Patents Examined by Michael A Harrison
  • Image forming apparatus
    Patent number: 11249428
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion capable of forming a toner image on an envelope including a flap; a stacking portion configured to stack the envelope; a fixing portion configured to fix the toner image on the envelope; a display portion configured to display information; an acquiring portion configured to acquire information corresponding to a kind of the envelope; and a controller configured to control the display portion when a double-side mode is selected, so that a stacking method in which the envelope is stacked on the stacking portion in a state in which an orientation of the envelope is designated on the basis of the information acquired by the acquiring portion is displayed at the display portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yuichi Makino
  • Fixing device and method for controlling fixing device
    Patent number: 11243489
    Abstract: An fixing device comprises a heating member, a first heater, a second heater, and the heating member, a first temperature detector, a second temperature detector, and a controller configured to control energization to the first heater and the second heater based on an energization pattern for each control period. In a case where a length of the control period is T, a length of a period during which a first continuous energization control is T1, and a length of a period during which a second continuous energization control is T2, when a first condition represented by T1+T2<T is satisfied, the controller starts the second continuous energization control just after an end of the first continuous energization control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yuya Harada
  • Failure determination device for rotating machine control device and failure determination method
    Patent number: 11237021
    Abstract: Provided are a failure determination device and method for a rotating machine control device, which are capable of detecting failure of a sensor configured to detect a rotational position of a rotating machine while the rotating machine is in operation. A rotation angle estimator calculates a rotation angle estimation value. A relationship between the rotation angle estimation value (?est), and a first angle detection value (?1) and a second angle detection value (?2), which are obtained from output signals of angle sensors configured to detect a rotational position of a rotating machine, is monitored while the rotating machine is in operation. In this manner, failure of the angle sensors, which are configured to detect the rotational position of the rotating machine, can be always detected even while the rotating machine is in operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Tatsuya Mori, Isao Kezobo, Munenori Yamamoto, Akira Furukawa
  • Fixing apparatus, image forming apparatus, method of controlling fixing apparatus, and non-transitory recording medium storing computer readable program
    Patent number: 11237511
    Abstract: A fixing apparatus includes: a first rotating body that contacts a sheet for printing and heats the sheet; a second rotating body that rotates while pressing the first rotating body; a motor that rotates the first rotating body; and a hardware processor that determines whether an abnormal noise occurs on the basis of a plurality of condition values including a torque value of the motor, wherein the hardware processor performs abnormal noise prevention control that increases the rotation of the first rotating body or weakens pressing applied by the second rotating body to the first rotating body in a case where it is determined that the abnormal noise occurs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: Konica Minolta, Inc.
    Inventor: Yoshikazu Tsubotani
  • Power allocation in printing devices
    Patent number: 11231669
    Abstract: Power allocation in printing devices is disclosed. A first load request is received from a first heater system having a first thermal time constant and a second load request is received from a second heater system having a second thermal time constant. Power grants are allocated based on a general power arbitration of a power source in response to the independent load requests. The power grants include a first power grant based on the first load request and a second power grant based on the second load request. The power grants are adjusted to apportion a measure of the first power grant to the second power grant rather than provide the measure of the first power grant to the first heater system if a print substance density is within a selected print substance density threshold and the first load request is within a selected load threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Duane A Koehler, Robert Yraceburu, Daniel James Magnusson
  • Apparatus and method for anion detection and/or measurement
    Patent number: 11226304
    Abstract: An apparatus for selectively detecting an anion in a medium and/or selectively measuring the concentration of an anion in a medium. The apparatus comprises at least one sensor and a conductive polymer film and is configured such that dielectric and/or electric property changes of the conductive polymer film can be detected by the sensor when the conductive polymer film is in hydraulic contact with the medium or after it has been in hydraulic contact with the medium. Methods of selectively detecting an anion in a medium and/or selectively determining a concentration of an anion in a medium are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignees: University of South Australia, Sentek Pty Ltd
    Inventors: Drew Raymond Evans, Sam Rudd, Peter Buss, Michael Reginald Dalton, Michael Robert Portmann
  • Imaging device
    Patent number: 11226575
    Abstract: An imaging system includes a heating device, a conveyor belt including a surface layer located on an outer surface of the heating device to receive a printing medium, and a cooling device to cool the surface layer after the conveyor belt passes along the outer surface of the heating device. The surface layer includes a temperature sensitive material to vary an adhesive force of the conveyor belt with respect to the printing medium in response to a change in temperature of the surface layer. The adhesive force increases in response to an increase in temperature of the surface layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Satoshi Ohwada
  • Gearshift device and gear coding method
    Patent number: 11199423
