31results about How to "Wasteful consumption" patented technology

Methods and systems are provided for controlling the automatic shutdown of an idling vehicle engine. When the vehicle is parked in an enclosed space, the idling engine may be automatically shutdown, while when the vehicle is parked in an open space, the automatic shutdown may be delayed based on an ambient temperature. In this way, the vehicle cabin may be maintained at a temperature that provides enhanced driver comfort while allowing wasteful engine idling to be reduced.

A microchip processing apparatus processes a microchip with at least one main separation channel. The microchip processing apparatus includes a holding part configured to hold the microchip, a container containing a sample or a reagent, and a dispensing probe having a needle formed on a tip of the dispensing probe. The dispensing probe is actuated to be inserted into the container from above the container, to draw the sample or reagent, and to inject to a prescribed position on the held microchip. A dispensing probe driving mechanism moves the dispensing probe between prescribed positions of the microchip and the container.

An on-demand-type drive state control apparatus for a vehicle is provided. In the case where acceleration slippage occurs at drive wheels (rear wheels) of a vehicle when a drive system is in a two-wheel drive state, the drive system is switched from the two-wheel drive state to a four-wheel drive state. That is, the maximum transmittable torque of a multi-disc clutch mechanism increases from “0” to a predetermined value. In the four-wheel drive state, the maximum transmittable torque decreases stepwise from the present value by a predetermined value every time the vehicle travels over a predetermined distance in a state in which none of the wheels cause acceleration slippages. That is, the clutch drive current supplied to the multi-disc clutch mechanism decreases gradually (stepwise or in a plurality of steps), and the drive torque distributed to the front wheels (rear wheels) decreases (increases) gradually.

When recording operation is stopped due to, for example, unexpected interruption of electric power supply in the course of the recording operation on a real time basis, a technique of repairing a moving picture and sound data recorded on a recording medium until the recording is stopped, to thereby restore management information data which enables random access and special reproduction is provided. A video / audio / management information multiplexing means is so implemented as to generate data required for generating management information data for allowing random access to the recording medium and effectuating special reproduction of the recording medium, for thereby multiplexing the data required for generating the management information data, encoded video data outputted from a video encoding means and encoded audio data outputted from an audio encoding means.

A vehicular room illuminating lamp includes: a plurality of illumination units applying voltages through courtesy wires thereof to lamps which irradiate positions in a vehicle cabin, the positions corresponding to four doors; a mode switch capable of selecting an all-lights-on mode, a door mode and a light-off mode; and a controller that individually receives a mode selection signal of the mode switch and respective door open / close signals of the four doors. The controller applies the voltages to all of the courtesy wires in the all-lights-on mode, applies the voltage only to the courtesy wire of the illumination unit corresponding to the door indicated to be open by the door open / close signal in the door mode, and does not apply the voltage to any of the courtesy wires irrespective of states of the door open / close signals in the light-off mode.

An inkjet printing apparatus and its control method which can suppress defective ejection and wasteful ink consumption are provided. For that purpose, pigment density Nx of the ink in a circulation path is calculated, and the ink in the circulation path is discharged on the basis of the pigment density Nx.

A playback system includes headphones worn on a user's body and converting an electrical signal into sound and a playback apparatus supplying the electrical signal to the headphones. The headphones include first and second electrodes provided in first and second converters, respectively, so as to be in contact with the user's body. The first converter converts the electrical signal in a right channel into sound. The second converter converts the electrical signal in a left channel into sound. The playback apparatus includes measuring means for measuring a resistance or a capacitance between the first and second electrodes, determination means for determining whether or not the headphones are being worn on the user's body in accordance with the resistance or the capacitance measured by the measuring means, and control means for controlling a state of the playback apparatus in accordance with the determination result of the determination means.

An object of the present invention is to perform removal of NOx in an exhaust gas purification system for an internal combustion engine equipped with an NOx catalyst while suppressing the consumption amount of reducing agent used for NOx removal even when the NOx catalyst is deteriorated. To achieve the object, when the degree of deterioration of the NOx catalyst is lower than or equal to a specific deterioration degree, the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas flowing into the NOx catalyst is adjusted to the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio or a rich air-fuel ratio. On the other hand, when it is determined that the degree of deterioration of the NOx catalyst is higher than the specific deterioration degree, the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas flowing into the NOx catalyst is adjusted to a specific lean air-fuel ratio.

