Patents by Inventor Shunsuke Mizutani

Shunsuke Mizutani 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: 9815305
    Abstract: A printing apparatus, including a sheet conveyer unit with a first roller unit, a printer unit, and a controller, is provided. The controller executes a first-face printing process, wherein an image is printed on a first face of a sheet; a switchback process, wherein the sheet after the first-face printing process is conveyed in a reverse direction by the first roller unit; a second-face printing process, wherein the image is printed on a second face of the sheet; a first ink amount determining process to determine whether an ink amount discharged in the first-face printing process at an end area of the sheet is one of greater than and equal to a first threshold amount; and a switchback setting process, wherein, if the ink amount is smaller than the first threshold amount, a rotation speed of the first roller unit is set at a higher rotation speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2017
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shunsuke Mizutani, Tetsuya Ouchi
  • Publication number: 20170133872
    Abstract: A battery cell (10) with two battery cell terminals (11, 12) which are contactable from inside and/or outside the battery cell (10), and an electrochemical part (20) comprising at least one separator. Upon the achievement of a predefined temperature, the at least one separator is at least partially impermeable to ions which can be generated in the electrochemical part (20). The battery cell (10) has a rapid discharge unit (30), which is connectable between the battery cell terminals (11, 12) and which, in a switched-in and consequently activated state, has a predefined resistance value. The predefined resistance value is selected such that, with the rapid discharge unit (30) switched-in, the at least one separator achieves the predefined temperature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 2, 2016
    Publication date: May 11, 2017
    Inventors: Hideki Masuda, Yutaro Katsumata, Marcel Wilka, Marco Friedrich, Stephan Leuthner, Cornelius Liebenow, Yuji Ashida, Shunsuke Mizutani, Daisuke Konishi, Shinya Kitano
  • Publication number: 20170133716
    Abstract: A battery cell with improved safety. The battery cell comprises two battery cell terminals which are contactable from outside of the battery cell and an electrochemical part comprising at least one positive electrode and at least one negative electrode, an electrolyte comprising at least one conductive salt and at least one solvent, and at least one separator, wherein the at least one separator becomes at least partially impermeable for ions which can be generated inside of the electrochemical part, when the at least one separator reaches a predefined temperature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 4, 2016
    Publication date: May 11, 2017
    Inventors: Hideki Masuda, Shunsuke Mizutani, Yudai Kawasoe, Yutaro Katsumata, Marcel Wilka, Marco Friedrich
  • Publication number: 20160339705
    Abstract: An inkjet printer has a printing head, a sheet conveying mechanism, a carriage mounting a printing head and configured to be reciprocally movable in a printing area and non-printing area. A cap is provided to be movable between a capping position an uncap position. A controller of the inkjet printer is configured to execute a printing process, a standby process, and a capping process in which the controller causes the carriage to move to the non-printing area and moves the cap from the uncap position to the capping position. The controller causes the carriage to move into the printing area when the next printing command is received after the standby process is finished and before the carriage moving process has been completed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2016
    Publication date: November 24, 2016
    Inventor: Shunsuke MIZUTANI
  • Publication number: 20160288546
    Abstract: A printing apparatus, including a sheet conveyer unit with a first roller unit, a printer unit, and a controller, is provided. The controller executes a first-face printing process, wherein an image is printed on a first face of a sheet; a switchback process, wherein the sheet after the first-face printing process is conveyed in a reverse direction by the first roller unit; a second-face printing process, wherein the image is printed on a second face of the sheet; a first ink amount determining process to determine whether an ink amount discharged in the first-face printing process at an end area of the sheet is one of greater than and equal to a first threshold amount; and a switchback setting process, wherein, if the ink amount is smaller than the first threshold amount, a rotation speed of the first roller unit is set at a higher rotation speed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2016
    Publication date: October 6, 2016
    Inventors: Shunsuke MIZUTANI, Tetsuya OUCHI
  • Patent number: 9409427
    Abstract: An inkjet printer has a printing head, a sheet conveying mechanism, a carriage mounting a printing head and configured to be reciprocally movable in a printing area and non-printing area. A cap is provided to be movable between a capping position an uncap position. A controller of the inkjet printer is configured to execute a printing process, a standby process, and a capping process in which the controller causes the carriage to move to the non-printing area and moves the cap from the uncap position to the capping position. The controller causes the carriage to move into the printing area when the next printing command is received after the standby process is finished and before the carriage moving process has been completed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2016
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shunsuke Mizutani
  • Patent number: 9302483
    Abstract: A controller of an inkjet recording apparatus executes, after receiving a recording instruction, first flushing by controlling a recording head to idly eject ink toward a cap from which the ink is discharged by a pump to a detachable waste ink tank. After executing the first flushing, the controller executes image recording by controlling a conveying unit and a recording head to repeat a unit action in which the recording head ejects ink onto a recording medium conveyed by a predetermined line feed length in a conveying direction. After detecting arrival of a flushing timing during the image recording both when a threshold time elapses and when one of repeated unit actions is completed, the controller executes second flushing by controlling the recording head to idly eject ink toward a fixed ink receiving member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shunsuke Mizutani
  • Publication number: 20160089886