    Abstract: A gearshift device is provided. The gearshift device includes a magnetic plate and sensors for sensing the magnetic plate to output a gear signal. The magnetic plate includes M coding regions for distinguishing M gears, and at least two coding regions of the M coding regions share a same region of the magnetic plate. M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignees: KOSTAL (SHANGHAI) MANAGEMENT CO., LTD., SHANGHAI KOSTAL-HUAYANG AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yueyue Bao, Hu Zhou
  • Electrical characteristic measuring device for semiconductor device
    Patent number: 11187741
    Abstract: An electrical characteristic measuring device (70) comprises an evaluation table (30) on which a semiconductor device (10) is to be placed, and a device pressing member (20) to press the device (10). The pressing member (20) comprises a non-conductive electrode pressing part (22) to press a device electrode part (12) and a flange pressing part (23) to press a flange portion (14) of a base material (11). In a flange contact part (42) of the flange pressing part (23), a surface facing the flange portion (14) of the base material (11) has the same shape as a flange facing surface of a screw head of a screw (16) for fastening to an apparatus on which the device 10 is to be mounted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventor: Norifumi Morioka
  • Noise-resistant intermittently operating incremental position sensor
    Patent number: 11181396
    Abstract: A method of operating an intermittently measuring or pulsed incremental position sensor, and a position sensor that has noise detecting circuitry activated during each measurement, triggering corrective measurements as long as the influence of noise is detected. Corrective measurements immediately follow and replace a noise-influenced measurement well before the next scheduled measurement. Noise can be detected as a differential amplifier's common-mode input signal, thus clearly separating the influence of noise from the sensor's differential input signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: hemy8 SA
    Inventor: Hans Uhich Meyer
  • Measurement apparatus
    Patent number: 11181504
    Abstract: A nanopore device measures a current signal Is that flows through the nanopore device, which has an aperture and an electrode pair. A transimpedance amplifier converts the current signal Is into a voltage signal Vs. A voltage source is configured to apply a DC bias voltage Vb across the electrode pair in a normal measurement mode, and to apply a calibration voltage Vcal across the electrode pair in a calibration mode. In the calibration mode, at least one circuit constant of a measurement apparatus is calibrated based on the output signal Vs of the transimpedance amplifier and the calibration voltage Vcal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: ADVANTEST CORPORATION
    Inventor: Nobuei Washizu
  • Image forming apparatus
    Patent number: 11175610
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of image bearers and a rotatable transferor. Images borne on the plurality of image bearers are transferred to the transferor. The transferor has an elastic power larger than an elastic power of each of the plurality of image bearers, and a difference in elastic power between the transferor and a most upstream image bearer in a rotation direction of the transferor is smaller than a difference in elastic power between the transferor and any other image bearer except the most upstream image bearer of the plurality of image bearers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Naohiro Kumagai, Kazuhiko Watanabe
  • Image forming apparatus
    Patent number: 11169469
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of image forming portions, an intermediate transfer belt, a plurality of primary transfer members, a belt cleaning device, a secondary transfer member, a voltage application device, an image density sensor, and a control section, and executes calibration based on a result of detection by the image density sensor. The control section is capable of executing a cleaning assist mode in which, at the time of executing the calibration, a part of patch images on the intermediate transfer belt is transferred to the secondary transfer member. In a case of forming a toner image on the intermediate transfer belt after one belt revolution, the control section executes the cleaning assist mode, and in a case of not forming the toner image after one belt revolution, the control section continuously applies a reverse transfer voltage to the secondary transfer member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Ryosuke Kimura
  • Fixing device and image forming apparatus
    Patent number: 11163248
    Abstract: A fixing device includes a belt member, a heater, a base layer, and an opposed layer. The heater is provided on an inner circumferential surface of the belt member. The base layer includes a first surface on a heater side and a second surface on an opposite side to the first surface. The opposed layer covers the second surface and is opposed to the inner circumferential surface of the belt member. The base layer and the opposed layer satisfy the following conditional expression (1), 0<(Tb×Da)/(Ta×Db)?1.17??(1) where Ta is a thickness of the base layer in millimeters, Tb is a thickness of the opposed layer in millimeters, Da is a thermal diffusivity of the base layer in square millimeters per second, and Db is a thermal diffusivity of the opposed layer in square millimeters per second.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Takenori Shimada
  • Cleaning device for intermediate transfer belt
    Patent number: 11156942
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a photoreceptor, an intermediate transfer belt, a driving roller, and a cleaning device. The photoreceptor is to have an image formed thereon. The intermediate transfer belt is to be disposed to transfer the image formed on the photoreceptor. The driving roller is to move the intermediate transfer belt in a running direction. The cleaning device is to be disposed in a space formed by the intermediate transfer belt to remove a waste toner introduced into the space. The cleaning device includes a brush roller to be disposed to contact with the intermediate transfer belt and to rotate in an inverse direction of the running direction of the intermediate transfer belt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2021
    Assignee: HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P.
