Patents Assigned to Ricoh Company, Ltd.
  • Patent number: 5692048
    Abstract: A facsimile transmission system with a first facsimile machine that includes at least a scanner for scanning documents inserted into a document feeder and transmission capabilities for sending a fax and with a second facsimile machine that includes at least reception capabilities for receiving the fax and a printer for printing a hard copy of the received fax, if necessary. The facsimile system may include functionality for securing the facsimile transmission. The facsimile system may include functionality to enable the facsimile transmission to be certified.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 1994
    Date of Patent: November 25, 1997
    Assignees: Ricoh Company, Ltd., Ricoh Corporation
    Inventors: Michael J. Gormish, Gregory J. Wolff, David G. Stork, Peter E. Hart, Yoshio Kawajiri
  • Patent number: 5692163
    Abstract: A processor system includes: an input data memory for storing a number of sets of predetermined input data to be processed, the input data including sets of original input data and sets of duplicate input data; a processing unit for generating a set of output data by processing each set of the input data, the processing unit generating sets of original output data from the sets of original input data; an output data memory for storing all sets of output data including the sets of original output data and sets of duplicate output data; an output data cache for storing the sets of the original output data output from the processing unit when the input data is detected as being the original input data; and a switching control unit for transferring the original output data stored in the output data cache into a location of the output data memory to store the duplicate output data, when the input data is detected as being the duplicate input data, and for transferring the original output data from the processing m
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 25, 1997
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Masanobu Fukushima
  • Patent number: 5691099
    Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide a novel and useful thermal developing type diazo copying material wherein an initial image quality and an initial image reliability are maintained, while undesired coloring can be avoided and long-term preservation characteristics can be improved. The present invention comprises a support, a photosensitive layer formed on said support, said photosensitive layer including a diazo compound, and a coupler layer formed on said support, said coupler layer including a coupler component, said coupler layer having a copolymer including a monomer having a carboxylic acid and water-soluble guanidine salt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 25, 1997
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeru Kusakata, Masanori Rimoto, Kazuo Matsuda, Naohito Shimota
  • Patent number: 5692130
    Abstract: In a communication method for data terminal equipment, which communication method includes a function of forming a communication link comprising a plurality of B channels by having a calling terminal and a called terminal execute, via an ISDN, a plurality of call connecting procedures, and of effecting a data transmission by simultaneously using the plurality of channels of the communication link thus formed,the number of times that the call connecting procedures are executed is adjusted in accordance with conditions that prevail during a communication, and a data transmission is effected in the communication link comprising a plurality of channels, the total number of which channels corresponds to the number of times that the call connecting procedures are executed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 25, 1997
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshifumi Shobu, Fumihiro Ogasawara
  • Patent number: 5691758
    Abstract: A thermal recording apparatus records information on a thermal recording sheet, the thermal recording sheet having a thermal characteristic by which the information is recorded through heating the thermal recording sheet to a first temperature and information which has been recorded on the thermal recording sheet is erased therefrom by heating the thermal recording sheet to a second temperature. The thermal recording apparatus includes, a thermal head for heating the thermal recording sheet in a pattern, a recording controller for driving the thermal head so that the thermal recording sheet is heated to the first temperature in a pattern corresponding to the information to be recorded, and an erasing controller for supplying thermal energy to the thermal recording sheet on which information has been recorded by using the thermal head so that the thermal recording sheet is heated to the second temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 1994
    Date of Patent: November 25, 1997
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeshi Kamada, Toshiaki Kumashiro
  • Patent number: 5689590
    Abstract: A density converting unit converts densities concerning respective color components in color-image data for each pixel so as to change the densities concerning respective color components for the pixel into lower densities when the densities concerning respective color components for the pixel are determined to be white or approximately white. The density converting unit converts the densities concerning color components in the color-image data for each pixel so as to change the densities concerning respective color components for the pixel into densities corresponding to white ones when all of the densities concerning respective color components for the pixel are lower than a predetermined threshold density value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 18, 1997
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hisao Shirasawa, Kaoru Imao
  • Patent number: 5689348
    Abstract: An image reading device capable of preventing, by increasing the quantity of light at the center or bound portion of a spread book document, the quantity of light from becoming short and preventing density from becoming irregular due to the deviation of a focus. At and around the center of a spread book document where the document is bound, the quantity of light for illumination or the amplification gain of image data read from the document is increased. A plurality of fluorescent lamps illuminate the surface of the document at the upstream side and downstream side with respect to an intended scanning direction. When the edge of the document is to be detected, only one of the lamps is turned on to enhance the stripe pattern representative of the stepped edge portion of the document.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 18, 1997
