Patents Assigned to Mutoh Industry Ltd.
  • Patent number: 11897253
    Abstract: An illumination control method of LED lamps for ink-jet printers including a recording head in which ink discharge printing ranges are formed in a printing direction and an LED lamp in which light emitting diodes are arranged at a rear side of the recording head with respect to the printing direction. In an ink-jet printer in which the light-emitting diodes are divided into plural areas and the light amount for each area can be individually controlled by a controller, and among the light-emitting diodes, the light amount of the light-emitting diode that first scans a glossy printed surface is set to a light amount that does not cause ink curing. The light amount of the light-emitting diode of the area that first scans is set so the total light amount on the glossy printed surface is less than or equal to the critical exposure amount of the integrated illuminance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: MUTOH INDUSTRIES LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki Tsukui, Yoshio Asami
  • Publication number: 20230234385
    Abstract: A raster image conversion device is inputted with printing data and converts this printing data into raster image data to be outputted to a printing device. A storage unit stores printing environment data stipulating conditions for converting the printing data into the raster image data. An operating unit sets or edits the printing environment data. A conversion processing unit converts the printing data into the raster image data, based on the printing environment data. The printing environment data includes printing template information having a plurality of printing slots. The operating unit comprises an operating mode enabling the printing template information to be generated or edited. The conversion processing unit is inputted with or creates printing data made up of a plurality of pages, and, based on the printing template information, allocates a printing position and printing range of each page of the printing data to the printing slots.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 25, 2021
    Publication date: July 27, 2023
    Applicant: MUTOH INDUSTRIES LTD.
    Inventors: Norishige KAKUNO, Kazuhiro TOKUNARI
  • Patent number: 11097530
    Abstract: The three-dimensional modeling device includes a three-dimensional data acquisition unit that acquires three-dimensional data representing a three-dimensional structure with voxels, a discharge mechanism that discharges a laminated material including a plurality of kinds of dyes, and a control unit that controls the discharge mechanism based on the three-dimensional data so as to model the three-dimensional model. One of the voxels is divided into a plurality of elements in each of intersecting three directions, each of the plurality of the elements is provided with color data corresponding to one of a plurality of colors, and the color data of the element is determined such that all of a plurality of surfaces of the voxel has an approximately identical color.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignees: Mutoh Industries Ltd., Hosei University
    Inventors: Takashi Touma, Chiaki Tanuma
  • Patent number: 10421292
    Abstract: A cylinder printing jig is provided by which a table of a moving table-type printer is allowed to contact with a rotation roller to smoothly rotate a cylindrical print medium. The cylinder printing jig includes a base unit detachably fixed to a body of a moving table-type inkjet printer, a movable unit supported by the base unit, a first rotation roller rotatably connected to the movable unit, a second rotation roller rotatably connected to the movable unit at a position at which the second rotation roller does not contact the table of the printer, and an auxiliary wheel axially supported by the movable unit. The first rotation roller and the auxiliary wheel are placed on the table of the printer by the deadweight of the movable unit. The movement of the table causes the contact with the table to provide the rotation of the first rotation roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2019
    Assignee: MUTOH INDUSTRIES LTD.
    Inventor: Kento Nakanishi
  • Publication number: 20190030822
    Abstract: A molded article has a repeated structure of a first layer and a second layer, wherein the first layer has a resin material that continuously extends in a first direction, the second layer provided above the first layer has a resin material that continuously extends in a second direction intersecting the first direction, and the resin material of the first layer and the resin material of the second layer extend, at their intersection, in a third direction that intersects at least one of the first direction and the second direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2016
    Publication date: January 31, 2019
    Applicant: MUTOH INDUSTRIES LTD.
    Inventor: Takashi TOUMA
  • Patent number: 9921365
    Abstract: A light guide plate for a liquid crystal screen display apparatus providing a favorable visual effect. The printing data of a light reflection pattern stored in a computer is transferred to an inkjet printer to allow the inkjet printer to subject a substantially-rectangular printing face surrounded by upper and lower and left and right edges of a light guide plate to a reflective printing for diffusing light emitted from a light source into the interior of the light guide plate. The printing data for performing the reflective printing is prepared so that a printing density is increased from the edges in the four directions corresponding to the edges in the four directions of the light guide plate toward one or more high density setting points set in front of the respective opposed edges. The reflective printing is performed using white ink including titanium oxide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: MUTOH INDUSTRIES LTD.
    Inventors: Yoichi Abe, Tomoo Nakajima
  • Publication number: 20150246551
    Abstract: A surface-emitting illuminating device includes a light guide plate, a light source for emitting light to the interior of the light guide plate, and a light reflection plate and/or a light diffusion plate. The color temperature of the light-emitting face of the prepared surface-emitting illuminating device is measured. When the measured color temperature is not a required color temperature, ink for coloring the light reflection plate and/or light diffuser plate is selected. The selected ink is used to subject the light reflection plate and/or light diffuser plate to a coloring printing by an inkjet printer. The color temperature of the light-emitting face of the surface-emitting illuminating device is measured. Until the measured color temperature of the light-emitting face of the surface-emitting illuminating device is within an allowable range, the color printing of the light reflection plate and/or light diffuser plate is repeatedly corrected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 9, 2013
    Publication date: September 3, 2015
    Applicant: MUTOH INDUSTRIES LTD.
