Patents Examined by Benjamin O. Dulaney
  • Patent number: 11632475
    Abstract: Provided is a technique for allowing a user to easily check the status of an image scanning apparatus. An image scanning apparatus is configured to transmit original document image data by storing, sequentially in a buffer, line data obtained by line-by-line scanning of an original document and transmitting the stored line data to a host computer sequentially line by line, and includes a control unit configured to perform control to transmit original document image data including notification image data to the host computer in a case where it is detected that the apparatus status of the image scanning apparatus is not normal during processing executed in response to a scan command received from the host computer, the notification image data being a notification of an error occurrence.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Naoki Sugawara
  • Patent number: 11627230
    Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes a processor configured to, in a case where a time specified processing instruction to execute a specified process at a specified time is set, in response to detecting presence of a user near the information processing apparatus upon restoration from an energy save mode to a normal operation mode, hold a time specified processing instruction scheduled for a past specified time that is time before the restoration, the time specified processing instruction being held not to be executed upon the restoration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2023
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventor: Takuya Togashi
  • Patent number: 11614903
    Abstract: An information processing apparatus acquires print data of a plurality of pages, generates quality requirement data including information indicating a quality requirement for a print product based on the print data in a data-by-data basis or in a page-by-page basis, and information for specifying whether the quality requirement is defined in the data-by-data basis or defined in the page-by-page basis, and transmits the print data and the quality requirement data to a printing service for a print request. The quality requirement data is a file in a PRX format, and the file in the PRX format stores, as CustomerItem, the quality requirement in the data-by-data basis or in the page-by-page basis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shou Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 11610086
    Abstract: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program is provided. The program is executed in a personal digital assistant to operate a recording apparatus including a recording unit that performs recording on a medium from the personal digital assistant. The program causes the personal digital assistant to display, on a display of the personal digital assistant, information on a user operation method based on an event that occurred when a medium is to be fed from back of the recording apparatus, the method being to be performed after the event occurred.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Keisuke Sasaki, Nobuhisa Nomoto, Katsumi Yamada
  • Patent number: 11609723
    Abstract: An approach provides access to cloud services that are impractical or difficult to implement on end-user devices without a high level of programming skill and customization. The approach uses a first set of cloud services, referred to herein as Integrated Cloud Environment (ICE) cloud services, to access to a second set of cloud services, referred to herein as Smart Integration (SI) cloud services, on end-user devices. The ICE cloud services provide a user-friendly user interface for accessing the SI cloud services via an end-user device, implement the Application Program Interfaces (APIs) of the SI cloud services, and also manage results generated by the SI cloud services. The ICE cloud services also manage user information, authorization credentials and tokens needed to access third-party services. According to another embodiment, the SI cloud and the ICE cloud are integrated using direct linking, i.e., directly linking an end-user device to the SI cloud.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, LTD.
    Inventors: Jayasimha Nuggehalli, Bhushan Nadkarni, Srikrishna Narasimhan, Zhenyu Lu
  • Patent number: 11582356
    Abstract: A server includes memory, a connection establisher, a first transmission request receiver, a first determiner, a first screen data transmitter, a second screen data transmitter, and a first disconnector. The connection establisher establishes continuous connection with a communication device. The first transmission request receiver receives a first transmission request t for displaying a setting screen corresponding to a first type of service. In response to the first transmission request being received from the external device, the first determiner determine whether a second type of service is currently provided. The first screen data transmitter transmits first screen data for displaying a first setting screen to the external device in response to the first determiner determining that the second type of service is not currently provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Keisuke Miyachi
  • Patent number: 11573750
    Abstract: A first dot pattern printed according to a result of quantization performed on a multi-valued grayscale value by using a first threshold matrix and a second dot pattern printed according to a result of quantization performed on multi-valued grayscale value by using a second threshold matrix are printed on a print medium in an overlapping manner. In order to generate the threshold matrices, a first initial pattern being a dot pattern corresponding to a first grayscale value and a second initial pattern being a dot pattern corresponding to a second grayscale value lower than the first grayscale value are generated for pixel regions of the first and second threshold matrices. Then, thresholds of the first and second threshold matrices are set such that dot patterns having continuity with the first and second initial patterns are obtained at grayscale values between the first and second grayscale values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Junichi Nakagawa, Hirokazu Tanaka, Tsukasa Doi, Mayuko Yamagata, Satoshi Seki
  • Patent number: 11563863
    Abstract: An image reading device including a reading transmission function of transmitting read data, generated by reading an original document, to a storage destination for storing the read data, the storage destination being included in an external device, the image reading device including a control unit configured to execute a communication test for determining whether communication with the storage destination is successfully performed, wherein the control unit includes a manual test mode for starting the communication test in response to an execution instruction of the communication test from a user and an automatic test mode for starting the communication test when a starting condition for starting the communication test is satisfied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2023
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Kenji Matsunaka
  • Patent number: 11556283
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus main assembly including a panel surface 57 capable of inputting information by displaying a software numerical key portion 58 and a numerical key portion 206 comprised of a plurality of hardware keys, and is provided with a general-purpose numerical key unit 200 capable of inputting information to the apparatus main assembly. The panel surface 57 includes a plurality of software keys corresponding to the numerical key portion 206, and in a case that a “1” key 206a of the numerical key portion 206 is in an ON state, the ON state of the “1” key 206a is displayed by using a “1” key 58a corresponding to the “1” key 206a.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Takuya Uemura
  • Patent number: 11558516
    Abstract: An information processing device includes: a processor configured to: when (i) in addition to a first image forming device on which a user is about to use a service, a second image forming device on which the user used the service is present, the second image forming device being different from the first image forming device and (ii) a server in which basic settings of setting items of the service are registered is present, selectively reflect at least one of (a) setting items of the service registered in the second image forming device or (b) the basic settings of the service registered in the server, in the information processing device according to a predetermined condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventor: Yuki Ono
