Abstract: A liquid discharge device is provided with a head, a cover member, a negative pressure source, a seal member, and a controller. The head has a nozzle plane in which a nozzle is formed. The cover member has a fluid passage and is capable of covering the nozzle plane such that one end of the fluid passage is in communication with the nozzle. The negative pressure source is connected to the fluid passage. The seal member has a non-nozzle plane in which the nozzle is not formed. The non-nozzle plane is capable of sealing the one end of the fluid passage. The controller drives the negative pressure source in a first state in which the cover member is covering the nozzle plane. The controller drives the negative pressure source in a second state in which the non-nozzle plane is sealing the one end of the fluid passage.

Abstract: A printer includes a print head including nozzles that eject ink on a recording medium sheet, first and second rollers provided on a sheet feeding path for feeding the sheet therealong, a platen provided between the first and second rollers for guiding the sheet on the sheet feeding path, and a guide roller disposed between the nozzles and the second roller on the feeding path. A rotation axis of the guide roller is fixed with respect to the feeding path. The guide roller disposed as above restricts the movement of the sheet in a direction away from the platen and thereby prevents the sheet from floating on the platen.

Abstract: An image recording apparatus has a recording head, a transporting passage, a paper support section, a pair of discharge rollers and a reverse-transporting mechanism. The paper support includes a main supporting member and an auxiliary supporting member disposed on the upstream side of the main supporting member. An opening can be formed between the two supporting members. The pair of discharge rollers can be rotated reversely, and one of the supporting members can be inclined. This makes it possible to transport backward, through the opening to the reverse-transporting mechanism, a recording medium with an image recorded on one side of the medium. The reverse-transporting mechanism leads the medium to the transporting passage and transports it again toward the recording head. Having a small number of parts and a simple structure, the image recording apparatus enables double-sided image recording.

Abstract: There is provided an image recording apparatus which includes a head; a carriage capable of reciprocating in a main scanning direction of a paper; a maintenance section of the recording head; a pair of rollers for transporting the paper; and a motor for driving the maintenance section and the pair of rollers; and in which when the carriage is at a maintenance position, the rollers in the pair are separated away from each other. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce an electric power consumption of the motor during the maintenance work, and to reduce noise generated from the pair of rollers at the time of maintenance.

Abstract: To display many objects within a limited display region so a user can easily select the desired object, the invention includes: processing of arranging the objects in a virtual plane, processing of arranging a projection surface (a virtual projection body) on the virtual plane, processing of computing positions of the objects on the projection surface corresponding to the positions of the objects on the virtual plane, processing of converting the positions on the projection surface into positions on display regions of a display device, processing of displaying the objects on the display regions, and processing of operating the objects on the display regions based on instructions from a pointing device.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus and a sheet cassette are provided. The image forming apparatus includes a first tray that accommodates sheets; a first transfer path; a forming unit; an arm that can be pivoted; a roller that is rotatably provided at a leading end of the arm and feeds the sheets; a second tray that is provided on the first tray to form a two-stage structure, and can slide in a direction in which the second tray comes into contact with or is separated from the arm; and a cleaning member that is provided on the second tray and cleans the roller. The arm changes posture between a first posture in which the roller is supported upward by the first tray and a second posture in which the roller comes into pressure contact with the cleaning member.

Abstract: To recommend an item which is highly unexpected to a user because its similarity to user preferences is low and which is useful to the user. A rule that modifies a set of keywords for recommending an item is randomly applied, and a keyword which a user does not prefer is added and a keyword which a user prefers is removed, and then this recommendation result is mixed with a recommendation result of a set of keywords before the above modification, and the mixed result is presented to a user and at the same time the application probability of a rule is learned on the basis of the user's evaluation to a recommended item.

Abstract: An ink-jet recording apparatus according to one aspect comprises: a movable supporting member slidable in a conveying direction of a recording medium while supporting the recording medium to follow the recording medium conveyed; and an interlocking mechanism configured to control a movement of the movable supporting member. The interlocking mechanism is operable to: position the movable supporting member in a predetermined upstream position in the conveying direction when the recording medium is conveyed to the predetermined upstream position; retain the movable supporting member in the predetermined upstream position until the recording medium overhangs the movable supporting member to cover a contact portion and at least a part of a non-contact portion; and slide the movable supporting member toward a downstream side in the conveying direction while supporting an edge of the recording medium with the conveyance of the recording medium.

Abstract: Recommendation method and device for selectively and by priority recommending to the user an item assumed highly unexpected to the user. A user accesses an item A using the selector unit of a client, and accesses an item B in a time period within a specified threshold, moreover when there is a low degree of similarity between item A and item B, a server forms A and B into a pair (A,B) and stores it in a neighboring selective item pair database. When another user accesses an item similar to A, then an item Y similar to item A or item B is recommended to the client unit by using the pair (A, B) recorded in the neighboring selective item pair database.

Abstract: A bearing device include: (a) a bearing supporting a shaft, and having (a-1) a tubular body portion in which the shaft is rotatably received and (a-2) a radially projecting portion that projects from the tubular body portion outwardly in a radial direction of the tubular body portion; and (b) a bearing receiver plate having (b-1) a receiver hole in which the tubular body portion of the bearing is received, and (b-2) a cutout which extends from the receiver hole and which has an opening that opens outwardly of the bearing receiver plate, such that the bearing can be introduced into the receiver hole via the cutout. The bearing receiver plate and the radially projecting portion of the bearing cooperate with each other to establish (i) a rotation preventer preventing rotation of the bearing relative to the bearing receiver plate and (ii) a backlash reducer reducing play of the bearing relative to the bearing receiver plate. Also disclosed is an image recording apparatus including the bearing device.

