Patents by Inventor Yasuaki HIRAI
Yasuaki HIRAI 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).
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Patent number: 11938740Abstract: A liquid ejecting device includes a liquid ejecting head configured to eject a liquid to a medium to perform printing, and a control unit configured to control the liquid ejecting head and include a storage unit. The storage unit is configured to be able to store a plurality of ranges of the liquid consumption amount, and the number of printed sheets on which, in a predetermined period, printing is performed in each of the plurality of ranges of the liquid consumption amount. When the plurality of ranges of the liquid consumption amount are changed within the predetermined period, the control unit performs invalidation processing on the number of printed sheets stored in the storage unit.Type: GrantFiled: June 21, 2022Date of Patent: March 26, 2024Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATIONInventors: Yasuaki Hirai, Masayuki Ishida
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Patent number: 11813868Abstract: A liquid discharge device includes a discharge unit configured to discharge liquid, a maintenance unit configured to cause the discharge unit to eject liquid to perform maintenance of the discharge unit, and a control unit configured to cause the maintenance unit to perform the maintenance periodically, wherein when performing the maintenance, the control unit performs first maintenance in a case in which a consumption amount of the liquid consumed after the maintenance previously performed is greater than or equal to a first threshold value, and performs second maintenance stronger than the first maintenance in a case in which the consumption amount is less than the first threshold value.Type: GrantFiled: December 21, 2021Date of Patent: November 14, 2023Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATIONInventors: Masato Haga, Tadahiro Mizutani, Yasuaki Hirai
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Publication number: 20230219344Abstract: A liquid ejection device includes a liquid ejection unit configured to perform printing by ejecting a liquid from a nozzle onto a medium, a maintenance unit configured to perform maintenance of the liquid ejection unit, a determination unit configured to determine whether printing data for the printing is ruled-line data including a vertical ruled line or non-ruled-line data not including the vertical ruled line, a storage unit configured to store a determination result obtained by the determination unit, and a control unit. The control unit changes intensity of the maintenance in accordance with a frequency of the ruled-line data included in the determination result stored in the storage unit.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 9, 2023Publication date: July 13, 2023Inventor: Yasuaki HIRAI
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Patent number: 11673402Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejection head that ejects a liquid, a supply flow path that supplies the liquid from a liquid containing portion, which is replaceable and contains the liquid, to the liquid ejection head, a liquid feeding portion that is provided in the supply flow path and is configured to suck the liquid from the liquid containing portion and to feed the liquid to the liquid ejection head, and a control unit that controls driving of the liquid feeding portion. The control unit changes driving control of the liquid feeding portion in accordance with a remaining amount of the liquid in the liquid containing portion.Type: GrantFiled: September 7, 2021Date of Patent: June 13, 2023Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Yasuaki Hirai, Shigenori Fukasawa, Mitsuhiro Koseki, Masato Haga
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Publication number: 20230079381Abstract: A liquid ejecting device includes a liquid ejecting portion configured to eject liquid from a nozzle, a closed space forming portion having a porous member inside thereof, and configured to form a closed space in which the nozzle opens, an discharging portion configured to discharge the liquid in the closed space forming portion, and a control portion configured to, when an amount of the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting portion into the closed space forming portion reaches a prescribed value, cause the discharging portion to discharge the liquid in the closed space forming portion, wherein the control unit decreases the prescribed value as the number of stops increases, the number of stops being the number of times the liquid ejecting portion is stopped for a prescribed time or longer at a position other than a closed position where the closed space is formed.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 7, 2022Publication date: March 16, 2023Inventors: Yasuaki HIRAI, Kazumitsu BUNAZAWA
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Publication number: 20220402276Abstract: A liquid ejecting device includes a liquid ejecting head configured to eject a liquid to a medium to perform printing, and a control unit configured to control the liquid ejecting head and include a storage unit. The storage unit is configured to be able to store a plurality of ranges of the liquid consumption amount, and the number of printed sheets on which, in a predetermined period, printing is performed in each of the plurality of ranges of the liquid consumption amount. When the plurality of ranges of the liquid consumption amount are changed within the predetermined period, the control unit performs invalidation processing on the number of printed sheets stored in the storage unit.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 21, 2022Publication date: December 22, 2022Inventors: Yasuaki HIRAI, Masayuki ISHIDA
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Patent number: 11528383Abstract: A billing method for a liquid jet device includes, counting a consumed amount of liquid by printing, counting the number of printed sheets, counting a consumed amount of liquid for maintenance of a jet head, calculating a maintenance consumption amount per unit number of sheets, from a maintenance consumption amount consumed in current maintenance, and the number of printed sheets for which printing is performed from previous maintenance to the current maintenance, setting, as a liquid consumption amount, a value obtained by adding the maintenance consumption amount per unit number of sheets, to a print consumption amount consumed in printing for the unit number of sheets, and billing for printing for the same number of sheets as the number of printed sheets performed after the current maintenance, in accordance with the liquid consumption amount.Type: GrantFiled: May 27, 2021Date of Patent: December 13, 2022Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATIONInventors: Yasuaki Hirai, Takashi Akase, Kenji Tsukada, Masato Haga
