Patents Examined by Anh T. N. Vo
  • Patent number: 9395943
    Abstract: In a method for operating a control panel for a production system in particular for printing system, a control system is provided comprising a main computer. The main computer is connected via a data connection with one or more client computers on which a browser is executed. The control panel for the production system is displayed in the respective browser. Via an operation of a user at the control panel, an action request is triggered at a web user interface with which an action is requested at the main computer. Upon every action request, the web user interface checks according to predetermined rules whether this action is allowed, and blocks the action if it is not allowed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2016
    Assignee: Oce Printing Systems GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Andreas Haas, Norbert Linkel, Harald Keicher
  • Patent number: 9393800
    Abstract: An ink supply system for an ink jet printer, particularly a continuous ink jet printer, has a manifold assembly of two parts that are brought together at interfacing surfaces. At least one of the surfaces has a plurality of ink flow channels for conveying ink around an ink circuit between components. The other of the interfacing surfaces is configured to close and seal the channels. A plurality of ports is provided in fluid communication with the channels, the circuit components being connectable to the ports. The manifold assembly provides for a compact and neat arrangement free of many tubes and pipes. The lower number of connections significantly reduces the risk of leakage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2016
    Assignee: Videojet Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew Tomlin, Ian Fost, Jerzy Zaba, Ammar Lecheheb
  • Patent number: 9387680
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting head that includes a nozzle formation surface on which a plurality of nozzles which eject a liquid are formed to be lined up in one direction to form nozzle columns, a belt-shaped member that is brought into contact with the nozzle formation surface, and a belt-shaped member contact portion that brings the belt-shaped member into contact with the nozzle formation surface in both a first contact state where the belt-shaped member is brought into contact with a partial area of the nozzle formation surface and a second contact state where the belt-shaped member is in contact with an area corresponding to the nozzle column in a direction along the nozzle column on the nozzle formation surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2016
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 9381749
    Abstract: A first part of liquid holders includes at least one liquid holder provided at the first casing. A second part of liquid holders includes at least one liquid holder provided at the second casing. Each of a plurality of flexible tubes has one end and another end. The one end is connected to the first part of the liquid holders. The other end is connected to the second part of the liquid holders. A first supporting section is provided at the first casing and supports the tubes. A second supporting section is provided at the second casing and supports the tubes. A third supporting section supports the tubes at a position between the first supporting section and the second supporting section in such a manner that the tubes are arranged in a direction parallel to a pivotal axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2016
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Shuichi Tamaki
  • Patent number: 9375928
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a fluid ejection device includes a die substrate with a chiclet adhered by its front side to the die substrate. The fluid ejection device also includes an ink delivery slot formed through the chiclet from its back side to its front side. The fluid ejection device further includes a mixing bead at the back side of the chiclet, adjacent the ink delivery slot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2016
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Brian M. Taff
  • Patent number: 9375939
    Abstract: The liquid housing container recycling method includes removing a second case member from a first case member, taking out a liquid housing body from inside of the first case member, forming on the liquid housing body an opening part that communicates with inside of a liquid housing unit, injecting into the inside of the liquid housing unit from the opening part that is formed liquid of a volume that is smaller than an initially housed volume when the liquid is initially injected and housed in the liquid housing unit of the liquid housing body in a state of being housed inside the case member, sealing the opening part of the liquid housing body, housing inside the first case member the liquid housing body for which the opening part is sealed, and attaching the second case member to the first case member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2016
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Yuji Aoki
  • Patent number: 9375963
    Abstract: Techniques related to printer calibration are disclosed herein. In an example, an actual measurement of a colorimetric parameter is performed by measuring the colorimetric parameter on a printed calibration pattern. The colorimetric parameter is associated with an ink drop number. The calibration pattern is printed with selected printing conditions. An ink drop number variation is determined from a reference measurement and the actual measurement of the colorimetric parameter. The reference measurement is a measurement of a colorimetric parameter. The reference measurement corresponds to a measurement of the colorimetric parameter on a calibration pattern printed with the selected printing conditions. An actual linearization is generated by validating a set of pre-defined linearizations with the determined ink drop number variation. Other examples of printer calibration are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2016
