Abstract: The present invention uses a crystalline resin as a binding resin and provides a toner insuring excellent storability of a resulting image, a method of manufacturing the toner, an electrostatically charged image developer containing the toner, and an image forming method. In the electrophotographic toner containing toner mother particles comprising at least a binding resin and a colorant, a main component of said binding resin comprises a crystalline resin with a melting point in the range from 50 to 120° C. and an average volume particle size in the range from 3.0 to 7.5 ?m, while an average value of the BET specific areas of said toner mother particles is in the range from 0.6 to 3.0 m2/g. The electrophotographic toner manufacturing method comprises the steps of coalescing or associating the binding resin particles with colorant particles, and cooling the aggregated particles at the rate of at least 1° C.

Abstract: An overlay for use with a video screen having a display thereon, comprising at least one first tactilely readable area corresponding to a feature of a first graphical display on the screen.

Abstract: A photoconductive imaging member comprised of an optional supporting substrate, an optional blocking layer, a photogenerating layer, and a charge transport layer, and wherein said charge transport layer comprises a crosslinked polycarbonate component containing a repeating segment of the formula wherein R1 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl with from about 1 to about 15 carbons optionally further containing one or more heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, silicon, and phosphorus, or aryl; R2 represents a divalent linkage; Ar3 and Ar4 each independently represent aromatic groups; R3 and R4 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl, and aryl; and optionally wherein R3 and R4 form a combined ring structure; and wherein x and y represent the mole fractions of the repeating segments.

Abstract: A method for problem solving in a computer system includes an applications module for sending a problem statement to a complexity module. The complexity module configures a solving module with configuration parameters and also determines expected solver behavior. A solving module determines actual solver behavior, determines whether a problem solution has been found, and determines whether to perform a solver iteration step or to request a complexity module to perform an adaptation step.

Abstract: The amount of moiré in halftone printed images is reduced using unique moiré intensity functions and moiré vectors in a halftoner. In various embodiments, moiré phase angle zones are determined over the full field of an image and high addressability units in the full-field moiré phase angle zones of the image are adjusted, including in an iterative manner, until they significantly reduce the moiré. A useful relationship between halftoner memory locations and moiré phase angle zones in a full field image is determined. The moiré that occurs in a halftone image is quantified and moiré compensation values obtained are then used to generate an inverse moire amount which is used to compensate for the moiré.

Abstract: A dialogue support system for supporting the occurrence of a dialogue in a place designated as a dialogue place, which comprises a dialogue condition accumulation section for accumulating a dialogue condition containing the designation of a desired situation and the designation of a destination, a situation detection device, which is disposed in the dialogue place, for detecting a situation of the dialogue place, a situation monitoring section for comparing the situation of the dialogue place detected by the situation detection device and the dialogue condition accumulated in the dialogue condition accumulation section to judge whether the detected situation conforms to the dialogue condition, and a notification section for notifying a designated destination that the situation conforming to the dialogue condition has occurred when it is judged by the situation monitoring section that the situation conforms to the dialogue condition.

Abstract: The apparatus for forming a document group structure data contains a base document specifying section that specifies plural documents to be positionally fixed on the tree structure as base documents based on an input from a user, an upper tree structure forming section that forms an upper tree structure data showing a hierarchical relation among the base documents based on positional information of the base documents in the directory structure, a lower tree structure forming section that forms lower tree structure data showing tree structures of document groups having the base documents as root nodes, respectively, by following links of the hypertext structure starting from the respective base documents, and a tree structure combining section that forms a tree structure data showing the hypertext structure by combining the upper tree structure data and the respective lower tree structure data.

Abstract: A controller includes a first memory of non-volatile that stores a program; a processor that executes the program; and a second memory that provides a work area for the processor. In this controller, the processor executes the program read from the first memory and stored in the second memory as a first mode, and executes the program stored in the first memory as a second mode.

Abstract: Conductive coatings usable for coating various elements of corona generating devices and method of forming such coatings are provided. The coatings include graphite and at least one transition metal oxide catalyst. When the conductive coatings are employed in elements of corona generating devices and the devices are activated, the conductivity of the elements is maintained in a manner that preserves the ability of a photoreceptor in an image forming device to retain an image charge in a fashion sufficient to allow subsequent development with toner. The coatings also function to scavenge ozone and neutralize nitrogen oxides formed during operation of corona generating devices. Corona generating devices including elements having such coatings are also provided.

Abstract: A fault diagnosis section activates a driving compornent alone, measures an operation state signal and a paper passage time, and stores feature values (Vm, ?v, Tqs, ?ts) extracted as a determination reference in a storage medium. A paper passage fault determination section determines whether or not a fault has arisen on the basis of the paper passage time when an apparatus is under normal operating conditions. A diagnosis target block determination section determines an order to operate a detail fault diagnosis when it is determined that there is a plurality of diagnosis target blocks.

