Patents Examined by Prasad V Gokhale
  • Patent number: 11577925
    Abstract: A document feeding device includes a document placement unit at which a document is placed, a feeding roller for feeding the document, and a ranging sensor for measuring a distance to the document located most upward on the document placement unit. A control unit stops feeding the document by the feeding roller based on post-processing distance data obtained by statistically processing time series data of the distance measured by the ranging sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Takayuki Shiota
  • Patent number: 11572243
    Abstract: An example a media sensor device may comprise a light source positioned on a first side of a media pathway, a light path to receive a light from the light source and direct the light through a plurality of openings from the first side of the media pathway to a second side of the media pathway, and a light sensor on the second side of the media pathway to detect print media within the light path based on an intensity of light received from the light source, wherein a heated enclosure aligns the light sensor with the light path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Kevin Lo, Jody L Clayburn
  • Patent number: 11565904
    Abstract: A sheet handling apparatus configured to feed sheets from outside into the sheet handling apparatus, transport the fed sheets in a storage area which is outside of a storage bag in the sheet handling apparatus and store the transported sheets in the storage bag includes: a holder configured to be capable of detachably holding the storage bag; a pushing member configured to push a plurality of sheets transported in the storage area into the storage bag through the opening of the storage bag; and a pressing member configured to press the sheets stored in the storage bag held by the holder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: GLORY LTD.
    Inventor: Yuji Shimodaira
  • Patent number: 11565897
    Abstract: A sheet feeder including: a housing including a mount portion that receives recording media; an open-close portion that is disposed on an upper surface of the housing to close the mount portion and rotates about a first hinge to open or close a mount space over the mount portion; and a manual insertion portion at least part of which is disposed on the open-close portion to receive manually inserted recording media, the manual insertion portion being rotatable about the first hinge or a second hinge disposed parallel to the first hinge to rotate upward from a position where the manual insertion portion overlaps the open-close portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventors: Shoichi Maeda, Masahito Niwa, Yuichi Araki, Yoshiki Kimura, Misaki Suruga
  • Patent number: 11565899
    Abstract: A recording-material-transporting device includes a suction unit that suctions a recording material included in a recording-material stack from above, the suction unit including a movable member that moves upward when pushed from below by the recording material moving upward with the suction, the suction unit being movable in an intersecting direction intersecting a vertical direction and moving the suctioned recording material in the intersecting direction, at least a part of the movable member serving as an outside advancing part that advances to an outside of a perimeter of the recording-material stack with the movement of the suction unit in the intersecting direction; and a restricting part that restricts a downward movement of the outside advancing part when the outside advancing part is free of support by the recording material from below.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventor: Masahito Niwa
  • Patent number: 11565896
    Abstract: A media processing device includes: a hopper for supporting a stack of media units (e.g. cards), the hopper including (i) a gate wall configured to abut leading edges of the media units and (ii) an outlet defined at an end of the gate wall; a pick roller at the outlet for engaging an outer one of the media units in the stack and dispensing the outer media unit from the hopper to a media processing path; the gate wall including a flexible gate at the outlet, the flexible gate configured to deflect toward the media processing path responsive to the outer media unit being driven into the flexible gate by the pick roller, wherein the outer media unit deflects when passing by the flexible gate, permitting the outer media unit to be dispensed from the hopper.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: Zebra Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Raymond E. Maynard, Angel B. Rosales, Steve Ting Kei Chow, Joseph D. Moreira, Thomas R. Helma
  • Patent number: 11548748
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a housing, a sheet conveyor, a sheet stacker, and circuitry. The sheet conveyor is configured to convey a sheet on which liquid is applied. The sheet stacker is configured to stack the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyor. The circuitry is configured to control conveyance of the sheet. The circuitry is configured to cause the sheet conveyor to expose the sheet on which the liquid is applied, to an outside of the housing, and convey the sheet to the sheet stacker.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventor: Jumpei Aoyama
  • Patent number: 11548757
