Abstract: A sheet feed table has a plurality of ribs formed on a surface thereof. The ribs extend in a sheet feeding direction and are disposed at a predetermined interval in a direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction. An air duct is provided between the adjacent ribs. An ink passage opening is formed in an image forming region where a print head moves to form an image. Disposed below the ink passage opening is an ink receiving chamber in which an ink absorber is disposed. A suction opening that communicates with the air duct is disposed upstream and downstream of the image forming region in the sheet feeding direction. A suction device is connected such that the air is sucked through the suction openings into a negative pressure chamber provided on an underside of the sheet feed table. The negative pressure chamber and the ink receiving chamber are separated from each other.

Abstract: When a cover body at a closing position is pulled up with respect to a main body, then a lock lever attached to the cover body abuts against a hook body of the main body, regulating a rattle of the cover body with respect to the main body. When a user lifts up a multi-function peripheral device by grabbing the lock lever, the lock lever comes into engagement with the hook body, thereby preventing the lock lever from opening.

Abstract: Automatic composition apparatus and method are provided which are capable of modifying a rhythm pattern to provide a wide variety of rhythm patterns only through simple setting, and a storage medium that accomplishes this function is provided. Characteristics of a rhythm pattern of a piece of music to be composed are established. Characteristic data that match the established characteristics are retrieved from a rhythm pattern database rhythm pattern database comprising a plurality of rhythm patterns and characteristic data indicating characteristics of each of the rhythm patterns. One of the rhythm patterns is selected, that corresponds to the retrieved characteristic data. Accordingly, different rhythm patterns having the same characteristics can be easily obtained.

Abstract: A rhythm pattern is provided to be subjected to forward syncopation processing. The time position of an un-syncopated note in the rhythm pattern is shifted forward to render advanced beating of the note to make a forward-syncopated rhythm pattern. The notes in the modified rhythm pattern are given respective note pitches to establish a melody, wherein the skeleton notes in the rhythm pattern are given skeleton pitches, and the non-skeleton notes in the rhythm pattern are given non-skeleton pitches. The advanced beating of a note makes a skeleton note which plays an important role in syncopation.

Abstract: Automatic composition apparatus and method are provided which are capable of modifying a rhythm pattern to provide a wide variety of rhythm patterns only through simple setting, and a storage medium that accomplishes this function is provided. Characteristics of a rhythm pattern of a piece of music to be composed are established. Characteristic data that match the established characteristics are retrieved from a rhythm pattern database rhythm pattern database comprising a plurality of rhythm patterns and characteristic data indicating characteristics of each of the rhythm patterns. One of the rhythm patterns is selected, that corresponds to the retrieved characteristic data. Accordingly, different rhythm patterns having the same characteristics can be easily obtained.

Abstract: A rhythm pattern is provided to be subjected to forward syncopation processing. The time position of an un-syncopated note in the rhythm pattern is shifted forward to render advanced beating of the note to make a forward-syncopated rhythm pattern. The notes in the modified rhythm pattern are given respective note pitches to establish a melody, wherein the skeleton notes in the rhythm pattern are given skeleton pitches, and the non-skeleton notes in the rhythm pattern are given non-skeleton pitches. The advanced beating of a note makes a skeleton note which plays an important role in syncopation.

Abstract: The invention relates to when the printing medium, such as paper are separated one at a time by a separation piece, the engagement of a projected part of a paper supporting plate and a contact part of a pressure applying part is released and the separation piece is pressed by a separation piece contact part. Thereby, the separation piece contacts the paper supplying roller with a large urging force from the first and second pressing springs. When the paper is transferred after the separation of the paper by the separation piece, the projected part of the paper supporting plate contacts the contact part of the pressure applying part to release the pressure of the separation piece from the separation piece contact part. Thereby, the pressure power generated between the paper supplying roller and the separation piece is selectively switched. When the paper is separated, the pressure power is increased to prevent overlapped transferring of the papers.

