Patents by Inventor Motonori CHIKAMOTO

Motonori CHIKAMOTO 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: 20230010988
    Abstract: Provided is a printhead that performs printing by supplying a drive signal inputted to a second terminal to a drive element according to print data inputted to a first terminal, the printhead including: the first terminal; the second terminal; a determination circuit configured to perform based on different criteria, first determination to determine, in response to a first signal inputted to the first terminal, whether a potential of the second terminal is normal and second determination to determine, in response to a second signal inputted to the first terminal, whether the potential of the second terminal is normal; and a permission circuit configured to permit printing when the potential of the second terminal is determined to be normal in the first determination and second determination and does not permit printing when the potential of the second terminal is determined to be not normal in the first determination or second determination.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 7, 2022
    Publication date: January 12, 2023
    Inventors: Shuichi NAKANO, Jun SATO, Motonori CHIKAMOTO, Toshihito TAKAGI
  • Publication number: 20230010396
    Abstract: In a printhead control circuit causing a printhead to execute printing, the printhead performing abnormality detection in response to a first signal inputted to a second terminal in a state in which the potential of a first terminal is a first potential and a second signal inputted to the second terminal in a state in which the potential of the first terminal is a second potential, one of the first and second potentials is higher than the potentials of the first and second signals, and a signal circuit is configured to output the first and second signals.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 7, 2022
    Publication date: January 12, 2023
    Inventors: Shuichi NAKANO, Motonori CHIKAMOTO, Jun SATO, Toshihito TAKAGI
  • Patent number: 11260672
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting device includes: an ejecting section group that includes a plurality of ejecting sections that receive a drive signal and eject a liquid; an ejection state check section that checks a state of a check target ejecting section that is an ejecting section among the plurality of ejecting sections; and a check target designation data management section that manages check target designation data that designates the check target ejecting section, the check target designation data management section including a first data-holding section and a second data-holding section, and having a first management mode in which the check target designation data management section updates data held by the first data-holding section and data held by the second data-holding section, and a second management mode in which the check target designation data management section updates the data held by the second data-holding section without updating the data held by the first data-holding section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Inventor: Motonori Chikamoto
  • Patent number: 10933633
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting device includes: an ejecting section group that includes a plurality of ejecting sections that can eject a liquid droplet having different sizes upon application of a drive signal, the plurality of ejecting sections including a first ejecting section and a second ejecting section; and an ejection selection section that selects an ejecting section to which the drive signal is applied from the ejecting section group in response to an ejection selection signal, the ejection selection signal including: a first ejecting section bit data group consisting of a plurality of pieces of first ejecting section control bit data including first ejecting section first control bit data and first ejecting section second control bit data that control the size of the liquid droplet to be ejected from the first ejecting section; and a second ejecting section bit data group consisting of a plurality of pieces of second ejecting section control bit data including second ejecting section first control bit data and
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Inventor: Motonori Chikamoto
  • Patent number: 10889108
    Abstract: A print head includes a first piezoelectric element that includes a first electrode supplied with a drive signal and a second electrode supplied with a reference voltage signal, a second piezoelectric element that includes a third electrode supplied with the drive signal and a fourth electrode supplied with the reference voltage signal, a first switch circuit that switches between supplying and not supplying the drive signal to the first electrode, a second switch circuit that switches between supplying and not supplying the drive signal to the third electrode, and a third switch circuit that switches between electrically connecting and not electrically connecting the first electrode and the third electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Inventors: Tomokazu Yamada, Motonori Chikamoto
  • Patent number: 10882311
    Abstract: A print head includes a piezoelectric element that includes a first electrode supplied with a drive signal and a second electrode supplied with a reference voltage signal and is displaced by a difference in electric potential between the first electrode and the second electrode, a cavity that is filled with a liquid ejected from a nozzle along with the displacement of the piezoelectric element, a vibration plate that is disposed between the cavity and the piezoelectric element, a switch circuit that switches between supplying and not supplying the drive signal to the first electrode, and a low pass filter circuit that is electrically connected in parallel with the switch circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2021
    Inventors: Tomoko Hara, Motonori Chikamoto
  • Patent number: 10875295
    Abstract: A print head includes a piezoelectric element that includes a first electrode supplied with a drive signal and a second electrode supplied with a reference voltage signal and is displaced by a difference in electric potential between the first electrode and the second electrode, a cavity that is filled with a liquid ejected from a nozzle along with the displacement of the piezoelectric element, a vibration plate that is disposed between the cavity and the piezoelectric element, a low pass filter circuit that is supplied with the drive signal, a first switch circuit that switches between supplying and not supplying the drive signal to the first electrode, and a second switch circuit that switches between supplying and not supplying the drive signal after passing through the low pass filter circuit to the first electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Inventors: Tomoko Hara, Motonori Chikamoto