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion, a reversing portion configured to reverse the sheet received through a first feeding passage by feeding the sheet in a first direction and then in a second direction opposite to the first direction, a sheet feeding portion provided in a second feeding passage branching from the first feeding passage on a side upstream of the reversing portion with respect to the first direction, a first guiding surface forming the second feeding passage for guiding a first surface of the sheet fed by the feeding portion, and a second guiding surface for guiding a second surface, opposite from the first surface, of the sheet fed from the reversing portion in the second direction. The second guiding surface is movable with movement of the first guiding surface for opening the second feeding passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroaki Takezawa, Atsushi Yoshida, Hiroshi Kokubo, Noriaki Koyanagi
  • Patent number: 11535468
    Abstract: A recording apparatus includes a sheet feeding device including a sheet feed tray on which a medium is mounted in an inclined orientation, a feeding roller configured to feed the medium, and a sheet feed slot that is defined by the sheet feed tray and the feeding roller i, and a recording section configured to perform recording onto the medium fed from the sheet feeding device. The recording apparatus includes a scanner unit that is disposed on a body of the recording apparatus and functions as a reading device for reading a document, and a guiding member that is inclined from a side surface of a guiding member installation section that is a side surface of the scanner unit on a sheet feed tray side in a state in which the scanner unit is closed with respect to the body of the recording apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Ryoichi Morisawa, Takashi Matsuki
  • Patent number: 11530103
    Abstract: A sheet feeding device includes a roller pair being mutually non-separable; and a roller pair being mutually separable. The sheet feeding device temporarily stops a sheet in a registration position of the non-separable roller pair and then resumes feeding the sheet. The sheet feeding device feeds sheets such that a following sheet reaches the registration position from the separable roller pair after completion of ejection of a preceding sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Ryohei Morisaki, Shigefumi Soga, Chisa Kato
  • Patent number: 11524855
    Abstract: In some examples, a sheet processing machine includes at least one sensor device that includes at least two sensors configured as a camera. The sheet processing machine further includes at least one infeed system. The at least one sensor device is configured to control, by open-loop control and/or closed-loop control, at least one servo drive of the infeed system as a function of at least one sheet of sheets being detected by the at least two sensors. The at least two sensors are configured to selectively detect at least one edge and/or printing mark of the sheets. Some examples likewise relate to a method for controlling, by open-loop control and/or closed-loop control, at least one component of a sheet processing machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Assignee: KOENIG & BAUER AG
    Inventors: Carsten Reinsch, Christian Pilz, Heike Rieck
  • Patent number: 11518633
    Abstract: A controller drives a floating unit and a conveyor to perform a sheet feed operation, during the sheet feed operation, acquires an amount of received light at a detector during floating of sheets floated by the floating unit each time each sheet is conveyed by the conveyor, and perform a following control of lifting a stacking tray upon the acquired amount of received light being less than a threshold value. The controller, after start of the sheet feed operation, samples amounts of received light at the detector during floating of the sheets floated by the floating unit, performs a threshold value determination process of determining the threshold value by using the sampled amounts of received light, and starts the following control upon determining the threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: RISO KAGAKU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Miki Okawara
  • Patent number: 11518640
    Abstract: A medium discharge includes a first tray having a first medium receiving surface, a second tray having a second medium receiving surface for receiving the medium discharged from the first tray, a discharge section that discharges the medium disposed on the first tray to the second tray, and a push-down portion that is located downstream of a downstream end of the first medium receiving surface in the medium discharge direction, and that is located at a place deviated from the discharge section in a width direction that is a direction intersecting with the medium discharge direction, and pushes down a part of an upstream end of the medium to be discharged in the medium discharge direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Akinobu Nakahata, Tsuyoshi Furumido, Masaki Miyazawa, Kenji Uchibori
  • Patent number: 11511955
    Abstract: According to aspects of the present disclosures, when a cancel command is input during a document conveying process, drive of a conveying motor is stopped. Then, a movable plate of a feed tray is moved down from a supplying position to a lowermost position being a non-supplying position, and the drive of the conveying motor is restarted. The conveying motor is driven at least until a document sheet is discharged from a conveying path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Wataru Mizumukai
  • Patent number: 11511956
