Abstract: A color image forming apparatus obtaining a high quality color image with little write start misregistration among optical scanning devices, includes a plurality of optical scanning devices respectively including an incident optical unit guiding a light beam from a light source unit to a deflection unit, an imaging optical system allowing the light beam deflectively scanned by the deflection unit to be focused on a scanned surface, and an optical system for synchronous detection for adjusting image start timing on the scanned surface by using a part of the light beam deflectively scanned by the deflection unit. A ratio of a focal length of the optical system for synchronous detection to a focal length of the imaging optical system is set appropriately in a main scanning section of the plurality of optical scanning devices for obtaining a black color image and color images other than the black color image.

Abstract: A method of generating reticle data for producing a reticle, a pattern of the reticle including a main pattern, a first auxiliary pattern, and a second auxiliary pattern, the first auxiliary pattern and the second auxiliary pattern being patterns not to resolve, light having passed through the first auxiliary pattern and light having passed through the main pattern being in phase, and light having passed through the second auxiliary pattern and light having passed through the main pattern having a phase difference of 180° from each other, the method comprising the step of deleting either of the first auxiliary pattern and the second auxiliary pattern or deforming at least either of the first auxiliary pattern and the second auxiliary pattern when the first auxiliary pattern and the second auxiliary pattern overlap each other.

Abstract: A zoom lens includes positive, negative, positive, and positive lens units, and the second lens unit includes negative, negative, negative and positive lenses. The first and third lens units are fixed and the second and fourth lens units are moved in zooming. 0.01<|f2/?(fw*ft)|<0.35 and 0.070<D2/TL<0.105 are satisfied. fw and ft are focal lengths of an overall system at wide angle and telephoto ends, f2 is a focal length of the second lens unit, TL is a distance on an optical axis from a lens surface closest to an object plane to an image plane when a distance from a lens surface closest to the image plane to the image plane is aerially converted, and D2 is a distance on the optical axis from a lens surface closest to the object plane in the second lens unit to the lens surface closest to the image plane in the second lens unit.

Abstract: A holding mechanism which holds a rear end restricting plate at the restricting position in accordance with the sheet size is configured with a first rack tooth row and a second rack tooth row. The first rack tooth row and the second rack tooth row are arranged at the bottom surface of a cassette body to be the same height along the sheet restricting direction and a first tooth row and a second tooth row are arranged at a restricting member to be the same height along the sheet restricting direction.

Abstract: Provided is an optical scanning apparatus has a plurality of light emitting portions and an incident optical system including optical element, wherein each shape of optical surfaces in a main scanning section of optical elements is formed into a noncircular shape. When defining that W is a space between specific light emitting portions farthest from an optical axis in the main scanning direction, La is an optical path length between an aperture stop and a specific optical surface closest to the light source unit among the noncircular optical surfaces of the incident optical system, f1 is a focal length of the incident optical system in the main scanning direction, and D is a light flux width in the main scanning direction of a light flux emitted from the specific light emitting portion in the main scanning direction on specific the optical surface, the equation 2D?|W·La/2f1|?D/8 is satisfied.

Abstract: A small zoom lens having a high zoom ratio and high optical performance over an entire zoom range is obtained. The zoom lens includes, in order from an object side to an image side: a first lens unit having a positive refractive power; a second lens unit having a negative refractive power; a third lens unit having a positive refractive power; a fourth lens unit having a negative refractive power; and a fifth lens unit having a positive refractive power, wherein intervals between the first lens unit, the second lens unit, the third lens unit, the fourth lens unit, and the fifth lens unit are changed during zooming, in which a focal length (fw) of an entire system at a wide angle end and a focal length (fn) of an n-th lens unit are set appropriately.

