Patents Examined by Charles H. Nolan, Jr.
  • Image forming apparatus capable of controlling printing data from an external terminal onto a recording medium and printing data from a copier functional device onto a recording medium
    Patent number: 6698950
    Abstract: A printer implements printing(printer jobs) of the data received from personal computers and printing(copier jobs) of the data scanned through a copier functional device. When a user approaches the printer, a user identifying portion identifies the ID number(user name) of this user. If a printer job of this user name has been registered in the management memory of the printer, it is determined whether the printer job of this user name is ‘allowed’ to make an interrupt and whether the priority of this printer job is higher than that of the copier job. After confirmation of these facts, the printer job of this user name is started by making an interrupt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2004
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Wataru Nishii
  • Printing apparatus for print processing multiple sets of paged data and printing control program
    Patent number: 6698949
    Abstract: According to the present printing apparatus, in case that print processing of a preceding job to a particular job has not ended yet when a control section is to start input processing of that particular job, the control section waits until the print processing of the preceding job ends and sets a print-inhibiting time for inhibiting parallel print processing to handle interruption processing in a period between an end of the print processing of the preceding job and a start of the input processing of that particular job. Then, the control section waits until the print-inhibiting time ends and starts the input processing of that particular job, and then starts print processing of that particular job.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2004
    Assignee: Kyocera Mita Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshiki Yoshioka, Katsuji Furushige, Masaki Baba
  • Noise evaluation circuit for IC tester
    Patent number: 6696845
    Abstract: In order to provide an IC tester which can measure noise measuring performance in a position where a DUT to be analyzed on an evaluation board is mounted quantitatively, a noise evaluation circuit comprises a reference resistor which generates thermal noise, a reference noise generator a summing circuit, an amplifying circuit which amplifies result of the calculation in the summing circuit, a switch, and an evaluation board having the reference resistor, the reference noise generator, the summing circuit, the amplifying circuit, and the switch thereon for evaluating the DUT to be evaluated. Two kinds of electricity value which is output by the amplifying circuit by an on/off operation of the switch are calculated with noise figure F according to three kinds of electricity value including electricity value such as the reference noise electricity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2004
    Assignee: Ando Electric Co., Ltd. (Japanese)
    Inventor: Masayuki Kamata
  • Method of correcting local, machine-based inking errors in rotary printing machines
    Patent number: 6694883
    Abstract: First, the inking behavior of the printing units of a multicolor rotary printing machine is determined by means of test forms. The inking nonuniformities on the test forms are transmitted to the pre-press stage. Using the data about the inking nonuniformities of the test forms, the raster tonal values of the color separations of a printing form are modified in such a way that the inking nonuniformities are compensated locally on the basis of the location of their occurrence in the print on the printing forms or films.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2004
    Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
    Inventor: Axel Hauck
  • Circuit design for liquid property sensor
    Patent number: 6693444
    Abstract: An apparatus for measuring the complex impedance of a fuel includes a sensing element in contact with the fuel. The sensing element is excited with an excitation signal of a predetermined frequency, preferably in a range of 10 kHz to 100 kHz. The induced signal is used to generate a phase and a magnitude signal indicative of the phase and magnitude of the complex impedance. From the phase and magnitude signals, the resistance and capacitance of the fuel can be calculated. Correction for variations in temperature of the electronics is provided, as is variable control to adjust the resolution of the magnitude signal required by fuels of varying content, such as varying ethanol content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2004
    Assignee: Delphi Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Yingjie Lin, Su-Chee Simon Wang
  • Method and apparatus for text input
    Patent number: 6692170
    Abstract: An apparatus for text input and a method for its use. The apparatus includes a display device, a computing device, and an input device. The computer device is configured to generate a character or plurality of characters and to cause the display device to display the character or characters at a desired position on the display device screen. The input device operates to enlarge the character or plurality of characters depending on the position of the input device relative to characters displayed on said display device. The input device is configured to permit a user to select the enlarged character or plurality of characters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2004
