Patents Examined by Kristal Feggins
  • Patent number: 11400705
    Abstract: In a liquid ejection apparatus, a controller of the liquid ejection apparatus is configured to, in response to receiving a recording instruction to instruct the liquid ejection apparatus to perform image recording on a recording medium, perform ejection inspection to determine whether liquid is ejected from each nozzle of a liquid ejection head toward an electrode based on a signal outputted from a signal output circuit. For the ejection inspection, the controller is configured to control a voltage applying circuit to apply an inspection voltage between the electrode and the liquid ejection head. In response to detecting that a leakage current greater than a predetermined value flows between the electrode and the liquid ejection head, the controller is configured to cancel the ejection inspection and control a voltage applying circuit to apply a reverse voltage opposite in polarity to the inspection voltage between the electrode and the liquid ejection head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Isao Kubo
  • Patent number: 11396185
    Abstract: A liquid container includes: a liquid containing section that stores liquid; a supply port joined to the liquid containing section, the supply port having an opening for supplying the liquid to an outside; a seal member disposed on an inner peripheral surface of the opening of the supply port; a cap configured to be attached to a position where it covers the supply port, the cap having a tubular protruding portion extending from a cap opening formed at a center of the cap, the protruding portion having a length sufficient to be inserted into the opening of the supply port; and a fixation portion that fixes the cap to the supply port, wherein the tubular protruding portion has a shape that abuts the seal member disposed on an inner peripheral surface of the opening when the cap is fixed to the supply port by the fixation portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2022
    Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Naoki Naito
  • Patent number: 11390077
    Abstract: A first channel member of a fluid discharge head includes a plurality of discharge holes, a plurality of pressurization chambers individually linked to the discharge holes, and first and second shared channels linked to the pressurization chambers. The first shared channel opens at a plurality of first openings linked to the pressurization chambers, includes a first connection region that is a range of distribution of the plurality of first openings in the channel direction of the first shared channel. The second shared channel opens at a plurality of second openings linked to the plurality of pressurization chambers. The second shared includes a second connection region that is a range of distribution of the plurality of second openings in the channel direction of the second shared channel. The first channel member further includes a bypass channel linked to the first and second connection regions in parallel with the pressurization chambers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: KYOCERA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yusaku Kaneko, Wataru Ikeuchi
  • Patent number: 11390089
    Abstract: In one example in accordance with the present disclosure, a print liquid supply is described. The print liquid supply includes a reservoir for holding a supply of print liquid. The reservoir includes a pliable body having a front face and a back face. The print liquid supply also includes a spout affixed to the reservoir. The spout is located at a corner of the front face offset from a centerline of the front face.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Judson M. Leiser, Michael E. Peterschmidt, Peter R. Stokes
  • Patent number: 11383518
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to an induced electrohydrodynamic jet printing apparatus including an induced auxiliary electrode, and the induced electrohydrodynamic jet printing apparatus including an induced auxiliary electrode according to the present disclosure includes a nozzle for discharging supplied solution towards an opposite substrate through a nozzle hole formed at one end; a main electrode coated with an insulator and interpolated inside the nozzle, thus not contacting the solution inside the nozzle but separated from the solution; the induced auxiliary electrode made of a conductive material and formed at an outer surface of the nozzle; and a voltage supply for applying voltage to the main electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: Enjet Co. Ltd.
