Patents by Inventor Kensuke Hirate

Kensuke Hirate 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).

  • Publication number: 20110310207
    Abstract: An image recording device comprises a housing, a sheet cassette, a recording unit, and a convey path defining member. The housing has an opening. The sheet cassette is configured to hold therein sheets and configured to be inserted into and removed from the housing through the opening. The recording unit is configured to record an image on a sheet conveyed from the sheet cassette along a convey path. The convey path defining member is configured to pivot, about a pivot shaft supported by the housing, between a guiding position for forming a guide surface that defines a part of the convey path, and an exposing position for exposing the part of the convey path to the opening. The convey path defining member is configured to pivot in response to insertion and removal of the sheet cassette.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2011
    Publication date: December 22, 2011
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi ITO, Kensuke HIRATE, Yuji KOGA
  • Publication number: 20110076080
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus includes a body, a tray, a moving member, an actuator, a sensor, a reference position moving mechanism and a control unit. The moving member is movable to a first position, a second position, a third position and a reference position. The actuator moves the moving member to the first position, the second position and the third position. The sensor outputs an ON signal or an OFF signal based on positions of the moving member, the positions including the first position, the second position, the third position and the reference position. The reference position moving mechanism moves the moving member to the reference position. The control unit determines a detection position to be detected based on a change of the ON signal and the OFF signal of the sensor when the moving member is moved between the detection position and the reference position by the reference position moving mechanism.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2010
    Publication date: March 31, 2011
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kensuke HIRATE
  • Patent number: 7722026
    Abstract: A sheet conveyer device to convey a sheet in a conveyer path, including a first roller pair arranged in an intermediate position in the conveyer path, a feeder to feed the sheet toward the first roller pair during a feeding operation, a discharge portion, on which the sheet is discharged, a second roller pair arranged in the conveyer path in a position closer to the discharge portion than the first roller pair, a control unit to control the first and the second roller pairs to rotate synchronously, and a judging system to judge whether a sheet feeding error has occurred in the feeder, is provided. The control unit controls the first and the second roller pairs to rotate synchronously in a second direction during the feeding operation and in a first direction when the judging system judges that the sheet feeding error has occurred during the feeding operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2010
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kensuke Hirate, Shunsuke Mizutani
  • Publication number: 20090250863
    Abstract: A sheet conveyer device to convey a sheet in a conveyer path, including a first roller pair arranged in an intermediate position in the conveyer path, a feeder to feed the sheet toward the first roller pair during a feeding operation, a discharge portion, on which the sheet is discharged, a second roller pair arranged in the conveyer path in a position closer to the discharge portion than the first roller pair, a control unit to control the first and the second roller pairs to rotate synchronously, and a judging system to judge whether a sheet feeding error has occurred in the feeder, is provided. The control unit controls the first and the second roller pairs to rotate synchronously in a second direction during the feeding operation and in a first direction when the judging system judges that the sheet feeding error has occurred during the feeding operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 8, 2009
    Publication date: October 8, 2009
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kensuke Hirate, Shunsuke Mizutani