Patents Examined by Aaron R Gerger
  • Patent number: 8934122
    Abstract: Reducing waste in a digital printing system (200) includes moving media (214) through a web transport system (205) at a first speed. A first job is printed on the print media and a downstream finishing device (203) in a first configuration acts on the media. The web slows to a second speed prior the end of the first job and the finishing device changes to a second configuration after the first job has passed. A time to complete changing from the first to the second configuration is estimated and a time for a first section of the media containing the end of the first job to arrive at the finishing device is estimated. A second job is printed on the media prior to completion of the change based on the estimated time to completion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Donald R. Allred, James A. Katerberg
  • Patent number: 8885190
    Abstract: Disclosed are embodiments of a system, method and computer program product for implementing a federated print services network. The embodiments provide a central server that receives external print job requests from customers and, optionally, any backlog of internal print job requests from a participating print shop or any internal print job requests that are outside a participating print shop's current printing capabilities or that exceed the participating print shop's supply inventory. The server can selectively distribute those requests amongst the participating print shops in the network for fulfillment. Distribution is based on printing equipment utilization records in order to balance printing equipment utilization across the network and, if necessary, on printing capability records and/or supply inventory records. Thus, for participating print shops, the embodiments provide a means for increasing equipment utilization percentages during downtimes and, thereby a means to subsidize the cost of ownership.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Elton T. Ray, James C. Howell
  • Patent number: 8860982
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a storage unit and an installation processing unit. The storage unit is capable of storing an application program and application data that is referred to when the application program is executed. The installation processing unit registers, when installing the application data in the storage device, link data indicating the correspondence between the application identifier of the application program and the data identifier of the application data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2014
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Shigenaka Kanemitsu
  • Patent number: 8836972
    Abstract: A printer may comprise a command file storage unit, a receiving unit, a command file sending unit, and a first data sending unit. The command file storage unit may store a command file including a first command, a second command, and a third command. The first command is a command for sending a request for first data. The second command includes design data, and is a command for converting the first data into second data in accordance with the design data. The third command is a command for displaying a web page in accordance with the second data. The receiving unit may receive a request. The command file sending unit may send a response including the command file when a request for the command file is received. The first data sending unit may send a response including the first data when the request for the first data is received.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Naoki Otsuka
  • Patent number: 8823975
    Abstract: An apparatus that creates a print product including a plurality of constituent parts to make a printing result, the apparatus includes a determination unit configured to determine information indicating a discharge unit-number of copies, which is smaller than the designated number of print copies and equal to or larger than 2 copies, when the print product is printed by a plurality number of copies, and a control unit configured to control a printing sequence, so that printing is performed using the determined discharge unit-number of copies as a unit and using the constituent part as a unit in the unit of the discharge unit-number of copies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tatsuro Uchida
  • Patent number: 8736869
    Abstract: There is provided a layout print system including a storage storing electronic data sets having unique document IDs, and a printing image generating apparatus generating printing image data based on the stored electronic data sets. The printing image generating apparatus includes an acquisition section acquiring the electronic data sets, an identification section identifying a document form type for the electronic data sets, a weight value determination section determining weight values for the electronic data sets, and a printing image generating section generating a printing image data by arranging the electronic data sets on a layout template based on the weight values and attaching identification information to the electronic data sets. The layout print system further includes a printer printing the printing image data, and a display apparatus including an information identification reader reading the identification information on a printing medium and displaying a desired one of the electronic data sets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2014
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Kunio Okita
  • Patent number: 8576424
    Abstract: A printing system including plural devices can appropriately stop normally operating devices in a short time when a problem occurs in any one of the plural devices. The printing system has devices that execute processes for printing on printing paper, device control units that control the devices, and a central control unit that centrally controls the devices. When a problem is detected in one device, the central control unit sends, as a command for a process to be executed immediately, a stop device command for stopping the other device to the device control unit that controls the device in which a problem is not detected. The device control unit that receives the stop device command executes a process based on the stop device command with priority over processes based on other commands, and stops the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2013
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Maki Amano
  • Patent number: 8547566
    Abstract: In a pull printing system, it is possible to perform an alternate print with appropriate security and in consideration of loads on a server while securing convenience of the user requesting a third party for the alternate print. An image processing apparatus in the pull printing system comprises a user authentication unit configured to confirm authority of an alternate process to a first user during login, a bibliographic information managing unit configured to acquire bibliographic information of print data stored in a storage server by a second user from a bibliographic information server for displaying the print data corresponding to the second user and a log information managing unit configured to acquire a log of an operation of the alternate process executed by the first user to the print data corresponding to the second user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Naohiro Isshiki
  • Patent number: 8531720
    Abstract: A method of processing image data according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: setting a permissible pitch range for a distance between adjacent ink blots; arranging image data for the line pattern in an x-y coordinate system; selecting a first base point corresponding to one side of the image data for the line pattern; selecting a first determination point from the first base point, in which the first determination point is parallel to and separated from one side of the image data for the line pattern; determining whether a distance between the first base point and the first determination point is within the permissible pitch range; and storing a coordinate as print data if the distance between the first base point and the first determination point is within the permissible pitch range, in which the coordinate is located at a shortest distance from the first determination point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2013
    Assignee: Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kwan-Soo Yun, Ved Prakash Anand, Sang-Do Cho, Ro-Woon Lee, Jae-Woo Joung
  • Patent number: 8531685
