Patents Examined by Madelein Nguyen
  • Patent number: 9706075
    Abstract: When an MFP receives selection of any one of a plurality of folders managed in a hierarchy, the MFP displays, if the selected folder has subfolders, a list of the subfolders on a display unit, and displays, if the selected folder has no subfolders, a setting screen for setting a reading parameter for a document on the display unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2017
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Natsuki Kato
  • Patent number: 9706070
    Abstract: The image reading apparatus includes a reading unit configured to read the image of the original placed on the platen glass. The image reading apparatus determines whether the original is on the platen glass or not. If it is determined that the original is on the platen glass, the image reading apparatus determines whether the original is blank or not based on the image read by the reading unit. If it is determined that the original is not on the platen glass, or if it is determined that the original is blank, the image reading apparatus notifies the user that the original is not on the platen glass or the original is blank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2017
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Daisuke Morikawa
  • Patent number: 9684477
    Abstract: According to an aspect of the invention, an image processing device includes a storage that stores character information, which is information affecting legibility of a character, on a character-by-character basis, and circuitry configured to determine a toner saving ratio for each character contained in a to-be-printed image so that legibility of the character achieves a preset target value at the determined toner saving ratio by assessing the legibility of the character based on the character information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventor: Tasuku Nagai
  • Patent number: 9667812
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus 1 includes: a conveyance unit 40 that conveys a medium; a reading unit 50 that reads an image formed on the medium conveyed by the conveyance unit; a storage unit that stores data for specifying a color indicated by a reading result obtained from the reading unit 50; and a correction unit that corrects the data to match a color of the image and the color indicated by the reading result. The conveyance unit 40 conveys a color sample medium. Sa as a medium containing an image of a color region of a predetermined color, the reading unit 50 reads the image of the color region, and the correction unit corrects the data associated with the predetermined color in accordance with a reading result of the image of the color region obtained from the reading unit 50.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: Konica Minolta, Inc.
    Inventor: Takashi Mukaiyama
  • Patent number: 9667818
    Abstract: A fax maintenance system includes a fax machine. The fax machine includes an operation fault detector and an output unit. The operation fault detector detects an operation fault of a predetermined type which occurs in the fax machine. The output unit outputs information indicating an occurrence of an operation fault of the predetermined type and setting information concerning an operation fault of the predetermined type.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hiromoto Ando, Chie Ohara, Manabu Wada
  • Patent number: 9661166
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a color component image generator for extracting a particular color component from an input image to generate a color component image, an expanded-color-component image generator for expanding particular pixels in the color component image to generate an expanded-color-component image, an edge pixel extractor for extracting edge pixels from the expanded-color-component image, and a document region detector for detecting a document region from the edge pixels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventors: Ryo Hayashi, Kiyoto Kosaka, Masayoshi Hayashi
  • Patent number: 9661183
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates an image correction apparatus and method. The image correction apparatus includes a printing unit for printing an image; a scratch detecting unit which detects a scratch region from a scan image scanned per line; and a restoration processing unit which performs the restoration of the scratch region by interpolation if the width of the scratch region detected by the scratch detecting unit is less than a predetermined value and, if the width thereof is not less than the predetermined value, does not perform a restoration of the scratch region but provides the printing unit with the scan image, thereby correcting an image distortion by easily detecting an image distortion due to foreign matter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignee: SINDOH CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Nam Ik Cho, Byoung Bag Lee, Cheol Ho Ohk
  • Patent number: 9652699
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a setting unit configured to set whether execute gloss processing for reproducing a metallic luster is executed on a partial area of an image expressed by input image data, based on the input image data, and a recording unit configured to record on the partial area a color material corresponding to any of a complementary color of the partial area, black, and gray and to record thereon a color material for reproducing the color of the partial area in a case where a result of the setting unit indicates execution of the gloss processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masashi Oya, Naomi Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 9648200
    Abstract: An image processing system includes a memory unit configured to store an address book to be used for setting a transmission destination of image data, a receiving unit configured to receive the image data, an acquisition unit configured to acquire a name that is registered in the address book in association with information of a transmission source of the image data received by the receiving unit, a setting unit configured to set a folder path for a plurality of hierarchies which includes a folder with the name acquired by the acquisition unit, and a storage unit configured to store the image data received by the receiving unit in a folder indicated by the folder path that is set by the setting unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ryuta Mori, Fumitoshi Ito, Daijiro Miyamoto, Makiya Tamura, Natsuki Kato, Shuuhei Kawakami
  • Patent number: 9648207
    Abstract: A smart copy apparatus comprises a scanning module, a processing module and a printing module. The scanning module scans an original to obtain fragment scan images. The processing module electrically connected to the scanning module receives the fragment scan images, and determines a size of the original according to the fragment scan images to obtain a scan-size parameter, and generates print data according to the fragment scan images, the scan-size parameter and a print parameter. The printing module receives the print data, and prints the print data on a print medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignee: Avision Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas Sheng, Yen-Cheng Chen
  • Patent number: 9641728
    Abstract: An image data processing apparatus includes a white-colorant-amount specifying unit that specifies an amount of a white colorant used by an image forming apparatus to form an image having a unit area, the image forming apparatus forming an image on a recording medium by using the white colorant and at least one process-color colorant; and a process-color-colorant-total-amount adjusting unit that adjusts a total amount of the at least one process-color colorant used by the image forming apparatus to form the image having a unit area. The process-color-colorant-total-amount-adjusting unit adjusts the total amount of the at least one process-color colorant so that a sum of the amount of the white colorant and the total amount of the at least one process-color colorant used to form the image having a unit area is constant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kaoru Yamauchi, Masahiko Kubo
