Patents by Inventor Akihito Kobayashi

Akihito Kobayashi has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10308033
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus includes: a cartridge; a cartridge attachment portion; and a switching portion. The cartridge includes: a first storage chamber; a first air communication portion; and a first supply portion. The cartridge attachment portion includes: a second storage chamber; and a second air communication portion. The switching portion changes a passage resistance value of air flowing through one of the first and second air communication portions. An inequality of R2>A×R1 is met, in which R1: a passage resistance value obtained by air flowing through the first air communication portion and a passage resistance value of the liquid flowing through the first supply portion; R2: a passage resistance value of air flowing through the second air communication portion; A: a cross-sectional area ratio obtained by dividing an average cross-sectional area of the first storage chamber by an average cross-sectional area of the second storage chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masatake Sato, Akinari Ishibe, Yuma Tanabe, Masahiro Hayashi, Akihito Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 10293618
    Abstract: In a state where a supply portion of a cartridge is connected to a connecting portion of a cartridge attachment section, a first base part and a first protruding part of the cartridge and a second base part and a second protruding part of the cartridge attachment section have the following positional relationship: as viewed in the horizontal direction, the first base part is overlapped with both of the second base part and second protruding part, the first protruding part is overlapped with the second base part, but is not overlapped with the second protruding part; and as viewed in the vertical direction, the first base part is not overlapped with the second base part, and is not overlapped with the second protruding part, and the first protruding part is overlapped with the second protruding part, but is not overlapped with the second base part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2019
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihito Kobayashi, Akinari Ishibe, Yuma Tanabe, Masahiro Hayashi, Masatake Sato, Yoshinori Osakabe, Hiroaki Takahashi
  • Publication number: 20190143706
    Abstract: An image-recording apparatus includes a cartridge including a first storage chamber, a tank including a second storage chamber, a recording portion, a detected portion, a detector, and a wall portion. Liquid supplied from the first storage chamber to the second storage chamber through an inlet port is supplied from the second storage chamber to the recording portion through an outlet port. The wall portion partitions an internal space of the second storage chamber into a first region including the liquid inlet port and a second region including the detected portion. The wall portion extends upward than the liquid inlet port and the detected portion and downward than the liquid inlet port and the detected portion. Communication between the first region and the second region is allowed through upper and lower communication portions. The upper communication portion is positioned upward than the liquid inlet port and the detected portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 15, 2019
    Publication date: May 16, 2019
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masahiro HAYASHI, Yuma TANABE, Akinari ISHIBE, Masatake SATO, Akihito KOBAYASHI
  • Patent number: 10234929
    Abstract: A first control apparatus includes a first memory unit including a local cache, a first power supply that supplies electric power to the first memory unit, and a control unit. The control unit controls a write into a memory device by a write-back method, using the local cache. The control unit mirrors data of the local cache in a mirror cache of a second control apparatus. The control unit determines whether the mirror cache is included in a second memory unit that receives electric power from a second power supply of the second control apparatus, upon detecting an abnormal state of a battery for supplying electric power to the second memory unit in case of power outage of the second power supply. The second memory unit switches write control for the memory device to a write-through method, when the second memory unit includes the mirror cache.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2019
    Assignee: FUJITSU LIMITED
    Inventors: Hidefumi Kobayashi, Satoshi Yazawa, Atsushi Igashira, Wataru Iizuka, Motohiro Sakai, Akihito Kobayashi, Shinichiro Matsumura, Kenji Kobayashi
  • Publication number: 20190077159
    Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus includes a cartridge-attachment portion and an ink cartridge attachable thereto. The ink cartridge includes: a main body formed with an opening; an ink chamber disposed in the main body; a first valve opening and closing the opening; and a first pressing surface. The cartridge-attachment portion includes: an ink supply member providing an ink passage formed with an inlet; a second valve opening and closing the inlet; and a second pressing surface. In the attachment process, the ink supply member enters the ink chamber through the opening, the first pressing surface moves the second valve to a position opening the inlet, and the second pressing surface moves the first valve to a position opening the opening. In an attached state, the inlet is opened and positioned in the ink chamber, and the ink passage is in communication with the ink chamber through the inlet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 7, 2018
    Publication date: March 14, 2019
