Patents by Inventor Yoshinori Osakabe

Yoshinori Osakabe 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: 20240123737
    Abstract: A liquid discharging apparatus, having a head, a reservoir section including a liquid reservoir chamber and an atmosphere communication path, a liquid flow path connecting the head with the liquid reservoir chamber, a switching assembly to switch states of the atmosphere communication path between a connecting state and a disconnecting state, and a controller, is provided. The controller is configured to control the switching assembly to switch the states of the atmosphere communication path from the connecting state to the disconnecting state; after switching the states of the atmosphere communication path, control the head to discharge the liquid; and after switching the states of the atmosphere communication path, and in response to a predetermined connection condition being satisfied, control the switching assembly to switch the states of the atmosphere communication path from the disconnecting state to the connecting state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2023
    Publication date: April 18, 2024
    Inventors: Fumio NAKAZAWA, Yoshinori OSAKABE, Taichi SHIRONO, Sosuke KUROYANAGI
  • Publication number: 20240100844
    Abstract: A liquid supplying apparatus having a tank with a hole, a reservoir chamber to store a portion of liquid in the tank, and a flow path to store another portion of the liquid in the tank, is provided. The flow path connects the reservoir chamber and the hole. The flow path has a first funnel section to reduce a cross-sectional area of a part of the flow path. The first funnel section is located at a position equal to or higher than a surface of a predetermined maximum amount of the liquid storable in the tank in a usable posture. The first funnel section creates a meniscus with the liquid stored in the tank in an X1-rotated posture, in which the tank is rotated about a first axis by a first angle from the usable posture.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 8, 2023
    Publication date: March 28, 2024
    Inventors: Yoshinori OSAKABE, Taichi SHIRONO, Fumio NAKAZAWA, Sosuke KUROYANAGI
  • Publication number: 20240100850
    Abstract: There is provided a liquid consuming apparatus including: a tank having a liquid storing chamber, an erected wall through which the liquid inside the liquid storage chamber is visible from outside of the tank, and an inlet which is formed to penetrate through the erected wall and via which the liquid is poured into the liquid storage chamber; a liquid consuming section which consumes the liquid stored in the liquid storing chamber; and a cover. A transmitting section and a checking section are formed in an upper surface, of the cover, under a condition that the cover is in the exposure position, the transmitting section configured to transmit information optically to a user of the liquid consuming apparatus and the checking section configured to prevent the liquid moving on a particular surface of the cover from arriving at the transmitting section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2023
    Publication date: March 28, 2024
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshinori OSAKABE, Tomohisa HIGUCHI
  • Publication number: 20240066880
    Abstract: A liquid supplying device includes a tank and a cartridge. The cartridge is configured to be detachably attached to the tank in an attachment-detachment direction crossing a vertical direction. The cartridge includes a first storage chamber. The tank includes a second storage chamber, a liquid passage, and a gas passage. The liquid passage has a first end, a second end, and a first extending portion. The second end is formed with a second opening open to an atmosphere. The first extending portion extends from the second opening in the attachment-detachment direction. The gas passage has a third end, a fourth end, and a second extending portion. The fourth end is formed with a fourth opening open to the atmosphere. The second extending portion extends from the fourth opening in the attachment-detachment direction. The second opening is at a position different from the fourth opening in the attachment-detachment direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 1, 2023
    Publication date: February 29, 2024
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiroaki TAKAHASHI, Yoshinori OSAKABE, Akinari ISHIBE, Tatsuya SHINDO, Masahiro HAYASHI
  • Publication number: 20240066882
    Abstract: There is provided an inkjet recording device including a head, a support member, a storage portion, a valve, an actuator, and a controller. The head includes a nozzle and is configured to eject ink from the nozzle. The support member supports the head. The storage portion storing therein ink. The storage portion has a part positioned above the nozzle. The storage portion has an air communication opening allowing an interior of the storage portion to be communicated with an outside of the storage portion. The valve is movable between an opening position in which the valve opens the air communication opening and a closing position in which the valve closes the air communication opening. The actuator is configured to move the valve. The controller configured to control, while the head is ejecting ink from the nozzle toward a recording medium, the actuator to maintain the valve at the closing position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 8, 2023
