Patents Examined by Lawrence Wills
  • Patent number: 9063681
    Abstract: A printing system includes a host computer and a server computer communicable with the host computer via a network. The host computer includes a first transmitting unit that transmits image data and position data indicating a position of a storage area in a storage unit. The storage area stores supplementary image data. The server computer includes an image acquiring unit, a combining unit, and a second transmitting unit. The image acquiring unit acquires the supplementary image data from the storage area based on the position data. The combining unit combines the image data transmitted from the host computer and the acquired supplementary image data to create composite image data. The second transmitting unit transmits the composite image data to a printer to print an image corresponding to the composite image data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2015
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yuji Miyata
  • Patent number: 8976416
    Abstract: In a case in which image data used to form an image on a recording medium in a plurality of scans performed across a recording area of the recording medium is generated, a coefficient determination unit determines assignments of output density for the scans on the basis of density characteristics corresponding to the type of recording medium indicated by a recording-medium signal. Multipliers and binary conversion units generate image data for the scans from input image data on the basis of the assignments of the output density.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Horii, Hisashi Ishikawa, Koji Moriya
  • Patent number: 8953191
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus displays a list of document data managed by a document management system, checks-out the document data selected from the list, and prints it. When a check-in is performed, a print document is scanned and scan data obtained by the scan is checked-in to the document management system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Naoyuki Fukuda
  • Patent number: 8953181
    Abstract: Apparatuses, systems and methods are provided for previewing and submitting print jobs. A printer apparatus generates and outputs preview data based on printer resources and print data received from an external terminal, in response to a preview request received along with the print data from the external terminal. Such preview data is in a printer-independent format that is acceptable to a plurality of printing devices, and images generated by the plurality of printers based on the preview data are substantially the same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazutaka Oba, Ulrich Wehner
  • Patent number: 8937733
    Abstract: An Internet facsimile machine includes an e-mail generating unit and an e-mail send unit. For sending a multi-page document, the e-mail generating unit generates separate e-mails and attaches image data of a specific page of the document to one of the e-mails and image data of remaining pages to another of the e-mails. The e-mail send unit sends each e-mail. With this arrangement, regardless of the size of image data of the entire document, it is ensured that at least the specific page showing contact information of the sender is successfully sent to the recipient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2015
    Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Hiroyasu Ito, Tomoyuki Atsumi, Tatsuro Asano, Hiroaki Sugimoto
  • Patent number: 8908198
    Abstract: A system and method for automatically rendering labeling service prints with print engine parameters. An auto-labeling application can be configured in association with a print engine controller for labeling the service prints with the print engine parameters via a built-in marker integrated with a fault multi-function device. A portable inline marker can also be separately attached to a baffle assembly of the fault device and connected to the print engine controller via a connector in order to receive the print engine parameters from the print engine controller. A setup routine configured with the auto-labeling application can be employed to customize the service print labels in a modular format and the parameters can be appended to each other based on the information required to troubleshoot the fault multi-function device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2014
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Eliud Robles Flores, David B. Montfort, John R. Falvo
  • Patent number: 8902450
    Abstract: Methods and systems are presented for identifying potential printer failures in a networked printing enterprise, in which job tracking data is gathered for print jobs in the network, affinity data is derived from the job tracking data indicating associations between printer devices and user devices, and potential printer failures are identified based on changes in the affinity data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Matthew Scrafford, Shawn Kammerdiener, Victor Ciriza, Pascal Valobra, Bruno Marquie, Kirk Pothos, Guillaume Bouchard
  • Patent number: 8891091
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus has a plurality of processing parts configured to execute different processes with respect to image data, and an executing sequence determination part configured to determine an executing sequence of the processing parts based on conditions related to a requested image processing. The processing parts execute the processes according to the executing sequence.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2014
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Tatsushi Machida
  • Patent number: 8867061
    Abstract: A method and a system for printing from web applications, as well as a corresponding computer program and a corresponding computer-readable storage means, are described. The method and system are particularly useful for improving the print functionality of web applications; e.g., by enabling printout of additional formats. It is proposed to provide on web pages a print option that can be controlled via data input means of a terminal. Activation of the print option causes a server executing the web application to send the data to be printed to a designated print server to start a print process on the print server, and to send the data generated by the print process from the print server to a network printer or to the terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: Cortado AG
    Inventors: Bernd Trappe, Danny Preussler
  • Patent number: 8867073
    Abstract: A server apparatus to manage a service processing apparatus which, based on a job requested from an information processing apparatus, cooperatively processes the job. The generation unit generates, based on cooperation service information stored in the storage unit, cooperation processing information including location information about a service processing apparatus to which the information processing apparatus is to make a cooperation service request, session information indicating a cooperation process, and order information indicating a progress state of a service process. The instruction unit transmits the generated cooperation processing information to the information processing apparatus, and instruct the information processing apparatus about a process. The acquisition unit acquires from the information processing apparatus response information corresponding to the cooperation processing information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Nobuaki Fukasawa
  • Patent number: 8860974
    Abstract: A print control apparatus includes a communication unit which communicates with a server, a print instruction acceptance unit which accepts a print instruction to make a printing apparatus execute printing, a judgment unit which judges whether or not the printing apparatus is a registered printing apparatus, a permission unit which permits the printing apparatus to execute printing based on the print instruction when the printing apparatus has been judged to be the registered printing apparatus, a restriction unit which inhibits the printing apparatus from executing printing based on the print instruction when the printing apparatus has not been judged to be the registered printing apparatus, and a notification unit which makes a notification for prompting a user to register the printing apparatus on the server as the registered printing apparatus when the printing apparatus has not been judged to be the registered printing apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2014
