Patents Examined by Susan Lee
  • Patent number: 9785100
    Abstract: A fixing device includes a fixing member, a pressuring member, a deforming part, an approach guide and a guide adjusting part. The fixing member is rotatable and heated by a heat source. The pressuring member is rotatable and forms a fixing nip between the fixing member and the pressuring member. The deforming part deforms the fixing nip. The approach guide guides a sheet to the fixing nip. The guide adjusting part moves the approach guide to a position corresponding to the fixing nip after deformation, as the deforming part deforms the fixing nip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Takatoshi Nishimura
  • Patent number: 9785108
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a first removable member that includes an image carrying member and that is removably supported with respect to a body of the image forming apparatus; a first guide portion that is provided at a lower surface of the first removable member; a second guide portion that is provided at the first removable member; a first guiding portion that is provided at the body of the image forming apparatus and supports the first guide portion when the first removable member is placed on the first guiding portion; and a second guiding portion that is provided at the body of the image forming apparatus, in which, when the first removable member moves in a mounting direction from a state in which the first guide portion is supported by the first guiding portion, the second guiding portion contacts the second guide portion and guides the second guide portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Lei Yuan
  • Patent number: 9785109
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a fixed contact point and a movable contact point. The fixed contact point is provided in a unit side opposing part. A movable contact point is provided in a rail side opposing part. The rail side opposing part is formed with an opening. The movable contact point is a contact spring formed of an electrical conductive wire. The movable contact point has a fixing part, a contact part and a pull-out prevention part. The fixing part is fixed to the rail on an opposite side to the rail side opposing part. The contact part is biased with respect to the fixing part to protrude toward the fixed contact point through the opening. The pull-out prevention part restricts a protruding position of the contact part toward the fixed contact point. The pull-out prevention part is formed into a spiral shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Shinobu Ohata
  • Patent number: 9766309
    Abstract: An apparatus for measuring radio frequency output for a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus includes a plurality of directional couplers, a comparator, a switcher and a converter. The plurality of directional couplers are different in degree of coupling from each other, and attenuate an RF signal which is generated in an RF signal generator and amplified in an RF power amplifier. The comparator compares input-level information of a signal inputted into the RF power amplifier with a threshold value. The switcher switches to any one of the plurality of the directional couplers based on a result of the comparison so as to output an RF signal by the one directional coupler. The converter performs a digital conversion of the RF signal from the one directional coupler so as to output a digital signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: TOSHIBA MEDICAL SYSTEMS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Haruki Nakamura, Kazuyuki Soejima, Sojiyuuro Kato
  • Patent number: 9766570
    Abstract: A blower duct includes a path section and multiple suppressing sections. The path section connects an inlet and an outlet and allows air to flow therethrough. The suppressing sections are provided at different locations in the air flowing direction and suppress the flow of the air. The path section at least has an entrance path section and a first bent path section. One of the suppressing sections is a first suppressing section including a blocking portion and openings. The blocking portion is disposed in the first bent path section and blocks the flow of the air. The openings are disposed at different positions in one direction and include a first opening disposed closest to the inlet at a first height position where a height from a reference base surface of the first bent path section is larger than the remaining opening or openings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yasunori Momomura, Yuki Nagamori, Masafumi Kudo
  • Patent number: 9766576
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a heater, a heat receiving member configured to fix a toner image on a sheet, a first temperature sensor configured to sense a first temperature of the heat receiving member, a second temperature sensor configured to sense a second temperature of the heat receiving member, and a controller. The controller is configured to, after the image forming unit starts image formation: when a difference between the first temperature and the second temperature exceeds a threshold value a first number of times, perform a temperature reduction control in which the controller reduces a number of sheets to be printed per unit time and the image forming unit performs image formation for the reduced number of sheets to be printed per unit time; and increase the threshold value in accordance with a time elapsed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tatsuya Koyama
  • Patent number: 9759793
    Abstract: Provided are an object discrimination method and an object discrimination apparatus using an ultra-low magnetic field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The method includes measuring the respective spin-lattice relaxation times at a plurality of strengths of prepolarization magnetic fields with respect to a measurement target and classifying the measurement target using the spin-lattice relaxation times.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2017
