Patents by Inventor Ryoji Inoue

Ryoji Inoue 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).

  • Liquid-feeding system
    Patent number: 7380921
    Abstract: A liquid-feeding system efficiently transferring liquid from a liquid storage to a liquid chamber and efficiently transferring gas from the liquid chamber to the liquid storage. The liquid-feeding system includes a liquid-using unit, the liquid storage, the liquid chamber in communication with the liquid-using unit, a plurality of communication paths facilitating communication between the liquid chamber and the liquid storage, the liquid chamber having a substantially enclosed space except where the space communicates with the plurality of communication paths and with the liquid-using unit, a pressure regulator disposed in the liquid storage and regulating the internal pressure of the liquid storage, and means for changing an internal pressure of the liquid chamber relatively higher than an internal pressure of the liquid storage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2008
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tatsuo Nanjo, Ryoichi Matsumoto, Ryoji Inoue, Hideki Ogura, Satoshi Oikawa, Ken Hosaka
  • Liquid supply system, fluid communicating structure, ink supply system, and inkjet recording head utilizing the fluid communicating structure
    Patent number: 7360876
    Abstract: A liquid (ink) supply system having a closed structure with respect to an inkjet recording head is configured such that a gas hindering a recording operation and a liquid supply operation can be rapidly and smoothly eliminated from a liquid supply system without involving any complication in structure. An ink tank (10) and a liquid chamber (50) for leading ink supplied to the recording head (20) are brought into fluid communication via two communication channels (53 and 54). Thus, in the state where the gas exists inside the liquid chamber, the ink is moved from the ink tank (10) via one communication channel (53), while the gas is transferred to the ink tank (10) via the other communication channel (54).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2008
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ryoji Inoue, Hiroyuki Ishinaga, Nobuyuki Kuwabara, Tetsuya Ohashi, Hideki Ogura
  • INK CONTAINER AND INK JET RECORDING APPARATUS
    Publication number: 20080062231
    Abstract: An ink container usable for recording heads different in flow rate without being affected by a pigment particle concentration of ink held in an ink supply portion is provided. In correspondence with a size of a filter of a recording head used, ink non-conducting areas are provided to a press-contact member, whereby movement of settled ink remaining in the press-contact member is blocked. As a result, common use of the ink container with respect to the recording heads different in flow rate is realized.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2007
    Publication date: March 13, 2008
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Koichi Kubo, Yasuo Kotaki, Tetsuya Ohashi, Hitoshi Takada, Ryoji Inoue, Hideki Ogura
  • Ink container and ink jet recording apparatus
    Publication number: 20080055376
    Abstract: In an ink supply system for connecting with an ink container with a hollow communicating tube provided in the ink container, in order to prevent leakage of the ink from the communicating tube and simultaneously to prevent damage of the communicating tube projected from the ink container, the communicating tube 60 is made movable to be projected from the inside of the ink container and to be inserted into a recording head, thus establishing liquid communication between the inside of the ink container and the inside of the recording head.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 20, 2007
    Publication date: March 6, 2008
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Ryoji Inoue, Ryoichi Matsumoto, Hideki Ogura, Shogo Kawamura, Satoshi Oikawa
  • Liquid supplying apparatus and liquid housing container
    Patent number: 7311388
    Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid supplying apparatus which enables a liquid housing container to be appropriately and smoothly attached to and detached from a print head. Thus, the present invention includes a liquid supplying tube projected from the print head and having a liquid introducing port which is in communication with the print head, a seal member rotatably movably held on the liquid supplying tube, the seal member being movable from a position at which the liquid introducing port is closed to a position at which the liquid introducing port is opened, a housing container main body in which the liquid is housed, the housing container main body having a liquid supplying port into and from which the liquid supplying tube can be inserted and removed, and a movable member which rotatably moves the seal member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2007
    Assignee: Canon Kabsuhiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hideki Ogura, Ryoji Inoue, Ryoichi Matsumoto, Shogo Kawamura, Satoshi Oikawa
  • Ink jet printing apparatus and ink jet printing method
    Publication number: 20070291077
    Abstract: The present invention provides an ink jet printing apparatus and a method for controlling an ink jet printing apparatus which, during a non-print operation excluding a print operation, can stir ink at a required time and to a required level according to the state of the ink in the ink tank. During a non-print operation excluding a print operation accompanied by a reciprocal movement of the carriage, a stir operation is executed to stir the ink in the ink tank by reciprocating the carriage according to a stir mode. As the stir mode, one of different modes is set according to an elapsed time from the previous stir operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2007
    Publication date: December 20, 2007
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Satoshi Seki, Hitoshi Nishikori, Daisaku Ide, Yoshito Mizoguchi, Yasuo Kotaki, Tetsuya Ohashi, Ryoji Inoue
  • INK JET PRINTING APPARATUS
    Publication number: 20070291075
    Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus is provided which can stir ink efficiently and reduce user stresses by specifying the time for stirring ink in an ink tank. A stir operation that reciprocally moves a carriage for stirring ink in the ink tank is executed in parallel with a suction-based operation of sucking out ink from a cap after a print operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 13, 2007
    Publication date: December 20, 2007
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshito Mizoguchi, Hitoshi Nishikori, Daisaku Ide, Satoshi Seki, Yasuo Kotaki, Tetsuya Ohashi, Ryoji Inoue
