Patents Examined by Matthew Luu
  • Liquid ejection head, liquid ejection apparatus, and liquid ejection head manufacture method
    Patent number: 10479087
    Abstract: In order that the interior of a cap member, in a case where the cap member abuts to a cover member, is allowed to have improved airtightness so that the cap member can sufficiently function, a sealing member is used to seal between the cover member and first and second flow path members for retaining the cover member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Zentaro Tamenaga, Shuzo Iwanaga, Shingo Okushima
  • Liquid droplet jetting apparatus
    Patent number: 10479074
    Abstract: A liquid droplet jetting apparatus includes: a carriage configured to scan in a main scanning direction; a jetting head installed in the carriage, having nozzles arranged in a sub scanning direction intersecting with the main scanning direction, and configured to jet liquid droplets from the nozzles; a conveyer configured to convey the recording medium in the sub scanning direction; and a controller configured to control the carriage, the jetting head and the conveyer. The nozzles form nozzle groups including two nozzle groups adjacent in the sub scanning direction; and the controller is configured to execute a predetermined printing mode in which a pass printing and conveyance of the recording medium in the sub scanning direction are alternately performed. The pass printing causes the carriage to move one time in the main scanning direction while jetting the liquid droplets from the nozzles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Satoru Arakane
  • Ink-jet recording apparatus
    Patent number: 10471745
    Abstract: An ink-jet recording apparatus is provided. The ink-jet recording apparatus includes: a plurality of rollers that convey a sheet in a conveyance direction; a platen; a recording unit; a plurality of first ribs provided in the platen; and a plurality of second ribs provided between the first ribs and the rollers in the conveyance direction. The plurality of rollers, the plurality of first ribs, and the plurality of second ribs are each disposed in a position where at least parts of them overlap in the width direction, and a length in the width direction of each of the supporting surfaces of the plurality of second ribs is longer than that in the width direction of each of the supporting surfaces of the plurality of first ribs, and is shorter than that in the width direction of an abutting surface on the sheet in each of the plurality of rollers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Iwane Sano, Tsuyoshi Ito, Gakuro Kanazawa
  • Inkjet print head and inkjet printing apparatus
    Patent number: 10471713
    Abstract: An inkjet print head includes an ejection module having a printing element substrate that ejects ink to a print medium and a flexible wiring substrate electrically connected to the printing element substrate; and a member for supporting the ejection module by joining, wherein the flexible wiring substrate has a capacitor, a periphery of the capacitor being covered with a sealing agent, and the capacitor is provided in a recess formed on the member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Satoshi Oikawa, Tatsurou Mori, Shingo Okushima, Satoshi Kimura, Kengo Umeda
  • Vending machine for creating and dispensing personalized articles
    Patent number: 10460550
    Abstract: A system for dispensing customized articles may include a vending machine that includes an article holding area having one or more articles that each include a film on at least a portion of the article, an energy generating print device, a processor, and a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may include one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to receive an indication of a selected article, receive a selection of one or more content items to be printed on the selected article, and cause the energy generating print device to apply energy to the portion of the selected article having the film. Applying such energy may cause a visual representation of the selected content items to be displayed on the portion of the selected article.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2019
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: James Rodney Larson, George A. Gibson
  • Liquid discharge apparatus
    Patent number: 10442193
    Abstract: A liquid discharge apparatus includes: a cartridge including a first liquid chamber and a first flow path; a tank including a second liquid chamber and a third flow path, at least one of the first flow path and the third flow path communicating the first and second liquid chambers when the cartridge is installed in an installation case; and a controller configured to: when the cartridge is installed in the installation case, determine a liquid amount Vs based on an outflow amount Qc of liquid flowed out from the cartridge toward the tank and a discharge liquid amount; determine whether elapsed time reaches standby time after determining that the liquid amount Vs reaches a first threshold value; and when the elapsed time reaches the standby time, perform image recording of next unit recording area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2019
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shotaro Iida, Mikio Ogawa, Toshiro Ueda
  • Inkjet printing apparatus
    Patent number: 10434781
    Abstract: An inkjet printing apparatus, comprising: a carriage to move in a 1st direction; a recording head; an ink reservoir; an ink receiver; and a waste liquid reservoir configured to be connected to the ink receiver to let the ink move between the ink receiver and the waste liquid reservoir, wherein: the ink reservoir is disposed not to overlap with the carriage in a 2nd direction perpendicularly intersecting with the 1st direction and an up and down direction, and at least a part of the ink reservoir is disposed at a position outside of a moving range of the carriage in the 1st direction; and in the 1st direction, the waste liquid reservoir is disposed to overlap with the ink reservoir and is disposed at a position outside of the moving range of the carriage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2019
