With Means To Program Discharge Destination Patents (Class 271/298)
  • Patent number: 11840416
    Abstract: A sheet sorting apparatus includes a second tray arranged below a first tray detachable from a main body having a first discharge port corresponding to the first tray and a second discharge port corresponding to the second tray, a discharge unit, a tray detecting unit, and a control unit. The discharge unit discharges a sheet toward the first or second discharge port. In a state that the first tray is detached from the main body and the discharge unit discharges sheets from the first discharge port to the second tray and then the first tray is detected as attached to the main body, the control unit selects a discharge destination of a second sheet, subsequent to a first sheet discharged and stacked first after the first tray is attached to the main body, such that the second sheet is stacked on a tray having the first sheet thereon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroshi Chihara, Genki Takahashi, Kazuhisa Sato
  • Patent number: 11713205
    Abstract: A switching device for switching transport directions of a recording medium includes a switching member and at least one rotation stopper. The switching member is configured to switch transport paths of the recording medium. The at least one rotation stopper is configured to hit the switching member to stop rotation of the switching member. The at least one rotation stopper is disposed asymmetrically in a direction perpendicular to a transport direction in which the switching member transports the recording medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2023
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventor: Jun Sawamura
  • Patent number: 11049351
    Abstract: A money handling machine includes: a storage assembly including a storage unit for storing money and feeding out the stored money; a collection unit configured to store the money fed out from the storage unit; a replenishing unit configured to store money with which an external device is replenished; and a control unit configured to manage the money stored in the storage unit of the storage assembly under a first management authority, and manage money stored in the collection unit and at least a part of money stored in the replenishing unit under a second management authority.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Assignee: GLORY LTD.
    Inventor: Yasutaka Toyoda
  • Patent number: 10742832
    Abstract: Examples of providing printed confidential documents are described herein. In an example, a printing system includes at least two protected trays to store printed confidential documents. The at least two protected trays may be coupled to each other to enable transfer of the printed confidential documents between the at least two protected trays. Further, an output tray may be coupled to at least one of the at least two protected trays to provide the printed confidential documents for collection. Furthermore, on receiving an authentication input, the printed confidential documents may be transferred from one of the at least two protected trays to the output tray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Shinoj Bhaskaran, Pooja
  • Patent number: 10518999
    Abstract: A control device includes a storage and a controller and controls a system having an image forming apparatus to form an image onto a sheet based on an image forming job, and a sheet stacking apparatus having a stacking tray. The storage stores stacking state information indicating a state of sheets stacked and/or to be stacked on the stacking tray. The controller controls to generate a system configuration image that visualizes a configuration of the system, to generate a sheet bundle image that visualizes a sheet bundle stacked on the tray, and to display a screen in which the sheet bundle image is combined at a position of the stacking tray in the system configuration image. The controller controls to display the sheet bundle image such that sheets of a processed job, sheets of a job being processed, and sheets of a processing waiting job are distinguished from each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2019
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ryo Fujita, Jerome Guermont, Toru Shinnae, Nobuaki Miyahara, Yoshitaka Oba
  • Patent number: 10259673
    Abstract: A sheet processing apparatus includes a transport path to transport a sheet to a first tray, a branch path branched off from the transport path to transport a sheet to a second tray, a first transport roller positioned in the transport path on a downstream side of a branch position of the transport path and the branch path to transport a sheet in either direction of the first tray or the branch path, a second transport roller positioned on the branch path to transport a sheet in either direction of the second tray or the transport path, and a control section recognizing a transport length of the sheet transported by the first transport roller and the second transport roller, and controlling the first transport roller and the second transport roller. The control section performs first and second transports for switchback-transporting a sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2019
    Assignee: CANON FINETECH NISCA INC.
