Patents by Inventor Keisuke Wakakusa

Keisuke Wakakusa 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: 11655115
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus including: a recording unit; an accommodation part configured to accommodate therein a plurality of recording media including first and second recording medium and having a support surface on which the plurality of the recording media is supported; a conveying path; a feeder roller contacting the recording medium in the accommodation part from above; a reversing path; a recording medium detection unit located above the support surface and between the feeder roller and a downstream end of the support surface in the conveying direction; and a controller configured to control the feeder roller so as to feed the second recording medium in a manner that a front end portion of the second recording medium overlaps a rear end portion of the first recording medium, when the recording medium detection unit detects the rear end portion of the first recording medium fed by the feeder roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shohei Ichikawa, Tsuyoshi Ito, Masatake Sato, Keisuke Wakakusa, Yoshimitsu Taniguchi
  • Patent number: 11458745
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus is configured to perform a conveying process of a recording medium using a conveying roller and a discharging roller, a recoding process of recording an image on the printing sheet when the conveying process is not performed, and an adjusting process. In the adjusting process, among a plurality of conveying processes performed within a period from the start of the conveying process for an n-th printing sheet until the timing which is after the start of the conveying process for an (n+1)-th printing sheet, the conveying amount of the printing sheet subject to at least one conveying process is adjusted such that a timing when the trailing end of the n-th printing sheet passes through the discharging roller is within one of the acceleration period and the deceleration period of the conveying process for the printing sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Keisuke Wakakusa, Tsuyoshi Ito, Shohei Ichikawa, Masatake Sato, Yoshimitsu Taniguchi
  • Patent number: 11383537
    Abstract: A controller determines whether, in a case where feeding of a subsequent sheet is performed in a first feed condition, a subsequent sheet contacts conveyance rollers during recording on a preceding sheet, the first feed condition being that feeding of the subsequent sheet is started at a first timing before recording on the preceding sheet ends and that the subsequent sheet is fed at a first velocity, and in response to determining that the subsequent sheet contacts the conveyance rollers during recording on the preceding sheet, controls the feed roller to perform feeding of the subsequent sheet in a second feed condition or a third feed condition, the second feed condition being that the feeding of the subsequent sheet is started at a second timing later than the first timing, the third feed condition being that the subsequent sheet is fed at a second velocity lower than the first velocity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shohei Ichikawa, Tsuyoshi Ito, Keisuke Wakakusa, Yoshimitsu Taniguchi, Masatake Sato
  • Patent number: 11279153
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus includes a roller pair for transporting a sheet, a recording head, and a controller. The controller determines a linefeed amount by which the sheet is transported by the roller pair between corresponding two adjacent passes of the recording head. The controller executes image recording on the sheet by alternately repeating a linefeed operation for rotating the roller pair by the determined linefeed amount to transport the sheet in a transport direction, and a pass recording operation in which the controller causes the roller pair to stop and the recording head to perform a pass and to record part of an image on the sheet. Upon determining that a linefeed operation would cause the sheet to travel past the roller pair while the roller pair is decelerating, replace for the linefeed operation a determined linefeed amount by an adjusted linefeed amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Keisuke Wakakusa, Shohei Ichikawa, Masatake Sato, Yoshimitsu Taniguchi, Tsuyoshi Ito, Hiroaki Takahashi
  • Publication number: 20210300701
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus including: a recording unit; an accommodation part configured to accommodate therein a plurality of recording media including first and second recording medium and having a support surface on which the plurality of the recording media is supported; a conveying path; a feeder roller contacting the recording medium in the accommodation part from above; a reversing path; a recording medium detection unit located above the support surface and between the feeder roller and a downstream end of the support surface in the conveying direction; and a controller configured to control the feeder roller so as to feed the second recording medium in a manner that a front end portion of the second recording medium overlaps a rear end portion of the first recording medium, when the recording medium detection unit detects the rear end portion of the first recording medium fed by the feeder roller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 19, 2021
    Publication date: September 30, 2021
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shoehei ICHIKAWA, Tsuyoshi ITO, Masatake SATO, Keisuke WAKAKUSA, Yoshimitsu TANIGUCHI
  • Patent number: 10850500
    Abstract: A controller is configured to determine which of a first position and a second position is located at a farther downstream side in a moving direction of an ejector and to set a determined position as a turn position. The first position is a first distance away from an image formation end position in the moving direction. The second position is a second distance away from an image formation start position in the moving direction. The image formation end position is an end position of image formation onto a sheet in a conveyance process of the ejector before turning at the turn position. The image formation start position is a start position of image formation onto the sheet in a conveyance process of the ejector after turning at the turn position. The second distance is longer than the first distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuta Arakawa, Keisuke Wakakusa