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Patent number: 11518163Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a printing portion and a control portion. The printing portion executes a printing operation including ejecting a liquid from a nozzle onto a medium. The control portion executes an initial operation upon supply of power and executes the printing operation in accordance with a print instruction. The initial operation and the printing operation include a common printing operation that is common to the initial operation and the printing operation. When the control portion does not receive the print instruction during execution of the initial operation, the control portion executes the initial operation including the common printing operation. When the control portion receives the print instruction during execution of the initial operation, the control portion omits the common printing operation from the initial operation.Type: GrantFiled: November 25, 2020Date of Patent: December 6, 2022Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Yasuaki Hirai, Yasuo Sunaga
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Patent number: 11400726Abstract: Printing is performed with a printing material accommodated in a printing material accommodation body. Accommodation body information on the printing material accommodation body is acquired. When the accommodation body information on the printing material accommodation body is first information, an operation of a first mode is performed. Meanwhile, when the accommodation body information on the printing material accommodation body is second information, in a case in which a permission condition is satisfied according to communication with a server apparatus, an operation of a second mode is performed.Type: GrantFiled: August 25, 2020Date of Patent: August 2, 2022Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Ryo Oguchi, Yasuaki Hirai, Shunichi Hizawa
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Patent number: 11376854Abstract: A printing apparatus includes a setting section setting a reference value that satisfies an execution condition of a periodic maintenance; and a counting section counting a count value from a previous maintenance. A maintenance section performs the periodic maintenance when the count value of the counting section reaches the reference value. In a case where a user maintenance is performed by the maintenance section according to an instruction of a user, when the count value counted up to the user maintenance is a lower limit value or more, the setting section sets the reference value that is a value corresponding to the count value and is the lower limit value or more, while when the count value counted up to the user maintenance is less than the lower limit value, the setting section sets the lower limit value as the reference value.Type: GrantFiled: August 26, 2020Date of Patent: July 5, 2022Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Yasuaki Hirai, Ryo Oguchi, Tokio Kato
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Publication number: 20220194083Abstract: A liquid discharge device includes a discharge unit configured to discharge liquid, a maintenance unit configured to cause the discharge unit to eject liquid to perform maintenance of the discharge unit, and a control unit configured to cause the maintenance unit to perform the maintenance periodically, wherein when performing the maintenance, the control unit performs first maintenance in a case in which a consumption amount of the liquid consumed after the maintenance previously performed is greater than or equal to a first threshold value, and performs second maintenance stronger than the first maintenance in a case in which the consumption amount is less than the first threshold value.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 21, 2021Publication date: June 23, 2022Inventors: Masato HAGA, Tadahiro MIZUTANI, Yasuaki HIRAI
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Patent number: 11312149Abstract: A printer includes: a printing section configured to perform printing using a plurality of printing materials contained in corresponding printing material containers, a display section configured to display respective remaining amounts of the individual printing materials contained in the corresponding printing material containers; and a controller configured to control display on the display section, wherein the controller performs display control so as to match the display on the remaining amount of a second container other than the first container with the display on the remaining amount of a first container having a smallest remaining amount among the plurality of the printing material containers.Type: GrantFiled: September 21, 2020Date of Patent: April 26, 2022Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Shunichi Hizawa, Yasuaki Hirai, Ryo Oguchi
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Publication number: 20220072865Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejection head that ejects a liquid, a supply flow path that supplies the liquid from a liquid containing portion, which is replaceable and contains the liquid, to the liquid ejection head, a liquid feeding portion that is provided in the supply flow path and is configured to suck the liquid from the liquid containing portion and to feed the liquid to the liquid ejection head, and a control unit that controls driving of the liquid feeding portion. The control unit changes driving control of the liquid feeding portion in accordance with a remaining amount of the liquid in the liquid containing portion.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 7, 2021Publication date: March 10, 2022Inventors: Yasuaki HIRAI, Shigenori FUKASAWA, Mitsuhiro KOSEKI, Masato HAGA
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Patent number: 11235584Abstract: A printing apparatus includes a liquid accommodation body into which liquid contained in a liquid container is configured to be poured, a printing section that performs printing by discharge of liquid supplied from the liquid accommodation body, a counting section that performs counting relating to an amount of consumption of liquid with which a liquid container was contained and counting relating to an amount of consumption of liquid per predetermined period of time, and a delivery request section that, based on a counting result yielded by the counting section, sends the server apparatus a delivery request for a liquid container by a time that is earlier by a delivery period of a liquid container than an estimated timing of completion of consumption of liquid with which a liquid container was contained.Type: GrantFiled: August 13, 2020Date of Patent: February 1, 2022Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATIONInventors: Yasuaki Hirai, Ryo Oguchi, Shunichi Hizawa, Shuichi Koganehira
