Patents Examined by Arthur G. Evans
  • Patent number: 6680782
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for generating documents using a raster image processor operated in a low resolution mode to generate a low-resolution bit-mapped image from received print data containing a coded page description language. The low resolution page is then transmitted to a frame-store. The frame-store image is then interpolated by an interpolator from a low resolution image to a higher resolution image for use in a printer to produce a document at the higher resolution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2004
    Assignee: NexPress Solutions LLC
    Inventor: Feraydoon Shahjahan Jamzadeh
  • Patent number: 6680783
    Abstract: A method for printing an indicium with a printer coupled to a personal computer includes the steps of collecting indicium data in memory of the PC, generating an indicium bar code relating to the indicium data, creating in the PC memory a printable image of a valid indicium including the indicium bar code, printing the printable image, and destroying the printable image in the PC memory as soon as the printable image has been printed. Messages of the PC operating system can be monitored for printing activity such that the printable image can be modified after a first copy of the printable image has been printed. The step of creating a printable image includes determining if more than one copy of the indicium is to be printed, and changing the number of copies to be printed to one when more than one copy is determined. The step of creating a printable image renders an indicium image to a memory device context. The printable image can be destroyed by overwriting the printable image with other information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2004
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Inc.
    Inventors: Perry A. Pierce, Brian M. Romansky
  • Patent number: 6671066
    Abstract: A program, method and apparatus which are capable of processing print data, in which one job consists of multiple sets of print data with no break, so that features required to processing by the set such as sorting are performed appropriately by a printer. Break codes are added to the print data to indicate breaks between sets and the breaks are identified based on the break codes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2003
    Assignee: Minolta Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masafumi Aikawa, Tatsuya Kuroda
  • Patent number: 6665092
    Abstract: A stand-alone printer is provided having a first drive for receiving a first computer readable medium, wherein the first computer readable medium is capable of storing at least one digital representation of an image captured by a digital device and wherein the first computer readable medium is adapted to interface with the digital device. The stand-alone printer also includes a printing member for producing on a substrate a pattern associated with the digital representation of the image captured by the digital device and a port for transmitting data to and from the printer, wherein the printer is adapted to interface with a second drive through the port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2003
    Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.
    Inventor: William Henry Reed
  • Patent number: 6665090
    Abstract: A system and method are provided for generating an expression definition file from which a creative expression may be printed. Briefly described, in one embodiment, the system includes a processing server having a processor electrically coupled to a local interface and a memory electrically coupled to the local interface. The processing server is configured to communicate with an affiliate server via a communications network. The system further comprises operating logic stored on the memory and executable by the processor. The operating logic includes logic to receive a logical creative expression that defines the creative expression from the affiliate server. The logical creative expression has one or more content elements and a template type. The operating logic further includes logic to identify a template stored in the memory that is associated with the template type, the template specifying one or more pages with associated regions, and logic to associate the content elements with the regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2003
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: David M. Hall, Jeff M. Anderson, Michael D. Whitmarsh
  • Patent number: 6661527
    Abstract: In an image input/output apparatus which stores image data input from a reader unit into a hard disk and outputs the stored image data to a printer unit, an operation unit for setting an image processing content to be performed by the printer unit when the image data is input is disposed, the image processing content capable of being set by the operation unit is restricted according to the detection output of a structure of the printer unit, and it is previously selected whether or not the setting restriction of the image processing content is to be performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2003
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kouki Shibao
  • Patent number: 6654144
    Abstract: This invention concerns a dither unit for digitally halftoning a contone color image, in the form of an array of contone color pixel values, to bi-level dots. The unit comprises a dither volume where, for each dither cell location, a fixed set of n thresholds define n+1 intensity intervals within which the dither cell location is defined to be alternately not set and set. The unit may comprise multiple multi-threshold units operatively coupled to the dither volume, and each multi-threshold unit may be used to dither a separate component of a contone color pixel. In another aspect the invention concerns a method of operating the dither unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2003
    Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd
    Inventors: Paul Lapstun, Simon Robert Walmsley
  • Patent number: 6646763
