Patents Examined by Bradley W Thies
  • Consumables including locking mechanisms
    Patent number: 10994549
    Abstract: In an example, an apparatus includes a container to hold a quantity of a consumable resource. A mechanical drive coupling is attached to the container. The mechanical drive coupling includes a bore and a locking mechanism integrated into the bore. The locking mechanism locks the container to a drive mechanism when the bore and the drive mechanism are rotatably engaged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Wayne J. Schmidt, Steve Beutler, Kent S. Takeshita
  • Liquid ejecting apparatus and method for driving liquid ejecting head
    Patent number: 10987925
    Abstract: A first drive waveform includes, in the following order: a first section in which voltage is changed, a second section in which the voltage is maintained, and a third section in which the voltage is changed in a direction opposite to another direction in which the voltage is changed in the first section. A second drive waveform includes, in the following order: a fourth section in which voltage is changed, a fifth section in which the voltage is maintained, and a sixth section in which the voltage is changed in a direction opposite to another direction in which the voltage is changed in the fourth section. The voltage applied to a piezoelectric element in the second section is higher than the voltage applied to the piezoelectric element in the fifth section. The period of the first drive waveform is shorter than the period of the second drive waveform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2021
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Shunya Fukuda
  • Machine arrangement with printing unit for the sequential processing of sheet-type substrates
    Patent number: 10987917
    Abstract: A machine arrangement sequentially processes sheet-like substrates with multiple different processing stations each having a substrate-guiding unit and a substrate-processing unit. At least one of the processing stations has, as a substrate-processing unit, at least one non-impact printing device which prints on the substrate. The processing station with the at least one non-impact printing device has a printing cylinder. Each non-impact printing device is arranged at the circumference of the printing cylinder. The printing cylinder is triple-sized or quadruple-sized. A double-sized or a triple-sized transfer drum, or a corresponding feed cylinder, is arranged directly upstream of this printing cylinder. Alternatively, a double-sized or a triple-sized transfer drum, or a corresponding transfer cylinder, is arranged directly downstream of this printing cylinder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2021
    Assignee: KOENIG & BAUER AG
    Inventors: Christian Ziegenbalg, Uwe Becker, Ulrich Köhler, Frank Schumann, Carsten Reinsch, Michael Koch
  • Inkjet printing apparatus and inkjet printing method
    Patent number: 10982104
    Abstract: To provide an inkjet printing apparatus that improves the smoothness of the ink layer surface and improves the image quality. Provided is an inkjet printing apparatus that prints with a UV curable ink, the inkjet printing apparatus including: an ejection unit configured to eject the UV curable ink onto the surface of a print medium; and a control unit configured to control the ejection of the UV curable ink from the ejection unit, the UV curable ink containing a thixotropy-imparting agent, and the control unit setting the viscosity of the UV curable ink to 1 mPa·s to 20 mPa·s at the time of ejection and to at least 80 mPa·s within five seconds of landing on the print medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2021
    Assignee: MIMAKI ENGINEERING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kazuki Bando, Kazuki Ohara, Osamu Saito
  • Liquid ejecting apparatus
    Patent number: 10967641
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus including a liquid ejecting head including a nozzle for ejecting liquid by driving a drive element, an electrical component coupled to the drive element, a liquid storing member including a filling port for injecting the liquid from a refilling container therethrough, the liquid storing member receiving and storing the liquid through the filling port, and a holder mounting the liquid ejecting head, the electrical component, and the liquid storing member. In the liquid ejecting apparatus, the electrical component and the filling port do not overlap each other in plan view.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Manabu Munakata, Haruhisa Uezawa
  • Recording apparatus, recording method, and recording controlling device for printing code information
    Patent number: 10963761
    Abstract: A recording system records a recording image based on image data by repeating a pass operation in which a nozzle row discharges ink while moving relatively to a recording medium in a main scanning direction and a transport operation in which the nozzle row and the recording medium relatively move in a sub scanning direction intersecting the main scanning direction. The recording system includes a code detecting unit that detects an area where code information included in the image data is located, and a recording controller that controls the pass operation and the transport operation based on the image data and a result of the detection by the code detecting unit. The recording controller controls such that the number of times of the pass operation of recording the area is smaller than that of the pass operation of recording an area adjacent to the area in the main scanning direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Eiichi Ohara
  • Inkjet recording apparatus, inkjet recording method, and inkjet recording program
    Patent number: 10946669
    Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus includes: a recorder having a line head, the recorder ejecting ink through each of the ink ejection ports toward a recording medium; a mover that moves the recording medium and the line head relative to each other in a direction intersecting the arrangement direction of the ink ejection ports in the line head, and causes each pair of ink ejection ports of two adjacent head modules facing each other in the overlapping region to pass through a same place on the recording medium; and a recording controller that controls ink ejection operations of the plurality of head modules on the recording medium in accordance with dot data, and causes either of a pair of ink ejection ports of two adjacent head modules to eject ink to implement complementary ink ejection operations by the pair of ink ejection ports of the two head modules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: Konica Minolta, Inc.
