Patents Examined by Thomas A. Morrison
  • Patent number: 11952238
    Abstract: Provided are a multi-feed detection apparatus, a control method, and a control program to suitably determine whether or not the multi-feed detection apparatus returns a fed medium to a direction of a medium tray when multi-feed has occurred. A multi-feed detection apparatus includes an ultrasonic sensor to generate an ultrasonic signal, a multi-feed determination module to determine that feeding of the medium is normal when a signal value of the ultrasonic signal is equal to or more than a first threshold value, and determine that a multi-feed of the medium has occurred when the signal value of the ultrasonic signal is less than the first threshold value, and a control module to control the feed module to return the fed medium to a direction of the medium tray when the signal value of the ultrasonic signal is less than a second threshold value smaller than the first threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: PFU LIMITED
    Inventors: Kiichiro Shimosaka, Masaaki Sakai
  • Patent number: 11897717
    Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed comprising first and second pallet supports to engage pallets in at least a first and a second pallet location. The first pallet location positions a pallet to receive output from a print press. The second pallet location is a pre-use pallet holding location. The apparatus further comprises an actuator to move the first and second pallet supports to transfer a first pallet away from the first pallet location and a second pallet from the second pallet holding location to the first pallet location. A method of transferring pallets is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Assaf Barel, David Mazar, Dudi Gutman, Boaz Eden
  • Patent number: 11891258
    Abstract: In some examples, a sheet processing machine includes at least one pile formation device. The at least one pile formation device is arranged in a vertical direction beneath a multiple-up separating mechanism. The at least one pile formation device is arranged so as to be displaceable at least in an inward-moving direction. The at least one pile formation device includes at least one horizontally displaceable pile formation means and a deposit element that can be displaced relative to the at least one pile formation means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: KOENIG & BAUER AG
    Inventor: Sylvio Ruhm
  • Patent number: 11884501
    Abstract: An example disclosed output hopper includes a cavity to receive media units from an output of a media processing device, the cavity to cause the media units to form a stack in a first direction; a first door pivotably movable between a closed position and an open position, the first door to retain the media units in the cavity when in the closed position, wherein the first door is configured to pivot on a first axis substantially parallel to the first direction; wherein: the first door includes a first cutout at a first top edge of the first door; and the first cutout allow the media units to spill over the first and second top edges when a capacity of the cavity is exceeded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Zebra Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Graham Marshall, Konstantinos Tsiopanos, Thomas R. Helma, Noel R. Bankston
  • Patent number: 11886138
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a main casing including an image forming unit and a discharge tray, and an optional device configured to be removably attached to the main casing. The main casing includes a conveying path through which a sheet is conveyed from the image forming unit, a discharge path through which the sheet is conveyed toward one of the discharge tray and the optional device, the discharge path diverging from the conveying path, and a return path including a first path through which the sheet is conveyed temporarily out of the main casing via an opening formed in the main casing, and a second path through which the sheet is conveyed toward the image forming unit. The first path diverges from the conveying path. The second path diverges from the first path. The optional device is disposed closer to the discharge tray than the opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hideshi Nishiyama, Yasuhiro Suzuki, Yusuke Ikegami
  • Patent number: 11878886
    Abstract: A sheet feeding device includes a support, a rotation driver, a guide, a support shaft, a biasing member, a leading end sensor, a roller, an outer diameter sensor, and circuitry. The circuitry causes the rotation driver to rotate a spool in a winding direction to determine a timing at which a signal change rate exceeds a change rate threshold as a passing time at which a leading end of a continuous sheet passes through the leading end sensor, causes the rotation driver to rotate the spool by a rotation angle in the winding direction, from the passing time, to position the leading end of the continuous sheet at a feeding start position, and rotates the spool in a feeding direction to feed the continuous sheet from the feeding start position along a guide portion. Further, the circuitry changes the change rate threshold based on an outer diameter of a roll.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Katsumi Okada, Takuya Moriyama, Kenichiroh Yamahiro
  • Patent number: 11878883
    Abstract: An image reading apparatus includes a reading unit and a medium feeding apparatus. The medium feeding apparatus includes: a medium placement portion on which a medium before being fed is placed; a feed roller that feeds the medium placed on the medium placement portion; and at least one pressing portion that presses the medium placed on the medium placement portion onto the medium placement portion at a position upstream of the feed roller in a medium feeding direction. Since the pressing portion presses the medium placed on the medium placement portion, friction occurs between sheets of the medium, thereby preventing or reducing a skew.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hiroki Nakashima
