Patents by Inventor Yuhei Oikawa

Yuhei Oikawa 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: 11919318
    Abstract: Ink is circulated through a circulation flow path between a print head and an ink tank. Detection operation for detecting an ink ejection state in an ejection opening in the print head is performed. The ink circulation and the detection operation are simultaneously performed by performing the detection operation in response to a start of the ink circulation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takuya Fukasawa, Yuhei Oikawa, Takatoshi Nakano, Yoshinori Nakagawa, Atsushi Takahashi
  • Patent number: 11820136
    Abstract: Although a conventional method of inspecting an ink discharge state in which the temperature change of the heater is detected enables accurate and high-speed inspection, due to the situation in which the inspection was performed, appropriate post-processing depending on the situation cannot be executed based on a result of the inspection. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the ink discharge state in detail. A plurality of modes are provided in accordance with the purpose of performing an inspection of the ink discharge state, and a discharge inspection threshold is provided for each of these modes. By selectively executing or continuously executing these modes, it is possible to determine the ink discharge state in more detail.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kasiha
    Inventors: Yuhei Oikawa, Yutaka Kano, Kohei Sato, Takuya Fukasawa
  • Patent number: 11691415
    Abstract: A method for inspecting an ink discharge status based on a temperature change of an energy generating element includes calculating a difference value between a value obtained by statistics of information indicating ink discharge statuses obtained for a plurality of nozzles close to a target nozzle and the information obtained for the target nozzle; comparing the calculated difference value with a predetermined threshold; and judging the ink discharge status for the target nozzle based on a result of the comparison. This enables to appropriately detect a nozzle which is in a discharge failure status due to an ink droplet adhered to a discharge surface of a printhead or the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuhei Oikawa, Toshiyuki Chikuma, Yutaka Kano, Kohei Sato, Takuya Fukasawa
  • Patent number: 11440316
    Abstract: A recording apparatus includes a recording head including a plurality of ejection ports and a recording element, a driving unit configured to apply a driving pulse to drive the recording element, a temperature detection unit configured to detect a temperature change in a vicinity of the recording element, a determination unit configured to determine an ink ejection state of each of the ejection ports on the basis of the temperature change detected by the temperature detection unit, an acquisition unit configured to acquire information about atmospheric pressure around the recording head, and a setting unit configured to, when the determination unit determines the ink ejection state, set the driving pulse to be applied by the driving unit to the recording element on the basis of the information about the atmospheric pressure acquired by the acquisition unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kohei Sato, Yuhei Oikawa
  • Publication number: 20220203673
    Abstract: A method for inspecting an ink discharge status based on a temperature change of an energy generating element includes calculating a difference value between a value obtained by statistics of information indicating ink discharge statuses obtained for a plurality of nozzles close to a target nozzle and the information obtained for the target nozzle; comparing the calculated difference value with a predetermined threshold; and judging the ink discharge status for the target nozzle based on a result of the comparison. This enables to appropriately detect a nozzle which is in a discharge failure status due to an ink droplet adhered to a discharge surface of a printhead or the like.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2022
    Publication date: June 30, 2022
    Inventors: Yuhei Oikawa, Toshiyuki Chikuma, Yutaka Kano, Kohei Sato, Takuya Fukasawa
  • Patent number: 11351774
    Abstract: A printing apparatus, which uses a printhead including a circuit configured to inspect an ink discharge status of a selected nozzle using a temperature detection element, causes the printhead to inspect the ink discharge status by changing a threshold value for judging a detection result of the temperature detection element, in order to judge the ink discharge status in a state in which a heater in the selected nozzle is driven by each of a first pulse and a second pulse whose waveform is different from that of the first pulse, obtains first information about a change point where a judgment result obtained by the first pulse changes, and second information about a change point where a judgment result obtained by the second pulse changes, and sets the threshold value, based on the first and second information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuhei Oikawa, Toshiyuki Chikuma, Yutaka Kano, Kohei Sato
  • Publication number: 20220153017
    Abstract: Although a conventional method of inspecting an ink discharge state in which the temperature change of the heater is detected enables accurate and high-speed inspection, due to the situation in which the inspection was performed, appropriate post-processing depending on the situation cannot be executed based on a result of the inspection. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the ink discharge state in detail. A plurality of modes are provided in accordance with the purpose of performing an inspection of the ink discharge state, and a discharge inspection threshold is provided for each of these modes. By selectively executing or continuously executing these modes, it is possible to determine the ink discharge state in more detail.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 23, 2021