    Inventors: Yoichi Abe, Tomoo Nakajima
  • Patent number: 9111199
    Abstract: A gradation pattern preparation program by which a complicated gradation pattern can be prepared easily, wherein a computer is caused to function as: a vertical and horizontal printing density control line generation means for displaying, on a campus face, vertical and horizontal printing density control lines in a net-like manner, a vertical cross section line generation means for displaying a cross section image of the selected vertical printing density control line as a vertical cross section line on a vertical cross section line display screen, a horizontal cross section line generation means for displaying a cross section image of the selected horizontal printing density control line as a horizontal cross section line on a horizontal cross section line display screen, a printing density control point generation means for displaying, on the respective vertical and horizontal cross section lines, printing density control points for editing the respective vertical and horizontal cross section lines, and a p
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: MUTOH INDUSTRIES LTD.
    Inventors: Yoichi Abe, Tomoo Nakajima
  • Publication number: 20150054186
    Abstract: Provided is a light guide plate for a liquid crystal screen display apparatus providing a favorable visual effect. The printing data of a light reflection pattern stored in a computer is transferred to an inkjet printer to allow the inkjet printer to subject a substantially-rectangular printing face surrounded by upper and lower and left and right edges of a light guide plate to a reflective printing for diffusing light emitted from a light source into the interior of the light guide plate. The printing data for performing the reflective printing is prepared so that a printing density is increased from the edges in the four directions corresponding to the edges in the four directions of the light guide plate toward one or more high density setting points set in front of the respective opposed edges. The reflective printing is performed using white ink including titanium oxide.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2012
    Publication date: February 26, 2015
    Applicant: MUTOH INDUSTRIES LTD.
    Inventors: Yoichi Abe, Tomoo Nakajima
  • Publication number: 20150049349
    Abstract: A gradation pattern preparation program by which a complicated gradation pattern can be prepared easily, wherein a computer is caused to function as: a vertical and horizontal printing density control line generation means for displaying, on a campus face, vertical and horizontal printing density control lines in a net-like manner, a vertical cross section line generation means for displaying a cross section image of the selected vertical printing density control line as a vertical cross section line on a vertical cross section line display screen, a horizontal cross section line generation means for displaying a cross section image of the selected horizontal printing density control line as a horizontal cross section line on a horizontal cross section line display screen, a printing density control point generation means for displaying, on the respective vertical and horizontal cross section lines, printing density control points for editing the respective vertical and horizontal cross section lines, and a p
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2012
    Publication date: February 19, 2015
    Applicant: MUTOH INDUSTRIES LTD.
    Inventors: Yoichi Abe, Tomoo Nakajima
  • Patent number: 8476574
    Abstract: A method for improving the analysis of spectral data wherein light is directed through a linearly variable bandpass filter to impinge on a linear array of photodetectors. The ratio of the passband captured by a target detector to the passband captured by adjacent detectors is determined and used to calculate the amount of light to add back to the amount reported by the target detector. The value of the stored information from each target detector is then adjusted by subtracting from that detector what was added to adjacent detectors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2013
    Assignee: Mutoh Industries Ltd.
    Inventor: Chris Brown
  • Patent number: 8284444
    Abstract: Print data composed of a multiplicity of dot information is supplied to a printing head having a plurality of dot forming elements arrayed along a sub-scanning direction. The printing head and the printing medium relatively move in main scanning direction and sub-scanning direction each other, and an image is printed on the surface of the printing medium. In the print data supplied by every main scanning action of the printing head, a deformed data portion of concave and convex shapes of waveform are formed, for example, so that dots may not be arrayed parallel continuously in the main scanning direction of the printing head, at the joint of the ends of the sub-scanning direction. The concave and convex shapes at the joint side of the print data, and the concave and convex shapes at the joint side of other print data adjacent to the print data are printed in mutually fitted state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2012
    Assignee: Mutoh Industries Ltd.
    Inventors: Shingo Yokouchi, Katsumi Nashimoto
  • Patent number: 8279441
    Abstract: A spectrophotometer includes a plurality of LEDs arranged in a circular array, each having a calibrated power input determined by the use of pulse width modulation and each having a unique wavelength band determined by the utilization of a unique fluorescent phosphor coating or lens. At least one of the LEDs comprising a phosphor-free high energy UV LED. Light reflected to the spectrophotometer is divided into predetermined wavelength ranges through the utilization of a linear variable filter and photo detectors wherein the analog signal from a photo detector is converted to a digital value through the use of auto-ranging gain technique.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2012
    Assignee: Mutoh Industries Ltd.