  • Patent number: 9633290
    Abstract: Whether a pixel in an image is included in a region with at least a predetermined number of lines is determined; with regard to a pixel that is determined to be included in the region with at least the predetermined number of lines, a pixel value is reduced at the same reduction rate whether the pixel is an edge portion or a non-edge portion, and with regard to a pixel that is determined to be included in a region in which the number of lines is smaller than the predetermined number, a pixel value is reduced in such a manner that a reduction rate is higher when the pixel is the non-edge portion than when the pixel is the edge portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Jun Nagai
  • Patent number: 9633285
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a first correction unit configured to obtain a measurement value of a correction amount based on a detection result by a detection unit, and correct an image forming condition based on the measurement value; a second correction unit configured to obtain a variation value by a prediction calculation at a predetermined timing, obtain a prediction value by accumulating the variation value since the first correction unit performed the correction, and correct the image forming condition based on the prediction value, the variation value being a estimated value of the correction amount; and a determination unit configured to obtain an evaluation value related to a prediction error based on the variation value since the first correction unit performed the correction, and determine, based on the evaluation value, the correction timing by the first correction unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takashi Yano
  • Patent number: 9635215
    Abstract: An image processing method and an image forming apparatus using the same. The method of processing includes dividing an image into a predetermined number of blocks, calculating an average of color signals of pixels existing in each of the blocks divided, classifying the blocks into color blocks and monochrome blocks using the calculated average, and determining whether the image is a color image or a monochrome image using a proportion of the color blocks. Accordingly, for a document wherein color and monochrome images are mixed, it is automatically determined whether an image is a color image or a monochrome image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Ki-min Kang
  • Patent number: 9621744
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus determines, when image data of an image read from an original is transmitted to an external unit, whether the transmission is by a first communication method or a second communication method, and controls so that, based on a result of the determination, a transmission interval between a plurality of packets for when the image data is transmitted is longer when the image data is transmitted by the first communication method than when the image data is transmitted by the second communication method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Junji Iguchi
  • Patent number: 9614984
    Abstract: An electronic document generation system includes an image forming apparatus that generates a scanned image of an original document, and an external terminal that generates an electronic document based on image data regarding the scanned image received from the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus includes an auxiliary data generation unit that generates auxiliary data to be used in processing for generating the electronic document, and a communication unit that transmits the auxiliary data to the external terminal. The external terminal includes a document generation unit that uses the auxiliary data received from the image forming apparatus to generate the electronic document based on the image data regarding the scanned image in cooperation with an external cooperative device different from the external terminal. The document generation unit generates the electronic document by complementing the result of processing performed on the image data with the auxiliary data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignee: KONICA MINOLTA, INC.
    Inventor: Noritsugu Matsutani
  • Patent number: 9609178
    Abstract: A color image processing device uses a dither pattern of blocks, each including a plurality of dots representing the gradations of each pixel of an image in a prescribed print region. The dots including one block are arranged in a growth sequence in the ascending order of gradation, and print data is written sequentially at the dots the number of which corresponds to the gradation associated with the block. An extracting unit extracts a data region holding the color components from the print data. A dither processing unit generates dither patterns for the color components extracted by the extracting unit. The dither processing unit detects whether one or more of the dots including each of the pixels forming the image are outside the data region, and moves any dot outside the data region to a certain dot including the same pixel and existing in the data region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2017
    Assignees: TOPPAN PRINTING CO., LTD., NISCA CORPORATION
    Inventor: Katsuhisa Ashizawa
  • Patent number: 9596384
    Abstract: Provided are a signal conversion method and apparatus, a recording medium storing non-transitory program, and a print system which can prevent a color reproduction gamut from being excessively narrowed while avoiding a print failure caused by excess color material. A signal conversion method for limiting the total amount of color materials used in a printing device that forms an image on a recording medium using a plurality of color materials includes determining a final output vector after the total amount of color materials used is limited for an input vector, on the basis of a plurality of input/output signal conversion processes based on different limit values of the total amount of color materials used and weight definition information in which weights applied to the conversion results of the plurality of input/output signal conversion processes are determined according to the input vector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2017
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventor: Masayuki Ukishima
  • Patent number: 9591159
    Abstract: A portable copier system including an upper panel having a device groove and a camera slot, an object sensor for measuring an object size and detecting presence or absence of an object, a lower panel fitted with a plurality of guides, wherein each of the plurality of guides is attached with an object sensor, an adjustment mechanism comprising a plurality of extendible rods, wherein each of the plurality of extendible rods is connected to the upper panel and supported by the lower panel, an image capture device mounted on the device groove, and a controller that controls the adjustment mechanism based on data from the object sensor data and sends signal to the image capture device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2017
    Assignee: Umm Al-Qura University
    Inventor: Salman Butt
  • Patent number: 9584695
    Abstract: An information processing apparatus is provided for generating delivery data to be delivered to a delivery destination in response to an input of processing data. The information processing apparatus includes an acquisition unit configured to acquire other data from a reference destination specified by specific information included in the processing data in a case where the specific information specifying the reference destination of the other data is extracted from the content of the processing data, and a generation unit configured to generate the delivery data in response to an input of the processing data, the delivery data being configured such that the other data acquired by the acquisition unit is viewable based on the delivery data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2017
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Daiya Miyasaka