Patents Examined by Christopher Bennett
  • Patent number: 6302019
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for adjusting skew settings in a dampener in a printing press. One or more skew adjustment linkages connect skew adjustment rods for the upper and lower dampeners of each printing unit. The linkage ensures that a single movement by the operator will allow adjustment of the skewing of both the upper and lower dampeners at the same time. The linkage or linkages are preferably connected at one end to skew adjustment brackets, which in turn are connected to a skew adjustment rod for one of the upper or lower dampeners. The skew adjustment rod adjusts the amount of skew of associated pan rolls. Movement of the linkage may be controlled by movement of a spring plunger, which is connected to the linkage or linkages. The spring plunger may be spring biased, and may be adjusted and locked into different skew setting positions using a pinhole arrangement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2001
    Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
    Inventors: Roland Thomas Palmatier, Clifford Allen Zabkar, Brian Robert Elkinson, David Charles Burke
  • Patent number: 6145976
    Abstract: An additive is dispersed in a matrix having a larger thermal expansion coefficient, which forms a film that prevents the permeation of the ink at the room temperature while allowing the permeation of the ink at high temperature. An ink roller is formed by covering a roller-like sponge body containing ink (an ink holder) with the film. Along the outer circumference of the ink roller, a thermal head that heats the surface of the ink roller according to a print pattern and a platen roller that sandwiches recording sheet between itself and the ink roller are disposed. Then, by rotating the ink roller and heating the thermal head, the ink permeates through the heated part of the film and is transferred to the recording sheet to form an ink image on the recording sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2000
    Assignee: Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Minoru Suzuki, Masahiko Sasaki, Katsuyoshi Suzuki, Katsumi Kawamura
  • Patent number: 6138565
    Abstract: A guide blade for guiding sheets in a printing machine in in-line or perfecting mode processes employing trailing edge turning, the guide blade has a front edge and an end piece, and air nozzels located in a flow surface extending from the front edge along the end piece. The air nozzels are connected to a source of pressurized gas, and direct pressurized gas in the direction of travel of the sheets. A plurality of parallel, spaced-apart, guiding fins project downwardly from the flow surface. The guiding fins have downstream ends which are spaced further away from the flow surface than the upstream ends thereof. The sheet, along with the guiding fins and the flow surface, create a diverging flow channel below the end piece of the guide blade, inducing a partial vacuum in the flow channel, which maintains the sheet in contact with said guide blade. The guide fins include air nozzels and the angle between the guiding fins and the flow surface can be adjusted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2000
    Assignee: Koenig & Bauer AG
    Inventors: Michael Koch, Gunter Lucius
  • Patent number: 6125757
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to a web fed rotary printing press which can perform a printing plate change on the fly, while preventing the printing plate from touching an associated moving blanket cylinder. In accordance with exemplary embodiments, a nip roller is used to securely press the printing plate toward the plate cylinder during printing plate replacement, such that only a small gap exists between the stopped plate cylinder and the moving blanket cylinder. As such, the entire printing unit need not be modified to account for ink train cylinder movement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2000
    Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
    Inventor: Michael Robert Lemelin
  • Patent number: 6123471
    Abstract: A medium tracking bar is incorporated into an imaging device for preventing wrinkles or buckling of a medium strip sliding over and touching the medium tracking bar, the medium tracking bar being centrally pivoted to the imaging device by a connecting piece and being centrally pivoted by an elastic element to allow the medium tracking bar to swing like a teeter-totter board in any direction to counteract an uneven stress problem on the medium strip due to a misalignment of the medium strip and to realign the medium strip when it passes through the device thereby to prevent wrinkles or buckling of the medium strip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2000
    Assignee: Eltron International, Inc.
    Inventors: Douglas L. Harb, Thomas M. Zevin, Alexander Peter
  • Patent number: 6113294
    Abstract: A head 18 and a cutting unit 23 are provided. The head 18 prints on a print layer of a laminated tape formed by laminating the print layer to a separation layer. The cutting unit 23 cuts the print tape transported from the head 18. A partial cutting unit B for cutting only the print layer and a full cutting unit A for completely cutting the tape are provided. A repetition print control means 47 and a first control means 48 are provided. The repetition print control means 47 controls the head 18 to print the same print content repeatedly for a plurality of times following the lengthwise direction of the print layer while sandwiching the print content between a non-printed areas having a predetermined width. The first control means 48 operates the partial cutting unit B to cut only the print layer in the non-printed areas formed before each print portion by the repetition print control means 47.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2000
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Akihiko Niwa
  • Patent number: 6101945
    Abstract: There is disclosed an apparatus for identifying a page of printing plate or printed product. The apparatus comprises reading head means for reading out at least one of items in a local descriptive portion of the page of printing plate or printed product. The apparatus further comprises identifying means for identifying the page of printing plate or printed product in accordance with the read out data transmitted from the reading head means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2000
    Assignee: Baldwin-Japan, Ltd.
