Abstract: The polycarboxylic acid concrete admixture of the present invention exhibits properties such as decreasing the concrete viscosity, improving the slump-retaining ability, and suppressing bleeding water, and is improved in the ability to cement compositions or the like. The above-mentioned polycarboxylic acid concrete admixture comprises a polycarboxylic acid polymer containing a polyalkylene glycol in the side chain, wherein the polycarboxylic acid polymer is obtained by polymerizing monomer components containing an alkyl (meth)acrylate monomer and a specific polyalkylene glycol unsaturated monomer and unsaturated carboxylic acid (salt) monomer, and it has a specific weight average molecular weight.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention improve the efficiency of a cleaning process for cleaning a component part of a magnetic disk drive in a magnetic disk drive manufacturing line. According to one embodiment, a magnetic disk part cleaning apparatus is included in a head stack assembly (HSA) cleaning line for cleaning head stack assemblies of magnetic disk drives included in a magnetic disk drive manufacturing line. The magnetic disk part cleaning apparatus is disposed between a HSA assembly line for assembling a head stack assembly, and head disk assembly (HDA) assembly line for assembling a head disk assembly including the head stack assembly and is connected directly to at least either of the HSA assembly line and the HDA assembly line.

Abstract: There is provided a realtime processing software control method in which the priorities of plural states can be relatively described according to the necessities of realtime processing for the respective states, and design of state transitions and task priorities considering realtime property can be performed in the upstream design stage before specific execution times are clarified. For the respective states ([1]311˜[6]316) the control target equipment can take, realtime property flags (F1˜F6) indicating whether the processings in the respective states require realtime processing or not, and priority levels (P1˜P6) that are determined by the immediately preceding state and the current state, are set, and a task priority management unit (104) changes the priority of the task on the basis of the realtime property flag and the priority level, with the state transition of the control target equipment.

Abstract: The polycarboxylic acid concrete admixture of the present invention exhibits properties such as decreasing the concrete viscosity, improving the slump-retaining ability, and suppressing bleeding water, and is improved in the ability to cement compositions or the like. The above-mentioned polycarboxylic acid concrete admixture comprises a polycarboxylic acid polymer containing a polyalkylene glycol in the side chain, wherein the polycarboxylic acid polymer is obtained by polymerizing monomer components containing an alkyl (meth)acrylate monomer and a specific polyalkylene glycol unsaturated monomer and unsaturated carboxylic acid (salt) monomer, and it has a specific weight average molecular weight.

Abstract: Embodiments in accordance with the present invention provide straightening plates at the upstream side of a cleaning tank and a straightening plate at the downstream side of the object to be cleaned. Apertures are arranged in the planes of the respective straightening plates. An aperture ratio of the upstream straightening plates is set larger than the ratio of the downstream straightening plate. For example, the aperture ratio of the upstream straightening plate may be set at a value between 10% and 25%, and the aperture ratio of the downstream straightening plate is set at a value between 2.5% and 10%. With this, the flow of liquid in the cleaning chamber sandwiched between the upstream and downstream straightening plates can be brought to a pseudo-laminar flow. Contaminants separated from the object to be cleaned are moved quickly to the discharge chamber and are removed by a filter.

Abstract: In a conventional image forming apparatus, there is a problem in which setting information cannot be changed in power-saving mode. An image forming apparatus F1 includes an interface unit F12 that transmits and receives signals to and from a PC client even in power-saving mode, an information storage unit F14 that is supplied with power to become responsive when a request for changing a setting state is provided, and an SNMP control unit F11 that controls the information storage unit F14 upon request from the PC client. Therefore, by starting the information storage unit F14, it is possible to change the setting information, such as a specified emulation of the image forming apparatus and user account information recorded on the information storage unit F14 of the image forming apparatus F1.

