Author: claimsbot

1. A method to process one or more images, the method comprising:
receiving, by a processor executable in a computer system, a first command written for a first color space, wherein the first command explicitly specifies an operation in the first color space; and
based at least on the first command, the processor automatically selecting a color space in which an operation associated with the first command is to be processed, said selecting the color space in which an operation associated with the first command is to be processed comprises: based at least on the first command, automatically determining whether or not to perform image processing according to the first command in a second color space.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the command is received from an image processing script written for the first color space.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected color space is selected based on the first command and one or more color spaces of one or more input buffers associated with the first command.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the color space is selected from at least the first color space and a second color space; and the second color space is preferred over the first color space in a script engine in which a script including the first command is processed.
5. The method of claim 3, wherein:
when the first command operates only in the first color space, the selected color space is the first color space; and
otherwise, the selected color space for the operation associated with the first command is selected to minimize a total number of color space conversions.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein:
when the first command generates different results in the first color space and in a second color space and when the selected color space is the second color space, the method further comprises: the processor transforming the first command to a second command in the second color space;
wherein the second command generates a similar result in the second color space as the first command in the first color space.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein said transforming the first command to the second command in the second color space comprises:
the processor transforming one or more parameters of the first command to comparable parameters for the second command such that the second command generates a similar result in the second color space as the first command in the first color space.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
in response to a determination to perform image processing according to the first command in the second color space, the processor converting one or more parameters of the first command from the first color space to the second color space.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first color space is RGB; and the second color space is YUV.
10. A script engine having a preferred color space for image processing, the script engine comprising:
means for receiving a first command of an image processing script written for a first color space which is different from the preferred color space, wherein the first command explicitly specifies an operation in the first color space; and
means for, based at least on the first command, automatically selecting a color space in which an operation associated with the first command is to be processed, wherein said means for selecting comprises means for, based at least on the first command and a color space of an input buffer of the first command, automatically determining whether or not to perform image processing according to the first command in a second color space.
11. The script engine of claim 10, further comprising:
means for processing a first script written for the first color space; and
means for processing a second script written for a second color space.
12. The script engine of claim 10, wherein the input buffer comprises one or more video images.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A regenerator which accumulates cooling generated by expansion of refrigerant gas, comprising:
a regenerator material which is made of a nonmagnetic material;
a regenerator material which is made of a magnetic material;
a container which includes a high temperature end and a low temperature end, and which is configured to accommodate the regenerator material made of the nonmagnetic material at the high temperature end side and the regenerator material made of the magnetic material at the low temperature end side,
wherein the container further accommodates an insertion member which narrows a passage area of the refrigerant gas flowing to a region accommodating the refrigerator material made of the magnetic material so that the passage area of the low temperature end side is narrower compared to the passage area of the high temperature end side.
2. The regenerator according to claim 1,
wherein the insertion member is configured so that the cross-sectional area is increased from one end toward the other end, and
wherein the container accommodates the insertion member in the region accommodating the regenerator material made of the magnetic material so the one end of the insertion member is a high temperature side and the other end is a low temperature side.
3. The regenerator according to claim 1,
wherein the insertion member is a tubular member in which a passage including a passage area decreased from one end toward the other end is provided, and is fitted to and inserted into the region of the container accommodating the regenerator material made of the magnetic material so that the one is a high temperature side of the container and the other end is a low temperature side of the container, and
wherein the regenerator material made of the magnetic material is accommodated in the passage provided in the insertion member.
4. The regenerator according to claim 1,
wherein the insertion member is configured of a plurality of thin walled tubes,
wherein a length in a long axis direction of each of the plurality of thin walled tubes is shorter than a length in a long axis direction of the region of the container accommodating the regenerator material made of the magnetic material, and
wherein the container accommodates the plurality of thin walled tubes to be distributed in a low temperature side of the region accommodating the regenerator material made of the magnetic material.
5. The regenerator according to claim 1,
wherein the insertion member is made of a phenol resin.
6. The regenerator according to claim 4,
wherein each of the plurality of thin walled tubes configuring the insertion member is filled with a gas of the same kind as the refrigerant gas.
7. A regenerative refrigerator comprising:
a regenerator according to claim 1; and
a compressor which supplies a high pressure refrigerant gas to the regenerator and compresses a low pressure refrigerant gas returned from the regenerator.

