Patents Examined by Andrew V Do
  • Visible image forming apparatus and image forming apparatus
    Patent number: 9972231
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus 1 includes a visible image forming unit 50 that forms a visible image in the air, a screen image generation unit 102 that generates a screen image, and a controller 100 that causes the visible image forming unit 50 to generate the visible image representing the screen image generated by the screen image generation unit 102. When the visible image contains predetermined private information, the controller 100 causes the screen image generation unit 102 to generate a second screen image representing the private information and inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to a main screen of the screen image, so as to restrict a person other than an operator from viewing the private information, and causes the visible image forming unit 50 to form a visible image of the second screen image generated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2018
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Hiroshi Furutani
  • Capacitance type physical quantity sensor
    Patent number: 9964562
    Abstract: A capacitance type physical quantity sensor including a movable electrode formed in a weight part, and a fixed electrode facing the movable electrode is provided. A first movable sensing electrode and a first fixed sensing electrode face each other in a first y direction. A second movable sensing electrode and a second fixed sensing electrode face each other in a second y direction. A first movable damping electrode is located in the middle between two first fixed damping electrodes, faces one of the first fixed damping electrodes in the first y direction and faces the other of the first fixed damping electrodes in the second y direction. A plurality of the first movable damping electrodes are located point-symmetrically with respect to the center of the weight part or line-symmetrically with respect to a center line passing the center in the y direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Akira Ogawa
  • Recording medium processing apparatus
    Patent number: 9944489
    Abstract: A recording medium processing apparatus includes a housing that accommodates a processing unit, which is capable of processing a recording medium, and that has an internal space a part of which is open; an internal stacker that is disposed in the internal space and that allows the recording medium to be stacked thereon; a light source that is disposed in a part of the internal stacker and that emits a light beam toward a predetermined position on the internal stacker, the light beam notifying a user of a state in which the recording medium is or is not stacked on the internal stacker; and a reflection member that is disposed in a part of the internal stacker and that reflects the light beam from the light source laterally outward from the internal stacker.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2018
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kiichiro Arikawa, Shiro Suzuki, Toshihiko Matsuo, Tsutomu Shiihara, Hiromitsu Tomioka, Mitsuyuki Ishida, Takahiro Ikeda, Seiji Honda
  • Image forming apparatus
    Patent number: 9915889
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an intermediary transfer member, a first image forming portion including a first photosensitive member, a first charging member, a first developing device, a first transfer portion, and a first pre-exposure device, a second image forming portion including a second photosensitive member, a second charging member, a second developing device, a second transfer portion, and a second pre-exposure device, a current detecting portion, and an adjusting portion for adjusting an exposure amount of the first photosensitive member by the first pre-exposure device on the basis of a detection result of the detecting portion in a region on the first photosensitive member having contacted a toner band formed in a maximum amount per unit area on the intermediary transfer member by the second image forming portion in a state in which a transfer current is supplied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shota Soda
  • Roberval-type load cell
    Patent number: 9897495
    Abstract: A load cell includes a flexural element in which a Roberval mechanism is formed by a pair of top and bottom parallel beams each including two thin sections at a back and a front in a longitudinal direction, which are integrated with a fixed portion and a movable portion, and strain gauges bonded to the thin sections. Strain gauges are bonded to one of the thin sections of pulling side and to one of the thin sections of compressing side, and circular apertures are formed through the remaining two thin sections. The performances of the load cell such as the reduction of the measurement error and of the period of time before the start of the measurement are achieved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: A&D COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventor: Isao Sato
  • Method and system for pull testing of wire bonds
    Patent number: 9889521
    Abstract: A method for pull testing a wire bond. The method including the steps of: (i) with a wire bonding tool, bonding an end of a wire to make a bond at a first location on a bonding surface having a conductive material, such that the bond completes an electrical circuit; (ii) clamping the wire with a wire clamp; (iii) pulling the wire with the wire clamp to apply a predetermined pulling force; (iv) detecting whether the electrical circuit is open; and (v) if the electrical circuit is open, determining that there has been a bond failure, and automatically incrementing a bond failure count.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: ASM TECHNOLOGY SINGAPORE PTE LTD
    Inventors: Keng Yew Song, Yi Bin Wang, Qing Le Tan, Lin Wei Zheng, Jia Le Luo
  • Image forming device
    Patent number: 9885981
    Abstract: An image forming device includes a cover member, a conveying unit, a first rotor, a second rotor, a bearing unit, a biasing member, and a link member. The cover member includes a hook, and an opening/closing lever that moves the hook. The conveying unit is disposed on the inner side of the cover member, and is rotatably supported between an opened position and a closed position to the main body of the image forming device. The link member is swingably supported on the conveying unit, and is configured to engage with the bearing unit. By operating the opening/closing lever in a state where the conveying unit is in a closed position, the link member is pressed against the hook to swing so that the first rotor of the bearing unit should move in a direction away from the second rotor against biasing force from the biasing member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignee: KYOCERA DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS INC.
