Patents Examined by Thinh H. Nguyen
  • Patent number: 11186080
    Abstract: In some examples, a fluid dispensing device includes a plurality of fluidic actuators and a decoder. The decoder is to detect that an activated sense measurement is to be performed for a first fluidic actuator of the plurality of fluidic actuators in a first time group comprising a plurality of activation intervals for respective fluidic actuators. In response to detecting that the activated sense measurement is to be performed for the first fluidic actuator in the first time group, the decoder activates the first fluidic actuator in the first time group to perform the activated sense measurement for the first fluidic actuator, and suppresses an activation pulse to the first fluidic actuator in a second time group that follows the first time group to perform a reference measurement for the first fluidic actuator in the second time group, the second time group comprising a plurality of activation intervals for respective fluidic actuators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Eric T. Martin, Daryl E. Anderson
  • Patent number: 11179945
    Abstract: A liquid supply device includes a first conduit, a second conduit, one or more pumps, a heater, a filter, and a bypass conduit. The first conduit is connected to an upstream side of a liquid discharge head. The second conduit is connected to a downstream side of the liquid discharge head. The liquid is supplied through the first conduit to the liquid discharge head and recovered from the liquid discharge head through the second conduit. The heater is provided along the first conduit. The filter is provided in the first conduit on a downstream side of the heater. The bypass conduit is connected between a portion of the first conduit upstream with respect to the filter and a portion of the second conduit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Hara
  • Patent number: 11167303
    Abstract: A repeatable manufacturing process uses a printer to deposits liquid for each product carried by a substrate to form respective thin films. The liquid is dried, cured or otherwise processed to form from the liquid a permanent layer of each respective product. To perform printing, each newly-introduced substrate is roughly mechanically aligned, with an optical system detecting sub-millimeter misalignment, and with software correcting for misalignment. Rendering of adjusted data is performed such that nozzles are variously assigned dependent on misalignment to deposit droplets in a regulated manner, to ensure precise deposition of liquid for each given area of the substrate. For example, applied to the manufacture of flat panel displays, software ensures that exactly the right amount of liquid is deposited for each “pixel” of the display, to minimize likelihood of visible discrepancies in the resultant display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: Kateeva, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Baker, Nahid Harjee, Douglas Bacon
  • Patent number: 11167548
    Abstract: A printer includes a mount on which a print target is placed, a print device to print an image on the print target on the mount, a print area indicator around a periphery of the mount, the print area indicator to indicate a print area of the image to be printed on the print target on the mount, and control circuitry to control the print area indicator to indicate the print area according to a print start position from which the print device starts printing on the print target and a print size of the image to be printed on the print target.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventor: Eiji Noda
  • Patent number: 11167563
    Abstract: An ink-jet recording apparatus includes: head modules each including nozzles disposed in a row; a transporter that moves a recording medium with respect to the head modules in a direction intersecting with an arrangement direction of the nozzles; a recording controller that causes the nozzles to eject ink onto the recording medium and to form a dot based on image data; and a memory that stores arrangement position information indicating individual positional deviations of the nozzles in a relative movement direction of the head modules with respect to the recording medium. The head modules are disposed in the arrangement direction of the nozzles. The transporter causes a same point of the recording medium to pass through a position where upstream and downstream nozzles that correspond to two adjacent head modules eject ink.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: Konica Minolta, Inc.
