Abstract: Describes herein are a microscope optical module, a microscope, a control device for the microscope optical module, and multiphoton excitation microscope, which can switch the observation field of view at high speed and observe a large field of view. The microscope optical module includes an optical-axis-shifting optical system having an optical element, an optical-axis-shifting optical system support for positioning the optical-axis-shifting optical system with respect to the objective light flux of the microscope, and a rotator arranged on the optical-axis-shifting optical system support, the rotator rotatably supporting the optical-axis-shifting optical system with respect to the optical axis of the objective light flux, wherein the microscope optical module is added to an objective light flux side of a microscope.

Abstract: The present invention has been made to solve the above problems by providing a microscope optical module, a microscope, a control device for the microscope optical module, and multiphoton excitation microscope, which can switch the observation field of view at high speed and observe a large field of view. A microscope optical module includes an optical-axis-shifting optical system having an optical element, an optical-axis-shifting optical system support means for positioning the optical-axis-shifting optical system with respect to the objective light flux of the microscope, and a rotating means arranged on the optical-axis-shifting optical system support means, the rotating means rotatably supporting the optical-axis-shifting optical system with respect to the optical axis of the objective light flux, wherein the microscope optical module is added to an objective light flux side of a microscope.

Abstract: To provide an electrolyte polymer for polymer electrolyte fuel cells, made of a perfluorinated polymer having sulfonic groups, characterized in that in a test of immersing 0.1 g of the polymer in 50 g of a fenton reagent solution containing 3% of an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution and 200 ppm of bivalent iron ions at 40° C. for 16 hours, the amount of eluted fluorine ions detected in the solution is not more than 0.002% of the total amount of fluorine in the polymer immersed. The electrolyte polymer of the present invention has very few unstable terminal groups and has an excellent durability, and therefore, is suitable as a polymer constituting an electrolyte membrane for polymer electrolyte fuel cells and a polymer contained in a catalyst layer.

Abstract: To obtain a nonwoven fabric which is excellent in the heat resistance and the chemical resistance, of which the fiber diameter is small, and which is excellent in the mechanical strength at a temperature at which it is used; and an electrolyte membrane which is excellent in the dimensional stability when it is swollen by water, and of which an increase in the resistance by a reinforcing material is suppressed. A nonwoven fabric 28 containing fibers 26 of an ethylene/tetrafluoroethylene copolymer having a storage elastic modulus E? at 25° C. of at least 8×108 Pa and a melt viscosity measured at 300° C. of higher than 60 Pa·s and at most 300 Pa·s, wherein the average fiber diameter of the fibers is from 0.01 to 3 ?m; and an electrolyte membrane reinforced by the nonwoven fabric 28.

Abstract: To provide a process whereby an ultrafine fiber of a fluorinated ion exchange resin can be produced easily at low cost, and a method whereby a catalyst layer having a high gas diffusion property can be produced easily at low cost.

Abstract: To obtain a nonwoven fabric which is excellent in the heat resistance and the chemical resistance, of which the fiber diameter is small, and which is excellent in the mechanical strength at a temperature at which it is used; and an electrolyte membrane which is excellent in the dimensional stability when it is swollen by water, and of which an increase in the resistance by a reinforcing material is suppressed. A nonwoven fabric 28 containing fibers 26 of an ethylene/tetrafluoroethylene copolymer having a storage elastic modulus E? at 25° C. of at least 8×108 Pa and a melt viscosity measured at 300° C. of higher than 60 Pa·s and at most 300 Pa·s, wherein the average fiber diameter of the fibers is from 0.01 to 3 ?m; and an electrolyte membrane reinforced by the nonwoven fabric 28.

Abstract: To provide an electrolyte polymer for polymer electrolyte fuel cells, made of a perfluorinated polymer having sulfonic groups, characterized in that in a test of immersing 0.1 g of the polymer in 50 g of a fenton reagent solution containing 3% of an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution and 200 ppm of bivalent iron ions at 40° C. for 16 hours, the amount of eluted fluorine ions detected in the solution is not more than 0.002% of the total amount of fluorine in the polymer immersed. The electrolyte polymer of the present invention has very few unstable terminal groups and has an excellent durability, and therefore, is suitable as a polymer constituting an electrolyte membrane for polymer electrolyte fuel cells and a polymer contained in a catalyst layer.

