The present invention relates to a printing apparatus.
A large format inkjet printer may perform printing on sheets of different sheet lengths. For example, in a printer that performs printing on a roll sheet, it is possible to change the sheet length of a discharged sheet by changing the cutting position of the roll sheet. Further, there has been proposed a printer including a plurality of discharge paths having different path lengths, in which the discharge path can be selectively switched (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-263332). In this printer, in accordance with switching of the discharge path, separation between a pair of rollers which nip and convey a sheet is switched.
Accordingly, if the discharge path is not switched, the number of pairs of rollers which simultaneously nip the sheet changes depending on the sheet length. This causes scratches on the sheet or a decrease in conveyance accuracy. Thus, when conveying sheets of different sheet lengths, various problems occur. Therefore, it is necessary to appropriately configure the pair of rollers, the separation mechanism for the pair of rollers, the switching mechanism for the discharge paths, and the conveyance mechanism including the conveyance path in accordance with the problems.
The present invention provides a printing apparatus that can appropriately convey sheets of different sheet lengths.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus comprising: a printing unit configured to perform printing on a sheet; a first conveyance unit configured to convey the sheet to the printing unit with nipping the sheet; a second conveyance unit provided on a downstream side of the first conveyance unit in a conveyance direction of the sheet, and configured to convey the sheet with nipping the sheet; a third conveyance unit provided on a downstream side of the second conveyance unit in the conveyance direction, and configured to convey the sheet with nipping the sheet; and a switching unit configured to switch a nip state of the second conveyance unit and a released state in which the nip state is released, wherein if the sheet is conveyed by the third conveyance unit, the switching unit switches the nip state and the released state in accordance with a length of the sheet.
Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments (with reference to the attached drawings).
Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note, the following embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention. Multiple features are described in the embodiments, but limitation is not made to an invention that requires all such features, and multiple such features may be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, in the attached drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same or similar configurations, and redundant description thereof is omitted.
<Outline of Printing Apparatus>
An operation panel 1a for accepting user's instruction is provided in the front portion of the printing apparatus 1. A user can use various kinds of switches and the like provided in the operation panel 1a to input various kinds of commands such as a designation of the sheet size and setting of the discharge destination of a printed sheet.
In the lower portion of the printing apparatus 1, a plurality of feeding units 2 are vertically arranged in a plurality of stages (two stages in this example). Each feeding unit 2 forms a storage section that stores a roll sheet R as a print medium. Each feeding unit 2 includes support portions that support the roll sheet R so as to be rotatable around the X-direction axis, and also includes a feeding mechanism that pulls out a sheet from the roll sheet R and feeds it to a conveyance path RT. In this embodiment, the widthwise direction of the sheet is the X direction. The user can perform a replacement operation of the roll sheet R from the front of the printing apparatus 1. Note that in this embodiment, the roll sheet R is exemplified as the print medium, but the print medium may be a cut sheet.
The conveyance path RT is a sheet path defined by a guide structure which guides a sheet, and extends from the feeding unit 2 to a discharge port 9 or a discharge port 10 while curving in the midway. In the following description, an upstream side and a downstream side are the upstream side and the downstream side with respect to the sheet conveyance direction, respectively.
The sheet pulled out from the roll sheet R is supplied via a conveyance unit 3 to a position facing a printhead 4. The conveyance unit 3 includes a conveying roller 3a, which is a driving rotating body, and a nip roller 3b, which is a driven rotating body pressed against the conveying roller 3a. While being nipped by the conveying roller 3a and the nip roller 3b, the sheet is conveyed on the conveyance path RT in the arrow direction by rotation of the rollers.
The printhead 4 is arranged on the downstream side of the conveyance unit 3. The printhead 4 in this embodiment is an inkjet head which prints an image on a sheet by discharging ink. The printhead 4 uses a discharge energy generating device such as an electrothermal transducer (heater) or a piezoelectric device to discharge ink from the discharge port. The printing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment is a serial scanning inkjet printing apparatus, and the printhead 4 is mounted on a carriage 5. The carriage 5 is configured to be reciprocated in the X direction (the widthwise direction of the sheet) by a driving mechanism (not shown). In the vicinity of the printhead 4, the sheet is conveyed in the Y direction. By alternately repeating intermittent conveyance of the sheet by the conveyance unit 3 and an operation including moving the carriage 5 and ink discharge by the printhead 4, an image is printed on the sheet.
