Patents by Inventor Akiko Aichi

Akiko Aichi 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: 11919321
    Abstract: A printing apparatus includes a printing unit configured to print an image on a print medium, an acquiring unit configured to acquire temperature information of the printing unit, and a control unit configured to control the printing unit so as to start relative scanning in a case where a temperature that is indicated by the temperature information has reached a print permission temperature. The print permission temperature in a first print mode whose speed at a time of a constant speed in relative scanning is a first speed is a first temperature. The print permission temperature in a second print mode whose speed at the time of the constant speed is a second speed that is faster than the first speed is a second temperature that is lower than the first temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takeshi Murase, Kazuhiko Sato, Taku Yokozawa, Noboru Kunimine, Hiroshi Taira, Hiroshi Kawafuji, Sae Mogi, Akiko Aichi
  • Publication number: 20240010002
    Abstract: It is characterized by: a print head configured to eject ink, which has flowed from a first-channel into a pressure-chamber, from a nozzle by driving an ejection energy generating element installed in the pressure-chamber; a circulation-pump configured to circulate the ink in a circulation channel including the first-channel, the pressure-chamber, and a second-channel that flows the ink inside the pressure-chamber to the outside of the pressure-chamber; a wiping unit configured with a cleaning member that can wipe an ejection port surface of an ejection port and a winding member that winds the cleaning member; and a control unit configured to control a cleaning operation in which the wiping unit wipes the ejection port surface, so that, in a case where the cleaning operation is performed after the circulation-pump is stopped, the cleaning operation is changed based on an elapsed time from the time the circulation-pump stopped driving.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 23, 2023
    Publication date: January 11, 2024
    Inventors: RIE TAKEKOSHI, TOSHIMITSU DANZUKA, AKIHIRO TOMIDA, AKIKO AICHI, KEITA ISHIMI, HIROTO KANGO, TAKU YOKOZAWA, KAZUO SUZUKI
  • Publication number: 20240001678
    Abstract: A printing apparatus includes: an ejection unit configured to perform a print operation of forming an image on a print medium by ejecting liquid from an ejection port by using drive of an ejection energy generation element provided in a pressure chamber, the liquid flowing into the pressure chamber from a first flow passage; a circulation unit configured to circulate the liquid in a circulation flow passage including the first flow passage, the pressure chamber, and a second flow passage configured to allow the liquid in the pressure chamber to flow to an outside of the pressure chamber; a recovery unit configured to perform a recovery operation of the ejection unit; and a control unit configured to stop the circulation unit before completion of the print operation by the ejection unit in the case where the recovery operation is to be performed after the print operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2023
    Publication date: January 4, 2024
    Inventors: AKIHIRO TOMIDA, KEITA ISHIMI, HIROTO KANGO, KAZUO SUZUKI, TAKU YOKOZAWA, RIE TAKEKOSHI, TOSHIMITSU DANZUKA, AKIKO AICHI
  • Patent number: 11813853
    Abstract: To provide a technology capable of appropriately suppressing deterioration in cutting accuracy of a slitter although the rigidity of a print medium changes, a printing apparatus is equipped with: a first conveyance unit configured to convey a print medium; a printing unit configured to print an image by applying ink to the print medium conveyed by the first conveyance unit; a cutting unit disposed on a downstream side in a conveyance direction in which the print medium is conveyed by the first conveyance unit and configured to cut the print medium, which is conveyed by the first conveyance unit, along the conveyance direction; and a second conveyance unit disposed on the cutting unit, and the printing apparatus includes a correction unit configured to correct a parameter related to conveyance of at least one of the first conveyance unit and the second conveyance unit, based on information about the print medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroshi Kawafuji, Hiroshi Taira, Kazuhiko Sato, Taku Yokozawa, Noboru Kunimine, Akiko Aichi, Satoshi Azuma, Sae Mogi, Kei Yoshizawa, Shingo Nishioka, Junichi Saito, Hajime Nagai, Naoko Baba, Yuji Konno, Serena Yoshikawa, Satoshi Wada
  • Patent number: 11794495
    Abstract: An object is to provide a full-line inkjet printing apparatus and a printing method that can suppress occurrence of image degradation in the case where a conveyance roller conveys a print medium and multipass printing is performed. The maximum conveyance amount in a return route is set to be smaller than a distance between the conveyance roller and a print head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masataka Kato, Kazuhiko Sato, Kazuo Suzuki, Yoshinori Nakajima, Mitsutoshi Nagamura, Shin Genta, Satoshi Azuma, Shingo Nishioka, Sae Mogi, Taku Yokozawa, Noboru Kunimine, Akiko Aichi, Hiroshi Taira, Hiroto Kango, Hiroshi Kawafuji
  • Publication number: 20220134738
