All The Claims

1. A device for autonomous power supply of power-using devices set in the proximity of a road along which vehicles are travelling, comprising:
one or more electric-current generator elements of a piezoelectric type,
at least one structural element deformable in an elastic way in at least one direction in response to a perturbation of the environment adjacent to the path of a vehicle, said at least one structural element comprising at least one area of deformation, said electric-current generator element of a piezoelectric type being associated to said area of deformation;
wherein said at least one structural element comprises a first structural element of a plurality of structural elements, said plurality of structural elements is at least one of shaped and interconnected so as to represent a plant or a shrub.
2. The device according to claim 1, wherein said perturbation of the environment adjacent to the path of a vehicle travelling comprises a displacement of air caused by said vehicle.
3. The device according to claim 1, wherein said perturbation of the environment adjacent to the path of a vehicle travelling comprises a vibration caused on the ground by the passage of the vehicle and transmitted by the ground to said device.
4. The device according to claim 1, wherein said power-using devices comprise a lamp for lighting.
5. The device second according to claim 1, wherein said at least one structural element comprises a first structural element of a plurality of structural elements.
6. The device according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of structural elements is at least one of shaped and interconnected so as to represent a plant or a shrub.
7. The device according to claim 6, wherein said electric-current generator elements of a piezoelectric type are associated to points of bending of branches of said plant or shrub.
8. The device according to claim 6, wherein said electric-current generator elements of a piezoelectric type are associated or integrated in leaves of said plant or shrub.
9. The device according to claim 1, further comprising an accumulator, which is electrically connected to said one or more piezoelectric elements and is able to accumulate electrical energy to supply the energy to said power-using devices.
10. The device according to claim 1, wherein said power-using devices comprise a data-acquisition control unit.
11. The device according to claim 1, wherein said power-using devices comprise one or more panels for displaying information.
12. A process for supplying autonomously power-using devices set in the proximity of a road along which vehicles are travelling, which comprises:
arranging one or more electric-current generator elements of a piezoelectric type;
setting in the proximity of the road at least one structural element deformable in an elastic way in at least one direction in response to a perturbation of the environment adjacent to the path of a vehicle travelling along said road, the at least one structural element comprising a first structural element of a plurality of structural elements and the plurality of structural elements at least one of shaped and interconnected so as to represent a plant or a shrub; and
associating said generator of electric current of a piezoelectric type to at least one area of deformation identified in said at least one structural element.
13. A method for generating electric energy from a flow of air, comprising:
providing at least one piezoelectric electric current generator element configured to be actuated by the flow of air, wherein the at least one piezoelectric generator element is associated to at least one structural element elastically deformable in at least one direction when subjected to the flow of air, the at least one structural element comprising at least one area of deformation, the at least one piezoelectric electric current generator element associated to the at least one area of deformation; and
locating the at least one piezoelectric generator element in the proximity of a road along which vehicles are travelling, such that the piezoelectric generator element exploits the displacement of air caused by the vehicles travelling along the road to generate electric current.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one structural element is a supporting arm of a reflector.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one structural element is a supporting arm of a reflector.
16. The method of claim 13, further comprising electrically connecting an accumulater to the at least one piezoelectric element and accumulating electrical energy to supply the energy to at least one power-using device.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the at least one power-using device comprises a data-acquisition control unit.
18. The method of claim 16, wherein the at least one power-using device comprises one or more panels for displaying information.
19. The method of claim 16, wherein the at least one power-using device comprises a lamp for lighting.

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 image forming apparatus comprising:
an image bearing member on which an electrostatic image is capable of being formed;
a charging apparatus configured to charge the image bearing member in a charging section;
a developing apparatus containing developer which includes toner and carrier, the developing apparatus being configured to develop, in a developing section, an electrostatic image formed on the image bearing member;
a transfer apparatus configured to transfer a toner image formed on the image bearing member to a transfer medium in a transfer section;
a charging auxiliary apparatus including a charging auxiliary member contacting with the image bearing member at a position downstream of the transfer section and upstream of the charging section in a moving direction of the image bearing member, and a voltage applying device configured to apply a voltage to the charging auxiliary member, the charging auxiliary apparatus being able to change a charge amount of the toner on the image bearing member;
a current detecting device configured to detect a current flowing in the charging auxiliary member during a period of non-image formation when the voltage is applied to the charging auxiliary member;
a toner density detecting device configured to detect information regarding a toner density of the developer in the developing apparatus; and
a toner supply control device configured to control supply of the toner to the developing apparatus based on a detection result of the current detecting device and a detection result of the toner density detecting device.