    Publication date: February 29, 2024
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Fumio NAKAZAWA, Yoshinori OSAKABE, Taichi SHIRONO, Sosuke KUROYANAGI
  • Patent number: 11912040
    Abstract: A replenishing-type liquid storage tank includes a tank body, and a backpressure application member. Liquid is replenishable in the tank body and the tank body is configured to store the liquid therein. The backpressure application member is accommodated in the tank body to apply backpressure to the liquid stored in the tank body. The backpressure application member has a portion positioned equal to or higher than a liquid level of a maximum tolerable amount of the liquid storable in the tank body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Fumio Nakazawa, Tsuyoshi Kuwayama, Yoshinori Osakabe
  • Patent number: 11912039
    Abstract: A liquid discharging apparatus, having a head, a reservoir section including a liquid reservoir chamber and an atmosphere communication path, a liquid flow path connecting the head with the liquid reservoir chamber, a switching assembly to switch states of the atmosphere communication path between a connecting state and a disconnecting state, and a controller, is provided. The controller is configured to control the switching assembly to switch the states of the atmosphere communication path from the connecting state to the disconnecting state; after switching the states of the atmosphere communication path, control the head to discharge the liquid; and after switching the states of the atmosphere communication path, and in response to a predetermined connection condition being satisfied, control the switching assembly to switch the states of the atmosphere communication path from the disconnecting state to the connecting state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Fumio Nakazawa, Yoshinori Osakabe, Taichi Shirono, Sosuke Kuroyanagi
  • Patent number: 11904613
    Abstract: There is provided an inkjet recording device including a head, a support member, a storage portion, a valve, an actuator, and a controller. The head includes a nozzle and is configured to eject ink from the nozzle. The support member supports the head. The storage portion storing therein ink. The storage portion has a part positioned above the nozzle. The storage portion has an air communication opening allowing an interior of the storage portion to be communicated with an outside of the storage portion. The valve is movable between an opening position in which the valve opens the air communication opening and a closing position in which the valve closes the air communication opening. The actuator is configured to move the valve. The controller configured to control, while the head is ejecting ink from the nozzle toward a recording medium, the actuator to maintain the valve at the closing position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Fumio Nakazawa, Yoshinori Osakabe, Taichi Shirono, Sosuke Kuroyanagi
  • Publication number: 20240025176
    Abstract: There is provided a liquid discharge apparatus including: a head including a nozzle surface on which a nozzle is opened; a carriage holding the head and configured to move in the scanning direction; a cap configured to contact the nozzle surface to cover the nozzle in a case that the carriage is located in a first position; and a contact member. The head includes a contact part configured to make contact with the contact member. In a case that a load of a vertical component of the nozzle surface is applied to the head by the cap contacting the nozzle surface, the contact member is configured to make contact with the contact part of the head to receive the load applied to the head.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 19, 2023
    Publication date: January 25, 2024
    Inventors: Yoshinori OSAKABE, Akihiro SAKAKIBARA, Yuta ARAKAWA, Taichi SHIRONO, Fumio NAKAZAWA
  • Patent number: 11878533
    Abstract: A liquid supplying apparatus having a tank with a hole, a reservoir chamber to store a portion of liquid in the tank, and a flow path to store another portion of the liquid in the tank, is provided. The flow path connects the reservoir chamber and the hole. The flow path has a first funnel section to reduce a cross-sectional area of a part of the flow path. The first funnel section is located at a position equal to or higher than a surface of a predetermined maximum amount of the liquid storable in the tank in a usable posture. The first funnel section creates a meniscus with the liquid stored in the tank in an X1-rotated posture, in which the tank is rotated about a first axis by a first angle from the usable posture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshinori Osakabe, Taichi Shirono, Fumio Nakazawa, Sosuke Kuroyanagi
