Patents Examined by L Ferguson
  • Patent number: 7946776
    Abstract: A sheet feeding procedure supplies recording media from a medium enclosing portion to a medium conveying path. An overlap-feed detecting procedure monitors a thickness of recording media supplied to the medium conveying path, thereby detecting the overlap-feed media. Sheet returning procedures (A) and (B) return the overlap-feed media into the medium enclosing portion when the overlap-feed media are detected. A looseness forming procedure applies rotational forces of different rotation speeds to upper and lower surfaces of the overlap-feed media during the medium returning procedure, thereby forming a looseness in the overlap-feed media. A medium re-feeding procedure supplies again the returned recording media to the medium conveying path from the medium enclosing portion. In the medium feed control, the overlap-feed can be further certainly recovered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2011
    Assignee: Oki Data Corporation
    Inventor: Masahiro Sonoda
  • Patent number: 7942095
    Abstract: A bag dispenser feeds a bag assembly for supplying bags to a work station for manual removal from the bag assembly as needed. Each bag is printed with information such as packing date or packing location prior to reaching the work station.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2011
    Assignee: Greydon, Inc.
    Inventors: Derril R. Cady, Thomas L. Glatfelter, Jr.
  • Patent number: 7934882
    Abstract: A printer is equipped with a supply roller for sending a piece of sheet from pieces of sheets stacked within a cassette; a pair of feed-in rollers for sending the piece of sheet supplied from the supply roller toward a printing region; and a sheet sensor provided between the supply roller and the pair of feed-in roller. The printer rotates the pair of feed-in rollers in a forward direction in a case that the sheet sensor detects presence of the sheet at a timing when it is found that printing data for a subsequent sheet is not stored within the printer. On the other hand, the printer rotates the supply roller in a reward direction when the sheet sensor detects non-presence of the sheet at the timing when it is found that the printing data for the subsequent sheet is not stored within the printer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2011
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuji Koga, Daisuke Kozaki
  • Patent number: 7931414
    Abstract: A printing apparatus and method can control vibration generated resulting from the movement of a carriage to be small even when a desired printing pattern, etc., may change. The carriage is moved based on a plurality of drive conditions, each specifying a different moving distance of the carriage, and a drive condition by which vibration generated at that time becomes not larger than a predetermined magnitude is set as a drive condition of the carriage when printing an image on a printing medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2011
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Seiji Takahashi
  • Patent number: 7918162
    Abstract: An apparatus for transporting sheets to or in a sheet-processing machine includes a gripper device having at least one gripper with a gripper housing and a gripper pad. The gripper is actuatable by a pivoting movement of a gripper shaft. The gripper housing and the gripper pad are pivotably disposed on the gripper shaft and are jointly pivotable about an axis of the gripper shaft under a prescribed periphery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2011
    Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
    Inventors: Markus Möhringer, Burkhard Wolf
  • Patent number: 7896566
    Abstract: A printing apparatus and method are capable of printing an image in a rear end area of a print medium. A sheet is transported by a transport roller and pinch rollers situated upstream of a print head with respect to the transport direction, and by a discharge roller and spurs situated downstream of the print head. After the sheet has left the transport roller and the pinch rollers, it is transported by the discharge roller and spurs. The sheet is printed with a test pattern for detecting a difference between a transport amount appearing before the sheet leaves the transport roller and pinch rollers and a transport amount appearing when the sheet leaves them. Based on a correction value set according to a printed result of the test pattern, the transport amount used when the sheet leaves the transport roller and pinch rollers is corrected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2011
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Haruyuki Yanagi
  • Patent number: 7883285
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus includes a sheet-supply tray device, a sheet-supply roller and an image recording device. The sheet-supply tray device includes a first tray which accommodates a plurality of first recording media on a first tray surface and a second tray which is placed on the first tray and accommodates a plurality of second recording media on a second tray surface thereof. The second tray includes a base portion which is supported on the first tray and a pivotable portion whose state is changeable between a stacked state in which the pivotable portion is supported on the first tray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2011
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tetsuo Asada, Yukio Shiohara
  • Patent number: 7883284
