Patents by Inventor Hirokazu Nunokawa
Hirokazu Nunokawa 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: 8814299Abstract: To reduce the number of nozzles in an unstable state after a nozzle inspection, a fluid discharge device includes a discharge head capable of discharging a fluid from nozzle, a nozzle inspection process for inspecting a state of discharging of the fluid from the nozzle, and a controller for subjecting the nozzle to a pre-process for discharging the fluid under a discharge condition that a nozzle in an unstable state be put into a dot omission state, subsequently discharging the fluid for the sake of inspection, and executing an inspection process by the nozzle inspection part.Type: GrantFiled: April 25, 2012Date of Patent: August 26, 2014Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Ryoichi Tanaka, Noriaki Yamashita, Teruaki Kaieda, Ryosuke Tsuchihashi, Hirokazu Nunokawa
-
Patent number: 8459764Abstract: A printing apparatus includes a head and a drive signal generating section. The head has an element performing operation for ejecting ink and ejects a plurality of types of inks, an amount of each ink ejected by the head being different depending on a designated tone value. The drive signal generating section generates a drive signal having a waveform section for operating the element and generates a plurality of types of the drive signals for a specific tone value, the waveform section of each of the drive signals for the specific tone value being different depending on the types of inks.Type: GrantFiled: March 15, 2010Date of Patent: June 11, 2013Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Yoshiko Hoshiyama, Hirokazu Nunokawa
-
Publication number: 20120287186Abstract: To reduce the number of nozzles in an unstable state after a nozzle inspection, a fluid discharge device includes a discharge head capable of discharging a fluid from nozzle, a nozzle inspection process for inspecting a state of discharging of the fluid from the nozzle, and a controller for subjecting the nozzle to a pre-process for discharging the fluid under a discharge condition that a nozzle in an unstable state be put into a dot omission state, subsequently discharging the fluid for the sake of inspection, and executing an inspection process by the nozzle inspection part.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 25, 2012Publication date: November 15, 2012Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATIONInventors: Ryoichi TANAKA, Noriaki YAMASHITA, Teruaki KAIEDA, Ryosuke TSUCHIHASHI, Hirokazu NUNOKAWA
-
Patent number: 8303066Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes: a head having a nozzle; a pressure-changing unit for changing pressure of liquid in the nozzle in such a manner that the liquid is ejected from the nozzle; a first level-data setting unit for setting a selected first level data from a plurality of first level data, based on an ejecting data for a first kind of liquid; a second level-data setting unit for setting a selected second level data from a plurality of second level data, based on an ejecting data for a second kind of liquid; a driving-signal generator for generating a driving signal; and a driving-pulse generator for generating a driving pulse based on the selected first or second level data and the driving signal. The plurality of first level data and the plurality of second level data are different from each other.Type: GrantFiled: July 11, 2011Date of Patent: November 6, 2012Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Satoru Hosono, Hirokazu Nunokawa, Yoshiko Hoshiyama, Shuji Yonekubo, Toshihisa Saruta
-
Patent number: 8292393Abstract: A recording apparatus of this invention includes a head; a transport mechanism that transports a medium in a transport direction with respect to the head, according to a target transport amount to be targeted; a memory that stores a plurality of correction values associated with a relative position of the head and the medium; and a controller that controls the transport mechanism based on the target transport amount that has been corrected, after correcting the target transport amount based on correction values, which are in number according to a size of the target transport amount, and which include the correction value according to the relative position when transporting by the target transport amount.Type: GrantFiled: May 14, 2010Date of Patent: October 23, 2012Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Masahiko Yoshida, Tatsuya Nakano, Hirokazu Nunokawa, Bunji Ishimoto, Toru Miyamoto, Yoichi Kakehashi
-
Patent number: 8277020Abstract: A liquid ejection method includes determining, according to image data, an ejection pixel that is a pixel at which a liquid is to be ejected and a non-ejection pixel that is a pixel at which a liquid is not to be ejected; determining, according to the image data, a nozzle requiring flushing; and ejecting liquid from the nozzle requiring flushing to the non-ejection pixel adjacent to the ejection pixel, the non-ejection pixel being among pixels associated with the nozzle requiring flushing.Type: GrantFiled: April 8, 2010Date of Patent: October 2, 2012Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Toru Miyamoto, Hirokazu Nunokawa
-
Publication number: 20120081448Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a movable head with nozzles that eject a liquid; a transport unit that transports a medium in a transporting direction; and a sensor that detects an edge of the medium and that is movable with the head. Ejection of liquid from the nozzles is controlled based on the sensor detection result. The transport roller transports the medium in a slanted manner toward a surface of a platen, and after the medium's front edge contacts the platen, the medium bends on the platen with the front edge of the medium moving along the surface of the platen toward a paper discharge roller. Relative to the transporting direction, the sensor is positioned upstream of the most upstream nozzle and downstream of a position at which the front edge of the medium first comes into contact with the platen.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 14, 2011Publication date: April 5, 2012Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATIONInventors: Hironori Endo, Hirokazu Nunokawa, Hitoshi Igarashi, Satoshi Nakata