  • INK JET PRINTING APPARATUS AND INK JET PRINTING METHOD
    Publication number: 20070291076
    Abstract: The present invention provides an ink jet printing apparatus and a method for controlling an ink jet printing apparatus which can shorten the stirring duration without losing any stirring effect by stirring ink at a required time to only a required level and still perform a printing operation with no image impairments. By a reciprocal movement of the carriage according to a mode during a non-printing operation excluding a print operation that is accompanied by a reciprocal movement of the carriage, ink in an ink tank is stirred. The stir mode is set according to the color of the ink in the ink tank mounted on the carriage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 13, 2007
    Publication date: December 20, 2007
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Satoshi Seki, Hitoshi Nishikori, Daisaku Ide, Yoshito Mizoguchi, Yasuo Kotaki, Tetsuya Ohashi, Ryoji Inoue
  • Liquid supplying system and apparatus incorporating the same
    Patent number: 7309121
    Abstract: An ink supplying system for supplying ink to a recording head of a recording apparatus. The ink supplying system includes an ink tank for containing the ink and an ink supplying unit, connected to the ink tank via communication paths, for supplying the ink from the ink tank to the recording head. The ink in the ink tank is introduced into the ink supplying unit through at least one of the communication paths, and gas in the ink supplying unit is transported into the ink tank through at least a different one of the communication paths. At least one of the ink tank and the ink supplying unit has storage means for storing information regarding the amount of ink in the ink supplying system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2007
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Nobuyuki Hatasa, Hiroyuki Ishinaga, Ryoji Inoue, Hideki Ogura
  • INK JET RECORDING HEAD AND INK JET RECORDING APPARATUS
    Publication number: 20070273733
    Abstract: An ink jet recording head for ejecting, through an ink ejection outlet, ink introduced through an ink supply port includes a first ink flow path in fluid communication with the ink supply port; a second ink flow path which is branched from the first ink flow path at a branch portion and which is in fluid communication with the ink ejection outlet; and a third ink flow path for fluid communication between the branch portion and an outside.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 24, 2007
    Publication date: November 29, 2007
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yasuo KOTAKI, Ryoji Inoue
  • Liquid container
    Publication number: 20070263052
    Abstract: An ink tank includes two stirring members having different masses in an ink containing chamber. The two stirring members are moved by an inertial force according to movement of a carriage and stir ink. The two stirring members have different movement start times and movement speeds.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 10, 2007
    Publication date: November 15, 2007
    Applicant: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yasushi Iijima, Shogo Kawamura, Yasuo Kotaki, Ryoji Inoue, Hideki Ogura, Tetsuya Ohashi
  • INK JET PRINTING APPARATUS
    Publication number: 20070263025
    Abstract: The present invention provides an ink jet printing apparatus that can print appropriate images by efficiently stirring ink in an ink tank in accordance with its status to homogenize it. When the elapsed time from the end of reciprocation of the carriage is shorter than a specified time, a printing operation is performed after the end of the reciprocation. The number of times that the carriage is reciprocated so as to stir the ink after the printing operation is set in accordance with the number of scans of the carriage during the printing operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2007
    Publication date: November 15, 2007
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tetsuya Ohashi, Yasuo Kotaki, Ryoji Inoue, Yoshito Mizoguchi, Daisaku Ide
  • Ink tank, printing head and inkjet printing apparatus
    Patent number: 7290861
    Abstract: An inkjet printing apparatus includes a mechanism for opening and closing an ink supply route between an ink tank and a printing head and capable of attaching and removing the ink tank by a horizontal movement. More specifically, a moving member 60 and the communication pipe 51 engaged therewith are moved upward by moving an operation member 70 upward. As a result, the communication pipe 51 moves into an ink lead chamber 16 and a communication channel 52 of the communication pipe 51 comes into communication with the ink lead chamber 16 through its opening. In this way, the ink lead chamber 16, namely, an ink storage chamber 12 comes into communication with a liquid chamber 50 of a printing head 20. An ink supply route is opened in this manner. The ink supply route is closed by the reverse operation to that mentioned above.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2007
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ryoji Inoue, Ryoichi Matsumoto, Shogo Kawamura, Hideki Ogura, Satoshi Oikawa
  • Liquid container and liquid container package
    Publication number: 20070229632
    Abstract: When a package in which a tank 1 is wrapped is opened, caused is an action of reversing vertical positions of an end face of the tank 1 having an ink supply portion 10, and an end face opposite to the foregoing end face. Along with this action, air existing inside the tank 1 ascends, and then is separated by air separating portions. Thus, a coloring material component inside the tank is stirred.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2007
    Publication date: October 4, 2007
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Nobuyuki Hatasa, Yasuo Kotaki, Ryoji Inoue
  • Liquid supply system, fluid communicating structure, ink supply system, and inkjet recording head utilizing the fluid communicating structure
    Publication number: 20070171263
    Abstract: A liquid (ink) supply system having a closed structure with respect to an inkjet recording head is configured such that a gas hindering a recording operation and a liquid supply operation can be rapidly and smoothly eliminated from a liquid supply system without involving any complication in structure. An ink tank (10) and a liquid chamber (50) for leading ink supplied to the recording head (20) are brought into fluid communication via two communication channels (53 and 54). Thus, in the state where the gas exists inside the liquid chamber, the ink is moved from the ink tank (10) via one communication channel (53), while the gas is transferred to the ink tank (10) via the other communication channel (54).
