Patents Examined by Douglas Tran
  • Patent number: 9996307
    Abstract: An information processing apparatus capable of executing near field wireless communication, comprises: a display unit configured to display a screen; an obtaining unit configured to obtain identification information regarding a device from a near field wireless communication tag with use of the near field wireless communication; a selection unit configured, in a case where the obtaining unit obtained the identification information, to select one of first processing for connecting to the device indicated by the identification information and second processing for connecting to the device indicated by the identification information and sending data to the device, based on a type of screen being displayed by the display unit; and a processing unit configured to execute the processing selected by the selection unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shukei Kurihara
  • Patent number: 9992362
    Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes an acquisition unit that acquires, from a terminal apparatus, control information including model identification information for identifying a model of the terminal apparatus and setting information concerning display setting of a screen of the terminal apparatus; and a controller that causes a screen on which fewer display items than an ordinary screen are displayed to be displayed on a display in a case where the model identification information included in the control information indicates a specific model or in a case where the setting information included in the control information indicates specific setting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Koichi Sato
  • Patent number: 9992368
    Abstract: A communication control method which prevents control over a USB device from being hampered and reducing power consumption at the same time. When the USB device and a control apparatus, which controls the USB device, are connected to the printing apparatus, and a communication via the printing apparatus is being carried out, the printing apparatus and the USB device are not shifted into a power saving mode in which energization of the printing apparatus and the USB device is limited. When the USB device and the control apparatus are connected to the printing apparatus, and a communication via the printing apparatus is not being carried out, the printing apparatus and the USB device are shifted into the power saving mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Tadashi Kawaguchi
  • Patent number: 9992360
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes at least one memory device that stores a set of instructions, and at least one processor that executes the instructions to generate an operation instruction object related to a workflow based a generation instruction for the operation instruction object, display the operation instruction object on a display unit, and perform control to not display the operation instruction object on the display unit based on a received deletion instruction far the operation instruction object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Satoshi Okuma
  • Patent number: 9983657
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus is configured to transit to a communicable power-saving state in which information exchange is possible through a network while power supply to a part of units of the apparatus is stopped. The apparatus includes a connection detection unit configured to detect a connection state of a network cable; and a power supply control unit configured to control a supply state of a power source according to the connection state of the network cable. When the network cable is changed from a connected state to a disconnected state, the power supply control unit controls the supply state of the power source so as to cause the apparatus to transit to a connection detectable power-saving state in which a power supply range is more limited than that in the communicable power-saving state and in which detection of the connection state of the network cable is possible by the connection detection unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventor: Akira Takiguchi
  • Patent number: 9983838
    Abstract: A document routing method performed by a cloud printing system is provided. The document routing method includes receiving a request to print a document, selecting, based on attributes of the document, one of a plurality of rendering clusters, selecting, based on a job performing status of each of a plurality of rendering servers, one of the plurality of rendering servers included in the selected rendering cluster, transmitting the document to the selected rendering server, and requesting the selected rendering server to perform rendering on the document.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Assignee: S-Printing Solution Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Byeong-jin Lee
  • Patent number: 9978006
    Abstract: An output apparatus includes an acquiring unit that acquires document data having an output time limit which is a time limit in which output the document data is permitted, and an output unit that outputs the document data in a mode different from an output mode of the document data before the output time limit elapses, when the output time limit has elapsed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masafumi Ono, Keita Sakakura
  • Patent number: 9979850
    Abstract: To reliably read settings information PD (network settings PD1, printer settings PD2) from memory and correctly set the settings information PD in a printer, a wireless tag 62 storing the settings information PD is disposed to a cover member 40b that is removably installable to a network-connectable printing unit 40a, a reading device 60 that reads the settings information PD from the wireless tag 62 is disposed to the printing unit 40a, and a configurator 50b configures settings based on the read settings information PD.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Wasamoto, Atsushi Yamaji, Makoto Ikeda, Tsutomu Nobutani
  • Patent number: 9977630
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus capable of communicating with an external apparatus includes a storage unit having a folder, a setting unit configured to set a printing condition corresponding to the folder, and a printing unit configured to print a printing target file transmitted from the external apparatus and stored in the folder based on the printing condition set by the setting unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshiji Kanamoto
  • Patent number: 9971963
    Abstract: A system, device, and method for printing N-up documents with background forms, by receiving an instruction to print an N-up document, obtaining a document to be printed as the N-up document and a background form, receiving matchings of logical surfaces of the N-up document to the background form, decomposing the logical surfaces of the N-up document into raster images, generating tags, wherein each tag is associated with a pixel of a logical surface of the N-up document and identifies the logical surface, combining raster images of the logical surfaces into an N-up raster image, merging, using the tags, the background form with the N-up raster image to generate a merged N-up raster image, and printing the merged N-up raster image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2018
    Assignee: XEROX CORPORATION
    Inventors: Arindam Das, Ranita Bej, Polisetty Venkata Rama Kota Jyothendra Varma
  • Patent number: 9959488
