Patents Examined by Kent Yip
  • Patent number: 11972314
    Abstract: An information processing apparatus, which communicates with an image forming apparatus and a reader, including: a display; and a controller configured to: obtain read image data output from the reader; determine an error of the read image data based on the read image data and reference data; cancel image forming operation of the image forming apparatus in a case where the error is determined in succession a predetermined number of times; cancel reading operation of the reader in the case where the error is determined in succession the predetermined number of times; notify, on the display, the cancellation of the image forming operation and the reading operation in the case where the error is determined in succession the predetermined number of times; and receive a user's instruction information about the predetermined number of times.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tatsuomi Murayama, Isami Itoh, Sumito Tanaka, Sho Ikemoto
  • Patent number: 11962725
    Abstract: A method and system for maintaining privacy in private postal mail, such as privileged or other legal postal mail or medical mail, at a correctional facility comprising a privacy verification system to verify a privacy status of a sender and generate privacy status identifiers to be used on the legal postal mail. The privacy status identifiers when scanned or observed at a mail processing facility that processes incoming mail sent to inmates who are incarcerated in a correctional facility provides an indication to the mail processing facility that the mail is private so that appropriate measures can be taken to maintain privacy status.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: HLFIP Holding, Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan D. Logan, Justin Scott
  • Patent number: 11954387
    Abstract: A method, a non-transitory computer readable medium, and a system are disclosed for processing and scheduling print jobs on a plurality of printers. The method includes: collecting job information on one or more past print jobs; collecting job information on a plurality of print jobs currently being processed, each of the plurality of print jobs being assigned to one or more operators from a plurality of operators; generating a process workflow visualization for the plurality of print jobs currently being processed with a processing mining algorithm based on the job information collected on the one or more past print jobs and the job information collected on the plurality of print jobs currently being processed; and displaying the process workflow visualization for the plurality of print jobs currently being processed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: KONICA MINOLTA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS U.S.A., INC.
    Inventor: Pritam Aher
  • Patent number: 11949829
    Abstract: A medium processing apparatus includes a medium processing mechanism that processes a medium, a first board configured to communicate with an external apparatus by a first communication method and control the medium processing mechanism, a second board configured to communicate with the first board by the first communication method, a third board configured to communicate with the second board by the first communication method and communicate with the external apparatus by a second communication method different from the first communication method, a switcher that switches a communication destination of the first board to the second board or the external apparatus, and a notification section that makes, when the communication destination of the first board is switched to the second board by the switcher, a notification of communication information based on the second communication method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Shingo Todaka, Kiyoshi Nagaharu, Yu Suzuki
  • Patent number: 11936825
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a conveyor, an image former, and a reading device. The conveyor conveys a medium in a conveyance direction. The image former forms an adjustment pattern on one side of the medium conveyed by the conveyor. The reading device downstream from the image former in the conveyance direction reads the adjustment pattern on the one side of the medium conveyed by the conveyor to generate read data. The adjustment pattern includes a first line segment and a second line segment that extend in directions different from each other and each are inclined with respect to the conveyance direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Hideaki Suzuki
  • Patent number: 11907596
    Abstract: The present invention generally relates to a method for variable data printing. A data set of compressed data is provided. The data set corresponds to a basic image layout comprising a plurality of dots. Using at least one general purpose computation on graphics processing unit the compressed data is decompressed to obtain decompressed data corresponding to the basic image layout. To each dot of the plurality of dots of the basic image layout a color value is assigned based on a reference entry of a color lookup table such that a decompressed first customized image layout to be printed is obtained. The decompressed first customized image layout is provided to at least one printer device. At least the decompressed first customized image layout is printed. The at least one printer device continuously prints subsequent decompressed customized image layouts at a predefined minimum printing speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: BOBST MEX SA
    Inventor: Gregory Gascon
  • Patent number: 11899997
    Abstract: An embodiment of the present disclosure is an image arrangement apparatus that arranges images for nesting printing, including: an arrangement unit configured to arrange the images side by side in the main scanning direction such that either one of a long side direction and a short side direction of each image included in the images coincides with the main scanning direction in accordance with a combination of respective rotations of images and also such that the images are contained in a rectangular region defined based on the combination; a calculation unit configured to calculate an area of a margin that is a part of the rectangular region, wherein the part is where the images arranged by the arrangement unit are not present; and a selection unit configured to select one of a the combinations based on the area of the margin corresponding to each combination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yuuki Arisawa
  • Patent number: 11899991
    Abstract: A printing system includes: a receiving unit that receives a first instruction given in response to speech input by a user and a second instruction given in response to input other than the speech input by the user, the first instruction and the second instruction each serving as an image forming instruction to form a processed image on a recording medium; a restriction unit that performs restriction of image forming in which the image is to be formed on the recording medium, the restriction being performed in response to the receiving unit receiving the first instruction; and a storage unit that stores the image subjected to the restriction of the image forming on the recording medium, the restriction being performed by the restriction unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventor: Ryoto Yabusaki
  • Patent number: 11893295
    Abstract: A system includes a determination unit configured to determine whether an estimated setting value is settable on a device based on device information obtained by the obtaining unit, and an adjustment unit configured to adjust, if the determination unit determines that the estimated setting value is unable to be set, the estimated setting value. The device used by the user displays the setting value adjusted by the adjustment unit as a setting value related to device processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kenta Yabe
  • Patent number: 11872833
