34results about How to "Consumption amount can be reduced" patented technology

In an image forming apparatus, an area applied with a lubricant, i.e., an area of a lubricant layer having a uniform thickness, is obtained by spreading the lubricant by a lubricant smoothing blade. The area applied with a lubricant covers an area cleaned by a cleaning blade, i.e., a contact portion of the cleaning blade with a photoconductor.

A vehicle load control device comprises a battery that supplies power to an electrical load of the vehicle; a battery sensor that detects a consumption state of the battery; and a control unit that cuts off power supply to the electrical load when the consumption state of the battery reaches a predetermined state. The control unit detects a consumption state of the battery at a relatively short first time interval, in a case where a consumption amount of the battery after the engine stops is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, and detects a consumption state of the battery at a relatively long second time interval, in a case where the consumption amount of the battery after the engine stops is less than a predetermined value, and cuts off power supply to the electrical load depending on the consumption state of the battery detected by the battery sensor.

A load driver includes a switching element connected to a load, a constant current generator that generates a constant current, and a driver circuit that turns on the switching element for an on-period, which depends on a value of the constant current and is shortened with an increase in the value of the constant current. The constant current generator supplies a first constant current having a first current value to the driver circuit during the on-period, and supplies a second constant current having a second current value smaller than the first current value after the on-period has elapsed and the switching element reaches an on state.

An image forming device makes a judgment on whether a bundling process for bundling a plurality of printed recording media is instructed or not, when a process for writing image data to be printed on the recording media into an electronic tag is instructed. The device selects only recording media each provided with an electronic tag as the recording media for printing and writes image data to be printed on each recording medium into the electronic tag of the corresponding recording medium, when the bundling process is not instructed. The device selects a recording medium provided with an electronic tag and a recording medium provided with no electronic tag as the recording media for printing and writes into the electronic tag of the recording medium with the electronic tag the entire image data to be printed on a plurality of recording media, when the bundling process is instructed.

An air-fuel ratio of an air-fuel mixture produced by fuel injected from a first injector into an intake port (or into a combustion chamber) is set in a range of 28 to 38. Therefore, when the temperature and pressure rise with a first combustion started by spark-ignition around a spark plug to the fuel injected from a second injector into the combustion chamber, the timing of starting a second compressive hypergolic ignition is optimized to provide a stable combustion state free of knocking and misfire.

A supply flow passage branches into a plurality of upstream flow passages. A plurality of discharge ports are respectively disposed at a plurality of positions differing in distance from a rotational axis of a substrate. A return flow passage is connected to the upstream flow passage. A downstream heater heats liquid flowing through the upstream flow passage. A downstream switching unit supplies the liquid, supplied to the plurality of upstream flow passages from the supply flow passage, to one of the plurality of discharge ports and the return flow passage, selectively.

The present invention provides a mobile communications terminal that may comprise: a transceiver to send and receive signals with a serving cell and one or more neighboring cells; a memory to store characteristic parameter values related to the signals; and a controller cooperating with the transceiver and the memory to perform the steps of, obtaining a difference value between a measured reception power quality value of the serving cell and a minimum reception power quality value of the serving cell; measuring an error rate of a reception quality of one or more messages received through a common channel during a certain time period; and performing further processing to determine cell section by using the measured error rate, if the obtained difference value is at or below a reference value. The controller can perform the further processing by, calculating a ranking value of the serving cell and a ranking value of one or more neighboring cells using reception power quality values of the serving cell and of the neighboring cells; comparing the measured error rate with a threshold value, if the ranking value of a neighboring cell is found to be greater than the ranking value of the serving cell during the duration of a timer; and performing cell selection if the measured error rate is greater than the threshold value.

