Patents Represented by Attorney Adams & Wilks
  • Patent number: 8256099
    Abstract: The manufacturing method for a thermal head includes: forming a hollow concave portion and a marking concave portion having a depth larger than a depth of the hollow concave portion on one surface of a thin plate glass; a bonding step of bonding a supporting plate onto the one surface of the thin plate glass, in which the hollow concave portion and the marking concave portion are formed in the concave portion forming step; a thinning step of thinning the thin plate glass onto which the supporting plate is bonded in the bonding step until the marking concave portion extends through the substrate from a side of a back surface opposite to the one surface; and a heating resistor forming step of forming a heating resistor on the back surface of the thin plate glass thinned in the thinning step so as to be opposed to the hollow concave portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2012
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Noriyoshi Shoji, Norimitsu Sanbongi, Yoshinori Sato, Toshimitsu Morooka, Keitaro Koroishi
  • Patent number: 8251502
    Abstract: A liquid-jet head chip includes an actuator substrate having liquid discharge flow paths for discharging a liquid and disposed parallel to and at a distance from each other. Each of the liquid discharge flow paths is open on a surface of the actuator substrate. A cover plate substrate is bonded onto the surface of the actuator substrate and has an opening portion that opens on a surface of the cover plate substrate on a side opposite to the actuator substrate. The opening portion includes a concave portion and through-holes extending from the concave portion and communicating with the liquid discharge flow paths. A filter structure is disposed at an approximately constant distance from the surface of the cover plate substrate to which the actuator substrate is bonded. The filter structure is located at a position so as to substantially close the opening portion of the cover plate substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2012
    Assignee: SII Printek Inc.
    Inventor: Osamu Koseki
  • Patent number: 8251565
    Abstract: A display device has at least one light source for emitting light and a light guide plate having a first surface for inputting light emitted from the at least one light source, a second surface for outputting illumination light, and a third surface opposite to the second surface. A display element having dots for displaying image information is arranged over the second surface of the light guide plate for receiving the illumination light. At least two microprisms are arranged on the third surface of the light guide plate in areas overlapping the dots of the display element. Each microprism has a height in the range of from 1 ?m to 10 ?m and a mirror surface for reflecting light emitted from the at least one light source. Each mirror surface has a base disposed perpendicular to a light path of the light emitted from the at least one light source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2012
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Makoto Kurihara, Norihiro Dejima
  • Patent number: 8253765
    Abstract: Provided is a thermal head (1) including: a substrate body (12) constituted through bonding a flat supporting substrate (13) and a flat upper substrate (11), which are made of a glass material onto each other in a stacked state; a heating resistor (14) formed on a surface of the upper substrate (11); and a protective film (18) that partially covers the surface of the upper substrate (11) including the heating resistor (14) and protects the heating resistor (14), in which a heat-insulating concave portion (32) and thickness-measuring concave portions (34), which are open to a bonding surface between the supporting substrate and the upper substrate (11) and form cavities are provided in the supporting substrate (13), the heat-insulating concave portion (32) is formed at a position opposed to the heating resistor (14), and the thickness-measuring concave portions (34) is formed in a region that is prevented from being covered with the protective film (18).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2012
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Noriyoshi Shoji, Norimitsu Sanbongi, Toshimitsu Morooka, Keitaro Koroishi
  • Patent number: 8248726
    Abstract: A hard disk drive has an information recording medium that is rotationally driven for recording and/or reproducing information and a rotor hub that supports the information recording medium. The rotor hub has a flat mounting surface disposed in an outer circumferential portion thereof and on which the information recording medium is mounted so as to contact an edge portion of the mounting surface. The mounting surface is made of stainless steel containing a machineability improving additive, except for selenium and tellurium, for improving the machineability of the mounting surface. At least one of the edge portion or a portion of the mounting surface in the vicinity of the edge portion contains surface pores formed by component particles of the additive falling from the mounting surface. Each of the pores has a length less than 10 ?m in a circumferential direction of the mounting surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Keiji Nakazawa, Masaki Sansawa, Shinji Kinoshita
  • Patent number: 8240339
    Abstract: Segments are linked in the circumferential and pipe length directions to assemble a rehabilitating pipe inside an existing pipe in order to rehabilitate the existing pipe. A plurality of nuts are secured to the segments along the circumferential direction thereof. A fastening member having a screw part is provided which is screwed into the nut to fasten a first segment to a second segment to which the nut is secured, thereby linking the first and second segments in the pipe length direction thereof. The position of the nut in the first segment is offset as viewed in the circumferential direction from the nut position of the second segment. The arrangement of the fastening members and the nuts is staggered as viewed in its entirety. This allows the connection strength of the segments in the pipe length direction to be made uniform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2012
    Assignee: Shonan Gosei-Jushi Seisakusho K.K.