    Inventors: Akira Hara, Yoshio Tsukamoto, Takeo Onda
  • Patent number: 6102595
    Abstract: A sheet supply apparatus can be releasably attached to a printer. The sheet supply apparatus includes a frame having a sheet conveyance surface, and a shaft arranged above the sheet conveyance surface and having protrusions for correcting inclined feeding of a sheet while conveying the sheet. A plurality of supply sensors are disposed above the sheet conveyance surface at positions beyond the shaft, and in a line parallel to the shaft, for detecting presence or absence of a sheet. The sensors can also detect the size of the sheet to control the carrier of the printer to realize a random set of the sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2000
    Assignees: Fujitsu Limited, Fujitsu Isotec Limited
    Inventors: Fumihiro Satoh, Haruhiko Yashima, Hideaki Kumasaka
  • Patent number: 6102596
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a printing apparatus for use with portable terminals, measuring instruments, etc. and more particularly to a printing apparatus equipped with a paper cutter having a function for cutting recording paper after printing, and it aims at providing a printing apparatus equipped with a paper cutter that is small, light and thin with considerably a simple structure. In order to achieve this object, the printing apparatus equipped with a paper cutter of the invention is so constructed that a portion of a cutter motor (31) fits in a space provided adjacent to a printer motor (25) when a cutter unit (27) and a printer unit (21) are assembled in piles, and, with this structure, either both or one of the motors are able to utilize efficiently spaces or a space available adjacent to the both or the other of the motors, thereby providing the printing apparatus equipped with a paper cutter, which is small, light and thin with considerably a simple structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2000
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masayoshi Komori, Tohru Arakawa, Shozoh Shiraga, Yuji Doi, Toshio Tanaka, Kazumine Koshi
  • Patent number: 6098540
    Abstract: An apparatus and method which reduces solid mottling in an offset printing press. One or more form rolls having a hard elastomeric outer surface, in the range of approximately 50-100 Shore A durometer hardness, preferably approximately 60-90 Shore A durometer hardness, are used to transfer ink to the plate cylinder. The use of a form roll of this type ensures a smoother application of ink to the plate cylinder, which in turn ensures smoother ink application to the blanket cylinder and printed web. If more than one form roll is used, it is preferable that, at a minimum, the final form roll, i.e., the last form roll the plate cylinder contacts in the direction of rotation, be a hard elastomeric form roll. In another aspect of the present invention, the form rolls can be made of a convex shape along their axial length, such that the diameter of the form rolls at their axial center is larger than the diameter of the form rolls at their axial ends.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2000
    Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
    Inventors: James Brian Vrotacoe, Edward Ellis Urquhart
  • Patent number: 6099177
    Abstract: An engraving head that includes a movement mechanism for moving an engraving stylus within the body housing of the engraving apparatus is provided. The movement of the engraving stylus causes the tip of the engraving stylus to approach and recede from an engraving surface. The movement mechanism contains a movable body and a first energizing means. The movable body moves in association with a movement space member's inner circumference. The movement space member is positioned inside the body housing. The first energizing means is employed to energize the movable body in a direction away from the engraving surface. Additionally, a second energizing means serves to energize the movable body in a direction towards the engraving surface against the opposing energizing force of the first energizing means. The second energizing means may be, for example, compressed gas. As the movable body travels downward towards the engraving surface, the tip portion of the engraving stylus also approaches the engraving surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2000
    Assignee: Ando Electric Co., Inc.
