Patents by Inventor Takahiro Hirakawa

Takahiro Hirakawa has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20180262648
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recoding medium based on document data includes a memory that stores a program and a processor that executes the program stored in the memory to perform a process. The process includes determining an occurrence of an error made by the image forming apparatus or a user of the image forming apparatus, determining whether the document data is confidential, deciding on one or more actions to be performed based on the error and whether the document data is confidential, and implementing the decided one or more actions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 21, 2018
    Publication date: September 13, 2018
    Applicant: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Christian RAVEL, Loic BEYLOT, Takahiro HIRAKAWA
  • Publication number: 20160284341
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method allows text data extracted from a scanned document by OCR to be converted into speech data such that the size of the speech data is equal to or lower than a predetermined speech data size limit. The method includes obtaining a predetermined speech data size limit; determining whether or not converting the text data into speech data will produce speech data with a size greater than the speech data size limit; and converting the text data into speech data such that the size of the speech data is equal to or lower than the speech data size limit. The speech data, optionally with at least one of the scanned document image and the text data, is then transmitted to a particular location.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2016
    Publication date: September 29, 2016
    Inventors: Takahiro HIRAKAWA, Yusaku MASUDA, Christian RAVEL, Loic BEYLOT
  • Patent number: 8953222
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a printer engine, a storage unit, a print data interpreting unit, and a print control unit. The print data interpreting unit interprets print data and identifies both a first job type and a second job type. The first job type specifies any one of a special print job using special toner and a normal job using normal toner, and the second job type specifies a print function to be used. The print control unit makes a decision to permit or prohibit accumulation of print data in view of security based on the first job type and the second job type, accumulates the print data in the storage unit when the decision to permit the accumulation of the print data is made, and prohibits the accumulation of the print data when the decision to prohibits the accumulation of the print data is made.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Hiroaki Kobayashi, Isamu Mitsuke, Takahiro Hirakawa, Saori Iura, Yuuichi Yoshida, Nobuyuki Iwata, Tomoyuki Takahira
  • Patent number: 8908227
    Abstract: The purpose of this invention is to avoid unnecessary print out and cut wasteful consumption of resources and electricity. A printer receives a command indicating whether or not a user does not need to print out images such as advertisements on web pages. If a drawing command acquired by analyzing received print data is image, the printer determines whether or not the command is to draw images based on the user's choice and execute a drawing process along with the command from the user. Consequently, the printer can print out text information with eliminating image information which is noise for the user and can eliminate print out for unnecessary image information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2014
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Chan Gu, Saori Iura, Yuichi Yoshida, Takahiro Hirakawa, Yasuyuki Igarashi, Isamu Mitsuke, Nobuyuki Iwata
  • Patent number: 8810840
    Abstract: An image forming system includes an image forming apparatus and an output management server. The output management server includes a receiving unit to receive an output data, an analysis unit to analyze the output data and determine a PDL required for outputting the output data, a management unit to determine whether the PDL is available, and a transmitting unit to transmit the output data and an executable file of the PDL to the designated image forming apparatus, when the PDL is determined as available. The image forming apparatus includes a receiving unit to receive the output data and the executable file of the PDL, a control unit to activate the executable file of the PDL and develop the output data, an output unit to output the output data, and a deleting unit to delete the executable file of the PDL, after the outputting of the output data is completed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Saori Iura, Isamu Mitsuke, Yuichi Yoshida, Takahiro Hirakawa
  • Patent number: 8564800
    Abstract: A time limit for a printer to be restored to a printable state after an occurrence of a print error that prevents the printer from printing is variably set. If the printer is not in a printable state when an elapsed time since the print error occurred in the printer reaches the time limit being set or exceeds the time limit, a print start command is transmitted to another printer, and a job assignment is switched to the other printer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Takeshi Yoshizumi, Masaaki Igarashi, Takahiro Hirakawa, Hozumi Yonezawa, Hiroshi Gotoh, Kohji Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 8547581
    Abstract: A printing system includes a storage unit that stores printing status information and host apparatus identification information. The printing status information includes a printing status representing whether a printing processing of the print job is interrupted, and the host apparatus identification information represents the host apparatus as a requestor of the print job. The printing system includes a update unit that updates the printing status information based on a monitoring result of the printing apparatus; a job managing unit that judges whether to execute the print job according to the printing status information when receiving a processing request of the print job from the host apparatus; and a printing status information managing unit that decides printing status information to be stored in the storage unit. The printing status information managing unit first deletes, from the storage unit, printing status information on a print job transmitted from a low-ranked host apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Masaaki Igarashi, Hiroshi Gotoh, Takeshi Yoshizumi, Hozumi Yonezawa, Takahiro Hirakawa
