Patents Examined by Stephen R. Funk
  • Patent number: 6899479
    Abstract: A printer comprising a printing section that has a platen, a cutter section with a stationary blade and a movable blade and a printhead located oppositely on both sides of the guide path. A first unit is located on one side of the guide path arranged inside the casing which can be separated into a first casing member and a second casing member, holding either one of the stationary blade and the movable blade in the cutter section and a second unit located on the other side of the guide path that has either one of the other platen and the other printhead and either one of the other stationary blade and the other movable blade.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2005
    Assignee: Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Katsumune Hayashi, Hiroyuki Koyama, Kouichi Yamada
  • Patent number: 6899030
    Abstract: A method and apparatus of producing images on a series of master plates that are suitable for use as printing plates for the reproduction of multiple copies of composite images from said plates. The master plates are supported with a predetermined alignment relative to each other before mounting on a printing press. Counterpart raster lines of images on the master plates are recorded simultaneously or substantially simultaneously using preferably an ink jet printer so that the counterpart raster lines are printed in alignment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2005
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: William Y. Fowlkes, Charles D. DeBoer, Paul D. Heppner
  • Patent number: 6899478
    Abstract: A method for ribbon color thermal printing and encoding cards, particularly pre-paid, smart cards, chip cards, and the like is disclosed. The method includes the steps of detecting the printing ribbon color, controlling the thermal printing energy feed and driving the printing, encoding and detection, in which the encoding is carried out at a location upstream of the thermal printing. The color detection is carried out at a location between the encoding and/or thermal printing, and at the same time as the printing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2005
    Assignee: CIM USA, Inc.
    Inventors: Alberto Mucelli, Marco Mazzanti, Franco Salcuni, Antonio Armellin
  • Patent number: 6892640
    Abstract: There is prepared a printing plate on which a material being hydrophilic at a first temperature and being hydrophobic at a second temperature which is lower than the first temperature is provided. First, the whole surface of the printing plate is forcibly made either one of hydrophobic or hydrophilic. Next, a region having the other nature out of hydrophobic and hydrophilic is formed so as to correspond to an image to be printed. Then, ink is supplied onto the region having hydrophobic nature to conduct offset printing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2005
    Assignee: Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Nobufumi Mori, Takao Nakayama, Takashi Nakamura, Koji Kamiyama
  • Patent number: 6880995
    Abstract: An elastic-cup support for keyboard is in the form of a flat locating sheet located on a membrane-type switch circuit board of the keyboard, and provided at positions corresponding to membrane-type switches on the circuit board with receiving holes for separately receiving an elastic cup therein. Each of the receiving holes is provided with an upward projected wall portion to confine the elastic cup to the receiving hole. The wall portion is optionally provided with at least one notch having a lug radially inward extended therefrom, such that the elastic cup confined by the wall portion is also pressed against the at least one lug to fixedly located in the receiving hole on the flat locating sheet. Alternatively, the wall portion may be provided at an upper edge with at least one radially inward projected lug to prevent the elastic cup from separating from the receiving hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2005
    Assignee: Monterey International Corp.
