Abstract: There is provided a method of manufacturing an image sensor unit, the image sensor unit including: a linear light source that illuminates a document along a main scanning direction; a rod lens array that includes a plurality of rod lenses arranged in the main scanning direction and condenses a light reflected from the document; and a linear image sensor that receives a light condensed by the rod lens array. When a rod lens having an optically discontinuous portion on a surface and/or interior of the rod lens is included, the rod lens array is arranged such that the optically discontinuous portion is not located toward the document.

Abstract: There is provided a method of manufacturing an image sensor unit, the image sensor unit including: a linear light source that illuminates a document along a main scanning direction; a rod lens array that includes a plurality of rod lenses arranged in the main scanning direction and condenses a light reflected from the document; and a linear image sensor that receives a light condensed by the rod lens array. When a rod lens having an optically discontinuous portion on a surface and/or interior of the rod lens is included, the rod lens array is arranged such that the optically discontinuous portion is not located toward the document.

Abstract: There is provided a method of manufacturing an image sensor unit, the image sensor unit including: a linear light source that illuminates a document along a main scanning direction; a rod lens array that includes a plurality of rod lenses arranged in the main scanning direction and condenses a light reflected from the document; and a linear image sensor that receives a light condensed by the rod lens array. When a rod lens having an optically discontinuous portion on a surface and/or interior of the rod lens is included, the rod lens array is arranged such that the optically discontinuous portion is not located toward the document.

Abstract: There is provided a method of manufacturing an image sensor unit, the image sensor unit including: a linear light source that illuminates a document along a main scanning direction; a rod lens array that includes a plurality of rod lenses arranged in the main scanning direction and condenses a light reflected from the document; and a linear image sensor that receives a light condensed by the rod lens array. When a rod lens having an optically discontinuous portion on a surface and/or interior of the rod lens is included, the rod lens array is arranged such that the optically discontinuous portion is not located toward the document.

Abstract: There are provided a glass melting apparatus and a glass melting method which are capable of uniformly melting glass materials and shortening or dispensing with a fining process. The glass melting apparatus 200 is comprised of an oscillator 201 having a gyrotron 202 disposed therein for emitting high-frequency waves of 28 GHz, a circular waveguide 203 for transmitting the millimeter waves from the oscillator 201, an applicator 204 having a ceramic furnace 111 disposed therein, and a CPU 205 controlling a thermocouple 206 for measuring the temperature of molten glass within the furnace 111 and a power supply panel 207 for supplying electric power to the oscillator 201. The furnace 111 has an upper part thereof formed with a batch inlet port 112 through which a mixture of glass materials (hereinafter referred to as “the batch”) is charged, and a lower part thereof formed with an outlet end 113 through which the batch melted uniformly by dielectric heating within the furnace 111 is dropped into a bus 121.

Abstract: A forced cooling apparatus (1) for use in the production of a tempered glass sheet includes an air-quench unit (9) for blasting cooling air against opposite surfaces of a glass sheet to quench the glass sheet, the glass sheet having been heated at a predetermined temperature, and a contact quenching unit (10) disposed downstream of the air-quench unit and equipped with a water-retentive member wet with water, the contact quenching unit being operative to cause the water-retentive member to contact the opposite surfaces of the glass sheet to further quench the glass sheet. Also disclosed are a tempered glass sheet producing method in which the forced cooling apparatus may be used and a tempered sheet glass which is produced by using a modified form of the contact quenching unit are also disclosed.

Abstract: Nondestructive method of electromagnetically detecting flaws in a metallic object, comprising: placing an object to be tested for flaws adjacent a sensing head which comprises a portion of a sensor ring made of electrically conductive material and arranged inside an electromagnetic coupling coil excited by a high frequency current; causing the object and the sensing head to move relative to each other so that a flaw in the object causes the impedance of the coil to change; and detecting the change of the impedance.An apparatus for carrying out the method is also provided.

Abstract: Apparatus for automatically detecting and eliminating flaws on slabs or billets which comprises a single flaw detector for successively scanning the surfaces of objects to be examined to produce detection signals corresponding to the flaws detected on the objects; a plurality of storage units each of which separately stores the detection signals obtained from scanning of one of said objects; and a plurality of flaw eliminators to each of which one of said objects that have been scanned by said detector is transferred so that each of said eliminators scans the surface of said transferred object to eliminate the flaws thereon in accordance with the detection signals stored in the corresponding one of said storage units.

Abstract: Apparatus for automatically detecting and eliminating flaws on slabs or billets which comprises a flaw detector and a grinder both mounted on a common carriage reciprocable alongside the slab or billet under inspection. The detector and the grinder are movable relative to the carriage and consequently the object under inspection so that as the carriage reciprocates, the detector scans the surface of the slab or billet, with the grinder following the scanning locus of the detector a predetermined distance behind on the scanning line, ready to eliminate the flaw detected by the detector.