Patents by Inventor Yasuhiko Iwane

Yasuhiko Iwane 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: 5801744
    Abstract: A thermal printer is provided which is capable of easily controlling the operations of a carriage and conveyance rollers by only one drive motor thereof and which enables the size and cost to be reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 1, 1998
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jun Taniguchi, Masahiko Mori, Yasuhiko Iwane
  • Patent number: 5690436
    Abstract: A thermal printer that performs thermal printing by employing a commonly-used thermo-sensitive recording sheet. In the thermal printing, a thermal head starts heating the recording sheet from the back side of a base that covers a recording surface in order to print, so that the recorded information is effectively hidden from view. When the thermal printer performs thermal printing by using a two layer thermo-sensitive recording sheet, high quality images with sharp edges can be reliably recorded. The thermal printer uses two types of thermo-sensitive sheets to perform thermal recording.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 25, 1997
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Katsutoshi Suzuki, Mitsuo Yoshida, Yuko Sonoda, Hiroo Sonoda, Yasuhiko Iwane, Masahiko Mori
  • Patent number: 5645360
    Abstract: Disclosed is a tape cassette which requires a small operating space for the attachment and detachment thereof and suitable for use in a thin-type printing apparatus suitable for an integral association with various types of apparatuses. The tape cassette is mounted in a tape printing apparatus equipped with a printing head and a head driving mechanism for driving this printing head and includes a tape-type recording medium accommodated in a cassette body, wherein a cam surface is provided on the surface of the cassette body, the cam surface being adapted to drive the head driving mechanism of the tape printing apparatus when the tape cassette is attached to the tape printing apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 8, 1997
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuhiko Iwane, Masahiko Mori
  • Patent number: 5615960
    Abstract: A thin tape printing apparatus is provided which requires less operation space when a tape cassette is loaded and unloaded and is suitable for integration into a variety of apparatuses. The tape printing apparatus includes a cassette insertion slot provided on the front side of a main unit, a cassette loading section which is connected to the cassette insertion slot so that a tape cassette having at least a platen roller and a platen drive gear for rotating the platen roller can be loaded and unloaded from the side of the main unit, a print head for performing printing on a tape-shaped recording medium, and a drive motor for driving the platen roller via the platen drive gear.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 1995
    Date of Patent: April 1, 1997
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masahiko Mori, Yasuhiko Iwane
  • Patent number: 4753544
    Abstract: A printer comprises a plurality of type belts each having a variety of types thereon, turning means for driving the type belts, coloring means for applying inks of different colors to the type belts, hammer means for pressing the types against a sheet of print paper, and a shift mechanism for moving the hammer means into positions confronting the type belts, respectively, and for keeping the hammer means in one of the positions at a time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 28, 1988
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuhiko Iwane, Atsushi Iwabuchi, Fukuo Sugawara
  • Patent number: 4576492
    Abstract: A multi-stage printer has an arithmetic section for calculating the next paper moving amount on the basis of a line position of a selected type stage of a plurality of type stages; printing is performed by a desired number of digits in a first line position by using first types selected from the groups of types; then, the distance from the printed first line position to a printed state-confirmable position away from the area opposed to the groups of types is calculated by the arithmetic section and the printing paper is moved by the paper moving means by an amount based on the result of the calculation thereby allowing the printed first line position to be moved up to the confirmable position; then, before printing in a second line position by using second types selected from the groups of types, the distance from the printed first line position now occupying the confirmable position to the second selected types is subtracted from a predetermined printing inter-line pitch in the arithmetic section and the pri
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 1983
    Date of Patent: March 18, 1986
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Fukuo Sugawara, Yasuhiko Iwane, Fumihisa Hori, Takashi Onozato
  • Patent number: 4560294
    Abstract: A printer comprises paper feed means for feeding a sheet of print paper in a prescribed direction, a plurality of type groups arranged in tiers along the prescribed direction and each having a set of types, a hammer assembly shiftable across the tiers of the type groups for pressing a selected one of the types against the sheet of print paper, means for shifting the hammer assembly across the tiers of the type groups, an arithmetic unit for computing a next amount of feed of the sheet of print paper based on a position of the selected type with reference to a direction across the tiers of the type groups, and paper feed control means for controlling the paper feed means to feed the sheet of print paper and the shifting means to shift the hammer assembly in relation to each other for intervals of time controlled on the basis of the amount of feed of the sheet of print paper as computed by the arithmetic unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 1984
    Date of Patent: December 24, 1985
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Fukuo Sugawara, Yasuhiko Iwane
  • Patent number: 4426167
    Abstract: A serial printer of the type having a carriage carrying a type head and adapted to be column-shifted by a cooperation between a rack and a screw member. The printer comprises a rotary shaft adapted to be driven by a suitable power source, a first and second screw members splined to the rotary shaft, a first and second carriages carrying the first and second screw members, the first and second carriages having home positions defined at both ends of the column-shift, spiral screws formed on the first and second screw members and orientated in the opposite directions, and a rack member having short racks formed on both ends thereof and an intermediate long rack, the long rack being engageable selectively with the first and second screw members by a selection of rotational positions of the two short racks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 1982
    Date of Patent: January 17, 1984
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yasuhiko Iwane
  • Patent number: 4420267
    Abstract: A serial printer of the type in which a column shift of a carriage carrying a type wheel is effected through a mutual engagement between the rack and the screw member. A first and a second screw members are splined to a common shaft adapted to be driven by a suitable power source. The first and second screw members are rotatably carried by a first and a second carriages having reset positions defined at opposite ends of the printer. The first and the second screw members have screw threads inclined in opposite directions and adapted to mesh with the teeth of a common rack which is slidable over a predetermined stroke in the column-shift direction and adapted to be driven by a suitable driving member. By making the type wheels rotate by a number greater than that required for ordinary type selecting operation, the rack is slided by the driving member to selectively engage one of the first and second screw members thereby to shift the selected one of carriages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 1981
    Date of Patent: December 13, 1983
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yasuhiko Iwane
  • Patent number: 4337697
    Abstract: A printer for printing function symbols and numerals, characterized by comprising a type wheel for printing numerals which can rotate with a rotary shaft and which can move in the axial direction of the rotary shaft, a type wheel for printing function symbols which can rotate with the rotary shaft and which can move in the axial direction of the rotary shaft, and a print hammer whose printing face is provided with a groove and which is arranged in opposition to the type wheels, so that when either one of the type wheels lies in a printing position, the other type wheel is confronted to the groove of the printing face.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 1979
    Date of Patent: July 6, 1982
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masatsugu Aoki, Yasuhiko Iwane