    Inventors: Takahiro Nakano, Takashi Saito, Isao Kondo
  • Patent number: 10052867
    Abstract: A recording system includes: a recording apparatus; a post-processing apparatus; and a transport apparatus which transports the medium to which the recording is performed to the post-processing apparatus, and the transport apparatus includes a transport mechanism which transports a medium to which the recording is performed to the post-processing apparatus, and a loading stand which loads the discharged medium without transporting the medium to which the recording is performed to the post-processing apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Hidetoshi Kodama
  • Patent number: 10043327
    Abstract: Monitoring and authorizing collection of printed media. A print task is received. A unique electromagnetic (EM) signature is generated for the received print task. Files for the print task are printed including the EM signature. Communication information is received including information exchanged between a radio frequency identification (RFID) badge associated with a user requesting access to a common printing area and a RFID reader associated with the common printing area, and information by an electromagnetic detector of a computer from the EM signature. Based on the first and second set of received communication information, an attempted collection of the printed media by the print task owner is determined. If the attempted collection is not made by the print task owner, a notification is transmitted to a computer associated with the print task owner indicating an unauthorized attempted collection of the printed media.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Liam Harpur, Erik Katzen, Sumit Patel, John Rice
  • Patent number: 9919890
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a transport path for transporting a sheet, a branch path branched off from the transport path to transport a sheet to a stacker, transport rollers on the transport path, branch rollers on the branch path, and a sheet processing control section controlling the rollers. The control section performs wait transport for switchback-transporting a sheet to cause the sheet to once wait in the branch path after the sheet transported in the transport path passes through a branch position, and transporting the sheet to a first processing tray together with a subsequent sheet, and second tray transport for switchback-transporting a sheet to transport to the stacker via the branch path after the sheet passes through the branch position, makes a switchback transport velocity in the second tray transport lower than that in switchback transport in the wait transport, and suppresses fluttering and bending of the sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: CANON FINETECH NISCA INC.
    Inventors: Takahiro Nakano, Takashi Saito
  • Patent number: 9658812
    Abstract: By adding a distinction for every sheet bundle of a same delivery destination and ejecting the sheet bundle, a sorting burden on the user is reduced. According to a control method of a printing apparatus, a job including predetermined information is received, an image is printed to a sheet by executing the received job, and on the basis of the predetermined information included in the received job, the sheet which is printed by executing the job is ejected to a position different from that of a sheet ejected before the sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yoshiji Kanamoto
  • Patent number: 9170761
    Abstract: A computer generated method disclosed. The method includes receiving a print job, analyzing the print job data stream, determining if the print job data stream includes a command matching one or more pre-defined criteria and disabling generation of a separator page for the print job if the print job data stream includes a command matching one or more pre-defined criteria.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, LTD.
    Inventors: Robert F. Jessen, Mary G. Cochran, Marius Stefan, Lucian Ioan Olariu, Silviu Nanau
  • Patent number: 9022387
    Abstract: A print-medium storing unit, a print-medium storing apparatus including the same, and an image forming apparatus including the same which are provided in a power transmission mechanism, print-medium storing apparatus which is installed on a discharge path of a print-medium in an image forming apparatus, includes a plurality of storing units which is arranged with multi-layers, and a controller which controls to drive a feeding unit of another storing unit arranged between the storing unit through which the print-medium is to be discharged and the image forming apparatus, by a driving source of the storing unit through which the print-medium is to be discharged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2015
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Joo-heon Lee
  • Patent number: 8985581
    Abstract: When the presence or absence of a malfunction is respectively determined in a decoloring section or a separation device, and it is determined that either the decoloring section or the separation device is malfunctioning, only the other is executable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ken Iguchi, Takahiro Kawaguchi, Isao Yahata, Hiroyuki Taguchi, Hiroyuki Tsuchihashi, Hiroyuki Taki
  • Patent number: 8985573
    Abstract: Disclosed is an image forming system including: the relay apparatus; the image forming device which is connected to the first communication control unit of the relay apparatus and which acquires the sheet interval information of the downstream post-processing device through the first communication system; and the second post-processing device which is connected to the second communication control unit of the relay apparatus, the second post-processing device being compliant with the second communication system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: Konica Minolta, Inc.