  • Patent number: 11865847
    Abstract: There is provided a liquid discharge apparatus including: a head having a nozzle; a tank; a gas channel; a valve unit; a memory; and a controller. The controller is configured to execute: making of the valve unit to be in an open state, under a condition that a count value indicating an amount of a liquid discharged from the nozzle has reached an opening threshold value ?V. The opening threshold value ?V is represented by: ?V?(Vtmax?Vi)×Pm/(P?Pm). Note that Vtmax represents a volume of the tank, Vi represents the maximum amount of the liquid storable in the tank, P represents an atmospheric pressure, and Pm represents a meniscus-withstanding pressure of the liquid formed in the nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Inventors: Fumio Nakazawa, Yoshinori Osakabe, Taichi Shirono, Sosuke Kuroyanagi
  • Publication number: 20240001685
    Abstract: In a printer unit, ink is poured into a storage chamber from an inlet of a tank. The storage chamber communicates with an air chamber. An air tube connects the air chamber and the outside of the tank and is opened and closed by a valve. A cover is movable to a first position in which the inlet is covered and a second position in which the inlet is exposable via a third position being a position between the first position and the second position. A valve opening/closing mechanism opens a valve when the cover is located on a side closer to the first position than the third position, and closes the valve when the cover is located between the third position and the second position. When the cover moves from the third position to the first position, a cap fits over the inlet to seal the storage chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 1, 2023
    Publication date: January 4, 2024
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yoshinori OSAKABE
  • Patent number: 11858274
    Abstract: There is provided a liquid consuming apparatus including: a tank having a liquid storing chamber, an erected wall through which the liquid inside the liquid storage chamber is visible from outside of the tank, and an inlet which is formed to penetrate through the erected wall and via which the liquid is poured into the liquid storage chamber; a liquid consuming section which consumes the liquid stored in the liquid storing chamber; and a cover. A transmitting section and a checking section are formed in an upper surface, of the cover, under a condition that the cover is in the exposure position, the transmitting section configured to transmit information optically to a user of the liquid consuming apparatus and the checking section configured to prevent the liquid moving on a particular surface of the cover from arriving at the transmitting section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshinori Osakabe, Tomohisa Higuchi
  • Publication number: 20230405997
    Abstract: A tank set includes: tanks arranged in a predetermined direction, each of the tanks being composed of a casing including: a liquid storage chamber defined by mutually opposing two surfaces and configured to store liquid; an inlet provided to inject the liquid into the liquid storage chamber; and a liquid outflow port through which the liquid flows out from the liquid storage chamber to a liquid-consuming unit. Each of the two surfaces extends in a direction intersecting the predetermined direction, and is at least partially composed of a film.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 20, 2023
    Publication date: December 21, 2023
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masahiro HAYASHI, Taichi SHIRONO, Masako KAWAGOE, Yoshinori OSAKABE
  • Publication number: 20230405996
    Abstract: According to one aspect, the disclosure provides an image recording apparatus including a liquid supplying device. The liquid supplying device includes a tank, a cartridge, an atmospheric communication portion, and a recording portion. The tank has a second storage chamber configured to store liquid, a liquid passage in communication with the second storage chamber, and a gas passage in communication with the second storage chamber. The atmospheric communication portion includes a buffer tank defining a buffer chamber configured to store gas, a single communication flow passage allowing the buffer chamber to communicate with the second storage chamber, and an air communication passage allowing the buffer chamber to communicate with an atmosphere. When the cartridge is attached to the tank, the buffer chamber is positioned below the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber is positioned below the buffer chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 28, 2023
    Publication date: December 21, 2023
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masahiro HAYASHI, Yoshinori OSAKABE, Akinari ISHIBE, Hiroaki TAKAHASHI
  • Publication number: 20230391091
