Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Masayoshi Tachihara

Yasuyuki Tamura

Mineo Kaneko

Shuichi Murakami

Makoto Shioya

Michinari Mizutani

Akira Asai

Hiroto Takahashi

Takashi Inoue

Genji Inada

Tatsuo Kimura

Jun Ashiwa

Yuichiro Akama

Tadashi Yamamoto

Hideki Tanaka

Shinichi Hirasawa

Ken Tsuchii

Shinji Takagi

Teruyoshi Washizawa

Katsuhiko Sinjo

Nobuhiro Yoshikawa

Masami Ikeda

Sadayuki Sugama

Mitsuhiro Ono

Hirokazu Komuro

Katsuhiro Shirota

Toshiharu Inui

Osamu Morita

Shuntaro Aratani

Masashi Miyagawa

Tomoyuki Ohno

Kosuke Yamamoto

Hidemi Kubota

Keiichi Murai

Tamaki Sato

Hiroyuki Maeda

Yasutomo Watanabe

Tsutomu Kawai

Toshiaki Sasaki

Kazuhiko Okito

Shin'ichi Hirasawa

In an optimum design method comprising a first solution determining step of solving an optimization problem of a first evaluation function for a state variable vector with a design variable vector being as a parameter, and a second solution determining step of solving an optimization problem of a second evaluation function for the design variable vector and the state variable vector thus obtained, the second solution determining step includes the steps of computing a gradient vector of the second evaluation function for the design variable vector, computing a first coefficient based on a value of a norm of the gradient vector, computing a search vector based on the first coefficient, computing a second coefficient, and updating the design variable vector based on the second coefficient. The second coefficient computing step includes the first solution determining step, the first solution determining step is executed as an iterative method based on the gradient vector, and the state variable vector is not initialized during iteration. The optimum design method is precisely adaptable for structural changes.

Optimum design method and apparatus, and program for the same

A signal processing apparatus comprises: an audio signal detection circuit which detects a specific audio signal from a broadcasting program including an image signal and an audio signal; a control unit which controls an image processing processor, wherein the audio signal detection circuit generates a control signal for controlling the control unit when the audio signal detection circuit detects the specific audio signal, and the control unit controls the image processing processor according to the control signal so as to display a specific image and/or text by synthesizing the specific image and/or text corresponding to the specific audio signal and an image of the broadcasting program displayed according to the image signal.

Signal processing apparatus, signal processing method, signal processing program, program reproducing apparatus, image display apparatus and image display method

Optimum design method, and apparatus, and program for the same

A liquid ejection head includes a liquid path; an ejection outlet forming member which constitutes a part of a wall of the liquid and which forms an ejection outlet for ejecting a droplet of liquid; a heat generating element, provided at a position opposing to the ejection outlet of the wall of the liquid flow path, for generating a bubble in the liquid by application of heat to the liquid; a restrictor portion, provided at a recessed portion of the ejection outlet, wherein the recessed portion is recessed from a plane in which the ejection outlet is formed, wherein the liquid forms a meniscus and is retained in the ejection outlet such that the restrictor portion is within the liquid, wherein an area So of an opening of the restrictor portion and a surface Sh of the heat generating element satisfy So&#x2266;Sh. According to this invention, a central portion of the meniscus opposed to the fine opening at the ejection outlet bulges, and the liquid is ejected in this state. Namely, very small amount of the liquid can be ejected, since not all of the liquid in the recess portion in the ejection outlet is ejected.

Liquid ejection head

Each of pixels of recorded image is formed by a plurality of dots composed with ink droplets ejected from a plurality of different orifices at individual different main-scannings. With this recording process, the variation of ink ejection characteristics between a plurality of orifices in a recording head can be reduced in forming pixels.

Recording apparatus and recording method

A head is provided with a driving signal line having a driving terminal for receiving a driving signal sent from an apparatus to the head, and an identification terminal. The driving signal line is electrically connected to the identification terminal. With the use of the driving signal line and the identification terminal, the head is identified.