  • Patent number: 10857789
    Abstract: A print head includes a first piezoelectric element that includes a first electrode supplied with a drive signal and a second electrode supplied with a reference voltage signal and is displaced by a difference in electric potential between the first electrode and the second electrode, a cavity that is filled with a liquid ejected from a nozzle along with the displacement of the first piezoelectric element, a vibration plate that is disposed between the cavity and the first piezoelectric element, a first switch circuit that switches between supplying and not supplying the drive signal to the first electrode, and a second switch circuit that switches between electrically connecting and not electrically connecting the first electrode and the second electrode depending on an electric potential of the drive signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2020
    Inventors: Tomokazu Yamada, Motonori Chikamoto
  • Patent number: 10821726
    Abstract: A print head includes a piezoelectric element that includes a first electrode supplied with a drive signal and a second electrode supplied with a reference voltage signal and is displaced by a difference in electric potential between the first electrode and the second electrode, a cavity that is filled with a liquid ejected from a nozzle along with the displacement of the piezoelectric element, a vibration plate that is disposed between the cavity and the piezoelectric element, a gate circuit that is electrically connected to a ground, a first switch circuit that switches between supplying and not supplying the drive signal to the first electrode, and a second switch circuit that switches between electrically connecting and not electrically connecting the gate circuit and the first electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Tomokazu Yamada, Motonori Chikamoto
  • Patent number: 10800172
    Abstract: There is provided a liquid ejecting apparatus including: a first switching circuit is switched so that a first voltage waveform is supplied to a first piezoelectric element corresponding to a first nozzle which ejects the liquid, a second switching circuit is switched so that a second voltage waveform is supplied to a second piezoelectric element corresponding to a second nozzle which does not eject the liquid, and a third switching circuit is switched so that none of a plurality of voltage waveforms is supplied to a third piezoelectric element corresponding to the third nozzle which does not eject the liquid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2020
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Motonori Chikamoto, Toru Matsuyama
  • Patent number: 10800169
    Abstract: Provided is a print head including: multiple discharging sections, each of which discharges liquid based on a drive signal; and a data management section that includes a first data retention section and manages first control data that controls a state of each of the multiple discharging sections, and inspection target discharging-section designation data that designates the discharging section which is to be inspected, which is among the multiple discharging sections; and a drive waveform selection section that selects a waveform of the drive signal for each of the multiple discharging sections, in which the data management section has a first transfer mode in which the first control data is parallelly transferred to the first data retention section, and a second transfer mode in which the first data retention section is caused to operate as a shift register that serially transfers the inspection target discharging-section designation data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2020
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Motonori Chikamoto
  • Publication number: 20200298562
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting device includes: an ejecting section group that includes a plurality of ejecting sections that can eject a liquid droplet having different sizes upon application of a drive signal, the plurality of ejecting sections including a first ejecting section and a second ejecting section; and an ejection selection section that selects an ejecting section to which the drive signal is applied from the ejecting section group in response to an ejection selection signal, the ejection selection signal including: a first ejecting section bit data group consisting of a plurality of pieces of first ejecting section control bit data including first ejecting section first control bit data and first ejecting section second control bit data that control the size of the liquid droplet to be ejected from the first ejecting section; and a second ejecting section bit data group consisting of a plurality of pieces of second ejecting section control bit data including second ejecting section first control bit data and
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 25, 2016
    Publication date: September 24, 2020
    Applicant: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Motonori CHIKAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20200298587
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting device includes: an ejecting section group that includes a plurality of ejecting sections that receive a drive signal and eject a liquid; an ejection state check section that checks a state of a check target ejecting section that is an ejecting section among the plurality of ejecting sections; and a check target designation data management section that manages check target designation data that designates the check target ejecting section, the check target designation data management section including a first data-holding section and a second data-holding section, and having a first management mode in which the check target designation data management section updates data held by the first data-holding section and data held by the second data-holding section, and a second management mode in which the check target designation data management section updates the data held by the second data-holding section without updating the data held by the first data-holding section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 25, 2016
    Publication date: September 24, 2020
    Applicant: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Motonori CHIKAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20200171818
