All The Claims

1. A desktop personal computer appliance for use with external user input and display devices, the appliance consisting of:
a system unit having a sealed housing comprising main processing functionality for executing application programs and at least a DC-DC converter, the housing being provided with external connectors for connection to said external user input and display devices;
a removable data storage device for storing user data associated with said application programs and a user-specific software image containing said application programs,
the housing having a recessed portion for receiving the removable data storage device and a movable closure member for enclosing the recessed portion,
an external power supply having a flying lead connectable to an external socket provided in the housing for supplying DC power to the DC-DC converter.
2. An appliance as claimed in claim 1 wherein the software image includes an operating system.
3. An appliance as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 comprising an arrangement for securing the flying lead in its the external socket to avoid accidental disconnection thereof.
4. An appliance as claimed in claim 3 wherein the securing arrangement comprises a cable shroud that is movable to and from a closed position in which closed position the cable shroud is disposed so as to prevent removal of a plug on the flying lead from the socket, and a lock mechanism for locking the cable shroud in the closed position.
5. An appliance as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the mounting arrangement for the removable data storage device comprises retaining pockets on oppositely facing inner walls of the recessed portion for receiving mounting studs extending laterally from the removable data storage unit, the pockets and studs, once engaged, enabling the unit to pivot about a first axis into an operational position within the recess, and a handle mounted on the unit so as to be rotatable about an axis parallel to the first axis.
6. An appliance as claimed in claim 5 wherein the end of the unit remove from said first end comprises a connector positioned to enable a flying lead to be manually connected thereto with the studs engaged in the pockets and the unit not fully pivoted into the operational position.
7. An appliance as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6 wherein in the closed position the handle lies flush with a surface of the removable unit that is parallel to and facing the opening of the recessed portion.
8. An appliance as claimed in any of claims 5 to 7 wherein the handle is substantially U shaped with side arms pivotally mounted on respective opposing sides of the unit.
9. An appliance as claimed in any of claims 5 to 8 wherein the housing comprises a sliding closure for closing the recess.
10. An appliance as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the removable unit comprises a mounting tray within which a standard form factor disk drive unit is shock mounted, the mounting studs and handle being provided on the mounting tray.

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 yard waste bag loading assembly comprising:
a base having dimensions to accommodate a yard waste bag therein, the yard waste bag having an opening;
a plurality of vertical supports extending from said base to a height to accommodate the yard waste bag; and
a funnel hingeably secured to at least one of said plurality of vertical supports, said funnel having a mouth greater than the bag opening size.
2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said base is square.
3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said base is a closed shape selected from the group consisting of: circular, triangular, and polygonal.
4. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said base has an open side.
5. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said funnel comprises a support frame and a fabric wall supported from said frame.
6. The assembly of claim 5 further comprising a spout secured to said fabric wall.
7. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said funnel is a unitary construct.
8. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said funnel is hexagonal.
9. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said funnel has a shape selected from the group consisting of: circular, triangular, and polygonal.
10. The funnel of claim 8 wherein a first side is hinged and said funnel is supported on at least one side not adjacent to said first side.
11. The assembly of claim 10 wherein said frame is supported on both nonadjacent sides adjoining sides adjacent to the first side.
12. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said base is formed of tubular linear pieces joined by elbow fittings.
13. The assembly of claim 12 wherein said tubular linear pieces are plastic.
14. The assembly of claim 5 wherein said funnel frame is formed of tubular linear pieces joined by elbow fittings.
15. The assembly of claim 14 wherein said tubular linear pieces are plastic.
16. The assembly of claim 5 wherein a vertical support top has a split tube cradle adapted to receive a portion of said funnel frame.
17. The assembly of claim 1 further comprising a wheel rotatably secured to said base.
18. An assembly according to claim 1 further comprising a screen bag support secured to said base.

1. A positioning apparatus comprising:
a first positioning unit which intermittently receives signals from a plurality of positioning satellites to obtain positional information of a reference position;
a second positioning unit which obtains a present position by continuously calculating a moving direction and a moving amount of the positioning apparatus, and by adding information of the moving direction and the moving amount to the positional information of the reference position;
a reference position updating unit which updates the positional information of the reference position by causing the first positioning unit to newly obtain positional information of the reference position;
a count unit which counts an elapsed period of time each time after the reference position updating unit updates the positional information of the reference position;
a distance calculating unit which calculates a distance between a last-obtained reference position and a present position obtained by the second positioning unit, each time the second positioning unit obtains a predetermined number of present positions;
a distance judging unit which judges whether a currently-calculated distance calculated by the distance calculating unit is longer than a predetermined distance and shorter than a last-calculated distance calculated by the distance calculating unit; and
a positioning timing control unit which controls a timing when the reference position updating unit updates the positional information of the reference position so as to cause the reference position updating unit to update the positional information of the reference position when it is determined that the elapsed period of time counted by the count unit exceeds a predetermined amount of time, or when the distance judging unit judges that the currently-calculated distance is longer than the predetermined distance and shorter than the last-calculated distance.