1. An image forming apparatus, comprising:
a casing provided with an inner space;
an openingclosing cover which is mounted on the casing to be openable and closable for opening the inner space to an outside of the image forming apparatus when the openingclosing cover is in an opened state;
an exposure device provided with a laser light source which emits laser light, a housing which houses the laser light source therein and includes an opening for passing the laser light therethrough, and a light transmissive member which is disposed in the housing at such a position as to cover the opening of the housing for transmitting the laser light, the exposure device being disposed in the inner space;
an image forming unit provided with an image carrier onto which the laser light transmitted through the light transmissive member is irradiated, the image forming unit being mounted to a first position facing the exposure device in the inner space, and being allowed to be mounted and dismounted to and from the inner space when the openingclosing cover is in the opened state;
an airflow generator which generates an airflow in the inner space;

a cooling air path which guides the airflow between the exposure device and the image forming unit in the inner space; and
a partition member which is disposed between the exposure device and the image forming unit, and is configured to change a state thereof between a first state and a second state, the first state being such that the partition member projects toward the image forming unit mounted to the first position from a side of the exposure device, and constitutes part of the cooling air path when the openingclosing cover is in a closed state, the second state being such that the partition member allows the image forming unit to be dismounted from the inner space when the openingclosing cover is in an opened state, wherein the partition member is configured to be disposed at a projecting position at which the partition member projects toward the image forming unit mounted to the first position from the exposure device side when the partition member is in the first state, to be disposed at a spaced position away from the projecting position toward the exposure device side when the partition member is in the second state in, and to block the airflow from flowing toward the light transmissive member when the partition member is in the projecting position.
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the image carrier carries an electrostatic latent image formed by the laser light, and a toner image corresponding to the electrostatic latent image thereon,
the image forming apparatus further comprises a transfer portion which is allowed to come into contact with the image carrier when the image forming unit is mounted to the first position, on a side opposite to the exposure device with respect to the image carrier, for transferring the toner image from the image carrier onto a sheet,
the image forming unit is configured to be shifted from the first position to a second position closer to the exposure device than the first position, and then to be dismounted from the inner space when the openingclosing cover is in an opened state, and
the partition member disposed at the spaced position is disposed on the exposure device side with respect to the image forming unit in the second position.
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the image forming unit includes:
a charger which is disposed between the image carrier and the exposure device for charging the image carrier;
a developing device which is disposed on a side opposite to the charger with respect to an optical path of the laser light toward the image carrier for supplying toner onto the image carrier; and
a cleaning device which is disposed on a side opposite to the developing device with respect to the charger for collecting toner residues on the image carrier, wherein
the cooling air path is configured to guide the airflow from the cleaning device toward the charger, and
the partition member is disposed along the optical path of the laser light between the charger and the exposure device when the partition member is in the projecting position.
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the partition member further includes a cleaning member which is configured to come into contact with the image forming unit to be dismounted from the inner space for cleaning a surface of the image forming unit when the partition member is in the spaced position.
5. An image forming apparatus, comprising:
a casing provided with an inner space;
an openingclosing cover which is mounted on the casing to be openable and closable for opening the inner space to an outside of the image forming apparatus when the openingclosing cover is in an opened state;
an exposure device provided with a laser light source which emits laser light, a housing which houses the laser light source therein and includes an opening for passing the laser light therethrough, and a light transmissive member which is disposed in the housing at such a position as to cover the opening of the housing for transmitting the laser light, the exposure device being disposed in the inner space;
an image forming unit provided with an image carrier onto which the laser light transmitted through the light transmissive member is irradiated, the image forming unit being mounted to a first position facing the exposure device in the inner space, and being allowed to be mounted and dismounted to and from the inner space when the openingclosing cover is in the opened state;
an airflow generator which generates an airflow in the inner space;

