Patents Examined by Lamson D. Nguyen
  • Patent number: 11027559
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for expanding a color gamut of a direct thermal printer is described. The method includes, in a three-color direct thermal printer having at least a print head, the print head including print head elements, dynamically adjusting a duty cycle of at least one of the colors depending on the color to be printed in each pixel of an image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2021
    Assignee: ZINK HOLDINGS, LLC
    Inventors: Brian D. Busch, James Peter Zelten
  • Patent number: 11016406
    Abstract: An image forming apparatuses includes an apparatus body configured to house a replacement part. The apparatus body includes a guiding face configured to guide a guided face of the replacement part. The guided face is on a side along a movement direction in which the replacement part moves between a set position in the apparatus body and an attaching and detaching position at which the replacement part is attached to and detached from the apparatus body. The apparatus further include a moving device configured to move the replacement part between the set position and the attaching and detaching position, and a pressing device configured to press the guided face of the replacement part against the guiding face of the apparatus body while the replacement part moves between the set position and the attaching and detaching position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2021
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masashi Ota, Masatoshi Ishida, Yohei Osanai, Satoshi Narai, Takayuki Andoh, Tomoya Fujii, Kunihiko Nishioka, Munekazu Hirata
  • Patent number: 11007790
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting section from which liquid is ejected. A return passage has a first end connected to a supply passage at a first location and a second end connected to the supply passage at a second location. The second location is positioned closer to the liquid ejecting section than the first location. The return passage and the supply passage constitute a circulating passage. A pump can cause fluid to flow through the circulating passage. A replaceable filter unit is a portion of the return passage. A discharge passage through which the fluid is discharged to the outside is connected to the return passage. An inflow controller can suppress external fluid from entering the discharge passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Masato Murayama, Takeshi Yoshida, Kaoru Koike, Ryoji Fujimori
  • Patent number: 11007776
    Abstract: A printer includes a print head and a processor. The print head ejects ink from nozzles to a printing medium while moving in a first direction, and also moves in a second direction intersecting with the first direction by a moving amount that is a dimension in the second direction of each of blocks into which the nozzles are divided in the second direction. Based on a position of the printing medium and the dimension, the processor determines whether to perform printing in a first mode or a second mode. A printing start position in the second direction of the print head is set such that a position in the second direction of one of boundaries between mutually adjacent blocks coincides, in the first mode, with a position of a back end of a printing region, and in the second mode, with a position of a front end of the printing region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Shuichi Yamasaki
  • Patent number: 11007781
    Abstract: Printheads for a jetting apparatus. In one embodiment, a printhead includes inlet ports each configured to receive one of eight or more types of print fluids, and a plurality of nozzles arranged in one or two nozzle rows. Each of the nozzles is fluidly coupled to one of the inlet ports. In groupings of eight or more adjacent nozzles of the plurality, the adjacent nozzles are each configured to jet a different one of the types of print fluids.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiroshi Nishimura
  • Patent number: 11001062
    Abstract: A liquid ejection head includes: a substrate in which a supply path which opens on a first surface and supplies an ejection liquid is formed; an insulating layer provided on the first surface of the substrate; an energy generating element provided on a surface of the insulating layer; an electric wiring layer electrically connected to the energy generating element and electrically insulated from the ejection liquid by the insulating layer; and an ejection orifice member which forms an ejection orifice and forms a flow path of the ejection liquid from an opening of the supply path to a formation position of the energy generating element. In the vicinity of the opening of the supply path, the insulating layer forms a recessed region by being dented closer to the substrate than the surface on which the energy generating element is provided or by being removed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2021
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Atsushi Teranishi, Masaya Uyama, Takeru Yasuda
  • Patent number: 10987934
    Abstract: A sealing structure for a liquid storage container includes a liquid supplying section having an opening for supplying a liquid in the liquid storage container, and a film member covering the opening. The liquid supplying section includes a flow path forming member having a flow path communicating with the opening, and a sealing member disposed in the flow path, and the flow path forming member has a welding protrusion protruding from a surface of the sealing member on the opening side, the film member is welded to the welding protrusion, and the film member and the sealing member are spaced from each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2021
    Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Naoki Naito