Abstract: To investigate software connectability quickly with higher precision when creating an application from a combination of software components, there is provided a search engine for software components including: a software component repository (303) which stores a set having, as elements, ranges that define input and output of a plurality of software components; a range set higher-order graph database (301) which has a higher-order graph used to manage a union of output range sets of the software components, an input range, and identifiers of the software components; and a component combination search function (2303) which receives a range of a software component to be extracted from the higher-order graph, and searches, based on the received range, the union of output range sets in the higher-order graph for a parallel combination of software components or a single software component having the range as an output.

Abstract: A sheet feeder includes a feed roller that includes a feed roller shaft, the feed roller being capable of feeding a sheet, a frame that supports the feed roller shaft, a helical gear attached to the feed roller shaft, a motor that drives the feed roller shaft via the helical gear, a disc attached to the feed roller shaft, a sensor body that detects a rotation of the disc, and a pressing member that presses the feed roller shaft from a side of the feed roller shaft in a thrust direction toward another side of the feed roller shaft.

Abstract: A data item name constituting a source data schema is extracted (1051), a data item name constituting a target data schema is extracted (1052), element concepts included in the extracted data item names of the source data schema and the target data schema are extracted (1053), a distinctive relation between the data item names is set based on the extracted element concepts to be stored in an ontology (1061), the data item names of the source data schema and the target data schema are read, a correlation is set between the two read data item names based on the distinctive relation to be stored in a mapping definition file (1071).

Abstract: An apparatus for controlling an electric motor provided to drive a movable object such that a detected actual amount of motion of a movable portion of the electric motor or the movable object coincides with a target amount, comprising: a control-condition changing device operable to change at least one of (a) a resolution of detection of the actual amount of motion and (b) a voltage to be applied to the electric motor, depending upon the target amount; and a feedback motor controller operable to control the electric motor by application of the voltage, on the basis of the actual amount of motion detected with the resolution of detection and the target amount, such that the detected actual amount of motion coincides with the target amount. Also disclosed is a motor control method wherein the resolution of detection of the actual amount of motion and/or the voltage of the motor is/are changed depending upon the target amount of motion.

Abstract: A printer having a fewer number of components and a simple structure, and capable of double-side printing is provided. A multi-function device 1 comprises a printing unit 10, a cassette 5, a supply unit 6, a sheet support plate 11, a cover plate 46, and a pair of feed-out rollers 21a, 21b. The cassette 5 is located blow the printing unit 10 and contains stacked sheets. The supply unit 6 discharges a sheet from the cassette 5 to the printing unit 10. The sheet transported into the printing unit 10 is placed on the sheet support plate 11 in the printing unit 10 during printing. An opening 50 is formed on the sheet support plate 11. The cover plate 46 is movable between a covering position that covers the opening 50 and an uncovering position that uncovers the opening 50. The pair of feed-out rollers 21a, 21b nips a sheet at the exit of the printing unit 10, rotates in a forward direction, and thereby pulls out the nipped sheet from the printing unit 10.

Abstract: A liquid discharge device is provided with a head, a cover member, a negative pressure source, a seal member, and a controller. The head has a nozzle plane in which a nozzle is formed. The cover member has a fluid passage and is capable of covering the nozzle plane such that one end of the fluid passage is in communication with the nozzle. The negative pressure source is connected to the fluid passage. The seal member has a non-nozzle plane in which the nozzle is not formed. The non-nozzle plane is capable of sealing the one end of the fluid passage. The controller drives the negative pressure source in a first state in which the cover member is covering the nozzle plane. The controller drives the negative pressure source in a second state in which the non-nozzle plane is sealing the one end of the fluid passage.

Abstract: There is provided an image recording apparatus which includes a head; a carriage capable of reciprocating in a main scanning direction of a paper; a maintenance section of the recording head; a pair of rollers for transporting the paper; and a motor for driving the maintenance section and the pair of rollers; and in which when the carriage is at a maintenance position, the rollers in the pair are separated away from each other. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce an electric power consumption of the motor during the maintenance work, and to reduce noise generated from the pair of rollers at the time of maintenance.

Abstract: An image recording apparatus has a recording head, a transporting passage, a paper support section, a pair of discharge rollers and a reverse-transporting mechanism. The paper support includes a main supporting member and an auxiliary supporting member disposed on the upstream side of the main supporting member. An opening can be formed between the two supporting members. The pair of discharge rollers can be rotated reversely, and one of the supporting members can be inclined. This makes it possible to transport backward, through the opening to the reverse-transporting mechanism, a recording medium with an image recorded on one side of the medium. The reverse-transporting mechanism leads the medium to the transporting passage and transports it again toward the recording head. Having a small number of parts and a simple structure, the image recording apparatus enables double-sided image recording.

Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus that records an image on a recording medium including: at least one recording head for unused-ink having a nozzle array made of a plurality of nozzles that selectively ejects unused-ink; at least one recording head for recycled-ink having a nozzle array made of a plurality of nozzles that selectively ejects recycled-ink of an equivalent color to the unused-ink ejected from the recording head for unused-ink; a collector that collects ink discharged from the recording head for unused-ink and the recording head for recycled-ink so as to restore an ejectable state of the recording heads; and a recycled-ink supplier that supplies ink, collected by the collector, to the recording head for recycled-ink as recycled-ink.

Abstract: To display many objects within a limited display region so a user can easily select the desired object, the invention includes: processing of arranging the objects in a virtual plane, processing of arranging a projection surface (a virtual projection body) on the virtual plane, processing of computing positions of the objects on the projection surface corresponding to the positions of the objects on the virtual plane, processing of converting the positions on the projection surface into positions on display regions of a display device, processing of displaying the objects on the display regions, and processing of operating the objects on the display regions based on instructions from a pointing device.