Abstract: Automatic composition apparatus and method is able to automatically compose a piece of music having a melody that is favorable in a musical sense, namely, a melody that satisfies musical requirements. A storage medium stores a program executed for automatically composing a piece of music having such a melody as described above. After melody pitches are generated under moderate first melody generation conditions, the generated melody pitches are evaluated in terms of more strict second melody generation conditions. With regard to a certain pitch, therefore, it can be determined whether the pitch satisfies musical requirements in view of not only the previous pitch but also the next pitch, thus making it possible to compose a piece of music that as a whole is favorable in a musical sense.

Abstract: The display screen displays measure windows corresponding to the first through fourth measures for a melody to be composed. By clicking the play switch on the screen, a background accompaniment performance covering the four measures is played back to indicate the beats in the progressing tempo, thereby representing the rhythm speed. In time to the accompaniment progression, the user inputs note time points by tapping the input switch such as a space key in the keyboard to constitute a rhythm pattern for a melody progression. The measure window has a time axis in the horizontal direction and a pitch axis in the vertical direction. The tap-inputted note time points are exhibited at the corresponding positions along the time axis from left to right. Each point is dragged with the mouse pointer upward or downward to an intended pitch level, thereby establishing a pitch thereof.

Abstract: An automatic composition apparatus is provided which enables the user to compose a piece of music while taking account of the overall structure of the melody of the piece of music as a whole. A CPU generates each of a plurality of layers of skeleton that constitutes a melody of a piece of music. The plurality of layers form a hierarchical structure formed preferably of a layer of an overall skeleton, a layer of an passage skeleton based on the overall skeleton, and a phrase skeleton based on the passage skeleton. The CPU generates each layer of skeleton except the highest layer of skeleton, based on at least one of the plurality of layers of skeleton that is higher than the each layer of skeleton.

Abstract: An automatic music composing apparatus comprises a musical template data base storing a plurality of musical templates each including a first set of data constituting a musical melody sample defined by a pattern of musical tone pitch progression in a pattern of rhythm to be performed for a musical piece and a second set of data indicative of musical features of said musical melody sample. The melody sample is constructed and partitioned in such a hierarchical structure that a musical piece is comprised of sentences, each sentence is comprised of phrases, each phrase is comprised of measures, and each measure includes a plurality of notes having respective pitches and durations to constitute a melody segment having a rhythm pattern. The apparatus comprises an input device for inputting composition conditions to define musical features for a musical piece to be composed in terms of the number of sentences, phrases and measures, and similarity symbols of each sentence.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus suppresses a thermal deterioration of toner. The image forming apparatus has a toner box containing toner for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on a photosensitive drum, and at least one electric circuit, for example, a drive circuit for a polygon motor or a toner sensor, disposed near the toner box. The image forming apparatus judges, based on predetermined conditions, whether supplying electric power to the electric circuit is necessary. If the judgment is affirmative, electric power is supplied to the at least one electric circuit. Alternatively, if the judgment is negative, electric power is not supplied to the at least one electric circuit. By so doing, it is possible to suppress the rise in temperature of the toner, which deteriorates the toner quality. Thus, the image forming apparatus obviates a negative influence that degrades the image quality.

Abstract: In an apparatus for forming an image using a toner, a toner temperature is maintained below a protective temperature even in a high temperature environment, thereby preventing frequent operational errors caused by an excessive increase in the toner temperature. A standby mode is provided wherein, after a recording operation ends, a fixing heater for heating and fixing the toner is kept at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined period of time so that it is ready for the next recording operation. If the toner temperature exceeds the protective temperature during, for example, a recording operation when the standby mode has been selected, a mode switching control is performed to forcibly discontinue the currently set standby mode and switch to a mode wherein the fixing heater is immediately turned off after a recording operation ends. Thus, the fixing heater will be immediately turned off at the end of the next and later recording operations, thereby significantly reducing a toner temperature increase.

