Abstract: A method of controlling a printing system includes displaying, in a mobile terminal, a setting region for inputting a print setting for print data, and a search region for inputting a search condition for image forming apparatus candidates, of a plurality of image forming apparatuses, for executing printing, and searching, in a management system, for one or more image forming apparatuses, out of the plurality of image forming apparatuses, in accordance with the search condition input in the search region of the screen, and displaying display content that associates information of the image forming apparatuses with charge information for when the print data is printed by the image forming apparatuses, respectively, on a screen that includes a selection region by which it is possible to select the printing target, out of the one or more image forming apparatuses found in the searching.

Abstract: A printing system and a method of controlling a printing system capable of making it easier for service providers that provide print services via a network to spread more easily are provided. Also, a printing system and a method of controlling a printing system by which a service user can use print services easily are provided.

Abstract: In order to control the amount of evaporation of discharged agent droplets and so that a user can inhale agent droplets having a constant diameter regardless of use environment, an inhalation apparatus includes an airflow path communicating with a suction port through which the user inhales an agent, an agent discharging portion configured to discharge an agent supplied to the airflow path, and a humidifier located outside the airflow path and configured to humidify an airflow in the airflow path generated by an inhalation of the user.

Abstract: The solution of a constrained optimization problem is easily solved by linearly approximating a point of interest to a first hypersurface given as a constraint and finding the extreme value of the objective function by moving a point r along a curved line having second-order osculation with the geodetic line of a hypersurface S(r)=c and passing through the point r.

Abstract: In order to control the amount of evaporation of discharged agent droplets and so that a user can inhale agent droplets having a constant diameter regardless of use environment, an inhalation apparatus includes an airflow path communicating with a suction port through which the user inhales an agent, an agent discharging portion configured to discharge an agent supplied to the airflow path, and a humidifier located outside the airflow path and configured to humidify an airflow in the airflow path generated by an inhalation of the user.

Abstract: The solution of a constrained optimization problem is easily solved by linearly approximating a point of interest to a first hypersurface given as a constraint and finding the extreme value of the objective function by moving a point r along a curved line having second-order osculation with the geodetic line of a hypersurface S(r)=c and passing through the point r.

Abstract: In a driving method of an ink-jet recording head, heat is generated by applying a drive signal to a heating element, and this heat is applied to ink to generate a bubble and discharge the ink through a discharge outlet. The drive signal comprises a first drive signal for storing foaming energy in the ink, and a second drive signal for generating a bubble in the ink. The second drive signal has a signal time shorter than the boundary foaming time at which foaming energy decreases in a case of performing foaming only by the second drive signal. The first drive signal is applied prior to the second drive signal in order to compensate for a decrease in foaming energy.

Abstract: A plurality of electron-emitting devices carried on a device substrate are arranged vis-a-vis an acceleration electrode carried on a face plate. The device substrate and the face plate, together with side walls disposed therebetween, constitute an envelope the inner space of which is kept under vacuum. A number of spacers are also disposed between the device substrate and the face plate within the inner space. The electric potential Va applied to the acceleration electrode, the distance l between the electron-emitting devices and the corresponding respective spacers, and the distance d between the electron-emitting devices and the acceleration electrode satisfy the relationship, Va·l2/d2>|&Dgr;Vsat|/(2·&agr;·&bgr;), where &agr; and &bgr; are constants determined from several factors and &Dgr;Vsat is the potential deviation of the spacer surface under charged conditions from that under uncharged conditions.

Abstract: A plurality of electron-emitting devices carried on a device substrate are arranged vis-a-vis an acceleration electrode carried on a face plate. The device substrate and the face plate, together with side walls disposed therebetween, constitute an envelope the inner space of which is kept under vacuum. A number of spacers are also disposed between the device substrate and the face plate within the inner space. The electric potential Va applied to the acceleration electrode, the distance l between the electron-emitting devices and the corresponding respective spacers, and the distance d between the electron-emitting devices and the acceleration electrode satisfy the relationship, Va·l2/d2>|&Dgr;Vsat|/(2·&agr;·&bgr;), where &agr; and &bgr; are constants determined from several factors and &Dgr;Vsat is the potential deviation of the spacer surface under charged conditions from that under uncharged conditions.