    Inventors: Takao Kamiyama, Koji Kaneta, Kenji Fujii, Katsuyori Miura
  • Patent number: 8240852
    Abstract: An ocular fundus image is captured by a fundus camera. Blood vessel regions are erased from the ocular fundus image, and a luminance region greater than a prescribed luminance threshold value and having an area equivalent to a predetermined standard disc area is extracted as a region having a standard disc area. The region having the standard disc area is divided into a plurality of regions by a plurality of dividing lines extending radially from the center of gravity thereof, and divided regions are scanned radially from the center of gravity while angles are shifted to detect in each individual region a point at which luminance variation reaches a maximum. The contour line of the disc region is derived from these points.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2012
    Assignee: Kowa Company Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshiaki Nakagawa, Shigeru Takimoto
  • Patent number: 8240593
    Abstract: A paper feeding device that feeds a sheet of a paper roll to a printing device includes two spaced-apart side plates having opposed first notches for rotatably bearing-supporting a first paper roll and opposed second notches for rotatably bearing-supporting a second paper roll that may have a different diameter in an unused state from that of the first paper roll. A near end sensor for detecting the remaining amount of the paper rolls is slidably positioned in a linear groove formed in one of the side plates. The linear groove having a longitudinal axis that passes through a midpoint of a straight line connecting a rotation center of a first paper roll bearing-supported in the first notches and a rotation center of a second paper roll bearing-supported in the second notches. When first and second paper rolls of different sizes are used, if both paper rolls are wound on paper tubes of the same size, the position of the near end sensor need not be changed, which is a great convenience for the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2012
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventor: Akihiko Ito
  • Patent number: 8240338
    Abstract: An auxiliary tool comprises a body formed of a core material and an elastic cloth covering that covers the surface of the core material. The body is configured for insertion into a pipe ahead of a fluid used to fill the pipe so that during filling of the pipe the flow of the fluid advances the body through the pipe to force out and discharge from the pipe air existing ahead of the body while the body is advanced inside of the pipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2012
    Assignee: Shonan Gosei-Jushi Seisakusho K.K.
    Inventors: Takao Kamiyama, Guochun Xu, Takashi Ookubo, Seiya Chiba
  • Patent number: 8240023
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a quartz crystal unit comprises the steps of forming a quartz crystal tuning fork resonator vibratable in a flexural mode of an inverse phase and having a quartz crystal tuning fork base and first and second quartz crystal tuning fork tines connected to the quartz crystal tuning fork base, forming at least one groove having at least three stepped portions in at least one of opposite main surfaces of each of first and second quartz crystal tuning fork tines, disposing an electrode on a surface of one of the at least three stepped portions of the at least one groove and an electrode on one of opposite side surfaces of each of the first and second quartz crystal tuning fork tines, mounting the quartz crystal tuning fork resonator on a mounting portion of a case, and connecting a lid to the case to cover an open end of the case, wherein the step of forming the quartz crystal tuning fork base and the first and second quartz crystal tuning fork tines is performed before the step of formin
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2012
    Assignee: Piedek Technical Laboratory
    Inventor: Hirofumi Kawashima
  • Patent number: 8243134
    Abstract: An optical reader includes an imaging device and an photographing optical system for reading images of an object such as a semiconductor wafer. An LED light source is provided as a dark field illumination light source for illuminating the object at an angle of illumination that deviates from the optical axis of the photographing optical system. The LED light source is supported by a swing-type support member having both ends secured to a housing of the optical reader using screws and nuts. This allows the angle and position of the dark field illumination light source to be adjusted so as to provide a first angle of illumination for illuminating the object directly with the illuminating light from the dark field illumination light source, or a second angle of illumination for illuminating the object by reflection from a half mirror that is disposed in an illumination optical system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2012
    Assignee: Kowa Company Ltd.
    Inventors: Takahisa Mizuta, Hidetomo Sakiyama
  • Patent number: 8243350
    Abstract: In a color reading apparatus for successively reading respective red, green, and blue colors in each line while a document is continuously conveyed to a plurality of line sensor units arranged in a zigzag manner, the line sensor units are arranged with a distance equal to or shorter than a unit of line to prevent a color shift. When read data of the plurality of line sensor units in a conveying direction are to be combined, image data shifted by the number of lines corresponding to distances between the line sensor units in the conveying direction are set as first combination candidates. A color code and a line code are added to each of the data. Image data having the same color code and the same line code are combined. According to the image reading apparatus structured as described above, it is possible to obtain data capable of reproducing read data for each color on the same line without errors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2012
    Assignee: Seiko I Infotech Inc.