a cooling air path which guides the airflow between the exposure device and the image forming unit in the inner space;
a partition member disposed between the exposure device and the image forming unit and configured to change a state thereof between a first state and a second state, the first state being such that the partition member projects toward the image forming unit mounted to the first position from a side of the exposure device, and constitutes part of the cooling air path when the openingclosing cover is in a closed state, the second state being such that the partition member allows the image forming unit to be dismounted from the inner space when the openingclosing cover is in an opened state, the partition member being configured to be disposed at a projecting position at which the partition member projects toward the image forming unit mounted to the first position from the exposure device side when the partition member is in the first state and to be disposed at a spaced position away from the projecting position toward the exposure device side when the partition member is in the second state, and
an interlocking portion configured to shift the partition member from the projecting position to the spaced position in association with an operation of shifting the openingclosing cover from a closed state to an opened state.
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein
the partition member is provided with a rotating shaft which is rotatably supported on the casing, and a first extending portion which extends from the rotating shaft in a radial direction of rotation of the rotating shaft,

the interlocking portion includes:
a projecting piece which radially projects from the rotating shaft at a position spaced away from the first extending portion by a certain distance in a circumferential direction of rotation of the rotating shaft; and
an arm member which continues from the openingclosing cover, the arm member being configured to be spaced away from the projecting piece when the openingclosing cover is in an opened state, and being configured to come into contact with the projecting piece, as the openingclosing cover is shifted from the opened state to the closed state, wherein
the partition member is configured to be disposed at the spaced position such that the first extending portion extends along a bottom surface of the exposure device when the openingclosing cover is in an opened state, and
the partition member is configured to be pivotally moved about an axis of the rotating shaft by contact of the arm member with the projecting piece, as the openingclosing cover is shifted from the opened state to the closed state, and is configured to be disposed at the projecting position such that the first extending portion projects toward the image forming unit.
7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein
the partition member is disposed at the spaced position by a weight of the partition member when the arm member is spaced away from the projecting piece, as the openingclosing cover is shifted from the closed state to the opened state.
8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein
the partition member is further provided with a second extending portion which extends from the rotating shaft toward a side opposite to the first extending portion in the radial direction,
the second extending portion is disposed to be away from an optical path of the laser light to be output through the light transmissive member when the partition member is in the projecting position, and

the second extending portion is disposed at such a position as to block the optical path of the laser light when the partition member is in the spaced position.
9. An image forming apparatus, comprising:
a casing provided with an inner space;
an openingclosing cover which is mounted on the casing to be openable and closable for opening the inner space to an outside of the image forming apparatus when the openingclosing cover is in an opened state;
an exposure device provided with a laser light source which emits laser light, a housing which houses the laser light source therein and includes an opening for passing the laser light therethrough, and a light transmissive member which is disposed in the housing at such a position as to cover the opening of the housing for transmitting the laser light, the exposure device being disposed in the inner space;
an image forming unit provided with an image carrier onto which the laser light transmitted through the light transmissive member is irradiated, the image forming unit being mounted to a first position facing the exposure device in the inner space, and being allowed to be mounted and dismounted to and from the inner space when the openingclosing cover is in the opened state;
an airflow generator which generates an airflow in the inner space;

a cooling air path which guides the airflow between the exposure device and the image forming unit in the inner space; and
a partition member which is disposed between the exposure device and the image forming unit, and is configured to change a state thereof between a first state and a second state, the first state being such that the partition member projects toward the image forming unit mounted to the first position from a side of the exposure device, and constitutes part of the cooling air path when the openingclosing cover is in a closed state, the second state being such that the partition member allows the image forming unit to be dismounted from the inner space when the openingclosing cover is in an opened state, wherein