The liquid ejection apparatus includes a circulation unit configured to circulate a liquid along a circulation passage extending from a liquid supply source to the liquid supply source through a liquid ejection head. Further, the liquid ejection apparatus includes a deaeration unit configured to perform a deaeration operation of decreasing a dissolved gas amount of the liquid, a recovery unit configured to recover ejection performance of an ejection opening, and a control unit configured to control an operation of driving the circulation unit and the deaeration unit. The control unit starts the deaeration operation and circulates the liquid having been deaerated by the deaeration operation inside a circulation path after the recovery operation and before an initial printing operation after the recovery operation.

Wiping is performed every time when a predetermined period elapses. With the wiping performed step by step, a density of ink in liquid remaining on a discharge port surface is diluted, and becomes a predetermined density or lower. Accordingly, a condition can be maintained, in which the ink can be reliably discharged from a recording head when a recording operation is newly started, although the wiping is not additionally performed after the above wiping. In this case, even when the recording operation is started again or the recording operation is newly started after the several wiping operations, an amount of cleaning liquid used in the several times of wiping is proper to an intermission period. Thus, the cleaning liquid can be prevented from being wastefully consumed.

Disclosed is a solid-state imaging device capable of calculating the difference in charge obtained by photoelectric conversion, and capable of a high level of integration. A solid-state imaging device is provided with an AD converter which is provided with: a first comparator which outputs a signal corresponding to a first analogue signal of a first pixel by comparing said first analogue signal with a reference voltage supplied from the reference voltage generation unit which generates a reference voltage which gradually changes; a second comparator which outputs a signal corresponding to a second analogue signal of a second pixel by comparing said second analogue signal with the reference voltage supplied by the reference voltage generation unit; a difference circuit which finds the difference between the signal corresponding to said first analogue signal and the signal corresponding to said second analogue signal and outputs a difference signal; and a counter circuit which counts the number of pulses in a pulse sequence corresponding to the aforementioned difference signal and converts said difference signal into a digital signal.

A method of flushing a nozzle of an inkjet recording head so as to recover an ink-ejection performance of the nozzle. The nozzle ejects, in a recording mode of the inkjet recording head, a plurality of droplets of an ink to record dot images, such that each of the droplets has an arbitrary one of a plurality of volumes. The flushing method includes causing the inkjet recording head to perform, for a first time, a plurality of continuous flushing actions in each of which the nozzle attempts to eject a droplet of the ink whose volume is larger than a smallest volume of the plurality of volumes, and causing the inkjet recording head to repeat, at least one more time, the plurality of continuous flushing actions while interposing a pause time between each pair of consecutive times out of the first time and said at least one more time.

An air conditioner for a vehicle includes: a compressor that compresses a heat exchange medium; an internal heat exchanger that performs heat exchange between the heat exchange medium expelled from the compressor and air for air conditioning introduced inside a vehicle compartment; and an external heat exchanger that performs heat exchange between the heat exchange medium expelled from the internal heat exchanger and external air, wherein the air conditioner for a vehicle calculates a temperature difference between an external air temperature and a discharge port temperature of the external heat exchanger, calculates an average value of the temperature difference, and performs a defrosting operation which melts frost adhered to the external heat exchanger when an amount of change of the average value is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value.

An image processing method generates a halftone-dot image by forming a halftone dot, which is represented by a set of one or plural output dots and corresponds to an intensity of an input image signal, while making a part of the dots constituting the halftone dot to be an actual non-output dot so as to reduce an amount of a coloring material of the halftone-dot portion. When the intensity of the image signal exceeds a predetermined value and is in a predetermined range, while maintaining contour dots, which are output dots contribute to formation of a contour of the halftone dot, to be the output dot, the image processing method makes a part of dots inside the contour dots to be the actual non-output dot.

A display device according to an exemplary embodiment includes: a substrate including a pixel area and a transmission area adjacent to the pixel area; a transistor positioned on the substrate in the pixel area; a planarization layer positioned on the transistor in the pixel area; a wall positioned on the substrate between the pixel area and the transmission area; and a pixel electrode positioned on the planarization layer and extending in a trench between the planarization layer and the wall.