    Abstract: Methods and system for creating an infrared effect that can survives copying, can involve providing a metameric pair of pattern inks, wherein a first pattern ink reflects higher in an infrared spectrum as compared to a second pattern ink among the metameric pair of pattern inks, wherein the second pattern ink is less reflective than the first pattern ink. For the second pattern ink that is less reflective than the first pattern ink, a pattern can be created for the second pattern ink that is larger and less scattered than an existing design for a pattern ink. A color of media can be used as a common color for the metameric pair of patterns and inks to create an infrared effect from the metameric pair of pattern inks that survives copying on the media.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: XEROX CORPORATION
    Inventor: Edward N. Chapman
  • Patent number: 11870957
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, provided is an information notification system in which a multifunction peripheral including an audio device is associated with external audio devices so that the user of the multifunction peripheral is notified of a message. The information notification system is featured by including a message determiner which determines the contents of the message, a user position detector which detects a position of the user, an output device specifying section which specifies, based on a result of determination by the message determiner and a result of detection by the user position detector, the audio device which outputs the message, and a controller which performs control so that the message is notified from the specified audio device. As the audio device for outputting the message is specified according to the contents of the message, the message is notified from the specified audio device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Chikara Matsuda
  • Patent number: 11868830
    Abstract: An information processing device includes a controller. The controller acquires an appearance image configured of a plurality of colors, identifies the plurality of colors configuring the acquired appearance image, and specifying a plurality of printing medium types based on the plurality of identified colors. The plurality of printing medium types includes a first printing medium type and a second printing medium type. The controller generates a first print dataset and a second print dataset by using the appearance image. The first print dataset corresponds to the specified first printing medium type. The second print dataset corresponds to the specified second printing medium type.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiromichi Nampo, Koichi Kondo, Tomoyasu Fukui, Ryuichi Kanda
  • Patent number: 11852860
    Abstract: A light pipe is mounted to a support structure along a length of the light pipe. The light pipe has an end at which light enters the light pipe. Light exits the light pipe at an emissive surface of the light pipe. A reflective backing is positioned at a surface of the light pipe opposite the emissive surface. A compliant member between the reflective backing and the support structure maintains the reflective backing flush against the surface of the light pipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Edward Anthony Hill, Kyoungrok Kim, Rene Octavio Valenzuela-Rivas
  • Patent number: 11849092
    Abstract: A technique that prevents an unnecessary notification to a user. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a control program causing a computer of an information processing apparatus to execute a control method including a reception step of receiving an event generated in a device, a setting step of setting a user who is a destination of a notification based on the event received in the reception step according to a type of the event received in the reception step, first information showing a group for each type of an event, and second information showing a group for each user, and a notification step of transmitting a notification based on the event received in the reception step to the user set in the setting step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Jun Tanaka
  • Patent number: 11843736
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus having a voice notification function of giving a voice notification to a user includes a first setting unit configured to set whether to enable the voice notification function of notifying the user of an operation result of the image forming apparatus in a case where the operation result is normal, and a second setting unit configured to set whether to enable the voice notification function relating to the operation result of the image forming apparatus in a case where the operation result is an error.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Jun Horiyama
  • Patent number: 11843739
    Abstract: The present invention is an information processing device in which a printer driver for causing an image forming device to perform processing according to items is installed, and which is provided with an editable tab on a settings screen of the printer driver such that the items can be selected by a user. The information processing device includes a controller that, in a state where information about the editable tab has been registered in the image forming device by an administrator, and an acquisition request for information about the registered editable tab has been made from the printer driver to the image forming device, causes information about the registered editable tab to be transmitted to the information processing device, and causes the transmitted information to be reflected in the editable tab of the printer driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2023
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Shinichi Kawano
  • Patent number: 11838457
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus is provided and is capable of directly registering image data received by the image forming apparatus in an expense processing system as voucher data without printing the image data. The image processing apparatus according to the present invention is an image processing apparatus capable of communicating with an expense processing server that registers a character string included in received image data as expense data. The image processing apparatus includes a reception unit configured to receive image data from an external apparatus and a transmission unit configured to automatically transmit the image data received by the reception unit to the expense processing server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kenji Kasuya
  • Patent number: 11831836
    Abstract: The present invention includes: a receiver that receives posting of a message including a request by a user; a poster that posts the message received by the receiver to a social networking service (SNS); an acquirer that acquires a message posted by an image forming device from the SNS, the image forming device being able to process the request and being among image forming devices that are associated with the user in the SNS; and a display that shows the message acquired by the acquirer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2023
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yuhko Kanemoto
  • Patent number: 11811995
    Abstract: A mediation device that mediates an image forming apparatus and a device management system that generates an F/W update task serving as a task for updating firmware of the image forming apparatus periodically transmits a request for an F/W update task for the image forming apparatus managed by the mediation device itself to the device management system and executes the F/W update task transmitted from the device management system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: KYOCERA DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS INC.
    Inventors: Chika Tsuji, Hisakazu Nishiyama, Jumpei Takagi, Atsushi Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 11811999
    Abstract: A document management system includes a facsimile device or a multi-peripheral (MFP) device having facsimile and scanning components. A cloud based server stores a policy that is used to manage documents received at the facsimile device or scanning component. When a document is received at the facsimile device or scanning component, a parameter is used to determine an action to be taken according to the policy. Such actions include forwarding the received document to the cloud based server or sending it as an attachment in an email. When received at the cloud based server, the policy is used to categorize the document according to an attribute to make the document available within a document management service.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: KYOCERA DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS INC.
    Inventor: Jin Liang