Patents by Inventor William Shannon Spencer

William Shannon Spencer 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: 20190384543
    Abstract: A method for reducing a time-to-first-print in an imaging device that includes tracking a set of sleep times between print jobs in an imaging device and determining whether a predetermined number of sleep times in the set of sleep times is reached; and upon a positive determination, identifying a first and a second most recent sleep times stored among the set of sleep times tracked; determining whether each of the first sleep time and the second sleep time is less than a predetermined threshold; and upon a positive determination, determining a value based on an average of the first sleep time and the second sleep time. The value is used as a period of time that the imaging device is powered at a snooze mode prior to transitioning to a sleep mode, and when a print job is received in the imaging device while in the snooze mode, the time-to-first-print from the snooze mode is faster than the time-to-first print when the print job is received while in the sleep mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 15, 2018
    Publication date: December 19, 2019
    Inventors: David J. Mickan, Kevin D. Schoedinger, William Shannon Spencer
  • Patent number: 7627257
    Abstract: A method for associating a customer accessible supply item of a first type with an imaging apparatus includes communicating identification information between the customer accessible supply item of the first type and the imaging apparatus; and operationally locking the customer accessible supply item of the first type with only the imaging apparatus based on the identification information, to the exclusion of other imaging apparatuses and other customer accessible supply items of the first type.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2009
    Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.
    Inventors: Cyrus Bradford Clarke, William Paul Cook, Steven Wayne Parish, William Shannon Spencer, Peter Eric Wallin
  • Publication number: 20080050129
    Abstract: A method for associating a customer accessible supply item of a first type with an imaging apparatus includes communicating identification information between the customer accessible supply item of the first type and the imaging apparatus; and operationally locking the customer accessible supply item of the first type with only the imaging apparatus based on the identification information, to the exclusion of other imaging apparatuses and other customer accessible supply items of the first type.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 25, 2006
    Publication date: February 28, 2008
    Inventors: Cyrus Bradford Clarke, William Paul Cook, Steven Wayne Parish, William Shannon Spencer, Peter Eric Wallin
  • Patent number: 6773083
    Abstract: A method of storing usage information in an ink jet printer includes storing low priority usage information in a first memory field. First high priority usage information is stored in a second memory field. Second high priority usage information is stored in a third memory field. The second high priority usage information is substantially identical to the first high priority usage information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2004
    Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas Austin Fields, William Shannon Spencer
  • Publication number: 20030043408
    Abstract: A method of storing usage information in an ink jet printer includes storing low priority usage information in a first memory field. First high priority usage information is stored in a second memory field. Second high priority usage information is stored in a third memory field. The second high priority usage information is substantially identical to the first high priority usage information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2001
    Publication date: March 6, 2003
    Inventors: Thomas Austin Fields, William Shannon Spencer
  • Patent number: 6299273
    Abstract: A method of controlling a temperature of a print chip of a printhead in an ink jet printer includes providing the printer with a memory device. The print chip is provided with and at least one ink-jetting resistor. The printhead is provided with at least one substrate heater and a heatsink attached to the print chip. Power is applied to the substrate heater and/or the ink-jetting resistor. Temperature data associated with the print chip is recorded during the applying step. A thermal resistance value of the print chip to the heatsink and/or a thermal capacitance value associated with the printhead is calculated dependent upon the recorded temperature data. The thermal resistance value of the print chip to the heatsink and/or the thermal capacitance value associated with the printhead are stored in the memory device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2001
    Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.
    Inventors: Frank Edward Anderson, Stanley Dyer, Christopher Dane Jones, Shirish Padmaker Mulay, William Shannon Spencer