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 21, 2007
    Publication date: July 26, 2007
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Ryoji Inoue, Hiroyuki Ishinaga, Nobuyuki Kuwabara, Tetsuya Ohashi, Hideki Ogura
  • LIQUID STORAGE CONTAINER
    Publication number: 20070145059
    Abstract: A liquid storage container capable of ensuring a sufficient ink storage space and preventing liquid leakage without large variations in liquid pressure even when the container is deformed by an external force during shipping or in operating time. The container includes a protection member positioned outside of a flexible member, and an opening is defined on a plane member arranged in contact with the flexible member so as to face the protection member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2006
    Publication date: June 28, 2007
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hideki Ogura, Ryoichi Matsumoto, Tetsuya Ohashi, Shogo Kawamura, Ryoji Inoue
  • Solid semiconductor element, ink tank, ink jet recording apparatus provided with ink tank, liquid information acquiring method and liquid physical property change discriminating method
    Publication number: 20070146409
    Abstract: There is disclosed a solid semiconductor element which very efficiently detects information about a liquid and bidirectionally exchanges the information with the outside. The solid semiconductor element is disposed in a liquid container, and includes at least energy converting unit, information acquiring unit, and information communicating unit. The energy converting unit converts an electromotive force from the outside to a power, and operates the information acquiring unit and information communicating unit. The information acquiring unit acquires the information about the liquid in which the solid semiconductor element is disposed from the liquid, and the information communicating unit transmits the information acquired by the information acquiring unit to the outside.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 16, 2007
    Publication date: June 28, 2007
    Inventors: Masahiko Kubota, Sadayuki Sugama, Ichiro Saito, Hiroyuki Ishinaga, Yoshiyuki Imanaka, Muga Mochizuki, Ryoji Inoue, Maki Nishida, Takaaki Yamaguchi
  • Solid semiconductor element, ink tank, ink jet recording apparatus provided with ink tank, liquid information acquiring method and liquid physical property change discriminating method
    Patent number: 7210755
    Abstract: There is disclosed a solid semiconductor element which very efficiently detects information about a liquid and bidirectionally exchanges the information with the outside. The solid semiconductor element is disposed in a liquid container, and includes at least energy converting unit, information acquiring unit, and information communicating unit. The energy converting unit converts an electromotive force from the outside to a power, and operates the information acquiring unit and information communicating unit. The information acquiring unit acquires the information about the liquid in which the solid semiconductor element is disposed from the liquid, and the information communicating unit transmits the information acquired by the information acquiring unit to the outside.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2007
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masahiko Kubota, Sadayuki Sugama, Ichiro Saito, Hiroyuki Ishinaga, Yoshiyuki Imanaka, Muga Mochizuki, Ryoji Inoue, Maki Nishida, Takaaki Yamaguchi
  • Ink tank with inductance-based residue detection and recording apparatus using the same
    Patent number: 7192111
    Abstract: An ink tank includes a coil, and the coil is in contact with ink in the ink tank so that inductance is changed according to the amount of ink remaining in the ink tank. The coil is connected to a recording apparatus through electric contacts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ryoichi Matsumoto, Ryoji Inoue
  • LIQUID CONTAINER
    Publication number: 20070052773
    Abstract: A liquid container includes an air-tight liquid-storage chamber or reservoir, a movable member for agitating liquid, and a protrusion portion for supporting the movable member. The movable member and the protrusion portion are disposed in the liquid-storage chamber. The movable member includes a first end that is linearly movable along the protrusion portion and a second end that is free.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 31, 2006
    Publication date: March 8, 2007
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shogo Kawamura, Yasuo Kotaki, Hideki Ogura, Ryoji Inoue, Tetsuya Ohashi