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus, including a sheet-supply tray device which accommodates and holds a plurality of recording sheets and which supplies the recording sheets, one by one, in a sheet-supply direction; and an image recording device which records an image on each of the recording sheets supplied from the sheet-supply tray device. The sheet-supply tray device includes a first tray which accommodates and holds at least one first sheet of the plurality of recording sheets; a second tray which accommodates at least one second sheet of the plurality of recording sheets, and which selectively takes a stacked posture thereof in which the second tray is stacked on the first tray, and an opening posture thereof in which at least a portion of the second tray opens at least a portion of the first tray; and at least one dropping preventing cover which prevents the at least one second sheet from dropping out of the second tray in a state in which the second tray takes the opening posture thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2011
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tetsuo Asada, Yukio Shiohara
  • Patent number: 7874752
    Abstract: It is intended to provide a printer which can prevent dust from entering and adhering to a printing medium, thereby avoiding entry of the dust to or near a print head, and can improve print quality. A first cover covers a first paper projection port through which paper as the printing medium is projected when the paper is inside a housing. This can prevent the entry of the dust through the first paper projection port to the housing. Furthermore, the first cover swings about a first engagement portion by pressure of a front end of the paper to cover the paper when the paper is projected through the first paper projection port in the forward feeding motion by the feeding device such as a paper feeding roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Noriko Kawabe, Hakudai Kondo, Shinji Kobayashi, Susumu Murata, Masato Kato, Atsushi Kasugai
  • Patent number: 7874248
    Abstract: Date can be printed on a business card in a business card case by realizing a business card case with a printing function. The business card case with a printing function includes an upper case (1) provided with a pressing rubber (12) and a pressing block (13) of a printing hammer, a lower case (2) connected to the upper case (1) so as to be freely opened and closed, a card containing section (3) formed in the case, a typing device in which a plurality of date printing type units coupled so as to move up and down among a plurality of type blocks each having a type formed on the upper surface are fixed to a type case (4), and a printing ribbon (5) for printing the date. The date is printed by pressing the print hammer and pressing the business card (34) against the type with the printing ribbon (5) interposed therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Inventor: Hayashi Hiroyuki
  • Patent number: 7871214
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a keyboard unit that includes a keyboard body having a key top and a detecting unit detecting water. The detecting unit is positioned on the keyboard body so as to facing to an under side of the key top.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2011
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Hironori Motoe, Ken Hatano
  • Patent number: 7857535
    Abstract: A method of controlling transport amounts of a pair of first rollers and a pair of second rollers, the pair of first rollers operable to nip a medium so as to transport the medium in a transport direction, the pair of second rollers operable to nip the medium so as to transport the medium and disposed at a downstream side of the pair of first rollers in the transport direction, the medium on which a recording is performed by a recording head disposed between the pair of first rollers and the pair of second rollers, the method includes performing a first correction with respect to the transport amounts of the pair of first rollers and the pair of second rollers; and performing a second correction with respect to the transport amounts of at least the pair of first rollers, from a state in which length between a trailing end of the medium and a nip point of the medium at which the medium is nipped by the pair of first rollers is a predetermined length to a state in which the medium is released from being nipped
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2010
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Kazuhisa Takeda, Hidetoshi Kodama
  • Patent number: 7849792
    Abstract: Objects to be printed are loaded one-by-one onto a conveyor extending through and upstream from a printing station in a longitudinally extending row in groups each having a predetermined number n of longitudinally aligned objects and a longitudinal length equal to n times a predetermined step length and with the groups separated in the row from one another by an empty gap having a short length equal to n?1 times the predetermined step length. The thus oriented objects are moved by the conveyor through the printing station in alternating long steps having a long length equal to n times the predetermined step length and short steps equal to n?1 times the predetermined step length such that with each long step one of the groups is positioned in the printing station. In the printing station the objects are taken off the conveyor, printed, and returned to the conveyor between the long steps.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2010
    Assignee: KBA-Metronic AG
    Inventors: Stefan Bauer, Alfred Bausenwein, Josef Kleinschnitz