    Inventors: Do Young Byun, Yong Hee Jang, Vu Dat Nguyen
  • Patent number: 11383528
    Abstract: A liquid discharge apparatus includes a heater configured to heat a medium, a detector configured to detect a temperature of the heater, a conveyor configured to convey the medium during a printing operation, and circuitry configured to control the heater to heat the medium with a first output during a preheating operation before the printing operation, control the heater to heat the medium with a second output that is equal to or higher than the first output when the temperature of the heater reaches a predetermined threshold value to complete the preheating operation, and control the conveyor to start conveying the medium to start the printing operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventor: Masafumi Yamada
  • Patent number: 11383511
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus includes a liquid chamber, a first electrode pin and a second electrode pin which are inserted into the liquid chamber, application unit for applying a voltage between the first electrode pin and the second electrode pin, and detection unit for detecting a current which flows between the first electrode pin and the second electrode pin, the image recording apparatus has: a first period in which the application unit applies the voltage between the first electrode pin and the second electrode pin, with the first electrode pin as an anode side and the second electrode pin as a cathode side, and the detection unit detects the current; and a second period in which the application unit applies the voltage between the first electrode pin and the second electrode pin, with the first electrode pin as the cathode side and the second electrode pin as the anode side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yosuke Takagi, Chiaki Muraoka, Akira Goto, Kyosuke Toda
  • Patent number: 11376848
    Abstract: To realize high-quality printing with less printing distortion by reducing an influence of a Coulomb force that acts between ink particles which are ejected in an inkjet recording device. The inkjet recording device is configured to charge ink particles ejected from a nozzle, deflect the charged ink particles, and print a character in a shape of an object to be printed. In the inkjet recording device, dots of each column of the character to be printed are divided into a plurality of blocks in a column direction. In addition, charging voltage data in which the order of the ink particles corresponding to the dots is switched in the divided block unit is stored, and a predetermined charging voltage is applied to the charging electrode on the basis of the charging voltage data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: An Kyu, Takashi Kawano, Tsuneaki Takagishi, Manabu Kato
  • Patent number: 11376867
    Abstract: The printing apparatus includes a support part (platen) configured to support a recording medium (roll sheet), a printing part (printing unit) configured to form an image by discharging ink to a roll sheet supported on a platen while reciprocating in a main scanning direction, and a drying acceleration part configured to accelerate drying of the ink discharged by the printing unit and applied on the roll sheet in a state where the roll sheet is supported on the platen, in which a drying capacity of the drying acceleration part is higher in an end region of the platen than in a central region of the platen in a reciprocation direction of the printing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Seiji Ihara
  • Patent number: 11376842
    Abstract: A controller for operating a print head is described, which controller is designed to shift the activation points in time of the print head for printing of different lines of a print image on a recording medium relative to the line signal points in time, said line signal points in time being dependent on the transport velocity of the recording medium, such that the print head is operated with quantized operating frequencies from a set of predefined quantized operating frequencies. The print quality of the print head may thus be increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Production Printing Holding B.V.
    Inventors: Ulrich Stöckle, Florian Hitzlsperger
  • Patent number: 11376862
    Abstract: The fluid ejection device includes a plurality of nozzles and a plurality of ejection chambers that includes a respective ejection chamber fluidically coupled to a respective nozzle. A plurality of inlet passages are fluidically coupled to the ejection chambers and input fluid to the ejection chambers at a first pressure. A plurality of outlet passages are fluidically coupled to the ejection chambers and output fluid from the ejection chambers at a second pressure that is less than the first pressure. Fluid circulates through the ejection chambers based on the pressure difference between the first and second pressure. The fluid ejection device also includes at least one micropump fluidically coupled to at least one ejection chamber to pump fluid through the at least one ejection chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: James R. Przybyla, Jordan E. Morris
  • Patent number: 11376864
    Abstract: A thermal printer includes a thermal head, a temperature sensor, and a controller. The thermal head includes heat generation elements configured to generate heat to perform printing. The temperature sensor is disposed in the thermal printer. The controller is configured to alternately turns on and off the heat generation elements during an idle state of the thermal printer for a number of cycles with a predetermined on-time period in each cycle. The controller determines the number of cycles and the predetermined on-time period based on temperature data obtained by the temperature sensor, such that heat energy generated by the heat generation elements during each of the cycles in the idle state is lower than heat energy generated by the heat generation elements during printing of one line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Tsutomu Kawamoto
  • Patent number: 11376865
    Abstract: A printer includes a print head portion for printing on a label paper, a feeding portion for feeding the label paper, a cutter portion for cutting the label paper, and a controller for controlling operations of the print head portion, the feeding portion, and the cutter portion. The label paper includes a bent portion that is generated in a portion right after unrolled from a label roll and changes in accordance with a label roll diameter. The controller is configured to control the feeding portion to feed the label paper by a constant length set in advance with respect to a predetermined label roll diameter so that a cutting operation by the cutter portion is performed at a position past a bent portion generated when the label roll diameter is larger than the predetermined diameter if the feeding operation for the label paper meets a predetermined condition set in advance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignees: CITIZEN WATCH CO., LTD., CITIZEN SYSTEMS JAPAN CO.