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Mizutani, Yorihiro Yamaya
  • Recording apparatus and method of controlling recording apparatus
    Patent number: 10946675
    Abstract: A recording apparatus includes a recording head performing recording on a recording medium; a cassette on which the recording medium to be transported to the recording head is placed; and a transporting path for transporting the recording medium from the cassette to the recording head. In addition, the recording apparatus includes a medium thickness sensor obtaining thickness information by measuring a thickness of the recording medium in the cassette or the transporting path; a surface information acquisition section acquiring surface information of the recording medium in the cassette or the transporting path; and a determination section specifying a type of the recording medium based on the thickness information and the surface information of the recording medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Tetsuji Takeishi
  • Printing apparatus and printing method for obtaining color data defining discharging/non-discharging of an ink of a color to a pixel on a printing medium
    Patent number: 10940696
    Abstract: A printing apparatus includes a print head which discharges inks including an ink of a first color and an ink of a second color, an obtaining unit which obtains first color data defining discharging/non-discharging of the ink of the first color to a pixel on a printing medium and second color data defining discharging/non-discharging of the ink of the second color to a pixel on the printing medium, a first determination unit which determines an attribute of an image of a predetermined pixel on the printing medium, a second determination unit which determines whether the predetermined pixel is in a boundary between a region defined to discharge the ink of the first color and a region defined to discharge the ink of the second color or not, and a control unit which controls discharging of the inks based on results of the determinations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2021
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yasunori Fujimoto, Hajime Nagai
  • Method for attenuating the drying of ink from a printhead during periods of printhead inactivity
    Patent number: 10933641
    Abstract: An inkjet printer is configured with capping stations for storing printheads in the printer during periods of printer inactivity so the viscosity of the ink in the nozzles of the inkjets of the printheads does not increase significantly. Each capping station has a printhead receptacle that encloses a volume, a planar member configured to move between a first position at which the planar member is located within the printhead receptacle and a second position at which the planar member is external of the printhead receptacle, a first actuator operatively connected to the planar member, the first actuator being configured to move the planar member from the first position to the second position, and a controller configured to operate the first actuator to move the planar member from the first position to the second position to mate the planar member with a face of a printhead.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: David A. VanKouwenberg, Linn C. Hoover, Michael J. Levy, Jason M. LeFevre, Chu-heng Liu, Paul J. McConville, Douglas K. Herrmann, Seemit Praharaj
  • Printing system, printing device, and method of producing printed object
    Patent number: 10926536
    Abstract: In order to suppress adherence of ink splash to an electrode and ink contamination of surrounding environment, in a printing system, there is provided a continuous type ink jet printer having a nozzle for jetting ink in the form of particles, a charging electrode for electrically charging the jetted ink particles, and a deflection electrode for deflecting the charged ink particles. The system includes a printing section for printing an object to be printed with the ink particles jetted from the nozzle and a charging section configured to charge at least one of the printing object prior to its printing by the printing section and surrounding atmosphere in which the printing on the printing object is to be effected by the printing section with a polarity opposite to a polarity of the charge provided to the ink particles by the charging electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: SUNTORY HOLDINGS LIMITED
    Inventors: Tatsutoshi Higo, Takuto Nakamura, Tomohiro Fujita
  • Liquid storing tank having a first chamber and a second chamber below the first chamber
    Patent number: 10913282
    Abstract: There is provided a tank including a liquid inlet port, an atmosphere open port, a liquid outflow port, a first liquid chamber having a first atmosphere communication channel, a second liquid chamber being in communication with the first liquid chamber and having a second atmosphere communication channel, and a liquid channel. The liquid inside the liquid channel is movable along with a liquid consumption of a liquid consuming device connected to the tank. With the tank in a usage posture, when the liquid is stored in the first liquid chamber and the second liquid chamber, the liquid level of the liquid stored in the first liquid chamber is formed independently from the liquid level of the liquid stored in the second liquid chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2021
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masahiro Hayashi, Masako Kawagoe, Taichi Shirono, Yoshinori Osakabe, Seiji Shimizu
  • Inkjet printing apparatus
    Patent number: 10906298
    Abstract: An inkjet printing apparatus is provided. The inkjet printing apparatus includes a plurality of nozzles, each of the plurality of nozzles adapted to be controlled to discharge a separated ink quantity mapped to a control value input, a nozzle performance measuring circuit inputting the control value mapped to the separated ink quantity to the each of the plurality of nozzles, and a control circuit calculating a target print ink quantity in case where a reference separated ink quantity is discharged from a plurality of dots on a window and determining the control value of each of the plurality of nozzles. The control circuit may designate one dot in the window as a reference dot and determine the control value of the each of the plurality of nozzles within the window as the reference dot and the window move sequentially within a printing area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: STI CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Yuhho Cho