Abstract: A system encodes a separate assist channel that carries only a small amount of additional information in a hardcopy document to compensate for failure of an OCR system to accurately reconstruct a scanned electronic version of the hardcopy document. The assist channel is encoded by mapping data from a primary channel of the document into a plurality of groups. The plurality of groups is used to classify the symbols of the primary channel by the likelihood that a character will occur and the likelihood that the symbols of the primary channel will be confused during OCR processing.

Abstract: A method for computing a diversity measure H(m) for combinatorial structures involves identifying all M possible substructures having m elements from among the n elements of the combinatorial structure. The number of the substructures that are similar to each such substructure is determined, and the frequency of each distinct substructure is calculated using the number of similar substructures and the total number of substructures M. The method uses the frequency of each distinct substructure to compute an entropy corresponding to m. By the same process described above, and entropy corresponding to m+1 is computed. The entropy corresponding to m+1 is subtracted from the entropy corresponding to m to produce the diversity measure H(m). In the preferred embodiment, similar substructures are determined by being identical or isomorphic.

Abstract: Using a system of computer modules operatively associated with a document processing machine, banding defect analysis is accomplished by analyzing specific test patterns via image processing. The banding defects are characterized in terms of quantitative parameters based on an analysis of the banding defect. Key features are extracted from the banding defect parameters. The key features are analyzed in a diagnostic engine, to determine the possible source of the defect. The identified source is correlated to a recommended repair service procedure. The diagnostic process may be augmented by also including machine data in the analysis.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method and apparatus for controlling page cost in an image rendering device. More particularly, the invention relates to a system and technique that facilitates the limitations of page costs of color documents by establishing a threshold cost limitation and controlling the colorant amounts to be used on the page to ensure that the cost limitation is met.

Abstract: Provided is a priming mechanism for priming a biofluid drop ejection device having a drop ejection opening leading to an ejection reservoir. The priming mechanism includes a vacuum unit which generates a vacuum force, connected to a vacuum nozzle. The vacuum nozzle is located over the drop ejection opening. A disposable sleeve or tubing is attached to the vacuum nozzle and is placed in operational contact with the drop ejection opening. A fluid height detection sensor is positioned to sense a fluid height within at least one of the disposable tubing and the vacuum nozzle. Upon sensing a predetermined fluid height, by the fluid height detection sensor, the priming operation is completed, and the primer mechanism is removed from the operational contact with the drop ejection opening.

Abstract: An ink container that includes a first ink chamber for containing ink, a second ink chamber fluidically connected to the first ink chamber for receiving ink from the first ink chamber, a one-way valve for permitting a flow of ink from the first ink chamber to the second ink chamber, an ink supply conduit connected to the second ink chamber, and a mechanism for selectively pressurizing the second ink chamber.

Abstract: A heterogeneous device comprises a substrate and a plurality of heterogeneous circuit devices defined in the substrate. In embodiments, a plurality of heterogeneous circuit devices are integrated by successively masking and ion implanting the substrate. The heterogeneous device may further comprise at least one microelectromechanical system-based element and/or at least one photodiode. In embodiments, the heterogeneous circuit devices comprise at least one CMOS transistor and at least one DMOS transistor. In embodiments, the substrate comprises a layer of silicon or a layer of p-type silicon. In other embodiments, the substrate comprises a silicon-on-insulator wafer comprising a single-crystal-silicon layer or a single-crystal-P-silicon layer, a substrate and an insulator layer therebetween.

Abstract: An electronic device includes a semiconductor layer in contact with a number of electrodes, wherein the semiconductive layer includes a compound wherein either or both of the following geometric isomers of the compound are present: wherein: n is 1, 2 or 3 for the polycyclic moiety; and R1 and R2 are independently selected from the group consisting of a hydrocarbon ring and a heterocyclic group, wherein R1 and R2 are the same or different hydrocarbon ring, the same or different heterocyclic group, or one of R1 and R2 is the hydrocarbon ring and the other the heterocyclic group.

Abstract: An electrophotographic apparatus achieves miniaturization thereof and improvement of image quality. The shape of an optical scanning device mount frame mounting an optical scanning device is trapezoidal, and asymmetrical with respect to a center line thereof, and a short side part and a long side part are attached to a first and second frames of the apparatus, respectively. A space for attaching parts is available on the side of the first frame, and a driving device is placed inside the first frame so that the apparatus can be miniaturized. Since the optical scanning device mount frame is asymmetrical with respect to the center line thereof, as compared with one having a symmetrical shape, an eigenvalue of vibration can be shifted to a high frequency, and the mount frame is resistant to vibrate. Thus, the fluctuation of a light beam is suppressed, and the image quality can be improved.

Abstract: Phase change inks comprising a carrier and a colorant of the formula wherein R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, a, b, c, d, Y, Q, Q?, A, and CA are as defined herein.