Patents Examined by Cheukfan Lee
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Patent number: 11134166Abstract: A document management facility may process volumes of physical documents for digital imaging. The document management facility may utilize robotic apparatus to perform the various functions for processing the documents, which may include document intake, document storage, document digitization, and/or document removal. Digital versions of the documents may be accessed with a document management system.Type: GrantFiled: January 18, 2019Date of Patent: September 28, 2021Assignee: Ripcord Inc.Inventors: Alex Fielding, Kevin C. Hall, Kirk H. Knight, Kimberly Lembo
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Patent number: 11128771Abstract: A scanner assembly for portably scanning documents is disclosed. The scanner assembly includes a board and a cradle assembly. The cradle assembly includes a first cradle member and second cradle member spaced from one another, coupled to the board, and configured to receive the scanner. The cradle assembly includes a support bracket disposed between and coupled to the first and second cradle members. The cradle assembly also includes a lock assembly coupled to the first cradle member and movable between a first position where the scanner is fixed to the first and second cradle members and a second position where the scanner is removable from the first and second cradle members. The first and second cradle members and the support bracket of the cradle assembly are movable along the board for allowing the scanner to scan documents disposed on the board.Type: GrantFiled: February 11, 2020Date of Patent: September 21, 2021Inventor: Eugene Stephens
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Patent number: 11122183Abstract: A scanner includes a feeding unit, a transport unit provided downstream of the feeding unit, and a first reading unit provided downstream of the transport unit, a second reading unit provided to face the first reading unit across the transport path and configured to be displaceable in a direction of advancing and retreating with respect to the first reading unit, a second medium detection portion as detection means for detecting a specific portion provided in the sheet holder for specifying front and back sides of the sheet holder in which the booklet is sandwiched, and a control unit that determines whether or not a reading surface of the sheet holder faces the first reading unit based on the detection information of the second medium detection portion and executes a front/back side determination processing mode for performing processing based on the determination.Type: GrantFiled: March 24, 2020Date of Patent: September 14, 2021Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventor: Akira Anami
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Patent number: 11122167Abstract: A control unit of an image reading apparatus acquires, at an upstream position in a medium transportation direction of an abnormality determination area set for a leading-edge area of a medium, a distance WL from a center position in a medium width direction intersecting with the medium transportation direction to one edge in the medium width direction and a distance WR from the center position to the other edge in the medium width direction, and compares a value R that is a ratio between the distance WL and the distance WR or a difference therebetween with a threshold R0 determined in advance.Type: GrantFiled: August 20, 2020Date of Patent: September 14, 2021Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Takayuki Shiota, Ryoichi Hirayama
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Patent number: 11122174Abstract: An image reading device includes a housing with a document platen provided on an upper surface of the housing, a scanning body provided to be reciprocally movable in the housing, and a flat cable having one end connected with an image reader of the scanning body. The flat cable includes a follow-up deformed section deformable following a movement of the scanning body, and a bent section bent so that the flat cable is aligned in a main scanning direction. The bent section is arranged on a lower surface of a base of the scanning body, and a holder that holds the bent section is formed on the lower surface of the base.Type: GrantFiled: May 8, 2020Date of Patent: September 14, 2021Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Yasuhiro Suto, Kenji Nakanishi, Shohichi Fukutome
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Patent number: 11115561Abstract: An inclination detecting device includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to detect, in image information that is an image of an object imaged by an imaging device at an imaging position where a background member forms a background, a first boundary between the background member and a shadow of the object; detect a second boundary between the object and the shadow of the object in the image information; and detect an inclination of the object in the image information from the first boundary and the second boundary detected by the processing circuitry.Type: GrantFiled: January 29, 2020Date of Patent: September 7, 2021Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.Inventors: Hajime Tsukahara, Hiroki Shirado, Ayumu Hashimoto, Yuuki Nakada, Tomohiko Ono, Tatsuya Ozaki, Hiroshi Kubo, Yoshiaki Nagao, Kimiharu Yanagisawa, Masahiro Itoh
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Patent number: 11115549Abstract: For an image sensor that is elongated in a main scanning direction, an image sensor mounting bracket is obtained that suppresses a warp of the image sensor due to the weight thereof. The image sensor mounting bracket includes a fastening element to be fastened to a lateral surface of the image sensor and a fastening element to be fastened to an attachment target object, the fastening element intersecting the image sensor-side fastening element. The fastening element has an image sensor fastening surface abutting the image sensor and having positioning pins, and the attachment target object fastening element has an attachment target object fastening surface abutting the attachment target object and having elongated through holes that elongate in a sub-scanning direction and are arranged in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction.Type: GrantFiled: March 13, 2019Date of Patent: September 7, 2021Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric CorporationInventors: Toshiyuki Sawabe, Kosaku Yamagata
