Abstract: Provided is an air conditioner including an indoor unit provided with a microphone element for receiving voice instructions, such that a voice instruction spoken by an operator is acquired with high quality and control based on the voice instruction spoken by the operator is likely to be ensured. The air conditioner includes an indoor unit, a transmission unit, and a reception unit. The indoor unit has a main body and a microphone element. The main body has formed therein a blow-out port through which air-conditioned air is blown out toward a space to be air-conditioned. The microphone element accepts a voice instruction captured from a voice capturing portion arranged at a position that deviates from a ventilation space through which the air blown out from the blow-out port flows, in such a manner as to face the space to be air-conditioned. The transmission unit transmits the voice instruction accepted by the microphone element to an outside as a signal.

Abstract: A laser beam machine includes a number of laser modules that each generate a laser beam and a combiner that collects a plurality of laser beams generated from the laser modules to output one laser beam. The laser beam machine further includes a plurality of driving power supplies that supply power to the laser modules, respectively, a calculation device that calculates a driving condition for each of the laser modules according to a received machining condition, and a power-supply control apparatus that causes the driving power supplies to supply power to the laser modules in accordance with the driving condition. The calculation device controls the power-supply control apparatus to reduce differences in integrated laser-output times of the laser beams generated by the laser modules.

Abstract: A laser beam machine includes a number of laser modules that each generate a laser beam and a combiner that collects a plurality of laser beams generated from the laser modules to output one laser beam. The laser beam machine further includes a plurality of driving power supplies that supply power to the laser modules, respectively, a calculation device that calculates a driving condition for each of the laser modules according to a received machining condition, and a power-supply control apparatus that causes the driving power supplies to supply power to the laser modules in accordance with the driving condition. The calculation device controls the power-supply control apparatus to reduce differences in integrated laser-output times of the laser beams generated by the laser modules.

Abstract: The laser machining apparatus includes a transmission fiber that transmits laser light emitted from a laser oscillator through the fiber, a machining head that emits the laser light, which is sent from the transmission fiber, vertically to a main surface of a machining object and sends reflected light, which is reflected coaxially with the laser light by the machining object, to the transmission fiber, a reflected light monitoring unit that detects a reflected light intensity of the reflected light sent from the transmission fiber, and a control device that controls the laser oscillator and the machining head, in which the control device includes a determining unit that, at a time when laser machining is started, determines whether the machining object corresponds to a machining condition or not in laser machining on the basis of the reflected light intensity.

Abstract: A semiconductor laser apparatus, including: a beam divergence angle correction optical system for correcting a divergence angle of beams generated from light emitting points of a semiconductor laser bar; a beam rotation optical system for rotating the beams each having the corrected divergence angle; a wavelength dispersion optical element having a wavelength dispersion function; and a partial reflection mirror. A relative position of the beam divergence angle correction optical system with respect to the light emitting point in a divergence angle correction direction is changed for each light emitting point.

Abstract: A semiconductor laser apparatus, including: a beam divergence angle correction optical system for correcting a divergence angle of beams generated from light emitting points of a semiconductor laser bar; a beam rotation optical system for rotating the beams each having the corrected divergence angle; a wavelength dispersion optical element having a wavelength dispersion function; and a partial reflection mirror. A relative position of the beam divergence angle correction optical system with respect to the light emitting point in a divergence angle correction direction is changed for each light emitting point.

Abstract: The laser machining apparatus includes a transmission fiber that transmits laser light emitted from a laser oscillator through the fiber, a machining head that emits the laser light, which is sent from the transmission fiber, vertically to a main surface of a machining object and sends reflected light, which is reflected coaxially with the laser light by the machining object, to the transmission fiber, a reflected light monitoring unit that detects a reflected light intensity of the reflected light sent from the transmission fiber, and a control device that controls the laser oscillator and the machining head, in which the control device includes a determining unit that, at a time when laser machining is started, determines whether the machining object corresponds to a machining condition or not in laser machining on the basis of the reflected light intensity.

