ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 3 -- United States Patent no. 12,344,004, issued on July 1, was assigned to Seiko Epson Corp. (Tokyo).
"Flow path switching unit and liquid ejecting device" was invented by Makoto Sawadaishi (Shiojiri, Japan).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A flow path switching unit includes a rotary valve configured to rotate, a housing including a contact surface with which the rotary valve comes into contact, and a pressing member configured to press the rotary valve against the contact surface. The housing includes a first flow path that opens to the contact surface, a second flow path that opens to the contact surface, and a third flow path that opens to the contact surface. The rota...