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Patent number: 11104149Abstract: Provided is an electronic apparatus including an image reading unit that reads a document by using a first sensor module having m linear image sensor chips, an ink tank, a print head, and a second sensor module having n (n<m) linear image sensor chips and detecting light incident from the ink tank, and a processing unit that detects an amount of ink in the ink tank based on an output of the second sensor module.Type: GrantFiled: February 10, 2020Date of Patent: August 31, 2021Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventor: Takahiro Netsu
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Patent number: 11108932Abstract: An image test apparatus includes an image reader which reads paper on which an image is formed from an image formed surface side to acquire test image data including an entire region of the paper, and a hardware processor which detects a defect in the test image data by comparing the test image data acquired by the image reader with correct image data, the hardware processor detecting a defect in the test image data in a region where the test image data overlaps with the correct image data after aligning positions of the test image data and the correct image data by aligning positions of images to each other.Type: GrantFiled: June 10, 2019Date of Patent: August 31, 2021Assignee: KONICA MINOLTA, INC.Inventor: Keisuke Morita
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Patent number: 11108930Abstract: An image reading unit includes an illumination portion, a reading portion, a casing, and a reflection member including a reflecting surface. The casing is provided with an opening. The reflection member is held outside of the opening of the casing so that at least a part of the reflecting surface is exposed to the inside of the casing through the opening.Type: GrantFiled: February 21, 2020Date of Patent: August 31, 2021Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Akira Otake
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Patent number: 11102369Abstract: An image reading device includes (i) light guides extending in a main scanning direction and configured to emit light from a light source toward a reading target moving relatively in a sub-scanning direction, the light from the light source being projected into end surfaces of the light guides in the main scanning direction, (ii) an optical filter arranged between the light source and the end surfaces of the light guides and configured to block or attenuate light having a specific wavelength from the light from the light source, (iii) a lens body to focus reflected light reflected by the reading target onto a light receiver to convert the reflected light into an electrical signal, and (iv) a lens holder. The lens holder includes a first positioner for positioning the light guides and a second positioner for positioning the optical filter.Type: GrantFiled: September 4, 2019Date of Patent: August 24, 2021Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATIONInventors: Hiroaki Matsunaga, Daisuke Ohama, Yuki Okuhigashi, Masahiko Takashina, Shigeru Matsuo, Masaki Wakisaka
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Patent number: 11102364Abstract: An inclination detecting device includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to detect, in image information that is an image of an object imaged by an imaging device at an imaging position where a background member forms a background, a first boundary between the background member and a shadow of the object at detection positions in at least one of main-scanning and sub-scanning directions on an outline of the object; detect a second boundary between the object and the shadow of the object at detection positions in at least one of the main-scanning and sub-scanning directions on the outline of the object in the image information; detect a boundary group including detection results of the second boundary at the detection positions; and detect an inclination of the object in the image information from detection results of the first boundary, the second boundary, and the boundary group.Type: GrantFiled: January 30, 2020Date of Patent: August 24, 2021Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.Inventors: Yuuki Nakada, Hajime Tsukahara, Hiroki Shirado, Ayumu Hashimoto, Tomohiko Ono, Tatsuya Ozaki, Hiroshi Kubo, Yoshiaki Nagao, Kimiharu Yanagisawa, Masahiro Itoh
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Patent number: 11089177Abstract: A reading device includes: a light source that irradiates a subject with scanning light; a light receiving section that receives reflection light from the subject; and circuitry to: control the light source to switch on and off of the scanning light; control the light receiver to receive the reflection light from the subject for a predetermined acquisition time at a predetermined acquisition interval so as to acquire data; and calculate a difference between the data acquired while the scanning light is switched on and the data acquired while the scanning light is switched off. The predetermined acquisition time and the predetermined acquisition interval are set such that the acquisition time or a total time of the acquisition time and the acquisition interval become an integer multiple of a fluctuation cycle of a fluctuation factor.Type: GrantFiled: October 1, 2019Date of Patent: August 10, 2021Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Tatsuya Ozaki, Tadaaki Oyama, Tomohiro Sasa, Hiroki Shirado, Kohsuke Nambara, Masamoto Nakazawa
