Patents Examined by Sharon A. Polk
  • Patent number: 11267265
    Abstract: A control device that controls a printing execution unit to execute printing by alternately executing partial printings, which forms the dot using the print head, and print medium conveying, which conveys the print medium using the conveyor, the conveyor including: a first roller; a second roller; and a third roller, wherein a first holding state is a state where the print medium is held by the first roller, is held by the second roller, and is held by the third roller, a second holding state is a state where the print medium is held by the first roller, is held by the second roller, and is not held by the third roller, and a length of the second partial image printed in the first holding state is longer than a length of the second partial image printed in the second holding state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hirotoshi Maehira
  • Patent number: 11247472
    Abstract: A cleaning apparatus carries ink ejected from an inkjet head and cleans a transfer body that transfers the ink onto a recording medium at a transfer nip, and the cleaning apparatus includes: a cleaning rotor that contacts the transfer body and rotates in a counter direction opposite to a moving direction of the transfer body to remove a pre-coating agent and an impurity present on the transfer body after transfer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: KONICA MINOLTA, INC.
    Inventor: Katsuhiro Umeda
  • Patent number: 11247474
    Abstract: Provided are a liquid jetting device, a liquid jetting head cleaning device, and a liquid jetting head cleaning method, in which a nozzle surface is cleaned without a liquid infiltrating into a gap of a liquid jetting head having a gap between head modules adjacent to each other. After performing pressurization purging for pressurizing an inside of a liquid jetting head (32) that is the liquid jetting head (32), which jets a liquid from a nozzle (202) disposed on a nozzle surface (33), is formed by a plurality of head modules (200), and has a gap (G) between the head modules adjacent to each other, to discharge the liquid from the nozzle (202), a long wiping web (104) in a dry state abuts against the nozzle surface (33) of the liquid jetting head (32) at a pressing force of 0 kPa or more and 15 kPa or less, and the wiping web (104) is transported with respect to the liquid jetting head (32) in a web transporting direction to wipe the nozzle surface (33).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventors: Yuichi Ozaki, Takuma Nakano
  • Patent number: 11241875
    Abstract: In example implementations, a storage apparatus is provided. The storage apparatus includes a sealed reservoir partially filled with a print agent. A float is partially submerged in the print agent. A weight is coupled to a submerged portion of the float. A vent is coupled to the float and an opening in the sealed reservoir. A valve is coupled to an unsubmerged portion of the float.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Christopher John Arnold, Melissa S. Gedraitis, Russell S. Sauer
  • Patent number: 11241883
    Abstract: There is provided a liquid discharge apparatus including a discharge head including nozzles and actuators; a liquid detecting sensor; and a controller. The controller is configured to: cause the actuators to perform a discharge operation; calculate a discharge amount of the liquid discharged from each of the nozzles; determine the discharge amount of the liquid; and cause a first actuator corresponding to a first nozzle, whose discharge amount is less than a first predetermined amount, and a second actuator corresponding to a second nozzle, whose discharge amount is not less than the first predetermined amount and less than a second predetermined amount, to perform a flushing, without causing a third actuator corresponding to a third nozzle, whose discharge amount is not less than the second predetermined amount, to perform the flushing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tomohiro Nodsu
  • Patent number: 11241887
    Abstract: An ink jet printing method includes an application step of ejecting a coloring ink composition functioning to color a printing medium through an ejection opening of a first ink jet head to apply the coloring ink composition onto a printing medium, and an application step of ejecting a non-coloring composition different from the coloring ink composition through an ejection opening of a second ink jet head to apply the non-coloring composition onto the printing medium. The coloring ink composition is circulated through a circulation path connected to the first ink jet head after being fed into the first ink jet head and before being ejected through the ejection opening of the first ink jet head. The non-coloring composition is not circulated through a circulation path after being fed into the second ink jet head and before being ejected through the ejection opening of the second ink jet head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Inventors: Tadashi Watanabe, Ippei Okuda
  • Patent number: 11235596
    Abstract: A vacuum belt conveyor sequentially delivers sheet articles to a digital printer. The sheets are held in position by vacuum on the underside of the sheets through apertures in the belts and covered by the sheets. A plurality of independent plenums on the underside of the belt have chambers respectively communicating with rows of apertures extending along the belt. Vacuum is selectively applied from a manifold only to the plenum chambers that supply apertures that are covered by the sheets so that the ink from the printer will not be directed from its intended position on the sheet by vacuum from adjacent uncovered belt apertures. The sheets are fed to the conveyor in synchronism with the conveyor speed by a timed feeder so that the sheets are carried by the conveyor with a predetermined gap between the sheets and no belt apertures in the gap. A sensor counts the apertures in the belt and activates the feeder at predetermined time intervals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: SUN AUTOMATION, INC.
    Inventor: Robert Michael Hershfeld
  • Patent number: 11230125
    Abstract: A roll sheet with a continuous sheet wound in a roll form is rotated in a forward direction to supply the sheet to a printing unit. A sensor whose output is changed in accordance with a distance between the sensor and the sheet is used. A rotation direction of the roll sheet is switched from an opposite direction to the forward direction on the basis of the output of the sensor during rotation of the roll sheet in the opposite direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masato Eiyama, Yuki Igarashi, Masashi Kamada, Masashi Negishi, Ryoya Shinjo, Ryo Kobayashi, Tomohiro Suzuki, Tsutomu Obata
  • Patent number: 11233226
    Abstract: An ink printing process employs per-nozzle droplet volume measurement and processing software that plans droplet combinations to reach specific aggregate ink fills per target region, guaranteeing compliance with minimum and maximum ink fills set by specification. In various embodiments, different droplet combinations are produced through different print head/substrate scan offsets, offsets between print heads, the use of different nozzle drive waveforms, and/or other techniques. Optionally, patterns of fill variation can be introduced so as to mitigate observable line effects in a finished display device. The disclosed techniques have many other possible applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: Kateeva, Inc.