    Inventor: Masahiro Kouzaki
  • Patent number: 11167549
    Abstract: A method for adjusting a modifiable printing parameter of each of a plurality of printing elements of a printing device includes printing a plurality of test charts for each of the printing elements at different values of the modifiable printing parameter; measuring a variance of a printing density for each of the test charts; analyzing the measured variances for each of the printing elements; individually selecting a value of the modifiable printing parameter for each of the printing elements based on the analysis; and applying the selected value of the modifiable printing parameter for each of the printing elements to the printing device. Software density compensation can be applied to further reduce the variance of the printing density.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: GLOBAL GRAPHICS SOFTWARE LIMITED
    Inventors: Daniel Hall, James Fox
  • Patent number: 11167576
    Abstract: A printer configured to perform a printing operation on a printing medium, including: a cylindrically shaped housing including a bottom surface and a cylindrical surface on which an outlet is formed, the housing being configured to be placed on a horizontal table in any of a first posture in which the bottom surface is opposed to the table and a second posture in which a specific portion of the cylindrical surface is opposed to the table, the outlet being formed at a position of the cylindrical surface at which the printing medium stored in the housing is dischargeable from the outlet irrespective of whether the housing takes the first posture or the second posture on the table; and a second-posture keeping structure to keep the housing in the second posture in a state in which the cylindrical surface is opposed to the table.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Toshiyuki Furuyama
  • Patent number: 11161337
    Abstract: A liquid drop discharge apparatus is proposed. The liquid drop discharge apparatus includes: an inkjet head discharging ink to each of pixels of a substrate; a laser emitter coupled to the inkjet head, and emitting an aiming laser beam by which a discharged position of a liquid drop from the inkjet head to each of the pixels is aimed; a camera capturing an emitted position of the aiming laser beam on the substrate; and a position alignment unit aligning a position of the inkjet head on the basis of image data obtained from the shooting unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: SEMES CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Han Lim Kang, Yoon Ok Jang, Jun Seok Lee, Hyun Min Lee
  • Patent number: 11161340
    Abstract: A liquid discharge apparatus includes a plurality of heads configured to discharge a liquid, a liquid supply manifold configured to distribute the liquid to the plurality of heads, and a temperature-controlled liquid supply manifold configured to supply a temperature-controlled liquid to the plurality of heads. The temperature-controlled liquid supply manifold is thermally coupled to the liquid supply manifold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shohei Saito, Yasuhiko Kachi
  • Patent number: 11155100
    Abstract: To stabilize image quality of a printed image. A thermal transfer printing apparatus according to the present invention includes a thermal head and a platen roll and forms an image on printing paper by causing the thermal head to heat an ink ribbon including a plurality of consecutive ink layers, each of which includes sequential panels of a yellow layer, a magenta layer, and a cyan layer and thereby transfer ink while transporting, between the thermal head and the platen roll, the ink ribbon and the printing paper that are superimposed on each other. The thermal transfer printing apparatus includes a sensor that detects ink content of the ink layers and a controller that controls energy applied to the thermal head during image formation on a basis of a result of the detection of the sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2021
    Assignee: Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Tsuaki Odaka
  • Patent number: 11155077
    Abstract: An inkjet printer is disclosed that has a substrate support; a calibration module disposed adjacent to the substrate support and comprising a stage member; and a print assembly disposed across the substrate support, the print assembly comprising a printhead and a calibration imaging device positionable to face the stage member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2021
    Assignee: Kateeva, Inc.
    Inventors: Eashwer Chandra Vidhya Sagar Kollata, Christopher Buchner, Alexander Sou-Kang Ko, Senn Van Ly, Matthew Burton Sheffield
  • Patent number: 11142014
    Abstract: A surface treatment module is positioned within a printing system to treat the surface of three-dimensional objects prior to printing of the objects. The surface treatment module includes an actuator operatively connected to an applicator so operation of the actuator presses a portion of a cleaning membrane against the surfaces of the three-dimensional objects to remove material from the object surfaces and retracts the applicator and cleaning membrane from the object surface before the objects pass by an array of printheads in the printing system for printing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventor: Richard A. Campbell
  • Patent number: 11141973
    Abstract: An integrated circuit to drive a plurality of fluid actuation devices includes a plurality of memory cells, a select circuit, configuration logic, and control logic. Each memory cell corresponds to a fluid actuation device. The select circuit selects fluid actuation devices and memory cells corresponding to the selected fluid actuation devices. The configuration logic enables or disables access to the plurality of memory cells. The control logic either activates the selected fluid actuation devices or accesses the memory cells corresponding to the selected fluid actuation devices based on a state of the configuration logic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Scott A. Linn, James Michael Gardner, Michael W. Cumbie
  • Patent number: 11141752
    Abstract: A repeatable manufacturing process uses a printer to deposits liquid for each product carried by a substrate to form respective thin films. The liquid is dried, cured or otherwise processed to form from the liquid a permanent layer of each respective product. To perform printing, each newly-introduced substrate is roughly mechanically aligned, with an optical system detecting sub-millimeter misalignment, and with software correcting for misalignment. Rendering of adjusted data is performed such that nozzles are variously assigned dependent on misalignment to deposit droplets in a regulated manner, to ensure precise deposition of liquid for each given area of the substrate. For example, applied to the manufacture of flat panel displays, software ensures that exactly the right amount of liquid is deposited for each “pixel” of the display, to minimize likelihood of visible discrepancies in the resultant display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: KATEEVA, INC.