the partition member is formed of an elastic member,
is disposed to project toward the image forming unit mounted to the first position from a side of the exposure device when the partition member is in the first state, and
is configured to allow the image forming unit to be dismounted from the inner space while being compressed by the image forming unit when the partition member is in the second state.
10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein
the partition member is configured to guide the airflow in such a direction as to be away from the light transmissive member when the partition member is in the first state.
11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein
the image carrier carries an electrostatic latent image formed by the laser light, and a toner image corresponding to the electrostatic latent image thereon,
the image forming apparatus further comprises a transfer portion which is configured to come into contact with the image carrier on a side opposite to the exposure device with respect to the image carrier for transferring the toner image from the image carrier onto a sheet,
the image forming unit is configured to be shifted from the first position to a second position closer to the exposure device than the first position, and then to be dismounted from the inner space, and
the elastic member is compressed by the image forming unit in the second position when the partition member is in the second state.
12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:
a support frame which extends in the inner space and is configured to hold the exposure device, wherein
the cooling air path is defined by the support frame and an outer wall of the image forming unit.
13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein
the cooling air path is defined by an outer wall of the exposure device and an outer wall of the image forming unit.
14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:
a sheet member which is disposed on a surface of the partition member for reducing friction between the image forming unit and the partition member.
15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein
the image forming unit includes:
a charger which is disposed between the image carrier and the exposure device for charging the image carrier;
a developing device which is disposed on a side opposite to the charger with respect to an optical path of the laser light toward the image carrier for supplying toner onto the image carrier; and
a cleaning device which is disposed on a side opposite to the developing device with respect to the charger for collecting toner residues on the image carrier, wherein
the cooling air path is configured to guide the airflow from the cleaning device toward the charger, and
the partition member is disposed between the charger and the exposure device when the partition member is in the first state.
16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein
the partition member is compressed by an outer wall of the charger of the image forming unit when the partition member is in the second state.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A task allocation optimization system for a multi-core processor including a plurality of cores, comprising:
accumulative response time calculating logic configured to calculate a response time of each of a plurality of tasks which are core allocation decision targets, and outputs an accumulative value of the calculated response time as an evaluation function value which is an index representing excellence of a task allocation;
searching logic configured to search for a task allocation from which a good evaluation function value is calculated based on the evaluation function value; and
high evaluation candidate holding logic configured to hold a candidate having a good evaluation function value among a plurality of task allocation candidates searched by the searching logic;
wherein:
one or more of the calculating logic, the searching logic, and the holding logic are implemented by a processor;
the searching logic includes:
branching logic configured to generate a sub problem by allocating a task to a core in order of from a task with a high priority to a task with a low priority, and
bounding logic configured to calculate a bound value of the evaluation function value permissible to the sub problem, and performs a bounding operation to stop an unnecessary core allocation candidate search using the calculated bound value of the evaluation function value, and

the bounding logic includes fixed task accumulative response time calculation instructing logic configured to calculate the bound value using the evaluation function value calculated using a task already allocated to a core.
2. The task allocation optimization system according to claim 1, wherein:
the searching logic includes:
branching logic configured to generate a sub problem by allocating a task to a core in order of from a task with a high priority to a task with a low priority, and
bounding logic configured to calculate a bound value of the evaluation function value permissible to the sub problem, and performs a bounding operation to stop an unnecessary core allocation candidate search using the calculated bound value of the evaluation function value, and

the bounding logic includes shortest non-fixed task response time integrating logic configured to calculate a bound value by comparing a response time of a fixed task which is a task with a lowest priority already allocated to a core in each core on each core and multiplying a shortest response time determined as a result of the comparison by the number of remaining tasks.
3. The task allocation optimization system according to claim 1, wherein
the searching logic includes:
branching logic configured to generate a sub problem by allocating a task to a core in order of from a task with a high priority to a task with a low priority, and
bounding logic configured to calculate a bound value of the evaluation function value permissible to the sub problem, and performs a bounding operation to stop an unnecessary core allocation candidate search using the calculated bound value of the evaluation function value, and