    Inventor: Masaaki Yoshida
  • Patent number: 8234921
    Abstract: To provide a small-sized liquid seal sensor that can enhance degrees of freedom in detection directions. A liquid seal sensor having a liquid seal part that seals a liquid therein, and a detecting part that detects changes in the liquid sealed in the liquid seal part has a configuration in which the detecting part detects changes in the liquid sealed in the liquid seal part, and thus when an acceleration is applied, the detecting part detects changes in the liquid sealed in the liquid seal part, whereby the sensitivity to accelerations can be enhanced in any directions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventor: Masataka Shinogi
  • Patent number: 8238012
    Abstract: Light beams from light sources 1, 2 are scanned by a galvano mirror 10a to illuminate a predetermined portion 15b of an object to be observed 15 via an objective lens 14. The reflected light from the object is re-scanned by the galvano mirror 10a to obtain a two-dimensional image via an image-capturing element 25. Measuring means composed of an OCT interferometer 32 is branched or coupled in the optical path between the objective lens 14 and the galvano mirror 10a to obtain a tomographic image of the object. In this configuration, the two-dimensional image and the tomographic image of the object can be displayed simultaneously on a display device 28.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Kowa Company Ltd.
    Inventor: Koji Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 8235587
    Abstract: A portable device, such as a wristwatch, has a push-button that includes an engaging portion, and the push-button is mounted on a watch sheath. A locking member and a leaf spring are arranged on the watch sheath. The locking member is movable between a locked position in which the push-button is held at a predetermined position by engagement with the engaging portion and an unlocked position where operation of the push-button is allowed. The locking member is urged by the leaf spring toward the unlocked position. A circular operating ring surrounds an hour plate mounted on the watch sheath and the operating ring is rotatably mounted to the watch sheath from the front side. The movement of the locking member between the locked position and the unlocked position is interlocked with a rotating operation of the operating ring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Haruki Hiranuma, Kazutaka Imai
  • Patent number: 8237222
    Abstract: In a method of manufacturing a high withstanding voltage MOSFET, a region to be doped with impurities and a region to be doped with no impurity are provided when ion implantation of the impurities is performed in the channel forming region, for controlling a threshold voltage. The region to be doped with no impurity is suitably patterned so that impurity concentration of the channel forming region near boundaries between a well region and a source region and between the well region and a drain region having the same conductivity type as the well region may be increased, to thereby induce a reverse short channel effect. By canceling a short channel effect with the reverse short channel effect induced by the above-mentioned method, the short channel effect of the high withstanding voltage MOSFET may be suppressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Ayako Inoue, Naoto Saitoh
  • Patent number: 8220666
    Abstract: An apparatus for extracting the contents from a refill pouch comprises a holding member for holding the pouch with its extraction port facing downward, and a pump attached to the extraction port of the pouch. The pump has a pump body defining a housing space having an inlet opening and an outlet opening, an inlet-side valve which communicates with the extraction port to open and close the inlet opening so that the contents can be introduced into the housing space from the pouch, and an outlet-side valve to open and close the outlet opening so that the contents in the housing space can be discharged through a nozzle that communicates with the outlet-side valve. The pump wall portion is constituted by a resiliently compressible, restorable and flexible material so that the contents in the housing space can be extracted through the nozzle by manually squeezing the pump wall portion thereby pressurizing the housing space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2012
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Sanki
    Inventor: Masayuki Abe
  • Patent number: 8220909
    Abstract: To position a storage medium simply/reliably. An ink bag unit is structured so as to be attachable to and detachable from a tray. When ink runs out, a new ink bag unit can be used by being mounted on the tray. An adapter portion holds a storage device that stores data regarding the ink. The adapter portion is inserted into an adapter insertion portion of the tray, whereby a position of the storage device in the ink cartridge is definitely determined. As described above, with regard to the ink cartridge, the tray can be used as a piece of equipment of a printing apparatus over and over again, and the ink bag unit can be distributed as a consumable article. Further, because the storage device is mounted to the adapter portion, connection between the printing apparatus and the storage device can be achieved reliably and easily when the ink cartridge is mounted to the printing apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2012
    Assignee: Seiko I Infotech Inc.
    Inventor: Yoshinori Domae
  • Patent number: 8223594
    Abstract: Disclosed is a chronograph timepiece in which it is possible to prevent the chronograph drive timing and the magnetic field detection timing from overlapping each other to unnecessarily effect driving with correction drive pulses. A processing unit controls drive circuits so as to drive a time indication motor and a chronograph indication motor with a predetermined timing based respectively on timekeeping information obtained and chronograph measurement information obtained, and effects control such that a magnetic field detecting unit detects a magnetic field with a predetermined timing; when the drive timing for the chronograph indication motor and the magnetic field detection timing for the magnetic field detecting unit overlap each other, the processing unit changes the magnetic field detection timing for the magnetic field detecting unit so that the drive timing for the chronograph indication motor and the magnetic field detection timing for the magnetic field detecting unit may not overlap each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2012
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Tomohiro Ihashi, Kenji Ogasawara, Kazuo Kato, Kazumi Sakumoto, Hiroshi Shimizu, Akira Takakura, Eriko Noguchi, Takanori Hasegawa, Keishi Honmura, Saburo Manaka, Kosuke Yamamoto
  • Patent number: D665024
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Pentel Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kazuhisa Shimizu