Patents Examined by Valerie Ann Lund
  • Patent number: 5940102
    Abstract: An ink container connectable with an ink inlet portion of an ink jet head having a plurality of ink ejection outlets, comprising an improvement in which a surface of the ink container to be connected with the ink jet head is inclined from a plane perpendicular to a direction in which the ink container is connected with the ink supply portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 17, 1999
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenjiro Watanabe, Hidemi Kubota
  • Patent number: 5608438
    Abstract: An ink jet recording method uses a plurality of recording heads, each of which jets droplets of ink of water-soluble dye of different color to record an image on a recording medium. The recording method includes the steps of: jetting a first ink from one of the plurality of recording heads to print on the recording medium, the first ink having an absorption coefficient (Ka) of 0.5 ml/m.sup.2 .multidot.ms.sup.1/2 or less and a wetting time (Tw) of 50 to 200 msec; and jetting a second ink from one of the plurality of recording heads to print on the recording medium, the second ink having an absorption coefficient (Ka) of 1.0 ml/m.sup.2 .multidot.ms.sup.1/2 or larger and a wetting time (Tw) of 20 msec or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 4, 1997
    Assignee: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takao Koike, Koichi Saito, Shinji Tabata, Koichi Naitoh
  • Patent number: 5597064
    Abstract: The present invention provides inexpensive electric contact materials having higher hardness and higher melting point and being more excellent in the points of wear resistance and environmental resistance over the electric contact materials of Ag type, Au type, platinum group type, etc. having been used so far, production methods thereof and electric contacts used said contact materials.In the electric contact materials of the invention, basically, a covering layer having at least one selected from transition metals of groups IVa (Ti, Zr, Hf, etc.), Va (V, Nb, Ta, etc.) and VIa (Cr, Mo, W, etc.) as a major ingredient is formed on the substrate as an electric contact in a thickness of 0.03 to 100 .mu.m, and, if need be, a fixed intermediate layer is formed between said covering layer of electric contact and substrate or a fixed surface layer is formed on the outside of covering layer of electric contact, thus aiming at further improvement in the characteristics of contact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 28, 1997
    Assignee: The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masanori Ozaki, Keiji Mashimo
  • Patent number: 5585085
    Abstract: A process for removing water and/or carbon compounds from hydrogen fluoride by contacting the hydrogen fluoride to be purified with elemental fluorine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 1992
    Date of Patent: December 17, 1996
    Assignee: Solvay Fluor und Derivate GmbH
    Inventors: Ulrich Seseke-Koyro, Andreas Grossmann, Werner Rudolph
  • Patent number: 5541633
    Abstract: Disclosed is a process which comprises (1) incorporating into a printing apparatus capable of generating ink jet images a carbonless paper set comprising a first sheet, a second sheet, and optional intermediate sheets situated between the first sheet and second sheet, wherein the first sheet comprises paper coated on one surface with a color former and the second sheet comprises paper coated on one surface with a color developer, and wherein, when the carbonless paper set is assembled, the surface of the first sheet coated with the color former is in contact with the surface of a sheet coated with the color developer and the surface of the second sheet coated with the color developer is in contact with the surface of a sheet coated with the color former; (2) incorporating into the printing apparatus an ink jet ink comprising (a) water; (b) a member selected from the group consisting of glycols, sulfolane, and mixtures thereof; (c) optionally, a member selected from the group consisting of ethanol, isopropanol
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 1993
    Date of Patent: July 30, 1996
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Francoise M. Winnik, Marcel P. Breton, David J. Sanders
  • Patent number: 5537137
    Abstract: An ink/media set is provided having improved durability. The ink contains an aqueous medium and a dye or pigment dispersion as the colorant. The media has a coating that contains a hydrophilic polymer and a reactive component. The printed media is exposed to an energy source that binds the ink to the media coating, and renders the coating more durable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 16, 1996
    Assignee: E. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company
    Inventors: Robert P. Held, Daphne P. Fickes, Joseph E. Reardon, Ray A. Work, III
  • Patent number: 5528270
    Abstract: An image formation apparatus provided according to the present invention does not generate any printing density streaks in low density areas of an image and is therefore capable of outputting stabilized images without any density unevennesses and density streaks in any tonality. The apparatus is structured so as to correct density signals in accordance with a correction table 1 for indicating the recording characteristics of each of the recording elements of the head and the recording characteristics indicated by this correction table 1, and to drive the recording head in accordance with a correction table 2, which does not allow the foregoing corrections to be made when the density signals are lower than a given density, and the density signals corrected by this correction table 2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 18, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroshi Tajika, Masato Katayama, Noribumi Koitabashi, Miyuki Matsubara
