Patents Examined by Sarah Al-Hashimi
  • Patent number: 8979238
    Abstract: Provided are an inkjet printing apparatus and inkjet printing method that can, regardless of an ejection frequency of a print head, stabilize density of an image expressed on a print medium. For this purpose, an ink concentration integrated value is obtained according to the ejection history of each nozzle so as to be increased by data indicating non-ejection of the nozzle or decreased by data indicating ejection. Then, image data on the target pixel is corrected such that density of the target pixel is further reduced as the pixel is subjected to printing by a nozzle having a higher ink concentration integrated value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hitoshi Nishikori, Satoshi Masuda, Tomoki Yamamuro, Osamu Iwasaki, Norihiro Kawatoko, Atsuhiko Masuyama, Fumiko Suzuki
  • Patent number: 8982172
    Abstract: The oscillation element according to the present invention includes a torsion bar mounted on a base, and an oscillating member having a light reflection surface for reflecting light from a light source, which is fixed on the torsion bar protruding from the base. The oscillating member oscillates about a longitudinal axis of the torsion bar with an elastic deformation of the torsion bar, thereby deflecting the light that reflects at the light reflection surface in a direction intersecting the longitudinal axis. The oscillating member has two plates that are joined together so as to sandwich the torsion bar. On joining surfaces of the plates are provided with grooves for receiving the torsion bar, respectively. The plates have a symmetrical shape that the longitudinal axis serves as the axis of symmetry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Denshi Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takayuki Wakabayashi, Naruki Suzuki, Katsumi Arai, Yaomin Zhou
  • Patent number: 8976214
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device for marking and/or scanning an object comprising a head, in particular a marking head or a scanning head, having a plurality of regular operating elements for marking and/or scanning the object, and comprising a driving mechanism for providing a relative movement of the object relative to the head in an advance direction during a working operation, at least a part of the regular operating elements being arranged in a rectangular pattern of rows and columns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Assignee: Alltec Angewandte Laserlicht Technologie GmbH
    Inventors: Peter Joerg Kueckendahl, Daniel Joseph Ryan
  • Patent number: 8960888
    Abstract: An image formation device of the present invention has: a recording medium supplying section that supplies a recording medium; a conveying section that conveys the recording medium supplied from the recording medium supplying section; an image formation section that ejects droplets and forms an image on the recording medium that is being conveyed; an image conversion section that converts an inputted image into dot data; a printing processing section that, from inputted print information, outputs continuously printed number of sheets information that causes the image formation section to continuously print output images, and prints the recording media corresponding to the continuously printed number of sheets, and, thereafter, carries out processing that temporarily stops printing of the output images; and a control section that, during a stoppage time of the printing, stops at least formation of images at the image formation section, and continues to drive the conveying section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventor: Jun Yamanobe
  • Patent number: 8957933
    Abstract: An optical writing device forming an electrical latent image on a photoreceptor includes an optical writing unit configured to apply light to the photoreceptor, a power supply unit configured to supply power to the optical writing unit, a power supply status detector configured to detect a power supply status of the power supplied from the power supply unit to the optical writing unit, and output power supply information or power cutoff information, a power cutoff information retaining unit configured to retain the power cutoff information when the power cutoff information is output from the power supply status detector, and a power sensor configured to sense a power supply status of the power supplied by the power supply unit based on the power cutoff information retained by the power cutoff information retaining unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshinori Shirasaki, Tatsuya Miyadera, Masayuki Hayashi, Motohiro Kawanabe, Hiroaki Ikeda, Tomohiro Ohshima, Akinori Yamaguchi
  • Patent number: 8953007
    Abstract: An optical scanner includes a housing and a cover member attached to the housing. A tubular pin attachment portion is installed in a side portion of the housing. A tapping screw pin is inserted into the pin attachment portion when the housing is fastened and fixed to a fastening target with the tapping screw pin. A pin head accommodating portion formed into a tubular shape to extend in a coaxial relationship with the pin attachment portion is installed in a side portion of the cover member. The pin head accommodating portion is configured to accommodate a head portion of the tapping screw pin inserted into the pin attachment portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2015
    Assignee: Kyocera Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Hiroki Ozawa
  • Patent number: 8953008
    Abstract: A method for producing images (8) on a substrate (2) with colour bodies thereon, the colour bodies losing a colour effect due to a laser (23) and consisting of dyes or pigments contained in capsules (1). Different colour bodies having at least three different colour effects are on or in the substrate (2). The method includes: (a) producing a colour chart (14), with individual colour effect of individual colour bodies contained as a function of the spatial coordinates thereof on or in the substrate; and (b) spatially resolving radiation, which opens the colour effect of colour bodies of individual capsules and releases dyes by a laser (23) at a single frequency on the basis of the colour chart (14) in order to produce a resultant colour effect. Substrates, like security documents, can be produced this method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2015