  • Patent number: 10987940
    Abstract: In some embodiments, a printing apparatus comprises a band capable of holding hot melt ink thereon, rollers configured and arranged to hold and transport the band with respect to a substrate, a printhead configured to thermally transfer a portion of hot melt ink from the band to the substrate to print on the substrate, an ink feed device configured to add hot melt ink to the band and to heat the hot melt ink on the band, and a rigid blade configured and arranged to cause hot melt ink to pass between a blade edge of the rigid blade and the band, wherein the rigid blade is shaped to minimize a contact area between the rigid blade and the band while controlling ink thickness of the hot melt ink on the band.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2021
    Assignee: Dover Europe Sarl
    Inventors: James M. Cheever, Aljosa Sarcevic, Stacey C. Goodale
  • Patent number: 10981380
    Abstract: A liquid discharge head includes a plurality of nozzles through which a liquid is discharged, the plurality of nozzles arrayed in a nozzle array direction, a plurality of pressure chambers respectively communicating with the plurality of nozzles, a plurality of individual channels respectively communicating with the plurality of pressure chambers, a common channel communicating with each of the plurality of individual channels, an individual-channel member including the plurality of pressure chambers and the plurality of individual channels, a common-channel member including the common channel, and a partition between the individual-channel member and the common-channel member. The partition includes a plurality of through-hole regions each connecting the common channel and the plurality of individual channels, and a plurality of recoverably-deformable regions facing the common channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2021
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Takahiro Yoshida
  • Patent number: 10974506
    Abstract: There is provided a charge electrode for charging ink droplets for continuous ink jet printing. The charge electrode has a generally cylindrical main body defining a generally cylindrical passage for the ink droplets, said passage extending along a travel axis that represents, in use, the position of an ink jet in ingress to the electrode and a direction of travel of the ink droplets once these have detached from the ink jet. The charge electrode comprises two distinct axially disposed regions: a first region for charging the droplets as required; and, a second region for screening the charged droplets from any electric fields which could undesirably affect the trajectory of the ink jet and/or the droplets. The second region may fully surround at least a portion of the travel axis. The invention therefore provides improved screening for the ink jet and/or the droplets. This may in turn enable better control of the charge applied to the charged droplets, and/or of their travel trajectory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Assignee: VIDEOJET TECHNOLOGIES INC.
    Inventors: Robert Smith, Salhadin Omer
  • Patent number: 10967644
    Abstract: An exterior body for storing a liquid storage body including a first main film, a second main film, and a first side film that define an interior space containing a liquid, the first side film having a gusset portion having a fold, the exterior body including an outer shell that forms a storage space storing the liquid storage body, and a pressing portion that is provided in the outer shell, that presses the first side film, and that bend the gusset portion inward.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazuyuki Hirata, Yuji Aoki, Hiroshi Nose
  • Patent number: 10960678
    Abstract: An inkjet printing apparatus includes a tank in which ink is contained; a print head for ejecting ink supplied from the tank to perform print operation; a supply flow path for supplying ink from the tank to the print head; a collection flow path for collecting ink from the print head to the tank; and a pump provided in the supply flow path or the collection flow path. The pump is driven, during print operation, at a first speed to circulate ink within a circulation path including the tank, the supply flow path, the print head, and the collection flow path, and the pump is driven, from a start of the ink circulation until a lapse of predetermined time period, at a second speed which is faster than the first speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Junya Kosuge, Yumi Mukoyama, Toshiaki Tokisawa, Tsuyoshi Saeki, Takashi Abe
  • Patent number: 10953674
    Abstract: The disclosure discloses a printer including a feeder configured to feed one print-receiving medium that comprises a plurality of print-receiving parts. A printing head is configured to form a plurality of print parts by sequentially forming desired prints on the plurality of print-receiving parts. A CPU executes a determination process and a printing control process. In the determination process, a type of the one print-receiving medium is determined on the basis of a comparison between the parameters of the one print-receiving medium detected by a sensor and the parameters of each of the plural types of print-receiving medium stored in a memory. In the printing control process, controlling a print formation operation of the printing head is controlled on the basis of a determination result in the determination process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Mitsuhiro Kanda, Masaru Uno, Yuji Iida
  • Patent number: 10953658
