Patents Examined by Prasad Gokhale
  • Print-medium storing unit, print-medium storing apparatus and image forming apparatus employing the same
    Patent number: 9022387
    Abstract: A print-medium storing unit, a print-medium storing apparatus including the same, and an image forming apparatus including the same which are provided in a power transmission mechanism, print-medium storing apparatus which is installed on a discharge path of a print-medium in an image forming apparatus, includes a plurality of storing units which is arranged with multi-layers, and a controller which controls to drive a feeding unit of another storing unit arranged between the storing unit through which the print-medium is to be discharged and the image forming apparatus, by a driving source of the storing unit through which the print-medium is to be discharged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2015
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Joo-heon Lee
  • Printer apparatus
    Patent number: 9010755
    Abstract: A printer apparatus has a contact pressure device for flat articles on a continuously moving transport belt, in particular letters in a franking and/or addressing machine. In order to increase the usable region and/or of the throughput of the printer apparatus, flat articles of different thicknesses are processed with predetermined speed, without slippage, in succession with arbitrarily small gaps between successive articles. An elastic, bellows-shaped, resiliently supported air bag has a low-friction, wear-resistant cover surface that is in non-positive contact with the transport belt. With its associated retention and air supply devices the bellows serves as a mobile contact pressure module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignee: Francotyp-Postalia GmbH
    Inventors: Axel Ortmann, Wolfgang Muhl
  • Device for handling value notes, comprising a feed module having movable retaining elements
    Patent number: 9010747
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device (10) for handling notes of value, comprising a supply module (1000) for supplying notes of value to a value note receiving region (1004) of a value note cassette (16a to 16d), wherein the notes of value are receivable in a value note receiving region (1004) in the form of a value note stack (1006). The supply module (1000) comprises at least one retaining element (1008, 1010), which, in a retaining position, contacts a front-side note of value of the value note stack (1006) and holds the value note stack (1006) in the value note receiving region (1004). In a supply position, the retaining element (1008, 1010) is arranged such that a note of value is suppliable to the value note stack (1006).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignee: Wincor Nixdorf International GmbH
    Inventors: Udo Petermann, Paul Freitag
  • Conveying apparatus and image forming apparatus
    Patent number: 9004488
    Abstract: A conveying apparatus includes a first pair of rollers having a drive roller and a pinch roller driven by the drive roller, a second pair of rollers provided downstream of the first pair of rollers, and an arm member supporting the drive roller and adapted to be swingable such that a force for pressing the drive roller against the pinch roller increases as a conveyance resistance of the sheet increases. The force for pressing the drive roller against the pinch roller decreases if driven by the moving sheet. The conveying speed of the second pair of rollers is set to be higher than the conveying speed of the drive roller so as to cause the drive roller to be driven by the sheet in the case where a skew of the sheet has been corrected and the sheet having the skew corrected is conveyed by the second pair of rollers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hideyuki Terashima
  • Aligning sheets in a sheet restacking tray using rotating helical brushes
    Patent number: 9004486
    Abstract: Devices and methods to collect and align print media sheets. According to a device herein, a tray has a base and receives print media sheets. Registration guides are connected to the tray. The registration guides define a corner in the tray. A tamper mechanism comprises a rotating helical brush extending perpendicularly from the base adjacent to a side of the tray opposite the corner. The tamper mechanism is positioned to tamp the print media sheets against the registration guides causing a stack of the print media sheets to be squared against the corner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Timothy P. Foley, Frank B. Tamarez Gomez, Steven M. Russel, Jeffrey N. Swing
  • Sorting method and apparatus
    Patent number: 9000319
    Abstract: A method of and apparatus for sorting foreign matter from a flow, the method comprising the steps of: identifying objects within a flow; for each identified object, determining reflectance intensities at at least two different wavelengths or ranges of wavelengths; and for each identified object, comparing the reflectance intensities at the at least two different wavelengths or ranges of wavelengths to a reference intensity profile, wherein the identified object is characterized as foreign matter when the reflectance intensities at the at least two different wavelengths or ranges of wavelengths fall within a predetermined region of the reference intensity profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignee: Buhler Sortex Ltd
    Inventor: Benedict Deefholts
  • Method for obtaining non-magnetic ores from a suspension-like mass flow containing non-magnetic ore particles
    Patent number: 8991615
    Abstract: A method obtains non-magnetic ores from a suspension-like mass flow containing non-magnetic ore particles. The method involves mixing the mass flow with magnetic particles in a mixing device and forming ore particle-magnetic particle agglomerates, feeding the mass flow as a separator feed flow to a magnetic separator for separating the ore particle-magnetic particle agglomerates from the mass flow, forming a separator concentrate flow containing ore particle-magnetic particle agglomerates and a separator residual flow containing the remaining constituents of the mass flow, and separating the ore particles from the ore particle-magnetic particle agglomerates contained in the separator concentrate flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Michael Diez, Argun Gökpekin, Wolfgang Krieglstein
  • Sheet feed device and image forming apparatus including the same
    Patent number: 8991814