Note that the serial scanning printing apparatus is exemplarily shown in this embodiment, but the present invention is also applicable to a full-line printing apparatus. In this case, a long printhead extending in the widthwise direction of a sheet is used as the printhead 4. Then, by discharging ink from the printhead while continuously conveying the sheet, an image is printed on the sheet. Further, although the inkjet printing apparatus is exemplarily shown in this embodiment, the present invention is also applicable to printing apparatuses of other printing types.
A cutting unit 6 is arranged on the downstream side of the printhead 4. The cutting unit 6 cuts the sheet, which has been pulled out from the roll sheet R and has an image printed thereon, in the widthwise direction of the sheet. With this, the sheet pulled out from the roll sheet R is cut by the cutting unit 6 and becomes a cut sheet. A sheet guide structure adjacent to the cutting unit 6 includes a movable support member 17. The movable support member 17 is one of guide members which forms the conveyance path RT while supporting the sheet from below. The movable support member 17 is configured to be moved at the time of a cutting operation of the cutting unit 6. The details will be described later.
A discharge unit 7 is arranged on the downstream side of the cutting unit 6. The discharge unit 7 is one of conveyance units for conveying the sheet. The discharge unit 7 is a unit for discharging the sheet having undergone printing. The discharge unit 7 includes a discharge roller 7a, which is a driving rotating body, and a nip roller 7b, which is a driven rotating body pressed against the discharge roller 7a. While being nipped by the discharge roller 7a and the nip roller 7b, the sheet is conveyed on the conveyance path RT in the arrow direction by rotation of the rollers. In this embodiment, the discharge unit 7 is configured to be switchable between a nip state (a nip state between the rollers) for nipping the sheet and a nip released state (a nip released state between the rollers). The details will be described later.
The conveyance path RT branches at a branch point BR on the downstream side of the discharge unit 7, and includes a plurality of discharge paths including a discharge path RT1 and a discharge path RT2. The discharge path RT1 is a sheet discharge path extending from the branch point BR to the discharge port 9, and a path for discharging the sheet to the rear side in the Y direction. The discharge path RT2 is a sheet discharge path extending from the branch point BR to the discharge port 10, and a path for discharging the sheet to the front side in the Y direction. In this embodiment, the path length of the discharge path RT1 is longer than that of the discharge path RT2, and the discharge path RT1 extends in the Y direction in the upper portion of the printing apparatus 1.
The branch point BR is a path switching position where a path switching member 14 is arranged. The path switching member 14 includes a shaft 14a extending in the X direction, and is provided so as to be pivotable with the shaft 14a as the pivot center. The path switching member 14 switches, between the plurality of discharge paths RT1 and RT2, the discharge path used to discharge a sheet having undergone printing by the printhead 4. Switching of the discharge paths is performed in accordance with, for example, user's selection instruction. The position of the path switching member 14 shown in
The discharge port 9 is located in the rear portion of the printing apparatus 1, and open in the back face of the printing apparatus 1. A plurality of guides 9b that restrict a warp of the sheet is provided in the upper portion of the discharge port 9. The discharge path RT1 passes above the shaft 14a, and a reversing section 11, a discharge unit 8, and a stacking section 15 are provided midway along the discharge path RT1 from the upstream side toward the downstream side.
The reversing section 11 is a structure for reversing the sheet having undergone printing. In this embodiment, by forming, midway along the discharge path RT1, a curved portion (in this embodiment, a U shape (an inverted C shape in the side view shown in
The discharge unit 8 is one of the conveyance units for conveying the sheet. The discharge unit 8 is a unit for discharging the sheet having undergone printing. The discharge unit 8 includes a discharge roller 8a, which is a driving rotating body, and a nip roller 8b, which is a driven rotating body pressed against the discharge roller 8a. While being nipped by the discharge roller 8a and the nip roller 8b, the sheet is conveyed by rotation of the rollers. The stacking section 15 is arranged on the downstream side of the discharge unit 8, and the discharge unit 8 conveys, to the stacking section 15, the sheet with the image printed thereon by the printhead 4. In this embodiment, the discharge unit 8 cannot be switched between a nip state and a nip released state like the discharge unit 7, and it is always in the nip state.
