Patents Examined by Lisa M. Solomon
  • Patent number: 8960861
    Abstract: A liquid droplet ejecting head includes: a base substrate that has a concave portion that is formed to be open toward an upper surface and a wiring pattern; and an IC package that is electrically connected to the wiring pattern. The concave portion has a bottom portion and a pair of first side wall portions which stand obliquely on the bottom portion so as to be opposed to each other. Further, the wiring pattern has a plurality of linear objects, each of which is continuous and is constituted of a first part, a second part, and a third part. In addition, the IC package is formed in a chip shape, has a plurality of terminals which are formed on a front side surface, and is disposed such that the front side surface faces the concave portion, and each terminal is electrically connected to the first part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Yoda, Ikuya Miyazawa, Hiroshi Sugita
  • Patent number: 8955949
    Abstract: An object of the invention is to prevent, both bubbles and particles from being generated, when circulating ink in an inkjet head. The object can be achieved by an ink circulation apparatus, including: an ink tank that accumulates radical polymerization-type UV-curing ink so as to be in contact with gas including at least oxygen; an inkjet head; oxygen removing means that removes oxygen from the radical polymerization-type UV-curing ink; and control means that changes a mode between a first mode of removing oxygen from the radical polymerization-type UV-curing ink by the oxygen removing means and a second mode of not removing oxygen from the radical polymerization-type UV-curing ink and changes a mode from the first mode to the second mode before electric power of the apparatus is cut off.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2015
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventor: Ryuji Tsukamoto
  • Patent number: 8955946
    Abstract: A liquid discharge apparatus includes a flow passage structure in which a liquid flow passage including a nozzle for discharging a liquid and a pressure chamber communicated with the nozzle, and a liquid sealing layer for covering the pressure chamber are formed; and a piezoelectric actuator which is arranged to contact with the liquid sealing layer of the flow passage structure. The piezoelectric actuator includes: an actuator substrate, which is arranged on a surface of the liquid sealing layer on a side opposite to the pressure chamber and which has a vibration layer and a columnar portion arranged between the liquid sealing layer and the vibration layer; and a piezoelectric portion which is formed as a film on a surface of the vibration layer disposed on a side opposite to the columnar portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2015
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Atsushi Ito
  • Patent number: 8955952
    Abstract: An ink circulation apparatus, including: an ink tank that accumulates radical polymerization-type UV-curing ink; a supplying flow path that communicates with the ink tank and a supply port of an inkjet head; a supply pump that supplies the ink accumulated in the ink tank to the inkjet head; oxygen removing unit that removes oxygen from the ink to be supplied to the inkjet head; a discharging flow path that communicates with a discharge port of the inkjet head and the ink tank; a collecting pump that collects the ink to be discharged from the discharge port in the ink tank; and oxygen supplying unit that supplies oxygen to the ink to be collected in the ink tank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2015
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventor: Ryuji Tsukamoto
  • Patent number: 8944572
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting head and a recording device are disclosed. The liquid ejecting head includes a fluid channel member and compressing members. The fluid channel member is elongated in a first direction. The fluid channel member includes ejection holes, compression chambers and a manifold. The compressing members is bonded to the fluid channel member. The manifold includes: a length extending in the first direction; openings at the first and second end portions of the fluid channel member; and secondary manifolds divided by one or more partitions that are elongated in the first direction. The compression chambers connected to one of the secondary manifolds configure two compression chamber rows disposed along the secondary manifolds, and the compression chambers belonging to the two compression chamber rows do not overlap in the first direction with compression chambers belonging to compression chamber rows adjacent to the two compression chamber rows.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
    Inventors: Wataru Ikeuchi, Daisuke Hozumi
  • Patent number: 8944583
    Abstract: A method of printing an image (1) having matt areas (2) and glossy areas (3) is specified, whereby an ink is applied with the aid of the ink jet printing method to the matt areas (2) and cured immediately afterwards. In the glossy areas (3), on the other hand, curing of the ink immediately after applying it is omitted. Also specified are an ink jet printer (40 . . . 44) for implementing said method and a control system (11) therefor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: Durst Phototechnik Digital Technology GmbH
    Inventor: Christian Waschnig
  • Patent number: 8944569