    Abstract: A sheet feed device is provided in which, at the time of pulling out a sheet housing portion from an image forming apparatus main body, when the sheet housing portion moves from a first position to a second position, a pickup roller moves on a first rotary shaft, to a position on an upstream side in an insertion direction, and at the time of inserting the sheet housing portion in the image forming apparatus main body, when the sheet housing portion moves from the second position to the first position, the pickup roller moves on the first rotary shaft, to a position on a downstream side in the insertion direction. A movable area of the pickup roller in a direction of the rotary shaft is equal to or larger than a movement amount of the pickup roller between the upstream side position and the downstream side position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Kazuhisa Hirahara
  • Method for obtaining non-magnetic ores from a suspension containing ore particle-magnetic particle agglomerates
    Patent number: 8991612
    Abstract: A method obtains non-magnetic ores from a suspension containing ore particle-magnetic particle agglomerates. The method involves dividing ore particle-magnetic particle agglomerates precipitated from the suspension into a mixture of separately present ore particles and magnet particles, separating the magnetic particles from the mixture, forming a first mass flow containing magnetic particles and a second mass flow containing ore particles. At least one information describing a measure of the content of ore particles in the first mass flow and being associated with the first mass flow and/or at least one information describing a measure of the portion of magnetic particles in the second mass flow and being associated with the second mass flow are determined in order to determine the efficiency of at least one of the separation processes described above.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Michael Diez, Argun Gökpekin, Wolfgang Krieglstein
  • Separating and taking out device and separating and taking out method
    Patent number: 8991815
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a separating and taking out device has a feeding base, a takeout part, a support part and an ultrasonic vibrator. The feeding base places a piled stack. The piled stack is composed of a plurality of media stacked in a direction. The taking out part takes out the plurality of media one by one from one end in the direction of the piled stack. The support part has a facing surface opposing a side surface of the piled stack. The ultrasonic vibrator has a vibrating surface opposing the end in the direction of the piled stack and one end in the direction of the support part. The ultrasonic vibrator oscillates the vibrating surface along a line connecting the vibrating surface with a gap between the side surface of the piled stack and the facing surface of the support part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Kiminori Toya, Yuji Kubota
  • Sheet conveying apparatus and image forming apparatus
    Patent number: 8991824
    Abstract: Provided is a sheet conveying apparatus which conveys a sheet, includes: a sheet conveying path which diverges into a first conveying path and a second conveying path at a diverging point; a guide member which is movable between a first position where the guide member guides the sheet to the first conveying path and a second position where the guide member guides the sheet to the second conveying path; a driving portion which is configured to move the guide member to the second position from the first position; and a holding portion which, in a case that the guide member is driven by the driving portion to move to the second position from the first position, provides a load to the driving by the driving portion and holds the guide member at a third position between the first position and the second position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masato Suzuki
  • Paper feeding device
    Patent number: 8985579
    Abstract: A paper feeding device includes a lower housing, an upper housing, a pickup assembly, a separation assembly, a relay assembly, a paper friction mechanism, an elastic element, a paper speed detector, a first paper feeding assembly, a second paper feeding assembly, a transmission assembly, a motor and a control unit. The control unit controls the paper speed detector to detect paper feeding speeds and the paper speed detector sends signals to the control unit for determining paper feeding conditions. The control unit controls the motor to rotate, and the motor drives the pickup assembly, the relay assembly and the first paper feeding assembly to rotate by virtue of the transmission assembly, and the first paper feeding assembly drives the second paper feeding assembly to rotate, the control unit is capable of adjusting rotating speeds of the motor, so that the paper feeding speeds are stabilized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: Foxlink Image Technology Co., Ltd
    Inventors: Chun Chia Juan, Te You Chu
  • Sheet feeding apparatus and image forming apparatus
    Patent number: 8985571
    Abstract: A sheet feeding apparatus that can prevent changes at the time of mounting a sheet cassette, and deformation and changes of the sheets after the sheet cassette is mounted regardless of a sheet size are provided. A movable side regulating plate provided in a frame, regulates positions of width direction side ends of sheets is provided with sheet pressing portions and that press the side ends of the sheets to press the sheets against a fixed side regulating plate in a biasing manner. An indented configuration against which, when short sheets are pressed by the sheet pressing portion are stacked on a sheet stacking plate, upstream ends of the sheets do not abut is formed upward from a bottom end of the sheet pressing portion to a predetermined dimension at a sheet feeding direction center of the sheet pressing portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shinichi Ueda, Shuji Nishitani, Masato Tanabe
  • Paper feeding mechanism
    Patent number: 8985570