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the toner supply control device controls the supply of the toner to the developing apparatus based on a differential value between a maximum value and a minimum value of the toner density, which is obtained within a reference time by a detecting operation of the toner density detecting device.
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the toner supply control device controls the supply of the toner to make the toner density of the developer closer to a target value, and changes the target value in a direction to reduce the toner density when the differential value is larger than a reference value.
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the toner density detecting device includes a sensor configured to detect a reflection density of a detection-adapted toner image obtained by developing a detection-adapted electrostatic image, which is formed on the image bearing member, by the developing apparatus.
5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the toner density detecting device includes an optical sensor or a permeability sensor configured to detect the toner density of the developer in the developing apparatus.
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the current detecting device is configured to compare the differential value between the maximum value and the minimum value of the current, which is obtained within the reference time by the detecting operation, with a reference value, and
the image forming apparatus further comprises:
a display device configured to display an abnormality of the image forming apparatus when results of the comparison performed by the current detecting device plural times indicate that a state where the differential value is larger than the reference value in the comparison occurs successively over a reference number of times.
7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the developing apparatus is configured to be able to recover, in a developing operation, the toner remaining on the image bearing member after a transfer operation by the transfer apparatus.

1. A catalyst for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas, which comprises at least one catalyst component (A) selected from the group consisting of metals selected from the group consisting of La, Ce, Pr and W, an oxide of the metal, and a complex oxide of the metals; and at least one noble metal component (B) selected from the group consisting of Pt, Pd, Rh, Ru, Ir and Au.
2. The catalyst for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas according to claim 1, wherein said catalyst for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas comprises a layer of a refractory inorganic oxide supported on a refractory three-dimensional structure body, and said catalyst component (A) and said noble metal component (B) are substantially uniformly present in a layer of the refractory inorganic oxide supported on the refractory three-dimensional structure body.
3. The catalyst for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas according to claim 1, wherein said catalyst component (A) is only Ce, only W, a combination of W and La, or a combination of W and Ce.
4. The catalyst for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas according to claim 1, wherein said noble metal component (B) is only Pt, or a combination of Pt and Pd.
5. The catalyst for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas according to claim 1, wherein said refractory inorganic oxide is at least one member selected from the group consisting of Si, Al, Ti and Zr, an oxide of the metal, and a complex oxide of the metals.
6. A method for producing the catalyst for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas set forth in claim 2, which comprises:
mixing a refractory inorganic oxide with a catalyst component (A) to obtain a slurry;
coating a refractory three-dimensional structure body with the resulting slurry to form a refractory inorganic oxide layer on the refractory three-dimensional structure body; and
supporting a noble metal component (B) on the refractory inorganic oxide in said layer.
7. The method for producing the catalyst for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas according to claim 6, wherein the supporting of the noble metal component (B) on the refractory inorganic oxide is carried out by impregnating the refractory three-dimensional structure body having the refractory inorganic oxide layer formed thereon into an aqueous solution of a noble metal-containing compound, and then calcining the impregnated structure.
8. A method for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas which comprises contacting an organic acid-containing exhaust gas with the catalyst set forth in claim 1.
9. The method for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas according to claim 8, wherein said organic acid is a carboxylic acid having 1 to 6 carbon atoms.
10. The method for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas according to claim 9, wherein said organic acid is acetic acid.
11. The method for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas according to claim 8, wherein the exhaust gas is contacted with the catalyst at a temperature in the range of 250 to 700\xb0 C.
12. The catalyst for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas according to claim 2, wherein said catalyst component (A) is only Ce, only W, a combination of W and La, or a combination of W and Ce.
13. The catalyst for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas according to claim 2, wherein said noble metal component (B) is only Pt, or a combination of Pt and Pd.
14. The catalyst for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas according to claim 3, wherein said noble metal component (B) is only Pt, or a combination of Pt and Pd.
