Patents Examined by Shelby Fidler
  • Patent number: 9827792
    Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus includes a sheet feed section, an image forming section, a partition unit, an air inflow portion, a first sheet conveyance section, a second sheet conveyance section, and an air sucking and discharging section. The partition unit partitions an interior of an apparatus casing into a first space in which the image forming section is disposed and a second space in which the sheet feed section, the first sheet conveyance section, and the second sheet conveyance section are disposed. Air outside the apparatus casing is taken into the first space through the air inflow portion. The second sheet conveyance section includes a conveyance guide disposed downstream of the image forming section in a conveyance direction of a recording sheet. The air sucking and discharging section sucks air around the conveyance guide and discharges the air into the second space or out of the apparatus casing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2017
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventors: Tomohisa Soda, Hiroatsu Tamai, Takeshi Watanabe, Jumpei Hobo, Shinji Yoshinaga, Hidenori Takenaka, Satoshi Tsunemi
  • Patent number: 9822276
    Abstract: Examples provide inkjet ink sets and related methods. An ink set may include a pre-treatment fixing fluid, an ink, and a post-treatment fluid including a wax and a binder present in the post-treatment fluid in a range of about 10 weight percent to about 30 weight percent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Elizabeth Ann Visnyak, Ali Emamjomeh, George Sarkisian, David Michael Ingle, Minedys Macias Guzman
  • Patent number: 9815280
    Abstract: A liquid discharge apparatus includes a control unit; and a head unit, in which the control unit includes a data generation unit, and a drive signal generation unit, the head unit includes a discharge unit, residual vibration detection unit, and an amplification unit, the data generation unit generates and outputs discharge control data for controlling discharge of liquid and gain data for defining an amplification rate of an amplification unit, the drive signal generation unit generates and outputs a drive signal including a plurality of waveforms, the discharge unit discharges the liquid by applying a waveform assigned by the discharge control data among the plurality of waveforms, the residual vibration detection unit detects residual vibration of the discharge unit and outputs a residual vibration signal, and the amplification unit amplifies the residual vibration signal with the amplification rate defined by the gain data and outputs the amplified signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Kyohei Date, Hiroshi Sugita
  • Patent number: 9815999
    Abstract: The ink jet recording method according to the present invention includes attaching a resin liquid including a resin to a recording medium; attaching a reaction liquid including a reactant for aggregating or thickening a coloring ink component having a coloring material to an area where the resin liquid is attached; attaching the coloring ink to an area where the reaction liquid is attached by an ink jet method; and attaching a clear ink including a resin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Takeshi Yano, Ippei Okuda, Mitsuaki Kosaka
  • Patent number: 9815311
    Abstract: An ink jet recording method for carrying out recording on a recording medium which is formed of a vinyl chloride-based resin by discharging a solvent-based ink from an ink jet head, in which the recording medium satisfies (1): an FT-IR peak wavenumber is less than 2924 cm?1 (2): a contraction rate before and after leaving at 60° C. for 3 hours is less than 1.8% (3): none of a phthalate ester-based plasticizer, a phosphate ester-based plasticizer, and a fatty acid ester-based plasticizer are included.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Wataru Ito
  • Patent number: 9802431
    Abstract: A print-head assembly for a printing apparatus includes: a carriage with a frame configured to be supported on a gantry for movement in a travel direction over a print surface; a print-head unit having one or more print heads mounted on the carriage; and an impact damping device mounted on an end region of the carriage in the travel direction, wherein an impact member of the damping device presents a contact surface in the travel direction. The impact member is mounted to the carriage frame for resilient movement over a buffer distance substantially parallel to the travel direction between a first extended position and a second retracted position for absorbing or damping an impact during movement of the carriage in the travel direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: OCÉ HOLDING B.V.