  • Patent number: 5526031
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a recording medium comprising at least a base and an ink-receiving layer of either a water soluble or hydrophilic polymer and wherein said base comprises a biodegradable polymeric material. The biodegradable polymer is a copolymer of 3-hydroxybutyrate and 4-hydroxybutyrate. The recording medium has good ink-jet recordability owing to the formation of a suitable ink-receiving layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 1994
    Date of Patent: June 11, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yutaka Kurabayashi
  • Patent number: 5519421
    Abstract: In an inkjet print cartridge having a polymer nozzle member with windows formed therein for facilitating bonding of conductors to electrodes on a substrate, an adhesive is dispensed through the windows to encapsulate the exposed conductors bonded to the electrodes. The adhesive typically overflows outside the windows. To prevent the adhesive from flowing uncontrolled towards the nozzles formed in the nozzle member, a disruption or surface discontinuity is formed in the nozzle member surface between the windows and the nozzles. This disruption or surface discontinuity may be formed by either scratching, etching, cutting, pressing a blade into, or laser ablating the tape surface, or forming a raised wall on the tape surface, such that the flow of adhesive is inhibited because of mechanical and surface forces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 21, 1996
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company
    Inventors: Jeffrey H. Barr, Hanno Ix, Michael P. Caren
  • Patent number: 5517221
    Abstract: Wetting an absorber material in the bottom of a spittoon in a service station employed in a thermal ink-jet device, such as a facsimile machine, prevents formation of stalagmites of ink and ensures trouble-free operation of the service station. The absorber, which comprises a material having a high capacity for absorbing the liquid ink, is wetted with a sufficient quantity of a liquid having both a low vapor pressure and capable of wetting the absorber material. Such a liquid comprises a hydrocarbon material, such as a paraffin oil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 14, 1996
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company
    Inventor: Chan Nguyen
  • Patent number: 5515093
    Abstract: An ink jet printing method for effecting printing on a print medium such as a sheet of cloth by applying a jet of an ink to the print medium. The print medium is formed by preparing a sheet of cloth containing a cationic substance, preparing a backing sheet having a layer of an adhesive agent, and bonding the sheet of cloth to the adhesive surface of the backing sheet. After the jet of ink is applied to the print medium, the sheet of cloth is peeled off from the backing sheet and the freed sheet of cloth is rinsed with rinsing water containing a cation blocking agent, followed by drying.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 7, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masahiro Haruta, Shoji Koike, Koromo Shirota, Aya Takaide, Tomoya Yamamoto, Mariko Suzuki
  • Patent number: 5515094
    Abstract: A leaf plate is disposed in abutment, through a guide path of printing paper, with a feed roller whose peripheral surface is in contact with the guide path. The printing paper is transported by the feed roller rotationally driven while the printing paper is pressed against the feed roller by the leaf plate. In the course of transportation of the printing paper, the printing paper fed by the feed roller is guided along a flat paper guide surface, and printing is performed by having ink jetted from a nose portion of an ink jet head to the printing paper being guided as described above. Immediately before the printing position in the guide path, there are disposed a plurality of projections in contact with the guide path and at predetermined intervals in the direction transverse to the printing paper. By bringing the transported printing paper into contact with the projections, the amplitude of undulations continuously produced in the printing paper in the direction transverse to the paper is reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 7, 1996
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha TEC
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Tanaka, Takahiro Kawaguchi
  • Patent number: 5510818
    Abstract: An ink jet recording head having a fluid passage constituted by forming, on a substrate, an outer frame made of a hardened resin obtained by transfer molding, wherein a transfer-molding resin composition which is the material of the hardened resin is composed of an epoxy resin, a hardening agent, an agent for enhancing hardening and a filler, and the content of the filler is ranged from 0.5 to 17.0 wt. %.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 1992
    Date of Patent: April 23, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akihiko Shimomura, Keiichi Murai, Shigeo Toganoh
  • Patent number: 5504511
    Abstract: An ink container which contains ink to be supplied to a recording head comprises a housing constituting the outer housing of the ink container; a shiftable member arranged in the housing to contain ink and at the same time, being shiftable as the ink is consumed; and a guide member provided with an ink supply outlet to supply ink to a recording head from the inside of the shiftable member which contains the ink, and an ink guide outlet arranged at the end of the guide member which is extended to the end portion on the side opposite to the end side where the ink supply outlet is provided for guiding the ink from the inside of the shiftable member. With the structure thus arranged, it is intended to implement an ink container suitable for a small-sized ink jet printer or the like, which has a high application efficiency for a quality printing without any possibility of ink leakage irrespective of the posture in which it is used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 2, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Nakajima, Keiichiro Tsukuda
