Patents Examined by Sharon A. Polk
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Patent number: 11571901Abstract: A printing device to which a predetermined flat-rate usage fee is applied regardless of the number of times a cartridge is replaced includes an ejection head having a nozzle capable of ejecting a liquid stored in each of a plurality of cartridges, and a controller, wherein the controller includes a cleaning execution unit that executes a cleaning process and wherein the cleaning process includes a determination process of determining the presence or absence of a specific cartridge, among a plurality of cartridges, whose liquid remaining amount is equal to or greater than a reference remaining amount before performing the cleaning operation, and whose liquid remaining amount is expected to be less than the reference remaining amount when the cleaning operation is executed, and a setting process of setting the specific cartridge as a cartridge to be replaced before executing the cleaning operation.Type: GrantFiled: December 6, 2021Date of Patent: February 7, 2023Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATIONInventor: Tomoyoshi Hirabayashi
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Patent number: 11571898Abstract: A liquid supply device includes a collection sub tank and a collection flow path. The collection sub tank collects liquid from a liquid discharge head. The collection flow path connects the liquid discharge head and the collection sub tank. The collection sub tank includes a first inflow port connected with the collection flow path and a first inner wall portion on an extension line extending from the first inflow port in a direction in which the liquid flows into the collection sub tank from the collection flow path. The first inner wall portion has one of an inclined surface inclined with respect to the extension line, an arc-shaped surface, and a curved surface.Type: GrantFiled: June 21, 2021Date of Patent: February 7, 2023Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.Inventors: Hiroshi Takahagi, Masanao Yuza
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Patent number: 11571906Abstract: Aspects of a disclosure relates to a liquid discharge device enables previously disabled liquid discharge through a head after a cartridge including a first liquid chamber is replaced and before the liquid level in a second liquid chamber of a tank reaches a predetermined level or higher. Another aspects of the disclosure relates to a liquid discharge device that deactivates an alarm after a cartridge including a first liquid chamber is replaced and before the liquid level in a second liquid reaches a predetermined level or higher.Type: GrantFiled: July 23, 2021Date of Patent: February 7, 2023Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Kenta Horade, Mikio Ogawa, Toshiro Ueda
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Patent number: 11571899Abstract: A liquid discharging apparatus includes a controller configured to execute: a recording processing, a first determining processing, a pre-recording flushing processing, a first flushing processing, and a second flushing processing. In a case that the controller determines, by the first determining processing, that the recording processing is to be executed in the second mode, the controller is configured to make a first flushing interval between the pre-recording flushing processing and the first flushing processing to be longer than a second flushing interval between the first flushing processing and the second flushing processing.Type: GrantFiled: April 27, 2021Date of Patent: February 7, 2023Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Satoru Arakane, Shotaro Iida, Shin Hasegawa, Yasuhiro Nakano
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Patent number: 11565528Abstract: An inkjet printing device including: an ink storage unit configured to store an ink; an ejection head having a nozzle configured to eject the ink to a printing material; a heating unit configured to heat the printing material; and a washing unit configured to wash a nozzle-formed surface of the head with a washing liquid, wherein the ink is a clear ink including a resin, the device has a low gloss printing mode that is a printing mode for applying low gloss and a high gloss printing mode that is a printing mode for applying high gloss, and the inkjet printing device satisfies: Tmatte>Tgloss where Tmatte (degrees Celsius) is a temperature of the heating unit when printing is performed with the low gloss printing mode, and Tgloss (degrees Celsius) is a temperature of the heating unit when printing is performed with the high gloss printing mode.Type: GrantFiled: August 30, 2019Date of Patent: January 31, 2023Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Mio Akima, Hiroaki Takahashi, Akiko Bannai
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Patent number: 11554587Abstract: The inkjet recording apparatus includes a conveyance belt, a conveyance plate, a suction unit, an inkjet head, and a cleaning unit. The conveyance belt has a plurality of through holes. The suction unit causes the conveyance belt to suck the sheet. The conveyance plate includes a plurality of through holes formed in bottom portions of the plurality of recessed portions. The inkjet head includes a head main body and a head end portion adjacent to the head main body, and faces an upper surface of the conveyance plate via the conveyance belt. The cleaning unit removes ink adhering to a lower surface of the head main body. A ratio of the recessed portions per unit area in a facing region of the conveyance plate facing the head end portion is smaller than a ratio of the recessed portions per unit area in a region other than the facing region.Type: GrantFiled: March 19, 2021Date of Patent: January 17, 2023Assignee: KYOCERA DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS INC.Inventors: Hiroyuki Ueda, Chikara Ishihara, Takashi Somete, Issei Nakano, Jun Nakano, Hiroomi Nakatsuji, Aiichiro Otana, Takuma Araki, Noriaki Furukawa, Yasutaka Inui