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Takahashi, Kazunori Bannai, Tetsuya Fujioka, Kazushige Taguchi, Susumu Shiina
  • Patent number: 5689764
    Abstract: A device for driving a charge roller, charge belt, image transfer roller, image transfer belt or similar contact type charging member used to charge an image carrier of an image forming apparatus in contact with the image carrier. The charging member is driven by an exclusive motor independent of a motor for driving the image carrier. A drive gear and a driven gear are formed of metal and resin, respectively. A flywheel is mounted on a drive roller for causing the charging member to rotate. The drive side has greater rotation energy than the driven roller side. A flywheel is also mounted on the drive gear.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 18, 1997
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yutaka Fukuchi, Hidenobu Endoh
  • Patent number: 5689765
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus which allows information to be input regarding the current copying job or a new copying job while a current copying job is being executed. Information which can be input relating to the present job includes the change of operating parameters and the setting of a conditional stop condition which will stop the current copying operation upon its occurrence. Information can also be input which relates to the end of the current job being performed. For example, as the job is being performed, the operator can request that a sound be generated when the current job ends. Additionally, parameters relating to the next job to be performed can be altered or added.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 18, 1997
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Michiaki Nishinozono
  • Patent number: 5689589
    Abstract: A data compression system uses sameness information, such as temporal sameness of corresponding pixels, in the coding process. Two sets of contexts are used, one set when a pixel is the same as a sameness pixel, and one set of contexts for residual coding of the pixel when it is not the same. The use of the sameness bit saves computation because, if in decoding the one "sameness" bit, a decompressor determines that the pixel is equal to the corresponding pixel in a previous frame, then no further decoding is needed for that pixel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 1994
    Date of Patent: November 18, 1997
    Assignees: Ricoh Company Ltd., Ricoh Corporation
    Inventors: Michael J. Gormish, Martin P. Boliek
  • Patent number: 5689770
    Abstract: An electrophotographic image forming apparatus using a charge roller for uniformly charging the surface of a photoconductive element, or image carrier, during image formation, and a charging device having the charge roller. The charging efficiency is enhanced, and a uniform charge distribution is set up by the application of a DC voltage only. This suppresses the increase in the cost of an apparatus, the increase in power source cost, and the generation of a great amount of ozone. As a result, a charging member and a photoconductive element are prevented from being deteriorated while environmental pollution is eliminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 18, 1997
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Junji Kurokawa, Kazuo Nojima, Masako Chiba, Toshio Nakahara
  • Patent number: 5689782
    Abstract: A developing apparatus is capable of providing stable charging ability for a developer and stable transfer ability for transferring the developer to a photoreceptor for electronic photography to prevent residual positive images and stain of texture which appear on a toner image. A first toner transfer roller 23 has a core supported to be rotatable and a sheet type insulation layer wound around the outer periphery of the core. The insulation layer is made of elastic rubber in which magnetic material having a specified particle size is uniformly dispersed and the magnetic material is formed with ferromagnetic substance such as magnet and magnetized in advance. The first toner transfer roller 23 attracts toner T by actuating magnetism on the insulation layer since the magnetic material added to the insulation layer is magnetized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 18, 1997
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Eisaku Murakami, Kazuhiro Yuasa, Shuichi Endoh, Iwao Matsumae, Yoshiaki Tanaka, Hiroshi Hosokawa, Mugiziroh Uno, Hiroshi Saitoh, Eizi Takenaka, Toshihiro Sugiyama, Tetsuo Yamanaka, Satoru Komatsubara
  • Patent number: 5689730
    Abstract: A LAN interface apparatus determines which function of a plurality of functions of a multifunction peripheral apparatus is to be used. This determination may be performed by determining which function of the plurality of functions is selected in the multifunction peripheral apparatus. This selection may be performed as a result of a user specifying a desired function by pressing a relevant key provided on the multifunction peripheral apparatus. The multifunction peripheral apparatus then sends information to the LAN interface apparatus which thus determines the function being used in the multifunction peripheral apparatus. Then, the LAN interface apparatus appropriately alters a data storage area of a common memory and thus a resulting data storage area of the common memory is appropriate for a data flowing ratio between data flowing along two opposite directions, which ratio depends on the function being selected in the multifunction peripheral apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 18, 1997
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Naoki Wakasugi
  • Patent number: 5687401