    Abstract: A tape printer including a data receiving portion, a display control portion, and a print control portion is provided. The data receiving portion is configured to receive talk data containing plural pieces of speech related data along a time series, the speech related data including speech display texts from each of a first speaker and a second speaker. The display control portion is configured to control the display device so that the plural pieces of speech related data is arrayed and displayed in order of the time series along a tape length direction, and first and second speech related data respectively in relation to the first and second speaker contained in the talk data are displayed in mutually different forms. The print control portion is configured to control a printing head to form a plurality of print objects corresponding respectively to the plural pieces of speech related data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Minako Ishida
  • Patent number: 9953250
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a converter, a reuse portion storage unit, and a reuse information output unit. The converter converts page description language (PDL) data into printable data. The converter stores a conversion result of converting an object appearing in the PDL data multiple times into printable data in a storage device and reuses the conversion result for the object which appears after the conversion result has been stored, instead of converting the object into printable data. The reuse portion storage unit stores information indicating a portion of a page image described by the PDL data for which the conversion result has been reused. The reuse information output unit outputs reuse information indicating a portion of the page image for which the conversion result has been reused, by using the information stored in the reuse portion storage unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Takeshi Torii
  • Patent number: 9952811
    Abstract: The invention provides an alternative applications programming interface (API) for a software application to interface with and to control the operation of a variety of one or more specialty devices, including specialty printing devices. The alternative API provides a superset of control functionality relative to an API that would typically be provided by a specialty device driver. In some embodiments, this alternative API is provided via a specialty device module (SDM) or a specialty printing module (SPM) that is remotely accessible to a software application via a computer network. The SDM or SPM can provide for interface and control of specialty devices that would otherwise be un-accessible to a software application via a specialty device driver, and can provide such locally or remotely accessible functionality to the software application, without necessarily requiring employment of a specialty device driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Inventor: Majid Amani
  • Patent number: 9948818
    Abstract: A method for processing data of a parameter counter for an image forming process includes providing a cumulative data structure for storing at least one record for recording for a predetermined accrual period a cumulative total for a parameter counter for an image forming process, providing data of a parameter counter for a time period, determining whether or not the time period corresponds to a predetermined accrual period for which an existing cumulative total is recorded in the cumulative data structure, and updating the cumulative data structure based on the data of the parameter counter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2018
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Alexei Skvirski
  • Patent number: 9944097
    Abstract: A multifunctional printer having a printer section, an auto document feeder, a scanner section, a print path, and a path guide. When the multifunctional printer is not in a print and scan mode, the path guide can move to a position that routes printed paper from the print path to a print output tray. When the multifunctional printer is not in a print and scan mode, the path guide can move to a position that routes printed paper from the print path to the auto document feeder, where it can be scanned.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2018
    Assignee: Kyocera Document Solution, Inc.
    Inventors: Ahmad Younis, Tommy Yue
  • Patent number: 9936087
    Abstract: A printing apparatus includes a printing unit that performs a printing operation, a print setting unit that performs setting of the printing operation, and a touch panel that displays an object related to the setting and receives a pressing operation. The touch panel displays operation objects corresponding to a multi-level changeable operation parameter of the printing operation and when the pressing operation is performed on a position where the operation object is displayed, the touch panel changes a temporary setting value of the operation parameter, which is shown by a display object displayed at a position different from that of the operation object, according to a magnitude of pressing force. The print setting unit decides the temporary setting value, which is obtained when a determination operation different from the pressing operation is performed, as a setting value of the operation parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Yuki Kuwahara, Tatsuo Akasaka
  • Patent number: 9930208
    Abstract: A printing apparatus equipped with a direct wireless communication function, and a method of controlling the same, set, in accordance with an instruction of a user, a service to enable in the direct wireless communication function from among a plurality of services including a print service, and control the printing apparatus to execute the direct wireless communication function, applying a port filter corresponding to the service that is set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2018
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hiroki Kawasaki
  • Patent number: 9921788
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus is provided with a communication portion that is connected to an external device via a network and communicates with the external device and a control portion that controls communication by the communication portion and executes a restart process for restarting the image forming apparatus. When a preset restart target error has occurred, the control portion executes the restart process in a state where a network port used for communication with the external device is disabled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Hirokazu Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 9917959
    Abstract: A processing apparatus includes a reception unit configured to receive a job notification transmitted from a server, a control unit configured to store reception information indicating that the job notification is received in a memory, a request unit configured to request, in a case where the reception unit receives the job notification, the server to transmit job information, and an execution unit configured to execute the job using the job information transmitted from the server, in which the request unit requests the job information from the server in a case where the determination unit determines that the reception information is stored.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kiyoshi Katano, Masao Maeda
  • Patent number: 9917958
    Abstract: A processing apparatus transmits a request to an external apparatus server for a job on a condition that a predetermined time has elapsed from detection of a predetermined event by a detection unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masao Maeda, Kiyoshi Katano