The stacking section 15 forms a tray which receives a plurality of sheets discharged from the discharge unit 7, and the stacking section 15 is arranged inside the printing apparatus 1. The stacking section 15 forms the discharge path RT1 which is almost horizontal in the rear portion in the Y direction and slopes upward toward the rear portion in the front portion in the Y direction. Depending on the length of the sheet, the end portion of the sheet may come out of the discharge port 9. The stacking section 15 forms a part of the discharge path RT1.
A window portion 9a for exposing the stacking section 15 is formed in the top portion of the printing apparatus 1, so that the user can visually recognize the stacking amount of sheets on the stacking section 15 via the window portion 9a. A plurality of guide members 9c are disposed in the window portion 9a to prevent the sheet discharged onto the stacking section 15 from being discharged from the window portion 9a.
The discharge port 10 is located in the front portion of the printing apparatus 1 and open to the front of the printing apparatus 1. The discharge path RT2 is a path passing below the shaft 14a, and does not have a structure for reversing the sheet like the reversing section 11. That is, the image printed surface of the sheet discharged from the discharge port 10 is the upper surface. Further, no sheet conveyance mechanism like the discharge unit 8 is provided midway along the discharge path RT2. Accordingly, the sheet is conveyed by conveyance of the conveyance unit 3, cut by the cutting unit 6, and discharged from the discharge port 10 due to its own weight or by a manual operation of the user.
As has been described above, in this embodiment, it is possible to select whether to discharge the sheet to the stacking section 15 on the upper side or to the front of the printing apparatus 1. For example, if the number of discharged sheets is large, the stacking section 15 may be selected, and if the sheet length is long, discharge from the discharge port 10 may be selected. In this manner, it is possible for the user to arbitrarily select the discharge path.
<Components in Vicinity of Reversing Section>
The components in vicinity of the reversing section 11 and driving systems for driving them will be described.
In this embodiment, the movable support member 17 and the elevating mechanism 30 are driven by a driving unit (DU1), and the discharge rollers 7a and 8a and the path switching member 14 are driven by a driving unit (DU2). The arrangement of each driving unit will be described below.
<Driving Unit DU1>
<Moving Mechanism>
First, the moving mechanism for the movable support member 17 will be described.
The movable support member 17 is arranged adjacent to the guide member 61 in the sheet conveyance direction. Upon moving the scan unit 60, the movable support member 17 is moved to avoid interference between the scan unit 60 and the movable support member 17. Refer to
The transmission mechanism 20 includes a gear train formed by gears 21 to 24. The driving force of the motor M1 is transmitted to the gear 25 via the gear train, and the movable support member 17 is caused to pivot to the retreat position as shown in
Among the gears 21 to 24, the gear 23 is a gear provided with an electromagnetic clutch between an input gear and an output gear, and transmission of the driving force can be connected/disconnected by connecting/disconnecting the electromagnetic clutch. When the electromagnetic clutch is in a connection state, if the motor M1 is rotated in the N1 direction, the moving mechanism is operated and the movable support member 17 pivots from the support position to the retreat position. However, when the electromagnetic clutch is in a disconnection state, even if the motor M1 is rotated, the movable support member 17 does not pivot. After the movable support member 17 moves to the retreat position, by switching the electromagnetic clutch from the connection state to the disconnection state, the movable support member 17 returns to the support position due to the bias of the elastic member 17b.
<State Switching Mechanism>
Next, the state switching mechanism for the discharge unit 7 will be described with reference to
A plurality of the nip rollers 7b are arranged in the X direction, and each nip roller 7b is supported by a support unit 33. Each support unit 33 is supported by a frame 35 via a coupling member 34.
The support unit 33 includes a main body portion 33a, and a movable portion 33b supported so as to be displaceable in the Z direction with respect to the main body portion 33a. The nip roller 7b is rotatably supported by the movable portion 33b. The movable portion 33b includes a projection portion 33c projecting in the X direction, and an elastic member 33d which biases the movable portion 33b to the nip position is provided between the main body portion 33a and the movable portion 33b.
