Patents by Inventor Toru Nakakubo

Toru Nakakubo 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: 20240109326
    Abstract: A liquid ejection head includes a print element substrate including multiple ejection openings, pressure chambers, a common flow path, and pumps, the pumps being configured to circulate liquid between the common flow path and the pressure chamber; and a flow path member laminated to the print element substrate. The flow path member includes a supply flow path and a collection flow path, the supply flow path being configured to supply liquid to the print element substrate, and the collection flow path being configured to collect liquid that is not ejected. The supply flow path and the collection flow path have liquid connection with the same common flow path. A circulating pump generates a flow of liquid flowing in an order of the supply flow path, the common flow path, and the collection flow path, the circulating pump being provided at a position different from the print element substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 8, 2023
    Publication date: April 4, 2024
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Yamada, Yoshiyuki Nakagawa, Toru Nakakubo, Ryo Kasai, Takuro Yamazaki
  • Publication number: 20240034061
    Abstract: A liquid ejection head includes ejection orifices for ejecting liquid, common liquid chambers connected to the ejection orifices, common flow passages, and pitch conversion flow passages that connects the common flow passages and liquid chambers to each other. The pitch conversion flow passages includes a periphery formed with resin. In a case where a number of pitch conversion flow passages in a group is minimum on a condition that one or more of the pitch conversion flow passages are respectively included in the group, the pitch conversion flow passages have a repeating pattern in which the group is repeatedly arranged. At least one of two pitch conversion flow passages adjoining an m-th pitch conversion flow passage (m is all integers from 1 to n?2, where n is an integer of 3 or more) is one of first to (m+1)-th pitch conversion flow passages.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 11, 2023
    Publication date: February 1, 2024
    Inventors: Naoko Shimizu, Toru Nakakubo, Kazuhiro Yamada, Atsushi Teranishi, Osamu Kanome
  • Patent number: 11850855
    Abstract: A liquid ejection head includes ejection orifices for ejecting liquid, common liquid chambers connected to the ejection orifices, common flow passages, and pitch conversion flow passages that connects the common flow passages and liquid chambers to each other. The pitch conversion flow passages includes a periphery formed with resin. In a case where a number of pitch conversion flow passages in a group is minimum on a condition that one or more of the pitch conversion flow passages are respectively included in the group, the pitch conversion flow passages have a repeating pattern in which the group is repeatedly arranged. At least one of two pitch conversion flow passages adjoining an m-th pitch conversion flow passage (m is all integers from 1 to n?2, where n is an integer of 3 or more) is one of first to (m+1)-th pitch conversion flow passages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Naoko Shimizu, Toru Nakakubo, Kazuhiro Yamada, Atsushi Teranishi, Osamu Kanome
  • Patent number: 11813864
    Abstract: A liquid ejection head includes ejection orifices for ejecting liquid, common liquid chambers connected to the ejection orifices, common flow passages, and pitch conversion flow passages that connects the common flow passages and liquid chambers to each other. The pitch conversion flow passages includes a periphery formed with resin. In a case where a number of pitch conversion flow passages in a group is minimum on a condition that one or more of the pitch conversion flow passages are respectively included in the group, the pitch conversion flow passages have a repeating pattern in which the group is repeatedly arranged. At least one of two pitch conversion flow passages adjoining an m-th pitch conversion flow passage (m is all integers from 1 to n?2, where n is an integer of 3 or more) is one of first to (m+1)-th pitch conversion flow passages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Naoko Shimizu, Toru Nakakubo, Kazuhiro Yamada, Atsushi Teranishi, Osamu Kanome
  • Publication number: 20230264478
    Abstract: A liquid ejection head includes a print element substrate including multiple ejection openings, pressure chambers, a common flow path, and pumps, the pumps being configured to circulate liquid between the common flow path and the pressure chamber; and a flow path member laminated to the print element substrate. The flow path member includes a supply flow path and a collection flow path, the supply flow path being configured to supply liquid to the print element substrate, and the collection flow path being configured to collect liquid that is not ejected. The supply flow path and the collection flow path have liquid connection with the same common flow path. A circulating pump generates a flow of liquid flowing in an order of the supply flow path, the common flow path, and the collection flow path, the circulating pump being provided at a position different from the print element substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 2, 2023