    Inventors: Brian D. Otter, Maarten J. H. Elferink, Hadylee H. Wan
  • Patent number: 9802425
    Abstract: A printing device and a printing method, which are by ink-jet technique an overcoat layer using an ink consisting of more suitable ingredients, are provided. The printing device is for performing printing by ink-jet technique, including: a color ink head being an inkjet head that forms a color ink layer on a medium using a color ink; an overcoat head being an inkjet head that forms an overcoat layer that covers the color ink layer; and a curing agent head being an inkjet head that discharges ink droplets of a curing agent, the curing agent being a liquid for curing an ink in the overcoat layer. The overcoat head discharges ink droplets of an ink prepared by dispersing in an organic solvent a curable material that is cured in reaction to the curing agent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: MIMAKI ENGINEERING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Akifumi Seki, Kazuya Nozaki, Hironori Hashizume, Masaru Ohnishi
  • Patent number: 9796179
    Abstract: A liquid discharge apparatus includes a controller, a drive signal generation unit, a discharge unit, a residual vibration detection unit, and an amplification unit, in which the controller generates discharge control data for controlling discharge of liquid and controls an amplification rate of an amplification unit, the drive signal generation unit generates and outputs a drive signal including a plurality of waveforms driving the discharge unit, the discharge unit discharges the liquid by applying a waveform assigned by the discharge control data among the plurality of waveforms included in the drive signal, the residual vibration detection unit detects residual vibration of the discharge unit and outputs a residual vibration signal indicating the residual vibration, after the discharge unit is driven by the drive signal, and the amplification unit amplifies the residual vibration signal with the amplification rate controlled by the controller and outputs the amplified signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Kyohei Date, Masashi Kamiyanagi, Ryota Furukawa, Kazuhito Fujisawa, Hiroshi Sugita
  • Patent number: 9789708
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus including a liquid ejecting unit that ejects a liquid onto a medium, a transporting mechanism that transports the medium, a member having concave portions, which is arranged downstream of the liquid ejecting unit in a transporting direction of the medium, an introducing mechanism that introduces the medium to the concave portions, the transporting mechanism having rollers that come into contact with the medium at a plurality of contact positions in a direction that intersects the transporting direction, and the concave portions being arranged at positions that correspond to a position between neighboring ones of the contact positions in the transporting direction. By giving the liquid ejecting apparatus such a structure, wrinkles that occur in a liquid ejection region can be suppressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Tsuneyuki Sasaki
  • Patent number: 9793891
    Abstract: A liquid discharge apparatus includes: an modulation circuit that generates a modulated signal by pulse-modulating a source signal through self-oscillation; a transistor that amplifies the modulated signal to generate an amplified modulated signal; a low-pass filter that includes an inductor and a capacitor and smoothes the amplified modulated signal to generate a drive signal; a feedback circuit that allows the drive signal to return to the modulation circuit; a piezoelectric element that is displaced by application of the drive signal thereto; a cavity that is filled with a liquid inside and has an internal volume which changes when the piezoelectric element is displaced; and a nozzle that is provided to discharge the liquid inside the cavity in response to the change of the internal volume of the cavity. In this configuration, a self-resonant frequency of the capacitor is higher than a frequency of the self-oscillation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuo Takagi, Hidekazu Uematsu
  • Patent number: 9789701
    Abstract: A printing system includes a first member and a second member. The second member is positioned parallel to the first member. The system further includes a first extensible member and a second extensible member. The system further includes a first gripper and a second gripper. One end of the first extensible member is mounted to the first member and the other end of the first extensible member is mounted to the first gripper. One end of the second extensible member is mounted to the second member and the other end is mounted to the second gripper. A controller operates a first actuator operatively connected to the first and second extensible members.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Jonathan Ireland, Donald Thresh, Michael N. Soures, James D. VanBortel, Bruce H. Smith
  • Patent number: 9782989
    Abstract: A controller drives a conveyer to start to convey a sheet of continuous paper and accelerates the sheet to a printing conveyance speed, and drives an inkjet head to start to perform a printing while driving the conveyer to convey the sheet at the printing conveyance speed. The controller drives a tension adjuster to adjust a tension of the sheet such that the tension of the sheet during acceleration after start of conveyance of the sheet is smaller than the tension of the sheet during the printing, and drives the head gap adjuster to adjust a head gap between the inkjet head and the sheet such that a first head gap during the acceleration of the sheet is greater than a second head gap during the printing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Assignee: RISO KAGAKU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Akira Nishiyama
  • Patent number: 9776425
    Abstract: The inkjet head ejection performance evaluation method includes: printing a test pattern for examining an ejection condition for each nozzle by an inkjet head having a plurality of nozzles arrayed in a matrix and is read by an image reading device; and measuring a depositing position for each nozzle from the read image to calculate a deposit displacement amount based on the depositing position and pattern information, wherein a position of a center of gravity in a Y direction of nozzles used for calculation for calculating the deposit displacement amount of the nozzle number n is equal to a position of a center of gravity in the Y direction of all nozzles existing in the nozzle range of the nozzles used for calculation, where a direction of relative movement between the inkjet head and a recording medium is the Y direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventor: Tadashi Kyoso
