Patents Assigned to Roland DG Corporation
  • Patent number: 11465421
    Abstract: An inkjet printer includes a first light applicator disposed in a second scanning direction relative to a recording head. The first light applicator includes a first upstream light source group at a location corresponding to a location of the recording head in a movement direction of a recording medium, and a first downstream light source group on a downstream side in the movement direction of the recording medium relative to the recording head. The inkjet printer turns off the first upstream light source group and turns on the first downstream light source group during movement of a carriage in a first scanning direction and discharge of first ink from the recording head, and turns on the first upstream light source group and the first downstream light source group during movement of the carriage in the second scanning direction after discharge of the first ink.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: ROLAND DG CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masanori Ishihara, Yuta Fujisawa
  • Patent number: 11192376
    Abstract: A wiping assembly includes a wiper that wipes a liquid ejection head, a wiper cleaner, and a mover that moves the wiper relative to the wiper cleaner. The wiper cleaner includes a first member, a second member, an absorbent, and a presser. An opening is located in the first member. The second member includes a projecting portion opposed to the opening. The absorbent has a plate shape and is disposed between the first member and the second member. The presser presses the second member toward the first member. The projecting portion presses the absorbent toward the opening. A portion of the absorbent is deformed to form a protruding portion that protrudes in a projection direction of the projecting portion from the opening by pressing by the projecting portion. The mover moves the wiper such that the wiper contacts the protruding portion of the absorbent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: ROLAND DG CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yuichi Sugiyama
  • Patent number: 11163171
    Abstract: A pointer includes a case housing an LED device and including a light emission hole through which light from the device is emitted to an external space, a first plate between the device and the light emission hole and including a first light passage hole that allows passage of the light from the device, and a second plate between the first plate and the light emission hole and including a second light passage hole that allows passage of the light having passed through the first light passage hole. The light passage holes and the light emission hole are located on a central axis of the device. The device and the first and second plates are disposed such that H/2<S<H, where H denotes a distance between the device and the first plate, and S denotes a distance between the first and second plates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: ROLAND DG CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hironobu Suzuki, Masanori Ishihara
  • Patent number: 11142005
    Abstract: A printer can comprise a supporting wall that extends in a primary scanning direction, a table that is positioned lower than the supporting wall and that is structured so as to be able to move in a secondary scanning direction, a guide rail equipped on the supporting wall that extends in the primary scanning direction, a head carriage that is provided slidably on the guide rail and that can move in the primary scanning direction, an ink head mounted on the head carriage, and a partitioning wall that is positioned lower than the supporting wall and to a side of the table in the primary scanning direction and that extends in the secondary scanning direction and the vertical direction. When the table is positioned at the maximally downstream position along the secondary scanning direction, the upstream end portion of the table is positioned further downstream of the supporting wall and further upstream than the downstream end portion of the partitioning wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: ROLAND DG CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ryosuke Kobayashi, Masanori Ishihara, Akihiro Suzuki
  • Patent number: 11141977
    Abstract: An inkjet printer includes a first ink head, an ink collector, and an intermittent flushing controller. The first ink head includes a first sub-head that includes a first nozzle to discharge first ink, a second sub-head that includes a second nozzle to discharge second ink different from the first ink, and a nozzle surface provided with the first nozzle and the second nozzle. The ink collector collects the ink discharged from the first ink head. The intermittent flushing controller performs an intermittent flushing operation for at least the first sub-head. The intermittent flushing operation involves repeating a first operation and a second operation for a predetermined number of iterations. The first operation involves discharging the first ink into the ink collector from the first nozzle a predetermined number of times. The second operation involves being on standby for a predetermined time without discharging the first ink from the first nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: ROLAND DG CORPORATION
    Inventors: Teppei Sawada, Akifumi Arai
  • Patent number: 11141981
    Abstract: A waste fluid quantity measuring device can comprise a waste fluid tank for recovering a waste fluid, a placement platform on which the total mass of the waste fluid tank acts, a motive force portion for moving at least a portion of the placement platform from a first position to a second position, with a constant force. A sensor can measure a position of the placement platform and a measuring portion can move the placement platform and measure a movement time of the placement platform to the second position, based on a measurement result by the sensor. An evaluating portion can evaluate a state of storage of waste fluid of the waste fluid tank based on the movement time measured by the measuring portion and a correspondence of the movement time and the quantity of waste fluid within the waste fluid tank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: Roland DG Corporation
    Inventor: Hironobu Suzuki
  • Patent number: 11135858