the bounding logic includes non-fixed task execution time summing logic configured to calculate a bound value by summing all of execution times of non-fixed tasks which are tasks in which allocation is not fixed yet.
4. The task allocation optimization system according to claim 1, wherein
the searching logic includes:
branching logic configured to generate a sub problem by allocating a task to a core in order of from a task with a high priority to a task with a low priority, and
bounding logic configured to calculate a bound value of the evaluation function value permissible to the sub problem, and performs a bounding operation to stop an unnecessary core allocation candidate search using the calculated bound value of the evaluation function value, and

the bounding logic includes non-fixed task execution time integrating logic configured to calculate a bound value by repeating, on all of non-fixed tasks, an operation of sorting execution times of non-fixed tasks which are tasks in which allocation is not fixed yet in ascending order, integrating a value obtained by multiplying the execution time of the non-fixed task sorted in ascending order by a value obtained by rounding off or rounding up or down a number after a decimal point of (the number of non-fixed tasks divided by the number of cores) for each non-fixed task, and reducing the number of non-fixed tasks by one.
5. The task allocation optimization system according to claim 1, wherein the searching logic further includes bounding deterring logic configured to deter the bounding logic from performing the bounding operation when the number of tasks in which allocation is already fixed is smaller than a specified value.
6. The task allocation optimization system according to claim 1, further comprising approximate solution searching logic configured to find a task allocation candidate faster than the searching logic by performing an approximate solution search in advance, and registers the found task allocation candidate to the high evaluation candidate holding logic.
7. A task allocation optimization method for a multi-core processor including a plurality of cores, comprising:
an accumulative response time calculating step of calculating a response time of each of a plurality of tasks which are core allocation decision targets, and outputting an accumulative value of the calculated response time as an evaluation function value which is an index representing excellence of a task allocation;
a searching step of searching for a task allocation from which a good evaluation function value is calculated based on the evaluation function value; and
a high evaluation candidate holding step of holding a candidate having a good evaluation function value among a plurality of task allocation candidates searched by the searching step;
wherein:
the searching step includes
a branching step of generating a sub problem by allocating a task to a core in order of from a task with a high priority to a task with a low priority, and
a bounding step of calculating a bound value of the evaluation function value permissible to the sub problem, and performing a bounding operation to stop an unnecessary core allocation candidate search using the calculated bound value of the evaluation function value, and