2. The positioning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second positioning unit obtains a series of present positions, the distance calculating unit calculates a series of distances between the last-obtained reference position and the respective positions of the series of present positions obtained by the second positioning unit, and the distance judging unit judges whether the currently-calculated distance is longer than the predetermined distance and shorter than the last-calculated distance based on the series of distances calculated by the distance calculating unit.
3. The positioning apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a prohibiting unit which prohibits the first positioning unit from newly obtaining positional information when the elapsed period of time counted by the counting unit has not exceeded the predetermined amount of time and the distance judging unit judges that the distance calculated by the distance calculating unit is shorter than the predetermined distance.
4. The positioning apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a correcting unit which corrects a series of positional information sets corresponding to the series of present positions obtained by the second positioning unit, based on the newly-obtained positional information of the reference position, when the positional information of the reference position is updated.
5. The positioning apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a precision level obtaining unit which obtains a precision level representing a position measurement precision of the first positioning unit at a time when the first positioning unit obtains positional information, wherein the positional information obtained by the first positioning unit is not used when the position measurement precision is lower than a predetermined precision threshold value.
6. The positioning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a prohibiting unit which prohibits the first positioning unit from newly obtaining positional information when the elapsed period of time counted by the counting unit has not exceeded the predetermined amount of time and the distance judging unit judges that the distance calculated by the distance calculating unit is shorter than the predetermined distance.
7. The positioning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a precision level obtaining unit which obtains a precision level representing a position measurement precision of the first positioning unit at a time when the first positioning unit obtains positional information, wherein the positional information obtained by the first positioning unit is not used when the position measurement precision is lower than a predetermined precision threshold value.
8. A positioning method for a positioning apparatus comprising a first positioning unit and a second positioning unit, the first positioning unit intermittently receiving signals from a plurality of positioning satellites to obtain positional information of a reference position, and the second positioning unit obtaining a present position by continuously measuring a moving direction and a moving amount of the positioning apparatus, and by adding information of the moving direction and the moving amount to the positional information of the reference position, the method comprising:
obtaining positional information of the reference position with the first positioning unit, and obtaining a present position with the second positioning unit;
updating the positional information of the reference position by causing the first positioning unit to newly obtain positional information of the reference position;
counting an elapsed period of time each time after the positional information of the reference position is updated;
calculating a distance between a last-obtained reference position and a present position obtained by the second positioning unit, each time a predetermined number of present positions is obtained with the second positioning unit;
judging whether a currently-calculated distance is longer than a predetermined distance and shorter than a last-calculated distance; and
controlling a timing of updating the positional information of the reference position such that the positional information of the reference position is updated when it is determined that the counted elapsed period of time exceeds a predetermined amount of time, or when it is judged that the currently-calculated distance is longer than the predetermined distance and shorter than the last-calculated distance.
9. The positioning method according to claim 8, wherein:
a series of present positions are obtained by the second positioning unit,
a series of distances are calculated between the last-obtained reference position and the respective positions of the series of present positions obtained by the second positioning unit, and
it is judged whether the currently-calculated distance is longer than the predetermined distance and shorter than the last-calculated distance based on the series of calculated distances.
10. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having recorded thereon a computer program for controlling a computer which communicates with a positioning apparatus comprising a first positioning unit and a second positioning unit, the first positioning unit intermittently receiving signals from a plurality of positioning satellites to obtain positional information of a reference position, and the second positioning unit obtaining a present position by continuously measuring a moving direction and a moving amount of the positioning apparatus and by adding information of the moving direction and the moving amount to the positional information of the reference position;
wherein the program controls the computer to cause the first positioning unit to obtain positional information of the reference position, and to cause the second positioning unit to obtain a present position; and
wherein the program controls the computer to function as:
a reference position updating unit which updates the positional information of the reference position by causing the first positioning unit to newly obtain positional information of the reference position;
a count unit which counts an elapsed period of time each time after the reference position updating unit updates the positional information of the reference position;
a distance calculating unit which calculates a distance between a last-obtained reference position and a present position obtained by the second positioning unit, each time the second positioning unit obtains a predetermined number of present positions;
a distance judging unit which judges whether a currently-calculated distance calculated by the distance calculating unit is longer than a predetermined distance and shorter than a last-calculated distance calculated by the distance calculating unit; and
a positioning timing control unit which controls a timing when the reference position updating unit updates the positional information of the reference position so as to cause the reference position updating unit to update the positional information of the reference position when it is determined that the elapsed period of time counted by the count unit exceeds a predetermined amount of time, or when the distance judging unit judges that the currently-calculated distance is longer than the predetermined distance and shorter than the last-calculated distance.