    Inventor: Susumu Taniguchi
  • Micromechanical sensor system and corresponding manufacturing method
    Patent number: 9885626
    Abstract: A micromechanical sensor system includes a micromechanical sensor chip surrounded at least laterally by a molded housing which has a front side and a rear side. The micromechanical sensor chip includes a chip area on the rear side, which is omitted from the molded housing, and a rewiring device formed on the rear side, which, starting from the chip area, extends to the surrounding molded housing on the rear side, and from there, past at least one via from the rear side to the front side of the molded housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignee: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
    Inventors: Frieder Haag, Hubert Benzel
  • Cleaning blade, image forming apparatus, and process cartridge
    Patent number: 9880510
    Abstract: Provided is a cleaning blade including an elastic member, wherein a spin-spin relaxation time (T2) of the elastic member obtained by a solid echo method in a pulse NMR analysis is longer than or equal to 0.60 msec but shorter than or equal to 1.0 msec, and wherein the elastic member has a contact part to contact a surface of a cleaning target member, and the contact part contains a cured product of a curable composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kaori Toyama, Masanobu Gondoh, Yohta Sakon, Shohei Gohda, Yuka Aoyama, Yuta Nakamura
  • Image forming apparatus, image forming unit, cleaning control method
    Patent number: 9880509
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier, a motor, a cleaning portion, a measurement processing portion, and a cleaning control portion. The image carrier is configured to carry an electrostatic latent image. The motor is configured to rotate the image carrier. The cleaning portion is configured to clean the image carrier. The measurement processing portion is configured to measure a transition time that is a time required for the motor to transition from a stationary state to a driving state in which the motor rotates at a predetermined speed. The cleaning control portion is configured to control a cleaning time of the cleaning portion or whether or not to cause the cleaning portion to clean the image carrier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventors: Haruki Shoji, Okito Ogasahara, Naohiro Anan
  • Image forming apparatus and removable unit
    Patent number: 9869966
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body including a mounting section provided with a first connection terminal, and a removable unit provided with a second connection terminal. The second connection terminal is held by a holding member that is mounted on a side surface portion of the removable unit while the holding member is displaceable in a direction that is orthogonal to a movement direction of the removable unit when the removable unit is mounted or removed and while the holding member is pushed towards an outer side of the side surface portion by an elastic member. When the removable unit is mounted, the holding member becomes displaced towards an inner side of the side surface portion, and the holding member becomes pushed towards the outer side of the side surface portion by the elastic member, so that the second connection terminal contacts the first connection terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2018
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Lei Yuan, Toshio Takiguchi
  • Method for testing the tightness of cavities and device for decreasing convection and diffusion flow
    Patent number: 9869175
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for testing the tightness of cavities, which are already filled with a stored gas, by charging the with a test gas. At least the following steps are provided: overlayering the stored gas situated in the cavity with a test gas of a predefined amount, in such a manner that a barrier layer forms between the stored gas and the test gas, wherein the test gas has a lower density than the stored gas, releasing the test gas after a predetermined time, and balancing the amount of the test gas. A further aspect is providing a device for decreasing the convection and diffusion flow between a stored gas situated in a cavity and a test gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2018
    Assignee: UNTERGRUNDSPEICHER-UND GEOTECHNOLOGIES-SYSTEME GMBH
    Inventor: Amer Abdel Haq
  • Image forming apparatus including a developing unit to develop an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive member
    Patent number: 9864299
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a developing unit configured to develop an electrostatic latent image, a mounting detection unit configured to detect that a container T is mounted on a mounting unit, a driving unit configured to rotate the container T, a rotation detection unit configured to detect rotation information about the container T, and a controller configured to control the driving unit based on the rotation information. If the container T is detected to be mounted on the mounting unit, control of the driving unit is not carried out based on the rotation information until replenishment information satisfies a predetermined condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takayuki Iikura, Kazunori Miyake, Shinya Suzuki, Toshifumi Kakutani, Yousuke Hata, Kazumi Sato
  • Fixing device
    Patent number: 9851664
    Abstract: A fixing device includes a cylindrical heat roller, a heating element, a pressure roller, and an auxiliary roller. The heating element is provided inside the heat roller and configured to apply heat to the heat roller. The pressure roller is configured to be pressed against the heat roller to form, with the heat roller, a nip area where a recording paper sheet is to be nipped. The auxiliary roller is provided inside the heat roller and configured to be pressed toward the pressure roller with a peripheral wall of the heat roller in between. An outer peripheral surface of the auxiliary roller pressed against an inner peripheral surface of the heat roller is formed into an inverted crown shape so that an outside diameter of the auxiliary roller gradually decreases from both axial ends of the auxiliary roller toward an axial center thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2017
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventors: Yoshiharu Kanematsu, Eriko Hayashi
  • High temperature flexural mode piezoelectric dynamic pressure sensor
    Patent number: 9835511
    Abstract: A method for forming a pressure sensor includes forming a base of a sapphire material, the base including a cavity formed therein; forming a sapphire membrane on top of the base and over the cavity; forming a lower electrode on top of the membrane; forming a piezoelectric material layer on an upper surface of the lower electrode, the piezoelectric material layer being formed of aluminum nitride (AIN); and forming at least one upper electrode on an upper surface of the piezoelectric material layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2017
    Assignee: ROSEMOUNT AEROSPACE INC.
