Patents Examined by Benjamin O. Dulaney
  • Patent number: 9785832
    Abstract: A document image reading section is configured to read, among documents constituting a book, an image of a document of one page of the book. A document image checking section is configured to check the read image of the read document against registered images of documents stored in a server to determine whether or not the registered image matching the read image exists. When the registered image matching the read image exists, a document image acquisition section acquires the matching registered image. A document image printing section forms an image on a paper sheet using the acquired registered image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Fumiya Sakashita
  • Patent number: 9772808
    Abstract: The direct marketing system and method is disclosed that receives information from two parties, referred to as the sending party and the receiving party, and delivers a message or advertisement between the two. The message is then immediately printed on the receiving party's printer, and a small fee is paid by the sending party. A portion of this fee is sent to the receiving party as reimbursement for paper costs, ink costs, and printer maintenance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Inventor: Eric Nashbar
  • Patent number: 9769340
    Abstract: An image reading apparatus includes: a contact glass setting a manuscript thereon; an image sensor extending in a first direction and having a reading surface which faces the contact glass for reading an image from the manuscript on the contact glass; a rail member extending inside the apparatus main body in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; a carriage having a sensor container to contain the image sensor, a taper end portion formed in an end portion in the first direction to become smaller in height toward the end side, and an opening formed in the bottom of the sensor container on the taper end portion side; a biased portion adjacent to the reading surface of the image sensor in the second direction; and a biasing member biasing the image sensor toward the contact glass via the biased portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshinori Osakabe, Hiromi Tanaka
  • Patent number: 9766843
    Abstract: The invention relates to printing and other output of documents using data processors, and particularly to methods, apparatus, and computer programming useful for controlling output processes. In various aspects the invention provides systems, methods, and computer programming useful for minimizing the number of command inputs required from a user to complete printing or other output of multiple documents. In other aspects, the invention provides systems, methods, and computer programming useful for printing documents using content data received from users or other sources, together with previously-provided form data, according to predetermined formats.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: THE TORONTO-DOMINION BANK
    Inventors: Thomas M. Kerigan, Robert Trojan, Jeffrey A. Martin, Christianne Moretti, John Jong Suk Lee
  • Patent number: 9769333
    Abstract: A server includes: a storage; and a control device which determines whether the server is permitted to collect data of the image forming device when receiving inquiry information; transmits to the image forming device first permission information for checking whether a user permits data collection; transmits active information when receiving second permission information representing that data collection is permitted; when the server receives device identification information for identifying the image forming device of which data collecting function is activated, stores the received device identification information in the storage, and transmits instruction information for instructing the image forming device to transmit the data which should be collected, to the image forming device; and when receiving the collection data for generating the notification data from the image forming device, stores the received collection data in the storage in association with the device identification information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masafumi Miyazawa
  • Patent number: 9760326
    Abstract: Example embodiments disclosed herein relate to facilitation of printing from a web application. An identifier is used to use a is of printers. Print data for one of the printers of the list is sent to a print client based on the list of printers and the identifier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2017
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Brian C. Sparks
  • Patent number: 9754199
    Abstract: Provided is an image forming apparatus configured to: set, when an error occurs, a user who has a shorter take-away time than a user of a data transmission source as an additional notification destination; and transmit an error occurrence notification to the additional notification destination as well, and further configured to, when the take-away time of the user of the additional notification destination has elapsed since the error occurrence notification is transmitted to the additional notification destination without an error elimination operation being conducted: set a user who has a shorter take-away time than a time obtained by subtracting the take-away time of the user of the additional notification destination from the take-away time of the user of the data transmission source, as a new additional notification destination; and transmit the error occurrence notification to the new additional notification destination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Hideo Umezawa
  • Patent number: 9715354
    Abstract: A printing apparatus includes a holding unit configured to hold an envelope having a flap, a detection unit configured to detect a guide width between two guides provided in the holding unit, an acceptance unit configured to accept information about envelope size and flap length from a user, and a display control unit configured to determine whether to perform an error notification display based on the guide width detected by the detection unit as well as based on the envelope size and the flap length accepted by the acceptance unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2017
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshiro Tachibana
  • Patent number: 9715355
    Abstract: There is provided an image forming apparatus including: an image forming portion, an accepting portion accepting print jobs and identification information associated with the print jobs, a storage portion storing the print jobs and the identification information, an identification information input portion, and a controller. The controller is configured to: cause the storage portion to store an acceptance time at which the accepting portion accepts each of the print jobs, authenticate the identification information, extract the print jobs associated with the authenticated identification information from the print jobs stored in the storage portion, acquire a difference time which is a difference between an authentication time of authenticating the identification information and an acceptance time of accepting the extracted print jobs, and cause the image forming portion to carry out image formation for all the print jobs with the acquired difference time within a first time period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2017
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Masahide Takeuchi
  • Patent number: 9710201
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus improved in user-friendliness of operation for making settings concerning the operation of applications. A storage control section stores personal settings in a HDD, on an application-by-application basis. An authentication section authenticates a user. A display control unit is configured to, in response to selection of an application by the user authenticated by the authentication section, read from the HDD personal settings associated with the application, and display the personal settings on a console section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Tomonori Hayashi
  • Patent number: 9690524
    Abstract: To make a set of set values of a plurality of print setting items added in a first execution environment usable in a second execution environment as well, an information processing apparatus comprises: a first printer driver configured to operate in a first execution environment, and add a set of set values of a plurality of print setting items to a list; and an application corresponding to a second printer driver configured to operate in a second execution environment, and obtain the set of the set values added by the first printer driver and display the set of the set values as a choice.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hiroshi Omura