    Inventor: Yukihisa Kato
  • Patent number: 11369781
    Abstract: A fluid dispensing cartridge includes a housing body having a proximal end wall, a distal end wall, a fluid chamber, and a hollow throat portion. The fluid chamber is in fluid communication with the hollow throat portion. The proximal end wall provides a proximal termination of the fluid chamber and the distal end wall provides a distal termination of the hollow throat portion. A plurality of electrical contacts face proximally from the proximal end wall. The fluid dispensing cartridge includes a fluid jetting chip that has a plurality of fluid jetting nozzles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: FUNAI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: James D. Anderson, Jr., Michael A. Marra, III
  • Patent number: 11370222
    Abstract: A liquid supply device for use in a printer is provided, which includes a mounting base on which a storing body filled with liquid is mountable, a tube capable of supplying the liquid from the storing body to the printer, a connector coupled to the tube and configured to be detached from the storing body, and moreover provided with a grip portion, and a cover configured to move to a first position for covering the grip portion and a second position for not covering the grip portion, in a state in which the connector is attached to the storing body mounted on the mounting base.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Seiya Hayashi, Akira Mashima
  • Patent number: 11364723
    Abstract: A liquid cartridge includes: a housing including first and second protrusions; and a circuit board including an electrode. The first protrusion is positioned rearward but the second protrusion is positioned forward relative to the circuit board. When viewed in a width direction crossing a gravitational direction, an outline of the liquid cartridge between a first point and a second point is lower than an imaginary line. The imaginary line passes through the first point on the first protrusion and the second point on the second protrusion. A distance between a front edge of the electrode and the first point is smaller than a distance between the front edge and the second point. A dimension between a front end and a rear end of the second protrusion is greater than a distance between a frontmost end of the housing and the front end of the second protrusion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Akinari Ishibe
  • Patent number: 11364724
    Abstract: A logic circuitry package for a replaceable print apparatus component includes an interface to communicate with a print apparatus logic circuit and at least one logic circuit including a memory storing a reference parameter. The at least one logic circuit is configured to receive, via the interface, a first request sent to a first address to read the reference parameter; and transmit, via the interface, the reference parameter in response to the first request. The at least one logic circuit is configured to receive, via the interface, a second request sent to a second address to implement a task; and implement the task to output a digital value via the interface in response to the second request. The reference parameter corresponds to the digital value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: James Michael Gardner, David B. Novak
  • Patent number: 11364720
    Abstract: A print liquid supply interface structure is provided, to fluidically connect a fluid supply container to a receiving station, comprising a liquid channel having at least one liquid channel wall, the liquid channel including a liquid interface, and at least one key pen next and parallel to the needle receiving portion of the liquid channel, protruding from a base over more than 10 millimeters. In another example a key pen structure is provided. In yet another example an interface structure for receiving a separate key pen is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Judson M. Leiser, Miquel Boleda Busquets, Bernd Karlsboeck, David Olsen, Michael E. Peterschmidt
  • Patent number: 11364733
    Abstract: An ink ribbon feeding mechanism includes a cartridge mounting section, a first paying out rotor which is inserted into a first paying out core when a cartridge is being mounted in the cartridge mounting section, and a plurality of rotor side engaging portions which are provided on the first paying out rotor and which engage with a plurality of core side engaging portions when the first paying out rotor rotates. The rotor side engaging portion has an butting portion. When the cartridge is being mounted in the cartridge mounting section, the core side engaging portion butts against the butting portion, one or the other of the first paying out core and the first paying out rotor rotates, the rotor side engaging portion is inserted into the core side insertion recessed portion. A plurality of the butting portions are provided in positions different from each other in a cartridge mounting direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akio Ishimoto, Taishi Sasaki, Tomoyuki Kubota
  • Patent number: 11358396
    Abstract: A printer includes, a casing, a cover provided swingably, the cover covering an opening portion of the casing, a printing portion configured to print on a print medium, a ribbon supply shaft configured to hold an ink ribbon to be supplied to the printing portion, and a printing unit provided swingably, in a state where the printing unit is accommodated in the cover, rotation of the ribbon supply shaft is permitted, and when the open end side of the printing unit is separated from the cover and the ribbon supply shaft is placed at a ribbon replacement position where the ink ribbon is attachable and detachable, the rotation of the ribbon supply shaft is regulated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: SATO HOLDINGS KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yasuyuki Kakui, Takayoshi Jinnouchi