    Inventors: Chris Brown, Brian T. Pridham, John Peter Coates
  • Patent number: 8233188
    Abstract: The present invention is intended to prevent appearance of streaks in head scanning direction at the joint of print data of the image to be printed. Print data composed of a multiplicity of dot information is supplied to a printing head having a plurality of dot forming elements arrayed along a sub-scanning direction. The printing head and the printing medium relatively move in main scanning direction and sub-scanning direction each other, and an image is printed on the surface of the printing medium. In the print data supplied by every main scanning action of the printing head, a deformed data portion of concave and convex shapes of waveform are formed, for example, so that dots may not be arrayed in parallel continuously in the main scanning direction of the printing head, at the joint of the ends of the sub-scanning direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2012
    Assignee: Mutoh Industries Ltd.
    Inventor: Katsumi Nashimoto
  • Patent number: 8177316
    Abstract: A blower is disposed at least at backward side of printing moving direction of the head unit, out of two sides of the head unit. The blower has air nozzles for injecting compressed air perpendicularly to the printing plane, and the bottom of the blower is provided with a curved plane and a parallel plane so that the compressed air injected from the air nozzles may be bent in a direction at right angle by Coanda effect. The curved plane and the parallel plane generate a horizontal air stream parallel to the printing plane, toward a direction departing from the adjacent head unit, at the downside of the blower. The printing device, using the ink jet head, dries the ink on the printing medium by the horizontal air stream injected from the blower while printing on the printing medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2012
    Assignee: Mutoh Industries Ltd.
    Inventor: Takeshi Muto
  • Patent number: 6724499
    Abstract: There is provided a pseudo-halftone image expression method capable of processing vector data with an excellent image quality and small computational complexity. Gray levels of n×n/m are expressed by varying the number of formed dots within a matrix of n×n dots on an m-dot basis (where n denotes an integer of 8 or more and m denotes an integer of 4 or more). A dot formation rule corresponding to each gray level within a matrix is divided into at least two stages, form a low gray level to a high gray level. In a first stage, dots are arranged at random and in dispersion so as to separate a dot from each other. In a second stage, dots are extended in random directions in turn so as to prevent an island of successive dots from coupling with each other using the dots arranged at the first stage as a nucleus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2004
    Assignee: Mutoh Industries Ltd.
    Inventor: Takeshi Satoh
  • Patent number: 6595612
    Abstract: An inkjet printer capable of minimizing chromatic variation due to an ink overlapping (or overlaying) order when printing in a bidirectional mode. Bright color ink dots and dark color ink dots are arranged alternately within the same swath when printing in the bidirectional mode. Plural swaths with different overlapped colors consisting of these dots are arranged alternately in both the main and sub directions to perform overall chromatic averaging.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2003
    Assignee: Mutoh Industries Ltd.
    Inventors: Christopher M. Brown, Hideo Noda, Toru Hayashi
  • Patent number: 6386689
    Abstract: An ink jet printer that prints high quality wherein ink has minimum contact with the atmosphere, high volatility and is easy to separate. The ink jet recording heads and the sub tanks are mounted at the side of the Y cursor, and the main tanks are disposed at the side of the printer body. Upon completion of printing or standby for printing, the ink in the sub tanks is recovered to the side of the main tanks, and the ink in the recording heads is recovered to the side of the waste solution tank. After the ink in the sub tanks is recovered to the side of the main tanks, and before the ink in the main tanks is supplied into the sub tanks, the ink in the main tanks is stirred. After the ink in the recording heads is recovered to the waste solution tank, the inside of the recording heads is cleaned with the cleaning solution, and after the cleaning, the air is supplied into the recording heads, and the inside of the recording heads is dried.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2002
    Assignee: Mutoh Industries Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiroyasu Sasada
  • Patent number: 6264299
    Abstract: In case of an erasure of dots that reduce the ink density by thinning on dots of a bit map data, disappearance of thin lines, and a loss of low density picture and a gradation reversal are prevented. For this reason, mask patterns for thinning processing with different thinning rates according to densities of an original picture beforehand. A conjunction operation of the picture data of the original picture with the mask pattern according to the density of the picture data is carried out, and the on dots of the bit map data are thinned out to turn off thereby decreasing the ink density, and changing the thinning rate of the original picture. As the mask pattern, the thinning pattern is prepared against the original picture with 100% density, and the thinning rate is changed by changing the bit of 0 of the thinning pattern to 1 according to the density of the original picture. In case the density of the original picture is less than 50%, the thinning processing is not carried out.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2001
    Assignee: Mutoh Industries Ltd.
    Inventor: Hideo Noda
  • Patent number: 6216576
    Abstract: An object of this invention is to provide a simple construction for preventing a collision of the cutter with the surface of paper at a high speed, and the construction provides a controller 20 that minimizes the impression voltage to a cutter drive actuator 38 in the first stage and gradually increases by stages thereafter. After the impression voltage for descending of the cutter to the cutter drive actuator 38 arrives at a maximum set voltage, the controller 20 switches the impression voltage for the cutter drive actuator 38 to the predetermined voltage for cut, and thereafter, the cut operation proceeds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2001
    Assignee: Mutoh Industries Ltd.
    Inventors: Katsuhiko Ohtani, Takeshi Kishimura