  • Patent number: 11845625
    Abstract: A feeding device includes a stacked portion on which materials to be fed are stacked, a feeding roller that feeds the materials to be fed stacked on the stacked portion, a cam that performs first rotation in a state of being in contact with a mounting member on which the feeding roller is mounted and raises the feeding roller, an elastic member that lowers the raised feeding roller to the stacked portion while causing the cam that is in contact with the mounting member to perform second rotation with an elastic force acting on the mounting member, and an applying unit that applies a rotation resistance to the cam performing the second rotation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventors: Tetsuo Nukui, Yuya Okawa
  • Patent number: 11846891
    Abstract: A feeding device includes a feeding device body of which a downstream end portion in a feeding direction, in which a material to be fed is fed, is mounted on a mounting portion, and that is openable and closable between a closed position where an upstream end portion is positioned above the downstream end portion and an open position where the upstream end portion is positioned on a side of the downstream end portion, a stacked portion that is provided on the feeding device body and on which the material to be fed is stacked in the open position, a detection unit that has a detection member hanging down to a downstream end portion of the stacked portion in the open position, moves to a downstream side in the feeding direction as the detection member is pressed by a downstream end portion of the material to be fed stacked on the stacked portion, and detects a stack of the materials to be fed on the stacked portion, and a restriction unit that restricts movement of the detection member to the downstream side in
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventors: Tetsuo Nukui, Yuya Okawa, Chikara Kuno
  • Patent number: 11845630
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a first feeding portion including a first cassette and a first feed roller; and a second feeding portion including a second cassette and a second feed roller and disposed below the first feeding portion. The sheet fed by the second feed roller is conveyed toward an image forming portion through an intermediate path provided in the first cassette. The image forming apparatus further includes a controller to operate a display unit to display information that inhibits drawing of the first cassette, in a case where a first detection portion detects that the first cassette is empty and where the second feeding portion is performing a sheet feeding operation, with the first cassette being drawable from the apparatus body whether the second feeding portion is performing a sheet operation or not.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Masayuki Oike
  • Patent number: 11834291
    Abstract: A medium conveying apparatus includes a medium tray, a feed roller to feed media placed on the medium tray in order from the lower side, a brake roller located to face the feed roller, a torque limiter to control a load applied to the brake roller, and a changing member to change a limit value of a torque of the torque limiter according to a height of the media placed on the medium tray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: PFU LIMITED
    Inventors: Takayuki Umi, Ryoichi Yasukawa
  • Patent number: 11820617
    Abstract: A printer includes a reverse bending member that bends a paper toward an opposite side to a curl of the paper, and a bifurcated member to correct the curl of the paper with the reverse bending member. The reverse bending member is disposed between a paper drawing position and a paper feeding roller. The bifurcated member is swingably arranged about a shaft extending in a width direction of the paper. The bifurcated member includes an upstream arm and a downstream arm. The upstream arm has a tip positioned between the rolled paper and the reverse bending member, and moves toward or from the reverse bending member. The downstream arm has a tip positioned between the reverse bending member and the feeding roller to be in contact with the paper, and rotates in accordance with a tension level of the paper to press the upstream arm toward the reverse bending member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignees: CITIZEN WATCH CO., LTD., CITIZEN SYSTEMS JAPAN CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yukihisa Kato, Takeo Komiyama, Kohei Daimon
  • Patent number: 11820623
    Abstract: A sheet conveying device includes an aligning roller and a sheet guide. The aligning roller is configured to rotate in a forward direction along a sheet conveying direction, and stop rotation or rotate in a reverse direction to align a sheet conveyed thereto with a nip formed with the aligning roller. The sheet guide is disposed along a sheet conveyance path extending to the nip in the sheet conveying direction, and movable between a first position at which the sheet conveyance path has a first width in a thickness direction of the sheet and a second position at which the sheet conveyance path has a second width in the thickness direction less than the first width. The sheet guide is at the first position when the aligning roller stops rotation or rotates in the reverse direction and at the second position when the aligning roller rotates in the forward direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shinji Maruyama, Mikio Yamamoto, Naofumi Soga
  • Patent number: 11814254
