Patents Examined by Howard J Sanders
  • Patent number: 11964835
    Abstract: A medium feeding device includes a storage unit that stores media in a form of a sheet, a delivery unit that is disposed downstream in a medium delivery direction relative to the media stored in the storage unit and that delivers the media individually, a transfer unit that is disposed above the storage unit and that adheres by suction to each of the media stored in the storage unit and transfers the media to the delivery unit, and a fluffing unit that is disposed beside the media stored in the storage unit in a direction intersecting the medium delivery direction. The fluffing unit fluffs an upper-side region of the media in a state of being separated, by blowing air toward a side of the media during a feeding job of the media and during a post-feeding period that is a predetermined period after completion of the feeding job.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventors: Yuichi Araki, Masahito Niwa
  • Patent number: 11964473
    Abstract: A printing apparatus includes an image formation unit, a tray on which a medium is placed, a movement unit, and a control unit. The image formation unit includes a first head forming a first image and a second head forming a second image. The movement unit is provided so as to be capable of moving the tray to a first position at which the medium is placed and a second position serving as a reference position. The control unit switches between a first mode and a second mode. In the first mode, a starting position is moved to an image forming region, and the tray is not moved to the second position, and a movement direction is changed to form the first image and the second image. In the second mode, after the first image is formed, the tray is moved to the second position, and then the movement direction is changed to form the second image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Yohei Nunokawa
  • Patent number: 11964836
    Abstract: The image forming apparatus may include a main body and a cassette to enter or exit the main body along a first direction to be mounted in or released from the main body, respectively. The cassette may include a supporter extendable in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction to protrude from an exterior of the main body. The main body may include a lever which is movable in the first direction between a supporting position at which the lever supports the main body and a release position at which to allow the cassette to enter or exit the main body along the first direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Hoil Lee
  • Patent number: 11964840
    Abstract: A feeding apparatus for feeding a sheet-shaped medium includes: a stacking plate on which sheet-shaped media are stacked; a suction transport belt that is disposed above the stacking plate and causes a topmost one of the stacked sheet-shaped media to be sucked onto a belt lower surface and then rotates to carry out the topmost sheet-shaped medium to a destination; and a surrounding member that is provided in a hanging-down manner at least at left and right positions in a carrying-out direction around the suction transport belt so as to be movable up and down, surrounds a space below the belt lower surface, and is moved upward by contact with the sheet-shaped medium that is being sucked.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventor: Shoichi Maeda
  • Patent number: 11952229
    Abstract: A control device executes: either a first conveyance change control or a second conveyance change control; and a retraction control when an operation device receives an interruption operation during execution of a specified number stack control. In the first conveyance change control, a sheet conveyance device of a target unit is changed to a relay conveyance state, and the sheet conveyance device of another coupled unit that is present downstream of the target unit in a main conveyance direction is changed to a stack conveyance state. In the second conveyance change control, the sheet conveyance device of another coupled unit that is present upstream in the main conveyance direction is changed to the stack conveyance state. In the retraction control, a lift mechanism of the target unit is caused to execute a mount operation by which a stack tray is moved down to a mount position on a carriage portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Takeshi Matsuo
  • Patent number: 11952233
    Abstract: A perforation device includes a shaft, a perforation motor, at least a first perforation portion, at least a second perforation portion, at least a first cam for reciprocating a first perforation blade in the first perforation portion, at least a second cam for reciprocating a second perforation blade in the second perforation portion, a rotation speed detecting portion, a home position detecting portion, and a controller. In second perforation processing in which the shaft is rotated one turn to perform first perforation with the first perforation portion and second perforation with the second perforation portion in sequence, the controller senses, with the rotation speed detecting portion, the rotation speed of the shaft after the first perforation blade penetrates the sheet in the first perforation and, based on the rotation speed detecting, the controller determines the timing of starting braking control in the second perforation and performs braking control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventors: Rina Okada, Masahiko Miyazaki
  • Patent number: 11945212
    Abstract: A printer includes a print station; a media transport mechanism arranged for conveying print media on a transport path past the print station, the transport mechanism having a support surface for supporting the media; and a vacuum device arranged for attracting the media against the support surface on a section of the transport path downstream of the print station. The vacuum device is divided, in the direction along the transport path, into at least two segments in which the media are attractable with different non-zero suction pressures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: CANON PRODUCTION PRINTING HOLDING B.V.