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Patent number: 11079516Abstract: An optical device includes: a lens member including a plurality of lenses arranged such that optical axes of the lenses are substantially parallel to one another; and a light-transmitting member including: at least one light-transmitting part that is disposed to face the lens member, positioned on the optical axis of some of the plurality of lenses, and transmits light; and a light-shielding part that is provided on a surface of the light-transmitting part and blocks passage of light.Type: GrantFiled: July 18, 2019Date of Patent: August 3, 2021Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.Inventor: Masaki Hachisuga
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Patent number: 11073640Abstract: An optical device includes: a lens member including a plurality of lenses arranged such that optical axes of the lenses are substantially parallel to one another; and a plurality of column parts that are each provided along the optical axis of each lens among the plurality of lenses and each allow light to pass through inside, each column part having an outer periphery through which light is less likely to pass from inside to outside the column part than through an end portion of the column part in a direction along the optical axis, the plurality of column parts being integrally formed and disposed to face the lens member.Type: GrantFiled: July 18, 2019Date of Patent: July 27, 2021Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.Inventors: Motohiro Asano, Masaki Hachisuga
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Patent number: 11070694Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes: an image reading unit that reads an image of a document according to an instruction of an operator; an acquiring unit that acquires information on the operator performing document reading, or information on motions of the operator performed on the image processing apparatus in order to perform document reading; and a display that performs display for receiving an input for document reading, based on the line of sight, from the operator, when the information acquired by the acquiring unit satisfies a predetermined condition.Type: GrantFiled: October 16, 2018Date of Patent: July 20, 2021Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.Inventors: Tomoyo Nishida, Yuichi Kawata, Hideki Yamasaki, Ryoko Saitoh, Yoshifumi Bando, Kensuke Okamoto
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Patent number: 11070695Abstract: An image reading device includes a reading unit that reads a document sheet and a reading standard surface and outputs read values corresponding to pixels arranged in a main scan direction, a control unit that processes the read values, and a storage unit storing information to be referenced by the control unit. In the storage unit, first data that is read values of the reading standard surface and serves as standards, and second data on ranges of variation, based on a change in a temperature, in the read values are stored. The control unit determines, based on the first data and the second data read from the storage unit and third data obtained by reading the reading standard surface after an acquisition of the first data, whether an abnormality exists in the pixels.Type: GrantFiled: July 23, 2019Date of Patent: July 20, 2021Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Yuko Hirayama, Yuichi Kanai, Kazuya Takita
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Patent number: 11057535Abstract: A light guide includes an incident surface provided at an end portion of the light guide in the longitudinal direction and upon which light emitted by a light source incidents; an emission surface being flat-shaped, the emission surface emitting the light that enters the light guide through the incident surface to an illumination target; a reflective surface having a parabolic shape to generate collimated light directed toward the emission surface by reflecting light from a focal point of the parabolic shape or light from a predetermined area including the focal point, and a light scatterer having a predetermined scattering area to scatter light that entered the light guide through the incident surface and reflect light that entered the light guide through the incident surface in a direction of the reflective surface.Type: GrantFiled: April 16, 2019Date of Patent: July 6, 2021Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric CorporationInventors: Taku Matsuzawa, Toru Shiraki, Daisuke Ohama, Yuki Okuhigashi
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Patent number: 11019293Abstract: A photoelectric conversion element comprises: a plurality of pixels, each of which performs photoelectric conversion and outputs an analog signal; and analog processing unit that sequentially processes, on a pixel-to-pixel basis, the analog signals output from a pixel group including the pixels; and a signal supply unit that supplies a signal needed fro preliminary operation to the analog processing unit so as to enable the analog processing unit to perform the preliminary operation before the analog processing unit starts to process the analog signals output from the pixel group.Type: GrantFiled: March 7, 2019Date of Patent: May 25, 2021Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.Inventors: Naoki Asaba, Masamoto Nakazawa
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Patent number: 11019231Abstract: In a scanner, a medium transport apparatus includes an apparatus main body including a medium transport path from a supply unit, which supplies a medium, to a discharge unit, which discharges the medium, a switcher that switches an attitude of the apparatus main body with respect to a mounting surface on which the apparatus main body is mounted, and a controller that, when the attitude of the apparatus main body with respect to the mounting surface is switched, performs control in accordance with the attitude after the switching.Type: GrantFiled: August 29, 2019Date of Patent: May 25, 2021Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Noriyuki Koyanagi, Tsuyoshi Yamanaka, Tomoyuki Mokuo, Tokujiro Okuno, Masahiko Mizoguchi, Masahiro Igarashi, Akifumi Sugano, Wataru Beppu