Head, recording apparatus having the head, method for identifying the head, and method for giving identification information to the head

In an inkjet recording apparatus, a head unit composed of a recording head and a ink tank is mounted on a carriage with an ejection port surface facing upward. The recording head records an image on a lower surface of a medium to be recorded by ejecting ink upward from ejecting ports. A preliminary ejection receiver is disposed outside of a region where an image can be recorded on the medium to be recorded to receive ink preliminarily ejected from the recording head in order to maintain and recover an ink ejection performance of the recording head. The preliminary ejection receiver has an opening acting an inlet for the preliminarily ejected ink. Further, a ceiling surface, which inclines with respect to a horizontal direction and on which the ink preliminarily ejected into the preliminary ejection receiver deposits, is disposed above the opening. With this arrangement, ink ejected into the preliminary ejection receiver is prevented from leaking from the opening.

Inkjet recording apparatus

A liquid ejection method includes a step of preparing a liquid ejection head including an electrothermal transducer element for generating thermal energy contributable to ejection of liquid, an ejection outlet for ejecting the liquid, the ejection outlet being provided at a position opposed to the electrothermal transducer element, and a liquid flow path in fluid communication with the ejection outlet to supply the liquid to the ejection outlet and having the electrothermal transducer element on its bottom side; and a step of applying the thermal energy to the liquid to cause the liquid to undergo a change of state and thus to create a bubble. The liquid is ejected through the ejection outlet by the pressure of the bubble. The bubble is first in communication with ambience during reduction of the volume of the bubble after the bubble reaches a maximum volume.

Liquid ejection method

A recording control method and a recording apparatus in which high accuracy in the position of a discharged liquid droplet is obtained irrespective of changes in the temperature of a recording head are provided. In a liquid discharging method in which a bubble is generated by supplying ink (a liquid) with thermal energy, and the generated bubble is caused to communicate with the atmospheric air, by controlling a driving signal so that a discharging state in which a part of the ink to be discharged falls even if the temperature of the recording head changes, the direction of ink discharge can be stabilized.

Liquid-discharge control method, and liquid discharging apparatus

In order to enable high speed printing with maintaining reliability of ink ejection, an auxiliary hole is provided in an upper wall forming a liquid passage. An opening area of the auxiliary hole is set to be greater than or equal to three times of an opening area of an ejection opening, and a minimum distance between the auxiliary hole and the ejection opening is set to be greater than or equal to three times of a height of the liquid passage.

Ink-jet head and ink-jet printing apparatus

An ink-jet head includes a plurality of ink channels for guiding ink to corresponding discharging ports, and discharging units, each including a discharging port, and a heating element, provided for the discharging port, for generating a bubble for discharging the ink by providing the ink within the corresponding ink channel with thermal energy. A plurality of discharging units having different amounts of ink discharge are provided at each of the ink channels. An ink-jet-head cartridge includes the above-described ink-jet head and an ink receptable for holding the ink to be supplied to the ink-jet head. An ink-jet apparatus includes the above-described ink-jet head and a recording-medium conveying unit for conveying a recording medium for receiving the discharged ink. In an ink-jet recording method, a head in which a plurality of discharging units, each including a heating element for generating heat for discharging ink, and a discharging port for discharging the ink, are provided at each ink channel is used, and recording is performed by discharging different amounts of ink from the discharging ports by selectively driving the plurality of discharging units.

Ink-jet head, an ink-jet-head cartridge, an ink-jet apparatus and an ink-jet recording method used in gradation recording

A liquid ejecting method using a liquid ejecting head having electrothermal transducer elements for generating thermal energy sufficient to create bubbles in liquid and ejection outlets disposed opposed to the electrothermal transducer elements which are arranged at a density not less than 300 per 25.4 mm in a line, the liquid ejection head also having liquid flow paths in fluid communication with the ejection outlets, respectively, wherein the bubble generated by the thermal energy generated by the electrothermal transducer element is brought into communication with ambience while an internal pressure of the bubble is less than an ambient pressure, and wherein droplets having volumes not more than 15&times;10 m are ejected at a frequency not less than 7 kHz, said method includes the improvement wherein the liquid flow path of the liquid ejecting head has a height not less than 6 &mgr;m, and a distance between an upper surface and a lower surface of the ejection outlet is not more than one half of a minimum opening distance through a center of the ejection outlet.

Liquid ejecting method and liquid ejecting head

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Tokyo, Japan

Masayoshi Tachihara