  • Patent number: 8488166
    Abstract: A printing system including a plurality of host devices and a plurality of printing devices connected. The printing system includes: a storage unit; a first storage processing unit for storing, in the storage unit, a print status of a print job; an information updating unit for monitoring the plurality of printing devices and updates the execution status identification information stored in the storage unit; and a job management unit for determining, based on the print status, whether the print job is to be executed on the one printing device. When a processing request for the print job is sent from another host device while the printing process for the print job sent from the one host device is suspended in the one printing device, the job management unit allows the one printing device to execute the print job sent from the another host device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2013
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Takahiro Hirakawa, Masaaki Igarashi, Hozumi Yonezawa, Hiroshi Gotoh, Takeshi Yoshizumi, Kohji Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20130107288
    Abstract: The purpose of this invention is to avoid unnecessary print out and cut wasteful consumption of resources and electricity. A printer receives a command indicating whether or not a user does not need to print out images such as advertisements on web pages. If a drawing command acquired by analyzing received print data is image, the printer determines whether or not the command is to draw images based on the user's choice and execute a drawing process along with the command from the user. Consequently, the printer can print out text information with eliminating image information which is noise for the user and can eliminate print out for unnecessary image information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 18, 2012
    Publication date: May 2, 2013
    Inventors: Chan GU, Saori IURA, Yuichi YOSHIDA, Takahiro HIRAKAWA, Yasuyuki IGARASHI, Isamu MITSUKE, Nobuyuki IWATA
  • Patent number: 8384946
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus prints images of different document sizes on paper having a predetermined paper size. The image forming apparatus includes a computation processing part to compute a print position of the image with respect to the paper, based on the document size, the paper size and moving amount computation information that is input thereto, and a print processing part to arrange and print the image on the paper, based on the print position computed by the computation processing part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2013
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kohji Yamamoto, Hozumi Yonezawa, Takahiro Hirakawa, Takeshi Yoshizumi, Hiroshi Gotoh, Minako Kazume
  • Patent number: 8370768
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus is disclosed. The image forming apparatus includes a displaying unit which displays a predetermined number of menu items in plural menu items on a screen, an inputting unit which selects a menu item from the menu items displayed on the screen by the displaying unit, and a storing unit which registers the menu item selected by the input unit in a user custom menu table for each user having registration regions where a predetermined number of menu items are stored.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2013
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Naohiko Kubo, Naruhiko Ogasawara, Nobuyuki Iwata, Hiroya Uruta, Takahiro Hirakawa
  • Publication number: 20130010319
    Abstract: An image forming system includes an image forming apparatus and an output management server. The output management server includes a receiving unit to receive an output data, an analysis unit to analyze the output data and determine a PDL required for outputting the output data, a management unit to determine whether the PDL is available, and a transmitting unit to transmit the output data and an executable file of the PDL to the designated image forming apparatus, when the PDL is determined as available. The image forming apparatus includes a receiving unit to receive the output data and the executable file of the PDL, a control unit to activate the executable file of the PDL and develop the output data, an output unit to output the output data, and a deleting unit to delete the executable file of the PDL, after the outputting of the output data is completed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2012
    Publication date: January 10, 2013
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Saori IURA, Isamu MITSUKE, Yuichi YOSHIDA, Takahiro HIRAKAWA
  • Patent number: 8264723
    Abstract: A printing apparatus performs a printing process for a printing job including at least one print data and a series of process commands from a host apparatus. A session setup unit sets up a session with the host apparatus and other printing apparatus. A status obtaining unit obtains a status of the other printing apparatus that is in session with the printing apparatus. Upon performing the print process, a job synchronizing unit maintains a synchronization of the print job with the other printing apparatus that is in session with the printing apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2012
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Hiroshi Gotoh, Takeshi Yoshizumi, Hozumi Yonezawa, Minako Kazume, Takahiro Hirakawa
  • Publication number: 20120147396
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a printer engine, a storage unit, a print data interpreting unit, and a print control unit. The print data interpreting unit interprets print data and identifies both a first job type and a second job type. The first job type specifies any one of a special print job using special toner and a normal job using normal toner, and the second job type specifies a print function to be used. The print control unit makes a decision to permit or prohibit accumulation of print data in view of security based on the first job type and the second job type, accumulates the print data in the storage unit when the decision to permit the accumulation of the print data is made, and prohibits the accumulation of the print data when the decision to prohibits the accumulation of the print data is made.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 2, 2011
    Publication date: June 14, 2012
