carriage, an timing belt, an timing belt, which is jointed to the carriage, looped around between a driving pulley attached to a driving shaft of a motor and a driven pulley attached to a driven shaft, a frame for rotatably supporting said driving shaft in a cantilever manner and a regulating projection for regulating the timing belt from displacing in a direction closer to said frame with respect to said driving pulley.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 28, 2006
    Publication date: June 28, 2007
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shuichi Tamaki, Toshio Sugiura
  • Publication number: 20070146408
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus according to the present invention comprises a linear encoder which includes a linear scale and a support section which supports one end of the linear scale, the support section including: a support member which has a holding portion that holds said one end of the linear scale and which is movable such that the holding portion moves along a predetermined path; and an elastic member which biases the support member in a direction in which tension is given to the linear scale.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 27, 2006
    Publication date: June 28, 2007
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shuichi Tamaki, Toshio Sugiura, Kenji Samoto
  • Publication number: 20070146423
    Abstract: A carriage driving apparatus has a first and a second guide members that extend, being adjacent to each other, and a carriage mounted movably to and between the, parallel queuing, guide members. The carriage is movable reciprocally along a extending direction of the first guide member and has one side thereof in parallel to the extending direction and perpendicular to a queuing direction of the guide members. The apparatus includes an extending member provided at the first guide member, extending in the queuing direction and a regulating part provided on the one side of the carriage to extend in the queuing direction such that, when the carriage receives a stress in one direction perpendicular to both the extending direction and the queuing direction, the regulating part comes into contact with the extending member to regulate displacement of the carriage along the one direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 28, 2006
    Publication date: June 28, 2007
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shuichi Tamaki, Kenji Samoto, Kiyoshi Ueda, Toshio Sugiura
  • Publication number: 20060192833
    Abstract: An image-recording device including a carriage, a recording head, a guide rail, a flexible flat cable, a flexible ink supply tubes, and a top cover. The recording head is provided at the carriage. The guide rail extends in a widthwise direction of a recording medium fed in a feeding direction perpendicular to the widthwise direction. The flat cable has a broad surface extending in a horizontal direction and bent into U-shape so that an upper region of the flat cable faces the top cover whereas a lower region of the flat cable faces the base. The carriage is reciprocally movable in the widthwise direction. The flat cable is oriented upward from the carriage at a prescribed angle with respect to a horizontal plane and extends in the widthwise direction, so that at least the U-shaped bent portion of the flat cable is in continuous contact with the top cover.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2006
    Publication date: August 31, 2006
    Applicant: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenji Samoto, Noriyuki Kawamata, Shuichi Tamaki, Toshio Sugiura
  • Patent number: 7097374
    Abstract: A sheet feed table has a plurality of ribs formed on a surface thereof. The ribs extend in a sheet feeding direction and are disposed at a predetermined interval in a direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction. An air duct is provided between the adjacent ribs. An ink passage opening is formed in an image forming region where a print head moves to form an image. Disposed below the ink passage opening is an ink receiving chamber in which an ink absorber is disposed. A suction opening that communicates with the air duct is disposed upstream and downstream of the image forming region in the sheet feeding direction. A suction device is connected such that the air is sucked through the suction openings into a negative pressure chamber provided on an underside of the sheet feed table. The negative pressure chamber and the ink receiving chamber are separated from each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2006
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshio Sugiura, Tetsuo Asada, Nobuo Hiraki, Kan Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 7040825
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a platen, a feeding device, and a suction device. The paper carrier includes first protrusions, recesses, second protrusions, and two suction ports in each recesses. The first protrusions extend in parallel with a feed direction and are arranged at predetermined intervals in a direction perpendicular to the feed direction. The recesses are defined between adjacent ones of the first protrusions and extend in the feed direction. The second protrusions are provided on downstream and upstream sides, respectively, in the feed direction with respect to an image forming region and extend in the direction perpendicular to the feed direction. The two suction ports are defined on the downstream and upstream sides, respectively, in the feed direction with respect to the image forming region in each of the recesses. The suction ports communicate with the suction device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2006
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tetsuo Asada, Toshio Sugiura, Nobuo Hiraki, Kan Ishikawa
  • Publication number: 20060001707