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus for mapping a nonspectral representation of a target color, such as an input color tuple, to a set of concentration values for a set of device-specific colorants. The invention includes using the input color tuple to derive a first set of colorant concentration values from a color lookup table; and refining the first set of colorant concentration values by an iterative non-linear process to generate a final set of colorant concentration values. The first set of colorant concentration values can derived by using an input color tuple as an index to obtain grid-point concentration values at two grid points of the color lookup table and calculating the first set of colorant concentration values as a linear interpolation of the grid-point concentration values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2003
    Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated
    Inventor: James J. Estrada
  • Patent number: 6643028
    Abstract: In this invention, a digital copying machine to be connected to a network feeds originals in each document unit for each sheet by use of an ADF to read the images of the originals and prints the read images in each document unit for each page in a printing form selected by the user. Therefore, a plurality of original images read in each document unit can be effectively confirmed in accordance with the purpose of the user on the spot where the reading operation is effected. Further, the actual concentration can be adjusted while observing reduced images on the confirmation sheet and inputting of an actual image and inputting for correction can be easily attained. In a case where a specified page among a plurality of originals is scanned again, all of the originals are set on the original table of the ADF without extracting the specified page from the originals and the specified page can be scanned again. Therefore, the pages of the originals can be kept in order.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 4, 2003
    Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takeshi Ogaki, Akinori Iwase, Akihiko Fujiwara, Kazuhiro Ogura, Yoshiko Takeda
  • Patent number: 6636327
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus is controlled in accordance with the status of an interface and the contents of data. Specifically, so long as the number J of jobs, which are executed by the copier system at the same time, and the number N of channels, which are required by a target job during one cycle, are obtained, dynamic paper feeding timing Wd can be acquired from ideal paper feeding timing Ws, while taking delay time X into account. The preceding paper feeding is performed using paper feeding timing Wd. Further, based on predicted data, a check is performed to determine whether image transmission will be successful without a buffer memory being used. When it is determined that the buffer memory is not required for the image transmission, image data are received without the buffer memory being obtained. When it is determined that the buffer memory is required for the image transmission, an adequate buffer memory is acquired for the reception of image data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2003
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroyoshi Yoshida, Akimaro Yoshida, Satoshi Kaneko
  • Patent number: 6633404
    Abstract: In order to efficiently utilize a memory in a digital copying machine which reads image data from an original and stores the read image data, whether or not to store image data in the memory is determined when the image data is read or the image data is input through an external interface. For example, image data read by an image reader is stored while data from an external device which is input through the external interface is not stored. This is because when the digital copying machine is used as an external device printer, the owner of the image data is difficult to identify and therefore the image data is not to be stored in the memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2003
    Assignee: Minolta Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Tomoyuki Atsumi
  • Patent number: 6633393
    Abstract: A printer is provided which reliably detects front and back sides of a print medium and the print data to be printed to the respective sides, and automatically prints print data to the correct side of the print medium. A print command interpreter 203 interprets a print command received from the host device to determines the print medium side indicated by the print command for printing associated print data. An inserted side detecting means 207 detects which side of the print medium inserted to the printer is facing a particular direction. Control units 204 and 208 print the print data when the print medium side detected by the print command interpreter 203 and the print medium side detected by the inserted side detecting means 207 are the same. Data can thus be printed to a desired specific side of the print medium because the printer 10 can reliably print to the print medium side specified by the host 220.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2003
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Coprporation
    Inventor: Kazuko Fukano
  • Patent number: 6628412
    Abstract: In one aspect, the invention encompasses a method of document management. A document is printed with a printing device configured to automatically label the document with a machine-readable code. The machine-readable code contains information, and the printing device is in data communication with a database so that the information contained in the machine-readable code on the document is also recorded in the database. The document is scanned with a scanning machine configured to extract at least some of the information from the machine-readable code. Subsequently, some of the information extracted from the machine-readable code by the scanning machine is compared with information in the database to track the document. In another aspect, the invention encompasses a document management system. Such system comprises a printing device configured to print text on documents as well as to automatically print machine-readable code on the documents.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2003
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Paul L. Jeran, Terry P. Mahoney
  • Patent number: 6628417