The present invention provides a copper plating method and apparatus for a gravure cylinder in which copper plating with more uniform thickness can be provided over a full length of a gravure cylinder without causing defects such as rashes and pits irrespective of a size of the gravure cylinder, concentration of a copper plating solution can be managed automatically, a consumption amount of an additive is reduced to make it possible to perform a plating treatment within a short period of time, a power supply cost is reduced, and handling is easy with excellent visibility. A gravure cylinder in a hollow cylindrical shape is held at both ends in a longitudinal direction. The gravure cylinder is accommodated in a plating bath filled with a copper plating solution. The gravure cylinder is energized so that the gravure cylinder functions as a cathode while being rotated at a predetermined speed. A pair of anode chambers in a long box shape, in which insoluble anodes are provided upright slidably to both sides of the gravure cylinder in the plating bath and energized so as to function as an anode, are brought close to both side surfaces of the gravure cylinder at a predetermined interval. Copper plating is provided on an outer peripheral surface of the gravure cylinder.

A fuel separation device is configured to separate the first fuel from the mixed fuel to have a concentration of the high-octane fuel not more than a prescribed upper limit value. The prescribed upper limit is defined that a consumed amount of the high-octane fuel measured under a condition that the internal combustion engine is operated at an operation mode including a state in which a fuel injection amount from a first fuel injection valve for the first fuel is equal to a lower injection amount limit by using the first fuel and the second fuel separated by the fuel separation device is less than a consumed amount of the high-octane fuel measured under at the above operation mode by using the first fuel and the second fuel having the concentration of the high-octane fuel at 100% and 0%, respectively, by a prescribed amount or more.

An eyeglass lens processing apparatus includes: a processing chamber for processing the lens; a grinding water supply unit which includes a first switch unit for turning on/off a supply of grinding water to a first nozzle for ejecting grinding water toward a processing point of the lens; a cleaning water supply unit which includes a second switch unit for turning on/off a supply of cleaning water to a second nozzle for ejecting cleaning water for cleaning processing refuse of the lens scattered in the processing chamber. According to a selection signal indicating a material of the lens being plastic, the control unit controls the first switch unit to turn on the supply of the grinding water in whole processing processes, and controls the second switch unit to turn off the supply of the cleaning water in the whole processing processes.

An electronic circuit board is formed by a pattern forming step for forming a conductive pattern of an electronic circuit board by applying a metal colloid solution on a base material by an inkjet method and a coagulant application step for applying a coagulant solution at least on the conductive pattern by a deposition method.

Disclosed is an apparatus and method for machine washing that includes a sterilizer capable of continuously exhibiting antibiotic and sterilization functions during washing and rinsing processes and reducing the consumption amount of Ag. The washing machine comprises a water reservoir to contain washing water, a sterilizer sterilizing the washing water through an electrolysis process, and a circulator circulating the washing water in the sterilizer.

A supply flow passage branches into a plurality of upstream flow passages. A plurality of discharge ports are respectively disposed at a plurality of positions differing in distance from a rotational axis of a substrate. Hydrogen peroxide water, that is one of components of a chemical liquid (SPM), is supplied to the upstream flow passage from a component liquid flow passage. A mixing ratio changing unit including a plurality of first flow control valves and a plurality of second flow control valves independently changes mixing ratios of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide water included in the chemical liquid to be discharged from the plurality of discharge ports for each of the upstream flow passages.

Transmission information indicating transmittance of light of a printing medium used in image formation is acquired, a reduction ratio with respect to a maximum amount of mounted color materials used in the image formation is set based on the transmission information, and a fixing index indicating a fixing state of the color materials with respect to the printing medium is set based on the transmission information.

