Patents by Inventor Satoshi Kaiho

Satoshi Kaiho 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: 11511300
    Abstract: A liquid discharging device to be used with a liquid dispensing apparatus includes a discharging portion configured to discharge a liquid based on a control signal from the liquid dispensing apparatus on which the liquid discharging device is mounted, and a sheet material having a characteristic configured to be changed by the liquid dispensing apparatus after a discharge of the liquid by the discharging portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shuhei Yokoyama, Satoshi Kaiho, Ryutaro Kusunoki, Seiya Shimizu
  • Patent number: 11351563
    Abstract: A liquid dispensing apparatus includes a mounting unit on which a liquid discharging device is mounted, a driving circuit to supply driving voltages to an actuator of the liquid discharging device mounted on the mounting unit, a capacitance measuring circuit configured to measure a capacitance value of the actuator and a controller configured to acquire the capacitance value, compare the capacitance value to a predetermined threshold value, and determine whether to supply a first control signal to the driving circuit to drive the actuator of the liquid discharging device to discharge a liquid based on the comparison of the capacitance value to the predetermined threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shuhei Yokoyama, Satoshi Kaiho, Ryutaro Kusunoki, Seiya Shimizu
  • Patent number: 11213813
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a droplet dispensing apparatus include a droplet ejecting array having a plurality of nozzles from which solution can be ejected into a microplate on a baseplate, a sensor configured to detect a solution amount in the microplate, and a controller configured to detect that a nozzle in the plurality of nozzles is malfunctioning during a solution ejection process based on an initial solution amount in the microplate and a final solution amount in the microplate as detected by the sensor, and control a supplemental droplet dispensing operation in which an additional solution amount is ejected into the microplate based on the initial solution amount and the final solution amount in the microplate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masaaki Higuchi, Satoshi Kaiho, Ryutaro Kusunoki
  • Publication number: 20210129131
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a liquid medicine discharge device includes a nozzle plate including a nozzle from which a liquid medicine can be discharged, a pressure chamber structure having an outlet on a first surface side and an inlet on a second surface side and a pressure chamber in fluid communication with the nozzle via the outlet on the first side, a liquid holding container on the second surface and in fluid communication with the pressure chamber via the inlet on the second surface, and an actuator configured to cause the liquid medicine to be ejected from the nozzle by changing a pressure in the pressure chamber and including a piezoelectric element formed of a lead-free material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2021
    Publication date: May 6, 2021
    Inventors: Shuhei YOKOYAMA, Satoshi KAIHO, Seiya SHIMIZU, Hiroyuki KUSHIDA
  • Publication number: 20200298558
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a liquid discharging device includes a storage unit storing a use history indicating whether the liquid discharging device has been previously used, and a discharging device mounted on a liquid dispensing apparatus and configured to discharge a liquid when supplied a discharge voltage in response to a discharge signal received from the liquid dispensing apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2020
    Publication date: September 24, 2020
    Inventors: Shuhei YOKOYAMA, Satoshi KAIHO, Ryutaro KUSUNOKI, Seiya SHIMIZU
  • Patent number: 10717272
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a liquid discharging device includes a storage unit storing a use history indicating whether the liquid discharging device has been previously used, and a discharging device mounted on a liquid dispensing apparatus and configured to discharge a liquid when supplied a discharge voltage in response to a discharge signal received from the liquid dispensing apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2020
    Assignee: TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shuhei Yokoyama, Satoshi Kaiho, Ryutaro Kusunoki, Seiya Shimizu
  • Patent number: 10369562
    Abstract: A droplet ejecting apparatus includes a solution container, first and second nozzle groups fluidly connected to the solution container and having nozzles from which the solution can be ejected, first actuators respectively associated with each nozzle in the first nozzle group, second actuators respectively associated with each nozzle in the second nozzle group, and drive circuits respectively connected in a parallel to the first and second actuators. Each nozzle has a pressure chamber associated therewith. Each actuator causes a pressure change in a corresponding pressure chamber to control an ejection of a droplet of the solution from the corresponding nozzle. Each drive circuit is configured to supply a drive signal. When supplied by each drive circuit to the first and second actuators respectively, each drive signal causes solution to be ejected from each nozzle of each respective nozzle group at a same time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2019