An operation shaft 31 extends in the X direction. The operation shaft 31 includes an arcuate peripheral surface 31a, and also includes a recess portion 31b in a part of the peripheral surface. An operation arm 32 is an L-shaped member provided for each nip roller 7b, and pivotable with a shaft 32a in its central portion as the pivot center. An abutting portion P1 of the operation arm 32 abuts against the peripheral surface 31a of the operation shaft 31, and an abutting portion P2 thereof abuts against the projection portion 33c of the movable portion 33b from below.
As shown in
Referring to
When operating the state switching mechanism, the motor M1 is rotated in the N2 direction opposite to the N1 direction which is a predetermined rotation direction for moving the movable support member 17. The gear 26 incorporates a one-way clutch, so that it transmits rotation of the motor M1 in the N2 direction but does not transmit rotation in the N1 direction.
The gear 26 has an arrangement in which a small-diameter gear 26c and a large-diameter gear 26d are arranged on a common shaft 26a and held on the shaft 26a by a retaining ring 26e in the end portion of the shaft 26a. The shaft 26a is provided with a pin 26b. Engagement between the small-diameter gear 26c and the pin 26b enables transmission of a rotational force between the shaft 26a and the small-diameter gear 26c regardless of the rotation direction. On the other hand, a one-way clutch 26f is provided between the large-diameter gear 26d and the shaft 26a, and the rotational force is transmitted between the shaft 26a and the large-diameter gear 26d only in one rotation direction.
With the arrangement described above, by using the rotation direction of the motor M1, the electromagnetic clutch of the gear 23, and the one-way clutch 26f of the gear 26, it is possible to move the movable support member 17 and vertically move the nip roller 7b independently. That is, when moving the movable support member 17 to the retreat position, the motor M1 is rotated in the N1 direction and the electromagnetic clutch of the gear 23 is set in the connection state. This allows the movable support member 17 to operate. At this time, due to the action of the one-way clutch 26f, the gear 26 does not transmit the rotational force. When moving the movable support member 17 to the support position, the electromagnetic clutch of the gear 23 is set in the disconnection state. When moving the nip roller 7b to the nip position or the retreat position, the motor M1 is rotated in the N2 direction and the electromagnetic clutch of the gear 23 is set in the disconnection state.
<Driving Unit DU2>
<Roller Driving Mechanism>
First, the roller driving mechanism will be described.
The transmission mechanism 40 includes a gear train formed by gears 41 and 42a to 42c. The driving force of the motor M3 is transmitted to the gear 42d via the gear train, and the roller shaft 8c is rotated. The transmission mechanism 40 also includes a gear train formed by the gear 41 and gears 43a to 43c. The driving force of the motor M3 is transmitted to the gear 43d via the gear train, and the roller shaft 7c is rotated. As shown in
<Path Switching Mechanism>
With reference to
The path switching member 14 includes the shaft 14a extending in the X direction. The shaft 14a is rotatably supported, and the path switching member 14 pivots with the shaft 14a as the pivot center. The path switching member 14 includes a guide portion 14b which forms a sheet guide surface, a lever portion 14c, and an elastic member 14d. The elastic member 14d in this embodiment is a screw spring, and biases the path switching member 14 to the RT1 selection position.
The transmission mechanism 40 includes a gear 46 including a cam portion 46a. The cam portion 46a abuts against the lever portion 14c of the path switching member 14, thereby causing the path switching member 14 to pivot from the RT1 selection position to the RT2 selection position. The pivot amount of the gear 46 is detected by the sensor 51. The sensor 51 is an optical sensor such as a photointerrupter which detects a detection piece 46b provided in the gear 46.