A image forming system that can prevent a toner from coming off while reducing the amount of consumption of a clear toner in binding sheets into a book. An image forming apparatus 100 forms an image on a sheet. A clear coating apparatus 200 forms a clear coating image on the sheet using the clear toner that becomes transparent after fixing. A bookbinding apparatus 600 connected to the image forming apparatus 100 and the clear coating apparatus 200 subjects the sheet to folding process. A job controller 501 and an image controller 502 cause the clear coating apparatus 200 to form the clear toner image at a folding position on the sheet in response to designation of a folding mode in the bookbinding apparatus 600.

It is an object to provide a simple fuel cell system and to provide a fuel cell system capable of reducing the amount of consumption of fuel gas at the time of completion of operation. A fuel cell system includes a supply piping from a fuel gas supply source storing fuel gas to a gas inlet of a fuel cell and a circulation piping from a gas outlet of the fuel cell to a junction at which the circulation piping joins the supply piping. A regulating valve and a shut-off valve are disposed on the upstream side of the junction in the supply piping. A portion on the downstream side of the junction in the supply piping and the circulation piping are in constant communicated.

A method for printing information of items relating to a print setting on a sheet includes acquiring information relating to a width of the sheet to be used, setting a layout for printing the information of the items according to the acquired width, and printing the information of the items on the sheet according the set layout.

A voltage reducing circuit includes an internal power supply section configured to reduce an external power supply voltage supplied from an external power supply to an internal power supply voltage which is lower than the external power supply voltage based on a reference voltage. A first current control section is configured to control a current flowing through the internal power supply section when the internal power supply voltage is lower than a setting voltage. A second current control section is configured to control the current flowing through the internal power supply section when the internal power supply voltage exceeds the setting voltage.

A print data generation device includes a control unit that generates print data, and the control unit calculates a label length for a label to be printed on the basis of the first print data, acquires a maximum label length, generates first print data in a case in which a calculated label length, which is a label length that is calculated, does not exceed the maximum label length, and generates second print data, the label length of which is equivalent to the maximum label length, in a case in which the calculated label length exceeds the maximum label length.

The present invention relates to a method for acyltransferase reaction in which an acyl group of acyl coenzyme A is transferred to an acyl group receptor characterized in that the reaction is carried out by production and/or reproduction of acyl coenzyme A from coenzyme A in a reaction system by a chemical thioester exchange reaction with acylthioester. The present invention, wherein expensive acyl CoA is reproduced nonenzymatically in a reaction system, enables to continuously carry out acyltransferase reaction only by putting a small amount of acyl CoA with a donor and a receptor of an acyl group into a system. Accordingly, the method of the present invention can be applied to an industrial production method of various kinds of compounds including useful biological molecules and synthesis of polylmers such as polyester.

An insulating sheet including resin is attached to a conductor portion composed of a wiring pattern and a columnar conductor from above. Then pressure and heat are applied to the insulating sheet using the columnar conductor as a stopper to form a layer of resin having a uniform thickness with the height of the columnar conductor being a reference to cover the conductor portion. In such method for manufacturing an electronic part, a projecting portion is formed outside a part formation area. In this substrate sheet, the amount of the resin required for forming the layer is computed based on the proportion of the volume taken up by the conductor portion in a domain including the projecting portion, and the thickness of the insulating sheet is set in accordance with the computed resin amount.

An image forming apparatus of the invention includes an image carrier, an exposure device performing exposure for forming a toner image on a surface of the image carrier and having at least a first exposure light source and a second exposure light sources a sensor for detecting specified patterns, which are formed on the image carrier at a specified time with use of the first and second exposure light sources, a storing unit for storing a correlation, which is attained from a detection result by the sensor, between the first and second exposure light sources, and a controller for controlling the first and second exposure light sources based on the correlation.

A method for treating a fluorine element-containing exhaust gas including a first step of contacting the fluorine element-containing exhaust gas with water and a second step of contacting a gas component discharged from the first step with a basic aqueous solution including a reducing agent.