    Abstract: A printer includes a medium supplier including a shaft support, to which a supply shaft of a roll medium is detachably attached, a medium temporary placement support located below the shaft support of the medium supplier and that receives and supports the roll medium prior to being attached to the medium supplier, and a conveyor that conveys a medium in a conveyance direction that is perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to an axial direction of the supply shaft, the medium being unwound from the supply shaft. The medium temporary placement support includes a support bar that extends in the axial direction, and a placement seat supported by the support bar. The placement seat includes a placement surface on which the roll medium is placed and that extends in the conveyance direction, and a curved portion that includes a convex curve in an upstream end portion of the placement surface in the conveyance direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: ROLAND DG CORPORATION
    Inventor: Chihiro Sakai
  • Patent number: 11130348
    Abstract: A printer can comprise an ink head for discharging ink toward a printing medium, and a blowing device for blowing air against the printing medium. The blowing device can comprise a first case that is disposed further rearward, in a direction of movement, than the ink head. The first case can have a first air intake opening for taking in air of the vicinity of the printing medium, a first fan for drawing in air from the first air intake opening and expelling air from a first outlet opening. A second case can be positioned further rearward, in the movement direction Y1, than the first air intake opening, and can have a second air intake opening that opens facing upward and a second fan for drawing in air from the second air intake opening and expelling air toward the printing medium from a second outlet opening. The magnitude of the airflow of the first fan can be less than the magnitude of the airflow of the second fan.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Roland DG Corporation
    Inventors: Yuichi Sugiyama, Kei Akiyama
  • Patent number: 11040557
    Abstract: A cutting head-including printer includes at least one driving roller, a pair of side pinch rollers, a center pinch roller provided between the pair of side pinch rollers, and a roller moving mechanism that causes the center pinch roller to approach, or to be separated from, the at least one driving roller. The cutting head-including printer sets whether to perform cutting after printing or to perform the printing after the cutting. During the cutting performed after the printing, the cutting head-including printer separates the center pinch roller from the at least one driving roller. During the cutting performed before the printing, the cutting head-including printer locates the center pinch roller at a position where the center pinch roller holds a recording medium together with the at least one driving roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2021
    Assignee: Roland DG Corporation
    Inventor: Masakazu Igarashi
  • Patent number: 11007666
    Abstract: A cutting machine can be configured to set a cutting line with respect to a cutting material that is placed on a supporting platform, cut the cutting material along one cutting line that intersect with and changes direction at a second cutting line at a corner portion, leaving a part of the cutting material connected along a predetermined distance from a point of intersection of the corner portion, and cutting along the other cutting line so as to not leave a connected part, up to a predetermined distance from the point of intersection of the corner portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: Roland DG Corporation
    Inventors: Shinya Yamamoto, Masakazu Igarashi, Takeshi Tozuka, Tetsuhiro Kunifuji
  • Patent number: 10960672
    Abstract: A printer includes a main power supply switch to drive a controller, and a sub-power supply switch to enable printing on a recording medium. The controller includes a memory that stores a turn-on frequency of turning on of the sub-power supply per a unit time in a predetermined period of a predetermined first duration, a calculator that calculates a sum of the turn-on frequency in a predetermined second duration for each of predetermined second durations starting at different start times, in the predetermined period, a specifier that specifies, as a specified start time, a start time of the predetermined second duration for which the sum calculated by the calculator is at a maximum, and a cleaner that performs a cleaning operation of discharging ink from at least the nozzles at the specified start time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignee: ROLAND DG CORPORATION
    Inventor: Ryota Yamada
  • Patent number: 10953671
    Abstract: A clamp includes first and second rising portions that rise from a base portion, a first extending portion extending along a first top surface of a table from the first rising portion, a second extending portion extending along a second top surface of the table from the second rising portion, a first clamp portion to urge a medium toward the first top surface, and a second clamp portion to urge the medium toward the second top surface. A gap located above a groove in the table is provided between the first clamp portion and the second clamp portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: ROLAND DG CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ryosuke Nonaka, Shinya Yamamoto, Ippei Tanaka
  • Patent number: 10946662
    Abstract: A wiping assembly for a liquid ejection head includes a wiper including a first wiper surface facing in a first direction and a second wiper surface facing in a second direction, a wiper cleaner, a mover, and a controller. A protruding portion of the wiper cleaner includes a first cleaning surface facing in the second direction and a second cleaning surface facing in the first direction. The controller controls the mover to move at least one of the wiper and the wiper cleaner in at least one of the first and second directions from a state in which the wiper is located farther in the second direction than the protruding portion to bring the first wiper surface into contact with the first cleaning surface, and to move the at least one of the wiper and the wiper cleaner in at least one of the first and second directions from a state in which the wiper is located farther in the first direction than the protruding portion to bring the second wiper surface into contact with the second cleaning surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: ROLAND DG CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yuichi Sugiyama
  • Patent number: 10940707