Abstract: There is provided a device management system in which a management apparatus is connected, through a communication line, to a management target device which is managed by the management apparatus. When a counter value for the number of occurrences of changes in state information which is obtained from the management target device matches a counter value stored in storage means of the management apparatus, the management apparatus outputs an instruction to display state information which is stored in the storage means on display means. When it is determined that they do not match, the management apparatus outputs an instruction to display state information which is obtained from the management target device on the display means and stores the obtained state information and counter value in the storage means.

Abstract: A solid electrolyte type fuel battery in which a material for an interconnector for connecting cells of the solid electrolyte type fuel battery comprises a matrix of the general formula MTiO3, where M is an alkaline earth metal element such as Mg, Ca, Sr or Ba. This fuel battery can be produced by burning at a lower temperature of 1,300 to 1,400° C. than before, shows output performance comparable to or better than that of conventional devices, and has better durability and thermo cycle resistance characteristics than the conventional devices.

Abstract: A device control apparatus has a state processing task section 101 for determining an operation state of a device among a plurality of operation states of the device; a sequence processing task section 107 for running a processing program among a plurality of processing programs, and a task connecting section 111 for selecting the sequence processing program corresponding to the operation state of the device determined by the state processing task section to activate the sequence processing task section 107. In this arrangement, the sequence processing program can be easily written without considering an internal state transition processing, and the internal state transition processing and the sequence processing program can be freely designed without the need of modifying the sequence processing program due to change of the internal state transition processing.

Abstract: There is provided an electrophoretic device which comprises an electrophoretic layer containing dispersion medium and electrophoretic particles dispersed in the dispersion medium, controls the position of the electrophoretic particles according to the electric potential applied to electrodes, and can maintain the electrophoretic particles at a desired position for a long time by using the dispersion medium formed of mixture consisting of a plurality of substances having small mutual solubility.

Abstract: An abnormality management device for an image forming device is disclosed, in which the abnormality management device is connected via a network to an image forming device comprised of a plurality of selectively used paper supply units and/or paper discharge units and which manages abnormalities in the image forming device. The abnormality management device includes a display unit, an abnormality detection unit, and an abnormality display unit. The display unit displays an image of an image forming device on which the plurality of the paper supply units or paper discharge units can be identified. The abnormality detection unit detects abnormalities in the paper supply units or the paper discharge units based upon equipment data acquired from the image forming device. The abnormality display unit displays with emphasis the location of the paper supply unit or paper discharge unit in which an abnormality was detected by the abnormality detection unit on the image of the image forming device.

Abstract: In a housed state, a magnetic fluid 4 is positioned in a groove 11 and spaced from the outer circumference of a lens barrel 10, so that a fluorochemical surface modification film of the outer circumference of the lens barrel 10 can be prevented from deteriorating at a position to confront the magnetic fluid 4 in the housed state. Therefore, the deterioration of the fluorochemical surface modification film of the outer circumference of the lens barrel 10 does not proceed earlier at a local region, so that the premature wetting of the outer circumference of the lens barrel 10 with the magnetic fluid 4 can be prevented to elongate the lifetime of a light shielding device 1.

Abstract: There is provided a light shielding apparatus with a light shielding seal 1 that reduces a sliding resistance and, at the same time, improves light shielding property and realizes saving of a space. There is provided a light shielding structure that is provided between a plurality of members 13 and 14, which are arranged to be able to move relatively to each other spaced a predetermined distance apart, and is capable of preventing light from entering from a gap to be formed between these plurality of members 13 and 14, having magnetic force generating means 2 and 3 that are disposed in any one of the above-mentioned plurality of members 13 and 14 and magnetic fluid 4 which is magnetically held by the magnetic force generating means 2 and 3 and contacts the other member and shielding a gap, which is formed between the above-mentioned plurality of members 13 and 14, by the above-mentioned magnetic fluid 4.

