Patents Examined by Tracey McMillion
  • Patent number: 10059124
    Abstract: A printing apparatus includes an ink ejecting head which ejects an ultraviolet curing ink, a supply flow path and a circulation outgoing path in which the ultraviolet curing ink which is supplied from an ink cartridge which stores the ultraviolet curing ink to the ink ejecting head flows, a circulation pump which is provided in the circulation outgoing path and emits heat, and a gas supplying module which is provided closer to an upstream side than the circulation pump in the supply flow path and the circulation outgoing path and supplies air to the ultraviolet curing ink which flows in the supply flow path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Masaaki Ando
  • Patent number: 10059108
    Abstract: A controller of an inkjet printing apparatus is configured to raise a driving voltage to a target voltage, move the cap for an inkjet head from a covering position to a spaced position, and move a carriage, from which the cap is spaced, from a first position to a second position, simultaneously. The controller is further configured to cause the inkjet head to eject the ink toward an ink receiver in response to completion of boosting of the driving voltage and moving of the cap to the spaced position, and cause the conveyer to convey the sheet and cause the inkjet head to eject the ink in accordance with the recording command, in response to receipt of a recording command which instructs recording of an image on the sheet through a communication device, and completion of flushing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Tetsunori Mori
  • Patent number: 10040650
    Abstract: A sheet feeder includes: a feed roller; a transmission mechanism for transmitting a first drive force to the feed roller to rotate the feed roller in a feeding direction; a motor rotatable in a forward direction and in a reverse direction opposite the forward direction to generate a second drive force; a reverse roller rotatable in the feeding direction and in a counter-feeding direction opposite the feeding direction by the second drive force; and a driven part driven by the second drive force. The transmission mechanism transmits the first drive force to the feed roller to rotate the feed roller in the feeding direction in case that the reverse roller is rotated in the feeding direction; and the transmission mechanism transmits the first drive force to the feed roller to rotate the feed roller in the feeding direction in case that the reverse roller is rotated in the counter-feeding direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yuichiro Kuriki
  • Patent number: 10035349
    Abstract: A liquid ejection device includes an ejection head, a cap configured to cover the nozzle, a first liquid receiver including a first receiving surface and a discharge portion connected to the first receiving surface. The liquid ejection device includes a second liquid receiver including a second receiving surface positioned under the discharge portion. One of the first liquid receiver and the second liquid receiver has an engagement portion, and the other of the first liquid receiver and the second liquid receiver has an engaged portion. A play between the engagement portion and the engaged portion is smaller than a distance between both ends of the second receiving surface in the direction parallel to the second receiving surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shuichi Tamaki
  • Patent number: 10029482
    Abstract: An ultraviolet curing ink can be sufficiently leveled, and attachment of, for example, dust can be prevented. In an ink-jet printer, a carriage capable of reciprocating in a scanning direction is mounted with an ink-jet head for ejecting a color ink and a clear ink and ultraviolet irradiation devices for emitting ultraviolet rays. A control unit performs control so that in the forward movement of the carriage, a color ink is ejected and applied to a medium, and in the backward movement of the carriage, ultraviolet rays are irradiated to the color ink deposited on the medium and the color ink is cured. Subsequently, the medium is fed in a feed direction, and the clear ink is ejected and applied to the surface of the cured color ink in the forward movement of the carriage. In the backward movement of the carriage, the clear ink applied to the medium is irradiated by ultraviolet rays and is cured.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: Mimaki Engineering Co., LTD
    Inventors: Masakatsu Okawa, Yuko Hishida, Tomotaka Furuhata
  • Patent number: 10029485
    Abstract: An ink jet recording method uses an ink jet recording apparatus including a plurality of heads arranged in parallel in a first direction, each of which ejects droplets of a different radiation-curable ink composition onto a recording medium, and first light sources provided for corresponding heads so as to be disposed at a predetermined side of the corresponding heads. The first light sources emit active radiation to irradiate the droplets on the recording medium. The method includes ejecting droplets of the ink compositions from the heads onto the recording medium, and performing a first irradiation by irradiating the droplets of each ink composition with the active radiation from the corresponding first light source at an irradiation energy within 500 ms after the droplets have landed. The irradiation energy is in the range of 5% to 10% of the energy E90 at which the ink composition is 90% cured.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Taketoshi Kagose, Satoru Miura
  • Patent number: 10029468