  • Patent number: 9686433
    Abstract: An information processing device includes: a replacement processing unit that replaces, when a second time as a time until a distance between a second terminal device that has transmitted a second information processing request having a lower priority and the information processing device becomes equal to or smaller than a predetermined value is shorter than a first time as a time until the distance between a first terminal device that has transmitted a first information processing request having a higher priority and the information processing device becomes equal to or smaller than a predetermined value, priorities for executing first information processing request and the second information processing request such that the second information processing request having the lower priority is processed earlier than the first information processing request having the higher priority.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Masaki Nakamura, Hideki Hino
  • Patent number: 9681010
    Abstract: A printing apparatus has a stacker that includes a first stacking unit that stacks discharged sheets and a second stacking unit that slides a predetermined amount of sheets stacked on the first stacking unit from the first stacking unit and holds them. In a case in which a print job is executed, an operation of discharging sheets to the first stacking unit is controlled according to stacking statuses of the first stacking unit and the second stacking unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hideyuki Okada
  • Patent number: 9678691
    Abstract: There is provided an image forming apparatus including: an image forming portion, an accepting portion accepting print jobs and identification information associated with the print jobs, a storage portion storing the print jobs and the identification information, an identification information input portion, and a controller. The controller is configured to: cause the storage portion to store an acceptance time at which the accepting portion accepts each of the print jobs, authenticate the identification information, extract the print jobs associated with the authenticated identification information from the print jobs stored in the storage portion, acquire a difference time which is a difference between an authentication time of authenticating the identification information and an acceptance time of accepting the extracted print jobs, and cause the image forming portion to carry out image formation for all the print jobs with the acquired difference time within a first time period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Masahide Takeuchi
  • Patent number: 9665314
    Abstract: Systems, devices, and methods for managing a print-setting user interface (UI) receive a request to display a print-setting UI of a printer driver from an application, wherein the request includes one or more of an application identification (ID) of the application; obtain a hardware profile data of an application-host device, wherein the application-host device has the application installed thereon; and obtain one or more sets of print-setting UI data corresponding to one or more of the application ID and the hardware profile data; and display a print-setting UI based on the one or more sets of print-setting UI data obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Charles Thomas Armstrong, Chihsin Steven Young
  • Patent number: 9665326
    Abstract: An image display control device includes a display unit that displays a print result of an image to be printed on a paper by a printing device as a pre-display image before the printing is performed and a PC that controls the pre-display image displayed on the display unit. The PC causes the display unit to display the pre-display image, which is displayed when the printing device prints the image on an area to be printed on the paper without margins, by dividing the pre-display image into a print area which is set so as to correspond to the area to be printed, a protrusion area which is outside the print area and where a printing operation of the image is performed by the printing device, and a cutoff area which is outside the protrusion area and where the printing operation of the image is not performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Shuji Nouda, Shuichi Shima
  • Patent number: 9661184
    Abstract: A data processing system includes a data processing apparatus providing a service to a service using apparatus and the service using apparatus that includes an authentication requesting unit that requests the data processing apparatus to authenticate the user by user specifying data input via an input screen, an obtaining unit that obtains, when the user is successfully authenticated, association data associated with the user specifying data from the data processing apparatus to store in a storage unit, and an accepting unit that displays, when the association data is stored in the storage unit, a user list of users specified from the association data in the input screen, reads out, upon a selection of a user from the user list, a part of the user specifying data from the association data corresponding to the selected user, and accepts an input of information except the read out part from the input screen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Minami Ogawa
  • Patent number: 9654664
    Abstract: Disclosed is a non-transitory storage medium storing a communication program for causing a processor to execute a method including steps of receiving an input of facsimile data; determining whether an identification image is added to the received facsimile data; a step of retrieving, when the identification image is added, information indicating an association with different facsimile data from the identification image that is added to the facsimile data; storing the received facsimile data in a predetermined memory, wherein the received facsimile data is associated with the different facsimile data based on the retrieved information; generating, when the identification image is not added, the information indicating the association with the different facsimile data; and adding, to the facsimile data, the identification image that is generated based on the information indicating the association with the different facsimile data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Takuya Okamoto
  • Patent number: 9652183
    Abstract: An image processing system comprises a portable terminal and multiple image processing apparatuses. The portable terminal comprises: a determining portion which determines a target identification operation proving the identify of a target image processing apparatus; a display which displays information about the target identification operation; and an instructing portion which instructs the multiple image processing apparatuses to return answer information. The multiple image processing apparatuses each comprises: a detector which detects that the operation corresponding to the target identification operation has been performed; and a transmitter which transmits to the portable terminal, the answer information and apparatus information. Then the portable terminal further comprises: a receiver which receives the answer information and the apparatus information; and an identifying portion which identifies the target image processing apparatus based on the answer information and the apparatus information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: KONICA MINOLTA, INC.
    Inventor: Naoko Sasase
  • Patent number: 9628669
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a memory, a generation unit, and a warning unit. The memory stores drawing commands used to determine print data for which security control is necessary. The generation unit generates raster image data in accordance with input print data. The warning unit issues a warning that security control is necessary for print data in a case where raster image data has not been successfully generated from the print data in the generation unit and drawing commands of the print data include a drawing command stored in the memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2017
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Kenki Matsui