    Inventors: Michael Baker, Nahid Harjee, Douglas Bacon
  • Patent number: 11130341
    Abstract: Provided are a liquid ejection apparatus and a maintenance apparatus capable of suppressing unintended movement of a wiping unit. The maintenance apparatus includes: a wiping unit configured to wipe the ejection opening surface of a liquid ejection head in which ejection openings over a length corresponding to the width of a print medium are formed; and a lock member configured to restrict movement of the wiping unit from a position to which the wiping unit is evacuated from the ejection opening surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroshi Nakai, Noriko Sato, Takahiro Kiuchi, Yoshinori Yamaguchi, Yuki Amauchi, Takashi Sasaki
  • Patent number: 11124006
    Abstract: To print a security feature on a medium a method is suggested, comprising inkjet printing an ink including one or more pigments, wherein at least one pigment satisfies the formula ??? ? ? gd 4 12 ? ? k B ? T > 1 and whereas ?? is the density difference between pigment and ink vehicle; g is the earth acceleration constant; d is the pigment particle diameter D90; kB is the Boltzmann constant; and T is the temperature. Inkjet printing of the ink is performed by a flextensional ink jet print head structure and printing is performed to provide one or more security features on the medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: SICPA HOLDING SA
    Inventor: Thibaut Martini
  • Patent number: 11117367
    Abstract: There is provided a liquid discharge apparatus, including: a conveyer; a head having a nozzle surface formed having a nozzle from which a liquid is discharged on a recording medium conveyed by the conveyer; a carriage carrying the head and configured to be movable in a scanning direction parallel to the nozzle surface in a movement range including a facing range that faces a passing area where the recording medium conveyed by the conveyer passes; a first conductor for detection arranged at a first side in the scanning direction relative to the passing area; and a second conductor for detection arranged at a second side, which is opposite to the first side, in the scanning direction relative to the passing area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuji Hori, Kazuteru Kojima
  • Patent number: 11117377
    Abstract: Provided are an inkjet printing apparatus and a recovery method capable of suppressing ink thickening in the ejection openings in the suction process for the ejection openings. A vacuum wiper is moved being in contact with the ejection opening surface of the print head to perform a vacuum wiping process for the arrayed ejection openings sequentially. Ink is circulated in flow paths including the flow paths communicating with the ejection openings for which the vacuum wiping process has been finished.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshinori Nakagawa, Takatoshi Nakano, Atsushi Takahashi, Takuya Fukasawa
  • Patent number: 11111061
    Abstract: A liquid storage bottle includes a nozzle which has an inlet through which a liquid is injected, a cylindrical cap which is mountable on the nozzle to open or close the inlet, a slit valve which is provided in the inlet and includes a plurality of slits intersecting each other, and a sealing unit which seals the inlet when the cap is mounted on the nozzle. The cap includes a protrusion which protrudes from a surface facing the inlet toward the slit valve when the cap is mounted on the nozzle, and a tip portion of the protrusion faces the slit valve at a position separated in a radial direction of the nozzle from an intersection of the plurality of slits in a state where the inlet is sealed by the sealing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Noriyasu Nagai, Kenta Udagawa, Hiroshi Koshikawa, Hiroki Hayashi, Manabu Ohara, Shoki Takiguchi
  • Patent number: 11097558
    Abstract: A printing method includes printing an image on a sheet with a printhead, detecting an edge of the printed image in a widthwise direction of the sheet, and performing borderless printing, based on the detection result, to make a margin amount in the widthwise direction become not more than a predetermined value so as to prevent the image from being formed outside of the sheet in the widthwise direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Ryoya Shinjo