    Abstract: An inkjet printer has a printing head, a sheet conveying mechanism, a carriage mounting a printing head and configured to be reciprocally movable in a printing area and non-printing area. A cap is provided to be movable between a capping position an uncap position. A controller of the inkjet printer is configured to execute a printing process, a standby process, and a capping process in which the controller causes the carriage to move to the non-printing area and moves the cap from the uncap position to the capping position. The controller causes the carriage to move into the printing area when the next printing command is received after the standby process is finished and before the carriage moving process has been completed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 25, 2015
    Publication date: March 31, 2016
    Inventor: Shunsuke MIZUTANI
  • Publication number: 20150091976
    Abstract: A controller of an inkjet recording apparatus executes, after receiving a recording instruction, first flushing by controlling a recording head to idly eject ink toward a cap from which the ink is discharged by a pump to a detachable waste ink tank. After executing the first flushing, the controller executes image recording by controlling a conveying unit and a recording head to repeat a unit action in which the recording head ejects ink onto a recording medium conveyed by a predetermined line feed length in a conveying direction. After detecting arrival of a flushing timing during the image recording both when a threshold time elapses and when one of repeated unit actions is completed, the controller executes second flushing by controlling the recording head to idly eject ink toward a fixed ink receiving member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 9, 2014
    Publication date: April 2, 2015
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Shunsuke Mizutani
  • Patent number: 8430502
    Abstract: A printing device configured to operate selectively in one of a single-sided printing mode and a double-sided printing mode comprises a printing unit configured to eject ink, and a controller. When the printing device operates in the double-sided printing mode, the controller is configured to calculate a drying time for a front-side image printed by the printing unit on a front side of a sheet, and to determine whether the calculated drying time exceeds a predetermined threshold value. When the controller determines that the drying time dose not exceed the predetermined threshold value, the controller is configured to control the printing unit to print a back-side image on a back side of the sheet. When the controller determines that the drying time exceeds the predetermined threshold value, the controller is configured to control the printing unit not to print the back-side image on the back side of the sheet, and to print the back-side image on a front side of a next sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2013
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shunsuke Mizutani
  • Patent number: 8390898
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus includes a sheet feed tray, a sheet feed roller, an image recording unit, an output unit, a first conveying unit configured to convey a recording medium from the sheet feed tray to the output unit via the image recording unit, and a second conveying unit configured to return the recording medium, which has conveyed via the image recording unit, to the sheet feed tray. The image recording medium further includes an image memory configured to store image data to be recorded by the image recording unit and a controller configured to control the sheet feed roller, the image recording unit, the first conveying unit, and the second conveying unit to record the image on the recording medium. The controller is configured to control the sheet feed roller to start feeding a following recording medium subsequent to a preceding recording medium fed by the sheet feed roller irrespective of whether or not the image data for the following recording medium is stored in the image memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shunsuke Mizutani
  • Patent number: 8235493
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus including: a sheet-feed mechanism; a sheet-detect portion; an image recording portion having a nozzle face; a cap for covering the nozzle face; a sucking mechanism; a drive source which generates a drive force; a drive-force transmitting mechanism which transmits one of a forward-direction drive force and a reverse-direction drive force to the sheet-feed mechanism and the sucking mechanism respectively for feeding of the sheet in one direction by the sheet-feed mechanism and an operation of the sucking mechanism, and which transmits the other thereof to the sheet-feed mechanism for feeding of the sheet in another direction by the sheet-feed mechanism; and a controller which controls the drive source such that the sheet is fed in the one direction and discharged without the feeding in said other direction by the sheet-feed mechanism after the sheet-detect portion has detected the sheet during the operation of the sucking mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenta Horade, Shunsuke Mizutani
  • Patent number: 8201916
    Abstract: An image recorder includes a driving source generating any of a first-direction force and a second-direction force, a function executing mechanism executing a functional operation, a switching mechanism switching between a first state to allow the function executing mechanism to execute the functional operation and a second state to forbid the function executing mechanism to execute the functional operation, a transmission mechanism transmitting the first-direction force to a feed roller unit and the function executing mechanism and transmitting the second-direction force to the feed roller unit and the switching mechanism, and a controller that after detection of a sheet on a tray, controls the driving source to generate the second-direction force such that the switching mechanism switches to the second state, and thereafter controls the driving source to generate the first-direction force such that the feed roller unit nips the sheet on the tray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2012
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shunsuke Mizutani, Kenta Horade
  • Patent number: 8061797
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus having a both-side printing function for ejecting ink to record images on a first face and a second face of a recording medium is provided. The image recording apparatus includes: a conveying unit which conveys the recording medium; a driving unit which drives the conveying unit; a conveying path along which the recording medium is conveyed; a holding unit which is provided on the conveying path and holds a part of the recording medium; and a controller which controls the image recording apparatus to enter a power saving mode of interrupting power supply to at least the driving unit in a state that the recording medium is held by the holding unit, after the image is recorded on the first face of the recording medium but before the image is recoded on the second face of the recording medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2011