    Assignee: KOREA RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND SCIENCE
    Inventors: Kiwoong Kim, Chan-Seok Kang, Seong-Joo Lee, Yong-ho Lee, Kwon-Kyu Yu
  • Patent number: 9753418
    Abstract: A fixing apparatus includes a roller, a heating rotation member configured to form a pressure portion by coming into contact with the roller, the heating rotation member being rotated by rotation of the roller, and a pressing rotation member configured to form a nip portion by coming into contact with the roller, the pressing rotation member being rotated by the rotation of the roller, wherein micro-hardness of a surface of the heating rotation member at the pressure portion and micro-hardness of a surface of the pressing rotation member at the nip portion are both higher than micro-hardness of a surface of the roller, and wherein frictional force acting on the roller at the pressure portion is larger than frictional force acting on the roller at the nip portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Isamu Takeda, Takanori Mitani, Akimichi Suzuki, Satoshi Nishida, Hideo Nanataki, Kazuhiro Doda, Yasuhito Minamishima
  • Patent number: 9753408
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer to bear a latent electrostatic image thereon, a developing device to supply a development agent to the latent electrostatic image to obtain a visible image, a transfer roller to contact the image bearer to transfer the visible image to a recording medium, a replenishing device to replenish the developing device with the development agent when a density value read from a density detection pattern formed on the image bearer by the developing device is equal to or less than a threshold, a processing device to conduct a predetermined processing to reduce attachment of the development agent to the transfer roller, and a control device to control the number of times the predetermined processing is performed or processing time in performing the predetermined processing for the processing device, based on whether there is replenishment of the development agent to the developing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuko Yoshikawa, Junichi Mizawa, Ichiro Komuro, Shuuichi Endoh, Yohsuke Saitoh, Toru Ohmine, Kenji Sato, Masato Mukai
  • Patent number: 9753404
    Abstract: A powder container includes a container chamber that contains powder; a transporting member that transports the powder in the container chamber; an opening that is provided in a wall of the container chamber and through which the powder is discharged out of the container chamber as the transporting member transports the powder; and a closing member that closes a lower portion of the opening and moves vertically relative to the opening in a direction opposite to a direction of vertical movement of the opening due to tilting of the container chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masahiro Uchida, Manabu Furuki, Masashi Ikeda, Makoto Kamisaki, Tatsuhiro Igarashi, Teppei Yawada
  • Patent number: 9747789
    Abstract: Example systems, apparatus, circuits, and other embodiments described herein concern parallel transmission in MRI. One example apparatus includes at least two enhanced mode gallium nitride (eGaN) based field effect transistors (FETs) that are connected by a coil that includes an LC (inductance-capacitance) leg. The apparatus includes a controller that inputs a signal to the eGaN FETs to control the production of an output analog radio frequency (RF) signal. The LC leg selectively alters the output analog RF signal. The analog RF signal is used in parallel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) transmission. One embodiment provides an MRI transmit coil with switched-mode current-source amplification provided by a gallium nitride FET.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Mark Griswold, Michael Twieg
  • Patent number: 9746799
    Abstract: In one example, an article for an imaging supply for a printer that includes a first memory and a second memory in which the first memory stores an indication that unsigned data or signed data is stored on the second memory and the second memory stores consumables management data to cause the printer to define at least one of a yield, a low point, and an out point of the imaging supply.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Paul Jeran
  • Patent number: 9746825
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a main body, a feeding tray, a pickup roller, a developing cartridge, a photosensitive member cartridge, and an exposing unit. The photosensitive member cartridge is configured to be mounted and demounted to and from a photosensitive member cartridge mounting position in the main body through a space under the exposing unit and through an opening of the front wall of the main body in a direction orthogonal to the axis of the pickup roller. The developing cartridge is configured to be mounted and demounted to and from a developing cartridge mounting position in the main body through a space under the exposing unit and through the opening in a direction orthogonal to the axis of the pickup roller, in a state the photosensitive member cartridge remains at the photosensitive member cartridge mounting position in the main body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Junichi Yokoi, Shougo Sato
  • Patent number: 9739857
    Abstract: In a method and apparatus for echo planar magnetic resonance (MR) imaging sequence of phase encoding gradient fields and a sequence of readout gradient fields are applied in order to produce a well-defined zigzag-type trajectory for entering raw data into k-space. Zigzag-type trajectories can be achieved that have flanks without curvature, or without significant curvature. Cartesian methods for image reconstruction of parallel MR imaging are applied to echo planar MR imaging with such zigzag-type trajectories.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignees: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Wissenschaften E.V.