    Abstract: A liquid discharge head includes: a recording element substrate including a discharge port group for discharging liquid and a supply port for supplying the liquid to the discharge port group; a supporting member including a liquid chamber for storing the liquid therein, the supporting member being configured to support the recording element substrate; a flow path formed between the liquid chamber and the supply port and configured to allow the liquid to flow therethrough along a main surface of the recording element substrate on which the supply port opens; and a plurality of through holes communicating the liquid chamber with the flow path. A sum of opening areas of the plurality of through holes per unit area is greater in a region having relatively high temperature than that in a region having relatively low temperature in an in-plane direction of the main surface of the recording element substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takatsugu Moriya, Ryohei Goto, Kazuhiro Yamada, Shuzo Iwanaga
  • Patent number: 8944546
    Abstract: A liquid ejection apparatus including: a head having an ejection face and configured to eject liquid toward a recording medium; a capping mechanism which switches the ejection space being opposite the ejection face between capped and uncapped states; a conveyor which conveys the recording medium along a conveyance path; a sensor which senses whether the recording medium is present at a sensing position located on an upstream portion of the conveyance path; and a controller configured to: control the capping mechanism and the conveyor; determine whether the conveyor is normal, based on driving of the conveyor for a first period from the start of the driving of the conveyor in the capped state; and when the recording medium is sensed by the sensor within the first period, stop the driving of the conveyor even before the first period passes from the start of the driving of the conveyor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yusuke Miyajima
  • Patent number: 8939555
    Abstract: A first device is provided. The first device includes a print head, and a first gas source hermetically sealed to the print head. The print head further includes a first layer further comprising a plurality of apertures, each aperture having a smallest dimension of 0.5 to 500 microns. A second layer is bonded to the first layer. The second layer includes a first via in fluid communication with the first gas source and at least one of the apertures. The second layer is made of an insulating material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2015
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Stepehen R. Forrest, Gregory McGraw
  • Patent number: 8939549
    Abstract: Provided is an inkjet printing apparatus. The inkjet printing apparatus includes a nozzle. The nozzle includes at least two nozzle parts. A first of the at least two nozzle parts has a first tapered shape, and a second of the at least two nozzle parts has a second tapered shape and extends from the first nozzle part. The first and second tapered shapes have a same taper direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2015
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Sung-gyu Kang, Young-ki Hong
  • Patent number: 8939544
    Abstract: An ink set for an inkjet printer. The ink set includes an aqueous first ink comprising a first colorant and absent any potassium ions; and an aqueous second ink comprising a second colorant and potassium ions. The second aqueous ink comprises an AI(III) additive in an amount greater than the first ink.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2015
    Assignee: Memjet Technology Ltd.
    Inventors: Simon Fielder, Michele Gimona, Katja Johanna Digweed, Lakshmi Channarayapatna
  • Patent number: 8936340
    Abstract: A droplet ejection apparatus, including: an image-data storage; a droplet ejection head; a post-processing mechanism configured to perform drying processing and curl correction processing by a common processing technique on an image-formed recording medium; and a controller configured to: calculate a liquid ejection amount for each evaluation region on the recording medium; determine a first processing amount required for the drying processing, based on a maximum liquid ejection amount; determine, for each evaluation region, a second processing amount for the curl correction processing, based on the liquid ejection amount and a position of the evaluation region on the recording medium; and control the post-processing mechanism to perform the drying processing and the curl correction processing according to a maximum control amount of the post-processing mechanism among the first processing amount and the second processing amounts of the respective evaluation regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2015
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki
    Inventor: Yoshihiro Itogawa
  • Patent number: 8936352
    Abstract: A printer includes a nozzle hole plate including a plurality of nozzle holes, the nozzle hole plate being rotatable; and a nozzle part including a sleeve having a leading passage corresponding to one of the plurality of nozzle holes of the nozzle hole plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2015
    Assignee: Samsung Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ye-Seul Na, Kyoung-Wook Min
  • Patent number: 8926070
    Abstract: There is provided a piezoelectric device comprising a first electrode, a piezoelectric layer that is formed above the first electrode, a second electrode that is formed above the piezoelectric layer and a coating layer that is formed above the second electrode consisting of tungsten or titanium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Toshihiro Shimizu, Hiroshi Ito, Jiro Kato, Eiju Hirai
  • Patent number: 8926067