As a component for rotating the gear 46, the transmission mechanism 40 includes a pendulum gear G. The pendulum gear G includes a gear 44 and a gear 45 meshing with each other. The gear 44 meshes with the gear 41. If the gear 45 meshes with the gear 46 due to a swinging motion, the driving force is transmitted. If the gear 45 does not mesh with the gear 46, the transmission of the driving force is cut off. If the motor M3 is rotating in the N3 direction as shown in
During sheet conveyance by the conveyance units 7 and 8, the motor M3 rotates in the N3 direction so the gear 45 does not mesh with the gear 46. Accordingly, the position of the path switching member 14 does not change. If the motor M3 is rotating in the N4 direction, the driving rollers 7a and 8a rotate in a direction opposite to the sheet conveyance direction. However, by switching the discharge path by the path switching member 14 at a timing other than during a printing operation, a sheet is not conveyed reversely. Alternatively, for example, a one-way clutch may be provided in any of the gears involved in the transmission of the driving force to each of the roller shafts 7c and 8c so that only the rotation in the sheet conveyance direction is transmitted to each of the roller shafts 7c and 8c. In this case, it is possible to switch the discharge path during a printing operation.
<Processing Example of Control Unit>
The printing apparatus 1 is provided with a plurality of conveyance mechanisms (discharge units 7 and 8) on the downstream side of the printhead 4. They generate a sheet conveyance force, but since they nip the printed sheet, the printed surface of the sheet may be scratched due to the pressing force of the conveyance mechanism, or the conveyance accuracy may be decreased due to a difference in conveyance speed between the conveyance mechanisms. In this embodiment, as has been described above, it is configured such that the state of the discharge unit 7 can be switched between the nip state and the nip released state. Therefore, in a case in which a sheet is sufficiently long so that the discharge unit 8 alone can generate a sufficient conveyance force or in a case of handling a sheet which is easily damaged, the discharge unit 7 can be set in the nip released state so as not to nip the sheet. On the other hand, in a case of a short sheet, the discharge unit 7 can be set in the nip state to ensure the conveyance force. Thus, it is possible to convey sheets of different sheet lengths and prevent generation of an unnecessary load on the sheet during the conveyance.
A processing example of the control unit 18 related to state switching of the discharge unit 7 and the like will be described below.
In step S1, preparation processing is performed. Here, the processing based on user's setting contents is performed. For example, switching of the discharge path by the path switching member 14 is performed. The processing example described below assumes a case in which the discharge path RT1 is selected. In step S2, a printing operation is started. By alternately repeating intermittent conveyance of a sheet by the conveyance unit 3 and an operation including moving the carriage 5 and ink discharge by the printhead 4, an image is printed on the sheet. Further, the respective driving rollers 7a and 8a of the discharge units 7 and 8 are rotated.
In step S3, based on a detection result of a sheet detection sensor (not shown), it is determined whether the sheet has reached a predetermined position. If the sheet has reached, the process advances to step S4. The predetermined position here is a position where the leading end of the sheet has passed through the movable support member 17 (for example, a position where the leading end of the sheet has reached the discharge unit 7). In step S4, the movable support member 17 is moved to the retreat position. Since the leading end of the sheet has already passed through the movable support member 17, even if the movable support member 17 is moved to the retreat position, the sheet is supported within the conveyance path RT. Thereafter, the printing operation is performed up to the image printing range set by the user in advance. In step S5, the sheet is conveyed to the position where it is to be cut by the cutting unit 6, and the conveyance is temporarily stopped. The conveyance amount at this time is determined based on, for example, the sheet length after cutting set by the user in advance.
In step S6, it is determined whether the sheet length after cutting is equal to or smaller than a threshold (equal to or shorter than a predetermined length).
The predetermined length L is shorter than the minimum length of the sheet after cutting which is supposed to be conveyed. For example, due to the specifications of the printing apparatus 1, if the minimum length of the sheet after cutting is 203 mm, the predetermined length L is shorter than 203 mm. Similarly, the length L2 is shorter than the minimum length of the sheet after cutting which is supposed to be conveyed. Thus, the sheet of the minimum length can be nipped and conveyed by at least one of the conveyance units 7 and 8.
If the sheet length of the sheet after cutting is equal to or shorter than the predetermined length L, the leading end of the sheet has not reached the discharge unit 8. Then, the discharge unit 7 is set in the nip state in step S7 to use the discharge unit 7 to convey the sheet (
In step S8, the roll sheet R is cut by the cutting unit 6. In step S9, the respective driving rollers 7a and 8a of the discharge units 7 and 8 are rotated, and the sheet after cutting is conveyed to the stacking section 15. In this embodiment, due to the configuration of the apparatus, the driving roller 7a is rotated even if the discharge unit 7 is in the nip released state. However, since the nip roller 7b is not pressed against the driving roller 7a, substantially no conveyance force is generated.