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Masaharu Iwatani
  • Patent number: 8842324
    Abstract: A device and method for estimating power consumption at a printing device. The device includes a processor and memory containing a set of instructions, the instructions configured to cause the device to perform the method. The method includes polling the printing device at a plurality of intervals over a first period of time and receiving a polling for at each of the plurality of intervals. The method further includes determining a page count difference between each poll and determining a timer count between each poll. An estimated energy consumption for the printing device is determined based upon the page count difference for each of the intervals and the timer count for each of the intervals. A total estimated energy is determined for the first period of time based upon the estimated energy consumption of the printing device for each of the intervals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2014
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Fritz Francis Ebner, Lina Fu
  • Patent number: 8836970
    Abstract: We describe a portable paperless electronic printer for displaying a printed document on an electronic paper display. The paperless electronic printer includes an input to receive print data from an output of a printer driver of a computerised electronic device, a non-volatile electrophoretic display to provide an electronic paper display of stored said print data for a said document page to mimic said document page when printed on paper; and a processor coupled to said input, to non-volatile memory, and to said non-volatile electrophoretic display and configured to input said print data, to store said data derived from said print data in said non-volatile memory, and to provide to said non-volatile electrophoretic display data for displaying a said document page derived from said stored data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Assignee: Plastic Logic Limited
    Inventors: Duncan Barclay, William Reeves, Henning Sirringhaus
  • Patent number: 8836967
    Abstract: An image forming device includes an image forming section, a CPU and memory storing executable instructions that, when executed by the CPU, cause the image forming device to provide functions including a data acquisition section, a mismatch correction section and a control section. The data acquisition section is configured to acquire a variation in factor that causes a mismatch of a parameter. The control section is configured to estimate an amount of mismatch of the parameter based on the variation and to send a request for measuring the amount of mismatch to the mismatch correction section when the estimated amount is equal to or larger than a reference value. The control section is also configured to alter at least one of calculation factors used for estimating the amount of mismatch and the reference value according to the measured amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kentaro Murayama
  • Patent number: 8810812
    Abstract: A system and method for consolidating and managing rendering jobs. A folder can be automatically created based on a system username associated with a user upon receiving a personal rendering job and/or a secure rendering job with respect to a rendering device such as, for example, a printer or MFD. The subsequent rendering jobs that are transmitted from that user to the rendering device can be collected in the folder. An authentication process can be performed if the folder includes the secure rendering job in order to authenticate the user. The authentication process can be automatically skipped and the folder can be directly accessed if the folder does not include the secure rendering job. The authentication process can be optionally bypassed if the folder includes both the personal and the secure rendering jobs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Andrew Martin, Brandon S. McComber
  • Patent number: 8804141
    Abstract: A character output device includes: a character direction specification unit that specifies a drawing direction of characters for each processing-target region of a processing-target page; a character rotation determination unit that determines as to whether the processing-target page rotates or not based on a relation between the specified drawing direction and a direction of an output medium; and an output unit that performs an output processing based on the determination by the character rotation determination unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Masaya Miyazaki
  • Patent number: 8797616
    Abstract: This invention relates to a conversion table compression method of compressing a conversion table and storing the conversion table in a storage medium, including an axial difference creating step of creating an axial difference table by calculating, from data stored in the conversion table, the difference values between grid points adjacent in predetermined directions along a plurality of axes which define the input space of the conversion table, a compressing step of compressing the axial difference table to create compressed data, and a storing step of storing the compressed data in a recording medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroaki Sugiura, Kazuyoshi Sumiuchi, Koji Ito
  • Patent number: 8780371
    Abstract: A printing apparatus to make a number of copies of a printed material on which an image is formed according to print data stored in a removable memory medium is provided. The printing apparatus includes an interface to which the removable memory medium is connected so that the print data stored in the removable memory medium is inputted to the printing apparatus, a printable number detecting system, which is configured to detect a number of copies of the printed material to be made being stored in the removable memory medium, a printing system, which is configured to make the printed material, and a controlling system, which is configured to control a total of the number of copies of the printed material to be made by the printing system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuma Aoki, Masashi Kato, Toru Tsuzuki, Hiroyuki Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 8773687
    Abstract: Techniques are provided for allowing an application program to print to a new or updated printing device on a network without the user having to perform any updates or reconfigurations that are required with conventional print drivers. The techniques include techniques for retrieving new or updated printing device capabilities data from the printing device on the network, converting the retrieved printing device capabilities to a printer description file, generating print job tickets based on the printer description file, and submitting the print job tickets to the printing device as part of the submission of print jobs to the printing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Yue Liu
  • Patent number: 8773726
    Abstract: An image forming device capable of controlling a scanning unit and a method to control the scanning unit, the image forming device including a rate error calculator to calculate a rate error from a difference between a practical rotation rate and a target rate of a motor that drives the scanning unit, a position error calculator to calculate a position error from a difference between a current position and a target position of the motor, and a rate/position controller to output a control pulse to control a rate and a position of the motor by applying the rate error and the position error.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hyoung-il Kim