Abstract: According to one embodiment, in order to manage the power consumption at a user's electrical apparatuses, the user's activity schedule is registered in various patterns, and the operation schedule of the electrical apparatuses is stored in various patterns. The operation schedule of the electrical apparatuses is specified in accordance with the user's activity schedule registered. The electrical apparatuses are controlled in accordance with the operating schedule thus specified. The power consumption at the home appliances can thereby be appropriately managed in various conditions, to meet the user's activity schedule and preference.

Abstract: A region for quantization having a value lower than the value B is assumed as having little influence by Bk data on the pixels in this region. Thus, in order to prioritize the optimization of the granularity at the start of the input of GY data, the LUT having a combination of GY and gy as an input as an input is used to perform separation quantization. On the other hand, since a region having a value equal to or higher than the value B requires the use of Bk data, the LUT having only a combination of Bk and GY as an input as an input is used to perform quantization. As a result, the number of types of pieces of ink data referencing the table can be 2, thus suppressing an increase in the table size.

Abstract: According to this invention, an inkjet printing apparatus having an arrangement for detecting an amount of remaining ink in an ink tank starts a printing operation in a short time immediately after power-on. If an operation in preceding use is ended without any error at the time of power-off, and no error has occurred even at the time of power-on, the inkjet printing apparatus of this invention starts the printing operation without executing the operation of detecting the amount of remaining ink in the ink tank after power-on.

Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus is provided that can perform printing without degrading printing quality. In the present invention, correction for a head-to-sheet distance change is performed for both forward printing and backward printing during a multi-path printing operation.

Abstract: In an inkjet printing method of performing printing on a printing medium by ejecting inks from a printing head configured to eject chromatic inks and an achromatic ink while moving the printing head, high-quality printing with few boundary stripes produced when the amount of inks is large is realized without complicated control being performed. To this end, print data in a boundary and the vicinity thereof is divided into unit regions, and for each unit region, performed are (A) a first reduction processing which determines a hue of the unit region based on amounts of the chromatic inks, and reduces the amount of chromatic inks applied to the unit region according to the determined hue; and (B) a second reduction processing which reduces an amount of achromatic ink based on the amount of achromatic ink applied to the unit region.

Abstract: A liquid ejection apparatus, including: a head having an ejection face having at least one ejection opening for ejecting liquid; a sealing mechanism configured to selectively establish one of a sealing state in which the sealing mechanism seals an ejection space and an open state in which the sealing mechanism does not seal the ejection space; an air introduction opening configured to open in an area that faces the ejection space in the sealing state; a humid air supplier configured to supply a humid air from the air introduction opening to the ejection space in the sealing state; a cleaner configured to clean the liquid contacting at least a part of an area of the head and the sealing mechanism, the area facing the ejection space; and a controller configured to control the cleaner to clean the liquid before the supply of the humid air supplier.

Abstract: A two axis machine tool suppresses vibrations between two processing machines and provides a self vibration suppressing effect resulting from increased rigidity and increased mass. The two axis machine tool includes first and second separate and independent machine beds and processing machines mounted respectively on the first and second machine beds, and the first and second machine beds are connected together through vibration suppressing units. Each of the vibration suppressing units includes a viscoelastic body sandwiched between first and second plate members secured respectively to the first and second machine beds.

Abstract: To enable the printing in which it is difficult for the dot to stand out and it is difficult for the gradation sequence properties to be degraded. Therefore, among plural dots each having a different size, the binary processing is carried out by using the same first dot arrangement pattern in regard to the large and medium-sized dots and the binary processing is carried out by using a dot arrangement pattern different from the first dot arrangement pattern in regard to the small-sized dots.

Abstract: By subtracting a first parameter related to the printing position deviation inherent to the printing head from a second parameter that is obtained by actually measuring the printing position deviation in a state where the printing head is mounted on the printing apparatus, a third parameter related to the printing position deviation inherent to the printing apparatus is acquired. When a new printing head is mounted on the printing apparatus, a new second parameter is computed from the third parameter and a first parameter that is of the new printing head. By this procedure, it is possible to hold down a time required for actual measurement of the printing position deviation and consumables, and even when the printing head is exchanged, it becomes possible to stably output a uniform image free from the printing position deviation.

Abstract: A liquid ejection apparatus, including: a head having ejection openings and configured to eject liquid through the ejection openings; a sealing mechanism configured to selectively establish a sealing state in which the sealing mechanism seals an ejection space in which the ejection openings are open, from an outside and an unsealing state in which the sealing mechanism does not seal the ejection space from the outside; and a humid-air supply mechanism configured to supply a humid air into the ejection space when the sealing mechanism is in the sealing state; wherein a controller is configured to control the humid-air supply mechanism such that an amount of the humid air to be supplied into the ejection space from the, humid-air supply mechanism when the sealing mechanism is in the sealing state increases with a longer length of time of the unsealing state just before the current sealing state.

Abstract: A liquid ejection apparatus including: a liquid ejection head that ejects ink through liquid ejection openings in a liquid ejection surface of the head, a cap device that establishes a sealing state, such that an ejection space opposed to the liquid ejection surface is sealed from an exterior space by the cap device, an air introduction opening and an air discharge opening that are located in the cap device, and a humidifier that supplies an humidified air into the ejection space through the air introduction opening and that discharges an air from the ejection space through the air discharge opening. The air discharge opening opens in an area other than a liquid discharge area onto which the ejected liquid is to be discharged. The apparatus further includes a flow restrainer that restrains the liquid discharged onto the liquid discharge area, from flowing to the air discharge opening.