    Assignee: TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shuhei Yokoyama, Satoshi Kaiho, Ryutaro Kusunoki
  • Patent number: 10245584
    Abstract: A droplet ejecting apparatus includes a plurality of nozzle groups each including a plurality of nozzles, a plurality of pressure chambers each configured to supply a solution to a corresponding nozzle of a nozzle group in the plurality of nozzle groups, a plurality of actuators each configured to cause a pressure change in a corresponding pressure chamber in the plurality of pressure chambers to control an ejection of a droplet of the solution from the corresponding nozzle, and a solution holding container having a solution inlet for receiving solution and a solution outlet, the solution holding container being configured to supply the solution to the plurality of nozzle groups via the plurality of pressure chambers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: Toshiba TEC Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shuhei Yokoyama, Satoshi Kaiho
  • Patent number: 10241125
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a droplet ejecting apparatus includes a solution holding container having a solution inlet for receiving a solution on a first side and a plurality of solution outlets on a second side, a plurality of droplet ejecting arrays, each droplet ejecting array being respectively connected to one solution outlet in the plurality of solution outlets, and a first nozzle group in each droplet ejecting array fluidly connected to the respective one solution outlet via a pressure chamber structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2019
    Assignee: Toshiba TEC Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shuhei Yokoyama, Satoshi Kaiho
  • Publication number: 20190061342
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a liquid discharging device includes a storage unit storing a use history indicating whether the liquid discharging device has been previously used, and a discharging device mounted on a liquid dispensing apparatus and configured to discharge a liquid when supplied a discharge voltage in response to a discharge signal received from the liquid dispensing apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2018
    Publication date: February 28, 2019
    Inventors: Shuhei YOKOYAMA, Satoshi KAIHO, Ryutaro KUSUNOKI, Seiya SHIMIZU
  • Publication number: 20190060933
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a liquid dispensing apparatus includes a base to which a liquid discharging device for discharging a liquid is to be mounted, an interface configured to communicate with an external device, a driving circuit to supply driving voltages to an actuator of the liquid discharging device, and a control unit configured to acquire a use history of the liquid discharging device from the external device through the interface, and cause the driving circuit to supply a discharge voltage to the actuator if the acquired use history indicates the liquid discharging device has not been used.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2018
    Publication date: February 28, 2019
    Inventors: Shuhei YOKOYAMA, Satoshi KAIHO, Ryutaro KUSUNOKI, Seiya SHIMIZU
  • Publication number: 20190060934
    Abstract: A liquid discharging device to be used with a liquid dispensing apparatus includes an actuator configured to cause a discharge of a liquid according to an electrical signal supplied from the liquid dispensing apparatus, and a first wiring pattern connected to the actuator and configured to electrically connect the actuator to a driving circuit of the liquid dispensing apparatus when the liquid discharging device is mounted on the liquid dispensing apparatus, the first wiring pattern including a disconnection portion configured to introduce an electrical disconnection in the first wiring pattern between the actuator and the driving circuit according to a predetermined supply of electrical power from the driving circuit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2018
    Publication date: February 28, 2019
    Inventors: Shuhei YOKOYAMA, Satoshi KAIHO, Ryutaro KUSUNOKI, Seiya SHIMIZU
  • Publication number: 20190060936
    Abstract: A liquid discharging device to be used with a liquid dispensing apparatus includes a discharging portion configured to discharge a liquid based on a control signal from the liquid dispensing apparatus on which the liquid discharging device is mounted, and a sheet material having a characteristic configured to be changed by the liquid dispensing apparatus after a discharge of the liquid by the discharging portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2018
    Publication date: February 28, 2019
    Inventors: Shuhei YOKOYAMA, Satoshi KAIHO, Ryutaro KUSUNOKI, Seiya SHIMIZU
  • Publication number: 20190060937
    Abstract: A liquid dispensing apparatus includes a mounting unit on which a liquid discharging device is mounted, a driving circuit to supply driving voltages to an actuator of the liquid discharging device mounted on the mounting unit, a capacitance measuring circuit configured to measure a capacitance value of the actuator and a controller configured to acquire the capacitance value, compare the capacitance value to a predetermined threshold value, and determine whether to supply a first control signal to the driving circuit to drive the actuator of the liquid discharging device to discharge a liquid based on the comparison of the capacitance value to the predetermined threshold value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2018