    Abstract: A liquid ejection device includes an ejection head with at least one nozzle on an ejection surface, a cap, and a liquid receiver having a first side in a first direction parallel to the ejection surface and a second side opposite to the first side in the first direction. The liquid ejection device includes a movement mechanism configured to move at least one of the cap and the ejection head between states where the cap covers the ejection head and where the cap does not cover the ejection head. In the state that the cap is separated from the ejection head, the support structure supports the liquid receiver to be inclined such that the first side is positioned lower than the second side in the second direction. The liquid receiver includes an outlet disposed on the first side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shuichi Tamaki
  • Patent number: 10011131
    Abstract: A printing apparatus includes a print section to perform printing on a medium, a supply path to supply the medium to the print section, a correction roller pair to enable the medium transported on the supply path to strike the correction roller pair to correct skewing of the medium, an adjusting mechanism for adjusting a nip load applied to the correction roller pair, and a controller to control the adjusting mechanism based on print job information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2018
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Yosaku Tamura, Akinobu Nakahata
  • Patent number: 10005293
    Abstract: A printing apparatus includes a feeding roller to feed a sheet, a conveyance roller conveys the sheet, a printing head prints on the sheet, a reversing path that reverses the sheet from a first surface to a second surface, and a control unit that controls feeding of a preceding sheet and a succeeding sheet fed next to the preceding sheet. The control unit starts feeding of the succeeding sheet when a trailing edge of the preceding sheet, which was reversed by the reversing path, reaches a predetermined position and feeds the succeeding sheet so that a distance between the trailing edge of the preceding sheet and a leading edge of the succeeding sheet is within a predetermined range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2018
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tomofumi Nishida
  • Patent number: 9994016
    Abstract: A liquid ejection device includes an ejection head having a plurality of nozzle groups, each of the plurality of nozzle groups including one nozzle or two or more nozzles arranged adjacent to each other, and a controller configured to determine an ejection timing each of the plurality of nozzle groups such that a first deviation amount in the main scanning direction between an first image and an second image on an medium is smaller than a second deviation amount in a main scanning direction between an area to be printed by an first nozzle group included the plurality of nozzle groups and an area to be printed by an second nozzle group adjacent to the first nozzle group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tsuyoshi Kuwayama
  • Patent number: 9994015
    Abstract: A liquid droplet jetting apparatus includes: a carriage configured to scan in a main scanning direction; a jetting head installed in the carriage, having nozzles arranged in a sub scanning direction intersecting with the main scanning direction, and configured to jet liquid droplets from the nozzles; a conveyer configured to convey the recording medium in the sub scanning direction; and a controller configured to control the carriage, the jetting head and the conveyer. The nozzles form nozzle groups including two nozzle groups adjacent in the sub scanning direction; and the controller is configured to execute a predetermined printing mode in which a pass printing and conveyance of the recording medium in the sub scanning direction are alternately performed. The pass printing causes the carriage to move one time in the main scanning direction while jetting the liquid droplets from the nozzles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Satoru Arakane
  • Patent number: 9987862
    Abstract: An ink-jet recording apparatus is provided. The ink-jet recording apparatus includes: a plurality of rollers that convey a sheet in a conveyance direction; a platen; a recording unit; a plurality of first ribs provided in the platen; and a plurality of second ribs provided between the first ribs and the rollers in the conveyance direction. The plurality of rollers, the plurality of first ribs, and the plurality of second ribs are each disposed in a position where at least parts of them overlap in the width direction, and a length in the width direction of each of the supporting surfaces of the plurality of second ribs is longer than that in the width direction of each of the supporting surfaces of the plurality of first ribs, and is shorter than that in the width direction of an abutting surface on the sheet in each of the plurality of rollers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Iwane Sano, Tsuyoshi Ito, Gakuro Kanazawa
  • Patent number: 9981492
    Abstract: In order to provide an image forming apparatus which can reduce color deviation at the time of forming an image on a medium, the present printing apparatus comprises an image forming unit which forms an image by superimposing images, each formed with corresponding color of ink, on a transfer film while heating a thermal head, a film conveying device which conveys a transfer film, a sensor which detects a stretch of the transfer film occurring due to heating with the thermal head, a controller which controls the image forming unit to change a line cycle of the thermal head in accordance with a stretch of the transfer film detected by the sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Assignee: CANON FINETECH NISCA INC.