    Inventor: Tomoo Ito
  • Patent number: 6095703
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus, having a recording head and a pair of transport rollers in front of the recording head and another pair of transport rollers behind the recording head, with a larger transport speed for a recording sheet in the latter pair for applying a suitable tension on the recording sheet, is capable of detecting the remaining amount of the sheet in front of the first pair and varying the transport speed and/or the recording area of the recording head after the rear end of the sheet leaves the first paired roller. Consequently, a potential error in record position, resulting from sheet advancement by the second paired rollers only, can be compensated. In this manner the area of precise image recording on the sheet can be expanded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2000
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Sohei Tanaka, Akio Takeda, Yasuhiro Numata
  • Patent number: 6092945
    Abstract: The object of the present invention is to facilitate setting plain paper in a printer which can print on plain paper and a label paper. To achieve the above object, a printer according to the present invention is constituted as follows: A printer capable of printing a recording medium including a base sheet and at least one label sheet detachably adhered thereon comprising: a print head and platen opposing to each other for printing the recording medium; a first printer housing for housing the platen; a second printer housing movably connected to the first housing for housing the print head; an ejection port, defined at the border of the first and second printer housings, from which the recording medium is ejected after printed by the print head and platen; and a separator for curving the base sheet ejected from the ejection port to separate the leading edge of the label sheet from the base sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2000
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Toru Takami, Toshihiro Tsukada
  • Patent number: 6092940
    Abstract: A printer for printing on a manually moved print medium. The printer may use thermal or inkjet printing and has user feedback and input. A roller-type position detector enables the printer to be used without a mechanical paper drive mechanism. The printer monitors the print medium as the print medium is propelled through the printer to identify when particular printing fields are aligned to the printhead. The printer then activates the printhead to print image portions in the printing fields. An alternative embodiment of the printer uses a flexible mounting of the printhead. In this embodiment, the paper roll diameter is determined in conjunction with monitoring the rotation of the paper roll to determine the position of the paper without requiring a roller-type position detector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2000
    Assignee: Intermec IP Corporation
    Inventors: Christopher A. Wiklof, Joseph R. Wade
  • Patent number: 6089154
    Abstract: A thin film formation apparatus includes a printing roll having an elastic letterpress of resin or rubber fitted at a part of a surface of a cylinder part and, an intaglio roll rotating while facing the printing roll, thereby transferring ink to a surface of the elastic letterpress through contact with the printing roll. The thin film formation apparatus further includes a pair of printing roll side contact bodies on a drum portion or a rotating shaft of the printing roll, and a pair of intaglio roll side contact bodies on a drum portion or a rotating shaft of the intaglio role. The printing roll side contact bodies and the intaglio roll side contact bodies continuously contact each other, at least before and during the contact of the elastic letterpress with the intaglio roll, to form a thin film of uniform film thickness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2000
    Assignee: Nissha Printing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenichi Masaki, Shinya Yamada, Daisuke Miura
  • Patent number: 6089153
    Abstract: An economical device for applying a wetting agent in the form of small droplets to a cylinder includes nozzles which are supplied continuously with pressurized wetting agent arranged along the cylinder. An adjustment element in the spray area of the nozzles doses the wetting agent application that is maximally one printed page wide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2000
    Assignee: MAN Roland Druckmaschinen AG
    Inventors: Stephan Regele, Manfred Batke
  • Patent number: 6085653
    Abstract: A method for producing printed matter comprises the steps of preparing a flexographic printing form, providing a printing form attachment means having an adherent sticky surface area on a plate cylinder of a printing press, removably attaching the flexographic printing form to the said printing form attachment means and thus to the plate cylinder and printing the printed matter on the printing press using the thus removably attached flexographic printing form.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2000
    Assignee: Winkle Holding, B.V.
    Inventors: Jan Goovaard, Hendrik Nijen Twilhaar, Jan Willem Boers
  • Patent number: 6086274
    Abstract: The present invention is concerned with a line printer for the digital output and calorimetric measuring of colored images, comprising a housing, a paper feeder, a paper discharge means, a printer carriage movable in a direction transverse to the paper feed plus printing head and flexible printer cable, a transporting roller for the paper feed and a printer controller for the control of the printing functions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2000
    Inventor: Ulrich Krzyminski
  • Patent number: 6082913
    Abstract: In conventional cartridges, the image receiving tape is formed as a roll of long tape, which is taken up by a tape supply roll and accommodated in a case, so that the image receiving tape after printing becomes curly; when or after separating the separation tape of the image receiving tape, it tends to, for example, become inclined when glued to a predetermined place, thus making it difficult to handle.In view of this, in the cartridge K of the present invention, the recording member 16 is formed as a strip and accommodated in a second case 12 in a flat state, whereby the recording member after recording does not become curly, thereby making it easier to handle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2000
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Yamamoto, Hidenori Kiuchi
  • Patent number: 6079329
    Abstract: A method for producing printed matter comprises the steps of preparing a flexographic printing form, providing a printing form attachment means having an adherent sticky surface area on a plate cylinder of a printing press, removably attaching the flexographic printing form to the said printing form attachment means and thus to the plate cylinder and printing the printed matter on the printing press using the thus removably attached flexographic printing form.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2000
    Assignee: Winkle Holding, B.V.
    Inventors: Jan Goovaard, Hendrik Nijen Twilhaar, Jan Willem Boers