Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a fixing device: having a heating member, a rotating member, and a temperature sensor; a sheet feeding unit; and a control device configured to perform a sheet feed control: in which the feeding timing is set to a first timing if the temperature gradient of the heating member for a predetermined period is larger than a first threshold value; and in which the feeding timing is set to a second timing later than the first timing if the temperature gradient of the heating member for the predetermined period is equal to or less than the first threshold value, and wherein, in the sheet feed control, the control device changes the first threshold value to a smaller value as the temperature of the heating member at the print-instruction receiving time increase.

Abstract: A fuser unit, which heat-fixes a developer image transferred on a recording sheet while moving the recording sheet in a predetermined direction, the fuser unit comprising: a cylindrical member having flexibility; a heat generation member that is arranged at an inside of the cylindrical member and generates radiation heat; a nip member that slidingly contacts an inner periphery of the cylindrical member; a reflection plate that contacts the nip member, is configured to cover the heat generation member and reflects the radiation heat toward the nip member, and a backup member that forms a nip region by nipping the cylindrical member between the nip member and the backup member, wherein the nip member and the reflection plate intermittently contact each other in an axial direction of the cylindrical member within an image forming width.

Abstract: A fuser unit includes: a cylindrical member; a heat generation member; a nip plate; a backup member that forms a nip portion; a temperature detection member that detects a temperature of the nip plate, wherein the nip plate has: a plate-shaped part that forms the nip portion; a lubricant restraint part that is formed on at least a part of a downstream side end of the plate-shaped part in a predetermined direction and that extends toward an inner side in a diametrical direction of the cylindrical member, and a detected part that extends from an end of the lubricant restraint part toward the predetermined direction, and wherein the detected part is formed to be shorter than the plate-shaped part in an axial direction of the cylindrical member, and both ends of the detected part in the axial direction are adjacent to a space.

Abstract: The present invention provides a resin composition including (1) at least one selected from the group consisting of ethylene-?,?-unsaturated carboxylic acid copolymers and ionomers thereof, which have a melt flow rate of from 0.5 g/10 min to 6 g/10 min, (2) at least one selected from the group consisting of ethylene-?,?-unsaturated carboxylic acid copolymers and ionomers thereof, which have a melt flow rate of from 10 g/10 min to 30 g/10 min, and (3) at least one selected from the group consisting of propylene homopolymers and copolymers obtained by copolymerization using propylene and one or more ?-olefins excluding propylene, in which a structural unit derived from an ?,?-unsaturated carboxylic acid ester is substantially not contained in the total amount of the ethylene-?,?-unsaturated carboxylic acid copolymers and the ionomers thereof.

Abstract: A fixing device which may include a flexible cylindrical member which has an inner peripheral surface and is configured to rotate about an axis, a heater arranged inside the cylindrical member and extends in the axial direction of the cylindrical member, and a nip member. The nip member may include a contact surface configured to contact the flexible cylindrical member, and has a predetermined length in the sheet conveying direction. Further, the nip member may have an axial length which includes a predetermined range, wherein the predetermined range along the axial length represents a maximum width of a recording sheet upon which the developer image is fixed. The fixing device may also include a guide member. The guide member and the nip member may be at least partially separated along the predetermined range of the nip member within the length of the contact surface in the sheet conveying direction.

Abstract: A word coinciding with a key word input by speech and a word related to the word are set as retrieval candidate words based on a word dictionary in which words representing formal names and aliases of the formal names are registered in association with a family attribute indicating a familiar relation among the words. Content related to any one of retrieval words selected out of the retrieval candidate words and a word related to the retrieval word is retrieved.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, in response to a first acoustic signal output, a second acoustic signal is input. A filter unit is configured to generate a third acoustic signal by convoluting the first acoustic signal with coefficients. A subtraction unit is configured to generate a fourth acoustic signal by subtracting the third acoustic signal from the second acoustic signal. An estimation unit is configured to decide whether a sound volume of the first acoustic signal is below a predetermined threshold, and to set a sound volume of the second acoustic signal as a non-echo sound level when the sound volume of the first acoustic signal is below the predetermined threshold. A determination unit is configured to determine a step size to correct the coefficients using the non-echo sound level. A correction unit is configured to correct the coefficients using the step size.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, an apparatus for discriminating speech/non-speech of a first acoustic signal includes a weight assignment unit, a feature extraction unit, and a speech/non-speech discrimination unit. The weight assignment unit is configured to assign a weight to each frequency band, based on a frequency spectrum of the first acoustic signal including a user's speech and a frequency spectrum of a second acoustic signal including a disturbance sound. The feature extraction unit is configured to extract a feature from the frequency spectrum of the first acoustic signal, based on the weight of each frequency band. The speech/non-speech discrimination unit is configured to discriminate speech/non-speech of the first acoustic signal, based on the feature.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, an apparatus for discriminating speech/non-speech of a first acoustic signal includes a weight assignment unit, a feature extraction unit, and a speech/non-speech discrimination unit. The first acoustic signal includes a user's speech and a reproduced sound. The reproduced sound is a system sound having a plurality of channels reproduced from a plurality of speakers. The weight assignment unit is configured to assign a weight to each frequency band based on the system sound. The feature extraction unit is configured to extract a feature from a second acoustic signal based on the weight of each frequency band. The second acoustic signal is the first acoustic signal in which the reproduced sound is suppressed. The speech/non-speech discrimination unit is configured to discriminate speech/non-speech of the first acoustic signal based on the feature.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a television apparatus includes a speech input unit, an indication input unit, a speech recognition unit, and a control unit. The speech input unit is configured to input a speech. The indication input unit is configured to input an indication to start speech recognition from a user. The speech recognition unit is configured to recognize the user's speech inputted after the indication is inputted. The control unit is configured to execute an operation command corresponding to a recognition result of the user's speech. The control unit, if a volume of the television apparatus at a timing when the indication is inputted is larger than or equal to a threshold, temporarily sets the volume to a value smaller than the threshold while the speech recognition unit is recognizing.