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Konishi
  • Patent number: 8985582
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to providing a mechanism for allowing a user to easily take out print products discharged onto a plurality of sheet discharge trays in the discharge order. A control method for controlling a sheet processing apparatus for performing control to discharge sheets onto a plurality of sheet discharge trays includes storing, in a storage unit, the discharge order in which sheets have been discharged onto equal to or more than two sheet discharge trays by executing a job, and performing, upon reception of a take-out instruction for taking out in the discharge order the sheets discharged by executing the job, processing for allowing a user to take out the sheets discharged onto the equal to or more than two sheet discharge trays, in the discharge order stored in the storage unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hiroya Igarashi
  • Patent number: 8967890
    Abstract: A recording apparatus includes a conveying unit, recording processing unit, recording detection unit provided downstream of the recording processing unit to check plural maintenance patterns recorded on a continuous sheet, cutter unit, plural discharge units to selectively receive cut sheets, discharge unit changeover unit to select one discharge unit to receive a cut sheet, conveyance failure detection unit, and control unit. The control unit controls the discharge unit changeover unit such that, when a continuous sheet conveyance failure is detected upstream of a position where the cutter is, and a maintenance pattern previously checked is present downstream of the cutter when the conveyance failure is detected, a present sheet unit between the maintenance pattern and the cutter position is discharged to a second discharge unit. The second discharge unit is different from a first discharge unit used for a sheet unit other than the present sheet unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Ken Hoshino
  • Patent number: 8958122
    Abstract: An image data distribution apparatus includes an image data separating unit configured to separate image data obtained through a series of document read operations into a plurality of pieces of image data according to a predetermined condition; and an image data distributing unit configured to determine a distribution destination for each of the separated pieces of image data and distribute the separated pieces of image data to the corresponding distribution destinations, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventor: Naoki Takishima
  • Patent number: 8955843
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a print control unit, a determining unit, and a control unit. The print control unit causes a printing unit to print an image on a sheet and causes one of a plurality of discharge units to discharge at least one sheet on which the image is printed by the printing unit facing downward. The determining unit determines whether some of the discharge units are to be used for discharging sheets for an input print job. In response to determining that the some of the discharge units are to be used for the input print job, the print control unit discharges the sheets to the some of the discharge units such that a former page of the sheets is discharged to a lower-level discharge unit and a latter page of the sheets is discharged to an upper-level discharge unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Sho Nakamura, Koji Okabe, Kazuo Uetsuke
  • Patent number: 8882109
    Abstract: A paper sheet processing apparatus comprises a taking-in unit 10 configured to take therein paper sheets, a transport unit 70 configured to transport the paper sheets, a recognition unit 20 configured to recognize the paper sheets, a plurality of stacking units 60a to 60d configured to stack the paper sheets, the paper sheets stacked in the stacking units 60a-60d being able to be removed from the stacking units 60a-60d, and a detection sensor 25a to 25d configured to detect whether the paper sheets have been removed from the stacking units 60a-60d. When a control unit 50 judges that the paper sheets have been removed from the stacking units 60a to 60d based on information from the detection sensor 25a to 25d, the control unit 50 outputs removal information on the removed paper sheets or the stacking units 60a to 60d from which the paper sheets have been removed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignee: Glory Ltd.
    Inventor: Toshihide Asada
  • Patent number: 8876101
    Abstract: A printing apparatus capable of connecting a post-processing apparatus includes a printing unit configured to convey an envelope so that the long edge of the envelope can become a leading edge in conveyance direction and print an image on the envelope. When the post-processing apparatus is connected, the printing apparatus restricts from conveying the envelope so that the long edge of the envelope becomes the leading edge in conveyance direction for printing the image on the envelope.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 4, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Megumi Saito
  • Publication number: 20140319767
    Abstract: A sheet processing method in a printing system constituted by a sheet processing apparatus including a plurality of paper discharge trays having different sheet stacking capacities, to any of whose paper discharge trays a printed sheet is discharged, and a printing apparatus includes setting which of the paper discharge trays is used first for discharging the sheet, specifying the number of remaining pages of sheets to be discharged by a job to be executed, and executing control for discharging the sheets starting from a paper discharge tray different from the set paper discharge tray according to the specified number of remaining pages and a restriction on a stacking amount on each paper discharge tray.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 10, 2014
    Publication date: October 30, 2014
    Inventor: Masahiro Mutsuno
  • Patent number: 8864134
    Abstract: A reduction is prevented in stacking efficiency of a sheet stacking apparatus due to a wrong setting of a stacking tray performed by a user thereby achieving a high stacking efficiency. In a control method for controlling an image forming apparatus including a sheet stacking control unit configured to stack sheets, subjected to printing in a print job, on one of a plurality of removable sheet stacking units, the control method includes specifying a sheet discharging unit used in the print job, determining whether a sheet stacking unit corresponding to the specified sheet discharging unit is properly set, and, in a case where it is determined that the sheet stacking unit is not properly set, restricting conveying sheets to the sheet stacking unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshiro Tachibana
  • Patent number: 8842302
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus including an image forming unit which continuously forms an image on sheets of paper, three or more stackers to which the sheets on which the image is formed by the image forming unit are ejected and a control unit which determines paper ejection order of stackers to which the sheets are to be ejected among the three or more stackers in a predetermined order, wherein each of the stackers includes a loading unit on which the sheets are loaded and a conveyance cart which is disposed under the loading unit and by which the loading unit can be removed from the stacker.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2014
    Assignee: Konica Minolta, Inc.
