Patents Examined by Veronica Faison-Gee
  • Patent number: 7291210
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a first solid drawing material comprising water, a coloring agent, a solidifying agent that is a fatty acid alkali metal salt, and an O/W type emulsion of a separating agent that is an oily material which hardly volatilizes at room temperature. The first solid drawing material preferably contains silicone oil. A second solid drawing material is also disclosed, which comprises an organic solvent, a coloring agent, a solidifying agent that is at least one selected from the group consisting of dibenzylidene sorbitol, tribenylidene sorbitol, and derivatives thereof, a separating agent that is an oily material which hardly volatilizes at room temperature, and a resin soluble in the organic solvent. In these solid drawing materials, the separating agent is evenly dispersed, and therefore they have stable drawing properties and erasability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2007
    Assignee: Sakura Color Products Corporation
    Inventors: Keiko Nakamura, Kotaro Sumitomo, Hidetoshi Fukuo
  • Patent number: 7285161
    Abstract: A water base pigment ink for ink-jet recording contains a pigment, water, and at least one of polyethylene glycol and diglycerol. The ink is solidified into a solid matter when the water is evaporated. Further, the solid matter is redissolved in the unsolidified water base pigment ink for ink-jet recording. When the ink is used, then neither clog-up of a nozzle nor discharge failure is caused, no load is imposed by the solidified ink on the maintenance system such as the wiping equipment, and the sticking performance on the paper is satisfactory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2007
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hideto Yamazaki, Michiko Aoyama, Yoshito Toyoda, Mayuko Okada, Tatsunosuke Hoshi, Masaya Fujioka, Shunichi Higashiyama
  • Patent number: 7285158
    Abstract: An image forming method, device and a recording agent for forming an image through subtractive color mixing by using ink of plural color components different in hue. The ink is created by mixing a first coloring agent expressing one of the color components and a second coloring agent identical in hue to the first coloring agent. The ink has a higher spectral reflectance than a spectral reflectance of the first coloring agent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2007
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takuya Iwanami, Haruo Yamamoto, Satoshi Nishigaki, Tohru Sakuwa
  • Patent number: 7285160
    Abstract: Disclosed is an ink composition which is suitable for ink jet printing and comprising an organic solvent, for example, methanol, a water-soluble resin, a water-soluble dye, and optionally a surfactant, wherein, if water is present, it is present in an amount less than 50% by weight of the ink composition. The ink composition is suitable for printing messages on substrates such as diaper outer liner fabrics. The printed messages are removed upon contact with water or urine or other aqueous body fluid, thereby providing an indication of diaper wetness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2007
    Assignee: Videojet Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Linfang Zhu, James D. McClellan, John P. Folkers
  • Patent number: 7276112
    Abstract: Disclosed is an aqueous ink comprising at least water, a plurality of water-soluble organic solvents and a coloring material. The coloring material is a pigment, and, it contains a pigment particle having at least one ionic group bonded to a surface of the pigment particle directly or via another atomic group. The plurality of water-soluble organic solvents have a good medium or good mediums for the pigment and a poor medium or poor mediums for the pigment. The poor medium does not solvate perfectly or substantially the pigment. The ionic group undergoes perfectly or substantially no ionic dissociation in the poor medium. Also, among the respective Ka values of the plurality of water-soluble organic solvents as determined by the Bristow method, the Ka value of the poor medium is maximum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2007
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yui Tokuda, Mikio Sanada, Yoshihisa Takizawa, Masashi Ogasawara, Tomonari Watanabe, Takashi Imai, Yasuhiro Nito, Tetsu Iwata, Shinichi Hakamada, Sadayuki Sugama
  • Patent number: 7276110