  • Publication number: 20200276841
    Abstract: A controller determines whether, in a case where feeding of a subsequent sheet is performed in a first feed condition, a subsequent sheet contacts conveyance rollers during recording on a preceding sheet, the first feed condition being that feeding of the subsequent sheet is started at a first timing before recording on the preceding sheet ends and that the subsequent sheet is fed at a first velocity, and in response to determining that the subsequent sheet contacts the conveyance rollers during recording on the preceding sheet, controls the feed roller to perform feeding of the subsequent sheet in a second feed condition or a third feed condition, the second feed condition being that the feeding of the subsequent sheet is started at a second timing later than the first timing, the third feed condition being that the subsequent sheet is fed at a second velocity lower than the first velocity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 21, 2020
    Publication date: September 3, 2020
    Inventors: Shohei Ichikawa, Tsuyoshi Ito, Keisuke Wakakusa, Yoshimitsu Taniguchi, Masatake Sato
  • Publication number: 20200277154
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus includes a roller pair for transporting a sheet, a recording head, and a controller. The controller determines a linefeed amount by which the sheet is transported by the roller pair between corresponding two adjacent passes of the recording head. The controller executes image recording on the sheet by alternately repeating a linefeed operation for rotating the roller pair by the determined linefeed amount to transport the sheet in a transport direction, and a pass recording operation in which the controller causes the roller pair to stop and the recording head to perform a pass and to record part of an image on the sheet. Upon determining that a linefeed operation would cause the sheet to travel past the roller pair while the roller pair is decelerating, replace for the linefeed operation a determined linefeed amount by an adjusted linefeed amount.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 18, 2020
    Publication date: September 3, 2020
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Keisuke Wakakusa, Shohei Ichikawa, Masatake Sato, Yoshimitsu Taniguchi, Tsuyoshi Ito, Hiroaki Takahashi
  • Publication number: 20200101772
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus is configured to perform a conveying process of a recording medium using a conveying roller and a discharging roller, a recoding process of recording an image on the printing sheet when the conveying process is not performed, and an adjusting process. In the adjusting process, among a plurality of conveying processes performed within a period from the start of the conveying process for an n-th printing sheet until the timing which is after the start of the conveying process for an (n+1)-th printing sheet, the conveying amount of the printing sheet subject to at least one conveying process is adjusted such that a timing when the trailing end of the n-th printing sheet passes through the discharging roller is within one of the acceleration period and the deceleration period of the conveying process for the printing sheet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 25, 2019
    Publication date: April 2, 2020
    Inventors: Keisuke Wakakusa, Tsuyoshi Ito, Shohei Ichikawa, Masatake Sato, Yoshimitsu Taniguchi
  • Publication number: 20200101719
    Abstract: A controller is configured to determine which of a first position and a second position is located at a farther downstream side in a moving direction of an ejector and to set a determined position as a turn position. The first position is a first distance away from an image formation end position in the moving direction. The second position is a second distance away from an image formation start position in the moving direction. The image formation end position is an end position of image formation onto a sheet in a conveyance process of the ejector before turning at the turn position. The image formation start position is a start position of image formation onto the sheet in a conveyance process of the ejector after turning at the turn position. The second distance is longer than the first distance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 19, 2019
    Publication date: April 2, 2020
    Inventors: Yuta ARAKAWA, Keisuke WAKAKUSA
  • Patent number: 10351372
    Abstract: A sheet conveyor includes a tray and a body supporting the tray. The tray is pivotable about a first shaft between a first position at which a free end of the tray is located above its basal end and a second position at which the free end is located farther from the body than at the first position. The tray is slidable between the second position and a third position and pivotable about a second shaft between the third position and a fourth position at which the free end is located farther from the body than at the third position. The first shaft protrudes from one of the tray and the body toward the other. The second shaft protrudes from the other to the one. The other includes a first guide that guides the first shaft. The one includes a second guide that guides the second shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2019
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Keisuke Wakakusa
  • Patent number: 10160240
    Abstract: An inkjet recording device is described in which maintenance is performed by a maintenance unit upon a recording head. The maintenance unit is located on a base unit. The base unit includes a wall portion supporting a plurality of gear shafts protruding in a width direction from the wall portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2018
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Jie Xiu, Keisuke Wakakusa, Iwane Sano, Masao Mimoto, Yasuhira Ota, Shingo Ito, Noriyuki Kawamata
  • Patent number: 10144605