    Inventor: Yoshihisa Kamata
  • Patent number: 8773684
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus according to the present disclosure includes: a printing unit configured to perform printing on a recording medium; a multiple-sheet-feed detecting unit configured to detect a multiple sheet feed of the recording medium; an image holding unit configured to hold an image expected to print on the recording medium on which the multiple sheet feed is detected (i.e. the multi-fed medium); and a print control unit configured to control the printing unit. The print control unit is further configured (a) to cancel printing on the multi-fed medium, and (b) to cause the printing unit to print the held image on another recording medium, which (b1) is in transfer after the multi-fed medium, (b2) is nearest in a transferring order to the multi-fed medium, and (b3) has a property same as that of the multi-fed medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: Kyocera Document Solutions, Inc.
    Inventor: Masato Hirota
  • Patent number: 8764013
    Abstract: A conveyance control device is provided to comprise a turning device 13 that has a trifurcate intersection 7 and a deflector 20 of three vertexes 21, 22, 23 rotatably supported in trifurcate intersection 7, an actuating device 30 for moving each of three vertexes 21, 22, 23 of deflector 20 to open gates 27, 28, 29 defined between vertexes 21, 22, 23 and related inner surfaces 7a, 7b, 7c of trifurcate intersection 7, and a conveyance device 9 for transporting a document along shuttle, reserve and recycle pathways 5, 10, 11 and for transporting the document through each gate 27, 28, 29 from one to another of the shuttle, reserve and recycle pathways 5, 10, 11.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2014
    Assignee: Japan Cash Machine Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tetsuya Tomiyoshi, Katsuya Sadahiro, Kengo Akashi
  • Patent number: 8749816
    Abstract: A printing system includes, for example, a printing apparatus which forms an image on a sheet, and a plurality of dollies which are assigned different dolly identification information and used to stack the sheet discharged from the discharging port of the printing apparatus. The printing system also includes a designation unit which designates a dolly to be used for a print job, and an output unit which outputs alert information when the dolly designated by the designation unit is not allocated at the discharging port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hidenori Sunada, Mitsuhiko Sato, Naoto Watanabe, Takashi Yokoya
  • Patent number: 8727333
    Abstract: There is provided a printing apparatus including a sheet accommodation device including at least one sheet accommodation section which accommodates a sheet before printing, a printing unit which prints an image on a sheet based on print data stored in a storage area, a discharged sheet accommodation device including at least one discharged sheet accommodation section which accommodates the printed sheet, a control device which selects a combination of a sheet accommodation section and a discharged sheet accommodation section such that a storage device completes storing print data into the storage area by a conveyance starting time of a sheet to be printed based on the print data, and which control a conveyance device to feed the sheet to be printed based on the print data from the sheet accommodation section to discharge the sheet to the discharged sheet accommodation section of the selected combination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2014
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takashi Ohmiya
  • Publication number: 20140062015
    Abstract: There is provided a technique of allowing the user to readily identify a printed material with a stable tint when a plurality of printed materials are output in a printing apparatus. To achieve this, a printing apparatus according to one aspect of the invention executes an adjustment job for printing an image on a plurality of sheets for adjusting the tint of the printed image, and controls to discharge, to a first discharge unit, a predetermined number of sheets among the plurality of sheets on which the image is printed by executing the adjustment job, and to discharge, to a second discharge unit different from the first discharge unit, a remaining sheet subsequent to the predetermined number of sheets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 23, 2013
    Publication date: March 6, 2014
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Takuto Harada
  • Patent number: 8662498
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a paper discharge device includes a discharged-sheet receiving part that can be opened and closed on a side surface of an apparatus body, is closed on the side surface and receives a recording medium dropped from above along the side surface after image formation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2014
    Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shinichi Ito
  • Publication number: 20140049003
    Abstract: A document storage device includes a document storage rack, a document distributing apparatus, and a transmitting roller. The document storage rack defines a first storage space and a second storage space. A first protecting door is mounted on the document storage rack to close and lock the first storage space. The second storage space is readily accessible. The document distributing apparatus includes a controlling pole and a first distributing roller connected to the controlling pole. The transmitting roller transmits a document to the first distributing roller. The controlling pole moves the first distributing roller between a first position and a second position. In the first position, the first distributing roller transmits the document into the first storage space. In the second position, the first distributing roller transmits the document into the second storage space.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2013
