All The Claims

1. A picture puzzle comprising:
(a) a background having at least one background object disposed therein;
(b) at least one puzzle object disposed on said background; and
(c) a predetermined matching alignment between a predetermined feature of said at least one puzzle object and a predetermined feature of said at least one background object.
2. The picture puzzle, according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined matching alignment includes a substantial alignment of at least a portion of said predetermined feature of said at least one puzzle object with a substantially identical portion of said predetermined feature of said at least one background object.
3. The picture puzzle, according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined matching alignment includes a substantial match of a color of said at least one puzzle object with a color of said predetermined feature of said at least one background object.
4. The picture puzzle, according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined matching alignment includes a substantial size match of said at least one puzzle object with said predetermined feature of said at least one background object.
5. The picture puzzle, according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined matching alignment includes a substantial shape match of said at least one puzzle object with said predetermined feature of said at least one background object.
6. The picture puzzle, according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined matching alignment includes a substantial angular match of said at least one puzzle object with said predetermined feature of said at least one background object.
7. The picture puzzle, according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined matching alignment includes a predetermined opacity of said at least one puzzle object in a predetermined relationship to said at least one background object.
8. The picture puzzle, according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined matching alignment includes a predetermined color density of said at least one puzzle object in a predetermined relationship to said at least one background object.
9. The picture puzzle, according to claim 1, wherein said picture puzzle includes an answer key disposed on said background.
10. The picture puzzle, according to claim 9, wherein said answer key includes at least one of a shape, quantity and color of said at least one puzzle object.
11. A picture puzzle comprising:
(a) a background having at least one background object disposed therein;
(b) at least one puzzle object disposed on said background;
(c) a substantial alignment of at least a portion of said predetermined feature of said at least one puzzle object with a substantially identical portion of said predetermined feature of said at least one background object;
(d) a substantial color match of said at least one puzzle object with said at least one background object;
(e) a predetermined size match of said at least one puzzle object with said predetermined feature of said at least one background object;
(f) a substantial shape match of said at least one puzzle object with said predetermined feature of said at least one background object;
(g) a substantial angular match of said at least one puzzle object with said predetermined feature of said at least one background object;
(h) a predetermined opacity of said at least one puzzle object in a predetermined relationship to said at least one background object;
(i) a predetermined color density of said at least one puzzle object in a predetermined relationship to said at least one background object; and
(j) an answer key disposed on said background, said answer key including at least one of a shape, quantity and color of said at least one puzzle object.
12. The picture puzzle, according to claim 11, wherein said picture puzzle is displayed in a digital data format on a display.
13. A method of using at least one picture puzzle for at least one of entertaining and soothing a patient awake during medical or dental procedure and promoting personal hygiene, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) providing said at least one picture puzzle having a background and at least one background object disposed thereon;
(b) positioning, on said background, at least one puzzle object closely related to said medical or dental procedure;
(c) aligning a predetermined feature of said at least one puzzle object with a predetermined feature of said at least one background object;
(d) positioning said at least one picture puzzle in a predetermined location relative to a position of said patient during said medical or dental procedure; and
(e) finding, by said patient, said at least one puzzle object disposed within said background.
14. The method, according to claim 13, wherein said aligning step includes the step of substantially aligning at least a portion of said predetermined feature of said at least one puzzle object with a substantially identical portion of said predetermined feature of said at least one background object.
15. The method, according to claim 13, wherein said aligning step includes the step of substantially matching a color of said at least one puzzle object with a color of said at least one background object.
16. The method, according to claim 13, wherein said aligning step includes the step of substantially matching a size of said at least one puzzle object with a size of said predetermined feature of said at least one background object or the step of substantially matching a shape of said at least one puzzle object with a shape of said predetermined feature of said at least one background object.
17. The method, according to claim 13, wherein said aligning step includes the step of providing a predetermined opacity of said at least one puzzle object in a predetermined relationship to said at least one background object.