    Inventors: Nahid Harjee, Lucas D. Barkley, Christopher R. Hauf, Eliyahu Vronsky, Conor F. Madigan
  • Patent number: 11225081
    Abstract: A cleaning device includes: a cleaning member that comes into contact with a cleaning subject member and cleans the cleaning subject member using a liquid; and a liquid supply member that holds the liquid on a surface that is in contact with the cleaning member and supplies the held liquid to the cleaning member via the surface. The liquid supply member includes a plurality of holders that hold a different amount of liquid from each other in the surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: Konica Minolta, Inc.
    Inventor: Satoru Osawa
  • Patent number: 11225089
    Abstract: A medium drying device includes a heat roller pair that dries a medium recorded and transported by a line head, and a perforation portion that forms a plurality of holes on an area including a recorded area of the medium. The perforation portion includes a plurality of piercing portions configured to pierce the medium, and the piercing portions are provided on an outer peripheral surface of a drying driving roller of the heat roller pair.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Yutaro Harada, Kohei Ueno, Nobuyuki Mizushima, Shunpei Yamaguchi
  • Patent number: 11225085
    Abstract: A control device is configured to: control a main scanning device and a sub-scanning device to print partial images by single partial printing in a first case where a specific condition is not satisfied, the specific condition indicating that ink supply to a printing head may be delayed in a partial printing and determined for each of the partial image, control the main scanning device and the sub-scanning device to print the partial images by a plurality of partial printings including a first partial printing and a second partial printing in a second case where the specific condition is satisfied, and determine a first area of the partial image to be printed by the first partial printing and a second area of the partial image to be printed by the second partial printing by using a pixel value information, in the second case.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masashi Kuno, Shota Morikawa, Satoru Arakane, Shin Hasegawa, Yoshiharu Furuhata
  • Patent number: 11214067
    Abstract: A service media and method for cleaning printheads. In one embodiment, a method of cleaning includes inserting a service media beneath one or more printheads, inflating the service media so that an absorbent material of the service media contacts a nozzle surface of the printheads, and deflating the service media.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiroshi Nishimura
  • Patent number: 11214082
    Abstract: A printing apparatus determines a change in torque of a motor that moves a pick arm for translating print media, determines based on the change in torque whether a media in present adjacent to the pick arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Wei Lit Teoh, Felicia Rezanda, Eugene Goh, Li-Wen Benedict Tan
  • Patent number: 11214069
    Abstract: A printing press includes at least one printing unit having at least one nozzle bar with at least two print heads and at least one cleaning device. Each nozzle bar is assigned at least one cleaning device. The at least one cleaning device includes at least one cleaning element. The at least one cleaning element is arranged to be movable in, and counter to a cleaning direction. The at least one cleaning element has at least one fluid infeed opening and at least one fluid discharge and at least one fluid extraction device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: KOENIG & BAUER AG
    Inventors: Wolfgang Reder, Joachim Keupp, Christian Arnold, Karl Schäfer
  • Patent number: 11207882
    Abstract: In an inkjet printing system, an actuator that is associated with a nozzle of a printing element is controlled in a normal operating mode, given a non-defective nozzle, to implement at least one standard refresh measure if the time period in which the actuator is not activated to output an ink droplet exceeds a preset limit value. After detection of a defective nozzle, the actuator is controlled in an error operating mode to implement at least one intensified refresh measure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: Canon Production Printing Holding B.V.
    Inventor: Claus Schneider
  • Patent number: 11209303
    Abstract: A system for detecting a filling level in a printing fluid waste container comprises a waste container that collects excess printing fluid in a reservoir, and an optical sensor unit that detects a filling level of the reservoir on a filling reference surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Antonio Gracia Verdugo, Javier Deocon Mir, Jeffrey L. Thielman
  • Patent number: 11186089
    Abstract: Printheads and methods for forming printheads are described herein. In one example, a printhead includes a single resistor window in a conducting layer within the printhead. The printhead also includes a number of resistors formed in a resistor film deposited over the single resistor window. The resistors have two different widths, and each of the two different widths ejects a different droplet size when energized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Lawrence H. White, Thomas J. Cardinali, Michael Hager
  • Patent number: 11167556
    Abstract: An ink tank that enables to check whether a cover of an ink tank is normally bonded to the ink tank includes a first chamber having a supply port for supplying ink to a printing head that ejects ink, a second chamber having an external air introduction port capable of introducing external air, a partition wall configured to separate the first chamber and the second chamber, a communication path provided in the partition wall and configured to place the first chamber and the second chamber in communication with each other, a first cover member configured to cover an opening of the first chamber without extending over an opening of the second chamber, and a second cover member configured to cover the opening of the second chamber without extending over the opening of the first chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Koki Shimada, Hideaki Matsumura, Masaya Shimmachi, Yukimichi Kimura, Junichi Kubokawa, Takahiro Kiuchi, Yusuke Tanaka, Kyohei Sato
  • Patent number: 11167554
    Abstract: A liquid absorber includes a plurality of small chips. Individual ones of the small chips include a first substrate containing fibers, a second substrate containing fibers, and an absorbent resin supported between the first substrate and the second substrate. The first substrate contains an ion scavenger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Shinobu Yokokawa, Shogo Nakada