Patents by Inventor Eiji Kumai
Eiji Kumai 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).
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Publication number: 20160096384Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes an ejecting unit that is capable of ejecting a liquid; and a tension adjusting unit that is rotatable about a rotational shaft and that is capable of applying a tension to a medium by coming into contact with the medium onto which the liquid is ejected. The tension adjusting unit is capable of applying the tension to the medium at a balancing position at which the tension adjusting unit is balanced by a weight of the tension adjusting unit.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 28, 2015Publication date: April 7, 2016Inventors: Eiji Kumai, Takashi Akahane
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Patent number: 9302503Abstract: A recording apparatus includes a recording head which discharges ink onto a recording medium; a heater which dries the ink discharged on the recording medium by the recording head without making contact with the recording medium; and a transport belt which supports the recording medium in a transportable manner in a position in which it is at least possible to dry a portion of the recording medium on which the ink is discharged using the heater. The transport belt includes a plurality of protruding portions, which can make contact with the recording medium, and a contact area between a contact portion of the protruding portion in relation to the recording medium, and the recording medium is 0.3 mm2 or less.Type: GrantFiled: March 10, 2014Date of Patent: April 5, 2016Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Tsuneyuki Sasaki, Eiji Kumai, Yasuo Naramatsu, Masahiro Akamine
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Patent number: 9302501Abstract: A printing apparatus includes: a transportation unit that transports a recording medium having flexibility; a head unit that has a liquid droplet ejection head which ejects an ink onto the recording medium transported by operation of the transportation unit, and a carriage which supports the liquid droplet ejection head; a movement unit that moves the head unit in a direction orthogonal to a transportation direction of the recording medium with respect to the recording medium; and a warpage straightening member that straightens a warpage to disappear when the warpage in a degree to interfere with the head unit which is moved by operation of the movement unit, occurs in the recording medium.Type: GrantFiled: June 17, 2015Date of Patent: April 5, 2016Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Shuichiro Nakano, Eiji Kumai, Tsuneyuki Sasaki
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Publication number: 20160089900Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes an ejecting unit which can eject liquid in an ejecting region: and a medium support unit which can support a medium on a downstream side in a transport direction of the medium compared to the ejecting region, in which the medium support unit has a first region which has at least one face, and a second region which is located between the ejecting region and the first region, and has a plurality of bent portions, and in which the length of a face between the bent portions in the second region in the transport direction is shorter than the length of a face included in the first region in the transport direction.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 22, 2015Publication date: March 31, 2016Inventors: Eiji KUMAI, Yoji TAKAHASHI, Osamu HARA
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Publication number: 20160089905Abstract: A medium holding member that is attached to a medium supporting portion includes a fitting portion that is fit into the medium supporting portion and that is located at each of at least one portion in an upstream side edge portion of the medium holding member in a medium transportation direction.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 30, 2015Publication date: March 31, 2016Inventors: Teruhiko WAKABAYASHI, Atsushi MAJIMA, Eiji KUMAI, Osamu HARA
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Patent number: 9278551Abstract: A liquid discharge apparatus includes a liquid discharging unit configured to discharge liquid onto a recording medium, a dryer unit configured to heat and dry the liquid, a medium supporting unit configured to support the recording medium while the liquid is dried by the dryer unit, the medium supporting unit having an opening section allowing vapor generated while the liquid is dried by the dryer unit to pass therethrough, a condensation causing member in contact with the medium supporting unit and configured to condense the vapor passed through the opening section, and a low thermal expansion member connected to the condensation causing member and having a smaller thermal expansion coefficient than the condensation causing member.Type: GrantFiled: January 15, 2015Date of Patent: March 8, 2016Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Tsuneyuki Sasaki, Eiji Kumai
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Publication number: 20150283826Abstract: A printing apparatus includes: a transportation unit that transports a recording medium having flexibility; a head unit that has a liquid droplet ejection head which ejects an ink onto the recording medium transported by operation of the transportation unit, and a carriage which supports the liquid droplet ejection head; a movement unit that moves the head unit in a direction orthogonal to a transportation direction of the recording medium with respect to the recording medium; and a warpage straightening member that straightens a warpage to disappear when the warpage in a degree to interfere with the head unit which is moved by operation of the movement unit, occurs in the recording medium.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 17, 2015Publication date: October 8, 2015Inventors: Shuichiro NAKANO, Eiji KUMAI, Tsuneyuki SASAKI