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshinori Osakabe, Tomohiro Wada, Tomohisa Higuchi
  • Estimating a remaining amount of a consumable resource based on a center of mass calculation
    Patent number: 10427424
    Abstract: Systems and method for estimating a remaining amount of a consumable resource are provided. According to one method, a first step of detecting the center of mass of a mobile printer is conducted, wherein the mobile printer comprises print media. The method may also include a step of determining a remaining print media level based on the detected center of mass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2019
    Assignee: Datamax-O'Neil Corporation
    Inventors: Philamer Villa Creencia, Sébastien Michel Marie Joseph d'Armancourt, Ananthprasad Babji Subba
  • Transport roller
    Patent number: 10406835
    Abstract: A transport roller for a printing apparatus transports a medium. The transport roller includes a shaft that extends in a direction intersecting a transport direction of the medium, and a wheel group in which a plurality of toothed wheels arrayed in the direction in which the shaft extends are held by holders. The toothed wheel includes non-formation portions having no teeth. The non-formation portions of the plurality of toothed wheels of the wheel group are arranged with an interval therebetween in a circumferential direction of the toothed wheels. The non-formation portions are cut portions that are formed when the toothed wheel is cut off from a base. The teeth other than the teeth adjacent to the cut portions are arranged away from each other at regular intervals in a circumferential direction of the wheel group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2019
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Yosaku Tamura, Akinobu Nakahata, Teppei Sugeta
  • Inkjet head, method for manufacturing the same, and inkjet printer
    Patent number: 10406806
    Abstract: A pressure chamber of each of channels of an inkjet head has a non-rotating body shape around an axis perpendicular to a support substrate on which the pressure chamber is formed. The direction of the pressure chamber corresponding to a rotation angle from a reference position around the axis passing through the pressure chamber is defined as the direction of the pressure chamber. A plurality of channels arranged in a same row in a direction parallel to the substrate includes channels and having the pressure chamber facing different directions. In a same row, channels (e.g. channel 21a1) driven by a same circuit element (e.g. circuit element) are arranged such that the pressure chambers face a same direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2019
    Assignee: KONICA MINOLTA, INC.
    Inventor: Shinya Matsuda
  • Liquid discharge apparatus
    Patent number: 10406812
    Abstract: A liquid discharge apparatus includes: a nozzle plate having a plurality of nozzles; a pressure chamber communicating with the nozzle; and a pressure generating element, in which each of the nozzles is formed by communicating a first opening portion and a second opening portion, when two nozzles adjacent to each other are represented by a first nozzle and a second nozzle, the second opening portion of the first nozzle and the second opening portion of the second nozzle are disposed along a first direction, each of the second opening portions extends in a second direction, and an inner diameter of the second opening portion in the second direction is larger than an inner diameter of the first opening portion, the first opening portion of the first nozzle and the first opening portion of the second nozzle are disposed so as to be shifted from each other in the second direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2019
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Akinori Taniuchi, Shunya Fukuda, Akira Miyagishi, Masayuki Hayashi
  • Decal print process
    Patent number: 10406830
    Abstract: Backing material is passed by a first heater to pre-heat the backing material. The backing material is then passed by a printing engine to print marking material on the backing material, and passed by a first light source to apply ultra-violet (UV) light to the marking material printed on the backing material, to partially cure the marking material. Further, the backing material is passed by a container to expose the partially cured marking material to adhesive particles to cause the adhesive particles to adhere only to the marking material. The backing material is passed by a second light source to apply additional UV light to the marking material partially cured on the backing material to fully cure the marking material. Finally, the backing material is passed by a second heater to melt the adhesive particles that are adhered to the marking material on the backing material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2019
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Anthony S. Condello, Jack T. Lestrange
  • Liquid discharging apparatus and control method of liquid discharging apparatus
    Patent number: 10406805
    Abstract: A liquid discharging apparatus includes a plurality of dischargers that discharge a liquid, a determination portion that determines discharge states of the liquid in the dischargers, and a controller that controls the plurality of dischargers, in which, in a case in which the determination portion determines that the discharge state of the liquid in one discharger is abnormal, the controller controls the plurality of dischargers so as to cause the liquid to be discharged from another discharger instead of causing the liquid to be discharged from the one discharger until a predetermined time has elapsed since determination, and controls the plurality of dischargers so that a repair operation, which repairs the discharge state of the liquid in the one discharger to normal, is caused to be executed after the predetermined time has elapsed since the determination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2019