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Jacint Humet Pous, Juan Uroz Soria, Pere Gasparin Talarn
  • Patent number: 9375951
    Abstract: An inkjet recording device is provided. Two rails are each provided on left and right sides of a printer head, and three LED modules are provided on inner rows In and one LED module is provided on outer rows of the rails. These LED modules can move on the rails in a sub scanning direction. At a position, the LED modules become adjacent in a main scanning direction, whereby a total quantity of light becomes “200”. At other positions, the quantity of light is “100”. In this invention, providing the LED modules movably on the outer rows enables to configure a curing section at an arbitrary position, so that a required quantity of light can be obtained, whereby the printing speed does is not decreased; and further, the number of the LED modules can be suppressed, and cost for an ultraviolet lamps of a carriage can be reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2016
    Assignee: MIMAKI ENGINEERING CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Atsushi Tsuchiya
  • Patent number: 9375936
    Abstract: In a recording apparatus, a first casing holds a supporting portion. A second casing holds a recording head and a first tank. The second casing is connected to the first casing so as to be rotatable relative to the first casing about a prescribed axis, the second casing being configured to move between a first position and a second position by rotating relative to the first casing, the recording head being located adjacent to the first casing when the second casing is in the first position, the recording head being further apart from the first casing when the second casing is in the second position than when the second casing is in the first position. The recording head opposes the supporting portion when the second casing is in the first position. The second casing is provided with a second tank mounting portion and a liquid transferring portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2016
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shinya Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 9370931
    Abstract: The liquid storage body is provided with a liquid storage bag and a plug. The liquid storage bag is formed of two layers of a sheet. The plug is connected to a first end portion of the liquid storage bag. The liquid storage bag is provided with a liquid storage portion and an extension portion. The liquid storage portion stores the liquid. The extension portion is connected to the liquid storage portion at a second end portion and extends in an extending direction. The extension portion does not store the liquid. A length of the extension portion in the extending direction is longer than a length of edge portions in an orthogonal direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2016
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yutaka Takagiwa
  • Patent number: 9365052
    Abstract: Apparatuses include, among other components, a conveyor belt and at least one roller supporting the conveyor belt, etc. The belt moves in a processing direction as the roller rotates. The exterior surface of the roller has roller outer sections and a center crowned portion between the roller outer sections. The belt has belt outer sections and a belt center section between the belt outer sections. The belt outer sections contact the roller outer sections, and the belt center section contacts the center crowned portion of the roller. The belt outer sections have a lower flexibility, and the belt center section has a relatively higher flexibility. The flexibility difference between the higher flexibility and the lower flexibility biases the belt outer sections toward the center crowned portion of the roller and maintains the belt center section so that the belt center section is self-aligned with the center crowned portion of the roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Aaron Michael Moore, Timothy Gordon Shelhart
  • Patent number: 9367013
    Abstract: An imaging device includes: a housing having an opening in a surface thereof facing a subject; a light source that irradiates the subject with light; a two-dimensional image sensor that captures, from inside of the housing through the opening; an image of the subject illuminated by the light source; an optical member that is disposed between the two-dimensional image sensor and the opening and that transmits light reflected off the subject; and a contamination inspection member that is disposed between the opening and the optical member and that causes inspection light for inspecting contamination on the optical member to be incident upon the two-dimensional image sensor via the optical member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Kenji Morita, Nobuyuki Satoh, Mamoru Yorimoto, Masayuki Fujii, Daisaku Horikawa, Suguru Yokozawa, Masahiro Hiranuma, Masaya Kawarada
  • Patent number: 9365044
    Abstract: A print cartridge including a cartridge housing having a container body and a lid that encloses the container body. The lid includes a bottom surface and a top surface. One or more air vent openings are formed through the entire thickness of the lid from the top surface to the bottom surface. A hydrophobic coating is disposed on at least one of the top or the bottom surfaces of the lid, with the hydrophobic coating being absent over the one or more air vent openings. The hydrophobic coating is deposited in liquid or gaseous form.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Paul W. Dryer, Christopher A. Craft
  • Patent number: 9358796