-
Patent number: 8132880Abstract: A liquid ejecting device includes a nozzle group formed by aligning nozzles that eject a liquid, and a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquids from the nozzles based on ejection serial data that represents ejection or non-ejection of each nozzle of the nozzle group. The liquid ejecting head ejects a liquid to a landing target while the liquid ejecting head and the landing target are relatively moved in a second direction that is perpendicular to a first direction in which the nozzles are aligned. The liquid ejecting device further includes a meandering correction pattern forming unit that forms a meandering correction pattern along the second direction in a margin outside the regulated landing area of the landing target and a meandering correction pattern detecting unit that detects the meandering correction pattern formed in the landing target by the meandering correction pattern forming unit.Type: GrantFiled: November 5, 2008Date of Patent: March 13, 2012Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Ryoichi Tanaka, Kazuhito Hori, Hirokazu Nunokawa
-
Patent number: 8075085Abstract: A correction of density is effectively performed. The printing method includes the following steps. A step of performing correction of density for only a predetermined color, among a plurality of colors, for each dot row region so as to suppress the unevenness in density between rows of dots on a medium formed with the rows of dots arranged along a movement direction by each of the nozzles, when a plurality of the nozzles, that ejects a plurality of colors of different ink and that are arranged along a predetermined direction for each color of ink, ejects ink while being moved in a movement direction that intersects a predetermined direction. A step of printing by ejecting ink while a plurality the nozzles are moved.Type: GrantFiled: July 17, 2009Date of Patent: December 13, 2011Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Bunji Ishimoto, Hirokazu Nunokawa
-
Patent number: 8061798Abstract: The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus including: a movable head provided with a plurality of nozzles for ejecting a liquid; a carry unit for carrying a medium in a predetermined carrying direction; and a sensor for detecting an edge of the medium, the liquid ejecting apparatus controlling ejection of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles in accordance with a result of the detection of the sensor. In this liquid ejecting apparatus, the position, in the carrying direction, of the sensor is at the same position of or on an upstream side of a nozzle located most upstream in the carrying direction, of among the plurality of nozzles. In this way, it is possible to arrange the sensor for detecting the edge of the paper at the most suitable position, and to suppress waste of ink that is ejected from the nozzles.Type: GrantFiled: March 30, 2009Date of Patent: November 22, 2011Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Hironori Endo, Hirokazu Nunokawa, Hitoshi Igarashi, Satoshi Nakata
-
Publication number: 20110261098Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes: a head having a nozzle; a pressure-changing unit for changing pressure of liquid in the nozzle in such a manner that the liquid is ejected from the nozzle; a first level-data setting unit for setting a selected first level data from a plurality of first level data, based on an ejecting data for a first kind of liquid; a second level-data setting unit for setting a selected second level data from a plurality of second level data, based on an ejecting data for a second kind of liquid; a driving-signal generator for generating a driving signal; and a driving-pulse generator for generating a driving pulse based on the selected first or second level data and the driving signal. The plurality of first level data and the plurality of second level data are different from each other.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 11, 2011Publication date: October 27, 2011Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATIONInventors: Satoru HOSONO, Hirokazu NUNOKAWA, Yoshiko HOSHIYAMA, Shuji YONEKUBO, Toshihisa SARUTA
-
Patent number: 8033627Abstract: In printing of multi-level darkness/lightness of a certain color, which is performed with a dark ink and a light ink of the certain color, graininess is improved. A printing method includes generating a plurality of types of drive signals, and ejecting the dark ink and the light ink from a head, an amount of each ink varying for each dot tone value. In generation of a plurality of the types of the drive signals, a plurality of the types of drive signals are generated, where a waveform section that is for the dark ink of the certain color and that corresponds to a minimum dot tone value in ejection of ink is different from a waveform section that is for the light ink of the certain color and that corresponds to the minimum dot tone value, and where a waveform section that is for the dark ink of the certain color and that corresponds to a maximum dot tone value is different from a waveform section that is for the light ink of the certain color and that corresponds to the maximum dot tone value.Type: GrantFiled: January 26, 2011Date of Patent: October 11, 2011Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Yoshiko Hoshiyama, Hirokazu Nunokawa, Akito Sato
-
Patent number: 8033630Abstract: A liquid ejecting method includes detecting a faulty nozzle in which an ejection fault occurs when a liquid should be ejected, calculating corrected tone values by correcting tone values of pixels adjacent to pixels at which the liquid should be ejected from the faulty nozzle based on a correction amount, and a liquid ejecting apparatus ejecting the liquid to the adjacent pixels based on the corrected tone values.Type: GrantFiled: January 14, 2008Date of Patent: October 11, 2011Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Toru Miyamoto, Hirokazu Nunokawa
-