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Patent number: 11554588Abstract: The inkjet recording apparatus includes a conveyance belt, a conveyance plate, a suction unit, an inkjet head, and a cleaning unit. The conveyance belt has a plurality of through holes. The conveyance plate includes a plurality of through holes formed in bottom portions of the plurality of recessed portions. The suction unit is configured to suck the sheet to the conveyance belt. The inkjet head includes a head main body and a head end portion adjacent to the head main body, and faces an upper surface of the conveyance plate via the conveyance belt. The cleaning unit removes ink adhering to a lower surface of the head main body. A depth of the recessed portion in a facing region facing the head end portion of the conveyance plate is shallower than a depth of the recessed portion in a region other than the facing region.Type: GrantFiled: March 19, 2021Date of Patent: January 17, 2023Assignee: KYOCERA DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS INC.Inventors: Hiroyuki Ueda, Chikara Ishihara, Takashi Somete, Issei Nakano, Jun Nakano, Hiroomi Nakatsuji, Aiichiro Otana, Takuma Araki, Noriaki Furukawa, Yasutaka Inui
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Patent number: 11548302Abstract: A media cartridge includes: a base defining a media chamber and including a lower wall and an opposing upper wall; an identification circuit disposed on the lower wall, the identification circuit configured to engage with an electronic interface of a printer; a ledge on the upper wall of the base, the ledge configured to receive downward pressure from an inner surface of a lid of the printer in a closed position; wherein the identification circuit is aligned with the ledge to receive at least a portion of the downward pressure.Type: GrantFiled: October 15, 2020Date of Patent: January 10, 2023Assignee: Zebra Technologies CorporationInventors: Morgan Hassan Malone, Raymond E. Maynard, Steve Ting Kei Chow, Michael F. St. Germain, Angel B. Rosales
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Patent number: 11548290Abstract: Industrial printing systems, including systems and techniques relating to drop-on-demand (DOD) inkjet printing systems include an apparatus including: a receptacle defining a hold chamber to receive ink, the receptacle including a first portion configured to hold a first quantity of ink, and a second portion that is smaller than the first portion and configured to hold a second quantity of ink, the second portion including a first heat conducting surface, and a second heat conducting surface offset from the first heat conducting surface by a distance determined in accordance with a melting point of the ink, the second heat conducting surface defining a barrier between the first portion and the second portion and including at least one opening configured to allow flow of the ink from the first portion to the second portion; and at least one heating element configured to heat the receptacle.Type: GrantFiled: July 14, 2021Date of Patent: January 10, 2023Assignee: Markem-Imaje CorporationInventors: Arjun Venkataramanan, Alan G. Gibson, Bernard Marcel Bunner, Frances H. Benton
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Patent number: 11535039Abstract: An ejection-material ejection apparatus and an imprinting apparatus are provided which are capable of quickly detecting damage of a flexible membrane and avoiding contact between an ejection material and an operating liquid even if part of the flexible membrane is damaged. The flexible membrane includes a first film (1) covering a first storing space (5) for the ejection material, a second film (2) covering a second storing space (6) for the operating liquid, and an inter-film space 4 situated between the first film (1) and the second film (2). A change in state of the inter-film space (4) resulting from communication between at least one of the first storing space (5) and the second storing space (6) and the inter-film space (4) is detected with a liquid sensor (41), a flow speed sensor (77), and a liquid leakage sensor (42).Type: GrantFiled: November 28, 2018Date of Patent: December 27, 2022Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Nobuto Kawahara, Yoshimasa Araki, Yuichi Iwasaki, Noriyasu Hasegawa
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Patent number: 11531368Abstract: Provided is a printer, which serves as an information processing device and which includes: a housing; a cover including a first surface, in which an opening is formed, the cover being configured to pivot about an axis of a first rotating shaft parallel to the first surface; and a touch panel, which is to be located in the opening when the cover is in a closed state in which the cover covers the housing. The cover includes a frame between an edge of the first surface and the opening.Type: GrantFiled: March 12, 2020Date of Patent: December 20, 2022Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Hiroaki Fukumoto, Ryuji Moriyama
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Patent number: 11524504Abstract: A service printer includes a printer printing unit that executes a print function, a scanning unit that executes a scan function, a printer communication unit that acquires, from a service providing server that provides a delivery service of delivering ink, status information indicating at least one of the status of a contract for use of the delivery service and the status of payment of the usage fee for the delivery service, and a printer controller that enables or disables execution of the print function and execution of the scan function based on at least one of the contract status and the payment status that are indicated by the status information acquired by the printer communication unit.Type: GrantFiled: October 28, 2020Date of Patent: December 13, 2022Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Ikumi Watanabe, Mikio Nagahara, Satoshi Jobetto, Hiroshi Kaiho