18. The method, according to claim 13, wherein said aligning step includes the step of providing a predetermined color density of said at least one puzzle object in a predetermined relationship to said at least one background object.
19. A system for entertaining and soothing a patient awake during medical or dental procedure, said system comprising at least one picture puzzle positioned in a predetermined location so as to be directly viewed by a patient undergoing such medical or dental procedure, said at least one picture puzzle including a background having at least one background object disposed therein, at least one puzzle object disposed on said background and a predetermined matching alignment between a predetermined feature of said at least one puzzle object and a predetermined feature of said at least one background object.
20. A method of using at least one picture puzzle for educating a person about at least one of tools used in a medical or dental procedure and items used in health care and personal hygiene, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) providing said at least one picture puzzle having a background and at least one background object disposed thereon;
(b) positioning, on said background, at least one puzzle object closely related to said medical or dental procedure;
(c) aligning a predetermined feature of said at least one puzzle object with a predetermined feature of said at least one background object;
(d) finding, by said patient, said at least one puzzle object disposed within said background; and
(e) learning, by said patient, about use of said at least one puzzle object found in step (d).

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. An apparatus comprising:
a delivery vehicle configured to move across a field;
a sensor configured to obtain crop data during movement of the delivery vehicle across said field;
a delivery vehicle controller configured to automatically control the movement of the delivery vehicle; and
an agriculture controller configured to:
determine, during the movement of the delivery vehicle, needs of said crop based on said crop data;
determine movement commands to adjust said movement of said delivery vehicle, said movement commands comprising commands to change a direction of the delivery vehicle, based on said needs of said crop; and
transmit said movement commands to said delivery vehicle controller.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising an applicator controller in communication with said agriculture controller and a material applicator, and configured to control said material applicator.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said movement commands are further based on applicator data received from said applicator controller.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said agriculture controller further comprises a data logger configured to log said crop data.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said agriculture controller further comprises a material applicator optimization engine configured to optimize application of said material.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said delivery vehicle controller further comprises at least one of a Global Positioning Satellite receiver, a steering controller, an Engine Control Unit (ECU), a hitch controller, a transmission controller, a boom leveling sensor, and an environmental sensor.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a slope sensor connected to said agricultural controller, said slope sensor configured to determine a slope of terrain that said delivery vehicle is located on.
8. A method comprising:
sensing crop data during movement of a delivery vehicle;
determining, during the movement of the delivery vehicle, needs of said crop from said crop data; and
controlling said movement of said delivery vehicle based on said needs of said crop, wherein controlling the movement of the delivery vehicle comprises changing a direction of the delivery vehicle based on said needs of said crop.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein said controlling said movement further comprises transmitting movement commands to a delivery vehicle controller in communication with said delivery vehicle to cause said delivery vehicle to follow a predetermined path.
10. The method of claim 8 wherein said controlling said movement further comprises adjusting a gear set in a transmission system of said delivery vehicle.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein said adjusting a gear further comprises adjusting said gear to minimize fuel consumption in relation to a slope of a position of said delivery vehicle.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein said adjusting a gear further comprises adjusting said gear to minimize fuel consumption in relation to a speed of said delivery vehicle.
13. The method of claim 8 wherein said controlling said movement of said delivery vehicle further comprises adjusting speed of said delivery vehicle.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein said adjusting speed of said delivery vehicle further comprises increasing speed when an application rate of said material is less than a minimum application rate at a current speed.
15. The method of claim 13 wherein said adjusting speed of said delivery vehicle further comprises reducing speed when an application rate of said material is greater than a maximum application rate at a current speed.
16. An apparatus comprising:
means for sensing crop data during movement of a delivery vehicle;
means for determining, during the movement of the delivery vehicle, needs of said crop from said crop data; and
means for controlling said movement of said delivery vehicle based on said needs of said crop, wherein controlling the movement of the delivery vehicle comprises changing a direction of the delivery vehicle based on said needs of said crop.