    Publication date: February 28, 2019
    Inventors: Shuhei YOKOYAMA, Satoshi KAIHO, Ryutaro KUSUNOKI, Seiya SHIMIZU
  • Publication number: 20190060935
    Abstract: A liquid dispensing apparatus includes a mounting unit on which a liquid discharging device is mounted, a driving circuit to supply driving power to an actuator of the liquid discharging device mounted on the mounting unit, and a controller configured to supply a first control signal to the driving circuit to drive the actuator of the liquid discharging device to discharge a liquid, and supply a second control signal to the driving circuit after a discharge of the liquid to cause the driving circuit to damage the actuator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2018
    Publication date: February 28, 2019
    Inventors: Shuhei YOKOYAMA, Satoshi KAIHO, Ryutaro KUSUNOKI, Seiya SHIMIZU
  • Patent number: 10201971
    Abstract: A liquid droplet ejecting apparatus includes a liquid container, a liquid ejection chip that is fixed to a lower surface of the liquid container to receive liquid from the liquid container, and includes a pressure chamber formed therein, a nozzle to eject liquid from the pressure chamber, and an actuator disposed adjacent to the nozzle, a base member having an opening at which the liquid container is fixed such that the nozzle is exposed on a lower surface of the base member, and a circuit substrate fixed to a lower side of the base member and including a wiring electrically connected to the actuator on a lower surface of the circuit substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2019
    Assignee: Toshiba TEC Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shuhei Yokoyama, Satoshi Kaiho, Ikuo Fujisawa
  • Publication number: 20180272334
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a droplet dispensing apparatus include a droplet ejecting array having a plurality of nozzles from which solution can be ejected into a microplate on a baseplate, a sensor configured to detect a solution amount in the microplate, and a controller configured to detect that a nozzle in the plurality of nozzles is malfunctioning during a solution ejection process based on an initial solution amount in the microplate and a final solution amount in the microplate as detected by the sensor, and control a supplemental droplet dispensing operation in which an additional solution amount is ejected into the microplate based on the initial solution amount and the final solution amount in the microplate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 7, 2018
    Publication date: September 27, 2018
    Inventors: Masaaki HIGUCHI, Satoshi KAIHO, Ryutaro KUSUNOKI
  • Publication number: 20180272335
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a droplet dispensing apparatus includes a droplet ejection array having a plurality of nozzles from which droplets can be ejected into a well opening of a microplate plate on a baseplate, a sensor configured to detect a liquid amount in the microplate, and a controller configured to detect that a nozzle in the plurality of nozzles is not discharging during a droplet ejection process based on an initial liquid amount in the microplate as detected by the sensor and a final liquid amount in the microplate as detected by the sensor during a droplet ejection process in which a predetermined number of droplets are to be ejected from the plurality of nozzles into the microplate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2018
    Publication date: September 27, 2018
    Inventors: Masaaki HIGUCHI, Satoshi KAIHO, Seiya SHIMIZU, Shuhei YOKOYAMA, Ryutaro KUSUNOKI
  • Patent number: 10059100
    Abstract: A liquid droplet ejecting apparatus includes a liquid container including an upper opening for receiving liquid and a lower opening for supplying the liquid, the upper opening being larger than the lower opening, and a liquid ejection chip that is fixed to a lower surface of the liquid container, and includes a pressure chamber formed therein, a nozzle to eject liquid from the pressure chamber, and an actuator disposed adjacent to the nozzle. An opening of the pressure chamber is in fluid communication with the lower opening and is entirely included in an area of the lower opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shuhei Yokoyama, Satoshi Kaiho, Ikuo Fujisawa, Ryutaro Kusunoki
  • Publication number: 20180169649
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a liquid medicine discharge device includes a nozzle plate including a nozzle from which a liquid medicine can be discharged, a pressure chamber structure having an outlet on a first surface side and an inlet on a second surface side and a pressure chamber in fluid communication with the nozzle via the outlet on the first side, a liquid holding container on the second surface and in fluid communication with the pressure chamber via the inlet on the second surface, and an actuator configured to cause the liquid medicine to be ejected from the nozzle by changing a pressure in the pressure chamber and including a piezoelectric element formed of a lead-free material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 4, 2017
    Publication date: June 21, 2018
    Inventors: Shuhei YOKOYAMA, Satoshi KAIHO, Seiya SHIMIZU, Hiroyuki KUSHIDA