  • Patent number: 11531507
    Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes a printer driver configured to generate a print command compliant with a predetermined printing protocol based on print data obtained from a data generation application, one or more extension modules configured to generate a print command compliant with another printing protocol different from the predetermined printing protocol, a storage unit configured to store information associating the one or more extension modules to be used for generating the print command compliant with said another printing protocol with the printer driver, and an output unit configured to output the print command compliant with said another printing protocol, the print command being obtained through processing of the print data obtained by the printer driver, and the processing being performed by the one or more modules indicated by the information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masashi Nakagawa
  • Patent number: 11498569
    Abstract: Onboard vehicle software that performs the following operations: (i) receiving, by a control device installed with a vehicle, situation assessment information pertaining to vehicle traffic; (ii) determining, by the control device, whether the situation assessment information is indicative of an event likely to impact vehicle traffic; and (iii) in response to determining that the situation assessment information is indicative of the event likely to impact vehicle traffic, sending, by the control device, a print command to a printer communicatively coupled to the control device, the printer adapted to print a patterned layer of a coloring substance to a surface supporting the vehicle, and the print command instructing the printer to print the coloring substance to the surface in a pattern encoding a notification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Timo Kussmaul, Uwe Hansmann
  • Patent number: 11503185
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus comprising a display and a reader that reads an IC card. The image forming apparatus performs settings for user authentication and displays on the display a menu screen for selecting a function of the image forming apparatus. In a case where in user authentication by the IC card and automatic registration of user information are set in the settings, a user of an IC card is able to log in the image forming apparatus using information of the IC card when the reader detects the IC card of the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yasuhiro Hosoda
  • Patent number: 11496635
    Abstract: An information processing system acquires, using a reading device, a read image from an original on which a handwritten character is written; acquires, based on the read image, a partial image that is a partial region of the read image and a binarized image that expresses the partial image by two tones; performs learning of a learning model based on learning data that uses the partial image as a correct answer image and the binarized image as an input image; acquires print data including a font character; generates conversion image data including a gradation character obtained by inputting the font character to the learning model; and causes an image forming device to form an image based on the generated conversion image data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Keisui Okuma
  • Patent number: 11494135
    Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes one or more processors configured to perform operations including receiving information indicating a predetermined object from an image forming apparatus, determining whether the object indicated by the information is included in image data for which a printing instruction has been issued by a user, designating a format of the image data, to be transmitted to the image forming apparatus, based on a result of the determining, converting the image data into the designated format, and transmitting the converted image data to the image forming apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shuichi Takenaka
  • Patent number: 11483441
    Abstract: An image forming system includes a user terminal that includes a terminal-side processor and an image forming apparatus that includes an apparatus-side processor. In response to receiving an instruction to transmit a print request to the image forming apparatus from a user, the terminal-side processor is configured to hold the print request instead of transmitting the print request to the image forming apparatus and is configured to transmit user information indicating the user to the image forming apparatus. The apparatus-side processor is configured to transmit a transmission-request signal to the user terminal in response to detecting, on a basis of the user information, that the user comes near the image forming apparatus. The terminal-side processor is configured to transmit the print request held by the terminal-side processor to the image forming apparatus in response to receiving the transmission-request signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.
    Inventor: Manabu Iwasaki
  • Patent number: 11481167
    Abstract: A printing apparatus including: a memory storing instructions; and a processor which is capable of executing the instructions causing the printing apparatus to: receive print data; save the received print data; authenticate a user; hold a setting of valid or invalid of an automatic printing function to perform printing processing of print data associated with the user without instructions from the user in response to authentication of the user; and control for making invalid the setting of the automatic printing function is performed, in a case where a setting of a predetermined function that needs to limit the use of the automatic printing function is performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Tomohide Kubota
  • Patent number: 11470216
    Abstract: In accordance with an embodiment, an image forming apparatus comprises a storage section configured to store a setting indicating one of a first condition for permitting start of an application both in a login state and in a logout state and a second condition for permitting start of the application only in the login state; a receiving section configured to receive an instruction to start the application; and a control section configured to start the application if the first condition is set for the application or start the application on condition that the image forming apparatus is in the login state if the second condition is set for the application in response to a start instruction in a logout state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Takahiro Sasaki
  • Patent number: 11461059
    Abstract: An update system includes a printing device configured to be coupled to a wireless communication device performing first communication, and a processing device configured to be connected to the printing device via second communication. The processing device transmits a transmission request for identification information identifying the wireless communication device, to the printing device. The printing device, when receiving the transmission request for the identification information from the processing device, transmits the identification information to the processing device. The processing device, when receiving the identification information from the printing device, transmits firmware corresponding to the received identification information as firmware for update to the printing device. The printing device, when receiving the firmware for update from the processing device, updates firmware stored in a storage unit to the firmware for update.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Shingo Todaka
  • Patent number: 11442678
    Abstract: System and methods for printing a multi-media document from an image file are provided. The method includes a printing device receiving a data holding image file. A processor of the printing device parses and extracts document data for printing the multi-media document from the data holding image file. The processor processes the document data to receive instruction data for one or more printing operation components of the printing device. The method also includes sending the instruction data to one or more printer operation components of the printing device. Also, the method includes each of the one or more printer operation components performing a printer operation onto a multi-media document.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: Entrust Datacard Corporation
    Inventors: Christophe Biehlmann, Vishal Arora