    Assignee: U-NICA Technology AG
    Inventors: Rainer Goldau, Klaus Schafer, Ulrich Ritter
  • Patent number: 8953009
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus using the laser scan method or the LED method, which is capable of reducing a variation of spot diameter with a simple mechanism, and of forming a high-quality image by adjusting the density depending on the image resolution with a low cost. The image forming apparatus forms an image by developing an electrostatic latent image formed by irradiating a charged photoconductor with light emitted from a light source with developer. A detecting unit detects a distance between an attention pixel and an adjacent image that is adjacent to an image including the attention pixel across a white background. An adjustment unit adjusts a density of the attention pixel based on the distance measured with the detecting unit and a spot diameter of the light on a surface of the photoconductor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yasutomo Furuta
  • Patent number: 8953005
    Abstract: An ink ribbon cartridge includes an ink ribbon onto which decolorizable ink is applied, a transfer unit configured to thermally transfer the decolorizable ink on the ink ribbon to a recording medium such that an image is formed on the recording medium as the ink ribbon is conveyed, and a heating unit configured to heat a portion of the ink ribbon that has passed the transfer unit when the image was formed on the recording medium, at a temperature at which the decolorizable ink is decolorized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2015
    Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba TEC Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Toshifumi Mimura
  • Patent number: 8953003
    Abstract: A recording apparatus is provided and in one exemplary embodiment includes a tray, a first roller, a second roller opposing the first roller, a recording part, and an urging member. The tray can have a tip part, which can include a first tip portion and a second tip portion. The second tip portion can be disposed at an upstream position relative to the first tip portion in a first direction. The recording part can be configured to record on the medium mounted on the tray, and the urging member can be configured to urge the second roller towards the first roller to transfer the tray in the first direction. In some embodiments, a width of the first tip portion can be narrower than a width of the second tip portion. The first and second tip portions can each include tapered portions that have thicknesses that decrease in the first direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Sanshiro Takeshita
  • Patent number: 8947484
    Abstract: A printer comprising: a housing having an accommodating portion that accommodates recording paper and opens in a direction crossing the direction of gravity; a cover coupled to the housing in an openable and closable manner, and closing the accommodating portion; a control unit provided on the cover and having a circuit board; an lever provided in the housing at a position above the control unit in the direction of gravity and opening the cover; and a discharge path provided on the cover outside the control unit and leading liquid having entered through between the lever and the control unit toward an area below the control unit in the direction of gravity, wherein the discharge path including an upstream side end disposed on the cover below the lever in the direction of gravity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Kazuyuki Aizawa, Hiroyuki Kohira
  • Patent number: 8947486
    Abstract: A light emitting element head includes a first light emitting element array, a second light emitting element array, and an optical device. The first light emitting element array includes a plurality of light emitting elements arranged in a main scan direction. The second light emitting element array includes a plurality of light emitting elements arranged in the main scan direction. The optical device focuses a light output from the first light emitting element array and the second light emitting element array on a photoreceptor to form an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor. The first light emitting element array and the second light emitting element array are overlapped each other in a sub scan direction in an overlapping section. Interval between the light emitting elements of the first light emitting element array are different from interval between the light emitting elements of the second light emitting element array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Ken Tsuchiya
  • Patent number: 8947485
    Abstract: A drawing control device includes: a fill-stroke generating unit that generates a fill stroke that includes a plurality of strokes that fill a drawing area; a shape-stroke generating unit that generates a shape stroke which is a stroke of a shape to be formed on the drawing area; a first detecting unit that detects an overlap portion where the fill stroke and the shape stroke overlap with each other; a modifying unit that removes the overlap portion from the fill stroke to modify the fill stroke to obtain a drawing stroke; a drawing-instruction generating unit that generates a drawing instruction for drawing each stroke in the drawing stroke; and a drawing control unit that controls a drawing device by using the drawing instruction to cause the drawing device to draw the drawing stroke on an object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventor: Fumihiro Hasegawa
  • Patent number: 8947481