Abstract: The amount of ink wastage is reduced, even in a case wherein a predetermined amount of air bubbles has grown in a print head at a specific internal temperature and the growth has been settled, and thereafter the temperature in the print head is increased. A suction-based recovery control method, for an ink jet printing apparatus that includes a print head, a temperature detection unit, and a suction-based recovery unit, comprising: a temperature detection step; a temperature judgment step for judging whether the internal temperature of the print head is higher than a reference temperature that is determined based on internal temperatures of the print head that were previously employed; and a suction-based recovery step for permitting the suction-based recovery unit when it is determined at the temperature judgment step that the internal temperature of the print head is higher by the predetermined number of degrees or greater.

Abstract: A head cap for protecting an ink ejecting face of an ink-jet head may be provided with a plate member. The plate member may be opposed to the ink ejecting face. The head cap may include a flexible, continuous lip, which projects from one surface of the plate member. Recesses may be formed in the one surface of the plate member. Through-holes may be formed through the bottom walls of the recesses, respectively. Films may further be used where each covers the associated through-hole and is joined partially to a circumferential edge portion of the associated recess.

Abstract: The present invention reduces image deterioration such as density nonuniformity when recording is performed using a recording head having two ejection orifice rows that eject a predetermined achromatic ink, for example, gray ink. For this purpose, the distance between two ejection orifice rows that eject a predetermined achromatic ink is larger than the distance between two ejection orifice rows that eject a predetermined chromatic ink.

Abstract: A liquid ejection apparatus including: a liquid ejection head including: an inside channel; and ejection openings; a tank; an air communication device; a supply channel; a return channel; a supply device; an adjusting device; and a controller, wherein the controller performs a liquid circulation control for circulating the liquid through the supply channel, the inside channel, and the return channel in order by controlling: the adjusting device such that a channel resistance value of the return channel is less than a predetermined maximum value; and the supply device to supply the liquid into the inside channel, wherein, when the liquid is circulated by the liquid circulation control, the controller starts a liquid discharge control for discharging the liquid by making the channel resistance value larger than that in the liquid circulation control, and wherein the controller controls the air communication device such that an inside of the tank is interrupted from the ambient air in at least a part of a period

Abstract: A liquid ejection apparatus includes a wiper, first and second movement mechanisms, and a controller. The wiper wipes an ejection face of a head. The controller controls the first movement mechanism to make at least either one of the wiper and the head move in a first direction perpendicular to the ejection face, so as to make the wiper and the head overlap each other with respect to the first direction. And thereafter the controller controls the second movement mechanism to make the wiper perform a first wiping. In the first wiping, while liquid is forcibly ejected from the ejection face, the wiper moves along the ejection face while being in contact with the ejection face.

Abstract: An image recording apparatus including: (a) a head assembly including (a-1) recording heads having respective nozzle opening surfaces and (a-2) a head frame supporting the recording heads; (b) annular protrusions each of which is to be brought into contact with the head assembly, so as to surround the plurality of nozzles opening in the corresponding nozzle opening surface; (c) a supporting tray elongated in a supporting-tray longitudinal direction and supporting the annular protrusions; (d) a movement mechanism configured to move the head assembly and/or the supporting tray, and (e) a positioning pin projecting from a pin-located portion of the supporting tray. The pin-located portion is outside the annular protrusions, and is located in a center of the supporting tray in the supporting-tray longitudinal direction. The head frame has a positioning hole, into which the positioning pin is to be introduced upon contact of each annular protrusion with the head assembly.

Abstract: A two axis machine tool suppresses vibrations between two processing machines and provides a self vibration suppressing effect resulting from increased rigidity and increased mass. The two axis machine tool includes first and second separate and independent machine beds and processing machines mounted respectively on the first and second machine beds, and the first and second machine beds are connected together through vibration suppressing units. Each of the vibration suppressing units includes a viscoelastic body sandwiched between first and second plate members secured respectively to the first and second machine beds.

Abstract: An inkjet printing apparatus is provided that is capable of suppressing an increase in discarded ink by a restore operation of a restore unit. The apparatus is an inkjet printing apparatus that prints an image using a print head having a plurality of ejecting ports for ejecting ink and includes a restore unit that restores the ink ejection function of the print head, and a control unit that controls the restore unit so as to perform a restore operation depending on a parameter involving a growth rate of air bubbles existing inside the print head that is filled with ink.

Abstract: After a first scan in a forward direction, conveying corresponding to one nozzle block is performed, and then in a second scan in a backward direction, printing of a “printing area 1,” which is a unit area, is completed. Then after completion of printing of the unit area, conveying corresponding to 14 nozzle blocks is performed. Then by reciprocal third and fourth scans, printing of a “printing area 2” is completed in a likewise manner. Subsequently, two scans in a reciprocal manner are performed in a likewise manner to perform printing of each unit area. In any unit area, printing time intervals between scans are such that, at a same position in a scan direction, the time interval is the same. Consequently, differences in density between unit areas that are adjacent in a conveying direction of a printing medium, that is, between-band unevenness becomes more difficult to recognize.