    Publication date: May 19, 2022
    Inventors: Yuhei Oikawa, Yutaka Kano, Kohei Sato, Takuya Fukasawa
  • Patent number: 11298937
    Abstract: A method for inspecting an ink discharge status based on a temperature change of an energy generating element includes calculating a difference value between a value obtained by statistics of information indicating ink discharge statuses obtained for a plurality of nozzles close to a target nozzle and the information obtained for the target nozzle; comparing the calculated difference value with a predetermined threshold; and judging the ink discharge status for the target nozzle based on a result of the comparison. This enables to appropriately detect a nozzle which is in a discharge failure status due to an ink droplet adhered to a discharge surface of a printhead or the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuhei Oikawa, Toshiyuki Chikuma, Yutaka Kano, Kohei Sato, Takuya Fukasawa
  • Publication number: 20210402792
    Abstract: Ink is circulated through a circulation flow path between a print head and an ink tank. Detection operation for detecting an ink ejection state in an ejection opening in the print head is performed. The ink circulation and the detection operation are simultaneously performed by performing the detection operation in response to a start of the ink circulation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 10, 2021
    Publication date: December 30, 2021
    Inventors: Takuya Fukasawa, Yuhei Oikawa, Takatoshi Nakano, Yoshinori Nakagawa, Atsushi Takahashi
  • Patent number: 11192357
    Abstract: Although a conventional method of inspecting an ink discharge state in which the temperature change of the heater is detected enables accurate and high-speed inspection, due to the situation in which the inspection was performed, appropriate post-processing depending on the situation cannot be executed based on a result of the inspection. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the ink discharge state in detail. A plurality of modes are provided in accordance with the purpose of performing an inspection of the ink discharge state, and a discharge inspection threshold is provided for each of these modes. By selectively executing or continuously executing these modes, it is possible to determine the ink discharge state in more detail.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuhei Oikawa, Yutaka Kano, Kohei Sato, Takuya Fukasawa
  • Patent number: 11141990
    Abstract: Ink is circulated through a circulation flow path between a print head and an ink tank. Detection operation for detecting an ink ejection state in an ejection opening in the print head is performed. The ink circulation and the detection operation are simultaneously performed by performing the detection operation in response to a start of the ink circulation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takuya Fukasawa, Yuhei Oikawa, Takatoshi Nakano, Yoshinori Nakagawa, Atsushi Takahashi
  • Patent number: 11097535
    Abstract: A printing apparatus using a printhead that includes an inspection circuit for inspecting an ink discharge status for each nozzle performs an inspection processing. The apparatus selects a nozzle as a target of inspection of the ink discharge status, sets a threshold value for inspecting a detection result of a temperature detection element corresponding to the selected nozzle, and uses the inspection circuit and the set threshold value. The apparatus receives, from the printhead, an inspection result for the selected nozzle, determines, based on the received inspection result, a threshold value to be used by the inspection circuit for inspecting the discharge status of the selected nozzle in a subsequent inspection, and stores the determined threshold value in a memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuhei Oikawa, Masashi Hayashi, Toshiyuki Chikuma, Yutaka Kano
  • Publication number: 20210237437
    Abstract: A recording apparatus includes a recording head including a plurality of ejection ports and a recording element, a driving unit configured to apply a driving pulse to drive the recording element, a temperature detection unit configured to detect a temperature change in a vicinity of the recording element, a determination unit configured to determine an ink ejection state of each of the ejection ports on the basis of the temperature change detected by the temperature detection unit, an acquisition unit configured to acquire information about atmospheric pressure around the recording head, and a setting unit configured to, when the determination unit determines the ink ejection state, set the driving pulse to be applied by the driving unit to the recording element on the basis of the information about the atmospheric pressure acquired by the acquisition unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 27, 2021
    Publication date: August 5, 2021
    Inventors: Kohei Sato, Yuhei Oikawa
  • Publication number: 20210060927
    Abstract: A method for inspecting an ink discharge status based on a temperature change of an energy generating element comprises: calculating a difference value between a value obtained by statistics of pieces of information indicating ink discharge statuses obtained for a plurality of nozzles close to a target nozzle and the information obtained for the target nozzle; comparing the calculated difference value with a predetermined threshold; and judging the ink discharge status for the target nozzle based on a result of the comparison. This enables to appropriately detect a nozzle which is in a discharge failure status due to an ink droplet adhered to a discharge surface of a printhead or the like.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 7, 2020