    Inventors: Marcel J. H. M. Haenen, Ludovicus M. Heijnders
  • Patent number: 11932506
    Abstract: The present invention provides a sheet stacking device, a counter-ejector, and a carton former and is provided with: a hopper unit that stacks cardboard boxes; feed rollers that feed a cardboard box to the hopper unit; a first blower device that blows air from above the hopper unit toward the cardboard box fed by the feed rollers; and a second blower device that blows air between the cardboard box stacked in the hopper unit and the cardboard box fed by the feed roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES MACHINERY SYSTEMS, LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Kanazawa, Yoshitomo Noda, Tomohiro Akaki, Koshi Tanimoto, Hideaki Nagai, Makoto Shimohatsubo
  • Patent number: 11932509
    Abstract: A conveyer includes: a supporting member which supports a roll body having a sheet wound therearound; a conveyance roller which conveys the sheet; a guide member; an urging member which urges the guide member; a sensor; and a controller. The controller is configured: to determine a target position of the guide member and a permissible position in accordance with the target position; to control a rotation amount of the supporting member and/or a rotation amount of the conveyance roller; to determine whether or not a position of the guide member exceeds the permissible position; and to perform a notification of a conveying error of the sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuji Nishigaki, Teruhito Hasegawa, Yuri Morishita
  • Patent number: 11912522
    Abstract: A discharge tray for loading thereon sheets to be discharged at a predetermined discharge angle by a discharge roller pair is provided. The discharge tray includes a loading surface provided at a predetermined first inclination angle with respect to a discharge direction of a sheet by the discharge roller pair so that a top of the sheet discharged by the discharge roller pair comes into contact with the loading surface, and a guide unit provided on the loading surface at a second inclination angle with respect to the loading surface so as to partially lift up the loaded sheet from the loading surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: RISO KAGAKU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Ryosuke Miyachi
  • Patent number: 11912523
    Abstract: A feeding device includes a loading unit at which a printing medium is loaded, a roller that transports the printing medium, a transport path member at which the roller is disposed, the transport path member constituting a transport path on which the printing medium is transported, a drive source that generates a drive force that rotates the roller, a clutch that is movable between a coupling position at which the drive force is transmitted to the roller, and a release position at which the drive force is not transmitted to the roller, and an operation unit for operating the clutch, in which the operation unit is provided at a position, on the transport path member, facing the printing medium being transported by the roller, and the roller is removable from the transport path member when the clutch is located at the release position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Takanori Umeda, Hiroaki Takei
  • Patent number: 11900752
    Abstract: A medium processing device includes a casing that has an opening through which an interior of the casing communicates with an exterior thereof, a first unit that is storable in the casing, with a first end thereof at a side of the opening, a second unit that is storable in the casing, with a second end thereof at the side of the opening, a conveyance section, including a roller, provided in the first unit, the conveyance section conveying a medium by rotating the roller, and a roller manual drive section that is provided in the first unit, and the is configured to allow the roller to be manually rotated. The roller manual drive section is provided in a vicinity of the first end of the first unit when the first unit is stored in the casing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Daisuke Miyazawa, Madoka Wakabayashi
  • Patent number: 11897724
    Abstract: A medium conveying apparatus includes a first conveying path, a second conveying path that is connected to the first conveying path, a third conveying path that is connected to the first conveying path and the second conveying path, and a skew corrector that blocks a first space between the first conveying path and the second conveying path when a medium conveyed along the first conveying path is skewed, and retreats from the first space when the medium is not skewed, wherein the skew corrector retreats from a second space between the second conveying path and the third conveying path when blocking the first space, and blocks the third space between the first conveying path and the third conveying path when retreating from the first space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: PFU LIMITED
    Inventor: Shogo Yoshita
  • Patent number: 11891259