  • Patent number: 5504508
    Abstract: A cap for capping the single surface of a recording head that is formed with a plurality of groups of ejection holes for inks of different colors so as to maintain an ink-ejectable condition of the recording head has an interior divided into a plurality of spaces individually corresponding to the plurality of ejection hole groups for different-color inks. The spaces include at least a first space corresponding to the ejection hole group for a black ink, and a second space corresponding to the ejection hole groups for yellow, magenta and cyan inks. The plurality of spaces are integrated in a single cap. When an ink-jet recording apparatus includes such a cap, a condition for proper ejection of ink is maintained in the apparatus and requires only a small system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 2, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kenichiro Hashimoto
  • Patent number: 5504513
    Abstract: An inkjet printer (10) has a movable carriage (12) supported above an ink-receiving medium by a rail (14) defining a carriage axis. A cartridge holder (16) is mounted on the carriage and having at least one cartridge compartment (18), each of the at least one compartment having a compliant compartment wall (82). Each compartment is providing with an opening at one end (19) of the carriage floor for receiving the snout (72) of an ink jet printer cartridge (20) on which is mounted a nozzle plate with more that one nozzle for depositing ink onto the ink-receiving medium. Each compartment is also provided with equalizing structure for maintaining the cartridge substantially perpendicular to the carriage axis when the compliant compartment wall is deflected by a spring at the middle of the compartment forcing two datum surfaces on the cartridge against front and rear supporting surfaces on the compartment wall. The equalizing structure preferably includes a second opening (21) at the other end of the floor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 2, 1996
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company
    Inventors: Gary M. Nobel, Craig A. Maurer, Jason R. Arbeiter
  • Patent number: 5500668
    Abstract: Disclosed is a printing process which comprises (a) providing a recording sheet which comprises a substrate, at least one monomeric salt, an optional binder, an optional antistatic agent, an optional biocide, and an optional filler; (b) applying an aqueous recording liquid to the recording sheet in an imagewise pattern; and (c) thereafter exposing the substrate to microwave radiation, thereby drying the recording liquid on the recording sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 19, 1996
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Shadi L. Malhotra, Kurt B. Gundlach, Richard L. Colt
  • Patent number: 5500665
    Abstract: An ink container includes a container body and a movable wall movable along an inside surface of the container body. The movable wall comprising has a sealing portion in sealing contact with the inside surface of the container body and at least one tilt preventing portion for preventing the movable wall from tilting. The tilt preventing portion is spaced from the sealing portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 19, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshihiko Ujita, Haruyuki Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 5493320
    Abstract: In a print head for ink jet printing a nozzle plate with a nozzle array is gold plated. The gold plated nozzle array is bonded to the polymer ink barrier layer on an electronic chip by a thin layer of tantalum, zirconium, titanium or silicon dioxide. The thin layer greatly increases the ability of the surface to bond chemically to the polymer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 1994
    Date of Patent: February 20, 1996
    Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.
    Inventors: David L. Sandbach, Jr., Lawrence R. Steward, Charles S. Whitman, Gary R. Williams, John D. Zbrozek
  • Patent number: 5489925
    Abstract: In the ink jet printing system described in the specification, a hot melt ink jet printhead having two ink reservoirs is coupled through an ink supply line to a remote hot melt ink supply and a temperature controller is arranged to control the temperatures of the ink in the remote ink supply, the supply line, the ink reservoirs in the printhead and passages leading from the reservoirs to the ink jet orifices at selected temperature levels to inhibit high-temperature degradation of the ink while permitting the ink to be jetted at the desired jetting temperature. In addition, a pressure control system controls the pressure of the ink in the printhead at one or more selected levels to permit the printhead to be used at different orientations and to permit purging of air bubbles and contaminants from the orifice passageways and to supply a relatively high vacuum to a deaerator in the printhead to extract dissolved air from the ink.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 1993
    Date of Patent: February 6, 1996
    Assignee: Markem Corporation
    Inventors: Jeffrey B. Brooks, Mark S. Noyes, Frank W. Martines, Charles W. Spehrley, Jr., Steven H. Barss, Edward R. Moynihan, Nathan P. Hine, David W. Gailus