    Abstract: A sheet conveyer having a sheet tray, a tray-driving mechanism, a conveyance guide, a feed roller, a separator, a conveyer, a conveyer-driving mechanism, a controller, and a sheet sensor to detect sheets on the sheet tray, is provided. The conveyer-driving mechanism includes a transmission-active portion and a transmission-passive portion. A conveying velocity to convey the sheets by the conveyer is higher than a conveying velocity to convey the sheets by the feed roller and the separator. The transmission-active portion and the transmission-passive portion are rotatable about a transmission axis. The transmission-passive portion rotates passively by being pushed by the transmission-active portion. After the sheet sensor detects absence of the sheets, and before the transmission-passive portion starts rotating passively, the controller conducts a specific action to move the sheet tray downward by controlling the tray-driving mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Okamoto, Tomoyuki Mizuno
  • Patent number: 11498787
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a card-feeding device and a badge and card printer. The card-feeding device comprises: a base on which cards are stacked, a card outlet being provided at one end of the base; a rotary card-feeding mechanism which is located below the bottommost card and provided with a rotary swing arm and a push rod provided on the rotary swing arm, the push rod pushing the bottommost card towards the card outlet as the swing arm rotates; and a roller card-feeding mechanism which is installed between the rotary card-feeding mechanism and the card outlet and provided with a roller with an outer edge protruding from the top surface of the base, the bottommost card being transported to the card outlet when the roller rotates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: SHEN ZHEN SEAORY TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Yaohui Chen
  • Patent number: 11492219
    Abstract: A sheet feeding apparatus includes a tray that stores a recording medium in a closed state in which the tray is placed in an apparatus body, the tray being capable of being pulled out from the apparatus body in a predetermined pulling direction; a transport unit that is provided on the apparatus body and that transports the recording medium in a direction crossing the pulling direction when the tray is in the closed state; a first contact portion provided on the tray and having a contact surface spaced from the transport unit when viewed in the pulling direction, the first contact portion being located upstream of the transport unit in the pulling direction and the contact surface being in contact with an upstream end portion of the recording medium stored in the tray in the pulling direction when the tray is in the closed state; a second contact portion disposed at a position that is upstream of the transport unit in the pulling direction and at which the second contact portion overlaps the transport unit wh
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventor: Tatsuya Yamashita
  • Patent number: 11479426
    Abstract: A sheet feeding device includes a sheet stacking unit, a long sheet stacking unit, a first guide, a first detector, and a closing unit. The sheet stacking unit is movable up and down. Sheets are stacked on the sheet stacking unit. The long sheet stacking unit is detachably mounted on the sheet stacking unit. Long sheets are stacked on the long sheet stacking unit. The first guide is movable along a feeding direction through a groove. The first guide is deformable into a shape that does not interfere with the long sheet stacking unit. The first guide guides a rear end portion of the sheets in the feeding direction. The first detector is provided in the first guide. The first detector detects the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit. The closing unit is detachably attached to the groove in the sheet stacking unit. The closing unit closes the groove.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventors: Masashi Ikeda, Shoichi Maeda
  • Patent number: 11479428
    Abstract: An image forming device includes an image forming unit, a reading unit, a registration-less unit, and an engine control unit. The reading unit reads a sheet to be conveyed. The engine control unit moves the other end side of the registration-less unit to correct skew. The engine control unit obtains a deviation amount (first deviation amount) of the position of the sheet based on the correction, and changes a sheet conveyance speed from a first speed to a second speed when the sheet enters the registration-less unit. The engine control unit adjusts the timing to change from the first speed to the second speed based on the first deviation amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: KYOCERA DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS INC.
    Inventor: Kohei Ishido
  • Patent number: 11472650
    Abstract: A medium conveying apparatus includes a medium tray, a feed roller, an upper guide, a movement sensor including an arm movably provided by the fed medium on the upper guide and on an upstream side of the feed roller, to generate a movement amount signal corresponding to a movement amount of the arm, a medium sensor to detect a presence of the medium at a predetermined position of the medium tray, a processor to determine whether a feeding abnormality of the medium has occurred based on the movement amount signal, detect a size of the medium placed on the medium tray based on a detection result by the medium sensor, and stop feeding of the medium by the feed roller when the processor determines that the feeding abnormality of the media has occurred and the detected size of the media is equal to or less than a predetermined size.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: PFU LIMITED
    Inventors: Tomoyuki Niwata, Ken Funaki, Hiroyuki Kitano