Abstract: To provide an electrolyte polymer for polymer electrolyte fuel cells, made of a perfluorinated polymer having sulfonic groups, characterized in that in a test of immersing 0.1 g of the polymer in 50 g of a fenton reagent solution containing 3% of an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution and 200 ppm of bivalent iron ions at 40° C. for 16 hours, the amount of eluted fluorine ions detected in the solution is not more than 0.002% of the total amount of fluorine in the polymer immersed. The electrolyte polymer of the present invention has very few unstable terminal groups and has an excellent durability, and therefore, is suitable as a polymer constituting an electrolyte membrane for polymer electrolyte fuel cells and a polymer contained in a catalyst layer.

Abstract: To provide a process whereby an ultrafine fiber of a fluorinated ion exchange resin can be produced easily at low cost, and a method whereby a catalyst layer having a high gas diffusion property can be produced easily at low cost.

Abstract: A thickened ion exchange polymer dispersion is obtained by applying ultrasonic vibration or a shearing force to an ion exchange polymer dispersion having a fluorinated polymer having sulfonic acid groups as an ion exchange polymer uniformly dispersed in a dispersion medium so that the viscosity of the dispersion at 25° C. at a shear rate of 10 (1/s) increases 2-2000 times in a thickening step. When formed into a membrane, the dispersion can forms an ion exchange membrane having a uniform and small thickness, high strength, which is free from cracking and shows constant swelling in water and steam. Further, a layer formed by applying a coating solution containing this dispersion and a catalyst powder comprising catalyst metal particles and a carbon support loaded with the catalyst metal particles to a substrate can be used to prepare a membrane-electrode assembly as a catalyst layer for at least one of the cathode and the anode by providing the catalyst layer adjacently to an ion exchange membrane.

Abstract: To provide an electrode for a polymer electrolyte membrane having high gas diffusion performance, a membrane/electrode assembly, and a process for producing a nonwoven structure for a catalyst layer, which can produce the membrane/electrode assembly inexpensively and easily. The catalyst layer 11 of the electrode comprises a nonwoven structure of an ion-exchangeable fluoropolymer fiber, wherein the fiber diameter of the fiber is from 0.1 to 30 ?m, and the bulk density of the nonwoven structure is from 0.1 to 1.1 g/cc. The nonwoven structure is produced by forming fiber from a fiber spinning stock solution containing the ion-exchangeable fluoropolymer by an electrical field fiber spinning method, followed by gathering the fiber. A catalyst is blended in the fiber spinning stock solution or is adhered on the nonwoven structure.

Abstract: The present invention provides a membrane-electrode assembly for polymer electrolyte fuel cells and a polymer electrolyte fuel cell having excellent dimensional stability and mechanical strength, and having high durability at the time of a power generation. Each of polymer electrolyte membranes (111, 211, 311) have a region 1 having proton conductivity over the entirety in the thickness direction of the membrane and a region 2 located at the outer peripheral portion of the region 1 and having a non-porous sheet disposed so that the region 2 has no proton conductivity over the entirety in the thickness direction of the membrane, and outer edges of the catalyst layers (127, 128) are disposed so as to be located in the area 2.

Abstract: To provide an electrolyte polymer for polymer electrolyte fuel cells, made of a perfluorinated polymer having sulfonic groups, characterized in that in a test of immersing 0.1 g of the polymer in 50 g of a fenton reagent solution containing 3% of an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution and 200 ppm of bivalent iron ions at 40° C. for 16 hours, the amount of eluted fluorine ions detected in the solution is not more than 0.002% of the total amount of fluorine in the polymer immersed. The electrolyte polymer of the present invention has very few unstable terminal groups and has an excellent durability, and therefore, is suitable as a polymer constituting an electrolyte membrane for polymer electrolyte fuel cells and a polymer contained in a catalyst layer.