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masahiro HAYASHI, Akinari ISHIBE, Yoshinori OSAKABE, Akihito ONO, Hiroaki TAKAHASHI, Akihito KOBAYASHI
  • Patent number: 10207512
    Abstract: An image-recording apparatus includes a cartridge including a first storage chamber, a tank including a second storage chamber, a recording portion, a detected portion, a detector, and a wall portion. Liquid supplied from the first storage chamber to the second storage chamber through an inlet port is supplied from the second storage chamber to the recording portion through an outlet port. The wall portion partitions an internal space of the second storage chamber into a first region including the liquid inlet port and a second region including the detected portion. The wall portion extends upward than the liquid inlet port and the detected portion and downward than the liquid inlet port and the detected portion. Communication between the first region and the second region is allowed through upper and lower communication portions. The upper communication portion is positioned upward than the liquid inlet port and the detected portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2019
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masahiro Hayashi, Yuma Tanabe, Akinari Ishibe, Masatake Sato, Akihito Kobayashi
  • Publication number: 20190042134
    Abstract: Provided is a storage control apparatus including: a cache memory configured to include a first cache area that holds a hash value of a first data block written in a physical storage area and a second cache area that holds a hash value of a second data block read from the physical storage area; and a control unit configured to execute a process including: determining, when receiving a request for writing a third data block in the physical storage area, whether the first cache area or the second cache area holds a hash value of the third data block, and performing, when the first cache area or the second cache area holds the hash value of the third data block, deduplication to avoid writing the third data block.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 16, 2018
    Publication date: February 7, 2019
    Applicant: FUJITSU LIMITED
    Inventors: Shinichi Nishizono, Akihito Kobayashi
  • Publication number: 20190018609
    Abstract: A storage control device includes a processor configured to receive access information indicating a start position and an end position of an access area in a first volume. The processor is configured to determine, based on one or more pieces of the received access information, whether a number of blocks in a cache area is reduced as a whole by changing a position of data in the first volume. The blocks are used in response to an access to the access area and correspond to one or more unit areas in the first volume. The one or more unit areas include the access area. The processor is configured to change the position of the data in the first volume upon determining that the number of the blocks in the cache area is reduced as a whole by changing the position of the data in the first volume.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2018
    Publication date: January 17, 2019
    Applicant: FUJITSU LIMITED
    Inventors: Keima ABE, Takuro Kumabe, Akihito Kobayashi, Motohiro Sakai
  • Patent number: 10160219
    Abstract: For an image forming apparatus including first and second storage chambers, an inequality expression of “R2>A×R1” is met. R1 is a sum of a passage resistance value obtained by flowing air through a first air communication portion and a passage resistance value obtained by flowing liquid through a supply portion. R2 is a passage resistance value obtained by flowing air through a second air communication portion. A is a cross-sectional area ratio obtained by dividing a first average cross-sectional area of a first space of the first storage chamber taken along a plurality of horizontal planes by a second average cross-sectional area of a second space of the second storage chamber taken along the plurality of horizontal planes. The first space contains at least a portion adjacent to the supply portion and accumulating the liquid. The second space contains at least a portion accumulating the liquid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2018
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihito Kobayashi, Akinari Ishibe, Yuma Tanabe, Masahiro Hayashi, Masatake Sato
  • Patent number: 10131140
    Abstract: In an inkjet type image forming apparatus, a cartridge includes a first storage chamber and a first fluid communication portion. The first air communication portion allows the first storage chamber to be in communication with an atmosphere. A second storage chamber stores the ink supplied from the first storage chamber by hydraulic head difference. The switch portion switches a state of the second air communication portion between a first state in which the second storage chamber communicates with the atmosphere and a second state in which an amount of air flow between the second storage chamber and the atmosphere is smaller than that in the first state. The controller controls the switch portion to switch the state of the second air communication portion from the first state to the second state. After the recording process, the controller controls the switch portion to switch the state to the first state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihito Kobayashi, Akinari Ishibe, Yuma Tanabe, Masahiro Hayashi, Masatake Sato
  • Patent number: 10131153