Abstract: The machining device is equipped with a fiber laser oscillator for oscillating laser light of a top hat shape, and a light collecting lens and a machining head for collecting the laser light of the top hat shape and emitting the laser light onto a machining target such that the beam diameter of the laser light of the top hat shape at a position where light intensity becomes the one corresponding to a machining threshold of the machining target is about three times the size of the beam diameter of laser light in a Gaussian mode at the same position, when the laser light in the Gaussian mode has a beam quality substantially the same as that of the laser light of the top hat shape.

Abstract: A wavelength conversion laser for generating sum frequency laser beam comprising a laser resonator, a solid-state laser active medium, a second harmonic generation wavelength conversion crystal and a sum frequency generation wavelength conversion crystal, wherein the length of the second harmonic generation wavelength conversion crystal along the optical axis is set to be shorter than that of the sum frequency generation wavelength conversion crystal.

Abstract: In a resonating-type solid-state laser oscillator including a birefringent solid-state element containing a laser active medium and providing a plurality of thermal lenses during excitation and reflecting mirrors arranged oppositely to each other on both sides of the solid-state element so that their optical axes are coincident to each other, a prescribed relationship is given among the refractive index and length of the solid-state element, the radii of curvature of the reflection mirrors, the distances between the reflecting mirrors and the solid-state element and the difference between plural thermal lenses by refringence of the solid-state element so that oscillation areas due to the plurality of thermal lenses are separated from each other.

Abstract: In a resonating-type solid-state laser oscillator including birefringent a solid-state element containing a laser active medium and providing a plurality of thermal lenses during excitation and reflecting mirrors arranged oppositely to each other on both sides of the solid-state element so that their optical axes are coincident to each other, a prescribed relationship is given among the refractive index and length of the solid-state element, the radii of curvature of the reflection mirrors, the distances between the reflecting mirrors and the solid-state element and the difference between 1/f of the plurality of thermal lenses by owing to birefringence of the solid-state element, so that oscillation areas due to the plurality of thermal lenses are separated from each other.

Abstract: An optical transmission device has an graded index optical fiber having a diameter .phi..sub.s of a core of the optical fiber, a refraction index n.sub.0 at a center of the core, and a difference .DELTA.n between refraction indexes of the center of the core and a peripheral section of the core; and an optical fiber incident system having a smallest focussed point at or near an incident side plane in said optical fiber through which the laser beam being introduced, and a diameter .phi..sub.in Of the laser beam at said incident side plane of said optical fiber having a following relationship: 0.5.phi..sub.s .ltoreq..phi..sub.in .ltoreq.2.phi..sub.s, and .phi..sub.s =(.phi..sub.c .phi..sub.0 .theta.(2n.sub.0 .DELTA.n).sup.-1/2).sup.1/2, where a diameter and an opening angle of the laser beam waist are .phi..sub.0 and 2.theta.. A solid state laser device has an graded index optical fiber in which the diameter .phi..sub.in of the laser beam at the optical fiber side having the following relationship: 0.5.phi..sub.

Abstract: A laser apparatus includes an unstable resonator having a total reflection mirror and a take-out mirror, and further includes shading means for shading a disturbed phase portion of a laser beam so as to derive exclusively a light having a uniform phase by shading the disturbed phase portion of the beam emitted from the resonator or the beam in the resonator.

Abstract: There is disclosed a magnetic recording medium having the excellent electromagnetic conversion properties and an improved Young's modulus of a magnetic layer, wherein the magnetic layer contains a binder comprising a polyurethane resin having a polycaprolactone structural unit and a vinyl chloride resin having --SO.sub.3 M, --COOM, --OSO.sub.3 M, ##STR1## wherein M represents hydrogen, lithium, sodium or potassium.

Abstract: There is disclosed a magnetic recording medium having excellent dispersability of ferromagnetic powder and ensuring stable production as well as excellent durability and electromagnetic conversion properties. The recording medium comprises a non-magnetic support and provided thereon at least one magnetic layer containing a ferromagnetic compound, wherein at least one of the magnetic layers contains:a fatty ester of 0.05 to 2 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the magnetic powder and,a binder composed of a urethane resin prepared from isocyanate and polyesterpolyol comprising carboxylic acid and diol represented by the following Formula I: ##STR1## wherein R represents a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms; and R' represents a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, provided that the total number of carbon atoms included in R and R' is 3 to 10 and that at least one of R and R' is a branched alkyl group having 3 or more carbon atoms.