    Inventor: Eli Abir
  • Method for controlling a printing process
    Patent number: 6688229
    Abstract: A method for printing includes a plurality of process steps. According to an additional step, relevant data are stored in a central relational database. Both a printing press and a data processing unit processing prepress data are interconnected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2004
    Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
    Inventors: Peter Eisele, Andreas Forer, Rainer Ihle, Michael Kaiser, Stefan Schenk, Gerhard Schlindwein, Mathias Supp, Volker Weidner
  • Printing system having output sampling feature
    Patent number: 6685368
    Abstract: A method for generating a sample print of a document in a printing system is disclosed. The method includes receiving a request for a sample print of the document, incrementing a number of job prints of the document, printing the sample print of the document, and routing the sample print of the document to a sample print tray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2004
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Orhan E. Beckman
  • Printing apparatus, print control apparatus, and method for use in those apparatuses
    Patent number: 6682236
    Abstract: A printing apparatus having a plurality of print modes and a plurality of paper feeding means is constructed by means for designating the print mode, means for selecting the paper feeding means, and means for discriminating whether a print medium corresponding to the designated print mode coincides with a print medium corresponding to the selected paper feeding means or not.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2004
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yuichi Higuchi
  • Supporting structure of an armature of a wire dot printer head
    Patent number: 6682233
    Abstract: In a wire dot printer head of the present invention, an armature is formed by coupling a magnetic circuit formation member having a supported piece with one end inserted into a cavity formed on a surface of a yoke to an arm coupled to a wire. The supported piece of the armature is rotatably supported by a support point, thereby a side surface of the cavity and a side surface of the supported piece, and a bottom surface of the cavity and an end surface of the supported piece can be set in the proximity. Accordingly, magnetic resistance between the magnetic circuit formation member and the yoke can be reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2004
    Assignee: Toshiba TEC Kabushika Kaisha
    Inventors: Yasunobu Terao, Keishi Tsuchiya, Takahiro Kawaguchi, Tetsuro Ichitani
  • Unidirectional mode printers
    Patent number: 6679638
    Abstract: To save time between printing passes of a unidirectional printer, the print medium is advanced in two phases separated in time by the fast return of the carriage. The print medium advance movements coincide, at least partly, with the periods of acceleration and deceleration which immediately precede and follow a printing pass and during which the carriage is changing from printing speed to return speed or vice versa. If the total print medium advance time exceeds these acceleration and deceleration times, the extra print medium advance occurs at a single end of the carriage movement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2004
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Lluis Vinals Matas
  • Method of tempering or controlling the temperature of a printing press
    Patent number: 6679173
    Abstract: A method of tempering a printing press with a circulating tempering medium includes regulating a temperature of the tempering medium. The temperature at a first measurement location is measured for purposes of control during production printing by the printing press. The temperature at a second measurement location is measured during a tempering phase of the printing press preceding production printing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2004
    Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
    Inventors: Andreas Henn, Jörg Heuschkel, Christian Hieb, Martin Mayer
  • Method for creating a work of fine art that is a composite of two works of fine art
    Patent number: 6676311
    Abstract: A method for creating a composite work of fine art that is the combination of two works of fine art. The creation of the first and second works of fine art that together form the composite work of fine art each include a hand-painting step. Preferably, for each of the first and second works of fine art, the hand-painting step follows the outputting of its corresponding image onto a substrate. Painting than occurs on top of the image on the substrate, which will speed the process and enhance its accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2004
    Inventor: Brent Benger
  • Tape printing apparatus and method
    Patent number: 6676314
    Abstract: There is provided a tape printing apparatus and method that enables reliable discharge of a cut-off tape strip from the apparatus. Print data to be printed is input, and a tape length tp (tp>0) is calculated based on the input print data. Then, a tape length t is set based on the calculation tape length tp, and a tape is cut to the set tape length t. In the step of setting the tape length, it is determined whether or not the calculation tape length tp is smaller than a length (a+x) obtained by adding a predetermined length x (x≧0) to a length a (a≧0) between a cutting position at which the tape is cut through and a position of an exit via which a cut-off strip of the tape is discharged out of an apparatus. Then, when it is determined that tp<(a+x) holds, the tape length t is set such that t≧(a+x) holds, whereas when it is determined that tp≧(a+x) holds, the tape length t is set such that t=tp holds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2004