    Abstract: A display device to display contents representing data files stored in at least one external memory device attached to the display device is provided. The display device includes at least one connection interface through which an external memory device is attached to the display device, a judging unit to judge as to whether an external memory device is attached to one of the at least one connection interface, a list creation unit to create a list of data files which are stored in the external memory device according to the judgment made by the judging unit, a timer to measure a predetermined period, and a display control unit to display the list created by the list creation unit based on the data files stored in the external memory device which is attached to the display device before the predetermined period elapses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2013
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shigetaka Yoshida
  • Patent number: 8508787
    Abstract: A method and system for translating documents with the use of a multifunctional printer machine, including capturing an image of a document; determining regions of the document captured that include original text; performing optical character recognition of the regions of the document captured that include the original text; specifying a source language corresponding to the original text; specifying one or more target languages corresponding to translated text; performing language translation of the original text into translated text; selecting one or more page layout templates having multiple pre-designated areas for receiving the original text and the translated text; and outputting one or more printouts in accordance with the one or more page layout templates selected, including at least an area designating (i) the original text in the source language and (ii) the translated text in the one or more target languages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2013
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventor: Rajinderjeet Singh Minhas
  • Patent number: 8493607
    Abstract: An apparatus has an external memory control apparatus for controlling rewriting of a memory. The external memory control apparatus allows the memory to store the number of formed monochromatic images and changes a rewriting frequency of the memory according to the number of formed monochromatic images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hitoshi Furukawa
  • Patent number: 8488204
    Abstract: Various types of ink corresponding to non-overlapping wavelength domains in absorbing lights are utilized on a pattern displaying medium for marking coordinate dots and data dots of a plurality of data blocks. While a scanning device is utilized for scanning the pattern-displaying medium, the marked coordinate dots and data dots are precisely recognized and read. While the pattern displaying medium is to be marked, the coordinate dots are marked in advance, and then the data dots are marked according to the marked coordinate dots for preventing positioning errors. Besides, at least one locality dot is used in each data block. While the scanning device is utilized for scanning the pattern displaying medium, a reading direction of each data block is indicated by the at least one locality dot so as to precisely read dots of each data block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2013
    Assignee: PixArt Imaging Inc.
    Inventors: Shou-Te Wei, Cho-Yi Lin, Yao-Ching Hsu
  • Patent number: 8456678
    Abstract: An image reading method includes generating pattern data for correcting a reading characteristic of a document reading apparatus, displaying the generated pattern data, reading the displayed pattern data, and correcting the reading characteristic of the document reading apparatus based on the generated pattern data and the read pattern data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Naohiro Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 8456655
    Abstract: A scanning apparatus includes a transparent platen on which an item can be placed for scanning; a light source configured to emit light through the transparent platen to reflect off the item; a photosensor array that is movable to receive light reflected from successive portions of the item and convert the reflected light into electrical signals; a controller for providing digitized data from the electrical signals to form a digitized image of the item; and a lid including a first position such that the lid covers the transparent platen; a second position such that the lid does not cover the transparent platen; and a door that is configured to expose a portion of the transparent platen when the lid is in the first position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2013
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventor: Siow Kiat Tan
  • Patent number: 8437037
    Abstract: A method and a printing system are described capable of rendering more than 2 density levels at the device pixel level using precalculated rectangular screening tiles of finite size that define a spatially repetitive screening operation according to geometric clustered dot screen definitions for first, second and third separation screens that has the following characteristics: (A) the set of at least three separation screens is free of second order moiré; (B) the set of at least three separation screens consists of screens that have no internal moiré and/or screens that have a reduced sensitivity to amplification by process instability of any remaining level of intrinsic internal moiré; and (C) the screens have an optimized and balanced rosette structure leading to a reduction of visible patterning in overlays of the separation screens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2013
    Assignee: Xeikon Manufacturing N.V.
    Inventors: Dirk Broddin, Wouter Boeckx, Stefaan Lippens
  • Patent number: 8390847
    Abstract: A facsimile transferring system is supplied capable of preventing a paper on which facsimile data transferred from his/her work place is printed from leaving as it is at a place where the destination person does not exist.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: Oki Data Corporation
    Inventor: Masayuki Matsunaga
  • Patent number: 8384935
    Abstract: An information processing device includes a plurality of modules for realizing a plurality of functions. The information processing device reproduces contents information and expects information which is to be inputted based on the functions relating to the reproduced contents information. Further, based on the expected information, the information processing device controls operations of at least some of the plurality of modules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2013
    Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Masakazu Murakami, Atsushi Ohshima, Masami Yamada, Tomonari Yoshimura
  • Patent number: 8325358
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus is supplied enabling print request user to identify whether the requested print data needs an approval or not so as to judge how to treat the corresponding print matter. In the image forming apparatus, an approval request portion sends an approval request electronic mail for requesting an approval of print allowance about an input image to an approval person terminal; an approval allowance/disallowance judging portion judges whether the print allowance is approved or not on the basis of a reply electronic mail output from the approval person terminal; if the print allowance is approved, an image compounding portion compounds an approval image onto the input image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: Oki Data Corporation
    Inventor: Tetsuya Hosoi
  • Patent number: 8305610
    Abstract: The information processing apparatus according to the present invention is an information processing apparatus comprises a determination unit that determines whether a combination of a source application and a destination printer driver is a combination of a first type application and a first type printer driver or a combination of a second type application and a second type printer driver; and a changing unit that changes the printer driver properties referenced by an operating system to properties value that satisfies the combinations in the event that the determination unit determines that the source application and the destination printer driver are neither of the combinations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2012
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tomoyuki Furuya