the bounding step includes a fixed task accumulative response time calculation instructing step of calculating the bound value using the evaluation function value calculated using a task already allocated to a core.
8. The task allocation optimization method according to claim 7, wherein the searching step includes
branching step of generating a sub problem by allocating a task to a core in order of from a task with a high priority to a task with a low priority, and
bounding step of calculating a bound value of the evaluation function value permissible to the sub problem, and performing a bounding operation to stop an unnecessary core allocation candidate search using the calculated bound value of the evaluation function value, and
wherein the bounding step includes a shortest non-fixed task response time integrating step of calculating a bound value by comparing a response time of a fixed task which is a task with a lowest priority already allocated to a core in each core on each core and multiplying a shortest response time determined as a result of the comparison by the number of remaining tasks.
9. The task allocation optimization method according to claim 7, wherein the searching step includes
branching step of generating a sub problem by allocating a task to a core in order of from a task with a high priority to a task with a low priority, and
bounding step of calculating a bound value of the evaluation function value permissible to the sub problem, and performing a bounding operation to stop an unnecessary core allocation candidate search using the calculated bound value of the evaluation function value, and
wherein the bounding step includes a non-fixed task execution time summing step of calculating a bound value by summing all of execution times of non-fixed tasks which are tasks in which allocation is not fixed yet.
10. The task allocation optimization method according to claim 7,
wherein the searching step includes
a branching step of generating a sub problem by allocating a task to a core in order of from a task with a high priority to a task with a low priority, and
a bounding step of calculating a bound value of the evaluation function value permissible to the sub problem, and performing a bounding operation to stop an unnecessary core allocation candidate search using the calculated bound value of the evaluation function value, and
wherein the bounding step includes a non-fixed task execution time integrating step of calculating a bound value by repeating, on all of non-fixed tasks, operations of sorting execution times of non-fixed tasks which are tasks in which allocation is not fixed yet in ascending order, integrating a value obtained by multiplying the execution time of the non-fixed task sorted in ascending order by a value obtained by rounding off or rounding up or down a number after a decimal point of (the number of non-fixed tasks\xf7 the number of cores) for each non-fixed task, and reducing the number of non-fixed tasks by one.
11. The task allocation optimization method according to claim 7, wherein the searching step further includes a bounding deterring step of deterring the bounding operation in the bounding step when the number of tasks in which allocation is already fixed is smaller than a specified value.
12. The task allocation optimization method according to claim 7, further including an approximate solution searching step of finding a task allocation candidate faster than in the searching step by performing an approximate solution search in advance, and registering the found task allocation candidate in the high evaluation candidate holding step.
13. A non-transitory computer readable medium, including a task allocation optimization program, incorporated in a task allocation optimization system for a multi-core processor including a plurality of cores, and enabling a computer to function as a system comprising:
accumulative response time calculating logic configured to calculate a response time of each of a plurality of tasks which are core allocation decision targets, and outputs an accumulative value of the calculated response time as an evaluation function value which is an index representing excellence of a task allocation;
searching logic configured to search for a task allocation from which a good evaluation function value is calculated based on the evaluation function value; and
high evaluation candidate holding logic configured to hold a candidate having a good evaluation function value among a plurality of task allocation candidates searched by the searching logic;
wherein:
the searching logic includes
branching logic configured to generate a sub problem by allocating a task to a core in order of from a task with a high priority to a task with a low priority, and
bounding logic configured to calculate a bound value of the evaluation function value permissible to the sub problem, and performs a bounding operation to stop an unnecessary core allocation candidate search using the calculated bound value of the evaluation function value, and
the bounding logic causes a computer to function as the task allocation optimization system including fixed task accumulative response time calculation instructing logic configured to calculate the bound value using the evaluation function value calculated using a task already allocated to a core.
14. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 13, wherein:
the searching logic includes
branching logic configured to generate a sub problem by allocating a task to a core in order of from a task with a high priority to a task with a low priority, and
bounding logic configured to calculate a bound value of the evaluation function value permissible to the sub problem, and performs a bounding operation to stop an unnecessary core allocation candidate search using the calculated bound value of the evaluation function value, and

the bounding logic includes shortest non-fixed task response time integrating logic configured to calculate a bound value by comparing a response time of a fixed task which is a task with a lowest priority already allocated to a core in each core on each core and multiplying a shortest response time determined as a result of the comparison by the number of remaining tasks.
15. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 13, wherein:
the searching logic includes
branching logic configured to generate a sub problem by allocating a task to a core in order of from a task with a high priority to a task with a low priority, and
bounding logic configured to calculate a bound value of the evaluation function value permissible to the sub problem, and performs a bounding operation to stop an unnecessary core allocation candidate search using the calculated bound value of the evaluation function value, and

wherein the bounding logic includes non-fixed task execution time summing logic configured to calculate a bound value by summing all of execution times of non-fixed tasks which are tasks in which allocation is not fixed yet.
16. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 13, wherein:
the searching unit includes:
branching logic configured to generate a sub problem by allocating a task to a core in order of from a task with a high priority to a task with a low priority, and
bounding logic configured to calculate a bound value of the evaluation function value permissible to the sub problem, and performs a bounding operation to stop an unnecessary core allocation candidate search using the calculated bound value of the evaluation function value, and

the bounding logic includes non-fixed task execution time integrating logic configured to calculate a bound value by repeating, on all of non-fixed tasks, operations of sorting execution times of non-fixed tasks which are tasks in which allocation is not fixed yet in ascending order, integrating a value obtained by multiplying the execution time of the non-fixed task sorted in ascending order by a value obtained by rounding off or rounding up or down a number after a decimal point of (the number of non-fixed tasks divided by the number of cores) for each non-fixed task, and reducing the number of non-fixed tasks by one.
17. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 13, wherein the searching logic further includes bounding deterring logic configured to deter the bounding logic from performing the bounding operation when the number of tasks in which allocation is already fixed is smaller than a specified value.