    Inventor: Wonkook Kim
  • Image forming apparatus including waste developer container
    Patent number: 11131956
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a sheet cassette, a waste developer container, a capacitance sensor, a partition conductor, and a state determination unit. The waste developer container is disposed adjacent to the sheet cassette, and the capacitance sensor is disposed between the waste developer container and the sheet cassette. The partition conductor partitions between the sheet in the sheet cassette and the capacitance sensor, and is grounded. The state determination unit determines an amount of the waste developer in the developer container, based on a detection signal of the electrostatic capacitance sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: KYOCERA DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS INC.
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Okamoto
  • Component identification
    Patent number: 11131564
    Abstract: A component identification system is disclosed. The component identification system may include a sensor system that includes a first Hall-effect switch configured to provide a first output signal corresponding to a state of the first Hall-effect switch, and a second Hall-effect switch configured to provide a second output signal corresponding to a state of the second Hall-effect switch. The sensor system may be configured to provide a single output signal that is based on the first output signal and the second output signal and indicates a combined state of the first Hall-effect switch and the second Hall-effect switch. The component identification system may include a component that is to be identified. The component may include a first magnet configured to affect the state of the first Hall-effect switch and a second magnet configured to affect the state of the second Hall-effect switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Michael T. McKinley, Ye Tian
  • Hinge angle detection
    Patent number: 11119542
    Abstract: Particular embodiments described herein provide for an electronic device that includes a first housing, a second housing, and a hinge. The hinge rotatably couples the first housing to the second housing and includes an off-center lobe that generates a field. The second housing includes a detection engine to detect a strength of the field generated by the off-center lobe and determines a hinge angle (or a position of the first housing relative to the second housing) based on the detected strength of the field generated by the off-center lobe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Arvind Sundaram, Samarth Alva, Yogesh Channaiah
  • Cased-well to cased-well active magnetic ranging
    Patent number: 11119240
    Abstract: A method and system for ranging between two cased wellbores. A method may comprise disposing a first downhole tool on a first conveyance line in a first cased wellbore, disposing a second downhole tool on a second conveyance line in a second cased wellbore, broadcasting an electromagnetic field from the transmitter, recording the electromagnetic field with the receiver, transmitting the recording to an information handling system, and calculating relative position between the first cased wellbore and the second cased wellbore with the information handling system. An electromagnetic ranging system for ranging between two cased wellbores may comprise a first downhole tool, a first conveyance line, a second downhole tool, a second conveyance line, and an information handling system configured for exciting the transmitter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
    Inventors: Tyler Russel Milford, Ryan David Zallas, Alan James Gosse
  • Two magnet sensor systems
    Patent number: 11112273
    Abstract: Embodiments described herein are directed to a sensing system. The sensing system includes a pair of sensors, a target, and a pair of magnets. The target is configured to move along an axis of movement with respect to the pair of sensors. The pair of magnets are coupled to the target. Each of the pair of magnets has a first end and a second end. Each of the second ends of the pair of magnets are positioned axially adjacent to one another in a system longitudinal direction. The pair of magnets provide a greater field strength for determining a position of the target.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: KSR IP Holdings, LLC
    Inventor: Lingmin Shao