    Publication date: August 24, 2023
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Yamada, Yoshiyuki Nakagawa, Toru Nakakubo, Ryo Kasai, Takuro Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 11673396
    Abstract: A liquid ejection head includes a print element substrate including multiple ejection openings, pressure chambers, a common flow path, and pumps, the pumps being configured to circulate liquid between the common flow path and the pressure chamber; and a flow path member laminated to the print element substrate. The flow path member includes a supply flow path and a collection flow path, the supply flow path being configured to supply liquid to the print element substrate, and the collection flow path being configured to collect liquid that is not ejected. The supply flow path and the collection flow path have liquid connection with the same common flow path. A circulating pump generates a flow of liquid flowing in an order of the supply flow path, the common flow path, and the collection flow path, the circulating pump being provided at a position different from the print element substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Yamada, Yoshiyuki Nakagawa, Toru Nakakubo, Ryo Kasai, Takuro Yamazaki
  • Publication number: 20230150260
    Abstract: A liquid ejection apparatus includes: an ejection unit that ejects from an ejection port a liquid in a pressure chamber communicating with the ejection port; a first flow channel that allows for communication between the pressure chamber and a liquid supply unit; a second flow channel communicating with the pressure chamber; a liquid transportation chamber communicating with a connection flow channel communicating with the first flow channel and the second flow channel; a liquid transportation unit that flows the liquid in the liquid transportation chamber in a predetermined direction by expanding and contracting the liquid transportation chamber with application of a driving voltage including a step-up waveform and a step-down waveform; and a control unit that performs control such that a liquid ejection timing does not coincide with a voltage application period in which one of the step-up and step-down waveforms that has a greater voltage change rate is applied.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2022
    Publication date: May 18, 2023
    Inventors: Rei Kurashima, Toru Nakakubo, Hiroyuki Ozaki
  • Patent number: 11607882
    Abstract: A liquid ejection module includes a pressure chamber, a supply flow channel that supplies a liquid to the pressure chamber, a collection flow channel that collects the liquid from the pressure chamber, a liquid feeding chamber connected to one of the supply flow channel and the collection flow channel, and a connection flow channel connecting the liquid feeding chamber to the other of the supply flow channel and the collection flow channel. The liquid feeding chamber includes a liquid feeding mechanism that circulates the liquid in the supply flow channel, the pressure chamber, the collection flow channel, the liquid feeding chamber, and the connection flow channel. A ratio of a sum of flow channel resistance of the supply flow channel, the pressure chamber, and the collection flow channel relative to flow channel resistance of the connection flow channel is equal to or above 0.5.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toru Nakakubo, Akihisa Iio, Rei Kurashima, Takahiro Akiyama, Hiroyuki Ozaki
  • Patent number: 11602934
    Abstract: A liquid ejection head, a liquid ejection apparatus, and a liquid ejection method are capable of sufficiently suppressing the thickening of a liquid in an ejection orifice. The liquid ejection head includes a pressure chamber, a channel in which a liquid is caused to flow through the pressure chamber, an ejection orifice communicating with the pressure chamber, and an ejection energy generation element configured to eject the liquid in the pressure chamber from the ejection orifice. A meniscus of the liquid is formed at an end portion of the ejection orifice communicating with the pressure chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki Nakagawa, Kazuhiro Yamada, Takuro Yamazaki, Toru Nakakubo, Ryo Kasai
  • Patent number: 11465415
    Abstract: In a case where air bubbles exist in ink at the time of circulating the ink within a liquid ejection module, the amount circulating ink runs short and stability of ejection is blocked. The liquid ejection module has: a pressure chamber that communicates with an ejection port and which stores a liquid; an energy generation element that produces energy for causing a liquid to be ejected from the ejection port; a supply flow path that supplies a liquid to the pressure chamber; a collecting channel that collects a liquid from the pressure chamber; a liquid sending chamber that connects to the collecting channel; a connection flow path that connects the liquid sending chamber and the supply flow path; and a liquid sending unit configured to circulate a liquid, and the liquid sending chamber has a continuously inclined structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Rei Kurashima, Hiroyuki Ozaki, Toru Nakakubo