11. The storage medium storing the program according to claim 10, wherein the program further controls the computer so that:
the second positioning unit obtains a series of present positions,
the distance calculating unit calculates a series of distances between the last-obtained reference position and the respective positions of the series of present positions obtained by the second positioning unit, and
the distance judging unit judges whether the currently-calculated distance is longer than the predetermined distance and shorter than the last-calculated distance based on the series of distances calculated by the distance calculating unit.

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 developer container comprising:
a developer accommodating chamber, provided with an opening, for accommodating a developer;
a sealing member bonded to said developer accommodating chamber so as to block the opening; and
a rotatable member, having a connecting surface where said sealing member is connected thereto, for peeling off said sealing member from said developer accommodating chamber by rotation thereof,
wherein said connecting surface has a rectangular shape that has long sides with respect to a rotational axis direction of said rotatable member and the long sides are twisted between ends of the rectangular shape in a rotational direction of said rotatable member.
2. A developer container according to claim 1, wherein said sealing member is bonded to a rectangular bonding portion having two sides each extending a direction parallel to a rotation shaft of said rotatable member and two sides each extending in a direction perpendicular to said rotation shaft, and
wherein said rotatable member winds up said sealing member so that said sealing member is peeled off gradually in an oblique direction to said rotation shaft from a corner of said rectangular bonding portion toward a diagonal corner thereof.
3. A developer container according to claim 1, wherein a rotational driving force is applied to an end of said rotatable member with respect to the rotational axis direction.
4. A developer container according to claim 1, wherein said rotatable member constitutes a feeding member for feeding the developer, accommodated in said developer accommodating chamber, to an outside of said developer accommodating chamber through the opening.
5. A developer container according to claim 1, wherein said rotatable member constitutes a stirring member for stirring the developer accommodated in said developer accommodating chamber.
6. A developing cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an image forming apparatus, said developing cartridge comprising:
a developer container according to claim 1;
a developer carrying member for carrying the developer; and
a developer supply chamber, in which said developer carrying member is provided, communicating with said developer accommodating chamber via the opening.
7. A process cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an image forming apparatus, said process cartridge comprising:
a developer container according to claim 1;
a developer carrying member for carrying the developer; and
a developer supply chamber, in which said developer carrying member is provided, communicating with said developer accommodating chamber via the opening.
8. An image forming apparatus for forming an image with a developer on a recording material, said image forming apparatus comprising:
a developer container according to claim 1;
a developer carrying member for carrying the developer; and
a developer supply chamber, in which said developer carrying member is provided, communicating with said developer accommodating chamber via the opening.
9. A developer container comprising:
a developer accommodating chamber, provided with an opening, for accommodating a developer;
a sealing member bonded to said developer accommodating chamber so as to block the opening; and
a rotatable member, to which said sealing member is connected, capable of winding up said seal member by peeling off said sealing member from a bonding portion to said developer accommodating chamber by rotation thereof,
wherein said rotatable member is constituted so that in a range from an end side to the other end side of a connecting portion to said sealing member with respect to the rotational axis direction, timing from start of winding up of said sealing member until said sealing member is in a tension state between said rotatable member and said bonding portion is slower with an increasing distance from the end side and so that a speed of an increase in peeling off amount of said sealing member after said sealing member is in the tension state is the same from the end side to the other end side.
10. A developer container according to claim 9, wherein the peeling off amount of said sealing member until said sealing member is in the tension state is the same from the end side to the other end side.
11. A developer container according to claim 9, wherein said rotatable member has a shape such that a cylindrical shape is partly cut away to form a connecting surface to said sealing member at a cut away portion, and
wherein said connecting surface is twisted about an axis parallel to said rotation shaft so that the other side is positioned downstream of the end side with respect to the rotational direction of said rotatable member and so that a boundary line of said connecting surface with a peripheral surface of said rotatable member in an upstream side of the rotational direction extends so as to be positioned in a more upstream side with the increasing distance from the end side with respect to the rotational direction.