Patents by Inventor Akihito Sao

Akihito Sao 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: 9102842
    Abstract: Disclosed is ink composition used in a recording apparatus provided with a pressure regulation valve which performs opening and closing operations to adjust a pressure in a recording head and is covered with an elastic member. The ink composition includes a slip agent and a lactone system medium. The slip agent is preferably at least one kind selected from a group consisting of a silicon system compound, a hydrocarbon system compound, a fluorine system compound, an amide system compound, and acrylic compound. In addition, the content of the slip agent is preferably not more than 1% by mass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Tomoki Shinoda, Akihito Sao, Keiji Iida, Makoto Nagase, Miho Nakamura, Kenichiro Kubota
  • Publication number: 20150210878
    Abstract: A non-aqueous ink composition for ink jet recording includes a pigment, a compound represented by General formula 1 below, and a phthalocyanine derivative provided with a polar group not having an amine structure, as a pigment dispersant for dispersing the pigment. The pigment is carbon black. The composition further includes an alkylene glycol monoalkyl ether: (wherein R1 indicates an alkyl group of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and R2 and R3 each independently indicate a methyl group or an ethyl group).
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2015
    Publication date: July 30, 2015
    Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Keiji Iida, Makoto Nagase, Kenichiro Kubota, Akihito Sao
  • Patent number: 9056992
    Abstract: A nonaqueous ink composition for ink jet recording includes a solvent represented by general formula (1) and having a hydrophile-lipophile balance value of 10.5 to 20.0: where R1 denotes an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Akihito Sao, Shinichi Itaya, Shushi Makita
  • Publication number: 20150130881
    Abstract: An ink jet ink composition for sublimation transfer includes dye A and a dye B, in which the dye A is a disperse dye which has a molecular weight of 380 or less and an anthraquinone skeleton having a water-soluble group in a molecule, the dye B is a disperse dye which has a molecular weight of 400 or greater, and in the ink jet ink composition for sublimation transfer, dye solubility of the dye A is greater than dye solubility of the dye B.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2014
    Publication date: May 14, 2015
    Applicant: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hideki Oguchi, Akihito Sao, Yasunari Ikeda, Miho Nakamura, Shinichi Naito
  • Patent number: 9028055
    Abstract: The nonaqueous ink composition for ink jet printing contains a compound represented by General Formula (1) below, and a heterocyclic compound selected from lactones and lactams. (In Formula (1), R1 represents an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and R2 and R3 represent a methyl group or an ethyl group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Kenichiro Kubota, Makoto Nagase, Maki Ito, Keiji Iida, Akihito Sao
  • Patent number: 8991996
    Abstract: The ink composition for ink jet recording according to the invention includes a coloring material, a cyclic ester, a first organic solvent having a flash point of 70° C. or less and represented by Formula (I): R1—O—(R2—O)2—R3??(I) (wherein, R1 represents an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms; R2 represents an ethylene group or a propylene group; and R3 represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms), and a second organic solvent having a flash point of 90° C. or more. The cyclic ester has a content “a” (% by mass) of 6% by mass or more and 30% by mass or less. The content “a” (% by mass) of the cyclic ester, the content “b” (% by mass) of the first organic solvent, and the content “c” (% by mass) of the second organic solvent satisfy a relationship represented by Expressions (1) and (2): a<b??(1) c<(a+b)/2??(2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Makoto Nagase, Akihito Sao, Kenichiro Kubota, Kenichi Numakura, Jun Ito
  • Patent number: 8992678
    Abstract: An ink set for ink jet recording is provided, the ink set containing a first ink which contains a first pigment and a second ink which contains a second pigment, wherein each of the first and second inks contains polyester-modified polydialkylsiloxane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Akihito Sao, Makoto Nagase, Kenichiro Kubota
  • Publication number: 20150035895