    Abstract: A first zoom lens group, a second zoom lens group, a third zoom lens group and a fourth zoom lens group are arranged on an optical axis in that order from an object side. The first zoom lens group has a negative lens and a positive lens arranged in that order from the object side, the first zoom lens group as a whole acting as a zoom lens group having a positive focal length. The second zoom lens group has a negative lens and a positive lens arranged from the object side in that order, the second zoom lens group as a whole acting as a zoom lens group having a negative focal length. The third zoom lens group has a double concave lens and a double convex lens arranged in that order from the object side, the third zoom lens group as a whole acting as a zoom lens group having a positive focal length, the third zoom lens group being provided with a diaphragm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 11, 1997
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsushi Kawamura, Kazuyasu Ohashi, Akiko Ozawa
  • Patent number: 5686382
    Abstract: Thermal recording structure and a method of thermal recording wherein a desired sublimation dye image is formed on an information recording medium provided with a thermal recording layer having a sublimation dye accepting function on at least one surface of a base substrate. The transparency of the thermal recording layer is reversible depending upon temperature to which the medium is heated. At least the sublimation dye image portion of the medium is heated to a temperature sufficient to reverse the transparency of the transfer image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 11, 1997
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Akira Suzuki, Masaki Yoshino, Yoshihiko Hotta, Hiroyuki Uemura
  • Patent number: 5687006
    Abstract: In order to realize reduction of product cost without deteriorating quality of a regenerated image, there is provided by the present invention an image regenerating apparatus comprising an emphasizing unit for filtering an image for emphasis, a smoothing unit for filtering image for smoothing, an area determinator for determining a character area and a photograph area of an image, selecting said emphasizing unit for said character area and also selecting said smoothing unit for said photograph area, an image size changing unit for changing size of an image according to a set image size changing ratio, and a controller for providing control so that said area determinator executes specified selection when an image size changing ratio set by said image size changing unit is equal to or larger than a specified magnification ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 11, 1997
    Assignee: Ricoh Company Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki Namizuka, Kouichi Kamon, Masaaki Ito, Hiroyuki Kawamoto, Anki Yoh, Takeharu Tone
  • Patent number: 5684523
    Abstract: A light emitting diode chip includes a substrate carrying thereon a number of light emitting diodes aligned in a row to form an array for producing a number of optical beams parallel to each other in a first direction, and monitoring element provided monolithically on the substrate for detecting the power of the optical beams produced by the light emitting diodes, wherein the monitoring element includes: a reference light emitting diode having a structure identical to the light emitting diodes in the array for producing an optical beam in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; and a photodiode having a structure identical to the light emitting diodes in the array and separated from the reference light emitting diode by an isolation groove for detecting the optical beam produced by the reference light emitting diode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 4, 1997
    Assignees: Ricoh Company, Ltd., Ricoh Research Institute of General Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunichi Satoh, Takashi Takahashi, Hiroyuki Iechi, Tomoaki Yoshida, deceased, Chizuru Yoshida, legal representative, Hirokazu Iwata, Takaaki Miyashita
  • Patent number: 5684618
    Abstract: An optical scanner comprising an image forming mirror for an equal speed optical scan and for field curvature correction, a light beam is emitted from a light source device and is deflected by an optical deflector at an equal angular velocity. This deflected light beam is converged onto a scanned face and a scanning speed of a light spot on the scanned face is equalized. The image forming mirror has a reflecting face formed in coaxial, aspherical and concave shapes. The reflecting face is obtained by rotating a curve X(H) represented by the following formula,X(H)=CH.sup.2 /?1+.sqroot. {1-(1+K)C.sup.2 H.sup.2 }!+.SIGMA.Ai.multidot.H**iaround an X-axis. The curve X(H) is set such that a parameter .DELTA.X(H) represented by.DELTA.X(H)=X(H)-C'H.sup.2 /?1+.sqroot. {1-C'.sup.2 H.sup.2 }!satisfies the following condition (I),-3.0.times.10.sup.-5 <.DELTA.X(H=0.1f)/f<3.0.times.10.sup.-5(I)when C'=C+2A.sub.2 and f is set to a focal length of the reflecting face.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 4, 1997
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiromichi Atsuumi
  • Patent number: 5684779
    Abstract: An optical head which records data onto an optical data recording medium and reproduces the data therefrom includes a laser light source, a collimator lens, an objective lens, a light splitting device arranged between the laser light source and the objective lens, for splitting the emitted light from the laser light and a reflected light from the optical data recording medium. A diffraction grating is provided to which only the reflected light split at the light splitting device is incident to, and which leads the reflected light split at the optical element onto a photo-detector. Thereby, an optical head of high effectiveness in utilization of light and low cost can be obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 4, 1997
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeru Ohuchida, Hiroyoshi Funato
  • Patent number: 5682227
    Abstract: An image reader capable of determining whether or not a book document to be copied needs royalty by the recognition of a book document and counting operation of a copying system. When a book document to be copied needs royalty, the number of times that images of the document are scanned or the number of times that the resulting image data are outputted is counted. While the count is stored, the royalty of the book document copied is managed on the basis of the count. The image reader can also read a ID code formed on the book, and can control the counting operation based on the detected book ID.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 1994
    Date of Patent: October 28, 1997
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazushige Taguchi, Hiroshi Takahashi, Tetsuya Fujioka, Kazunori Bannai, Susumu Shiina