    Abstract: An image-recording apparatus includes a cartridge including a first storage chamber and a first air communication portion, a cartridge-attachment portion including a second storage chamber and a second air communication portion, a switching portion, and a controller. The second storage chamber stores liquid supplied from a supply portion of the cartridge connected to a connecting portion of the cartridge-attachment portion through a liquid outlet port. The switching portion switches the second air communication portion between a first state and a second state. An air flow rate through the second air communication portion per unit of time is lower in the second state than in the first state. The controller determines the liquid level of liquid in the first storage chamber and switches the switching portion to the second state when the liquid level in the first storage chamber is lower than a vertical position of the liquid outlet port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masatake Sato, Akinari Ishibe, Yuma Tanabe, Masahiro Hayashi, Akihito Kobayashi
  • Publication number: 20180244061
    Abstract: An image-recording apparatus includes: a first tank defining a first storage chamber; a second tank defining a second storage chamber; a conveying mechanism for conveying sheets along a conveying path extending in a depthwise direction and a widthwise direction perpendicular to a vertical direction and the depthwise direction; and a recording head including a nozzle. Liquid in the first storage chamber is supplied through a communication port to the second storage chamber and then to the recording head through a liquid outlet port. The second storage chamber is positioned further in a first depthwise direction relative to the nozzle and further in a first widthwise direction relative to the conveying path. A volume of a prescribed space above a liquid level equal to a height of the communication port in the second storage chamber is greater than that of a liquid channel between the liquid outlet port and the nozzle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2018
    Publication date: August 30, 2018
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masahiro HAYASHI, Akinari ISHIBE, Yuma TANABE, Masatake SATO, Akihito KOBAYASHI, Hiroaki TAKAHASHI
  • Publication number: 20180215144
    Abstract: An image-recording apparatus includes a cartridge including a first storage chamber, a tank including a second storage chamber, a recording portion for ejecting liquid stored in the second storage chamber, a detected portion, and a detector. The first and second storage chambers can communicate with an atmosphere. The tank includes a liquid inlet port and a liquid outlet port positioned lower than the liquid inlet port. Liquid in the first storage chamber is supplied to the second storage chamber through the liquid inlet port, and from the second storage chamber to the recording portion through the liquid outlet port. The detected portion can change in state when a level of the liquid stored in the second storage chamber becomes equal to a vertical position of the liquid inlet port. The detector is configured to detect the change in state of the detected portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2018
    Publication date: August 2, 2018
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akinari ISHIBE, Yuma TANABE, Masahiro HAYASHI, Masatake SATO, Yoshinori OSAKABE, Hiroaki TAKAHASHI, Akihito KOBAYASHI
  • Publication number: 20180215165
    Abstract: An image-recording apparatus includes a cartridge including a first storage chamber, a tank including a second storage chamber, a recording portion, a detected portion, a detector, and a wall portion. Liquid supplied from the first storage chamber to the second storage chamber through an inlet port is supplied from the second storage chamber to the recording portion through an outlet port. The wall portion partitions an internal space of the second storage chamber into a first region including the liquid inlet port and a second region including the detected portion. The wall portion extends upward than the liquid inlet port and the detected portion and downward than the liquid inlet port and the detected portion. Communication between the first region and the second region is allowed through upper and lower communication portions. The upper communication portion is positioned upward than the liquid inlet port and the detected portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2018
    Publication date: August 2, 2018
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masahiro HAYASHI, Yuma TANABE, Akinari ISHIBE, Masatake SATO, Akihito KOBAYASHI
  • Publication number: 20180215166
    Abstract: An image-recording apparatus includes a cartridge including a first storage chamber, a tank including a second storage chamber, a recording portion, a pivoting member disposed in the second storage chamber, a detector for detecting pivoting of the pivoting member, and a controller. Liquid in the first storage chamber is supplied to the second storage chamber through a liquid inlet port, and from the second storage chamber to the recording portion through a liquid outlet port. The pivoting member is pivotable about a pivot axis when a liquid level of the liquid in the second storage chamber is not higher than a prescribed position. The controller notifies the cartridge should be replaced upon receipt of a detection signal from the detector. A shaft defining the pivot axis is positioned lower than the liquid level of the liquid in the second storage chamber at the time of execution of the notification.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2018
    Publication date: August 2, 2018
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuma TANABE, Masahiro HAYASHI, Akinari ISHIBE, Masatake SATO, Akihito KOBAYASHI
  • Publication number: 20180215164