    Inventors: David Andrew Porter, Robin Heidemann
  • Patent number: 9740152
    Abstract: In one example, an imaging supply includes a container to contain an imaging material, a first memory on the container, and a second memory on the container different from the first memory. The first memory stores an indication that signed data is stored in the second memory and the second memory stores a digital signature to authenticate the imaging supply to a printer or an indication that unsigned data is stored in the second memory and the second memory stores consumables management data or an indication that no data is stored in the second memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Paul Jeran
  • Patent number: 9739861
    Abstract: An MRI scanner may include one or more gradient waveform generators, gradient amplifiers, gradient coils, an RF waveform generator, an RF amplifier, an RF coil, a superconducting magnet, an RF detector; a digitizer, and a computer system that controls the one or more gradient waveform generators and the RF waveform generator so as to generate a magnetization saturation preparation pulse sequence that includes a tip-down pulse that is insensitive to RF field inhomogeneity followed by a tip-back pulse that employs a conjugate symmetry constraint in its energy spectrum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: University of Southern California
    Inventors: Travis B. Smith, Krishna S. Nayak
  • Patent number: 9739862
    Abstract: A DNP apparatus includes a cryostat (7) having an opening (8) and a loading path for a sample (1), the loading path extending from the opening to a sample receptacle (29), with a cryomagnet and a microwave source (2) as well as a configuration for supplying microwave radiation from the microwave source to the sample, which comprises a microwave path extending directly to the sample. The microwave path extends spatially separately from the loading path and the configuration for supplying microwave radiation has at least one microwave feed-through passing through one or more walls of the cryostat. The microwave path is incident on the sample from a direction opposite to the loading path or from a sideward direction at right angles to or at an inclination with respect to the axis of the loading path. This leads to simple and efficient polarization of the electron spins in the sample.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: Bruker BioSpin AG
    Inventors: Dirk Wilhelm, Joost A. B. Lohman, Joerg Hinderer, Hannes Grubinger
  • Patent number: 9727014
    Abstract: A fuser includes a fuser roll and a pressure roll that forms a nip between the rolls through which a sheet is conveyed to permanently fuse an image onto the sheet. The fuser roll includes a heater element having a single resistive trace, a common trace tapped to a first side of the resistive trace continuous across the resistive trace, and first and second conductive traces tapped to ends of the resistive trace at a second side of the resistive trace opposite the first side. The first and second conductive traces are physically separated and conductively segmented by a conductive gap between the conductive traces. The resistive trace includes a separation gap extending through the resistive trace continuously from the second side of the resistive trace at the conductive gap towards the first side of the resistive trace to prevent current flow between the segmented conductive traces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Tab A. Tress, Brian J. Gillis, Allen J. Thompson, Michael A. Fayette
  • Patent number: 9726742
    Abstract: A method for iteratively calibrating a reconstruction kernel for use in accelerated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is provided. An MRI system is used to acquire k-space data from multiple slice locations following the application of a multiband radio frequency (RF) excitation pulse. An initial reconstruction kernel is generated from the acquired k-space data, and this initial reconstruction kernel is used to produce an initial image for each of the multiple slice locations by applying the initial reconstruction kernel to the acquired k-space data. The average phase of each slice location is then calculated from these images, and used to shift the phase values of the subsequently acquired k-space data. From the phase-shifted k-space data, an updated reconstruction kernel is then generated. This process is repeated iteratively until a stopping criterion is satisfied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: Regents of the University of Minnesota
    Inventors: Steen Moeller, Edward Auerbach, Kamil Ugurbil, Essa Yacoub
  • Patent number: 9726743
    Abstract: In magnetic resonance imaging using a measurement sequence of the “free precession of transverse magnetization in the steady state”-type i.e., an SSFP measurement sequence, during the SSFP measurement sequence, the implementation of a preparation sequence takes place to reduce a signal contribution of the transverse magnetization in an outer region surrounding a measurement region in the MR imaging. The implementation of the preparation sequence includes the radiation of a multidimensional, spatially selective RF pulse that acts in a spatially selective manner on the transverse magnetization in the outer region. Saturation of the transverse magnetization and/or dephasing of the transverse magnetization in the outer region can be achieved by the multidimensional, spatially selective RF pulse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Hans-Peter Fautz