    Abstract: Provided is a printing apparatus including: a material accommodating unit including an accommodating portion for accommodating at least one printing material, and an extruding portion for externally sending the at least one printing material accommodated in the accommodating portion; a printing unit including a nozzle portion for spraying the at least one printing material received from the material accommodating unit toward a printing area according to a preset program, and a first temperature adjusting portion for adjusting a first temperature within the printing area; and a transfer unit including a transfer pipe that guides the at least one printing material sent from the material accommodating unit to the nozzle portion of the printing unit, and a second temperature adjusting portion for adjusting a second temperature of the transfer pipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: Ewha University-Industry Collaboration Foundation
    Inventors: Jin Kyu Rhee, Yong Hyun Kim
  • Patent number: 10957223
    Abstract: A braille printing device includes a device body; a linear actuator with an actuator body and an actuator hammer; a liquid ejection unit, including a liquid container a resin piston, and a dispensing tube; a slidable connector with a groove; a vertical stop; a trigger switch; a slide stop member; a slide holder plate including a slide holder back portion, a slide stop member, and first and second sliding rails; and a control unit, such that the braille printing device deposits spherical domes of printing fluid on a printing substrate to form a braille text.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Inventor: Jack B. Martin
  • Patent number: 10953675
    Abstract: A printer comprising a printhead configured to selectively cause a mark to be created on a substrate provided adjacent to the printer, the printhead having a first configuration in which the printhead is spaced apart from the printing surface and a second configuration in which the printhead is configured to press the substrate against a printing surface during a printing operation. The printer further comprises a printhead drive assembly configured to cause movement of the printhead towards and away from the printing surface between the first and second configurations, the printhead drive assembly comprising a permanent magnet and an electromagnet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: VIDEOJET TECHNOLOGIES INC.
    Inventors: Martin McNestry, Gareth Walley
  • Patent number: 10946666
    Abstract: An object of the present disclosure is to reduce power consumption while preventing a reduction in productivity. One embodiment of the present invention is a printing apparatus including: a print head that ejects a liquid; a circulation unit configured to circulate the liquid in a circulation path including the print head; a control unit configured to controls the circulation unit to execute periodic circulation by causing the circulation unit to circulate the liquid in the circulation path periodically at predetermined interval; and an input unit configured to input information on a suspension period during which the control unit suspends execution of the periodic circulation, wherein the control unit is set to start suspending the execution of the periodic circulation in accordance with the information and is set to resume execution of the periodic circulation when the suspension period indicated by the information is elapsed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yosuke Ezumi, Takatoshi Nakano, Atsushi Arai
  • Patent number: 10933643
    Abstract: A print module including: a cradle having a longitudinal cavity; an elongate printhead assembly positioned in the longitudinal cavity; and a supply assembly slidably movable relative to the cradle along an axis perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the printhead assembly, the supply assembly having one or more ink couplings for fluidic connection to a printhead of the printhead assembly. The cradle includes a fixed limiter configured for abutment with a reaction plate of the printhead assembly so as to limit movement of the printhead assembly during movement of the supply assembly away from the printhead assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Inventors: David Burke, Norman Berry, Harrick Selvan Anothonysamy, Reynovel Pacinio Anciano, Soon Keat Fah, Poh Lai Say
  • Patent number: 10933632
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting device includes a housing, an ejecting unit located in the housing that ejects liquid onto a medium, and a display unit that displays a recommended condition of an installation environment where a device is installed. The display unit displays, as the recommended condition, any of (a) a recommended temperature condition indicating a recommended temperature range, (b) a recommended relative humidity condition indicating a recommended relative humidity range, (c) a recommended absolute humidity condition indicating a recommended absolute humidity range, and (d) a recommended temperature condition and a recommended absolute humidity condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Katsuya Asamoto
  • Patent number: 10933645
    Abstract: A printer includes a cartridge is mounted in a cartridge holder, an needle-tube having an ink flow path, an protrusion disposed around the needle-tube as viewed from an axial direction of the needle-tube, and an elastic-member configured to be deformed in a direction from a tip end to a base end of the needle-tube, in which the elastic-member changes a relative positional relationship between a tip end position of the needle-tube and a tip end position of the protrusion from a first state in which the tip end position of the protrusion is located further away from the base end of the needle-tube than is the tip end position of the needle-tube, to a second state in which the tip end position of the protrusion is closer to the base end of the needle-tube than is the tip end position of the needle-tube upon being deformed by an external force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Ryusuke Takakura