    Abstract: A cyan ink applicable to an ink set has plurality of aqueous inks each containing at least: water; a water-insoluble coloring material; and plurality of water-soluble organic solvents including a good medium or good mediums for the water-insoluble coloring material and a poor medium or poor mediums for the water-insoluble coloring material. A ratio of a poor medium to a good medium in the cyan ink is in a specific range. A water-soluble organic solvent showing the maximum Ka value out of respective Ka values of the plurality of water-soluble organic solvents is the poor medium. A ratio of a poor medium to a good medium in an arbitrary aqueous ink in the ink set except the cyan ink and the ratio of the poor medium to the good medium in the cyan ink satisfy a specific relationship.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2007
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masashi Tsujimura, Mikio Sanada, Yasuhiro Nito, Sadayuki Sugama
  • Patent number: 7267716
    Abstract: An aqueous ink containing at least a water-dispersible coloring material and a water-soluble crystalline component, characterized in that the water-dispersible coloring material forms an aggregate around a crystal of the crystalline component formed as the content of the aqueous ink decreases, which ink may further contain a water-soluble coloring material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2007
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akira Nagashima, Masako Udagawa
  • Patent number: 7267717
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an aqueous ink which can form a more excellent image in bleeding resistance, character quality and print density than the image formed by using an aqueous ink containing a conventional self-dispersion pigment and a salt. The aqueous ink includes a self-dispersion pigment and a salt, in which the self-dispersion pigment is a pigment containing a pigment particle having a —R—(COOM1)n group bonded to a surface of the pigment particle, wherein R represents an alkylene group or an aromatic ring; M1 represents a hydrogen atom, an alkali metal, an ammonium or an organic ammonium; and n is an integer of 2 or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2007
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tomonari Watanabe, Masashi Ogasawara, Yui Kitamura
  • Patent number: 7264664
    Abstract: An ink composition is manufactured to contain a surfactant having difference d1 (?10??) which is difference between dynamic surface tension (?10) of the solution obtained by making 0.1 wt % solution dissolved in purified water to be measured by using a maximum bubble pressure method at the bubble frequency of 10 Hz at a temperature from 24° C. to 26° C. and static surface tension (?) to be measured at a temperature from 24° C. to 26° C. and which satisfies 0 mN/m?d1?15 mN/m. An image is recorded by applying a voltage to partitions made of a piezoelectric material thereby applying a pressure to the ink composition supplied from an ink tank to an ink chamber of an ink head to discharge a liquid droplet of the ink composition, and depositing the liquid droplet onto a recording material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2007
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takanori Kamoto, Kiyofumi Morimoto, Hiromi Nakatsu, Masanori Kinomoto, Hiroaki Nakaya
  • Patent number: 7252708
    Abstract: A fluorescent water base ink for ink-jet recording contains a first fluorescent dye and a second fluorescent dye. The first fluorescent dye has a first ultraviolet absorption wavelength region in an absorption spectrum and a first fluorescence emission wavelength region in a fluorescence spectrum. The second fluorescent dye has a second ultraviolet absorption wavelength region which is different from the first ultraviolet absorption wavelength region in an absorption spectrum and a second fluorescence emission wavelength region in a fluorescence spectrum. The first fluorescent dye further has an absorption wavelength region which is different from the first ultraviolet absorption wavelength region and which overlaps at least a part of the second fluorescence emission wavelength region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2007
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Michiko Aoyama, Masashi Tsuda, Hiromitsu Sago, Mayuko Umemura, Hideto Yamazaki, Shunichi Higashiyama
  • Patent number: 7250078
    Abstract: An ink for ink-jet recording containing: a colorant; and a solvent mixture containing water and solvent A which is not water, wherein solvent A has a surface tension of 25 to 40 mN/m at 25° C.; a viscosity of 1 to 50 mPs·s at 25° C.; and a vapor pressure of not more than 133 Pa at 25° C., a content of solvent A is from not less than 50 to less than 90 weight % based on the total weight of the ink; and a content of water is from not less than 10 to less than 45 weight % based on the total weight of the ink.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2007
    Assignee: Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc.
