Patents by Inventor Hiroe Niimura

Hiroe Niimura 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: 6203137
    Abstract: An ink coagulating agent of metal salt is provided in a waste ink tank. The coagulating agent is dissolved in aqueous solvent to be a metal salt solution. Absorbers of a porous material are impregnated with the metal salt solution and disposed in the waste ink tank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2001
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroe Niimura, Toshio Kumagai
  • Patent number: 5847736
    Abstract: With an ink jet recording head (8) comprising two common ink chambers (26) and (27) communicating with both sides of a pressure generation chamber (24) and ink supply ports (30) and (31) where ink flows into the common ink chambers (26) and (27) from the outside, one ink supply port (30) is connected to a subtank (10) and the other ink supply port (31) is connected to an ink cartridge (6). The subtank (10) is replenished with ink through the ink jet recording head (8). Since ink reversely flows into the ink cartridge (6) via the recording head (8) from the subtank (10) due to the head difference, ink in the recording head (8) can be forcibly circulated without complicating a flow passage configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 8, 1998
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Kenichi Kanbayashi, Hiroe Niimura, Toshio Kumagai, Toru Fukushima
  • Patent number: 5541628
    Abstract: Disclosed is an ink-jet type recording device that includes drive signal generation circuit 84 for generating a trapezoidal drive signal in synchronization with a timing signal applied from an external device, switching transistors respectively for outputting a drive signal to piezoelectric vibrators in accordance with a printing signal applied from an external device, and control signal generation means for generating a pulse signal to turn on the switching transistors so that only a portion of the drive signal is output to any piezoelectric vibrators set in a non-printing condition in synchronization with a timing signal. This portion of the drive signal is applied to the piezoelectric vibrators belonging to those nozzle openings that should not jet out ink droplets in accordance with the pulse signal, so that menisci in the nozzle openings are merely vibrated slightly, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 1993
    Date of Patent: July 30, 1996
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Junhua Chang, Kenichi Kanbayashi, Hiroe Niimura, Toshihisa Saruta, Haruo Nakamura