17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said means for controlling said movement further comprises means for transmitting movement commands to a delivery vehicle controller in communication with said delivery vehicle to cause said delivery vehicle to follow a predetermined path.
18. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said means for controlling said movement further comprises means for adjusting a gear set in a transmission system.
19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said means for adjusting a gear further comprises means for adjusting said gear to minimize fuel consumption in relation to a slope of a position.
20. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said means for adjusting a gear further comprises means for adjusting said gear to minimize fuel consumption in relation to a speed.
21. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said means for controlling said movement further comprises means for adjusting speed of said delivery vehicle.
22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said means for adjusting speed of said delivery vehicle further comprises means for reducing speed when an application rate of said material is greater than a maximum application rate at a current speed.
23. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said means for adjusting speed of said delivery vehicle further comprises means for increasing speed when an application rate of said material is less than a minimum application rate at a current speed.

1. A shift control apparatus of an automatic transmission in a vehicle including a constant speed traveling apparatus, which has a detecting device detecting a surrounding situation of the vehicle and operates so as to travel at a preset speed when there is no preceding vehicle, or to maintain a preset inter-vehicle distance when there is a preceding vehicle, according to the detected situation, and an automatic transmission which comprises an input shaft and a driving-side shaft which are connected to a crank shaft of an engine and is capable of steplessly changing a transmission ratio, the shift control apparatus controlling the automatic transmission according to a shift map for changing the transmission ratio according to a traveling state by a rotation speed of the input shaft, an accelerator opening, and a speed of the vehicle, the shift control apparatus comprising:
a plurality of shift maps; and
a switching and selecting unit selecting and switching to one of the shift maps based on a shift-down request signal, which is outputted by a constant speed traveling control device of the constant speed traveling apparatus, according to the situation detected by the detecting device.
2. The shift control apparatus of the automatic transmission according to claim 1, further comprising:
at least a normal shift map, an acceleration shift map, a deceleration shift map as the plurality of shift maps,
wherein the selecting and switching unit selects one of the shift maps based on the shift-down request signal from the constant speed traveling control device.
3. The shift control apparatus of the automatic transmission according to claim 2,
wherein in an acceleration shift map out of the plurality of shift maps, the rotation speed of the input shaft corresponding to an accelerator opening is set entirely to a transmission ratio on a lower side as compared to a normal shift map.
4. The shift control apparatus of the automatic transmission according to claim 2,
wherein in a deceleration shift map out of the plurality of shift maps, a transmission ratio on a highest side is set entirely to a transmission ratio on a lower side as compared to a the normal shift map.
5. A shift control apparatus of an automatic transmission in a vehicle, comprising:
a constant speed traveling apparatus that has a detecting device detecting a surrounding situation of the vehicle and operates so as to travel at a preset speed when there is no preceding vehicle, or to maintain a preset inter-vehicle distance when there is a preceding vehicle, according to the detected situation;
an automatic transmission that includes an input shaft and a driving-side shaft, which are connected to a crank shaft of an engine, and is capable of steplessly changing a transmission ratio, the shift control apparatus controlling the automatic transmission according to a shift map for changing the transmission ratio according to a traveling state by a rotation speed of the input shaft, an accelerator opening, and a speed of the vehicle;
a plurality of shift maps; and
a switching and selecting unit selecting and switching to one of the shift maps based on a shift-down request signal, which is outputted by a constant speed traveling control device of the constant speed traveling apparatus, according to the situation detected by the detecting device.