Abstract: A vertical and trench type insulated gate MOS semiconductor device is provided in which the surfaces of p-type channel regions and the surfaces of portions of an n-type semiconductor substrate alternate in the longitudinal direction of the trench between the trenches arranged in parallel, and an n+-type emitter region selectively formed on the surface of the p-type channel region is wide by the side of the trench and becomes narrow toward the center point between the trenches. This enables the device to achieve low on-resistance and enhanced turn-off capability.

Abstract: A teleconferencing apparatus includes the functions of a transmitting unit and a receiving unit and the transmitting unit transmits a sound signal formed from sound pick-up signals of a microphone array made up of microphones Mi (i=1 to N) and position information. The position information is provided by forming a plurality of sound pick-up beams directed in a specific direction and selecting the sound pick-up beam with the largest volume. In the receiving unit, a parameter calculation section sets a virtual sound source based on data of a reception signal and sets a delay parameter. A virtual sound source generation signal processing section forms a sound emission beam based on the parameters and outputs the beam to a loudspeaker SPi.

Abstract: The invention provides a switching power supply device which can detect a light load state on a pulse-by-pulse basis without worsening power efficiency. In a synchronous control circuit, for each timing of the turning-on of main switching elements, the delay time Tdif of the conduction timing of internal diodes Ds determined according to the magnitude of the load LD is detected by a comparator, a reference time pulse Tsrs having a prescribed time width is generated by a load judgment circuit, and the logical product of the two is generated by an AND circuit. By this means, the load is regarded as being a light load when the delay time Tdif is longer than the reference time pulse Tsrs, and the synchronous rectification MOSFETs Qs are not turned on.

Abstract: Each page image of image data including a plurality of pages is divided into a plurality of areas by block selection, and meta information associated with at least one of the coordinate position, size, and type of each of the plurality of areas is held. As a combining condition, at least a direction to retrieve areas to be combined is set, area combining processing for combining two or more areas which satisfy the combining condition of the plurality of areas of the image data into one area is executed, and information associated with the areas of the image data including the combined area is stored.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus has a function for adjusting the position at which a toner image is formed on a printing material, based upon amount of light reflected from a toner image that has been formed on an image carrier. The light-emitting unit emits light that irradiates the image carrier, and the detecting unit detects an amount of substrate-light reflected from the substrate of the image carrier. The determining unit determines whether the difference between the amount of substrate-light detected at a first point in time and the amount of substrate-light detected at a second point in time later than the first point in time is greater than a predetermined threshold value. The light-power control unit increases the amount of light in the light-emitting unit if the difference is greater than the predetermined threshold value.

Abstract: A semiconductor apparatus includes, below a high-voltage wiring, a p? diffusion layer in contact with an n drain buffer layer and a p+ diffusion layer in contact with a p? diffusion layer for reducing the electric field strength in an insulator film, which the high-voltage wiring crosses over. Reducing electric field strength in the insulator film prevents lowering of breakdown voltage of a high-voltage NMOSFET, break down of an interlayer insulator film, and impairment of isolation breakdown voltage of a device isolation trench. The semiconductor apparatus according to the invention facilitates bridging a high-voltage wiring from a high-voltage NMOSFET and such a level-shifting device to a high-voltage floating region crossing over a device isolation trench without impairing the breakdown voltage of the high-voltage NMOSFET, without breaking down the interlayer insulator film and without impairing the isolation breakdown voltage of the device isolation trench.

Abstract: It is possible to provide a sound emission and collection device having a compact configuration and being capable of suppressing a wraparound sound from a speaker to a microphone and improving the S/N ratio. In the sound emission and collection device, a plurality of speakers (11) have a sound emission surface arranged on the side surface of a case (1) so that a sound can be emitted in all circumferential directions of the sound emission and collection device. Each of the microphones (12) is arranged with the sound collection direction set in the center direction of the case (1). The microphone (12) and the speaker (11) have directivities opposing to each other. Accordingly, it is possible to minimize a wraparound sound from the speaker (11) to the microphone (12). Moreover, since the speaker (11) and the microphone (12) are arranged on circumferences of concentric circles, it is possible to obtain a compact configuration.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus comprising a touch screen which detects a touch input by a user detects the position and pressure of each of a plurality of pressed points corresponding to a plurality of touch inputs existing at the same time on a touch screen. Then, the front/rear overlap relationship of the plurality of objects displayed on the touch screen is changed based on the difference in pressure between the detected plurality of pressed points.