    Inventors: Hiroaki KOBAYASHI, Isamu Mitsuke, Takahiro Hirakawa, Saori Iura, Yuuichi Yoshida, Nobuyuki Iwata, Tomoyuki Takahira
  • Patent number: 8194272
    Abstract: When a printing device is in a state in which a printing process of a print job including at least one print data and a series of process commands from a host apparatus cannot be executed, a printing processing unit transfers a printing right corresponding to the print job that is left unprinted to other printing device. When the printing device is in a state in which the printing process can be executed and if the printing right corresponding to the print job that is left unprinted is transferred to the printing device from the other printing device, the printing processing unit executes the printing process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2012
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Takeshi Yoshizumi, Hozumi Yonezawa, Hiroshi Gotoh, Takahiro Hirakawa
  • Patent number: 8185948
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus which requests authentication for login processing based on user information when a user requests specific processing includes a communication interface for receiving data, a print mechanism for performing printing processing on data, a registration mechanism for registering a plurality of user information, a storage mechanism for storing an access control list and an administration mechanism. The administration mechanism administers login processing of a plurality of users based on hierarchy information of the registered users and registered contents of the access control list, and to administer permission of the operation processing requested by the user. When the user instructs specific processing of data which is a guest job having no authentication information, the processing of the data is carried out.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2012
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroya Uruta, Nobuyuki Iwata, Naruhiko Ogasawara, Takahiro Hirakawa, Naohiko Kubo
  • Publication number: 20120069391
    Abstract: A printing apparatus that performs a printing process related to a print job including one print data item or a plurality of print data items and a series of process commands transmitted from a host apparatus and that is connected to another printing apparatus via a network, the printing apparatus including a status information acquiring unit that acquires status information of the printing apparatus when a status information transmission command is received as the process command transmitted from the host apparatus; a determining unit that synthetically determines whether the printing process can be continuously performed, on the basis of the status information of the printing apparatus and the status information of another printing apparatus connected to the printing apparatus via the network, when the status information of the printing apparatus acquired by the status information acquiring unit indicates an error; and a communication processing unit that transmits integrated status information correspondin
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 9, 2011
    Publication date: March 22, 2012
    Applicant: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventors: Hozumi Yonezawa, Kohji Yamamoto, Masaaki Igarashi, Takahiro Hirakawa
  • Patent number: 8000800
    Abstract: According to a charging system of this invention, an alternating current required for charging of an electric double layer capacitor of a storage device in the body may be transmitted from a feeding device outside the body through power receiving and power transmitting coils. The electric double layer capacitor may be charged in a contactless mode, without incising the body of the artificial organ user, while the storage device remains embedded in the body. The electric double layer capacitor may be charged reliably by avoiding a shortage of charging since the charge status of the electric double layer capacitor of the storage device is known during a charging operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2011
    Assignee: Limited Company TM
    Inventors: Harumi Takeda, Takahiro Hirakawa
  • Publication number: 20110128579
    Abstract: A printing system includes a storage unit that stores printing status information and host apparatus identification information. The printing status information includes a printing status representing whether a printing processing of the print job is interrupted, and the host apparatus identification information represents the host apparatus as a requestor of the print job. The printing system includes a update unit that updates the printing status information based on a monitoring result of the printing apparatus; a job managing unit that judges whether to execute the print job according to the printing status information when receiving a processing request of the print job from the host apparatus; and a printing status information managing unit that decides printing status information to be stored in the storage unit. The printing status information managing unit first deletes, from the storage unit, printing status information on a print job transmitted from a low-ranked host apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2010
    Publication date: June 2, 2011
    Inventors: Masaaki IGARASHI, Hiroshi Gotoh, Takeshi Yoshizumi, Hozumi Yonezawa, Takahiro Hirakawa
  • Publication number: 20110063665
    Abstract: A printing system including a plurality of host devices and a plurality of printing devices connected. The printing system includes: a storage unit; a first storage processing unit for storing, in the storage unit, a print status of a print job; an information updating unit for monitoring the plurality of printing devices and updates the execution status identification information stored in the storage unit; and a job management unit for determining, based on the print status, whether the print job is to be executed on the one printing device. When a processing request for the print job is sent from another host device while the printing process for the print job sent from the one host device is suspended in the one printing device, the job management unit allows the one printing device to execute the print job sent from the another host device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 9, 2010
    Publication date: March 17, 2011
    Inventors: Takahiro HIRAKAWA, Masaaki Igarashi, Hozumi Yonezawa, Hiroshi Gotoh, Takeshi Yoshizumi, Kohji Yamamoto