    Abstract: A paper feeding mechanism includes a mechanical frame, a gear assembly, a paper supply tray, a pickup assembly, a paper pressing assembly and a stopper assembly. The gear assembly includes a drive gear and a transmission gear. The paper pressing assembly includes a paper pressing frame, a paper pressing tray, a gear shaft, at least one swing arm and an elastic element. The stopper assembly includes a blocking element and a connecting element. The drive gear drives the transmission gear and the gear shaft to rotate, the connecting element drives the blocking element to move downward to make the blocking element realize a paper blocking function, and the drive gear breaks away from the drive gear, the elastic element pushes against the paper pressing tray to move downward, the blocking element breaks away from the paper supply tray to raise up for making the paper blocking function disappeared.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: Foxlink Image Technology Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jing Hua Fang, Wen Ching Liao, I Chuan Hong
  • Quality control system for the qualitative assessment of sheets
    Patent number: 8973915
    Abstract: The invention relates to a sheet guide element for use in an apparatus for transporting sheets by means of a gripper system having at least two grippers spaced apart from each other and a sheet guide surface defined by the sheet guide element. Here, the sheet guide element is provided with depressions in the sheet guide surface, running parallel to the transport direction, at least in some sections, in order at least partially to accommodate the grippers, so that the sheet guide surface described by the sheet guide element in the transport direction runs, at least in some sections, at the same height as the movement path of the sheet leading edge fixed in the gripper system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Assignee: KBA-Notasys SA
    Inventors: Thomas Hendle, Gerald Josef Reinhard
  • Sheet feeder control method, sheet feeder, and image forming apparatus
    Patent number: 8960672
    Abstract: A sheet feeder control method for controlling a sheet feeder of an image forming apparatus includes feeding a sheet through a sheet feed path exposable to the exterior of the sheet feeder, detecting the feeding of the sheet at at least a first position on the sheet feed path, discharging the fed sheet to the exterior of the sheet feeder, detecting the discharge of the sheet at a second position downstream of the first position in a sheet feeding direction, detecting a sheet jam during the feeding and discharging of the sheet, and if the jammed sheet is detected at the second position but not at the first position, cancelling a malfunction state due to the sheet jam when the sheet stops being detected at the second position, irrespective of whether the sheet feed path is covered or exposed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company
    Inventor: Ryo Takenaka
  • Sheet-discharge apparatus, sheet processing apparatus, and image forming apparatus
    Patent number: 8960668
    Abstract: The sheet processing apparatus includes a sheet-discharge fan that blows air downward of a sheet-discharged by an upper sheet-discharge roller, and a control portion configured to control an air velocity of air blown from the sheet-discharge fan according to a basis weight of the sheet. In the case where the basis weight of the sheet is a predetermined value or less, the control portion increases the air velocity of the sheet-discharge fan according to the basis weight of the sheet based on basis weight information from an input portion for inputting the basis weight information of the sheet. The control portion also controls the air velocity of the sheet-discharge fan to be a velocity at which the sheet whose rear edge contacts the sheet-stacking wall does not move in a sheet-discharge direction in the case where the basis weight of the sheet exceeds the predetermined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yusuke Obuchi
  • Print control apparatus and print control method
    Patent number: 8955843
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a print control unit, a determining unit, and a control unit. The print control unit causes a printing unit to print an image on a sheet and causes one of a plurality of discharge units to discharge at least one sheet on which the image is printed by the printing unit facing downward. The determining unit determines whether some of the discharge units are to be used for discharging sheets for an input print job. In response to determining that the some of the discharge units are to be used for the input print job, the print control unit discharges the sheets to the some of the discharge units such that a former page of the sheets is discharged to a lower-level discharge unit and a latter page of the sheets is discharged to an upper-level discharge unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Sho Nakamura, Koji Okabe, Kazuo Uetsuke
  • Feeding device and image forming apparatus
    Patent number: 8955835
    Abstract: In the invention, after the last sheet is conveyed from a paper feed tray, the paper feed tray is lifted up so that the paper feed tray is brought into contact with a suction belt. An elastic cleaning member that removes paper particles, or the like, is installed at an area of the paper feed tray where the paper feed tray is in contact with the suction belt. The suction belt is driven while the cleaning member is in contact with the suction belt. The paper particles, or the like, removed from the suction belt by the cleaning member are collected in a paper-particle collecting device from a vacuum chamber via a vacuum duct.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Hideyuki Satoh, Masaki Ishizaki, Yousuke Edo, Takaya Ochiai
  • Sheet thickness detector and image forming apparatus including same
    Patent number: 8950750
    Abstract: A sheet thickness detector incorporated in an image forming apparatus includes a sheet conveying member to rotate and convey a sheet in a sheet conveyance direction, a driven sheet conveying member to contact the sheet conveying member and form at least one first transfer nip therebetween in a lateral direction and to displace by an amount equivalent to a thickness of the sheet passing through the first transfer nip and rotated with the sheet conveying member in the sheet conveyance direction, a displacement member to contact the sheet conveying member and form a second transfer nip smaller than the first transfer nip in the lateral direction and to displace by an amount equivalent to the thickness of the sheet passing through the second transfer nip and supported at a support member, and a displacement amount detector to detect an amount of displacement of the displacement member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuu Wakabayashi, Ryo Takenaka, Masashi Satoh, Shingo Nishizaki, Yusuke Ozaki, Yuji Ikeda, Hiroshi Okamura, Naohiro Funada, Tomohide Kondoh