    Abstract: In some examples, a die-cutting machine includes a transport system configured as a chain gripper system. The chain gripper system includes a chain gripper carriage including a holding element for holding a sheet. The chain gripper carriage is arranged to be attached to at least one chain that is arranged to guide the chain gripper carriage on a guide path through at least part of the die-cutting machine. The chain gripper carriage includes a contact element functionally connected to the holding element. A chain gripper opener includes a contact surface at which, in the presence of the gripper carriage at the contact surface, the contact element cooperates with the chain gripper opener. The holding element is transferred at least from a closed position into an open position by cooperation of the chain gripper opener with the contact element. The chain gripper opener is adjustable by at least one drive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2023
    Assignee: KOENIG & BAUER AG
    Inventor: Sergi Ollé
  • Patent number: 11795025
    Abstract: The invention relates to a stacking device (10) for placing sheet-shaped elements (P) in stacks in a forming machine (1), said stacking device (10) comprising: a movable stacking surface (11), and an actuating device (12) for moving stacking surface (11): between a retracted position and a vertical forward position in a reciprocating back-and-forth motion for stacking sheets, and between the retracted position and a stowed position to open an access to the stack of sheet-shaped elements (P), characterized in that the actuator (12) comprises cam means configured to move the stacking surface (11) upwardly in the retracted position, in a raised position to be located above the top of the sheet stack. The invention also relates to a machine forming sheet-shaped elements comprising at least one such stacking device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: BOBST MEX SA
    Inventors: Patrice Chatry, Maude Steiner
  • Patent number: 11780195
    Abstract: An ejection device for ejecting sample blanks for a processing machine for processing elements in sheet form, the processing machine comprising: a plurality of work stations including at least one waste removal station, and a conveying device comprising a plurality of gripper bars configured to drive the elements through the work stations, the ejection device comprises at least one actuating element able to move between: an inactive position positioned away from the path of the gripper bars, and an active position positioned on the path of the gripper bars, the at least one actuating element being configured to collaborate with the gripper bars as they pass by, so as to open the gripper bars and eject, flat, a sample of blanks. The present invention also relates to a waste removal station, a processing machine for processing elements in sheet form, and a method for ejecting blanks samples in a machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: BOBST MEX SA
    Inventor: Christophe Ruchet
  • Patent number: 11772921
    Abstract: A printing system comprises a print station and print medium transport system. The print medium transport system comprises a track and a transport apparatus engaged with the track. The track defines a transport path past the print station, the transport path has a print medium entry point and a print medium exit point. The transport apparatus comprises: a drive for moving the transport apparatus along the track; and a gripping system. The gripping system can be moved between a first position in which a sheet of print medium is gripped and a second position in which the sheet of print medium is released. In use, the gripping system is configured to be in the first position when the transport apparatus is in motion along the track from the print medium entry point to the print medium exit point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: HP INDIGO B.V.
    Inventors: Yechiam Koloditsky, Ilan Meiri, Avihay Menashe
  • Patent number: 11767187
    Abstract: A sheet processing apparatus includes a plurality of coils that are provided in a feeding section which feeds a sheet that has been taken in into a transport path and that generate magnetic fields and a control section that determines, on the basis of differential values between signals output from the plurality of coils, whether a foreign object has entered the feeding section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: GLORY LTD.
    Inventor: Taiki Gokurakuji
  • Patent number: 11760589
    Abstract: A sheet feeding device includes a stacking member, a feeding unit, and a detachable separation unit. The feeding unit feeds sheets stacked from the stacking member. The separation unit separates the fed sheets one by one. The separation unit includes a rotating member to abut and separate from the feeding unit and to rotate, a biasing member to bias the rotating member toward the feeding unit, and an engaged member to be engaged with an engagement member included in the sheet feeding device. The engagement member can move to a first position where the engagement member is engaged with the engaged member, and a second position away from the engaged member. Where the engagement member moves from the first to the second position when the separation unit is attached to the sheet feeding device, the separation unit moves in a detachment direction using the biasing member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Satoshi Tsuda
  • Patent number: 11760594
    Abstract: A document feeder includes a device body, and an opening and closing cover which is provided to be openable and closable with respect to the device body, and including a paper feed roller and a paper feed roller drive shaft on the device body. The document feeder includes a guide member, which is mounted rotatably to the paper feed roller drive shaft on an outer side of the paper feed roller in a roller axis direction thereof. The guide member guides a document being conveyed, in a state where the opening and closing cover is closed, by being opposed to the paper feed roller drive shaft in a predetermined orientation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hironori Ogasawara