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Hosokawa, Toshiyuki Suzuki
  • Liquid ejection device
    Patent number: 10399332
    Abstract: A liquid ejection device includes an ejection head having a plurality of nozzle groups, each of the plurality of nozzle groups including one nozzle or two or more nozzles arranged adjacent to each other, and a controller configured to determine an ejection timing each of the plurality of nozzle groups such that a first deviation amount in the main scanning direction between an first image and an second image on an medium is smaller than a second deviation amount in a main scanning direction between an area to be printed by an first nozzle group included the plurality of nozzle groups and an area to be printed by an second nozzle group adjacent to the first nozzle group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tsuyoshi Kuwayama
  • Method and apparatus for protecting a print head in a thermal printer
    Patent number: 10399358
    Abstract: The method and apparatus for protecting the printhead in a thermal printer includes preparing the printer for label dispensing and then covering the printhead such that the label run or thermal material passing over the same does not contact the printhead. The cover for the printhead can take various forms. In one implementation, the cover is a sleeve configured to fit over the entire printhead assembly of the thermal printer. The printhead cover has a low coefficient of friction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: HURST INTERNATIONAL
    Inventor: Ari Lichtenberg
  • Recording method and recording apparatus
    Patent number: 10391802
    Abstract: According to the invention, there is provided a recording method which includes adhering an ink composition to a recording medium, and adhering a reaction liquid to the recording medium, the reaction liquid containing water and a reagent for aggregating or thickening components of the ink composition, and having a pH of 7 to 10. In the adhering of the reaction liquid, an epoxy-based adhesive is used for at least a portion of a reaction liquid passage for supplying the reaction liquid to an ink jet head, and a member in contact with the reaction liquid in the ink jet head, and the reaction liquid is discharged from the ink jet head so as to adhere to the recording medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2019
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Ippei Okuda, Mitsuaki Kosaka
  • Liquid discharge head, liquid discharge unit, and device of discharging liquid
    Patent number: 10391770
    Abstract: A liquid discharge head includes a flow path substrate including an individual liquid chamber communicating with a nozzle of discharging liquid; and a holding substrate joined to the flow path substrate by an adhesive bond and has an opening communicating with the individual liquid chamber, wherein the opening of the holding substrate has a wall surface crossing relative to a joining surface between the flow path substrate and the holding substrate, wherein an uneven portion is provided on the wall surface of the opening of the holding substrate, and wherein a part of the adhesive bond adheres to the uneven portion on the wall surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2019
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Keisuke Hayashi
  • Flat bed printer
    Patent number: 10384443
    Abstract: A flat bed printer includes a flat bed, a print head assembly, a drive system arranged to move the print head assembly over the bed, a controller arranged to control operations of the print head assembly and the drive system, and an obstacle detection system arranged to detect obstacles in a region of movement of the print head assembly. The controller has a split-bed mode of operation in which the movements of the print head assembly are confined to only a part of the bed while another part of the bed is left idle, and the controller is arranged to calculate, when an obstacle is detected in the split-bed mode of operation, an expected time to collision after which the print head assembly will collide with the obstacle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2019
    Assignee: OCÉ HOLDING B.V.
    Inventors: Daniel-Samuil Voina, Violeta Iacob
  • Liquid ejection apparatus
    Patent number: 10384452
    Abstract: A first waste liquid reservoir disposed in a housing of a liquid ejection apparatus includes a first container, and a first retainer disposed in the first container to retain the liquid conveyed through a passage member. A second waste liquid reservoir disposed in the housing includes a second container, and a second retainer disposed in the second container so as to be in contact with the first retainer. The second retainer retains the liquid conveyed through the passage member. The second waste liquid reservoir is movable in a first direction, and one of the first waste liquid reservoir and the second waste liquid reservoir is movable in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. At least one of the first retainer and the second retainer protrudes in the second direction from corresponding at least one of the first container and the second container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2019
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yasuo Nishikawa
  • Recording method, recorded matter, recorded matter processing method, and method for improving fold-crack resistance of recorded matter
    Patent number: 10384468
    Abstract: A recording method includes an ink application process of applying ink to a record medium and a cover layer formation process of forming a cover layer by applying a liquid composition containing polyurethane resin particles to the record medium to which the ink is applied in such a manner as to be at least partially overlapped with a region to which the ink is applied, in which the breaking strength of the cover layer is 0.1 N or more and the breaking elongation of the cover layer is 200% or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2019
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masaya Asao, Tatsuo Senba