  • Patent number: 9770914
    Abstract: An ink cartridge for an inkjet printer includes a bottom face and a front face; an ink interface on the front face of the ink cartridge for connection to a cartridge receiving structure; a guide interface in the bottom face for guiding the cartridge along a straight line during insertion into the cartridge receiving structure for connecting the ink interface; a latch track disposed in the bottom face of the ink cartridge to guide a latch of the cartridge receiving structure; a latch stop disposed in the latch track for engaging the latch, where the latch track comprises a locking track and an unlocking track to accommodate movement of the latch with respect to the latch stop, the locking track being at least partly separate from the unlocking track; and a latch guide for redirecting the latch towards the locking track, rather than the unlocking track.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: David C. Harvey, Curt Gonzales, Ralph L. Stathem, David Olsen, David Welter
  • Patent number: 9770916
    Abstract: A printer to which an ink tank that contains an ink is fixed and that is configured such that a user can refill the ink tank with the ink includes: a consumption amount calculation unit that calculates a consumption amount of the ink; a storage unit that stores a count value that is updated based on the consumption amount of the ink calculated by the consumption amount calculation unit; a sensor that detect whether or not the ink is present at a predetermined position in the ink tank; and a control unit that executes ink presence/absence detection with the sensor. The ink presence/absence detection is for determining whether or not the ink is present. The control unit resets the count value to an initial value thereof if the control unit executes the ink presence/absence detection and determines that the ink is present.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Shuichi Koganehira, Ryohei Ito, Masaki Tsukida
  • Patent number: 9764554
    Abstract: There is provided a method for manufacturing a molded member having a hollow part. The method comprises a step for molding the hollow part by extracting a first piece, a second piece, a third piece and a fourth piece of a mold in four different directions. The second piece has an elongated shape in its extracting direction, the second piece and the fourth piece have extracting directions substantially opposed to each other, and at the molding, each of the first piece, the second piece, the third piece and the fourth piece abuts on at least one of the first piece, the second piece, the third piece and the fourth piece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiromasa Amma, Yukuo Yamaguchi, Mikiya Umeyama, Satoshi Oikawa, Takuya Iwano, Satoshi Kimura, Naoko Tsujiuchi, Yasushi Iijima, Kyosuke Toda
  • Patent number: 9765230
    Abstract: An ink composition contains water, a coloring material, a surfactant, a slightly water-soluble 1,2-alkanediol having a carbon number of 7 to 10 and a melting point in the range of 30° C. to less than 80° C., and a water-soluble symmetrical both-end alkanediol having a melting point of 80° C. or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Shuichi Koganehira
  • Patent number: 9751327
    Abstract: An ink jet recording method includes attaching a reaction liquid and one or more ink jet ink compositions to a low-absorbing or non-absorbing recording medium, in which the reaction liquid contains a reactant which is a carboxylic acid or carboxylate that reacts with a component of the ink jet ink composition, the ink jet ink composition contains a resin and water, and when a deposition amount in an area in which the deposition amount of the resin is the greatest per unit area in a deposition area of the ink jet ink composition on the low-absorbing or non-absorbing recording medium is set to be 100%, the reaction liquid and the ink jet ink composition are deposited so that a mass ratio between the deposition amount of the resin and the deposition amount of the reactant (resin/reactant) in the deposition area in which the deposition amount of the resin is in a range of 20% to 100% is in a range of 1.5 to 16.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Takeshi Yano
  • Patent number: 9751330
    Abstract: A printing apparatus capable of continuously printing images on a recording medium, each of the images including a variable image of which an aspect is variable for each of the images to be continuously printed and a fixed image of which an aspect is the same for each of the images to be continuously printed, the printing apparatus includes a storage unit that associates and stores therein image data of the fixed image and a template having at least information about a position of printing an image, and a printing control unit that, when a control command which includes information for designating the template and instructs a printing of the variable image is input, superimposes the variable image and the fixed image associated with the designated template, on the basis of the template and print the superimposed image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Kei Jintsugawa, Tomoharu Kifuku
  • Patent number: 9751331
    Abstract: A liquid discharge apparatus includes a discharge portion, a movement portion, and a control portion capable of executing an image forming operation of forming an image on the medium by a discharge operation of causing the discharge portion to discharge the liquid and a movement operation of causing the movement portion to move the medium and the discharge portion relatively to each other in a movement direction. The control portion is capable of changing a first amount of movement that is an amount of movement to be made by the movement operation to form a first image and a second amount of movement that is an amount of movement to be made by the movement operation to form a second image in a case where after the first image is formed, the second image is formed on the first image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Nobuhiko Hamada