Abstract: Detection outputs value based on outputs of a sensor for detecting a depressed position of a pedal are input via the input section; meanwhile, a detection output value corresponding to a non-depressed state of the pedal is set as an offset value. The detection output value, input via the input section, is adjusted with the offset value, so as to provide an adjusted detection output value corresponding to an actual depressed amount of the pedal. The adjusted detection output value is converted into a control value corresponding to the depressed amount of the pedal. Thus, the offset value is variably set in accordance with an individual difference, aging, etc. of the pedal, so that the detection output value adjusted with such an offset value can be a value having unevenness in the sensor outputs, which may have occurred due to an individual difference, aging, etc. of the pedal, automatically compensated.

Abstract: A method of producing a device includes embedding trenches with an epitaxial layer having high crystallinity while a mask oxide film remains unremoved. An n-type semiconductor is formed on the surface of a silicon substrate, and a mask oxide film and a mask nitride film are formed on the surface of the n-type semiconductor. The mask laminated film is opened by photolithography and etching, and trenches are formed in the silicon substrate. The width of the remaining mask laminated film is narrowed and portions of the n-type semiconductor close to the opening ends of the trenches are exposed. The trenches are embedded with a p-type semiconductor and the surface of the mask laminated film is prevented from being covered with the p-type semiconductor. The p-type semiconductor is grown from the second exposed portions of the n-type semiconductor. V-shaped grooves are prevented from forming on the surface of the p-type semiconductor.

Abstract: The zoom lens which is compact and has high optical performance over the entire zoom range includes in order from an object side to an image side, a first lens unit having a negative refractive power, a second lens unit having a positive refractive power, and a third lens unit having a positive refractive power. Distances between the first to third lens units are varied during zooming. The second lens unit includes a lens element whose image side surface has a concave shape, a most object side positive lens element and a most image side positive lens element. Conditions of 0.4<d2a/D2<0.7, 0.5<f21/f2<1.3 and 3.2<(?2T·?3W)/(?2W·?3T)<5.0 are satisfied.

Abstract: A system and method is provided that dynamically creates, manipulates and transfers digital images over a communication network on a per request basis in an efficient manner, wherein the composition, format, presentation, and content of the digital images are determined by directives presented at the time of the request. The system includes a parser that takes a request and interprets it into a set of individualized operation commands that will, in sequence, be performed to create or alter an image. The commands derived from the parser are defined as a “job. One or more image processing engines may be called upon as the job is processed to perform requested image transformations. An output formatter takes the resulting processed image and converts it to the desired format stated in the request.

Abstract: Microphone arrays, which are formed by arranging a plurality of microphones, are provided on a front side and a rear side of a housing, respectively. A virtual focus is set for each of the microphone arrays in a direction opposite to a direction in which sound is picked-up sound signals picked up by the plurality of microphones are delayed such that distances to the virtual focus are the same, and the delayed sound signals are synthesized. Therefore, sound in a sound-pickup area of a predetermined angle on each of the front side and the rear side can be picked up at a high level, and even though there is a noise source in areas other than the sound-pickup area, noise from the noise source is not picked up.

Abstract: In an image formation system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses operates cooperatively as a single virtual device, an instruction is accepted that designates an application to be installed and an apparatus as the destination for installing the application. Based on the functions of the plurality of image forming apparatuses that constitute the virtual device, it is determined whether or not the application to be installed operates on the apparatus that is the installation destination. In accordance with the determined result, an apparatus as an installation destination for installing the application and an installation method are displayed to allow selection of the apparatus as the installation destination and the installation method.