    Abstract: A liquid discharging recording head includes an element substrate including a plurality of discharge ports configured to discharge liquid and a plurality of energy generating elements configured to generate energy for discharging the liquid, a support member configured to support the element substrate, a first member configured to support an end of the element substrate in an array direction in which the discharge ports are arrayed, the first member having a thermal conductivity lower than a thermal conductivity of the support member, and a second member configured to support an end of the element substrate in an intersecting direction intersecting the array direction, the second member having a thermal conductivity lower than the thermal conductivity of the support member and a thermal resistance lower than a thermal resistance of the first member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shuzo Iwanaga, Kazuhiro Yamada
  • Patent number: 8926066
    Abstract: A liquid ejection head includes a substrate including a first supply port row in which a plurality of supply ports are arranged, a first energy generating element row in which a plurality of energy generating elements are arranged, a second supply port row in which a plurality of supply ports are arranged, a second energy generating element row in which a plurality of energy generating elements are arranged, a first wiring layer and a second wiring layer for driving the energy generating elements, and a through hole configured to electrically connect the first wiring layer and the second wiring layer. The first energy generating element row, the first supply port row, the second supply port row, and the second energy generating element row are arranged in parallel in this order and the through hole is arranged between the first supply port row and the second supply port row.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masataka Sakurai, Ken Tsuchii
  • Patent number: 8919923
    Abstract: A printing system including a staggered inkjet printhead including at least two inkjet nozzle arrays arranged along first and second print lines in an alternating pattern, wherein the inkjet nozzle arrays along a particular print line alternate with non-printing regions. A media guide including first and second rollers is used for guiding receiver media along a media path past the first and second print lines of the inkjet printhead. A center roller having a contoured media guide surface is positioned between the first and second rollers for guiding the recording media along the media path between the first and second print lines, wherein the diameter of the center roller is smaller for portions of its length corresponding to the inkjet nozzle arrays of the first print line than it is for at least some portion of its length corresponding to the non-printing regions of the first print line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: W. Charles Kasiske, Jr., Michael Joseph Piatt, Christopher M. Muir, John Leonard Hryhorenko
  • Patent number: 8919929
    Abstract: A liquid-ejecting head includes a channel which is in communication with a nozzle opening and which includes a pressure-generating chamber, a circulation channel that serves to circulate a liquid in the channel, and a pressure generator that serves to generate pressure change. The circulation channel has a narrow portion including a first wall and a second wall, the first wall tilting with respect to a forward direction of a liquid flows and serving to gradually decrease the cross-sectional area, the second wall tilting with respect to the flow direction and serving to gradually increase the cross-sectional area. The tilt angle of the first wall with respect to the inner surface of the circulation channel is larger than the tilt angle of the second wall with respect to the inner surface of the circulation channel at the downstream side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Fujio Akahane, Tomoaki Takahashi
  • Patent number: 8915575
    Abstract: A printing system including a staggered inkjet printhead including at least two inkjet nozzle arrays arranged along first and second print lines in an alternating pattern, wherein the inkjet nozzle arrays along a particular print line alternate with non-printing regions. A media guide including first and second media guide surfaces is used for guiding receiver media along a media path past the first and second print lines of the inkjet printhead. At least one of the media guide surfaces is contoured such that it is closer to the staggered inkjet printhead along portions of the associated print line that correspond to the associated inkjet nozzle arrays than it is for at least some portion of the associated print line that corresponds to the non-printing regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2014
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: W. Charles Kasiske, Jr., Michael Joseph Piatt, Christopher M. Muir, John Leonard Hryhorenko
  • Patent number: 8911062
    Abstract: A liquid-jet head includes a channel plate forming an individual liquid chamber in communication with nozzles configured to eject liquid drops, a wall surface member forming a wall surface of the individual liquid chamber, and a drive unit disposed on the wall surface member side and configured to generate a pressure applied to a drive region inside the individual liquid chamber. In the liquid-jet head, a fluid resistance part is formed by disposing an island part in a liquid supply channel configured to supply a liquid to the individual liquid channel, and the island part includes a gradient part on the channel plate side, at least a part of the gradient part being formed such that the part of the gradient part faces the drive region inside the individual liquid chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2014
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masahiro Kuwata, Kunihiro Yamanaka, Satoru Tobita