    Abstract: A hold down finger for a finisher process tray contacts the top sheet of paper on a paper tray to prevent subsequently printed pages from disturbing pages disposed on the paper tray. The hold down finger includes gears that move a portion of the hold down finger that contacts the top sheet of paper from a retracted position to a forward hold down position along a substantially elliptical path. After each sheet is printed and placed on top of other pages in the paper tray, the paper tray lowers and the hold down finger continues along the substantially elliptical path back to the retracted position. A rack gear associated with the paper tray engages a cylindrical gear of the hold down finger to return the hold down finger to the retracted position if the paper tray is forced upwards while the hold down finger is in the forward position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: Toshiba TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: William M. Connors, Donn D. Bryant, Brad W. Towe
  • Patent number: 11884506
    Abstract: A medium conveying apparatus includes a plurality of feed rollers, each feed roller rotating independently at a respective speed to feed a medium, a first sensor located on a downstream side of the plurality of feed rollers in a medium conveying direction and also in a central part in a direction perpendicular to the medium conveying direction, to detect the medium, a second sensor and a third sensor located on both sides of the first sensor in the direction perpendicular to the medium conveying direction, to respectively detect the medium, and a processor to change the speed of one of the plurality of feed rollers at least until the first sensor detects the medium when any of the second sensor or the third sensor detects the medium and the first sensor does not detect the medium within a predetermined time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: PFU LIMITED
    Inventors: Takayuki Umi, Shigeharu Okano
  • Patent number: 11872807
    Abstract: A roller pair includes lower and upper rollers that contact each other at a conveyance path. A platen is located downstream of the roller pair in the conveyance path, and has an end facing toward a surface. A recording head faces the platen from above and ejects ink to a sheet. A movement mechanism moves the platen and the lower roller in conjunction with movement of a tray in a drawing direction such that: the end of the platen moves from a first support position at which the platen supports a sheet to a first lower position at which the platen is separated farther downward from the recording head than at the first support position; and the lower roller moves from a contact position at which the lower roller contacts the upper roller to a second lower position at which the lower roller is separated downward from the upper roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Satoshi Miyase, Masao Mimoto
  • Patent number: 11866280
    Abstract: A document feeder includes a document placement member that has a placement surface, a sucker that has a suction surface on which a part of a document placed on the placement surface is sucked and sucks air from a space formed between the document placement member and the suction surface, a blower that blows air into the space, and a paper feeder that conveys the document in a conveyance direction along the placement surface, wherein the suction surface is inclined relative to the placement surface such that the space is narrower toward the upstream side in the conveyance direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: PFU LIMITED
    Inventor: Yoshito Hirai
  • Patent number: 11834286
    Abstract: A paper feeder, includes: a sheet storage that stores sheets; a pick roller that delivers the sheets stored in the sheet storage to a downstream side of a conveyance path; a pair of conveyance rollers that is located on a downstream side of the pick roller in the conveyance path and conveys the sheets delivered from the pick roller to further downstream side in the conveyance path; a drive source that drives the pair of conveyance rollers; and a hardware processor that cleans the pair of conveyance rollers by driving the drive source to rotate the pair of conveyance rollers in a state of being in contact with each other, when the pick roller cannot deliver sheets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: Konica Minolta, Inc.
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Tokuno, Masatoshi Hitaka
  • Patent number: 11827039
    Abstract: An arrangement includes a receipt printer for printing a receipt arranged in a housing. The housing includes a pivoting lid which in an open state allows access to the receipt printer and in a closed state prevents access to the receipt printer. The lid has an opening through which a receipt printed by the receipt printer can be output in the closed state. The arrangement has a receipt output unit which in the closed state is arranged in the opening of the lid opposite to the receipt printer, at least a first receipt guiding unit and at least a first elastically deformable element for spring-mounting at least one component of the first receipt guiding unit. The receipt printer has a second receipt guiding unit. The first receipt guiding unit is engaged with the second receipt guiding unit when the lid is moved from the open state into the closed state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2023
    Assignee: Diebold Nixdorf Systems GmbH
    Inventor: Sascha Groepper
  • Patent number: 11827480
    Abstract: An automatic document feeder includes a media path to route media through the automatic document feeder, and an automated media tray to receive the media from the media path, with the automated media tray to be positioned based on input of the media to the media path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2023
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Rene O. Valenzuela-Rivas, Ryan M. Smith, Ki Jung Han, Michael V. Leman