    Abstract: Provided is a print head including: multiple discharging sections, each of which discharges liquid based on a drive signal; and a data management section that includes a first data retention section and manages first control data that controls a state of each of the multiple discharging sections, and inspection target discharging-section designation data that designates the discharging section which is to be inspected, which is among the multiple discharging sections; and a drive waveform selection section that selects a waveform of the drive signal for each of the multiple discharging sections, in which the data management section has a first transfer mode in which the first control data is parallelly transferred to the first data retention section, and a second transfer mode in which the first data retention section is caused to operate as a shift register that serially transfers the inspection target discharging-section designation data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 27, 2019
    Publication date: June 4, 2020
    Inventor: Motonori CHIKAMOTO
  • Patent number: 10661558
    Abstract: A piezoelectric print head includes a first discharge section, a second discharge section, a third discharge section, a first switch, a second, and a third switch. The second discharge section is located between the first discharge section and the third discharge section, the first switch and the third switch are switched in accordance with a print signal in synchronization with a first clock, the second switch is switched in accordance with a print signal in synchronization with a second clock, in a first period, the print signal synchronized with the second clock is transferred and the print signal synchronized with the first clock is not transferred, and in a second period, the print signal synchronized with the second clock is not transferred and the print signal synchronized with the first clock is transferred.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Motonori Chikamoto
  • Patent number: 10625502
    Abstract: A piezoelectric print head includes a piezoelectric element, a nozzle that ejects liquid when a piezoelectric element is driven, a transmission gate that switches between supply and non-supply of a driving signal for driving the piezoelectric element to the piezoelectric element, a micro-vibration controller that changes a waveform select signal supplied from outside and outputs the waveform select signal if a predetermined condition is satisfied, and a decoder circuit that controls ON/OFF of the transmission gate based on the waveform select signal output from the micro-vibration controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2020
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Motonori Chikamoto
  • Patent number: 10603902
    Abstract: A print head includes an ejection unit that ejects liquid when a piezoelectric element is driven; a driving IC that includes a circuit element and wiring, and that controls driving of the ejection unit; a relay substrate that transfers a signal for controlling driving of the piezoelectric element; that is physically coupled to the driving IC and the relay substrate, and that electrically couples the driving IC and the relay substrate to each other by using an electrode arranged on a surface of a resin; and that is physically coupled to the driving IC and the relay substrate, and that does not electrically couple the driving IC and the relay substrate to each other by using an electrode arranged on a surface of a resin, wherein the energization bump overlap the circuit element or the wiring, and the inspection bump not overlap the circuit element and the wiring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2020
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Motonori Chikamoto
  • Patent number: 10513115
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting head includes an ejecting section including a pressure chamber filled with liquid, a communicating flow channel communicating with a nozzle which ejects the liquid filling the pressure chamber, and a piezoelectric element driven with a drive signal, a circuit substrate provided above the ejecting section, a switch circuit which is provided on the circuit substrate, and a reserve chamber which reserves the liquid to be supplied to the pressure chamber. The piezoelectric element is provided in a sealed space defined by a plurality of members including the circuit substrate, the pressure chamber includes an inlet port allowing the liquid within the reserve chamber to flow into the pressure chamber, an outlet port allowing the liquid within the pressure chamber to flow to the reserve chamber, and a supply port allowing the liquid within the pressure chamber to be supplied to the communicating flow channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2019
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Motonori Chikamoto, Toru Matsuyama
  • Patent number: 10507648
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting head includes: a piezoelectric element driven with a drive signal; a switch circuit which is provided on a circuit substrate; a pressure chamber which is filled with liquid and changes pressure inside in accordance with the drive by the piezoelectric element; and a reserve chamber which reserves the liquid to be supplied to the pressure chamber. The piezoelectric element is provided in a sealed space defined by a plurality of members including the circuit substrate. The reserve chamber includes a first flow channel and a second flow channel. A first end of the first flow channel communicates with a first end of the second flow channel. A second end of the first flow channel communicates with a second end of the second flow channel. The circuit substrate and switch circuit are provided between the first flow channel and the second flow channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2019
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Motonori Chikamoto, Toru Matsuyama
  • Publication number: 20190291419
    Abstract: A print head includes a first piezoelectric element that includes a first electrode supplied with a drive signal and a second electrode supplied with a reference voltage signal, a second piezoelectric element that includes a third electrode supplied with the drive signal and a fourth electrode supplied with the reference voltage signal, a first switch circuit that switches between supplying and not supplying the drive signal to the first electrode, a second switch circuit that switches between supplying and not supplying the drive signal to the third electrode, and a third switch circuit that switches between electrically connecting and not electrically connecting the first electrode and the third electrode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2019
    Publication date: September 26, 2019
    Inventors: Tomokazu YAMADA, Motonori CHIKAMOTO