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus includes an ink cartridge having an ink storage section and an ink outlet port; a holder to which the ink cartridge is detachably attached; a recording section to which the ink is supplied through an ink tube coupled to the holder; a cartridge coupling section being on a bottom of the holder and communicating with the ink outlet port to draw the ink cartridge when the ink cartridge is attached to the holder; a lock arm body provided on the bottom of the holder, the lock arm body having an engagement lug retaining unremovably the ink cartridge; and a urging member formed by a spring elastic body to be engagable with the lock arm body. The forcing member urges the engagement lug of the lock arm body to engage the engagement lug with the ink cartridge attached to the holder.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2005
    Publication date: January 5, 2006
    Applicant: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shingo Ito, Toshio Sugiura
  • Publication number: 20050195242
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus includes: a carriage that carries a recording head capable of recording an image on a recording medium and reciprocates in a main scanning direction; a substantially box-shaped main frame having an open upper side and a pair of side plates extending in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction; and first and second guide members over which the carriage extends and by which the carriage is guided, the first and second guide members being disposed to be apart from each other by a predetermined distance in the sub-scanning direction, extended in the main scanning direction at the upper side of the main frame and fixed to the pair of side plates.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 4, 2005
    Publication date: September 8, 2005
    Applicant: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenji Samoto, Toshio Sugiura
  • Publication number: 20050110818
    Abstract: When a cover body at a closing position is pulled up with respect to a main body, then a lock lever attached to the cover body abuts against a hook body of the main body, regulating a rattle of the cover body with respect to the main body. When a user lifts up a multi-function peripheral device by grabbing the lock lever, the lock lever comes into engagement with the hook body, thereby preventing the lock lever from opening.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2005
    Publication date: May 26, 2005
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihiro Sakakibara, Masato Moribe, Toshio Sugiura
  • Patent number: 6851802
    Abstract: When a cover body at a closing position is pulled up with respect to a main body, then a lock lever attached to the cover body abuts against a hook body of the main body, regulating a rattle of the cover body with respect to the main body. When a user lifts up a multi-function peripheral device by grabbing the lock lever, the lock lever comes into engagement with the hook body, thereby preventing the lock lever from opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2005
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akihiro Sakakibara, Masato Moribe, Toshio Sugiura
  • Publication number: 20040252176
    Abstract: A recording medium conveying device that conveys a recording medium to a recording area, includes a pair of first conveyor rollers that are provided upstream of the recording area and convey a recording medium by nipping the recording medium therebetween, a detector that detects a position of the recording medium, a nipping force changing unit that changes the nipping force of the pair of first conveyor rollers, and a controller that controls an operation of the nipping force changing unit in accordance with the position of the recording medium detected by the detector.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 26, 2004
    Publication date: December 16, 2004
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Toshio Sugiura
  • Publication number: 20040245700
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a platen, a feeding device, and a suction device. The paper carrier includes first protrusions, recesses, second protrusions, and two suction ports in each recesses. The first protrusions extend in parallel with a feed direction and are arranged at predetermined intervals in a direction perpendicular to the feed direction. The recesses are defined between adjacent ones of the first protrusions and extend in the feed direction. The second protrusions are provided on downstream and upstream sides, respectively, in the feed direction with respect to an image forming region and extend in the direction perpendicular to the feed direction. The two suction ports are defined on the downstream and upstream sides, respectively, in the feed direction with respect to the image forming region in each of the recesses. The suction ports communicate with the suction device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2004
    Publication date: December 9, 2004
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tetsuo Asada, Toshio Sugiura, Nobuo Hiraki, Kan Ishikawa
  • Publication number: 20040239742
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a platen, a transporting device, and a suction device. The image forming unit forms an image on one surface of a printing medium. The transporting device transports the printing medium in a transportation direction along the platen while the other surface of the printing medium faces a surface of the platen. The suction device sucks air. The platen includes a plurality of rollers, which are rotatable around rotation axes perpendicular to the transportation direction and protrude from the surface of the platen, and a suction opening which is defined on the surface of the platen and communicates with the suction device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2004
    Publication date: December 2, 2004
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Nobuo Hiraki, Toshio Sugiura