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 color conversion apparatus comprising:
an original data analyzing unit configured to extract color information of a background color and a character and line drawing object from each page of inputted original data;
a background color changing unit configured to increase a lightness of the background color, in case where the lightness of the background color is less than a background color lightness evaluation threshold value which is set in advance, while holding a hue and saturation of the background color, on the basis of the background color information acquired from the original data analyzing unit and the predetermined background color lightness evaluation threshold value, and thus change the original background color to a background color for printing; and
a character and line drawing color correcting unit configured to change lightness of the character and line drawing color while holding a hue and saturation of the character and line drawing color in a way that increases a lightness difference between the background color for printing and the character and line drawing color on the background of the original, on the basis of the background color information of the original acquired from the original data analyzing unit, the background color information for printing acquired from the background color changing unit, and the character and line drawing color information on the background of the original acquired from the original data analyzing unit, and thus change the character and line drawing color on the background of the original to a character and line drawing color for printing.
2. The color conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the background color changing unit includes:
an original background color lightness calculating element configured to calculate the lightness of the background color of the original on the basis of the background color information acquired from the original data analyzing unit;
an original background color evaluating element configured to read out the background color lightness evaluation threshold value, compare the read-out background color lightness evaluation threshold value with a quantity of lightness correlation of the original background color calculated by the original background color lightness calculating element, and evaluate whether the original background color is a color that consumes a large quantity of color material or not; and
an original background color changing element configured to increase the lightness of the original background color while holding the hue and saturation of the original background color and thus change the original background color to a background color for printing, in the case where the original background color evaluating element determines that the original background color is a color that consumes a large quantity of color material.
3. The color conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the character and line drawing color correcting unit includes:
a lightness difference calculating element configured to calculate a difference in quantity of lightness correlation between the background color for printing and the character and line drawing color on the background of the original on the basis of the background color information of the original acquired from the original data analyzing unit, the background color information for printing acquired from the background color changing unit, and the character and line drawing color information on the background of the original acquired from the original data analyzing unit;
a character and line drawing readability evaluating element configured to compare the difference in quantity of lightness correlation calculated by the lightness difference calculating element with a lightness difference evaluation threshold value which is set in advance, and evaluate readability of the character and line drawing on the background for printing;
a character and line drawing color correction necessity determining element configured to determine whether color correction of the character and line drawing color on the background of the original is necessary or not, on the basis of a result of evaluation by the character and line drawing readability evaluating element; and
a character and line drawing color correcting element configured to change the lightness while holding the hue and saturation of the character and line drawing color in a way that increases the lightness difference between the background color for printing and the character and line drawing color on the background and thus change the character and line drawing color on the background of the original to a character and line drawing color for printing, in the case where the character and line drawing color correction necessity determining element determines that color correction of the character and line drawing color on the background of the original is necessary.
4. The color conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the character and line drawing color correcting unit includes:
a lightness difference calculating element configured to calculate a difference in quantity of lightness correlation between the background color for printing and the character and line drawing color on the background of the original on the basis of the background color information of the original acquired from the original data analyzing unit, the background color information for printing acquired from the background color changing unit, and the character and line drawing color information on the background acquired from the original data analyzing unit;
a first character and line drawing readability evaluating element configured to compare the difference in quantity of lightness correlation calculated by the lightness difference calculating element with a lightness difference evaluation threshold value which is set in advance, and evaluate readability of the character and line drawing on the background for printing in view of the difference in quantity of lightness correlation;
a second character and line drawing readability evaluating element configured to determine whether a combination of the hue of the background color for printing and the hue of the character and line drawing color on the background is a combination that makes the character and line drawing on the background less visible or not, and evaluate readability of the character and line drawing on the background for printing in view of hue;
a character and line drawing color correction necessity determining element configured to determine whether color correction of the character and line drawing color existing on the background of the original is necessary or not, on the basis of results of evaluation by the first character and line drawing readability evaluating element and the second character and line drawing readability evaluating element; and
a character and line drawing color correcting element configured to change the lightness while holding the hue and saturation of the character and line drawing color in a way that increases the lightness difference between the background color for printing and the character and line drawing color on the background and thus change the character and line drawing color on the background of the original to a character and line drawing color for printing, in the case where the character and line drawing color correction necessity determining element determines that color correction of the character and line drawing color on the background of the original is necessary.