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Publication number: 20150240397Abstract: A mesh member includes first strands extending in a first direction and second strands extending in a second direction intersecting the first direction. The first strands and the second strands are woven together to cross over and under each other and form a mesh structure. The first strands each have a larger cross-sectional area than the second strands at intersections where the first strands and the second strands cross each other.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 3, 2015Publication date: August 27, 2015Inventor: Eiji KUMAI
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Publication number: 20150239267Abstract: A medium supporting device includes a flexible medium supporting section that supports a medium, a supporting base that supports the medium supporting section in contact with a first contact section and a second contact section, and a tension applying section that applies tension to the medium supporting section between the first contact section and the second contact section. The first contact section and the second contact section extend in a cross direction, intersecting with the tension applying direction.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 23, 2015Publication date: August 27, 2015Inventors: Shuichiro NAKANO, Osamu HARA, Eiji KUMAI
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Patent number: 9096075Abstract: A printing apparatus includes: a transportation unit that transports a recording medium having flexibility; a head unit that has a liquid droplet ejection head which ejects an ink onto the recording medium transported by operation of the transportation unit, and a carriage which supports the liquid droplet ejection head; a movement unit that moves the head unit in a direction orthogonal to a transportation direction of the recording medium with respect to the recording medium; and a warpage straightening member that straightens a warpage to disappear when the warpage in a degree to interfere with the head unit which is moved by operation of the movement unit, occurs in the recording medium.Type: GrantFiled: October 17, 2013Date of Patent: August 4, 2015Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Shuichiro Nakano, Eiji Kumai, Tsuneyuki Sasaki
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Publication number: 20150210090Abstract: A liquid discharge apparatus includes a liquid discharging unit configured to discharge liquid onto a recording medium, a dryer unit configured to heat and dry the liquid, a medium supporting unit configured to support the recording medium while the liquid is dried by the dryer unit, the medium supporting unit having an opening section allowing vapor generated while the liquid is dried by the dryer unit to pass therethrough, a condensation causing member in contact with the medium supporting unit and configured to condense the vapor passed through the opening section, and a low thermal expansion member connected to the condensation causing member and having a smaller thermal expansion coefficient than the condensation causing member.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 15, 2015Publication date: July 30, 2015Inventors: Tsuneyuki SASAKI, Eiji KUMAI
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Publication number: 20150202893Abstract: A liquid discharging apparatus includes a discharge unit that is capable of discharging a liquid, a medium support unit in which an opening portion is provided, and which supports a medium onto which the liquid is discharged, a heater that is capable of applying heat to the medium, a sensor that detects an energy in a detectable region, a control unit that is capable of changing an output of the heater on the basis of the energy, and a detectable portion whose energy is detected by the sensor, and which is provided in a position that is within the opening portion and is within the detectable region.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 12, 2015Publication date: July 23, 2015Inventors: Osamu HARA, Shuichiro NAKANO, Eiji KUMAI
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Patent number: 9085174Abstract: A recording apparatus that includes a condensation guide portion is provided. The recording apparatus includes a recording head that discharges ink onto a recording medium, a heater that dries the ink discharged on the recording medium by the recording head without making contact with the recording medium, a medium supporting portion provided with an opening portion which allows vapor that evaporates from the ink due to the heater to pass therethrough, and a condensation guide portion which causes the vapor that passes through the opening portion to condense and thereby prevent the recording medium from being wetted by the condensed vapor.Type: GrantFiled: March 5, 2014Date of Patent: July 21, 2015Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Tsuneyuki Sasaki, Eiji Kumai, Yasuo Naramatsu, Masahiro Akamine
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Publication number: 20150191029Abstract: A printing apparatus includes: an apparatus main body that has a transportation unit which transports a recording medium and a liquid droplet ejection head which ejects an ink onto the recording medium; a curing unit that has a curing heater which heats and cures the ink on the recording medium; and a support mechanism that connects the apparatus main body and the curing unit, and displaceably supports the curing unit to be in an unfolded state and to be in a folded state where a depth which is the total length of the apparatus main body and the curing unit is shorter than that in the unfolded state in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the apparatus main body.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 16, 2015Publication date: July 9, 2015Inventor: Eiji Kumai