In step S10, the movable support member 17 is returned to the support position. In step S11, based on a detection result of the sheet detection sensor, it is determined whether the sheet after cutting has been discharged to the stacking section 15. For example, if it is detected that the trailing end of the sheet has passed through the discharge unit 8, it is determined that the sheet has discharged to the stacking section 15. If it is determined that the sheet has been conveyed to the stacking section 15, the process advances to step S12 and the rotation of each of the driving rollers 7a and 8a of the discharge units 7 and 8 is stopped.
In step S13, it is determined whether the discharge unit 7 has been set in the nip state by the processing in step S7. If the discharge unit 7 has been set in the nip state, the process advances to step S14 and the discharge unit 7 is returned to the nip released state. With the processing described above, the process (one job) ends.
With the procedure described above, it is possible to discharge the sheet while selecting, in accordance with the sheet length after cutting, whether to press the nip roller 7b against the driving roller 7a or separate the nip roller 7b from the driving roller 7a. Thus, it is possible to appropriately convey the sheets of different sheet lengths. The processing example shown in
In the embodiment described above, the arrangement has been exemplarily shown in which two discharge paths (RT1 and RT2) are provided. However, the number of the discharge paths may be three or more, or may be one. Further, although the reversing section 11 is provided in the discharge path RT1, the arrangement may be employed in which no reversing section 11 is provided.
Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by a computer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computer executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a ‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or that includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by the computer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing the computer executable instructions from the storage medium to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). The computer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors to read out and execute the computer executable instructions. The computer executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or the storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or more of a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as a compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™), a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-197310, filed Nov. 27, 2020, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2020-197310 | Nov 2020 | JP | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3645157 | Di Giulio et al. | Feb 1972 | A |
4265153 | Price, Jr. | May 1981 | A |
6845228 | Suzuki et al. | Jan 2005 | B2 |
7354034 | Nakamura et al. | Apr 2008 | B2 |
7540496 | Fukushima | Jun 2009 | B2 |
8056899 | Byun | Nov 2011 | B2 |
9174463 | Shingawa et al. | Nov 2015 | B2 |
9327525 | Motoyama | May 2016 | B2 |
9592683 | Kobayashi et al. | Mar 2017 | B2 |
9884697 | Hirose | Feb 2018 | B2 |
9969192 | Suzuki et al. | May 2018 | B2 |
10787009 | Kozuma et al. | Sep 2020 | B2 |
10829329 | Suzuki et al. | Nov 2020 | B2 |
20050206074 | Tsuzawa | Sep 2005 | A1 |
20060022399 | Fukushima | Feb 2006 | A1 |
20170151815 | Masunaga | Jun 2017 | A1 |
20180093505 | Hirata et al. | Apr 2018 | A1 |
20180257403 | Yasuda et al. | Sep 2018 | A1 |
20200039255 | Kozuma et al. | Feb 2020 | A1 |
20210237998 | Kobayashi | Aug 2021 | A1 |
20210276348 | Suto et al. | Sep 2021 | A1 |
20210276349 | Kuronuma et al. | Sep 2021 | A1 |
20210276350 | Murata et al. | Sep 2021 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
104626767 | May 2015 | CN |
104669807 | Jun 2015 | CN |
106687296 | May 2017 | CN |
110789229 | Feb 2020 | CN |
2005-263332 | Sep 2005 | JP |
2005-298212 | Oct 2005 | JP |
2012-046283 | Mar 2012 | JP |
Entry |
---|
U.S. Appl. No. 17/528,412, Shinya Asano Takeshi Koda Toshiro Sugiama Waichiro Saiki Tomohiro Suzuki Ryo Kobayashi Tomoyuki Nagase, filed Nov. 17, 2021. |
Extended European Search Report dated Apr. 4, 2022, in European Patent Application No. 21207230.0. |
Chinese Office Action dated May 26, 2023, in Chinese Patent Application No. 202111412843.9. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20220169477 A1 | Jun 2022 | US |