    Assignees: Seiko Epson Corporation, King Jim Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Seiji Tanaka, Kiyoshi Ogawa, Hiroshi Ono
  • Printer media feed encoder apparatus and method
    Patent number: 6676313
    Abstract: A printer with a media feed apparatus bas a media tray with a surface for supporting a media stack. A wave drive mechanism has a pair of wheels, a belt looped around said wheels, and a plurality of freewheeling rollers. Each one of the freewheeling rollers has an axis attached to and moving with the belt. At least one of the plurality of freewheeling rollers makes contact with the top sheet in the tray while the belt moves the axis in a feed direction to shift the top sheet in the feed direction. A controller controls a bias force of the wave drive mechanism against the top sheet during the time that the wave drive mechanism moves the sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2004
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Richard A. Kelley, Bruce G. Johnson
  • Printing program and printing system
    Patent number: 6672213
    Abstract: In a printing system including a client, a print server and a printer that are connected to a network, the print server has a database associating printing parameter information with each printed material output apparatus user (i.e., recipient), as well as a data processing unit. When print data is sent from the client to the printer, the printing parameters for the output apparatus user specified by the sender are obtained from the database, and the print data is processed by the data processing unit based on these printing parameters. The processed print data is then output by the printer. As a result, printing can be performed using the printing parameters desired by the recipient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2004
    Assignee: Minolta Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Tetsuya Sugimoto
  • Method and apparatus for reserving a portion of web
    Patent number: 6672214
    Abstract: A method is provided for reserving a portion of web to be used as a leader portion. A measurement of the length of a web is obtained, and a plurality of print jobs are received. At least one print job length is determined, and an operation involving the at least one print job length and the web length is performed. In a preferred embodiment, the operation is performed by subtracting a sum of the lengths of the plurality of print jobs from the web length to obtain a difference. Also provided is a system for producing custom printed articles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2004
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Michael A. Bartholet, Carol L. Dwyer, Kyle P. Manning
  • Method and system for web based printer error information
    Patent number: 6666594
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for providing information on printer errors, in response to specific printer errors. In one embodiment, a printer contains an error detecting device and a memory. If printer errors are detected, error messages are generated. The user may view the error messages, each error message contains basic information on the type of error that occurred, and a “link” to obtain further information. By activating the link, the user can download information on that error from a remote computer over World Wide Web (Internet) or other network. Information on printer errors is maintained and updated in a memory of the remote computer. The system thus provides the most current information related to each printer error.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2003
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Travis J. Parry
  • System and methods for protecting printer consumables through positioning non-use zones
    Patent number: 6666595
    Abstract: Sensitive consumable components of printing devices involved in the process of transferring and fixing an image with toner onto a print medium are protected from harmful exposure to the environment and handling through designating and consistently positioning non-use regions of the components toward exposure gaps in their protective housings upon the completion of every printing process. The need for shutter mechanisms on consumable housings to cover up exposure gaps to protect consumables while in a general handling environment is therefore reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2003
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, LP
    Inventor: Quintin T. Phillips
  • Printer driver, printing control method, and data storage medium
    Patent number: 6663303
    Abstract: When printing a print document for which there is a print request from an application program, printing the one or plural print documents printed by page unit where a specific paper size is one page is controlled based on plural combinations of print paper feeding and cutting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2003
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Yukiharu Horiuchi, Katsuhito Kitahara