    Abstract: A colorant, lactone having a content in a range of 5% by mass to 40% by mass, a first solvent having a water vapor pressure of 2 hPa or more and a content in a range of 5% by mass to 18% by mass at 20° C., and a second solvent having a water vapor pressure of 0.9 hPa or more and a content in a range of 2% by mass to 80% by mass at 20° C. are contained, a sum of the content of the first solvent and the content of the second solvent is 20% by mass or more, and the second solvent is at least one solvent selected from a group consisting of (poly)alkylene glycol monoalkyl ether and (poly)alkylene glycol dialkyl ether.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 20, 2014
    Publication date: February 5, 2015
    Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kenichiro Kubota, Akihito Sao, Makoto Nagase, Jun Ito
  • Patent number: 8939559
    Abstract: A non-aqueous cleaning liquid which is used for cleaning an ink flow path, through which a non-aqueous ink is circulated, in an ink jet recording apparatus including the ink flow path and with which a container composed of polyolefin is filled, includes a pigment and an organic solvent. In the non-aqueous cleaning liquid, a content of the pigment is 0.001% by mass to 0.5% by mass and an average particle size (d50) of the pigment is 10 nm to 500 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Keiji Iida, Kenichiro Kubota, Akihito Sao, Makoto Nagase, Maki Ito
  • Patent number: 8936358
    Abstract: An ink composition for ink jet textile printing at least includes a disperse dye and a solvent represented by the following Formula (1): (in Formula (1), R1 denotes an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms). The solvent represented by the Formula (1) has an HLB value of 10.5 or more and 20.0 or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Akihito Sao, Shinichi Itaya, Shushi Makita
  • Publication number: 20140333696
    Abstract: The ink composition for ink jet recording according to the invention includes a coloring material, a cyclic ester, a first organic solvent having a flash point of 70° C. or less and represented by Formula (I): R1—O—(R2—O)2—R3??(I) (wherein, R1 represents an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms; R2 represents an ethylene group or a propylene group; and R3 represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms), and a second organic solvent having a flash point of 90° C. or more. The cyclic ester has a content “a” (% by mass) of 6% by mass or more and 30% by mass or less. The content “a” (% by mass) of the cyclic ester, the content “b” (% by mass) of the first organic solvent, and the content “c” (% by mass) of the second organic solvent satisfy a relationship represented by Expressions (1) and (2): a<b??(1) c<(a+b)/2??(2).
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2014
    Publication date: November 13, 2014
    Applicant: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Makoto Nagase, Akihito Sao, Kenichiro Kubota, Kenichi Numakura, Jun Ito
  • Patent number: 8858696
    Abstract: The nonaqueous ink composition for ink jet recording according to the invention includes a compound represented by the General Formula (1) below; and a compound represented by the General Formula (2A) or the General Formula (2B) below. In the General Formula (1), R1 represents an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and R2 and R3 represent a methyl group or an ethyl group; in the General Formula (2A), R4A represents an alkyl group having 5 to 9 carbon atoms, and R5A represents a methyl group or an ethyl group; in the General Formula (2B), R4B represents an alkylene group having 2 to 5 carbon atoms, and R5B and R6B each independently represent alkyl groups having 1 to 4 carbon atoms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2014
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Akihito Sao, Maki Nariai, Makoto Nagase, Keiji Iida, Tomoki Shinoda, Kenichiro Kubota
  • Patent number: 8840233
    Abstract: An ink jet recording-targeted non-aqueous ink composition contains pigment, polyvinyl chloride, and a solvent represented by the formula 1, wherein R1 represents an alkyl group having one to eight carbon atoms, and R2 and R3 each represent any one of a methyl group and an ethyl group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2014
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Akihito Sao, Kenichiro Kubota, Ito Maki
  • Publication number: 20140168335
    Abstract: An ink composition for ink jet recording, comprising: a dye; organic solvents; and water, the organic solvents including a first organic solvent satisfying a following property (A) and a second organic solvent not satisfying the property (A), and a ratio (S1/S2) of a content (S1) of the first organic solvent and a content (S2) of the second organic solvent being 15.3 or more and 205 or less: (A) when a mixture with polyvinyl alcohol is produced, a cluster having a mass of 70% or more based on a total mass of the mixture is formed and when a load of 5.3 g/mm2 or more and 7.1 g/mm2 or less is applied to the cluster, a cluster having a mass of 90% or more based on a total mass of the cluster is formed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2013