    Abstract: A photo-curing inkjet printer includes a bed, a discharger, a light applicator, and a conveyor. The bed includes a printable region defined in advance. A substrate is placed on the bed. The discharger discharges photo-curable ink. The light applicator applies light. The conveyor conveys one of the bed and the discharger relative to the other one of the bed and the discharger in a conveyance direction. The discharger includes a row of nozzles aligned in the conveyance direction. The nozzles discharge the photo-curable ink. A length of the bed measured from a start end of the bed to a start end of the printable region is longer in the conveyance direction than a length calculated by subtracting a maximum pass width from a length of the row of nozzles of the discharger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2021
    Assignee: ROLAND DG CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yuta Fujisawa, Bunji Shinomiya
  • Patent number: 10894436
    Abstract: A thermal transfer apparatus includes a fixture, a foil securing film, a film retainer, a foil transfer tool, and a carriage conveyor. The fixture retains a transfer object. The foil securing film is disposed above the fixture. The foil securing film allows light to pass therethrough. The foil securing film presses, from above, a thermal transfer foil on the transfer object so as to secure the thermal transfer foil onto the transfer object. The film retainer retains the foil securing film. The film retainer moves the foil securing film in an up-down direction relative to the fixture. The foil transfer tool presses the foil securing film and the thermal transfer foil on the transfer object. The foil transfer tool emits light to the foil securing film. The carriage conveyor moves the foil transfer tool relative to the fixture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2021
    Assignee: ROLAND DG CORPORATION
    Inventors: Fumihiro Takahashi, Arata Mukunoki
  • Patent number: 10741282
    Abstract: A medical tool work support system, a medical tool work support method, and a medical tool work support program alleviate a workload on a user. The medical tool work support system includes a display, a memory that stores data indicating a work procedure on a medical tool in a work step to be performed for surgery using the medical tool, and a display controller that causes the display to display the work procedure based on the data stored in the memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignees: ROLAND DG CORPORATION, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CORPORATION HAMAMATSU UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
    Inventors: Masaki Hanajima, Takeshi Tsuji, Takaaki Kokubo, Naomi Ishino
  • Patent number: 10710382
    Abstract: A printing apparatus includes a feeder that feeds a medium in a feeding direction, a head including a row of nozzles arranged side by side in the feeding direction and movable in a scanning direction, an irradiator that radiates light onto a region longer in the feeding direction than the nozzle row and that is movable in the scanning direction together with the head, and a controller that alternatingly causes the head to move in the scanning direction and concurrently the nozzles to discharge ink while causing the irradiator to radiate the light, and the feeder to feed the medium in the feeding direction. The controller is capable of dividing the nozzle row into an upstream-side nozzle row and a downstream-side nozzle row located on a downstream side in the feeding direction from the upstream-side nozzle row, and individually controlling discharge of ink from the nozzles of each of the upstream-side nozzle row and the downstream-side nozzle row.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: ROLAND DG CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masanori Ishihara, Yuta Fujisawa, Toyohisa Nakao
  • Patent number: 10696090
    Abstract: A thermal transfer light pen and a thermal transfer apparatus favorably perform thermal transfer even using light as a heat source to a thermal transfer sheet and performing thermal transfer to a transfer object with an uneven surface. A thermal transfer light pen includes a hollow pen body including a front end portion, a pressing body in the front end portion of the pen body and including a curved surface projecting toward a front end, a light guide including a first end and a second end, at least a portion of the light guide inside the pen body, and a light source connected to the first end of the light guide. The second end of the light guide is disposed in the front end portion of the pen body and faces the pressing body in the pen body. The pressing body is made of a material transparent to light emitted from the light source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2020
    Assignee: ROLAND DG CORPORATION
    Inventors: Fumihiro Takahashi, Hidetoshi Atsumi
  • Patent number: 10639601
    Abstract: A printer includes a first cartridge holder including a first insertion port in which a first ink cartridge housing a first ink pack charged with a sedimentation ink is inserted and which is open horizontally, the first cartridge holder housing the inserted first ink cartridge, a first shaft pivotably supporting the first cartridge holder, a first driving mechanism that causes the first cartridge holder to pivot about the first shaft, and a controller that controls the first driving mechanism. The controller includes a first controller that controls the first driving mechanism to cause the first cartridge holder to pivot and agitate the sedimentation ink contained in the first ink pack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: ROLAND DG CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tetsuhiro Kunifuji, Hironobu Suzuki, Akihiro Suzuki
  • Patent number: 10639896
    Abstract: A printing apparatus includes an ink head, a carriage, and a cap. The ink head includes a nozzle surface provided with a nozzle to discharge ink onto a recording medium. The carriage is equipped with the ink head, and disposed above a platen. The carriage is movable in a main scanning direction. The cap defines an enclosed space between the cap and the nozzle surface when the cap is attached to the ink head. The carriage includes a facing surface facing the platen and a guard provided on the facing surface to protrude downward. The guard is provided with a reference surface that positions the ink head and the cap relative to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: ROLAND DG CORPORATION
    Inventor: Akira Suwada