    Abstract: A liquid jetting apparatus includes: a casing; a tank configured to store liquid and having a first side wall and a second side wall which face each other, a rear wall, an inlet, and a connecting portion; a conveying mechanism configured to convey a recording medium along a conveying path extending in a first direction; a carriage configured to move in a second direction in which the first side wall and the second side wall face each other so as to define a movement area having a range in the second direction, the range of the movement area having first and second ends spaced apart in the second direction; a tube connected to the connecting portion; and a head mounted on the carriage and having a nozzle configured to jet the liquid onto the recording medium conveyed by the conveying mechanism.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 6, 2023
    Publication date: December 7, 2023
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshinori OSAKABE, Tomohisa HIGUCHI, Akira SHINODA, Akinori IGARASHI, Suguru TOMOGUCHI, Hisaki SAKURAI
  • Publication number: 20230391098
    Abstract: An ink-jet printer includes: a tank including an ink storage chamber and an inlet; a cap which is detachably attachable to the inlet; a cover configured to move between a first position and a second position farther from the inlet than the first position; and an arm configured to locate the cap at an inlet closing position and an inlet opening position. Under a condition that the cap is in the inlet opening position and the cover is in the second position, the arm holds the cap in a state that the cap does not contact with the cover. Under a condition that the cap is in the inlet opening position, a part of at least one of the cap and the arm is in the moving locus of the cover between the first position and the second position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2023
    Publication date: December 7, 2023
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshinori OSAKABE, Tomohisa HIGUCHI
  • Publication number: 20230382139
    Abstract: A first cover moves between a first closed position and a first open position. The first cover is located at another end of a housing when the first cover is located at the first closed position. A second cover moves between a second closed position and a second open position. The second cover is located closer to one end than the first cover is at the first closed position and at the second closed position. A first portion of a first conveyance path is formed between the first cover and the second cover at the first closed position and at the second closed position. A second portion of a second conveyance path is formed at a side of the second cover facing the one end at the second closed position. When the first cover opens the first portion, the second cover is located at the second closed position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2023
    Publication date: November 30, 2023
    Inventors: Satoshi MIYASE, Yoshinori OSAKABE, Tsuyoshi KUWAYAMA, Jun MORIKAWA, Haruka AZECHI, Yasuo ONO, Yuto CHIBA
  • Publication number: 20230356523
    Abstract: An inkjet recording device includes: a head including a nozzle configured to eject ink toward a recording medium; a storage portion storing therein ink and formed with an air communication opening allowing an interior of the storage portion to be communicated with an outside thereof; a valve movable between an opening position opening the air communication opening and a closing position closing the air communication opening; an actuator configured to move the valve; a state sensor configured to output a detection signal based on the state of the inkjet recording device; and a controller configured to perform: (a) determining, on the basis of the detection signal, whether the inkjet recording device has an abnormality; and (b) controlling, in a case where determination is made in (a) that the inkjet recording device has an abnormality, the actuator to move the valve to the closing position from the opening position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2023
    Publication date: November 9, 2023
    Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshinori OSAKABE, Fumio NAKAZAWA, Taichi SHIRONO, Sosuke KUROYANAGI
  • Patent number: 11787192
    Abstract: A liquid supplying device includes a tank and a cartridge. The cartridge is configured to be detachably attached to the tank in an attachment-detachment direction crossing a vertical direction. The cartridge includes a first storage chamber. The tank includes a second storage chamber, a liquid passage, and a gas passage. The liquid passage has a first end, a second end, and a first extending portion. The second end is formed with a second opening open to an atmosphere. The first extending portion extends from the second opening in the attachment-detachment direction. The gas passage has a third end, a fourth end, and a second extending portion. The fourth end is formed with a fourth opening open to the atmosphere. The second extending portion extends from the fourth opening in the attachment-detachment direction. The second opening is at a position different from the fourth opening in the attachment-detachment direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiroaki Takahashi, Yoshinori Osakabe, Akinari Ishibe, Tatsuya Shindo, Masahiro Hayashi