  • Patent number: 11453213
    Abstract: A driving method enables a liquid feeding apparatus using a driving element in the form of a membrane to feed a liquid at high liquid feeding accuracy. To this end, a voltage applied to the driving element is controlled in such a way as to repeat a first period in which the voltage is changed from a first voltage to a second voltage and a second period which is a longer period than the first period and in which the voltage is changed from the second voltage to the first voltage, and such that an inflection point is provided in each predetermined interval during the first period based on a Helmholtz vibration period unique to the liquid feeding apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Rei Kurashima, Akihisa Iio, Takahiro Akiyama, Toru Nakakubo, Noriyuki Kaifu
  • Publication number: 20220297442
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting head has a laminated flow path member on which a supply flow path for individually supplying a plurality of liquids to an element substrate and a collection flow path for individually collecting the liquids are formed. The supply flow path includes first and second common supply flow paths for horizontally leading first and second liquids to positions corresponding to a plurality of element substrates. The first and second common supply flow paths are formed in the same layer of the laminated flow path member. The collection flow path includes a first common collection flow path for horizontally collecting the first liquid and a second common collection flow path for horizontally collecting the second liquid from positions corresponding to the plurality of element substrates. The first and second common collection flow paths are formed in the same layer of the laminated flow path member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2022
    Publication date: September 22, 2022
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Yamada, Toru Nakakubo, Yoshiykuki Nakagawa, Shingo Okushima
  • Patent number: 11433667
    Abstract: A recording element substrate is bonded to an FPC in at least a part of a region of a second face between a liquid supply port and an edge of the recording element substrate, and an electric connection part is provided in which a wiring conductor and a pad are electrically connected to each other by a bonding wire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tomohiro Takahashi, Toru Nakakubo, Akio Saito, Takeyori Sato, Katsumi Eda, Takeshi Shibata
  • Patent number: 11376863
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting head has a laminated flow path member on which a supply flow path for individually supplying a plurality of liquids to an element substrate and a collection flow path for individually collecting the liquids are formed. The supply flow path includes first and second common supply flow paths for horizontally leading first and second liquids to positions corresponding to a plurality of element substrates. The first and second common supply flow paths are formed in the same layer of the laminated flow path member. The collection flow path includes a first common collection flow path for horizontally collecting the first liquid and a second common collection flow path for horizontally collecting the second liquid from positions corresponding to the plurality of element substrates. The first and second common collection flow paths are formed in the same layer of the laminated flow path member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Yamada, Toru Nakakubo, Yoshiyuki Nakagawa, Shingo Okushima
  • Publication number: 20220176700
    Abstract: A liquid ejection head includes ejection orifices for ejecting liquid, common liquid chambers connected to the ejection orifices, common flow passages, and pitch conversion flow passages that connects the common flow passages and liquid chambers to each other. The pitch conversion flow passages includes a periphery formed with resin. In a case where a number of pitch conversion flow passages in a group is minimum on a condition that one or more of the pitch conversion flow passages are respectively included in the group, the pitch conversion flow passages have a repeating pattern in which the group is repeatedly arranged. At least one of two pitch conversion flow passages adjoining an m-th pitch conversion flow passage (m is all integers from 1 to n?2, where n is an integer of 3 or more) is one of first to (m+1)-th pitch conversion flow passages.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2021
    Publication date: June 9, 2022
    Inventors: Naoko Shimizu, Toru Nakakubo, Kazuhiro Yamada, Atsushi Teranishi, Osamu Kanome
  • Publication number: 20210394515