    Inventor: Tsung-Kan Cheng
  • Patent number: 6877430
    Abstract: A gripper device in a sheet-processing machine includes a gripper, a gripper pad associated with the gripper and a first drive for moving the gripper out of an opened position thereof into a closed position thereof. The gripper is cooperatively engageable with the gripper pad for producing a clamping force for holding sheets being processed. A second drive is separately operable from the first drive during a production printing operation of the sheet-processing machine. The first and second drives are operable for positioning the gripper and/or the gripper pad so that clamping faces of one of the gripper and/or the gripper pad are movable by the second drive perpendicularly to clamping faces of the other of the gripper and/or the gripper pad.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2005
    Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
    Inventors: Volker Müller, Hendrik Frank, Manfred Gross, Karl-Heinz Helmstädter, Hans-Peter Hiltwein, Michael Krüger, Siegfried Kurtzer, Jürgen Maass, Thomas Schaeffer, Rolf Spilger, Norbert Thünker
  • Patent number: 6877423
    Abstract: In a method to produce a printing form for rotogravure, in particular for heliorotogravure, a surface of the formis provided with a wear-resistant layer and the surface is provided with cups. Furthermore, a printing form is provided whereby the surface of the printing form comprises a wear-resistant layer in which the cups, with regard to their depth, are at least partially provided therein. The printing form may be used in a printing device for heliorotogravure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2005
    Assignee: Hell Gravure Systems GmbH
    Inventors: Siegfried Beisswenger, Maximilian Rid
  • Patent number: 6877428
    Abstract: The regenerative plate making and printing process, and plate making and printing apparatus of the present invention are applied to a printing system requiring a separate developing step independent of a printing step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2005
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Mitsuru Tabuchi, Masahiro Matsubara, Hiroaki Ikeda, Toshiyuki Urano, Takuya Uematsu, Yuji Mizuho
  • Patent number: 6874963
    Abstract: An image forming machine driving apparatus includes a first one direction power transfer part transferring or cutting off a dynamic power of a driving motor to or from a feeding part according to rotation directions of the driving motor, and a feeding part power-engaging removal device cutting off a jammed paper-removing force not to be transferred to the driving motor when the jammed paper-removing force is applied to the feeding part in a power transfer direction of the first one direction power transfer part, thereby preventing the jammed paper from being torn off or damaged when the paper jammed in the feeding part is removed during supplying or feeding the paper.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2005
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., LTD
    Inventors: Myung-woo Yang, Won-taek Kim
  • Patent number: 6871588
    Abstract: An ink bottle mounting apparatus comprising a bottle mounting apparatus body 11 having an ink bottle 1 and a bottle insertion chamber 12 into which the ink bottle 1 is inserted, wherein the ink bottle mounting apparatus further comprises a bottle lock member 15 which is engaged with a groove 5 formed on a side peripheral surface of the ink bottle 1 to prevent the ink bottle 1 from being pulled out when the ink bottle 1 is mounted to the bottle mounting apparatus body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2005
    Assignee: Riso Kagaku Corporation
    Inventors: Kuninori Sasaki, Takahiro Wakayama
  • Patent number: 6868787
    Abstract: Disclosed is a printing plate precursor composed of a substrate and provided thereon, a hydrophilic layer having a center line average roughness Ra of from 150 nm to less than 1000 nm and having effective protrusions of from 500 to less than 3000 per mm2, the effective protrusions protruding from an upper plane 1.0 ?m farther from the substrate than a center roughness plane in the three dimensional roughness plane of the hydrophilic layer, and having a ratio H/D of not less than 0.15, wherein H represents a height (?m) from the upper plane of the effective protrusions, and D represents a size (?m) of solids formed by the upper plane and the curved surface protruding from the upper plane of the effective protrusions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2005
    Assignee: Konica Corporation
    Inventor: Takahiro Mori
  • Patent number: 6862985
    Abstract: The invention relates to a guiding device for metal sheet printing machines and metal sheet painting machines, which have at least two printing cylinders and a transfer drum situated therebetween. The guiding device is arranged on said transfer drum and, to be precise, is located close to the imaginary cylindrical outer surface of the transfer drum. The guiding device comprises at least one guiding element with an outwardly turned bearing surface for supporting the rear edge of the metal sheets. The guiding element is pivotally mounted by means of a swivel bearing whose pivotal axis is parallel to the axis of the transfer drum. The guiding element is coupled to a pivot drive by means of which its bearing surface can be adjusted to different pivoting angles (?) with regard to the tangent to the imaginary cylindrical outer surface of the transfer drum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2005