    Publication date: February 20, 2014
    Applicant: HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
    Inventor: CHIEN-HAO LU
  • Patent number: 8613446
    Abstract: A sheet stacking apparatus includes a stack unit which includes a first stack tray and a second stack tray which can be individually elevated and is configured to stack a sheet on at least one of the first stack tray and the second tray, and a control unit configured to control the stack unit to stack the sheet in a first stack mode in which the sheet is stacked on at least one of the first stack tray and the second stack tray without being extended over the first stack tray and the second stack tray and a second stack mode in which the sheet is stacked on across the first stack tray and the second stack tray, the control unit capable of selecting the first stack mode and the second stack mode with respect to a same size sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Miyake, Mitsuhiko Sato, Naoto Watanabe, Takayuki Fujii, Yushi Oka, Takashi Yokoya, Hiromasa Maenishi, Yutaka Ando
  • Patent number: 8608166
    Abstract: A sheet conveyance control method in an apparatus including a first conveying path for leading a sheet from a feeing port to a discharge port, a second sheet conveying path for leading the sheet to another conveyance destination, and a decoloring processing section configured to decolor an image formed on the sheet includes: detecting the length of the sheet further on a downstream side than the feeding port and further on an upstream side than a branching point of the first and second sheet conveying paths in a sheet conveying direction of the first sheet conveying path; and changing, if the trailing end of the sheet is not detected in a period after the leading end of the sheet is detected and before the leading end of the sheet reaches the branching point, a first flapper to a state in which the sheet is conveyed to the discharge port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2013
    Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ken Iguchi, Hiroyuki Tsuchihashi, Isao Yahata, Takahiro Kawaguchi, Hiroyuki Taguchi, Hiroyuki Taki
  • Patent number: 8565666
    Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, a recording medium is fed by being switched between a first conveying path feeding a recording medium to a first image forming portion and a second conveying path feeding the recording medium to a second image forming portion without being enabled to pass through the first image forming portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Naoki Hashimoto
  • Patent number: 8496099
    Abstract: When a bill-jam occurs in a bill dispenser, the jammed bill or the subsequent bill is easily removed. An arc-shaped conveyance passage (20) that is formed in an arc shape and that includes a cylindrical drive roller (21) rotating about a rotational shaft (21a) and plural pressure rollers (22) pressurizing an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical drive roller, is provided in a conveyance passage connecting a discrimination part (3) to a reception part (1) in the bill dispenser. A switching blade (6) is disposed in a branch part (26) between the arc shape conveyance passage (20) and a branch conveyance passage (27) connected to a temporary holding part 4.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2013
    Assignee: Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hajime Togiya, Atsushi Takada
  • Patent number: 8490970
    Abstract: When a sheet processing apparatus is newly connected, discharge of sheets to a paper discharge tray the user does not intend is prevented while omitting cumbersome settings regarding the sheet processing apparatus. To accomplish this, a printing apparatus stores, in storage unit, information for determining a paper discharge destination to which sheets are to be discharged from among a plurality of paper discharge destinations. In a case where a newly connected sheet processing apparatus is a sheet processing apparatus of the same type as an immediately previously connected sheet processing apparatus, the printing apparatus does not change the information stored in the storage unit. In a case where a newly connected sheet processing apparatus is a sheet processing apparatus of a different type, the printing apparatus updates the information stored in the storage unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masahiro Mutsuno
  • Patent number: 8467074
    Abstract: A method for controlling an apparatus, including a plurality of lockable discharge units configured to discharge a printed product having an image formed thereon based on a received job to any one of the plurality of lockable discharge units, includes managing information about a lockable discharge unit to which the printed product is discharged in association with information about a user, notifying the user to prompt picking up the printed product discharged to the lockable discharge unit based on the managed information, and determining whether a particular user is using the plurality of lockable discharge units based on the managed information, wherein, in a case where the particular user is using the plurality of lockable discharge units, the notification is performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hideki Hirose