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shunsuke Mizutani
  • Patent number: 8027059
    Abstract: An image processing device has a main unit, a storage unit, a first processing unit, a second processing unit, a first determination unit, and a first replacement unit. The storage unit is provided in the main unit that stores a color image having ground color and different color from the ground color, the color image being formed by color-pixels including a ground color pixel and a different color pixel, the ground color pixel having the ground color, the different color pixel having the different color. The first processing unit scales down the color image to produce a first gray-scale image which is simply represented by brightness having a plurality of brightness values, the first gray-scale image being formed by first gray-scale pixels. The second processing unit determines the brightness value of each of the color pixels to produce a histogram showing a distribution of the color pixels with respect to the brightness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2011
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shunsuke Mizutani
  • Publication number: 20110069102
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus including: a sheet-feed mechanism; a sheet-detect portion; an image recording portion having a nozzle face; a cap for covering the nozzle face; a sucking mechanism; a drive source which generates a drive force; a drive-force transmitting mechanism which transmits one of a forward-direction drive force and a reverse-direction drive force to the sheet-feed mechanism and the sucking mechanism respectively for feeding of the sheet in one direction by the sheet-feed mechanism and an operation of the sucking mechanism, and which transmits the other thereof to the sheet-feed mechanism for feeding of the sheet in another direction by the sheet-feed mechanism; and a controller which controls the drive source such that the sheet is fed in the one direction and discharged without the feeding in said other direction by the sheet-feed mechanism after the sheet-detect portion has detected the sheet during the operation of the sucking mechanism.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 16, 2010
    Publication date: March 24, 2011
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kenta Horade, Shunsuke Mizutani
  • Publication number: 20110050780
    Abstract: An image recorder includes a driving source generating any of a first-direction force and a second-direction force, a function executing mechanism executing a functional operation, a switching mechanism switching between a first state to allow the function executing mechanism to execute the functional operation and a second state to forbid the function executing mechanism to execute the functional operation, a transmission mechanism transmitting the first-direction force to a feed roller unit and the function executing mechanism and transmitting the second-direction force to the feed roller unit and the switching mechanism, and a controller that after detection of a sheet on a tray, controls the driving source to generate the second-direction force such that the switching mechanism switches to the second state, and thereafter controls the driving source to generate the first-direction force such that the feed roller unit nips the sheet on the tray.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 16, 2010
    Publication date: March 3, 2011
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shunsuke Mizutani, Kenta Horade
  • Publication number: 20100238475
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus includes a sheet feed tray, a sheet feed roller, an image recording unit, an output unit, a first conveying unit configured to convey a recording medium from the sheet feed tray to the output unit via the image recording unit, and a second conveying unit configured to return the recording medium, which has conveyed via the image recording unit, to the sheet feed tray. The image recording medium further includes an image memory configured to store image data to be recorded by the image recording unit and a controller configured to control the sheet feed roller, the image recording unit, the first conveying unit, and the second conveying unit to record the image on the recording medium. The controller is configured to control the sheet feed roller to start feeding a following recording medium subsequent to a preceding recording medium fed by the sheet feed roller irrespective of whether or not the image data for the following recording medium is stored in the image memory.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2009
    Publication date: September 23, 2010
    Applicant: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shunsuke Mizutani
  • Publication number: 20100141700
    Abstract: A printing device configured to operate selectively in one of a single-sided printing mode and a double-sided printing mode comprises a printing unit configured to eject ink, and a controller. When the printing device operates in the double-sided printing mode, the controller is configured to calculate a drying time for a front-side image printed by the printing unit on a front side of a sheet, and to determine whether the calculated drying time exceeds a predetermined threshold value. When the controller determines that the drying time dose not exceed the predetermined threshold value, the controller is configured to control the printing unit to print a back-side image on a back side of the sheet. When the controller determines that the drying time exceeds the predetermined threshold value, the controller is configured to control the printing unit not to print the back-side image on the back side of the sheet, and to print the back-side image on a front side of a next sheet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 9, 2009
    Publication date: June 10, 2010
    Applicant: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shunsuke Mizutani
  • Patent number: 7726770
    Abstract: An inkjet printer includes: a print head; a maintaining unit; a timing unit; a notifying unit; a maintenance command determining unit; and a maintenance operation executing unit. The print head is formed with one or more ink ejection opening for printing a printing medium by ejecting ink through the ink ejection opening. The maintaining unit restores the ink ejection state of the print head by flowing ink through the ink ejection opening. The timing unit keeps track of an elapsed time after the maintaining unit has executed a maintenance operation. The notifying unit notifies a user when it is time to execute a maintenance operation if the elapsed time measured by the timing unit exceeds a prescribed time. The maintenance command determining unit determines whether or not the user has issued a command to execute a maintenance operation with the maintaining unit after the notifying unit has issued a notification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2010
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shunsuke Mizutani, Jun Morikawa