  • Patent number: 7837401
    Abstract: A multifunction apparatus includes a belt drive mechanism configured to move a carriage reciprocally placed on guide rails. The belt drive mechanism is comprised of a drive pulley, a driven pulley, and a timing belt, which is stretched between the drive pulley and the driven pulley. The carriage includes a belt holder, which is configured to hold the timing belt, and a torsion coil spring, which is configured to urge elastically the belt holder to the carriage. The belt holder is disposed in a position to urge the carriage to one of the guide rail, and movable toward the guide rail relative to the carriage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2010
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Toshio Sugiura
  • Patent number: 7819596
    Abstract: A label making method for making a label where information is printed by a label printer; includes the step of making the label printer recognize a continuous plurality of data sets as single data sets to be printed on a single label. In this method, the plural data sets may be arranged in at least one direction of a line direction being a sending direction of the label and a row direction perpendicular to the line direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2010
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Takashi Komatsu
  • Patent number: 7815382
    Abstract: A cutter assembly for cutting printed media in a printer comprises a housing arranged for displacement across a media path, in a cutting direction at right angles to a media advance direction in the printer, a first rotary cutting blade carried on said housing such as to be positioned generally on the printed side of the media, and a second rotary cutting blade carried on said housing such as to be positioned generally on the side of the media opposite the printed side, the cutting blades being engageable with each other such as to cut the media between them, and the first rotary cutting blade being arranged upstream of the second rotary cutting blade in the media advance direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2010
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Antonio Monclus, Wei Kyan Goh
  • Patent number: 7780367
    Abstract: A cover operation member (41) is movably attached to the base frame to selectively latch and unlatch a platen (21) attached on the cover frame. The cover operation member (41) is in contact with the head bracket (32) so that the thermal head (31) is separated from the platen (21).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2010
    Assignee: NEC Infrontia Corporation
    Inventor: Yukio Yoshioka
  • Patent number: 7766570
    Abstract: A label producing device for producing an RFID label using a tag label tape with print includes a tape feed roller for feeding the tag label tape with print, a print head for performing printing on a print area provided in a cover film, a half-cut unit for cutting, on both end sides in the tape length direction of the tag label tape with print with respect to the print area, layers other than a separation sheet in the width direction to thereby form half-cut lines, and a cutting mechanism for cutting the tag label tape with print in the width direction on sides further toward the both ends in the tape length direction with respect to these two half-cut lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2010
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Satoru Moriyama, Koshiro Yamaguchi, Mitsugi Tanaka
  • Patent number: 7766569
    Abstract: The method comprises the steps of feeding media from a media roll, arranged about an axis, through an input driving device and an output driving device of the media advance mechanism, wherein the output driving device engages the media with lower friction than said input driving device; releasing said input driving device such that it does not engage the media; and causing the media to move in the media advance mechanism such that the media is pulled taut between the roll and the output driving device and later the media slips with respect to said output driving device, whereby the media is aligned at right angles to the roll axis by effect of the friction between the media and the output driving device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2010
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Eduardo Martin, Martin Urrutia, Antonio Monclus, Jordi Gimenez, David Claramunt
  • Patent number: 7747211
    Abstract: A booklet loading apparatus has a carry-out unit that sequentially carries out plural booklets to a predetermined carry-out position; a transfer unit that sequentially arranges the booklets carried out from the carry-out unit while the booklets overlap one another, the transfer unit transferring the booklets in a predetermined transfer direction, the transfer unit returning the booklet to an upstream side in the transfer direction once in each time when the booklet is carried out from the carry-out unit, then the transfer unit transferring the booklet in the transfer direction; a loading unit on which the booklet carried out by the transfer unit is loaded; and an orientation correcting unit arranged on the upstream side in the transfer direction with respect to the transfer position, the orientation correcting unit correcting an orientation of the booklet to a predetermined orientation by causing the booklet to abut on the orientation correcting unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2010
    Assignee: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiroaki Awano