5. A color conversion apparatus comprising:
original data analyzing means for extracting color information of a background color and a character and line drawing object from each page of inputted original data;
background color changing means for increasing a lightness of the background color, in case where the lightness of the background color is less than a background color lightness evaluation threshold value which is set in advance, while holding a hue and saturation of the background color, on the basis of the background color information acquired from the original data analyzing means and the predetermined background color lightness evaluation threshold value, and thus change the original background color to a background color for printing; and
character and line drawing color correcting means for changing lightness of the character and line drawing color while holding a hue and saturation of the character and line drawing color in a way that increases a lightness difference between the background color for printing and the character and line drawing color on the background of the original and thus changing the character and line drawing color on the background of the original to a character and line drawing color for printing, in the case where a difference in quantity of lightness correlation between the background color for printing and the character and line drawing color on the background calculated on the basis of the background color information of the original acquired from the original data analyzing means, the background color information for printing acquired from the background color changing means, and the character and line drawing color information on the background acquired from the original data analyzing means, is smaller than a predetermined lightness difference evaluation threshold value which is set in advance.
6. The color conversion apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the background color changing means includes:
an original background color lightness calculating element configured to calculate lightness of the background color of the original on the basis of the background color information acquired from the original data analyzing means;
an original background color evaluating element configured to read out the background color lightness evaluation threshold value, compare the read-out background color lightness evaluation threshold value with a quantity of lightness correlation of the original background color calculated by the original background color lightness calculating element, and evaluate whether the original background color is a color that consumes a large quantity of color material or not; and
an original background color changing element configured to increase the lightness of the original background color while holding the hue and saturation of the original background color and thus change the original background color to a background color for printing, in the case where the original background color evaluating element determines that the original background color is a color that consumes a large quantity of color material.
7. The color conversion apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the character and line drawing color correcting means includes:
a lightness difference calculating element configured to calculate a difference in quantity of lightness correlation between the background color for printing and the character and line drawing color on the background of the original on the basis of the background color information of the original acquired from the original data analyzing means, the background color information for printing acquired from the background color changing means, and the character and line drawing color information on the background of the original acquired from the original data analyzing means;
a character and line drawing readability evaluating element configured to compare the difference in quantity of lightness correlation calculated by the lightness difference calculating element with a lightness difference evaluation threshold value which is set in advance, and evaluate readability of the character and line drawing on the background for printing;
a character and line drawing color correction necessity determining element configured to determine whether color correction of the character and line drawing color on the background of the original is necessary or not, on the basis of a result of evaluation by the character and line drawing readability evaluating element; and
a character and line drawing color correcting element configured to change the lightness while holding the hue and saturation of the character and line drawing color in a way that increases the lightness difference between the background color for printing and the character and line drawing color on the background and thus change the character and line drawing color on the background of the original to a character and line drawing color for printing, in the case where the character and line drawing color correction necessity determining element determines that color correction of the character and line drawing color on the background of the original is necessary.
8. The color conversion apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the character and line drawing color correcting means includes:
a lightness difference calculating element configured to calculate a difference in quantity of lightness correlation between the background color for printing and the character and line drawing color on the background of the original on the basis of the background color information of the original acquired from the original data analyzing means, the background color information for printing acquired from the background color changing means, and the character and line drawing color information on the background acquired from the original data analyzing means;
a first character and line drawing readability evaluating element configured to compare the difference in quantity of lightness correlation calculated by the lightness difference calculating element with a lightness difference evaluation threshold value which is set in advance, and evaluate readability of the character and line drawing on the background for printing in view of the difference in quantity of lightness correlation;
a second character and line drawing readability evaluating element configured to determine whether a combination of the hue of the background color for printing and the hue of the character and line drawing color on the background is a combination that makes the character and line drawing on the background less visible or not, and evaluate readability of the character and line drawing on the background for printing in view of hue;
a character and line drawing color correction necessity determining element configured to determine whether color correction of the character and line drawing color existing on the background of the original is necessary or not, on the basis of results of evaluation by the first character and line drawing readability evaluating element and the second character and line drawing readability evaluating element; and
a character and line drawing color correcting element configured to change the lightness while holding the hue and saturation of the character and line drawing color in a way that increases the lightness difference between the background color for printing and the character and line drawing color on the background and thus change the character and line drawing color on the background of the original to a character and line drawing color for printing, in the case where the character and line drawing color correction necessity determining element determines that color correction of the character and line drawing color on the background of the original is necessary.