Patent number: 8029082Abstract: A liquid discharging apparatus includes a head that is driven in response to a driving signal to discharge liquid, a controller that drives the head by generating the driving signal, an adjustment unit that adjusts the temperature of the liquid, and a supply path that supplies the head with the liquid having the temperature adjusted by the adjustment unit. The controller alters the driving signal in accordance with a flow amount of the liquid, which flows in the supply path.Type: GrantFiled: June 26, 2008Date of Patent: October 4, 2011Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Nobuaki Azami, Hirokazu Nunokawa
-
Patent number: 8029085Abstract: A transport mechanism transports a medium in a transport direction based on a target transport amount and has a first roller provided on an upstream side in the transport direction and a second roller provided on a downstream side in the transport direction. Correction values are calculated based on an interval between the lines in the transport direction. The transport mechanism is controlled based on a corrected target transport amount after correcting the target transport amount based on the correction values. Lines are formed by ejecting ink from a first nozzle when the first roller is in contact with the medium, and ejecting ink from a second nozzle on a downstream side from the first nozzle in the transport direction when the first roller is not in contact with the medium and the second roller is in contact with the medium.Type: GrantFiled: June 22, 2007Date of Patent: October 4, 2011Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Masahiko Yoshida, Tatsuya Nakano, Bunji Ishimoto, Toru Miyamoto, Hirokazu Nunokawa, Yoichi Kakehashi
-
Patent number: 7992978Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a head group having a plurality of heads provided with supply ports for supplying liquid to the heads, the heads being arranged in a nozzle-array direction and ejecting the liquid therefrom to form an image; and a heating portion that heats the liquid to be supplied to the head group, the heating portion being disposed between the supply ports of the heads located at opposite ends in the nozzle-array direction.Type: GrantFiled: April 2, 2008Date of Patent: August 9, 2011Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Nobuaki Azami, Hirokazu Nunokawa
-
Patent number: 7992992Abstract: A transport amount correcting method, including; (A) storing in a memory, in regard to a medium of a predetermined size, correction values associated with relative positions of the medium and a head; and (B) when carrying out recording on the medium of the predetermined size, transporting the medium while correcting a target transport amount using a correction value associated with a relative position of the medium and the head, and when carrying out recording on a medium larger than the predetermined size, transporting the medium while correcting the target transport amount by using a portion of the correction values a plurality of times, the portion of the correction values being a portion of the correction values among the correction values used when the medium of the predetermined size is being transported by both an upstream side roller and a downstream side roller.Type: GrantFiled: August 21, 2007Date of Patent: August 9, 2011Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Tatsuya Nakano, Masahiko Yoshida, Bunji Ishimoto, Toru Miyamoto, Hirokazu Nunokawa, Yoichi Kakehashi
-
Patent number: 7988249Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes: a head having a nozzle; a pressure-changing unit for changing pressure of liquid in the nozzle in such a manner that the liquid is ejected from the nozzle; a first level-data setting unit for setting a selected first level data from a plurality of first level data, based on an ejecting data for a first kind of liquid; a second level-data setting unit for setting a selected second level data from a plurality of second level data, based on an ejecting data for a second kind of liquid; a driving-signal generator for generating a driving signal; and a driving-pulse generator for generating a driving pulse based on the selected first or second level data and the driving signal. The plurality of first level data and the plurality of second level data are different from each other.Type: GrantFiled: February 5, 2009Date of Patent: August 2, 2011Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Satoru Hosono, Hirokazu Nunokawa, Yoshiko Hoshiyama, Shuji Yonekubo, Toshihisa Saruta
-
Publication number: 20110157268Abstract: A printing apparatus is provided with (A) a carry mechanism that carries a medium along a predetermined direction, (B) a nozzle that performs a moving and ejecting operation for ejecting ink toward the medium while moving relatively with respect to the medium during an interval of a carry operation by the carry mechanism, and (C) a signal output section that outputs a first timing defining signal defining a periodical timing for ejecting ink from the nozzle toward a position corresponding to a pixel configuring an image to be printed, and a second timing defining signal defining a periodical timing for ejecting ink from the nozzle toward a position displaced from the position corresponding to a pixel configuring an image to be printed, wherein the signal output section outputs either the first timing defining signal or the second timing defining signal for each moving and ejecting operation.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 8, 2011Publication date: June 30, 2011Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATIONInventor: Hirokazu NUNOKAWA
-
Patent number: 7959253Abstract: A printing method of the present invention is a printing method for forming, on a medium, a plurality of correction patterns each including a pre-carry pattern and a post-carry pattern, and includes: forming the pre-carry pattern on the medium, carrying the medium in a carrying direction after forming the pre-carry pattern, and then forming the post-carry pattern on the medium after carrying the medium. In the printing method of the present invention, the plurality of correction patterns are formed on the medium lined up in a direction that intersects the carrying direction. With this printing method, it is possible to form a greater number of correction patterns in a narrow region on the medium.Type: GrantFiled: March 16, 2009Date of Patent: June 14, 2011Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventor: Hirokazu Nunokawa