Abstract: A printing mechanism for recording images on a recording medium using an ink ribbon urged to follow a transport path, including a thermal head; a drive IC for driving the thermal head, at least a portion of the drive IC being disposed in the transport path; and an ink ribbon protection film disposed between the drive IC and the ink ribbon and for preventing the drive IC and the ink ribbon from contacting each other.

Abstract: For each section forming a music piece, music template information is supplied which includes at least information indicative of a pitch variation tendency in the section. A plurality of already-composed music pieces are preferably analyzed to store a plurality of pieces of such music template information so that any users can select from the stored pieces of music template information. For a music piece to be composed, the user enters information indicative of a tendency relating to the number of notes, such as syllable information of desired words or scat words, in each section of the music piece. On the basis of one of the pieces of music template information supplied and the user-entered information indicative of the number-of-notes tendency (syllable information), the length and pitch of notes in each section can be determined, which permits automatic generation of music piece data.

Abstract: A printer is capable of preventing the formation of creases in a portion of an ink ribbon corresponding to a print head and of printing characters and images in good print quality without forming streaks attributable to creases in the ink ribbon. A main frame supports a feed spool and a takeup spool so that an ink ribbon extends between the feed spool and the takeup spool. A print head support frame supporting a print head and an ink ribbon guide is supported pivotally at one end thereof on the main frame. When the print head support frame is locked in place on the main frame, the ink ribbon guide depresses the ink ribbon so that the tension of a portion of the ink ribbon on one side of the main frame is higher than that of a portion of the same on the other side of the main frame while the printer is in an unoperational state and tension is distributed uniformly across a portion of the ink ribbon corresponding to the print head while the printer is in an operational state.

Abstract: A sheet feed roller that rotates intermittently has a contact face for contacting with the surface of a sheet and a non-contacting face that does not contact with the surface of a sheet. A holder opposed to a circumferential face of the sheet feed roller has a recess on the surface thereof. A separation pad made of a material having a high coefficient of friction is disposed in a portion of the recess upstream in a feeding direction of a sheet, while a PET film serving as a noise deadening control element made of a material having a low coefficient of friction is disposed in another portion of the recess adjacent to the separation pad downstream in the feeding direction such that the surface thereof has a height substantially equal to that of the surface of the separation pad. The sheet feed roller is disposed such that the contact face thereof extends over both the separation pad and the noise deadening control element.

Abstract: A sheet feeding device for feeding a sheet stacked on a sheet cassette to an image forming portion of an image recording apparatus. The sheet feeding device includes a sheet supplying roller unit and a sheet feed roller positioned downstream thereof. The sheet supplying roller unit includes an intermediate small diameter portion and integral large diameter portions positioned to interpose the small diameter portion therebetween. Each large diameter portion has a contacting area in contact with the sheet, whereas the intermediate small diameter portion is spaced away from the sheet. A sheet edge detection arm is swingably provided and contactable with the sheet fed by the contacting area. The sheet edge detection arm is movable into a space defined between the small diameter portion and a confronting separation pad. If sheet is fed by the sheet supplying roller unit, the sheet edge detection arm is urged by the sheet and a posture of the arm is changed.

Abstract: A throttle valve operating device with traction control function including a throttle shaft adapted to be rotated with a throttle valve; a throttle lever adapted to be rotated relative to the throttle shaft by operating an accelerator pedal; a mechanism for interconnecting the throttle shaft and the throttle lever so as to transmit a depression force applied to the accelerator pedal to the throttle shaft; and a traction control actuator for rotating the throttle shaft irrespective of the depression force of the accelerator pedal upon detection of a slip condition of driving wheels. The interconnecting mechanism includes at least two springs independently provided between the throttle lever and the throttle shaft. Furthermore, a pair of spring guides for guiding opposite end portions of each spring are included in the interconnecting mechansim. Each of the spring guides is provided with a flange poriton for separating one end portions of the springs from each other.

Abstract: In a keyboard musical instrument employing waveform memory, a user may program the number and order of waveforms to be sequentially read out from a waveform memory containing a plurality of different waveforms.