    Inventor: Yuichi Aihara
  • Patent number: 9976330
    Abstract: According to an example a dampening system for a hinged component may include a spring having a first end hooked onto a chassis and a second end hooked onto to a strap, in which the strap is connected to the hinged component. The dampening system may also include a curved guide element attached to the chassis, in which the spring is to bend around a portion of the curved guide element as the strap is moved from a first position to a second position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L. P.
    Inventor: Timothy J. Roels
  • Patent number: 9975349
    Abstract: A method for controlling a thermal printhead of a printer. The printhead comprises an array of printing elements. The method may comprise performing a plurality of printing operations, each printing operation comprising energization of one or more printing elements. A respective energization value is determined for each printing element based upon energizations of that printing element during said printing operations. A printhead control signal is generated for the printhead for a subsequent printing operation based upon the energization values of a predetermined subset of the printing elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: Videojet Technologies Inc.
    Inventor: Jeremy Ellis
  • Patent number: 9969178
    Abstract: An inkjet printhead assembly includes a repositionable shutter mechanism adapted to block a slot through which drops of ink ejected from the array of nozzles pass before they impinge on the print medium. The shutter mechanism includes a repositionable shutter blade extending in a cross-track direction having a pivot axis passing through first and second tabs affixed to its ends. A first slide mechanism component is pivotably attached to an end of an actuator rod, and a second slide mechanism component is rigidly attached to the repositionable shutter blade. An actuator is configured to translate the actuator rod, thereby pivoting the repositionable shutter blade about the pivot axis between a first pivot position where the shutter blade blocks the slot and a second pivot position where the shutter blade is moved away from the slot so that drops of ink can pass through the slot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2018
    Assignee: EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY
    Inventors: Jeffrey L. Roberts, Michael J. Piatt
  • Patent number: 9962951
    Abstract: Techniques are described for printing on front and back surfaces of security document substrates in a manner that conserves use of print ribbon, thereby extending the life of the print ribbon. In general, the printer controller knows the content, as well as locations and colors, of what has been printed on the front or first surface of the security document substrate. The printer control also knows the content, as well as locations and colors, of what is to be printed on the back or second surface of the security document substrate. When the back surface of the substrate is to be printed, the printer controller determines, for a particular color, whether any of the printing on the back surface would overlap with the printing on the front surface. For locations where there would be no overlap, the printer can reuse the section of print ribbon that was used to print on the front surface to print on the back surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignee: ENTRUST DATACARD CORPORATION
    Inventor: Patrick C. Cronin
  • Patent number: 9962943
    Abstract: An inkjet printhead assembly includes a repositionable shutter mechanism adapted to block a slot through which drops of ink ejected from the array of nozzles pass before they impinge on the print medium. The shutter mechanism includes an actuator rod having a first actuation feature, and a repositionable shutter blade extending in a cross-track direction having first and second tabs affixed to its ends. The first tab includes a second actuation feature that engages with the first actuation feature of the actuator rod. An actuator is configured to translate the actuator rod, thereby pivoting the repositionable shutter blade about the pivot axis between a first pivot position where the shutter blade blocks the slot and a second pivot position where the shutter blade is moved away from the slot so that drops of ink can pass through the slot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignee: EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY
    Inventors: Jeffrey L. Roberts, Michael J. Piatt, James A. Katerberg
  • Patent number: 9962953
    Abstract: A printing device includes: a main body having an attachment surface; first and second mounting sections formed in the attachment surface respectively for detachably receiving first and second cassettes; first and second print parts; a body cover having an opposing surface; first and second pressing parts protruding from the opposing surface respectively toward the first and second mounting sections; first and second engaging parts provided at the main body; and third and fourth engaging parts provided at the body cover and engageable with the first and second engaging parts. A first center of gravity of load that the mounted first cassette applies to the first pressing part and a second center of gravity of load that the mounted second cassette applies to the second pressing part are located within a specific area on the opposing surface defined by virtual lines passing through locations on the third and fourth engaging parts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masashi Tanizaki
  • Patent number: 9956766
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes: a liquid ejecting section that ejects liquid in response to a drive signal; a drive signal generation circuit that generates the drive signal by using a second frequency band including at least a part of a first frequency band; a non-contact power transmission circuit that transmits power in a non-contact manner by using the first frequency band; and a control circuit that controls the drive signal generation circuit and the non-contact power transmission circuit, in which the control circuit restricts the power transmission by the non-contact power transmission circuit in a case where the drive signal generation circuit has generated the drive signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Tomonori Yamada, Toru Matsuyama