    Abstract: An image-recording apparatus includes a cartridge including a first storage chamber, a tank including a second storage chamber, a head, and a detection component for detecting a residual amount of liquid in the second chamber. The cartridge is connectable to the tank. The first storage chamber and second storage chamber are both allowed to communicate with an atmosphere. The tank includes a first base portion and a first protruding portion protruding from a lower end portion of the first base portion in a first direction perpendicular to a vertical direction. Internal spaces of the first base portion and the first protruding portion communicate each other to constitute part of the second storage chamber. The detection component is positioned: above the first protruding portion; to overlap with the first base portion as viewed in the first direction; and to overlap with the first protruding portion as viewed in the vertical direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2018
    Publication date: August 2, 2018
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masahiro HAYASHI, Akinari ISHIBE, Yuma TANABE, Masatake SATO, Akihito KOBAYASHI
  • Publication number: 20180178512
    Abstract: In an inkjet type image forming apparatus, a cartridge includes a first storage chamber and a first fluid communication portion. The first air communication portion allows the first storage chamber to be in communication with an atmosphere. A second storage chamber stores the ink supplied from the first storage chamber by hydraulic head difference. The switch portion switches a state of the second air communication portion between a first state in which the second storage chamber communicates with the atmosphere and a second state in which an amount of air flow between the second storage chamber and the atmosphere is smaller than that in the first state. The controller controls the switch portion to switch the state of the second air communication portion from the first state to the second state. After the recording process, the controller controls the switch portion to switch the state to the first state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2017
    Publication date: June 28, 2018
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihito KOBAYASHI, Akinari ISHIBE, Yuma TANABE, Masahiro HAYASHI, Masatake SATO
  • Publication number: 20180178532
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus includes: a cartridge; a cartridge attachment portion; and a switching portion. The cartridge includes: a first storage chamber; a first air communication portion; and a first supply portion. The cartridge attachment portion includes: a second storage chamber; and a second air communication portion. The switching portion changes a passage resistance value of air flowing through one of the first and second air communication portions. An inequality of R2>A×R1 is met, in which R1: a passage resistance value obtained by air flowing through the first air communication portion and a passage resistance value of the liquid flowing through the first supply portion; R2: a passage resistance value of air flowing through the second air communication portion; A: a cross-sectional area ratio obtained by dividing an average cross-sectional area of the first storage chamber by an average cross-sectional area of the second storage chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2017
    Publication date: June 28, 2018
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masatake SATO, Akinari ISHIBE, Yuma TANABE, Masahiro HAYASHI, Akihito KOBAYASHI
  • Publication number: 20180178539
    Abstract: In a state where a supply portion of a cartridge is connected to a connecting portion of a cartridge attachment section, a first base part and a first protruding part of the cartridge and a second base part and a second protruding part of the cartridge attachment section have the following positional relationship: as viewed in the horizontal direction, the first base part is overlapped with both of the second base part and second protruding part, the first protruding part is overlapped with the second base part, but is not overlapped with the second protruding part; and as viewed in the vertical direction, the first base part is not overlapped with the second base part, and is not overlapped with the second protruding part, and the first protruding part is overlapped with the second protruding part, but is not overlapped with the second base part.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2017
    Publication date: June 28, 2018
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akihito KOBAYASHI, Akinari ISHIBE, Yuma TANABE, Masahiro HAYASHI, Masatake SATO, Yoshinori OSAKABE, Hiroaki TAKAHASHI
  • Publication number: 20180178536
    Abstract: An image-recording apparatus includes a cartridge including a first storage chamber and a first air communication portion, a cartridge-attachment portion including a second storage chamber and a second air communication portion, a switching portion, and a controller. The second storage chamber stores liquid supplied from a supply portion of the cartridge connected to a connecting portion of the cartridge-attachment portion through a liquid outlet port. The switching portion switches the second air communication portion between a first state and a second state. An air flow rate through the second air communication portion per unit of time is lower in the second state than in the first state. The controller determines the liquid level of liquid in the first storage chamber and switches the switching portion to the second state when the liquid level in the first storage chamber is lower than a vertical position of the liquid outlet port.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2017
    Publication date: June 28, 2018
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masatake SATO, Akinari ISHIBE, Yuma TANABE, Masahiro HAYASHI, Akihito KOBAYASHI