Abstract: A fixing device includes: a cylindrical film; a nip forming member; and a back-up member for forming a nip. The nip forming member includes a projected portion. A projection amount of the projected portion is smaller in an end portion region positioned at an end portion of the projected portion with respect to a generatrix direction of the film than in a central region positioned at a central portion of the projected portion with respect to the generatrix direction, at least a part of the end portion region being inside a feeding region of a maximum-sized recording material usable in the fixing device. With respect to the recording material feeding direction, a width of the part, of the projected portion, inside the nip is broader in the end portion region than in the central region.

Abstract: A graphics rendering and editing apparatus includes a rendering unit configured to render a graphic object, a position specifying unit configured to specify a pre-change position and a post-change position of an arbitrary point on the graphic object, an attribute specifying unit configured to specify a deformation attribute of the graphic object, the deformation attribute being related to how the graphic object is deformed as a position of the arbitrary point changes, and a deformation unit configured to deform, when the position specifying unit has specified the pre-change position and the post-change position the graphic object in accordance with the pre-change position, the post-change position, and the attribute specified by the attribute specifying unit.

Abstract: The invention is directed to an infrared sensitive color-forming composition containing a compound having an infrared absorbing skeleton and a thermochromic skeleton in a molecule thereof wherein the infrared absorbing skeleton and the thermochromic skeleton are connected with a covalent bond or an ionic bond and a binder; an infrared curable color-forming composition wherein the infrared sensitive color-forming composition further contains a radical initiator and a polymerizable compound; a lithographic printing plate precursor having an image-recording layer containing the infrared curable color-forming composition on a support; a plate making method including imagewise exposing the lithographic printing plate precursor and conducting on-press development processing by supplying printing ink and dampening water on a printing machine to remove a non-image area; a compound represented by the formula (7) as defined herein; and a compound represented by the formula (8) as defined herein.

Abstract: In an elastic ball joint dust cover structured such that a spherical head portion formed in one end of a ball stud is retained within a socket, a shaft in the other end of the ball stud is fastened to a knuckle, a large-diameter opening portion is fixed and retained to an outer peripheral surface of the socket, a small-diameter portion having a reinforcing ring embedded therein is retained to the shaft, the reinforcing ring is constructed by a tubular portion, and a flange portion extending from an end portion of the tubular portion toward the shaft, and is integrated with the small-diameter portion in such a manner that a side surface of the flange portion at a side of the knuckle and an inner peripheral surface of the flange portion facing a peripheral surface of the shaft are exposed.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to suppress inconsistency of mount information necessary for mounting a volume in a storage device having a primary volume and a secondary volume. The storage device according to the present invention creates a memory region storing the mount information necessary for mounting the secondary volume, saves a snapshot thereof, and presents a virtual volume which has been created by using the snapshot and the data in the secondary volume to an external device.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus which is capable of satisfactorily developing photographed data by making up a difference in saturation level between color signals through replacement of a color signal. Saturation levels of respective color signals in photographed data are calculated, and an upper limit of a dynamic range in the photographed data is determined. Based on the upper limit, replacement ratios for the color signals, which change toward the saturation levels of the color signals, are obtained. Each of the color signals is adjusted according to the upper limit. Based on the replacement ratios, a replacement process is carried out in which a color signal of which the saturation level is low is replaced with a color signal of which the saturation level is high. The photographed data on which the replacement process has been carried out is subjected to a predetermined process to obtain developed data.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus capable of performing development by adjusting the saturation level of each color signal, without losing gradation in a high-luminance area. Saturation levels of color signals of three colors are calculated on photographed data. Color signal values in each pixel of the photographed data are acquired as pixel information. If it is determined, based on the saturation levels and the pixel information, to perform substitution, substitution for a color signal having the second highest saturation level is performed according to a color signal having the highest saturation level, and substitution for a color signal having the lowest saturation level is performed according to the color signals having the highest and second highest saturation levels. Predetermined processing is performed on photographed data on which substitution processing has been performed to thereby generate the developed data.

Abstract: By a lithographic printing plate precursor comprising a support having provided thereon an image-recording layer containing (A) a radical polymerization initiator, (B) a radical polymerizable compound, and (C) a polyfunctional polymerization inhibitor, wherein the polyfunctional polymerization inhibitor has, in a molecule thereof, two or more radical trapping sites to form a covalent bond by directly connecting with a radical, a lithographic printing plate precursor which is capable of being directly recorded from digital data, for example, of a computer, which has high sensitivity, and which can form an image having a high image quality by preventing an undesirable curing reaction in the non-image area from proceeding, wherein the lithographic printing plate precursor can provide a lithographic printing plate having high printing durability, and a plate making method using the same are provided.

Abstract: In a dust cover for a ball joint structured such that a spherical head portion formed in one end of a ball stud is retained within a socket, a shaft in the other end of the ball stud is fastened and fixed to a knuckle, a one end large-diameter opening portion formed approximately as a C-shaped form in its sectional is fixed and retained within an annular groove portion which is formed in an outer peripheral surface of the socket so as to be comparted by a collar portion, by double wound circlips, and the other end small-diameter opening portion is retained to the shaft, and made of an elastic material, a small-diameter step portion is provided in a bottom portion of the collar portion side of an annular accommodating groove in which the double wound circlips of the large-diameter opening portion is accommodated.