Abstract: To provide an electrolyte polymer for polymer electrolyte fuel cells, made of a perfluorinated polymer having sulfonic groups, characterized in that in a test of immersing 0.1 g of the polymer in 50 g of a fenton reagent solution containing 3% of an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution and 200 ppm of bivalent iron ions at 40° C. for 16 hours, the amount of eluted fluorine ions detected in the solution is not more than 0.002% of the total amount of fluorine in the polymer immersed. The electrolyte polymer of the present invention has very few unstable terminal groups and has an excellent durability, and therefore, is suitable as a polymer constituting an electrolyte membrane for polymer electrolyte fuel cells and a polymer contained in a catalyst layer.

Abstract: A data input means inputs boundary data of an object to a computer, a data converting means converts the boundary data into a triangle patch having a phase, an associating means divides a space into rectangular parallelepiped cells having boundary planes intersecting perpendicularly and associates the cell with a triangle to be included in the cell, a dividing/arranging means divides a triangle patch having a phase and floating in the space at cell faces and keeps all triangles arranged within and on the boundaries of cells, a ridge line integrating means integrates ridges that do not alter the phase, a cell assigning means assigns each triangle and its vertex to a cell with reference to index data of the vertex, and a labeling means sets an attribute value of each cell.

Abstract: A data input means inputs boundary data of an object to a computer, a data converting means converts the boundary data into a triangle patch having a phase, an associating means divides a space into rectangular parallelepiped cells having boundary planes intersecting perpendicularly and associates the cell with a triangle to be included in the cell, a dividing/arranging means divides a triangle patch having a phase and floating in the space at cell faces and keeps all triangles arranged within and on the boundaries of cells, a ridge line integrating means integrates ridges that do not alter the phase, a cell assigning means assigns each triangle and its vertex to a cell with reference to index data of the vertex, and a labeling means sets an attribute value of each cell.

Abstract: To provide an electrolyte polymer for polymer electrolyte fuel cells, made of a perfluorinated polymer having sulfonic groups, characterized in that in a test of immersing 0.1 g of the polymer in 50 g of a fenton reagent solution containing 3% of an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution and 200 ppm of bivalent iron ions at 40° C. for 16 hours, the amount of eluted fluorine ions detected in the solution is not more than 0.002% of the total amount of fluorine in the polymer immersed. The electrolyte polymer of the present invention has very few unstable terminal groups and has an excellent durability, and therefore, is suitable as a polymer constituting an electrolyte membrane for polymer electrolyte fuel cells and a polymer contained in a catalyst layer.

Abstract: The present invention provides a membrane-electrode assembly for polymer electrolyte fuel cells and a polymer electrolyte fuel cell having excellent dimensional stability and mechanical strength, and having high durability at the time of a power generation. Each of polymer electrolyte membranes (111, 211, 311) have a region 1 having proton conductivity over the entirety in the thickness direction of the membrane and a region 2 located at the outer peripheral portion of the region 1 and having a non-porous sheet disposed so that the region 2 has no proton conductivity over the entirety in the thickness direction of the membrane, and outer edges of the catalyst layers (127, 128) are disposed so as to be located in the area 2.

Abstract: A process cartridge mounting and demounting mechanism detachably mounts a process cartridge to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The mechanism includes an opening through which the process cartridge is mounted and demounted; an opening and closing member for opening and closing the opening; a cartridge mounting member for demountably mounting the process cartridge; and a mounting member holder for movably holding the cartridge mounting member in interrelation with an operation of the opening and closing member at a first position in which the process cartridge is detachably mountable with the opening and closing member being in an open state and at a second position in which the process cartridge is capable of operation for image formation with the opening and closing member being in a closing state.

Abstract: A thickened ion exchange polymer dispersion is obtained by applying ultrasonic vibration or a shearing force to an ion exchange polymer dispersion having a fluorinated polymer having sulfonic acid groups as an ion exchange polymer uniformly dispersed in a dispersion medium so that the viscosity of the dispersion at 25° C. at a shear rate of 10 (1/s) increases 2-2000 times in a thickening step. When formed into a membrane, the dispersion can forms an ion exchange membrane having a uniform and small thickness, high strength, which is free from cracking and shows constant swelling in water and steam. Further, a layer formed by applying a coating solution containing this dispersion and a catalyst powder comprising catalyst metal particles and a carbon support loaded with the catalyst metal particles to a substrate can be used to prepare a membrane-electrode assembly as a catalyst layer for at least one of the cathode and the anode by providing the catalyst layer adjacently to an ion exchange membrane.