Abstract: A battery management portion has communication portions for receiving battery status data from a battery unit and transmitting a signal based on the battery status data (e.g., a signal pertaining to allowing or disallowing charging and discharging) to a power conversion control portion which performs charge/discharge control. Operation is performed in either a normal operation mode, in which communication is continuously performed by the communication portions, or an intermittent operation mode, in which communication by the communication portions is intermittently discontinued, according to the mode request signal from the control portion. If an abnormal state (such as overcharging) is identified during operation in the intermittent operation mode, the operation mode is forcibly shifted to the normal operation mode, irrespective of the state and content of reception of the mode request signal.

Abstract: An apparatus for managing operation of refrigerating machines controls defrosting of evaporators of refrigeration cycles. Each of the refrigeration cycles uses a compressor, a condenser, a decompressor, and the evaporator, and is formed for a corresponding one of cooling/heating devices installed in a single store. The apparatus obtains a total estimated power consumption in a case of a pull-down operation using power consumptions necessary for the pull-down operation performed for the cooling/heating devices after defrosting is performed and using a power consumption of the store that includes at least the power consumptions of the refrigeration cycles and that is estimated for each of predetermined time periods. The apparatus changes defrosting start times or defrosting end times of the cooling/heating devices so that the total estimated power consumption does not exceed an upper limit value of a power consumption set in advance by the store.

Abstract: An apparatus for managing operation of refrigerating machines controls defrosting of evaporators of refrigeration cycles. Each of the refrigeration cycles uses a compressor, a condenser, a decompressor, and the evaporator, and is formed for a corresponding one of cooling/heating devices installed in a single store. The apparatus obtains a total estimated power consumption in a case of a pull-down operation using power consumptions necessary for the pull-down operation performed for the cooling/heating devices after defrosting is performed and using a power consumption of the store that includes at least the power consumptions of the refrigeration cycles and that is estimated for each of predetermined time periods. The apparatus changes defrosting start times or defrosting end times of the cooling/heating devices so that the total estimated power consumption does not exceed an upper limit value of a power consumption set in advance by the store.

Abstract: Digital cameras which improve operability in checking, storing, and editing shot images have not been satisfactory. A digital camera and a user terminal including a file server are connected over a network. When the digital camera is powered on, it automatically establishes a network connection with the file server in an activation process. When the digital camera shoots an image, this image is transmitted to the file server automatically upon completion of the encoding and compression of the image. When image reproduction is instructed from the digital camera, the image is downloaded from the file sever over the network and displayed on the digital camera.

Abstract: A file is prepared by bringing patient ID and a photograph of affected parts into correspondence with each other. An image pickup unit takes an image of bar code. An ID extraction unit extracts an ID from the image taken of the bar codes. A communication unit acquires entity information corresponding to the ID, from an external database. The IDs and entity information are displayed to a user. The user acquires an affected-part image from the image pickup unit. An affected-part file generation unit generates an affected-part file where ID and a photograph of an affected part are brought into correspondence with each other. The communication unit transmits the affected-part file to an external file database on patients.

Abstract: Digital cameras which improve operability in checking, storing, and editing shot images have not been satisfactory. A digital camera and a user terminal including a file server are connected over a network. When the digital camera is powered on, it automatically establishes a network connection with the file server in an activation process. When the digital camera shoots an image, this image is transmitted to the file server automatically upon completion of the encoding and compression of the image. When image reproduction is instructed from the digital camera, the image is downloaded from the file sever over the network and displayed on the digital camera.