    Abstract: The disclosure discloses a printer comprises a print object receiving portion, a first, a second, and a third increment mode receiving portion, a first and a second image generating portion. The print object receiving portion receives an input operation of the print object comprising a print identifier. The first increment mode receiving portion receives a setup operation of the print identifier, an increment interval, and an increment execution count. The first image generating portion generates first printed matter images using a plurality of different types of increment patterns. The second increment mode receiving portion receives a selection operation of the plurality of types of increment patterns. The second image generating portion generates second printed matter images using a plurality of different types of assignment patterns. The third increment mode receiving portion receives a selection operation of any one of the plurality of types of assignment patterns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hidekazu Ishii, Takahiro Miwa
  • Patent number: 8939529
    Abstract: An image forming device which includes a first nozzle group, a second nozzle group, and are arranged by being deviated from the first nozzle group to one side in a predetermined direction, a light irradiation unit which is extended at least in the predetermined direction, a control unit which repeats an ejection operation in which the photo-curable ink is ejected from the nozzle while moving the nozzle group and the light irradiation unit in a direction intersecting the predetermined direction, and a transport operation of the medium in a state where a non-ejection region where the ink is not ejected is provided between the first nozzle group and the second nozzle group in a predetermined direction, and overlappingly forms a main image using the first photo-curable ink, and a background image using the second photo-curable ink.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Yoshitaka Shimada
  • Patent number: 8933978
    Abstract: Embodiments of the invention are directed to a substrate processing device, such as a printing device. In some embodiments, the device includes a substrate supply, a reusable card, an operative unit, at least one transport mechanism, and a controller. The substrate supply is configured to support a plurality of operative substrates. The reusable card is stored in a dedicated storage area, which does not receive the operative substrates. The controller is configured to control the at least one transport mechanism and the operative unit to deliver the reusable card from the storage area to the operative unit, to process the reusable card with the operative unit, and return the reusable card to the storage area, multiple times.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Assignee: Assa Abloy AB
    Inventors: Daniel J. Fowell, Jeffrey L. Stangler
  • Patent number: 8928715
    Abstract: A light source driver includes a controller which outputs an undershoot current in synchronization with lighting complete timing in lighting information, wherein the controller is configured to output the undershoot current such that a voltage in a light source when the output of the undershoot current is complete is equal to a voltage in the light source before being turned on.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsufumi Omori, Masaaki Ishida, Muneaki Iwata, Hayato Fujita
  • Patent number: 8926047
    Abstract: An ink jet printer for printing on an at least partially cylindrical objects comprises one or more printheads positioned above a line of travel and a carriage assembly configured to hold an at least partially cylindrical object axially aligned along the line of travel and to position said object relative to the printheads, and then rotate the object relative to said one or more printheads. The printer also includes a curing device located along the line of travel and configured to emit energy suitable to cure the deposited fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: INX International Ink Company
    Inventors: John R. LaCaze, James Lambert, Joseph Finan
  • Patent number: 8922614
    Abstract: A light scanning unit and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus are provided. The light scanning unit includes a light source emitting the light beams according to an image signal, an incident optical system including a flux-limiting element limiting the flux of light beams emitted by the light source, an optical deflector deflecting the light beams emitted by the light source in a main scanning direction, and an image forming optical system including a scanning optical element imaging the light beams deflected by the optical deflector on a scanning target surface, the light scanning unit forming an electrostatic latent image by scanning the light beams to the scanning target surface of the image bearing member. The scanning optical element of the scanning optical elements of the image forming optical system is eccentrically arranged from a central optical axis of the image forming optical system in a sub-scanning direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Wan-Chin Kim
  • Patent number: 8922613
    Abstract: A light beam scanning device which is capable of performing high-accuracy light amount control without complicated control even when the device includes a laser diode having non-linear I-L characteristics. Gain circuits set the amount of light to be emitted from the laser diode. A PD circuit board detects the amount of the emitted light. A laser controller controls the amount of the emitted light by adjusting drive current applied to the laser diode based on a detection output from the PD circuit board. A CPU corrects data for correcting the drive current. The CPU decides a light amount correction range for correcting the light amount based on the correction data, calculates the slope of the I-L characteristics in the light amount correction range based on light amounts at two points within the light amount correction range and drive currents associated with the respective light amounts, and corrects the correction data using the calculated slope.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Daisuke Akagi