  • Patent number: 8459643
    Abstract: There is provided a printing apparatus including: a printing mechanism; a plurality of trays; a discharge mechanism; a plurality of detection mechanisms which detect whether a height of the sheets stacked on the trays is not less than a threshold value; and a controller which controls the discharge mechanism and the printing mechanism. When the detection mechanisms detect that all heights of the sheets stacked on the trays are not less than the threshold value, the controller controls the discharge mechanism to discontinue a discharge of the sheets. After the discharge of the sheets is discontinued, when the detection mechanisms detect that the heights of the sheets stacked on at least two trays became smaller than the threshold value, the controller controls the discharge mechanism to resume the discharge of the sheets on a tray which is other than a tray which is recovered last.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2013
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Fei Cheng
  • Patent number: 8454016
    Abstract: A sheet stacking apparatus includes a gripper configured to discharge a sheet, a plurality of stacker trays arranged in a row and configured to stack the discharged sheet, and a guiding unit configured to guide the discharged sheet to a predetermined position. The plurality of stacking trays are horizontally arranged so that a large number of sheets can be stacked without increasing the size of the sheet stacking apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yusuke Obuchi, Kenichi Hayashi
  • Patent number: 8430586
    Abstract: A disabled state in which sheets cannot be discharged at a discharge unit while printing is detected. Upon detecting the disabled state, printing is continued at a printing unit, and a sheet printed upon is evacuated to a storage unit without cutting into a plurality of cut sheets at a cutter unit. After the disabled state is resolved, the sheet which has been evacuated to the storage unit is sent to the cutter unit so as to be cut into the cut sheets, and discharged at the discharge unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Taichi Watanabe
  • Patent number: 8400653
    Abstract: A printing system prevents mistakes such as that a printed paper sheet printed by requesting from a PC to an image forming apparatus is left in an ejected-paper tray. The image forming apparatus transmits to the server printing execution result information that includes the serial number and the time and date of the printing. The server manages the state of unfetch of the printed paper sheet using a fetch flag in a printing record list created based on the printing execution result information, changes the fetch flag from “unfetched” to “fetched” when information indicating that the printed paper sheet has been fetched is sent from the image forming apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Akinobu Fujino
  • Patent number: 8401455
    Abstract: Disclosed are a sheet buffer module and a printing system incorporating the buffer module. The buffer module has parallel first and second sheet transport paths that extend in opposite directions across a frame. Sheet buffer paths connect the first sheet transport path to the second sheet transport path. In operation, a stream of sheets is fed by the first sheet transport path from a multi-color printing module to a monochrome printing module. During this process, selected sheets are diverted from the stream into the sheet buffer paths and held. After processing by the monochrome printing module, the stream is fed by the second sheet transport path back to the multi-color printing module for further processing and/or final output. During this process, the sheet buffer paths feed the buffered sheets into the second sheet transport path such that they are inserted at the proper locations back into the stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventor: Eun Suk Suh
  • Patent number: 8393621
    Abstract: A sheet stacking apparatus includes a conveyance portion, a first sheet stacking portion, a second sheet stacking portion, and a controller. The conveyance portion includes a holding portion that moves while holding a downstream end of a sheet. The first and second sheet stacking portions include stacking surfaces and the second sheet stacking portion is arranged downstream of the first sheet stacking portion. The controller controls to cause the holding portion to convey to the second sheet stacking portion. When the sheet to be stacked on the second sheet stacking portion passes over the first sheet stacking portion, an upstream end of the sheet in the sheet conveying direction is guided along the first sheet stacking portion stacking surface, on which a sheet is not stacked, while the downstream end of the sheet is held by the holding portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenichi Hayashi, Yusuke Obuchi
  • Patent number: 8376360
    Abstract: A sheet stacking apparatus including first and second stacking trays configured to stack sheets, a detection unit configured to detect a sheet stacking amount on the first stacking tray, a setting unit configured to set an upper limit on stacking amount for controlling the sheet stacking amount that is less than a maximum sheet stacking amount on the first stacking tray, and a control unit configured to stop stacking of sheets on the first stacking tray and stack sheets on the second stacking tray in a case where the sheet stacking amount which is detected by the detection unit reaches the upper limit on stacking amount that is set by the setting unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Moriyama, Hitoshi Kato, Yasuo Fukatsu, Naoki Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 8366107