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Patent number: 11518174Abstract: An inkjet printing apparatus includes a print head ejecting ink, a tank reserving ink to be supplied to the print head and a joint unit being capable of connecting the print head and the tank to each other. The joint unit has a connecting portion for supplying ink to the print head and a shaft that is rotatable by a drive source so as to move in an axial direction. The connecting portion moves together with the shaft. The print head includes a head joint connectable to the connecting portion and an engaging portion engageable with one end of the shaft. The shaft is rotated to be engaged with the engaging portion so that the head joint and the connecting portion are connected to each other.Type: GrantFiled: October 6, 2020Date of Patent: December 6, 2022Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Tetsuji Kurata, Akira Kida, Atsushi Kohnotoh
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Patent number: 11518163Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a printing portion and a control portion. The printing portion executes a printing operation including ejecting a liquid from a nozzle onto a medium. The control portion executes an initial operation upon supply of power and executes the printing operation in accordance with a print instruction. The initial operation and the printing operation include a common printing operation that is common to the initial operation and the printing operation. When the control portion does not receive the print instruction during execution of the initial operation, the control portion executes the initial operation including the common printing operation. When the control portion receives the print instruction during execution of the initial operation, the control portion omits the common printing operation from the initial operation.Type: GrantFiled: November 25, 2020Date of Patent: December 6, 2022Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Yasuaki Hirai, Yasuo Sunaga
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Patent number: 11511542Abstract: A device may be configured to check, via evaluation of resistance data of a cleaning sensor arranged on a print bar of an inkjet printing device, whether a cleaner for cleaning the one or more print heads of the print bar exhibits a negative effect. The state of a cleaner may be reliably and efficiently monitored via the installation of a cleaning sensor in a print bar.Type: GrantFiled: August 4, 2021Date of Patent: November 29, 2022Assignee: Canon Production Printing Holding B.V.Inventors: Ulrich Stöckle, Christoph Rummelsberger, Florian Hitzlsperger
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Patent number: 11511541Abstract: An inkjet printer cleaning system includes an inkjet printer and a cleaning unit. The inkjet printer includes an ink head and a table that faces the ink head and on which a substrate is to be placed. The cleaning unit includes an attachment attachable to and removable from the table, and a cleaner that faces the ink head upon attaching of the attachment to the table.Type: GrantFiled: July 23, 2019Date of Patent: November 29, 2022Assignee: ROLAND DG CORPORATIONInventors: Bunji Shinomiya, Shunsuke Kawai, Takayoshi Oguri
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Patent number: 11511540Abstract: A liquid discharging apparatus includes a liquid discharging head having nozzles, a tank which stores liquid, and a controller. The controller causes the liquid discharging head to perform a discharging operation for discharging the liquid from the nozzles based on a discharging data. The discharging data includes unit discharging data indicating whether the liquid is to be discharged from the nozzles within a predetermined time period. In the discharging operation, a) if a discharge amount based on the unit discharging data is less than a threshold value, the liquid discharging head performs a first discharging operation during the predetermined time period, and b) if the discharge amount based on the unit discharging data is equal to or more than the threshold value, the liquid discharging head performs a second discharging operation during another time period longer than the predetermined time period.Type: GrantFiled: March 26, 2021Date of Patent: November 29, 2022Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Yasuhiro Nakano, Toshiyuki Yamane, Toshio Sugiura, Jiro Yamamoto
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Patent number: 11511548Abstract: A liquid ejection apparatus includes a housing provided at least with an upper surface and side surfaces, and a liquid tank that is arranged in the housing and is refillable with a liquid from outside. A display unit that indicates a remaining liquid amount in the liquid tank is arranged at least at one of joining portions each joining the upper surface to one of the side surfaces.Type: GrantFiled: January 21, 2021Date of Patent: November 29, 2022Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Masaya Uyama, Souta Takeuchi, Takumi Shimoda
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Patent number: 11498347Abstract: A medium processing apparatus includes an intermediate stacker on which media recorded by a recording apparatus are stacked, the recording apparatus including a liquid ejection head which performs recording by ejecting liquid to media and a maintenance apparatus which performs maintenance of the liquid ejection head, and a processor which executes a process on the media received by the intermediate stacker. The medium processing apparatus executes the process after a medium which is last recorded before the maintenance is stacked on the intermediate stacker.Type: GrantFiled: February 3, 2020Date of Patent: November 15, 2022Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventor: Atsushi Nakazawa
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Patent number: 11498336Abstract: A cleaning device for printing heads arranged in a group along an alignment direction (Y) with a lower surface lying on a main plane (T). The device comprises a collecting head (2), movable along the alignment direction (Y) on the main plane (Y), in contact with or near the lower surfaces of the heads. The print head (2) is movable between a first and a second position that are located at the ends of the group of heads. The collecting head (2) is provided with an inlet opening (21) for collecting material from the heads (T).Type: GrantFiled: September 4, 2019Date of Patent: November 15, 2022Assignee: SYSTEM CERAMICS S.P.A.Inventor: Franco Stefani