15. The catalyst for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas according to claim 12, wherein said noble metal component (B) is only Pt, or a combination of Pt and Pd.
16. The catalyst for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas according to claim 2, wherein said refractory inorganic oxide is at least one member selected from the group consisting of Si, Al, Ti and Zr, an oxide of the metal, and a complex oxide of the metals.
17. The catalyst for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas according to claim 3, wherein said refractory inorganic oxide is at least one member selected from the group consisting of Si, Al, Ti and Zr, an oxide of the metal, and a complex oxide of the metals.
18. The catalyst for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas according to claim 4, wherein said refractory inorganic oxide is at least one member selected from the group consisting of Si, Al, Ti and Zr, an oxide of the metal, and a complex oxide of the metals.
19. The catalyst for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas according to claim 12, wherein said refractory inorganic oxide is at least one member selected from the group consisting of Si, Al, Ti and Zr, an oxide of the metal, and a complex oxide of the metals.
20. The catalyst for treating an organic acid-containing exhaust gas according to claim 13, wherein said refractory inorganic oxide is at least one member selected from the group consisting of Si, Al, Ti and Zr, an oxide of the metal, and a complex oxide of the metals.

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 method for minimizing power consumption in graphics frame processing, the method comprising:
initiating graphics frame processing to be cooperatively performed by a central processing unit (CPU) and a graphics processing unit (GPU);
receiving CPU activity data and GPU activity data;
determining a set of available dynamic clock and voltagefrequency scaling (DCVS) levels for the GPU and the CPU; and
selecting from the set of available DCVS levels an optimal combination of a GPU DCVS level and a CPU DCVS level, based on the CPU and GPU activity data, which minimizes a combined power consumption of the CPU and the GPU during the graphics frame processing.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the CPU activity data and the GPU activity data are received from a respective activity profiler associated with the CPU and the GPU.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the CPU and GPU activity data comprise data specifying one or more of a processor workload, an active time, an idle time, and a waiting time.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving temperature data from one or more of at least one CPU temperature sensor and at least one GPU temperature sensor; and
receiving quiescent state supply current leakage (IDDQ) data associated with one or more of the GPU and the CPU;
wherein the optimal combination of the GPU and CPU DCVS levels are selected based on the CPU and GPU activity data and one or more of the temperature data and the IDDQ data.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the graphics frame processing comprises a CPUGPU serialized workload.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the optimal combination of the GPU DCVS level and the CPU DCVS level comprises an operating point in a CPUGPU frequency space that minimizes the combined power consumption of the CPU and the GPU during the CPUGPU serialized workload while meeting a frame deadline.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the graphics frame processing comprises a CPUGPU parallelized workload.
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:
optimizing processing of common hardware resources to increase an associated idle time; and
synchronizing the common hardware resource processing and the parallel CPU and GPU workloads using a vertical synchronization signal received from a display driver.
9. A system for minimizing power consumption in graphics frame processing, the system comprising:
means for initiating graphics frame processing to be cooperatively performed by a central processing unit (CPU) and a graphics processing unit (GPU);
means for receiving CPU activity data and GPU activity data;
means for determining a set of available dynamic clock and voltagefrequency scaling (DCVS) levels for the GPU and the CPU; and
means for selecting from the set of available DCVS levels an optimal combination of a GPU DCVS level and a CPU DCVS level, based on the CPU and GPU activity data, which minimizes a combined power consumption of the CPU and the GPU during the graphics frame processing.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein the CPU activity data and the GPU activity data are received from a respective activity profiler associated with the CPU and the GPU.
11. The system of claim 9, wherein the CPU and GPU activity data comprise data specifying one or more of a processor workload, an active time, an idle time, and a waiting time.
12. The system of claim 9, further comprising:
means for receiving temperature data from one or more of at least one CPU temperature sensor and at least one GPU temperature sensor; and
means for receiving quiescent state supply current leakage (IDDQ) data associated with one or more of the GPU and the CPU;
wherein the optimal combination of the GPU and CPU DCVS levels are selected based on the CPU and GPU activity data and one or more of the temperature data and the IDDQ data.
13. The system of claim 9, wherein the graphics frame processing comprises a CPUGPU serialized workload.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein the optimal combination of the GPU DCVS level and the CPU DCVS level comprises an operating point in a CPUGPU frequency space that minimizes the combined power consumption of the CPU and the GPU during the CPUGPU serialized workload while meeting a frame deadline.
