Patents by Inventor Hideaki Sonehara

Hideaki Sonehara 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: 6139132
    Abstract: A pressurizing chamber 1 is formed as a recess by half etching of a silicon single-crystal substrate 2. A nozzle communicating hole 6 through which the pressurizing chamber 1 is connected to a nozzle opening 5 is formed as a through hole which is smaller in width than the pressurizing chamber 1. The pressurizing chamber 1 is connected to the nozzle opening 5 in the other face via the nozzle communicating hole 6 while reducing the volume of the pressurizing chamber 1 to a degree as small as possible. The silicon single-crystal substrate is used as a member constituting a spacer so that an ink drop of a reduced ink amount suitable for high density printing files with high positioning accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2000
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Shinji Yasukawa, Minoru Usui, Takahiro Naka, Tsuyoshi Kitahara, Noriaki Okazawa, Hideaki Sonehara
  • Patent number: 6120137
    Abstract: An ink jet print head is disclosed which includes a flow path unit with nozzles, a pressure generating unit disposed on the flow path unit and having ink pressure chambers formed behind the respective nozzles, and piezoelectric/electrostrictive elements each disposed on a wall defining a corresponding ink pressure chamber, for deforming the wall to change a pressure of the ink pressure chamber, whereby the ink in the ink pressure chamber is jetted through the corresponding nozzle. The pressure generating unit includes a spacer plate having windows which closed by a closure plate and a connecting plate disposed on the spacer plate, so as to give the respective ink pressure chambers. The connecting plate has communication holes through which the ink pressure chambers communicate with the nozzles. The spacer plate, closure plate and connecting plate are formed from respective ceramic green sheets, which are laminated on each other and fired into an integral ceramic structure as the pressure generating unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2000
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Kohei Kitahara, Yukihisa Takeuchi, Hideo Masumori, Nobuo Takahashi, Hideaki Sonehara
  • Patent number: 5933170
    Abstract: An ink jet print head is disclosed which includes an ink nozzle member with nozzles, an ink pump member disposed on the ink nozzle member and having ink chambers formed behind the respective nozzles, and piezoelectric/electrostrictive elements each disposed on a wall defining the corresponding ink chamber, for deforming the wall to change a pressure of the ink chamber, whereby the ink in the ink chamber is jetted through the corresponding nozzle. The ink pump member consists of a spacer plate having windows which are closed by a closure plate and a connecting plate disposed on the spacer plate, so as to give the respective ink chambers. The connecting plate has communication holes through which the ink chambers communicate with the nozzles. The spacer plate, closure plate and connecting plate are formed from respective ceramic green sheets, which are laminated on each other and fired into an integral ceramic structure as the ink pump member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 3, 1999
    Assignees: NGK Insulators, Ltd., Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Yukihisa Takeuchi, Hideo Masumori, Nobuo Takahashi, Hideaki Sonehara, Kohei Kitahara
  • Patent number: 5453770
    Abstract: An on-demand type ink jet print head, comprising: a plurality of ink tanks disposed at a lower position of a carriage to be independent of each other, pressure varying means provided on one of the tanks; an air release port communicating with the other one of the tanks; a head assembly provided on top of the tanks to communicate with the tanks through flow paths at both sides of the head assembly. The object of the invention is to achieve stable printing independent of the amount of ink in an ink tank and discharge bubbles in a nozzle head together with the ink.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 1992
    Date of Patent: September 26, 1995
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Takahiro Katakura, Toshio Kumagai, Shinji Yasukawa, Hideaki Sonehara, Masanao Matsuzawa, Fujio Akahane, Norihiko Kurashima, Toshiaki Ohshima, Katsuhiko Iida
  • Patent number: 5375326
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing an ink jet head including the steps of: laminating a dry film photoresist 51 on an inner surface of a nozzle plate 2, the dry film photoresist being a photohardening resin; exposing the photoresist 51 with such energy as to half-harden the photoresist while superposing thereon a photomask M1 having a predetermined masking pattern; developing the thus exposed photoresist 51; laminating a photoresist 52; secondarily exposing the photoresists 51, 52 to form a partially hardened portion 5C; bonding an elastic plate on the portion 5C; and integrating the bonded plates while hardening them by heating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 1993
    Date of Patent: December 27, 1994
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Minoru Usui, Takahiro Katakura, Hideaki Sonehara, Takahiro Naka, Osamu Nakamura