  • Ink cartridge with a housing sealed by a sealing member that changeably forms an air communication passage
    Patent number: 10906323
    Abstract: An ink cartridge includes a housing that has an air communication port and stores a liquid inside and a sealing member attached to the housing in such a way as to cover the air communication port. The sealing member includes an adherent region attached to the housing and a non-adherent region not attached to the housing. The non-adherent region extends to an end portion of the sealing member and forms a communication passage which establishes communication between the air communication port and air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kyosuke Nagaoka, Yasuo Kotaki, Tetsuya Ohashi, Ryoji Inoue, Takeho Miyashita, Hironori Murakami, Takayuki Tanno, Takashi Fukushima
  • Carbon filament lamp array
    Patent number: 10906333
    Abstract: A lamp array for drying liquid ink on a media in a printing apparatus. The printing apparatus includes a transport system arranged to move the media through the printing apparatus in a process direction. The lamp array includes a plurality of lamps, each lamp of the plurality of lamps having a longitudinal axis arranged in a direction parallel to the process direction and adjacent to the transport system, wherein the plurality of lamps are equidistantly positioned substantially across a cross process width of the transport system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Roger G. Leighton, Paul M. Fromm, Robert P. Herloski
  • System
    Patent number: 10899133
    Abstract: A system includes: a housing; a cover that is supported by the housing to be movable between a covering position and an opened position; a tank; a reservoir; and a liquid discharging head that is disposed inside the housing and discharges liquid supplied from the tank, wherein the reservoir includes a liquid passage hole; the tank includes a passage tube that extends upward from the tank and is connectable to the liquid passage hole of the reservoir, the cover includes: a first wall that is positioned above the housing at the covering position, and a second wall that extends downward from an edge of the first wall, and when the cover is positioned at the covering position and the reservoir is connected to the tank, an upper end of the reservoir is positioned above a lower end of the second wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2021
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kosuke Nukui, Hiroaki Takahashi, Akihito Ono, Takahiro Miyao, Akinari Ishibe
  • Print head control circuit and liquid discharge apparatus
    Patent number: 10894404
    Abstract: In a print head control circuit, a first diagnostic signal wiring group includes first diagnostic signal propagation wiring that propagates a first diagnostic signal, and second diagnostic signal propagation wiring that propagates a second diagnostic signal, the first drive signal wiring group and the second drive signal wiring group propagate a first drive signal and a second drive signal that cause liquid to be discharged, in a first cable, the first diagnostic signal wiring group is provided between the first drive signal wiring group and the second drive signal wiring group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2021
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Tomonori Yamada, Toru Matsuyama
  • Recording device
    Patent number: 10894426
    Abstract: A recording device includes a recording head housed in a carriage, and for discharging a droplet on an obverse surface of a medium to perform recording on the medium, a support section having a support surface for supporting a reverse surface of the medium, and a heater for heating the droplet adhered to the obverse surface of the medium. The carriage is provided with a collection section capable of collecting steam generated when the droplet is heated by the heater. The recording head includes a nozzle cover provided with a plurality of holes for discharging the droplet. The nozzle cover includes a nozzle surface opposed to the support surface The collection section is formed of a material higher in hydrophilic property than the nozzle surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2021
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Akina Tsuji
  • Liquid discharge head having a wiring substrate with surface wirings connected at both ends via through-wirings
    Patent number: 10889115
    Abstract: There is provided a liquid discharge head including a first wiring through which a drive signal is input to a wiring substrate, in which the wiring substrate has a substrate having a first surface and a second surface that opposes the first surface, a second wiring formed on the first surface, a third wiring formed on the second surface, a fourth wiring and a fifth wiring that pass through the substrate and electrically couples the second wiring with the third wiring, and an electrode provided on the second wiring and electrically couples the second wiring with the first wiring, and the electrode is positioned between a first coupling point at which the fourth wiring is electrically coupled to the second wiring and a second coupling point at which the fifth wiring is electrically coupled to the second wiring, in the second wiring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Eiju Hirai, Daisuke Yamada, Shingo Tomimatsu
  • Product alignment using a printed relief
    Patent number: 10889107
    Abstract: A printing system capable of accurately positioning a lenticular array in registration with a rectilinear raster includes a printer that is capable of printing onto a printable surface. The printer has a main support surface on which the printable surface rests. The system further includes a series of raised parallel relief features being spatially formed along a printable substrate that is supported by the main support surface. The raised parallel relief features are raised to a sufficient height above the printable substrate such that when the lenticular array is disposed upon the raised parallel relief features, each raised parallel relief feature fits and is disposed within a valley formed between two respective adjoining lenticules of the lenticular array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Assignee: TRACER IMAGING LLC
    Inventors: Steven M. Spiro, Stephen S. Daniell, Daniel L. Lau