9. A color conversion method comprising:
analyzing original data acquired from each page of an original;
extracting information of a background color and a character and line drawing object from the original data;
increasing a lightness of the background color, in a case where the lightness of the background color is less than a background color lightness evaluation threshold value which is set in advance, while holding a hue and saturation of the background color, on the basis of the extracted background color information and the predetermined background color lightness evaluation threshold value, and thus changing the original background color to a background color for printing; and
changing lightness of the character and line drawing color while holding a hue and saturation of the character and line drawing color in a way that increases a lightness difference between the background color for printing and the character and line drawing color on the background of the original, on the basis of the extracted background color information of the original, the changed background color information for printing, and the extracted character and line drawing color information on the background of the original, and thus changing the character and line drawing color on the background of the original to a character and line drawing color for printing.
10. The color conversion method according to claim 9, wherein the change of the background color includes:
calculating a quantity of lightness correlation of the background color of the original;
comparing the quantity of lightness correlation of the background color of the original calculated in the calculation of the quantity of lightness correlation, with a background color lightness evaluation threshold value; evaluating whether the background color of the original is a color that consumes a large quantity of color material or not; and
changing the background color of the original in the case where the result of the background color evaluation is that the background color of the original is a color that consumes a large quantity of color material.
11. The color conversion method according to claim 9, wherein the correction of the character and line drawing color includes:
calculating a difference in quantity of lightness correlation between the background color and the character and line drawing color on the background after changing the background color of the original on the basis of the background color information of the original acquired by analyzing the original data, the background color information after changing the background color of the original, and the character and line drawing color information on the background of the original acquired by the analysis of the original data;
comparing the difference in quantity of lightness correlation calculated in the calculation of the lightness difference with a lightness difference evaluation threshold value which is set in advance; evaluating readability of the character and line drawing on the background after changing the background color of the original;
determining whether color correction of the character and line drawing color on the background after changing the background color of the original is necessary or not, on the basis of a result of evaluating readability of the character and line drawing; and
correcting the character and line drawing color in the case where it is determined that color correction of the character and line drawing color is necessary as a result of determining the necessity of color correction of the character and line drawing.
12. The color conversion method according to claim 9, wherein the correction of the character and line drawing color includes:
calculating a difference in quantity of lightness correlation between the background color and the character and line drawing color on the background after changing the background color of the original on the basis of the background color information of the original acquired by analyzing the original data, the background color information after changing the background color of the original, and the character and line drawing color information on the background of the original acquired by the analysis of the original data;
comparing the difference in quantity of lightness correlation calculated in the calculation of the lightness difference with a lightness difference evaluation threshold value which is set in advance; evaluating readability of the character and line drawing on the background after changing the background color of the original;
determining whether a combination of the hue of the background color after changing the background color of the original and the hue of the character and line drawing color on the background after the change of the background color is a combination that makes the character and line drawing on the background less visible or not;
evaluating readability of the character and line drawing on the background after the change of the background color in view of hue of the background after the change of the background color and the character and line drawing on the background after the change of the background color;
determining whether color correction of the character and line drawing color on the background after changing the background color of the original is necessary or not, on the basis of a result of evaluating readability of the character and line drawing; and
correcting the character and line drawing color in the case where it is determined that color correction of the character and line drawing color is necessary as a result of determining the necessity of color correction of the character and line drawing.