    Publication date: June 19, 2014
    Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jun Ito, Akihito Sao, Miho Nakamura, Keiji Iida
  • Publication number: 20140123406
    Abstract: An ink contains (A) water, (B) a disperse dye, (C) a resin dispersant, and (D) at least one selected from the group consisting of a compound represented by formula (1) and a compound represented by formula (2) and having an HLB of 15 or more: RO(CH2CH2O)mSO3?M+??(1) RO(CH2CH2O)mH??(2) where R is an alkyl or alkenyl group containing 8 to 20 carbon atoms, m is an integer of 2 to 50, and M+ is an alkali metal or ammonium ion. The ratio of the mass of the ingredient (D) to that of the ingredient (C) is in the range of 4% to 50%, both inclusive.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 8, 2013
    Publication date: May 8, 2014
    Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yasunari Ikeda, Akihito Sao, Hiroshi Takahashi, Shinichi Naito
  • Publication number: 20140107007
    Abstract: An ink jet cleaning solution is provided for washing off a non-aqueous ink and an aqueous ink. The cleaning solution contains an organic solvent and water. The organic solvent has an SP value between the weighted average S1 of the SP values of the organic solvents in the non-aqueous ink and the weighted average S2 of the SP values of the organic solvents in the aqueous ink. Also, the weighted average of the SP values of the organic solvent and the water in the cleaning solution is in the range between S1 and S2.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 15, 2013
    Publication date: April 17, 2014
    Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akihito Sao, Makoto Nagase, Kenichiro Kubota
  • Publication number: 20130293643
    Abstract: Disclosed is ink composition used in a recording apparatus provided with a pressure regulation valve which performs opening and closing operations to adjust a pressure in a recording head and is covered with an elastic member. The ink composition includes a slip agent and a lactone system medium. The slip agent is preferably at least one kind selected from a group consisting of a silicon system compound, a hydrocarbon system compound, a fluorine system compound, an amide system compound, and acrylic compound. In addition, the content of the slip agent is preferably not more than 1% by mass.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2013
    Publication date: November 7, 2013
    Applicant: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Tomoki SHINODA, Akihito SAO, Keiji IIDA, Makoto NAGASE, Miho NAKAMURA, Kenichiro KUBOTA
  • Publication number: 20130286068
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus that includes a liquid ejecting head capable of ejecting a liquid containing solid contents from a nozzle, by driving pressure generating unit for changing a capacity of a pressure chamber communicating with the nozzle; and control unit for controlling the drive of the pressure generating unit, wherein the control unit drives the pressure generating unit so that a volume of the liquid ejected from the nozzle per a unit time is equal to or less than 60 nl/s, and an initial speed of the liquid ejected from the nozzle is equal to or less than 8 m/s.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2013
    Publication date: October 31, 2013
    Applicant: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Shinichi ITAYA, Maki NARIAI, Kinya OZAWA, Akihito SAO
  • Publication number: 20130286117
    Abstract: An ink set for ink jet recording is provided, the ink set containing a first ink which contains a first pigment and a second ink which contains a second pigment, wherein each of the first and second inks contains polyester-modified polydialkylsiloxane.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2013
    Publication date: October 31, 2013
    Applicant: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Akihito SAO, Makoto NAGASE, Kenichiro KUBOTA
  • Publication number: 20120249666
    Abstract: A nonaqueous ink composition for ink jet recording contains a glitter pigment and a solvent represented by the following formula: wherein R1 represents an alkyl group containing one to eight carbon atoms and R2 and R3 represent a methyl group or an ethyl group.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2012
    Publication date: October 4, 2012
    Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ito Maki, Akihito Sao, Kazumasa Tomura, Kenichiro Kubota