    Abstract: A liquid supply apparatus includes: a plurality of liquid containers, each including a liquid container part that is capable of storing a liquid, and a liquid supply part that is in communication with the inside of the liquid container part and is capable of supplying the liquid in the liquid container part to a recording head of a liquid ejection recording apparatus; and a casing that detachably houses therein the plurality of liquid containers and that is supported by the liquid ejection recording apparatus. At least two of the plurality of liquid containers are arranged along a top-to-bottom direction within the casing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2016
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Katsutomo Tsukahara, Eiko Yanagida
  • Patent number: 9358795
    Abstract: A liquid container for supplying a liquid to a liquid ejection apparatus comprises: a liquid chamber provided to store the liquid; an air chamber connected with the liquid chamber to introduce the outside air into the liquid chamber with consumption of the liquid in the liquid chamber; an open-air hole provided to introduce the outside air into the air chamber; and a liquid inlet provided to fill the liquid into the liquid chamber, wherein the liquid inlet is located at a lower position than the open-air hole, in a filling attitude of the liquid container in which the liquid is filled into the liquid chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2016
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Shimizu, Taku Ishizawa, Yuki Takeda, Shuichi Koganehira
  • Patent number: 9352577
    Abstract: An ink tank includes: a reservoir that stores ink; a supply port that supplies ink stored in the reservoir to a printer; a supply port sealing member that seals the supply port; an air port that communicates between an inside of the reservoir and an atmospheric space above an upper side of a liquid surface of the ink; and an air port sealing member which a needle tube is capable of inserting and pulling out of, and which seals the air port in a state where the needle tube is not inserted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2016
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki Tanaka, Hiroaki Sakai
  • Patent number: 9352575
    Abstract: A drop in the throughput of continuous printing operations caused by refilling a subtank with ink is suppressed. The control unit of an inkjet printer 1 fills subtanks 11a-11d with ink whenever ink consumption exceeds a reference volume q during continuous printing. Ink is suctioned by producing negative pressure in subtanks 11a-11d during the ink refill operation while ink continues being supplied to the inkjet head 7 from pressure adjustment chambers 13a-13d disposed between subtanks 11a-11d and inkjet head 7. Ink ejection from the inkjet head 7 can therefore continue even during the ink ref ill operation. By setting the volume of the pressure adjustment chambers 13a-13d greater than at least the amount of ink that is ejected during the ink refill operation, there is no need to interrupt printing in order to replenish the ink supply.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2016
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoji Suzuki
  • Patent number: 9352576
    Abstract: A liquid discharge head includes a liquid storage chamber capable of holding a liquid, a liquid communication pipe communicating with the liquid storage chamber and being configured to supply the liquid from a liquid tank to the liquid storage chamber by installing the liquid tank to the pipe to communicate with the liquid tank, a discharge port communicating with the liquid storage chamber to discharge the liquid, an electrode pair each having an outside end portion located outside the liquid storage chamber and detecting a liquid level of the liquid storage chamber, and an electric contact portion connected to the outside end portion of each of the electrode pair. The electric contact portion is located above the liquid communication pipe with a discharge port surface on which the discharge port opens taking a position facing perpendicularly downward.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ryoji Inoue, Yasuo Kotaki, Tetsuya Ohashi, Hitoshi Takada, Takashi Fukushima, Hironori Murakami, Norihiro Ikebe, Hironori Fukuchi, Kyosuke Toda, Hiroki Hayashi, Takatoshi Kitagawa
  • Patent number: 9352573
    Abstract: A printing system comprising two or more groups of ink, wherein each group of ink includes ink based upon a unique formulation. This enables a user to select an ink type for printing an image without requiring extra printers or replacement of printing components. Additionally, the user can print a single image using inks of two different base formulations. The system comprises at least two groups of ink storage containers, each group containing a group of ink volumes, each group of ink volumes having a unique ink base formulation. The system further comprises at least two groups of ink formulation specific print heads, each group being associated with the compatible ink formulation. A controller enables the user to selectively print an image using ink having one or more ink base formulations. The system can use any configuration of ink storage configurations and print heads arrangements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2016
    Inventor: Shahar Turgeman
  • Patent number: 9352558
    Abstract: The degree of thickening of ink for each of nozzles based on dot pattern data is calculated based on a thickening value Z (n+1)=Z (n)×a×bss×bmm×bll, and information the dot pattern data corresponding to the nozzle, which indicates that small dots are formed in when the thickening value is equal to or greater than a threshold is replaced with information indicating that middle dots which are larger than the small dots are formed. On the other hand, in a case where the thickening value is returned to be smaller than the threshold (a previous state) when after the thickening value becomes equal to or greater than the threshold, information of the dot pattern data corresponding to the nozzle, which indicates that the small dots are formed is maintained as it is without being replaced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2016
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Junhua Zhang