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Publication number: 20210385351Abstract: A billing method for a liquid jet device includes, counting a consumed amount of liquid by printing, counting the number of printed sheets, counting a consumed amount of liquid for maintenance of a jet head, calculating a maintenance consumption amount per unit number of sheets, from a maintenance consumption amount consumed in current maintenance, and the number of printed sheets for which printing is performed from previous maintenance to the current maintenance, setting, as a liquid consumption amount, a value obtained by adding the maintenance consumption amount per unit number of sheets, to a print consumption amount consumed in printing for the unit number of sheets, and billing for printing for the same number of sheets as the number of printed sheets performed after the current maintenance, in accordance with the liquid consumption amount.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 27, 2021Publication date: December 9, 2021Inventors: Yasuaki HIRAI, Takashi AKASE, Kenji TSUKADA, Masato HAGA
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Publication number: 20210162749Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a printing portion and a control portion. The printing portion executes a printing operation including ejecting a liquid from a nozzle onto a medium. The control portion executes an initial operation upon supply of power and executes the printing operation in accordance with a print instruction. The initial operation and the printing operation include a common printing operation that is common to the initial operation and the printing operation. When the control portion does not receive the print instruction during execution of the initial operation, the control portion executes the initial operation including the common printing operation. When the control portion receives the print instruction during execution of the initial operation, the control portion omits the common printing operation from the initial operation.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 25, 2020Publication date: June 3, 2021Inventors: Yasuaki HIRAI, Yasuo SUNAGA
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Publication number: 20210086518Abstract: A printer includes: a printing section configured to perform printing using a plurality of printing materials contained in corresponding printing material containers, a display section configured to display respective remaining amounts of the individual printing materials contained in the corresponding printing material containers; and a controller configured to control display on the display section, wherein the controller performs display control so as to match the display on the remaining amount of a second container other than the first container with the display on the remaining amount of a first container having a smallest remaining amount among the plurality of the printing material containers.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 21, 2020Publication date: March 25, 2021Inventors: Shunichi HIZAWA, Yasuaki HIRAI, Ryo OGUCHI
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Publication number: 20210060964Abstract: Printing is performed with a printing material accommodated in a printing material accommodation body. Accommodation body information on the printing material accommodation body is acquired. When the accommodation body information on the printing material accommodation body is first information, an operation of a first mode is performed. Meanwhile, when the accommodation body information on the printing material accommodation body is second information, in a case in which a permission condition is satisfied according to communication with a server apparatus, an operation of a second mode is performed.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 25, 2020Publication date: March 4, 2021Inventors: Ryo OGUCHI, Yasuaki HIRAI, Shunichi HIZAWA
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Publication number: 20210060953Abstract: A printing apparatus includes a setting section setting a reference value that satisfies an execution condition of a periodic maintenance; and a counting section counting a count value from a previous maintenance. A maintenance section performs the periodic maintenance when the count value of the counting section reaches the reference value. In a case where a user maintenance is performed by the maintenance section according to an instruction of a user, when the count value counted up to the user maintenance is a lower limit value or more, the setting section sets the reference value that is a value corresponding to the count value and is the lower limit value or more, while when the count value counted up to the user maintenance is less than the lower limit value, the setting section sets the lower limit value as the reference value.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 26, 2020Publication date: March 4, 2021Inventors: Yasuaki HIRAI, Ryo OGUCHI, Tokio KATO
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Publication number: 20210046762Abstract: A printing apparatus includes a liquid accommodation body into which liquid contained in a liquid container is configured to be poured, a printing section that performs printing by discharge of liquid supplied from the liquid accommodation body, a counting section that performs counting relating to an amount of consumption of liquid with which a liquid container was contained and counting relating to an amount of consumption of liquid per predetermined period of time, and a delivery request section that, based on a counting result yielded by the counting section, sends the server apparatus a delivery request for a liquid container by a time that is earlier by a delivery period of a liquid container than an estimated timing of completion of consumption of liquid with which a liquid container was contained.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 13, 2020Publication date: February 18, 2021Inventors: Yasuaki HIRAI, Ryo OGUCHI, Shunichi HIZAWA, Shuichi KOGANEHIRA