    Abstract: This invention provides a service which allows the user of the client apparatus that submits a print request to preview an image to be printed, and can reduce the information volume with the client apparatus to achieve quick response, and prints a high-quality image with the requested size. For this purpose, a center server (102) on the network stores and manages display image data, and transfers requested display image data upon receiving a request from a client computer. Upon receiving a request including a print size from the client computer, the center server sends the print size and information that specifies an image to an image server which saves high-resolution images. Upon receiving the information, the image server processes high-resolution image data to have the designated size, and sends back the processed image data to the center server. The center server sends the received image data to a print server to make it print the data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2003
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kikuo Naito, Toshiyuki Noguchi
  • Patent number: 6628418
    Abstract: Control-program data stored in an FROM are stored into a memory of an outside personal computer and then, program data which are input from the personal computer are written into the FROM. When the program data written into the FROM are in abnormal, the program data in the memory of the personal computer are written into in FROM.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2003
    Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shunsuke Katahira
  • Patent number: 6624905
    Abstract: In an image formation apparatus having a function to detect a direction of an original image, in a case where an image formation mode is set by using a touch panel, a keybutton to instruct whether or not direction detection is to be performed is displayed on a setting screen of an image formation mode to which direction detection is effective, while such the key is not displayed on a setting screen of an image formation mode to which direction detection is not effective. The image formation mode to which direction detection is effective includes a mode to record images of one-face originals onto two faces of a sheet, a mode to arrange and record images of plural originals onto one sheet, a mode to perform stapling at designated corner positions of sheets, and the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2003
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hideyuki Ikegami, Rieko Akiba, Shunsaku Kondo
  • Patent number: 6624911
    Abstract: A printer that stores a minimal number of unadjusted stochastic threshold arrays in non-volatile memory, in which the unadjusted threshold arrays are used to generate adjusted threshold arrays at run time by use of Transfer Function Tables (TFT's). The unadjusted array for a particular color is stored in the printer's ROM and preferably is stored in a packed configuration to save memory space. The TFT's are used to convert the unadjusted threshold data into adjusted threshold data for each color and type of print media. In a preferred embodiment, the unadjusted threshold array comprises a 128 row by 128 column sized array, and each element of this array comprises a 10-bit number. When the TFT is applied to this unadjusted array, the resulting numeric values for the adjusted array elements are produced as 8-bit numeric values. The greater precision in the originating unadjusted array provides more perceptual levels of intensity (i.e.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2003
    Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.
    Inventors: Brian Edward Cooper, Brian Wesley Damon, Shaun Timothy Love
  • Patent number: 6621593
    Abstract: An aspheric optical element corrects the non-linearity of the scan line in a ROS. The optical element can be either the wobble correction mirror, the last optical element in the ROS, or the output window, subsequent to the ROS. The optical element deflects the scan beam to cancel the non-linearity of the scan line caused by the residual errors in the ROS lens design. The aspheric optical element can also correct scan line bow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2003
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Mark Shi Wang, Chia-di Lee
  • Patent number: 6621589
    Abstract: A central print system in which print jobs are directed to a particular print resource based on a set of print job attributes specified by an end user at the time the print job is submitted. The central print system provides intent-based printing which allows the end user to specify the end result of the printing operation rather than initially selecting a print resource. A print job manager processes the print job using the end user selected print job processing attributes to select the appropriate print resource from a group of networked print resources. An attribute registers a set of job processing attributes for each print resource servicing a single print queue and provides a list of available print job attributes to each client computer on the network from which an end user specifies particular job attributes to define a desired end result for a print job. The attribute manager periodically updates the job processing attribute list as print resources are added to or deleted from the network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2003
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Binnur Al-Kazily, Craig R. White
  • Patent number: 6618159
    Abstract: When print mode of a printing device is switched to a print mode with a higher print speed, after the direction of shuttle movement is reversed, a time duration that driving current is applied to a reversing coil is increased, so that shuttle speed is increased to a target speed. A time duration that driving current is applied to a constant velocity coil is decreased accordingly. On the other hand, when the print mode is switched to a print mode with a lower print speed, the time duration that driving current is applied to the reversing coil is decreased, and the time duration that driving current is applied to the constant velocity coil is increased accordingly. In this way, the print modes of the printing device can be switched quickly without stopping printing operations, thereby enhancing throughput.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2003
    Assignee: Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Satoru Tobita, Yoshikane Matsumoto, Hideaki Mamiya