    Abstract: A media presenter is described. The media presenter comprises: a chassis including a central track; a nose coupled to the chassis at a nose end of the chassis; and a carriage. The nose includes a presenting end distal from the chassis, and a nose track arranged to couple to the central track to provide a presenting track extending from the chassis to the presenting end. The carriage is mounted on the presenting track for movement therealong, and comprises a carriage body and a carriage plate movable between an open position at which media items can be placed on the carriage plate, and a closed position for clamping media items between the carriage plate and the carriage body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2013
    Assignee: NCR Corporation
    Inventors: Scott Deas, Gordon Burke, Michael Rennie, Scott L. Colston
  • Patent number: 8360428
    Abstract: When printing is to be executed on the basis of an input print job, and a group of sheets having undergone the printing on the basis of the input print job are discharged to a first one of multiple discharging destinations, the first discharging destination is switched to a second discharging destination in the course of the discharging process, and the second discharging destination is selected in accordance with an arranged order of the group of sheets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Sho Nakamura, Koji Okabe, Kazuo Uetsuke
  • Publication number: 20130020760
    Abstract: When a sheet processing apparatus is newly connected, discharge of sheets to a paper discharge tray the user does not intend is prevented while omitting cumbersome settings regarding the sheet processing apparatus. To accomplish this, a printing apparatus stores, in storage unit, information for determining a paper discharge destination to which sheets are to be discharged from among a plurality of paper discharge destinations. In a case where a newly connected sheet processing apparatus is a sheet processing apparatus of the same type as an immediately previously connected sheet processing apparatus, the printing apparatus does not change the information stored in the storage unit. In a case where a newly connected sheet processing apparatus is a sheet processing apparatus of a different type, the printing apparatus updates the information stored in the storage unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2012
    Publication date: January 24, 2013
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Masahiro Mutsuno
  • Patent number: 8335465
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a first and a second image forming sections, a paper feeding section, and a paper output section. The image forming sections form an image on paper independently. The apparatus is laterally dividable into a first and a second portions where the first and second image forming sections are respectively positioned. The feeding section is arranged below the first image forming section in the first portion. The output section is arranged above the second image forming section in the second portion. The apparatus has two simple transport paths that run vertically through the image forming sections, respectively, without intersecting each other and detouring around the second or first image forming section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2012
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masami Tsuchida
  • Patent number: 8302964
    Abstract: A stacker includes a sheet discharging portion constituted by a discharging belt and an extension roller that is in contact with the discharging belt. The position of the extension roller is changeable along the discharging belt. This means that, in the stacker, the position from which a sheet is discharged is changeable to a desired position in accordance with the sheet length by changing the position of the extension roller. Therefore, it is possible to stack sheets at a desired position on stacker trays, enabling the user to easily carry the stacked sheets from the stacker.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2012
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yusuke Obuchi, Toshiki Momoka
  • Patent number: 8282098
    Abstract: A sheet stacking apparatus includes a sheet stack portion having a plurality of separately elevatable stacker trays configured to stack a conveyed sheet and arranged one after the other in a sheet conveying direction. When a number of sheets to be stacked is greater than a number of sheets stackable on a stacker tray, the sheets are conveyed on one stacker tray and then stacked on another stacker tray so that the sheet stacking apparatus is capable of stacking a large number of sheets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2012
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenichi Hayashi, Yusuke Obuchi
  • Patent number: 8276912
    Abstract: A medium path converting unit to reduce electrical stress, an image forming apparatus including the same and a control method thereof. The medium path converting unit to convert a moving path of a print medium can include a guiding member movable to a first position to guide the print medium to a first path and to a second position to guide the print medium to a second path, an actuator to move the guide member from the first position to the second position, an actuator solenoid to drive the actuator, and a locking unit to lock the actuator to allow the guiding member to maintain the second position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2012
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Chun-Seung Yang