    Abstract: An inkjet printing apparatus includes a print head configured to print an image on a printing medium using a printing element configured to eject ink with thermal energy, a scanning unit configured to cause the print head to scan the printing medium, and a control unit configured to control scanning by the scanning unit and image printing by the print head based on an image printing instruction, wherein the control unit performs a control operation including executing a preliminary ejection to eject, from the print head, ink that does not contribute to image printing before an image is printed in one scanning operation, and determining an amount of ink to be ejected in the preliminary ejection based on a difference between a target temperature and a scanning start temperature, which is a temperature of the print head acquired in response to an instruction to start the one scanning operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 27, 2021
    Publication date: May 5, 2022
    Inventors: Taku Yokozawa, Kazuhiko Sato, Noboru Kunimine, Takeshi Murase, Hiroshi Taira, Hiroshi Kawafuji, Sae Mogi, Akiko Aichi
  • Publication number: 20220080754
    Abstract: To provide a technology capable of appropriately suppressing deterioration in cutting accuracy of a slitter although the rigidity of a print medium changes, a printing apparatus is equipped with: a first conveyance unit configured to convey a print medium; a printing unit configured to print an image by applying ink to the print medium conveyed by the first conveyance unit; a cutting unit disposed on a downstream side in a conveyance direction in which the print medium is conveyed by the first conveyance unit and configured to cut the print medium, which is conveyed by the first conveyance unit, along the conveyance direction; and a second conveyance unit disposed on the cutting unit, and the printing apparatus includes a correction unit configured to correct a parameter related to conveyance of at least one of the first conveyance unit and the second conveyance unit, based on information about the print medium.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 23, 2021
    Publication date: March 17, 2022
    Inventors: Hiroshi Kawafuji, Hiroshi Taira, Kazuhiko Sato, Taku Yokozawa, Noboru Kunimine, Akiko Aichi, Satoshi Azuma, Sae Mogi, Kei Yoshizawa, Shingo Nishioka, Junichi Saito, Hajime Nagai, Naoko Baba, Yuji Konno, Serena Yoshikawa, Satoshi Wada
  • Publication number: 20220080747
    Abstract: An object is to provide a full-line inkjet printing apparatus and a printing method that can suppress occurrence of image degradation in the case where a conveyance roller conveys a print medium and multipass printing is performed. The maximum conveyance amount in a return route is set to be smaller than a distance between the conveyance roller and a print head.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2021
    Publication date: March 17, 2022
    Inventors: Masataka Kato, Kazuhiko Sato, Kazuo Suzuki, Yoshinori Nakajima, Mitsutoshi Nagamura, Shin Genta, Satoshi Azuma, Shingo Nishioka, Sae Mogi, Taku Yokozawa, Noboru Kunimine, Akiko Aichi, Hiroshi Taira, Hiroto Kango, Hiroshi Kawafuji
  • Publication number: 20210402813
    Abstract: A printing apparatus includes a printing unit configured to print an image on a print medium, an acquiring unit configured to acquire temperature information of the printing unit, and a control unit configured to control the printing unit so as to start relative scanning in a case where a temperature that is indicated by the temperature information has reached a print permission temperature. The print permission temperature in a first print mode whose speed at a time of a constant speed in relative scanning is a first speed is a first temperature. The print permission temperature in a second print mode whose speed at the time of the constant speed is a second speed that is faster than the first speed is a second temperature that is lower than the first temperature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 23, 2021
    Publication date: December 30, 2021
    Inventors: Takeshi Murase, Kazuhiko Sato, Taku Yokozawa, Noburu Kunimine, Hiroshi Taira, Hiroshi Kawafuji, Sae Mogi, Akiko Aichi
  • Patent number: 11077670
    Abstract: According to an embodiment of this invention, an apparatus comprises: a detachable inktank containing ink; a subtank containing the ink supplied from the inktank; a printhead configured to discharge the ink supplied from the subtank; an ink supply path connecting the subtank to the printhead; a valve arranged on the ink supply path; a supply unit configured to supply the ink from the inktank to the subtank by repeatedly opening and closing the valve; a suction unit configured to suck the ink from the printhead; and a control unit configured to control, when the inktank is attached, the supply unit to operate for a predetermined number of times to supply the ink from the inktank to the subtank, and to subsequently control the suction unit to operate to supply the ink from the subtank to the printhead.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshimitsu Danzuka, Naoaki Wada, Kazuki Narumi, Tomoki Yamamuro, Hiroshi Taira, Akiko Aichi, Noboru Kunimine, Taku Yokozawa, Kazuo Suzuki, Kazuhiko Sato, Masataka Kato, Shin Genta, Hiroto Kango
  • Patent number: 10611156
    Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus according to the present disclosure executes a first wiping operation in a case where the count value counted by the count unit is higher than a first threshold value while the recording operation is being performed and execute a second wiping operation when the recording operation completes in a case where the count value counted by the count unit is higher than a second threshold value. The inkjet recording apparatus also executes the second wiping operation when the first wiping operation has been performed while the recording operation is being performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2020
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiroshi Taira, Toshimitsu Danzuka, Taku Yokozawa, Noboru Kunimine, Akiko Aichi, Kazuki Narumi, Tomoki Yamamuro, Kazuhiko Sato, Kazuo Suzuki
  • Patent number: 10479090
    Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus includes a recording unit, a first ink storage unit, a second ink storage unit, a discharge unit, a first detection unit configured to detect that an amount of the ink stored in the first ink storage unit is below a first predetermined amount, and a second detection unit configured to detect that an amount of the ink stored in the second ink storage unit is below a second predetermined amount. The inkjet recording apparatus further includes a control unit configured to control the discharge operation after the detection by the first detection unit and the detection by the second detection unit based on a detection timing of the first detection unit and a detection timing of the second detection unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshimitsu Danzuka, Taku Yokozawa, Masataka Kato, Akiko Aichi, Shin Genta, Kazuki Narumi
  • Publication number: 20190232671
    Abstract: According to an embodiment of this invention, an apparatus comprises: a detachable inktank containing ink; a subtank containing the ink supplied from the inktank; a printhead configured to discharge the ink supplied from the subtank; an ink supply path connecting the subtank to the printhead; a valve arranged on the ink supply path; a supply unit configured to supply the ink from the inktank to the subtank by repeatedly opening and closing the valve; a suction unit configured to suck the ink from the printhead; and a control unit configured to control, when the inktank is attached, the supply unit to operate for a predetermined number of times to supply the ink from the inktank to the subtank, and to subsequently control the suction unit to operate to supply the ink from the subtank to the printhead.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 22, 2019
    Publication date: August 1, 2019
    Inventors: Toshimitsu Danzuka, Naoaki Wada, Kazuki Narumi, Tomoki Yamamuro, Hiroshi Taira, Akiko Aichi, Noboru Kunimine, Taku Yokozawa, Kazuo Suzuki, Kazuhiko Sato, Masataka Kato, Shin Genta, Hiroto Kango
  • Publication number: 20180370239
    Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus according to the present disclosure executes a first wiping operation in a case where the count value counted by the count unit is higher than a first threshold value while the recording operation is being performed and execute a second wiping operation when the recording operation completes in a case where the count value counted by the count unit is higher than a second threshold value. The inkjet recording apparatus also executes the second wiping operation when the first wiping operation has been performed while the recording operation is being performed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2018
    Publication date: December 27, 2018
    Inventors: Hiroshi Taira, Toshimitsu Danzuka, Taku Yokozawa, Noboru Kunimine, Akiko Aichi, Kazuki Narumi, Tomoki Yamamuro, Kazuhiko Sato, Kazuo Suzuki
  • Publication number: 20180257380
    Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus includes a recording unit, a first ink storage unit, a second ink storage unit, a discharge unit, a first detection unit configured to detect that an amount of the ink stored in the first ink storage unit is below a first predetermined amount, and a second detection unit configured to detect that an amount of the ink stored in the second ink storage unit is below a second predetermined amount. The inkjet recording apparatus further includes a control unit configured to control the discharge operation after the detection by the first detection unit and the detection by the second detection unit based on a detection timing of the first detection unit and a detection timing of the second detection unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2018
    Publication date: September 13, 2018
    Inventors: Toshimitsu Danzuka, Taku Yokozawa, Masataka Kato, Akiko Aichi, Shin Genta, Kazuki Narumi
  • Patent number: 9545791
    Abstract: When the head temperature Tfinish, which is the head temperature at the time of completion of a preceding scan, is higher than the stable ejection temperature Tstable, the target temperature is made a temperature that is only a temperature value ?T lower than the head temperature Tfinish. On the other hand, when Tfinish, the head temperature at the time of print completion, is lower than the stable ejection temperature Tstable, the target temperature is made a temperature that is only a temperature value ?T higher than the head temperature Tfinish. Because of this it is possible to inhibit head temperature rise in the case where an image with a high print density is printed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2017
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kenichi Oonuki, Hidehiko Kanda, Akiko Aichi, Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Hiroshi Taira