Abstract: Hough transform is performed on the point groups forming two dimensional data to generate a plurality of loci respectively corresponding to each of the point groups in a Hough voting space. When adding a voting value to a position in the Hough voting space through which the plurality of loci passes, addition is performed by varying the voting value based on a level difference between first and second signals respectively indicated by the two pieces of frequency decomposition information.

Abstract: In a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, an image storage unit correlates a reconstructed pre-correction image and a reconstructed post-correction image for each slice position and stores the correlated images. When a display condition related to a reconstructed image of one of either the reconstructed pre-correction image and the reconstructed post-correction image stored in the image storage unit is changed, the changed display condition is also applied to the other reconstructed image.

Abstract: Provided is a polymer composition that contains an ionomer which includes an ethylene-?,?-unsaturated carboxylic acid copolymer and a ternary polymer of ethylene-?,?-unsaturated carboxylic acid-?,?-unsaturated carboxylic acid ester, and a propylene-based polymer, wherein a melt flow rate (MFR) value (under a load of 2160 g) of the ionomer at a process temperature in forming a film by T-die melting casting method is from 50% to 250% based on an MFR value of the propylene-based polymer under the same condition.

Abstract: A voice recognition apparatus includes: a voice recognition module that performs a voice recognition for an audio signal during a voice period; a distance measurement module that measures a current distance between the user and an voice input module; a calculation module that calculates a recommended distance range, in which being estimated that an S/N ratio exceeds a first threshold, based on the voice characteristic; and a display module that displays the recommended distance range and the current distance.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, an apparatus for presenting a moving image with sound includes an input unit, a setting unit, a main beam former unit, and an output control unit. The input unit inputs data on a moving image with sound including a moving image and a plurality of channels of sounds. The setting unit sets an arrival time difference according to a user operation, the arrival time difference being a difference in time between a plurality of channels of sounds coming from a desired direction. The main beam former unit generates a directional sound in which a sound in a direction having the arrival time difference set by the setting unit is enhanced, from the plurality of channels of sounds included in the data on the moving image with sound. The output control unit outputs the directional sound along with the moving image.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a signal processing method is disclosed. The method can perform filter processing of convoluting a tap coefficient in a first signal sequence to generate a second signal sequence. The method can subtract the second signal sequence from a third signal sequence to generate a fourth signal sequence. The third signal sequence includes an echo signal of the first signal sequence. The method can correct the tap coefficient in accordance with an amount of correction determined using a function. The function includes at least one of a first region and a second region, and has values limited. The first region is included in a negative value region of the fourth signal sequence. The second region is included in a positive value region of the fourth signal sequence.

Abstract: An electric power-feeding structure for feeding electric power to a moving body which is driven to be raised or lowered, includes: an arm having a distal end connected to the moving body movably in a direction perpendicular to a raising or lowering direction of the moving body and a proximal end adapted to be rotatably driven so as to swing, to thereby drive the raising or lowering of the moving body. An electrical wire is routed alongside the arm, and one end of the electrical wire extending from the distal end of the arm is connected to the moving body to feed electric power to the moving body. The electrical wire is routed alongside a side surface of the arm.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a heat roller and an opposing component. The heat roller extends in an axial direction and includes a cylindrical-shaped roller section and a coil. The heat roller section has an inner circumferential surface and an outer circumferential surface. The coil is spirally wound along the inner circumferential surface and including a first portion and a second portion other than the first portion, the first portion being configured of such a number of turns of the coil, the number being a natural number greater than zero, the first portion having a first coil pitch length in the axial direction, and the second portion being configured of at least one turn of the coil and having a second coil pitch length in the axial direction greater than the first coil pitch length. The opposing component confronts the outer circumferential surface of the roller section and is exclusively superposed with an entire first portion via the roller section.

Abstract: A device includes a visual-feature detecting unit that detects a visual feature of a sound source based on an image and visual information thereof and outputs visually localizing information indicative of at least a direction thereof, an auditory-feature detecting unit that detects an auditory feature of the sound source based on a sound and auditory information of the sound source and outputs auditorily localizing information indicative of at least the direction thereof, and a sound-source detecting unit that detects a position of the sound source based on the visually localizing information and the auditorily localizing information.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a speech dialog apparatus includes a speech detection unit that detects a start and an end of echo removed speech obtained by removing an echo of response speech contained in input speech; a response interruption control unit that outputs a response interruption command if the end is not yet detected when a predetermined period from the detection of the start passes; and a dialog control unit that causes a response speech output unit to interrupt output of the response speech upon receipt of the response interruption command from the response interruption control unit.