    Inventors: Weibin Zhang, Anita Fink, Kimiko Childress, Odd Harald Steen Eriksen
  • Load sensor
    Patent number: 9823144
    Abstract: There is provided a load sensor including: a pressing shaft configured to transmit a load in an axial direction of the pressing shaft; a sensor element configured to measure the load being transmitted by the pressing shaft; and a load limiting means configured to limit the load applied to the sensor element and protect the sensor element from being applied with excessive load, the load limiting means being configured to be deformable by the load when the load transmitted by the pressing shaft exceeds an allowable measurement range set for the sensor element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Assignee: Minebea Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinichi Fujisawa, Eiji Misaizu, Satoshi Ogawa
  • Measuring device for measuring property of fuel inside fuel tank
    Patent number: 9810569
    Abstract: A measuring device may be provided with a cover configured to close an opening provided on a fuel tank; a plug configured to close a through hole provided on the cover; and a sensor configured to measure a property of fuel inside the fuel tank. The plug may be provided with an electrical connector and a fuel passage. The electrical connector may be configured to electrically connect inside and outside of the fuel tank. The electrical connector may pierce through the plug from an upper surface to a lower surface of the plug The fuel passage may include an inlet configured to open to the inside of the fuel tank to receive the fuel from the inside of the fuel tank. The sensor may be disposed in the fuel passage of the plug.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2017
    Assignees: AISAN KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masaki Ikeya, Nobuhiro Kato, Chiaki Kataoka
  • Image forming apparatus using pressing plate and computer-readable medium storing instructions to control movement of pressing plate
    Patent number: 9811039
    Abstract: An electrophotographic image forming apparatus has a controller configured to store a rotation amount of a motor since the tray is attached to a main body of the image forming apparatus as a stored rotation amount, and move, in response to receipt of a print instruction, a pressing plate by driving the motor in the first mode when a remaining rotation amount is equal to or larger than a particular threshold rotation amount, the remaining rotation amount being a difference between a target rotation amount which is a rotation amount necessary to move the pressing plate from a position when the tray is attached to the main body to the conveying position, and the stored rotation amount, or in the second mode when the remaining rotation amount is less than the particular threshold rotation amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2017
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takashi Suzuki, Masahito Saeki
  • Image forming apparatus with contactless card reader
    Patent number: 9807261
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus (1) includes a scanner unit (12U), a scanner housing (12), and a contactless card reader (42). The scanner unit (12U) optically reads an image of an original document to generate image data. The scanner housing (12) accommodates the scanner unit (12U). The card reader (42) has a flat information reading surface (421) and reads information recorded on an information card C. The scanner housing (12) has a confronting surface (12F) that a user confronts. The card reader (42) is mounted inside the scanner housing (12) such that the information reading surface (421) takes an upstanding posture, and is disposed behind the confronting surface (12F) of the scanner housing (12). The confronting surface (12F) of the scanner housing (12) includes a surface (41) that covers the information reading surface (421) and over which a card is held.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventors: Takashi Tamura, Hirofumi Kuroki
  • Shoulder assembly for crash test dummy
    Patent number: 9799234
    Abstract: A shoulder assembly for a crash test dummy includes a shoulder assembly having a spring housing and a shoulder pivot member pivotally connected to the spring housing. The shoulder assembly includes a spring element disposed in the spring housing and an adjustable member to adjust the friction of the spring element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2017
    Assignee: HUMANETICS INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS, INC.
    Inventors: Bernard Willem Been, Mark John Burleigh