    Abstract: In a case where air bubbles exist in ink at the time of circulating the ink within a liquid ejection module, the amount circulating ink runs short and stability of ejection is blocked. The liquid ejection module has: a pressure chamber that communicates with an ejection port and which stores a liquid; an energy generation element that produces energy for causing a liquid to be ejected from the ejection port; a supply flow path that supplies a liquid to the pressure chamber; a collecting channel that collects a liquid from the pressure chamber; a liquid sending chamber that connects to the collecting channel; a connection flow path that connects the liquid sending chamber and the supply flow path; and a liquid sending unit configured to circulate a liquid, and the liquid sending chamber has a continuously inclined structure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 15, 2021
    Publication date: December 23, 2021
    Inventors: Rei Kurashima, Hiroyuki Ozaki, Toru Nakakubo
  • Patent number: 11179932
    Abstract: A liquid ejection head including a recording element substrate that ejects a liquid, a flow passage member provided with a flow passage that supplies the liquid to the recording element substrate, an elastic member having elasticity disposed between the recording element substrate and the flow passage member, and a fixing member that fixes the recording element substrate and the flow passage member. In the liquid ejection head, an area between the recording element substrate and the flow passage member through which the liquid flows is sealed by having the elastic member be deformed with the fixing member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akio Saito, Toru Nakakubo, Yohei Nakamura, Zentaro Tamenaga
  • Publication number: 20210347172
    Abstract: A liquid ejection module includes a pressure chamber, a supply flow channel that supplies a liquid to the pressure chamber, a collection flow channel that collects the liquid from the pressure chamber, a liquid feeding chamber connected to one of the supply flow channel and the collection flow channel, and a connection flow channel connecting the liquid feeding chamber to the other of the supply flow channel and the collection flow channel. The liquid feeding chamber includes a liquid feeding mechanism that circulates the liquid in the supply flow channel, the pressure chamber, the collection flow channel, the liquid feeding chamber, and the connection flow channel. A ratio of a sum of flow channel resistance of the supply flow channel, the pressure chamber, and the collection flow channel relative to flow channel resistance of the connection flow channel is equal to or above 0.5.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2021
    Publication date: November 11, 2021
    Inventors: Toru Nakakubo, Akihisa Iio, Rei Kurashima, Takahiro Akiyama, Hiroyuki Ozaki
  • Patent number: 11161351
    Abstract: A liquid ejection head is provided with a recording element substrate, and the recording element substrate includes an ejection port member, an electric wiring layer including a pressure generating element array and electric connection portions, and a silicon substrate including the ejection port member and the electric wiring layer on a front surface. The silicon substrate includes a first through hole and a second through hole that protrude the electric connection portions. The rear surface of the silicon substrate is a (100) surface. An extension line of a side extending along the [110] direction, out of sides of the opening of the first trough hole and an extension line of a side extending along the [110] direction, out of sides of the opening of the second through hole are displaced from each other in a direction orthogonal to the [110] direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masataka Kato, Takuya Hatsui, Souta Takeuchi, Masaya Uyama, Toru Nakakubo, Tomohiro Takahashi
  • Publication number: 20210323310
    Abstract: A liquid ejection head includes a print element substrate including multiple ejection openings, pressure chambers, a common flow path, and pumps, the pumps being configured to circulate liquid between the common flow path and the pressure chamber; and a flow path member laminated to the print element substrate. The flow path member includes a supply flow path and a collection flow path, the supply flow path being configured to supply liquid to the print element substrate, and the collection flow path being configured to collect liquid that is not ejected. The supply flow path and the collection flow path have liquid connection with the same common flow path. A circulating pump generates a flow of liquid flowing in an order of the supply flow path, the common flow path, and the collection flow path, the circulating pump being provided at a position different from the print element substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2021
    Publication date: October 21, 2021
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Yamada, Yoshiyuki Nakagawa, Toru Nakakubo, Ryo Kasai, Takuro Yamazaki