    Assignee: Bauer + Kunzi Gesellschaft fur Drucktechnik mbH
    Inventors: Hans Beger, Harald Klotz, Otto Kunzi
  • Patent number: 6862992
    Abstract: A method of lithographic printing is disclosed, which includes forming an image based on signals of image data directly on a printing plate precursor mounted on a plate cylinder of a printing press, thereby preparing a printing plate, and conducting lithographic printing, wherein the formation of the image on the printing plate precursor is carried out by an ink jet recording method in which oil-based ink is ejected utilizing an electrostatic field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2005
    Assignee: Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yusuke Nakazawa, Kazuo Ishii, Eiichi Kato
  • Patent number: 6860665
    Abstract: A passive linear encoder includes a loop and a sensor. The loop is configured to engage print media and to move in concert with, and under power of, the print media. The sensor is positioned to scan indicia defined on an inner surface of the loop.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2005
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Steven B. Elgee, Steve O. Rasmussen
  • Patent number: 6857365
    Abstract: To produce a printing block, a relief is introduced into a surface of a printing block blank. To form the relief, material of the printing block blank is removed along tracks by radiation. The relief regions may be formed at different depths along one and the same track by frequent exposure to radiation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2005
    Assignee: Schablonentechnik Kufstein Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Josef Juffinger, Franz Kurz
  • Patent number: 6857801
    Abstract: A label for applying to a support in a flag-type mode and a tape printer for printing the label to provide the correct size of printed and unprinted areas is described, wherein the label has a first area and a second area adjacent to the first area. The first area and the second area are arranged in use to provide a flag portion. The label further comprises a third area arranged on the other side of the second area to the first layer. The third area is sized to be wound around a periphery of the support.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2005
    Assignee: Esselte
    Inventor: Mario Van Bever
  • Patent number: 6854391
    Abstract: A conditioner composition for a printing plate with metallic non-print areas on the printing surface contains a polymeric or oligomeric component. The polymeric component adheres to the metal (particularly, aluminum) surface of the non-print area(s) of the printing member, and has a hydrophilic portion. The conditioned printing plate is particularly useful for printing single fluid inks having an emulsified hydrophilic fluid phase.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2005
    Assignee: Flint Ink Corporation
    Inventors: Mark D. Latunski, Matthew S. Newman, Dennis R. Gelarden, Graham C. Battersby
  • Patent number: 6851878
    Abstract: One embodiment of a positioning system for positioning a sheet of print media within a print media handling mechanism comprises a drive shaft that rotates about a drive shaft axis of rotation; and a drive roller mounted on the drive shaft, the drive roller driven by the drive shaft to rotate about an axis of rotation different from the drive shaft axis of rotation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2005
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Brian D. Hemmerlin
  • Patent number: 6851364
    Abstract: A printing plate material which can be adapted to digitization of the printing process and recycled and a method for renewing it. As the printing plate material, there can be used one which includes a substrate on the surface of which a coat layer containing a titanium oxide photocatalyst and at least one member selected from salts or oxides of Fe2+, Ni2+, Mn2+, Cr3+, and Cu2+ is formed. In an initial state of the printing plate as prepared, it is adjusted to a state where the surface of the coat layer is hydrophobic. This surface is irradiated with ultraviolet rays to convert a part of the surface to a hydrophilic surface. This conversion is performed based on digital data corresponding to an image to be printed. In this case, the hydrophobic portion is used as a printing image portion and the hydrophilic portion is used as a non-printing image portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2005
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Yasuharu Suda
  • Patent number: 6851366
    Abstract: Presented is a reusable printing form including a printing area that has a metal oxide surface, in particular a native oxidized titanium surface, which is treated with at least one amphiphilic organic compound whose polar region has an acidic character. In an advantageous embodiment, n-heptadecanyl hydroxamic acid {CH3-(CH2)16-C(O)—NH—OH} and/or n-octadecanyl phosphonic acid {CH3-(CH2)17-P(O)—(OH)2} is used. Also described is a method for imaging a reusable printing form. The reusable printing form can be used for offset printing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2005
    Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
    Inventors: Martin Gutfleisch, Gerald Erik Hauptmann, Harald Latzel, Gerhard Peiter