Abstract: A presentation apparatus stores parts data that includes parts data that includes type, location, and size of component parts that are displayed within a selected screen area, together with a selection rule that depicts the type of the component part that is to change a drawing state when the presentation apparatus is running in a presentation mode. When executing a presentation process, the apparatus selects a component part from the parts data, according to the selection rule, processes the selected screen area by changing an image of the selected component part, and generates the image to be used in the presentation.

Abstract: In an elastic ball joint dust cover structured such that a spherical head portion formed in one end of a ball stud is retained within a socket, a shaft in the other end of the ball stud is fastened to a knuckle, a one end large-diameter opening portion is fixed and retained to an outer peripheral surface of the socket, the other end small-diameter portion embedding a reinforcing ring therein is retained to the shaft, the reinforcing ring is constructed by a tubular portion, and a flange portion extending from an end portion in a side of the knuckle in the tubular portion toward the shaft, and is integrated with the small-diameter portion in such a manner that a side surface of the flange portion in a side of the knuckle and an inner peripheral surface of the flange portion facing to a peripheral surface of the shaft are exposed.

Abstract: A fixing apparatus includes: two rotatable members, for forming a nip, including a region where an outer diameter is increased from a longitudinal central portion toward a longitudinal end portion; a heater; and a controller for controlling a heat generation distribution of the heater. The controller is capable of controlling the heater so that the heat generation distribution of the heater is such that a heat generation amount at the longitudinal end portion is larger than that at the longitudinal central portion in a period from start of the heater until the recording material reaches the nip. A ratio of the heat generation amount at the longitudinal end portion to that at the longitudinal central portion is larger when a cumulative amount of use of the fixing apparatus is larger than a predetermined amount than when the cumulative amount of use is smaller than the predetermined amount.

Abstract: Adjusting the start timing for conveying a printing material from a printing material conveying unit based on a power supply update period for power supplied to a heater allows proper power correction timing to be attained for compensating for a drop in temperature of the endless belt following the printing material entering a fixing nip portion.

Abstract: A fixing rotating member configured to, together with a pressure member, pinch and transport a recording material carrying an image includes a base material and a releasing layer, wherein the releasing layer is made of at least one fluorine resin selected from among tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer, ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer, and tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene copolymer, the fluorine resin containing at least one type of polymer selected from among polyvinylidene fluoride, polyacrylonitrile, and polymethyl methacrylate, and monomer electrolyte.

Abstract: The image forming apparatus includes a fixing portion, a temperature detection element, and a power control portion. The power control portion is capable of setting a first power supply control mode for supplying power according to the detected temperature for each one control cycle, a second power supply control mode for supplying power according to the detected temperature for each one control cycle and a third power supply control mode for supplying predetermined power, and switches, immediately before a leading edge of the recording material enters the fixing portion, a state of supplying the power in the first power supply control mode to a state of supplying the power in the second power supply control mode, and then switches the state of supplying the power in the second power supply control mode to a state of supplying the power in the third power supply control mode.

Abstract: Corrected power for compensating for a reduction in the temperature of an endless belt that accompanies the entry of a recording material into a fixing nip portion is adjusted by correcting the power supplied to a fixing unit when the recording material enters the fixing unit with a correction power based on the difference between the update time of a power updating period and the time of the entry of the recording material.

Abstract: A pressure roller for use in a fixing device includes a core metal, an elastic layer, and a releasing layer. The releasing layer is made of at least one fluorine resin selected from among tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer, ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer, and tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene copolymer. The fluorine resin contains at least one polymer selected from among polyvinylidene fluoride, polyacrylonitrile, and polymethyl methacrylate, and monomer electrolyte.

Abstract: In a multi-stage switching-type delay circuit, occurrence of a hazard is inhibited at the time of the switching of the number of stages. With the multi-stage switching-type delay circuit, an input IN of the delay circuit is connected to a stage that is not selected as a path for causing a delay in order to prevent a logic state of each of the internal nodes of the delay circuit from being changed between before and after the switching of the number of stages.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image forming apparatus including an upstream conveying portion, a downstream conveying portion, and a loop detector, wherein the image forming apparatus further includes a driving portion which moves the contact portion to a projecting position where the sheet conveying path is in contact with a conveyed sheet and to a retracted position where the sheet conveying path is not in contact with the conveyed sheet, and a controlling portion which controls the driving portion such that the contact portion is moved from the projecting position to the retracted position before a tip end of a sheet which enters the sheet conveying path from the upstream conveying portion reaches the contact portion.

Abstract: The image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion forming a toner image on a recording material, and a fixing portion heating and fixing the toner image formed on the recording material to the recording material, wherein the apparatus has a cleaning mode in which the fixing portion is cleaned, and when the cleaning mode is set, the image forming portion forms a predetermined toner image on the recording material, and the fixing portion then heats and fixes the predetermined toner image to the recording material to form a cleaning sheet which is heated and conveyed to clean the fixing portion. By the virtue of the present invention, it achieves high cleaning performance in which the fixing portion is cleaned by the cleaning sheet.