    Publication date: March 4, 2021
    Inventors: Yuhei Oikawa, Toshiyuki Chikuma, Yutaka Kano, Kohei Sato, Takuya Fukasawa
  • Patent number: 10875297
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a printhead in which a plurality of element substrates for discharging a print material are arranged; a heating unit that maintains a temperature within the element substrate at a target temperature for each of the plurality of element substrates; a detection unit that detects the temperature within the element substrate for each of the plurality of element substrates; and a control unit that, for each of the plurality of element substrates, compares a highest temperature within the element substrate that is detected by the detection unit with a predetermined threshold, and if the highest temperature exceeds the predetermined threshold, sets the target temperature for the element substrate at a temperature which is higher than a target temperature set when the highest temperature does not exceed the predetermined threshold and lower than the predetermined threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yutaka Kano, Yuhei Oikawa, Toshiyuki Chikuma
  • Patent number: 10836155
    Abstract: An object of the present disclosure is to acquire an accurate temperature of a print head. The present disclosure is an ink jet printing apparatus comprising a print head, a transmission unit configured to transmit a control signal, and a detection unit configured to detect a temperature by reading an output of a Di sensor after the transmission, and as drive conditions for driving a printing element, there is a plurality of drive conditions whose driving cycle of the printing element is different from one another, within a predetermined period in length in accordance with the driving cycle, transmission of a control signal and temperature detection are performed, a part of a line used for transmission of the control signal and a part of a line connected with the Di sensor are in common.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Chikuma, Yuhei Oikawa, Yutaka Kano, Kohei Sato
  • Publication number: 20200298555
    Abstract: A printing apparatus, which uses a printhead including a circuit configured to inspect an ink discharge status of a selected nozzle using a temperature detection element, causes the printhead to inspect the ink discharge status by changing a threshold value for judging a detection result of the temperature detection element, in order to judge the ink discharge status in a state in which a heater in the selected nozzle is driven by each of a first pulse and a second pulse whose waveform is different from that of the first pulse, obtains first information about a change point where a judgment result obtained by the first pulse changes, and second information about a change point where a judgment result obtained by the second pulse changes, and sets the threshold value, based on the first and second information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 10, 2020
    Publication date: September 24, 2020
    Inventors: Yuhei Oikawa, Toshiyuki Chikuma, Yutaka Kano, Kohei Sato
  • Patent number: 10766251
    Abstract: A printing apparatus, which uses a printhead including a circuit configured to inspect an ink discharge status of a selected nozzle using a temperature detection element, causes the printhead to inspect the ink discharge status by changing a threshold value for judging a detection result of the temperature detection element, in order to judge the ink discharge status in a state in which a heater in the selected nozzle is driven by each of a first pulse and a second pulse whose waveform is different from that of the first pulse, obtains first information about a change point where a judgment result obtained by the first pulse changes, and second information about a change point where a judgment result obtained by the second pulse changes, and sets the threshold value based on the first and second information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2020
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuhei Oikawa, Toshiyuki Chikuma, Yutaka Kano, Kohei Sato
  • Patent number: 10723125
    Abstract: A printing apparatus, which uses a printhead including a circuit configured to inspect an ink discharge status of a selected nozzle using a temperature detection element, causes the printhead to inspect the ink discharge status by changing a threshold value for judging a detection result of the temperature detection element, in order to judge the ink discharge status in a state in which a heater in the selected nozzle is driven by each of a first pulse and a second pulse whose waveform is different from that of the first pulse, obtains first information about a change point where a judgment result obtained by the first pulse changes, and second information about a change point where a judgment result obtained by the second pulse changes, and sets the threshold value based on the first and second information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuhei Oikawa, Toshiyuki Chikuma, Yutaka Kano, Kohei Sato
  • Publication number: 20200108626
    Abstract: Ink is circulated through a circulation flow path between a print head and an ink tank. Detection operation for detecting an ink ejection state in an ejection opening in the print head is performed. The ink circulation and the detection operation are simultaneously performed by performing the detection operation in response to a start of the ink circulation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 16, 2019
    Publication date: April 9, 2020
    Inventors: Takuya Fukasawa, Yuhei Oikawa, Takatoshi Nakano, Yoshinori Nakagawa, Atsushi Takahashi