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Patent number: 9010921Abstract: A printing apparatus includes: an apparatus main body that has a transportation unit which transports a recording medium and a liquid droplet ejection head which ejects an ink onto the recording medium; a curing unit that has a curing heater which heats and cures the ink on the recording medium; and a support mechanism that connects the apparatus main body and the curing unit, and displaceably supports the curing unit to be in an unfolded state and to be in a folded state where a depth which is the total length of the apparatus main body and the curing unit is shorter than that in the unfolded state in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the apparatus main body.Type: GrantFiled: October 18, 2013Date of Patent: April 21, 2015Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventor: Eiji Kumai
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Patent number: 8985760Abstract: A recording medium after printing which is discharged from a main body of a printer is guided from the main body to a support surface of a discharge support portion extending to a lower anterior side, and is wound as a roll body by a winding unit in a path that passes a tension roller. A tape-shaped elastic member is fixed on an end portion of a downstream side in a transport direction of the discharge support portion so as to extend in a width direction. An elastic friction surface is formed on the end portion of the downstream side in the transport direction of the support surface. A friction coefficient between the elastic friction surface and the recording medium is higher than the friction coefficient between a portion at an upstream side in the transport direction from the elastic friction surface in the support surface and the recording medium.Type: GrantFiled: March 25, 2013Date of Patent: March 24, 2015Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Yasuo Naramatsu, Tsuneyuki Sasaki, Eiji Kumai
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Publication number: 20150062272Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes an ejection section that ejects a liquid, a medium supporting section that supports a medium onto which the liquid is ejected, a heater that is disposed at a position which is not in contact with the medium supporting section and is configured to emit a thermal energy, a heat receiving section that receives the thermal energy emitted from the heater, and a stop section that stops the heater when a temperature of the heat receiving section becomes a predetermined temperature or higher, wherein the heat receiving section is disposed at a position on a first direction side with respect to the heater and between the heater and the medium supporting section, when the first direction is defined as a direction which is directed from the heater to the medium supporting section.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 2, 2014Publication date: March 5, 2015Inventors: Tsuneyuki SASAKI, Hiroshi YOSHIDA, Eiji KUMAI
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Patent number: 8936346Abstract: A liquid removing device which removes liquid attached to an abutment section in a cap having the abutment section which is capable of abutting a liquid ejecting head having a nozzle ejecting the liquid onto a target, includes a transfer section which abuts the abutment section to transfer the liquid attached to the abutment section of the cap, wherein a contact angle between a surface of the transfer section and the liquid is smaller than a contact angle between a surface of the abutment section of the cap and the liquid.Type: GrantFiled: March 25, 2013Date of Patent: January 20, 2015Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Takayuki Kawakami, Eiji Kumai, Shuichiro Nakano
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Patent number: 8905664Abstract: A cutter device includes: a first cutter provided on a front surface side of a medium being fed to be cut; a second cutter that is provided on a back surface side opposite the front surface side and cuts the medium in cooperation with the first cutter; a carriage that retains the first and second cutters and moves in a width direction of the medium; a guide portion that guides the carriage in the width direction; and a post-cut guide portion that is provided on the carriage and comes into contact with the back surface to guide the medium on the downstream side of the first and second cutters in a medium feed direction after cutting to the front surface side.Type: GrantFiled: July 11, 2013Date of Patent: December 9, 2014Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventor: Eiji Kumai
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Publication number: 20140285601Abstract: A recording apparatus that includes a condensation guide portion is provided. The recording apparatus includes a recording head that discharges ink onto a recording medium, a heater that dries the ink discharged on the recording medium by the recording head without making contact with the recording medium, a medium supporting portion provided with an opening portion which allows vapor that evaporates from the ink due to the heater to pass therethrough, and a condensation guide portion which causes the vapor that passes through the opening portion to condense and thereby prevent the recording medium from being wetted by the condensed vapor.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 5, 2014Publication date: September 25, 2014Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATIONInventors: Tsuneyuki SASAKI, Eiji KUMAI, Yasuo NARAMATSU, Masahiro AKAMINE