15. The system of claim 9, wherein the graphics frame processing comprises a CPUGPU parallelized workload.
16. The system of claim 15, further comprising:
means for optimizing processing of common hardware resources to increase an associated idle time; and
means for synchronizing the common hardware resource processing and the parallel CPU and GPU workloads using a vertical synchronization signal received from a display driver.
17. A computer program embodied in a computer-readable medium and executed by a processor for minimizing power consumption in graphics frame processing, the computer program comprising logic configured to:
initiate graphics frame processing to be cooperatively performed by a central processing unit (CPU) and a graphics processing unit (GPU);
receive CPU activity data and GPU activity data;
determine a set of available dynamic clock and voltagefrequency scaling (DCVS) levels for the GPU and the CPU; and
select from the set of available DCVS levels an optimal combination of a GPU DCVS level and a CPU DCVS level, based on the CPU and GPU activity data, which minimizes a combined power consumption of the CPU and the GPU during the graphics frame processing.
18. The computer program of claim 17, wherein the CPU activity data and the GPU activity data are received from a respective activity profiler associated with the CPU and the GPU.
19. The computer program of claim 17, wherein the CPU and GPU activity data comprise data specifying one or more of a processor workload, an active time, an idle time, and a waiting time.
20. The computer program of claim 17, further comprising logic configured to:
receive temperature data from one or more of at least one CPU temperature sensor and at least one GPU temperature sensor; and
receive quiescent state supply current leakage (IDDQ) data associated with one or more of the GPU and the CPU;
wherein the optimal combination of the GPU and CPU DCVS levels are selected based on the CPU and GPU activity data and one or more of the temperature data and the IDDQ data.
21. The computer program of claim 17, wherein the graphics frame processing comprises a CPUGPU serialized workload.
22. The computer program of claim 21, wherein the optimal combination of the GPU DCVS level and the CPU DCVS level comprises an operating point in a CPUGPU frequency space that minimizes the combined power consumption of the CPU and the GPU during the CPUGPU serialized workload while meeting a frame deadline.
23. The computer program of claim 17, wherein the graphics frame processing comprises a CPUGPU parallelized workload.
24. The computer program of claim 23, further comprising logic configured to:
optimize processing of common hardware resources to increase an associated idle time; and
synchronize the common hardware resource processing and the parallel CPU and GPU workloads using a vertical synchronization signal received from a display driver.
25. A system for minimizing power consumption in graphics frame processing, the system comprising:
a system on chip (SoC) comprising a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), and a dynamic clock and voltagefrequency scaling (DCVS) controller in communication with the GPU and the CPU; and
a CPUGPU DCVS co-optimization module configured to determine an optimal combination of a GPU DCVS level and a CPU DCVS level for the DCVS controller, based on CPU and GPU activity data, which minimizes a combined power consumption of the CPU and the GPU during graphics frame processing.
26. The system of claim 25, wherein the CPUGPU DCVS co-optimization module comprises logic configured to:
determine a set of available dynamic clock and voltagefrequency scaling (DCVS) levels for the GPU and the CPU; and
determine the optimal combination of the GPU DCVS level and the CPU DCVS level from the set of available DCVS levels.
27. The system of claim 25, wherein the CPU and GPU activity data comprise data specifying one or more of a processor workload, an active time, an idle time, and a waiting time.
28. The system of claim 25, wherein the CPUGPU DCVS co-optimization module comprises logic configured to:
receive temperature data from one or more of at least one CPU temperature sensor and at least one GPU temperature sensor; and
receive quiescent state supply current leakage (IDDQ) data associated with one or more of the GPU and the CPU;
wherein the optimal combination of the GPU and CPU DCVS levels are selected based on the CPU and GPU activity data and one or more of the temperature data and the IDDQ data.
29. The system of claim 25, wherein the graphics frame processing comprises a CPUGPU serialized workload.
30. The system of claim 29, wherein the optimal combination of the GPU DCVS level and the CPU DCVS level comprises an operating point in a CPUGPU frequency space that minimizes the combined power consumption of the CPU and the GPU during the CPUGPU serialized workload while meeting a frame deadline.