Abstract: A plurality of electron-emitting devices carried on a device substrate are arranged vis-a-vis an acceleration electrode carried on a face plate. The device substrate and the face plate, together with side walls disposed therebetween, constitute an envelope the inner space of which is kept under vacuum. A number of spacers are also disposed between the device substrate and the face plate within the inner space. The electric potential V.sub.a applied to the acceleration electrode, the distance l between the electron-emitting devices and the corresponding respective spacers, and the distance d between the electron-emitting devices and the acceleration electrode satisfy the relationship, V.sub.a .multidot.l.sup.2 /d.sup.2 >.vertline..DELTA.V.sub.sat .vertline./(2.multidot..alpha..multidot..beta.), where .alpha. and .beta. are constants determined from several factors and .DELTA.V.sub.sat is the potential deviation of the spacer surface under charged conditions from that under uncharged conditions.

Abstract: A liquid crystal apparatus includes a liquid crystal panel and drive means for driving the liquid crystal panel. The liquid crystal panel includes a pair of oppositely disposed substrates each having an electrode thereon, an alignment film disposed over the electrode on at least one of the substrates, and a liquid crystal disposed between the substrates; the liquid crystal being composed of a plurality of liquid crystal layers each composed of a plurality of liquid crystal molecules. The drive means is suitable for applying to the liquid crystal an electric field insufficient to cause a switching of the liquid crystal but sufficient to cause a reversible change of the liquid crystal layers into a bookshelf structure. As a result, the liquid crystal panel can be provided with a good switching characteristic while effectively suppressing deleterious liquid crystal molecular movement.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display device having a matrix of pixels in driven for gradational display with better temperature compensation and better flicker suppression by a driving method, wherein (a) a first voltage signal is applied to a pixel on a selected scanning line, the first voltage signal including a clear pulse, a writing pulse of a polarity opposite to that of the clear pulse and a correction pulse of a polarity opposite to that of the writing pulse, (b) a second voltage signal is applied to an associated pixel on a subsequent scanning line, the second voltage signal including a clear pulse, a writing pulse and a correction pulse of which polarities are respectively opposite to corresponding pulses of the first voltage signal, and (c) the correction pulse applied to the pixel on the selected scanning line is determined based on gradation data for the associated pixel on the subsequent scanning line, and the writing pulse applied to the pixel on the selected scanning line is determined based on gradation d