Abstract: In a housed state, a magnetic fluid 4 is positioned in a groove 11 and spaced from the outer circumference of a lens barrel 10, so that a fluorochemical surface modification film of the outer circumference of the lens barrel 10 can be prevented from deteriorating at a position to confront the magnetic fluid 4 in the housed state. Therefore, the deterioration of the fluorochemical surface modification film of the outer circumference of the lens barrel 10 does not proceed earlier at a local region, so that the premature wetting of the outer circumference of the lens barrel 10 with the magnetic fluid 4 can be prevented to elongate the lifetime of a light shielding device 1.

Abstract: A magnetic head handling glove capable of preventing the buildup of static charges and electric charge leakage and capable of withstanding use in clean rooms is described. In the magnetic head handling glove 1 of the present invention, the outer surface alone or both the outer surface and inner surface of a conductive glove 2 are coated with dissipative material 3,4. This results in coating of the conductive glove with materials useable in clean rooms and may suppress possible contamination that can result when a conventional conductive glove, lacking in such coating of dissipative material, is used directly in a clean room. Besides this, the conductive glove 2 is configured to be grounded directly with wire 5. In this way, even an operator prone to the buildup of static charges can be sufficiently prevented from building up static electrical charges and electric charge leakage.

Abstract: There is provided an electrophoretic device which comprises an electrophoretic layer containing dispersion medium and electrophoretic particles dispersed in the dispersion medium, controls the position of the electrophoretic particles according to the electric potential applied to electrodes, and can maintain the electrophoretic particles at a desired position for a long time by using the dispersion medium formed of mixture consisting of a plurality of substances having small mutual solubility.

Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide ink jet recording sheets having a high color forming property and causing no troubles in carrying them in printers. In ink jet recording sheets having at least one ink receiving layer and a gloss developing layer coated by a cast coating method laminated in succession on one side of a support and a back-coat layer comprising a pigment and a binder on another side of the support, the static friction coefficient between the gloss developing layer and the back-coat layer is adjusted to 0.9 or lower under the conditions of 20° C. and 65%RH. Furthermore, the object can be attained by using an alumina hydrate as the pigment in the gloss developing layer and a specific pigment and a lubricant in the back-coat layer.

Abstract: This invention relates to processes for the production of a sintered body consisting of an intimate solid solution of Cr2O3 and Al2O3 by using inexpensive materials, as well as sintered bodies produced thereby. More specifically, it relates to processes for the production of a sintered body which comprises the steps of providing a powder mixture consisting essentially of Cr2O3 powder and Al2O3 powder each having an average particle diameter of not greater than 0.5 &mgr;m, or a powder mixture obtained by mixing the aforesaid powder mixture with 1.5 to 15% by weight of TiO2 powder having an average particle diameter of not greater than 0.5 &mgr;m, and sintering the powder mixture at a temperature of 1,350 to 1,600° C. in a vacuum atmosphere of 10−20 to 10−5 atm. to yield a sintered body consisting of an intimate solid solution of Cr2O3 and Al2O3 and having a relative density of not less than 95%, as well as sintered bodies produced thereby.

Abstract: A solid electrolyte type fuel battery in which a material for an interconnector for connecting cells of the solid electrolyte type fuel battery comprises a matrix of the general formula MTiO3, where M is an alkaline earth metal element such as Mg, Ca, Sr or Ba. This fuel battery can be produced by burning at a lower temperature of 1,300 to 1,400° C. than before, shows output performance comparable to or better than that of conventional devices, and has better durability and thermo cycle resistance characteristics than the conventional devices.

Abstract: A process for the preparation of a readily hydrolyzable and/or biodegradable polyhydroxycarboxylic acid resin which can be used in agricultural materials, gardening materials, fishery materials, caking materials, medical instruments and materials, etc. and, even when discarded after use, which undergoes hydrolysis and/or is biodegraded into carbon dioxide, water, etc. Also disclosed are a hydrolyzable and/or biodegradable polyhydroxycarboxylic acid resin composition having an increased resin strength and melt viscosity, and a process for the preparation thereof.