Patents by Inventor Rikuo Sonoda

Rikuo Sonoda 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: 5118090
    Abstract: A platen, supplemental feed rollers and a paper feed roller are driven by a motor, feeding a stack of sheet papers on a hopper one by one to the platen. When a predetermined period of time elapses after the sheet paper has reached a photosensor, the motor rotates in the reverse direction to reversely rotate the platen. The paper feed roller and the supplemental feed rollers however keep rotating to execute an oblique compensation of the paper. Then, an electromagnetic clutch is disengaged to permit the paper feed roller to freely rotate, feeding the paper to a print position by the rotation of the platen. When the power of a printer is turned off and an operational lever is moved to a paper releasing position, a switching lever oscillates, disengaging a planetary gear mechanism from other gears. This sets the supplemental feed roller free.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 1990
    Date of Patent: June 2, 1992
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Rikuo Sonoda, Masatoshi Ito, Makoto Hattori
  • Patent number: 5073055
    Abstract: In a printer of the type having a print mechanism comprising a platen rotatable about its own axis for supporting a print sheet, an ink ribbon cassette accommodating an ink ribbon therein, and a print head movable along the platen for performing a print operation on the print sheet with the use of the ink ribbon, a hopper storing a stack of cut sheets is disposed above a first area of a printer frame and a stacker above a second area thereof. A pin tractor is disposed beneath the first area thereof for mounting a continuous sheet. The cut sheet and the continuous sheet are selectively fed to the print mechanism for printing. The stacker is movably disposed between a cut sheet receiving position allowing to receive the cut sheets discharged from the platen and a rest position rejecting to receive the cut sheet. A space above the second area is enlarged when the stacker is brought to the rest position, whereby the ink ribbon cassette disposed beneath the second area can easily be exchanged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 1989
    Date of Patent: December 17, 1991
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuhiko Takagi, Rikuo Sonoda
  • Patent number: 5051014
    Abstract: In a sheet feeding apparatus which is employable in a printer and the like, provided is a mechanism for removing sag of the printing sheet caused by backward feeding operation executed when the reverse line feed operation and so on. Further, the mechanism controls the sheet feeding operation so as to be executed without a disadvantage caused by backlash included in a gear mechanism for driving the sheet to be fed. Thus, the printing sheet is accurately set at a printing position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 1990
    Date of Patent: September 24, 1991
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuhiko Takagi, Rikuo Sonoda
  • Patent number: 4986525
    Abstract: A sheet feed device for feeding a sheet-like material includes a feed roller disposed upstream with respect to a sheet feeding direction for feeding the sheet-like material and main and auxiliary roller pair disposed downstream with respect thereto for further feeding the sheet-like material fed out by the feed roller. At the start of feeding the sheet-like material, both the feed roller and the main and auxiliary roller pair are rotated, and after the sheet-like material is fed a certain distance and grasped by the main and auxiliary roller pair, only the main and auxiliary roller pair is rotated, whereby a load imposed to a motor for rotating both the feed roller and main and auxiliary roller pair is lessened.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 22, 1991
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuhiko Takagi, Rikuo Sonoda, Kazuo Umemura