    Inventors: Hirotaka Iijima, Yasuhiko Kawashima, Kenichi Ohkubo, Teruyuki Fukuda
  • Patent number: 7250077
    Abstract: An aggregation stabilizer is further added to an ink composition for inkjet recording which contains a colorant, a humectant, water, and a water-soluble substance that is condensation-polymerized in the absence of the water. With this aggregation stabilizer, a hardly-soluble or insoluble component formed by the colorant and the water-soluble substance is modified so as to be readily dissolved in water, whereby generation of an aggregate in the ink is prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hidekazu Arase, Mamoru Soga
  • Patent number: 7247197
    Abstract: A water base ink for ink-jet recording is provided, which is excellent in time-dependent stability of ink characteristics, which can be stably jetted over a long period of time, and which makes it possible to perform the high quality recording. The water base ink for ink-jet recording contains a self-dispersing type water-insoluble particulate coloring agent, a compound represented by the following formula (1), a surfactant having a nitrogen atom in a molecule, water, and a water-soluble organic solvent, wherein a surface tension is 30 to 50 mN/m, and a ratio of change of the surface tension after storage at 60° C. for 2 weeks is less than 5%: R1—O—(CH2CH2O)x—SO3Na??(1) wherein R1 represents an alkyl group and x is 20 to 30 in the formula (1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2007
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuma Goto, Hideo Ohira, Yoshito Toyoda, Mayuko Okada, Masaya Fujioka, Shunichi Higashiyama
  • Patent number: 7247192
    Abstract: A water base ink for ink-jet recording is provided, which makes it possible to secure a high recording quality with a sharp image area edge by avoiding any blurring even when recording is performed on regular paper and which has satisfactory purge restoration performance. Therefore, no bubble remains in an ink flow passage, and no discharge failure is caused. Further, the discharge operation never becomes unstable. In the water base ink for ink-jet recording, the surface tension is not less than 40 mN/m, and the amount of dissolved oxygen is not more than 4 mg/L.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2007
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hideo Ohira, Hiromitsu Sago, Kazuma Goto, Narumi Koga, Masaya Fujioka, Shunichi Higashiyama
  • Patent number: 7247199
    Abstract: Food grade ink jet inks which include food grade pigments, food grade lower alcohols, 1,2-propanediol, and shellacs are provided. Also provided are methods for making the ink jet inks and edible substrates having the food grade ink jet inks applied to a surface thereof. In some embodiments, the food grade ink jet inks contain at least about 20 wt. % propanediol.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2007
    Inventors: Robert A. Baydo, Michael Bogomolny, Constance L. Lee
  • Patent number: 7247198
    Abstract: A water base ink for ink-jet recording to be used for an ink-jet recording apparatus having an ink-jet head comprises a self-dispersing type coloring agent, water, and a water-soluble organic solvent. The surface tension of the ink is 30 to 50 mN/M, the advancing contact angle with respect to the jetting surface of the ink-jet head is not less than 65°, the receding contact angle is not less than 55°, and the difference between the advancing contact angle and the receding contact angle is not more than 20°. It is possible to jet the ink stably, it is possible to form a sharp recorded image with less blur, and it is possible to obtain the recorded image excellent in water resistance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2007
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masaya Fujioka, Akihiko Taniguchi, Shunichi Higashiyama
  • Patent number: 7241335
    Abstract: The invention provides an aqueous ink composition for ball-point pens excellent in both the lubricity for an aqueous ballpoint pen tip and the bleed resistance of writing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2007
    Assignee: Sakura Color Products Corporation
    Inventors: Atsushi Ito, Naoshi Murata, Yumi Hirose
  • Patent number: 7241334
    Abstract: The present invention provides methods for the incorporation of sulfonate functional groups onto the surface of carbonaceous compounds and materials, and similarly provides several surface modified carbonaceous compounds and materials resulting therefrom.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2007
    Assignee: Columbian Chemicals Company
    Inventor: Bollepalli Srinivas
  • Patent number: 7241333
    Abstract: The present invention provides an ink-jet recording method for forming an image by applying an ink to a recording medium. The ink contains at least water, a colorant and a surfactant. The content of the surfactant is higher than or equal to the critical micelle concentration of the surfactant, and the ink used has a surface tension lower than or equal to the critical surface tension of the recording medium. The ink is applied on the recording medium, and the surface tension of the ink is increased to a surface tension higher than the critical surface tension of the recording medium after the ink contacts the recording medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2007
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shoji Koike, Yoshihisa Yamashita, Kohei Watanabe, Hayato Ida
  • Patent number: 7235125
    Abstract: A low-cost artificial fingerprint liquid for quantitatively and with a good reproducibility evaluating an anti-staining property, and a fingerprint adhering property or a fingerprint removing property on the surface of an optical disk such as a reproduction-only optical disk, optical recording disk, magneto-optical recording disk, various displays such as a CRT, and various substances such as glass. A stamp is used to transfer the artificial fingerprint solution to the surface to be tested. An artificial fingerprint liquid comprising a fine-particle-form substance and a dispersion medium capable of dispersing the fine-particle-form substance. The dispersion medium preferably has a surface tension ranging from 20 to 50 mN/m at 25° C., and preferably is selected from at least one of higher fatty acid, derivative of higher fatty acid, terpens, and derivatives of terpens. The fine-particle-form substance is at least one selected from inorganic fine particles and organic fine particles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2007
    Assignee: TDK Corporation
    Inventors: Naoki Hayashida, Kazushi Tanaka