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus including: a housing; first through third conveyance paths, the second and third paths merging with the first conveyance path at a joining position; and a first guide member disposed at the joining position, wherein (a) the first guide member is configured to be kept, in a normal state, at a first position at which the first guide member closes at least part of the first conveyance path and opens the second and third conveyance paths to the first conveyance path, at the joining position and (b) the first guide member is configured to be moved, by contacting a sheet conveyed through the first conveyance path, to a second position at which the first guide member opens the first conveyance path and closes at least part of the second conveyance path and at least part of the third conveyance path with respect to the first conveyance path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2018
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Keisuke Wakakusa, Iwane Sano
  • Patent number: 10118782
    Abstract: A sheet feeder includes a controller configured to perform a driving process of supplying a motor with an electric current to rotate a roller, perform a stopping process of stopping supplying the electric current in response to determining that the motor has not rotated before a second sensor detects a sheet, when an accumulated rotational quantity of the roller is less than a threshold, set a retry upper limit to a first value, the accumulated rotational quantity being detected by a first sensor in the driving process performed for a first time, when the accumulated rotational quantity of the roller is equal to or more than the threshold, set the retry upper limit to a second value more than the first value, and repeatedly perform the driving process and the stopping process until a number of retries reaches the retry upper limit or until the second sensor detects the sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2018
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Keisuke Wakakusa
  • Publication number: 20180093498
    Abstract: A sheet feeder includes a controller configured to perform a driving process of supplying a motor with an electric current to rotate a roller, perform a stopping process of stopping supplying the electric current in response to determining that the motor has not rotated before a second sensor detects a sheet, when an accumulated rotational quantity of the roller is less than a threshold, set a retry upper limit to a first value, the accumulated rotational quantity being detected by a first sensor in the driving process performed for a first time, when the accumulated rotational quantity of the roller is equal to or more than the threshold, set the retry upper limit to a second value more than the first value, and repeatedly perform the driving process and the stopping process until a number of retries reaches the retry upper limit or until the second sensor detects the sheet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2017
    Publication date: April 5, 2018
    Inventor: Keisuke WAKAKUSA
  • Publication number: 20180037039
    Abstract: An inkjet recording device is described in which maintenance is performed by a maintenance unit upon a recording head. The maintenance unit is located on a base unit. The base unit includes a wall portion supporting a plurality of gear shafts protruding in a width direction from the wall portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 19, 2017
    Publication date: February 8, 2018
    Inventors: Jie Xiu, Keisuke Wakakusa, Iwane Sano, Masao Mimoto, Yasuhira Ota, Shingo Ito, Noriyuki Kawamata
  • Patent number: 9713930
    Abstract: An inkjet recording device is described in which maintenance is performed by a maintenance unit upon a recording head. The maintenance unit is located on a base unit. The base unit includes a wall portion supporting a plurality of gear shafts protruding in a width direction from the wall portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2017
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Jie Xiu, Keisuke Wakakusa, Iwane Sano, Masao Mimoto, Yasuhira Ota, Shingo Ito, Noriyuki Kawamata
  • Patent number: 9663313
    Abstract: A sheet conveyer has a casing defined with first and second conveying passages and respectively having first and second curved passages. The first and second curved passages curve in opposite directions. A flap rotatably provided to a second guide member constituting a curved outside part of the first curved passage. When the flap is at a first position, the flap blocks passage from a part of the first conveying passage to the connection position, while the second conveying passage is opened to the connection position. When the flap is at the second position, the first conveying passage is opened toward the connection position and a part of the second conveying passage is blocked with respect to the connection position. A guide surface constituting an upper surface of the first curved passage is closer to the third guide member than a guide roller when the flap is at the second position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Iwane Sano, Keisuke Wakakusa
  • Patent number: 9624051
    Abstract: A sheet conveying apparatus includes: a main unit; a tray main body pivotable between a standing position and an inclined position; and a tray cover connected to the tray main body and pivotable between a bent position and a straight position. A space formed between the main unit and the tray main body is covered by the tray cover located at the bent position relative to the tray main body at the standing position and exposed by the tray cover located at the straight position relative to the tray main body at the inclined position. The tray cover pivoting from the straight position to the bent position relative to the tray main body at the inclined position causes the tray main body to pivot from the inclined position to the standing position, so that the tray cover covers the space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2017
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Keisuke Wakakusa, Yoichiro Nishimura
  • Patent number: 9511963
    Abstract: A conveyor device is described in which a conveyor roller is used to convey a medium inside a printing device with the conveyor roller extending in a width direction of the printing device. The conveyor roller receives a force from a following roller configured to face the conveyor roller. The conveyor roller is supported by one or more bearings. The one or more bearings include a shaft supporting portion that extends in the width direction to support the conveyor roller against the force of the following roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2016
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yasuhira Ota, Noriyuki Kawamata, Masao Mimoto, Keisuke Wakakusa, Iwane Sano, Jie Xiu, Shingo Ito