Abstract: A liquid crystal display device is constituted by a pair of oppositely disposed substrates each having a plurality of opposing electrodes, and a ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed between the substrates so as to form a plurality of pixels each composed by a combination of a pair of the opposing electrodes and the ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed therebetween. Each pixel is provided with regions of different polarity inversion threshold voltages, and at least one of the pair of opposing electrodes is provided with a plurality of regions having unevennesses at different densities including a region with a higher density of unevennesses corresponding to a region of a lower polarity inversion threshold voltage and a region with a lower density of unevennesses corresponding to a region of a higher polarity inversion threshold voltage.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display device is constituted by a pair of oppositely disposed substrates each having a plurality of opposing electrodes, and a ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed between the substrates so as to form a plurality of pixels each composed by a combination of a pair of the opposing electrodes and the ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed therebetween. Each pixel is provided with regions of different polarity inversion threshold voltages, and at least one of the pair of opposing electrodes is provided with a plurality of regions having unevennesses at different densities including a region with a higher density of unevennesses corresponding to a region of a lower polarity inversion threshold voltage and a region with a lower density of unevennesses corresponding to a region of a higher polarity inversion threshold voltage.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing an electron source having a plurality of surface-conduction electron-emitting devices arranged on a substrate in row and column directions includes the forming of electron emission portions of the plurality of surface-conduction electron-emitting devices. The forming is carried out by supplying current through the plurality of surface-conduction electron-emitting devices upon dividing them into a plurality of groups. An image forming apparatus passes a current through a plurality of electron sources, which are formed on a substrate and arrayed in the form of a matrix, in dependence upon an image signal, and an image is formed by a light emission in response to electrons emitted from the plurality of electron sources.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display device having a matrix of pixels is driven for gradational display with better temperature compensation and better flicker suppression by a driving method, wherein (a) a first voltage signal is applied to a pixel on a selected scanning line, the first voltage signal including a clear pulse, a writing pulse of a polarity opposite to that of the clear pulse and a correction pulse of a polarity opposite to that of the writing pulse,(b) a second voltage signal is applied to an associated pixel on a subsequent scanning line, the second voltage signal including a clear pulse, a writing pulse and a correction pulse of which polarities are respectively opposite to corresponding pulses of the first voltage signal, and (c) the correction pulse applied to the pixel on the selected scanning line is determined based on gradation data for the associated pixel on the subsequent scanning line, and the writing pulse applied to the pixel on the selected scanning line is determined based on gradation da

Abstract: A liquid crystal device is constituted by a pair of substrates having mutually opposing electrodes thereon, and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the substrates so as to form a pixel comprising a pair of the opposing electrodes and the liquid crystal layer therebetween. The liquid crystal layer in a pixel is divided into a plurality of regions having mutually different liquid crystal layer thicknesses, and the pixel is constituted so as to show an applied voltage-transmittance characteristic having an improved linearity. More specifically, for example, the liquid crystal layer in a pixel is provided with locally varying thicknesses by forming on a substrate pluralities of stripe-shaped projections and indentations at locally different indentation widths so that the projections have a smaller width in a region having a smaller indentation width than in a region having a larger indentation width.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display device is constituted by a pair of oppositely disposed substrates each having a plurality of opposing electrodes, and a ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed between the substrates so as to form a plurality of pixels each composed by a combination of a pair of the opposing electrodes and the ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed therebetween. Each pixel is provided with regions of different polarity inversion threshold voltages, and at least one of the pair of opposing electrodes is provided with a plurality of regions having unevennesses at different densities including a region with a higher density of unevennesses corresponding to a region of a lower polarity inversion threshold voltage and a region with a lower density of unevennesses corresponding to a region of a higher polarity inversion threshold voltage.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display device is constituted by a pair of oppositely disposed substrates each having a plurality of opposing electrodes, and a ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed between the substrates so as to form a plurality of pixels each composed by a combination of a pair of the opposing electrodes and the ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed therebetween. Each pixel is provided with regions of different polarity inversion threshold voltages, and at least one of the pair of opposing electrodes is provided with a plurality of regions having unevennesses at different densities including a region with a higher density of unevennesses corresponding to a region of a lower polarity inversion threshold voltage and a region with a lower density of unevennesses corresponding to a region of a higher polarity inversion threshold voltage.

Abstract: The present invention provides a liquid crystal device having excellent gradation characteristics. A liquid crystal device of the invention has a liquid crystal held between a pair of electrodes. At least one of the electrodes is provided with a plurality of stripe electrodes with different spaces therebetween, and films provided between the respective stripe electrodes and having a sheet resistance of 10.sup.4 .OMEGA./.quadrature. to 10.sup.8 .OMEGA./.quadrature.. Alternatively, at least one of the electrodes has a plurality of projecting stripe portions formed thereon with different spaces within each of the pixels formed by intersections of both electrodes, the spaces between the projecting portions changes with a gradient within a pixel, and means for forming a distribution gradient of the strength of the electric field applied to the liquid crystal along the gradient of the space change.