Provided is a brake control apparatus for a vehicle which detects an amount of brake-pedal operation by means of an electric signal, and then calculates a braking force demanded by a driver from the electric signal, and thereby generates the demanded braking force. A control mode for a braking force is switched from a normal control mode to a stationary-vehicle control mode, if a determination that the vehicle is in a stationary state is followed by another determination that an electric signal corresponding to an actual braking force exceeds a command value for a stationary-vehicle braking force while the vehicle is in the stationary state. The control mode for a braking force is switched from the stationary-vehicle control mode to the normal control mode, if it is determined that the demanded braking force becomes smaller than the command value for the stationary-vehicle braking force. In addition, in the stationary-vehicle control mode, a braking force generated by a means for braking is equal to the command value for the stationary-vehicle braking force, whereas, in the normal control mode, the braking force generated by the means for braking is equal to the braking force demanded by the driver.

An image processing controller capable of preventing an image forming apparatus from being caused to return from a power saving state inefficiently, and wastefully consuming electric power. The controller acquires the status of the apparatus. When the apparatus has received a job in the power saving state, the controller determines whether or not to cause the apparatus to return from the power saving state based on the acquired status of the apparatus. The controller stores the job when there is no need to cause the apparatus to return from the power saving state, and transmits raster image data generated based the stored job to the apparatus when it has returned from the power saving state. When there is need to cause the apparatus to return from the power saving state, the controller transmits raster image data generated based on the received job to the apparatus.

An electric vehicle includes an electric motor, an electrical storage device, an air-conditioning apparatus and a controller. A coolant circuit of the air-conditioning apparatus has a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an expansion valve for cooling, and an evaporator. The evaporator has a heat storage member. In a case in which regenerative braking by the electric motor is performed when the state of charge of the electrical storage device is the predetermined value or more, the controller controls the air-conditioning apparatus such that a temperature of the evaporator is decreased so as to be lower than a temperature of the evaporator when a state of charge of the electrical storage device is less than a predetermined value.

A centralized-monitoring apparatus, which centralized monitors a device including a storage, a temperature sensor to detect a temperature therein, and a temperature-variable device to cool or heat inside the storage such that the temperature reaches a set object-preservation temperature, comprises: an input device to be input with first information indicative of a time zone in which the temperature-variable device performing power-saving operation and second information indicative of a set temperature of the time zone; a storage device to store the first-and-second information from the input device; a timing device to measure a current time; and a control device to control the temperature-variable device, based on the first-and-second information and current time, so as to start operation of turning the temperature to the set temperature when the current time reaches a starting time of the time zone, and terminate the operation when the current time reaches an ending time thereof.

A computer system according to the present invention is composed of a server 200 having a flash memory drive 204 for cache, a storage system 260 having storage tiers composed of an SSD 267 and an HDD 268, and a management server having a page tier determination program 503 for determining the storage tier to which data is to be stored. The page tier determination program 503 migrates data having a high read access rate out of the pages having a high cache rate to the flash memory drive 204 to a storage tier of the HDD 268, and confirms so that data is not stored in a duplicated manner to the flash memory drive 204 and the SSD 267. Further, the data having a relatively high write access rate is migrated to the storage tier of the SSD 267 so as to prevent deterioration of write process performance.

A processing device processes data with use of one or more data blocks shared with a plurality of external processing devices. The device includes a processor, and a shared data storage unit that stores, respectively in one or more storage areas thereof, one or more data blocks to be shared with one or more external processing devices. An output unit outputs, when the processor makes an access request to write data in a part of one of the data blocks, a block identifier identifying the one of the data blocks, and the data pertaining to the access request. An input unit judges whether to share external data outputted from one of the external processing devices, based on a block identifier outputted from the one of the external processing devices, and only when judging affirmatively, causes the shared data storage unit to store the external data.

A communication device, including: a near field communicator configured to perform near field communication with an information processing terminal; a display configured to display an image; and a controller configured to execute specific processing in which the controller obtains data from the information processing terminal utilizing the near field communication and executes process in accordance with the obtained data, wherein the controller is configured to determine, when an image is being displayed on the display, whether displayed-image-based processing that is processing in accordance with the image displayed on the display is the specific processing, and wherein the controller is configured to inactivate a communication function of the near field communicator if it is determined that the displayed-image-based processing is not the specific processing and to activate the communication function of the near field communicator if it is determined that the displayed-image-based processing is the specific processing.