Abstract: A parking assistance device includes a parking direction specification unit specifying a parking direction in a case where a subject vehicle is parked at a parking region, an obstacle detection unit detecting an obstacle, a detection range setting unit setting a detection range for detecting a bearing of the obstacle, a division unit dividing the detection range in a direction associated with the specified parking direction and generating plural divided ranges, a bearing calculation unit calculating a bearing of the detected obstacle, which is a bearing of a side surface of the obstacle which extends in the parking direction, for each of the divided ranges and calculating an average value of the bearings which are respectively calculated for the divided ranges, and a parking position setting unit setting a parking position where the subject vehicle is parked at the parking region based on the calculated average value.

Abstract: An adhered-substance detecting apparatus capable of detecting adhered substances such as water droplets, mud, and dust, including those with ambiguous outlines, which adhere to, for example, a lens for an imaging apparatus, and a vehicle system equipped with the adhered-substance detecting apparatus are provided.

Abstract: An adhered-substance detecting apparatus capable of detecting adhered substances such as water droplets, mud, and dust, including those with ambiguous outlines, which adhere to, for example, a lens for an imaging apparatus, and a vehicle system equipped with the adhered-substance detecting apparatus are provided.

Abstract: An in-vehicle device 4 includes an image acquisition unit 42 that acquires an image photographed by a camera 2 including a lens, a storage unit 7, a dirt detection unit 6 that detects dirt on the lens on the basis of the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 42 and that stores dirt region information indicating a region where the dirt exists in the image into the storage unit 7, a dirt removal information generation unit 8 that generates dirt removal information indicating a region where the dirt on the lens is removed, and a rewriting unit 12 that rewrites the dirt region information on the basis of the dirt removal information. Accordingly, it is possible to rewrite the dirt region information on the basis of the dirt removal information.

Abstract: A parking assistance device includes a parking direction specification unit specifying a parking direction in a case where a subject vehicle is parked at a parking region, an obstacle detection unit detecting an obstacle, a detection range setting unit setting a detection range for detecting a bearing of the obstacle, a division unit dividing the detection range in a direction associated with the specified parking direction and generating plural divided ranges, a bearing calculation unit calculating a bearing of the detected obstacle, which is a bearing of a side surface of the obstacle which extends in the parking direction, for each of the divided ranges and calculating an average value of the bearings which are respectively calculated for the divided ranges, and a parking position setting unit setting a parking position where the subject vehicle is parked at the parking region based on the calculated average value.

Abstract: An in-vehicle device 4 includes an image acquisition unit 42 that acquires an image photographed by a camera 2 including a lens, a storage unit 7, a dirt detection unit 6 that detects dirt on the lens on the basis of the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 42 and that stores dirt region information indicating a region where the dirt exists in the image into the storage unit 7, a dirt removal information generation unit 8 that generates dirt removal information indicating a region where the dirt on the lens is removed, and a rewriting unit 12 that rewrites the dirt region information on the basis of the dirt removal information. Accordingly, it is possible to rewrite the dirt region information on the basis of the dirt removal information.

Abstract: An aerosol spray gun used selectively in two spraying modes of small and large patterns is provided. The aerosol spray gun has a throttle valve, an air duct, and a coupling link. The throttle valve has an internal air duct for supplying pressurized air to a patterning air outlet which shapes a paint spraying stream jetted out from the aerosol spray gun, and has a movable valve element to which a compressed spring applies force to open the valve. The air duct created at the tip of the movable valve element supplies a small volume of air from the internal air duct to the patterning air outlet while the movable valve element seats on a valve seat. The coupling link, coupling the movable valve element to the trigger, has an elongated hole to disconnect the trigger from the movable valve element without cooperative relation between them from an initial stage where an operator begins to squeeze the trigger to an intermediate stage before the operator fully squeezes the trigger.

Abstract: An aerosol spray gun used selectively in two spraying modes of small pattern and large pattern and is provided which can be comprised of simple components. Aerosol spray gun 1 includes a throttle valve mechanism 35, an air duct 43, and a coupling link 45. The throttle valve mechanism 35 is provided in an internal air duct 23 for supplying pressurized air to a patterning air outlet 21 which shapes a paint spraying stream jetted out from the aerosol spray gun 1, and it has a movable valve element 39 to which a compressed spring 41 applies force to open the valve. The air duct 43 created at the tip of the movable valve element 39 supplies a small volume of air from the internal air duct 23 to the patterning air outlet 21 while the movable valve element 39 seats on a valve seat 37.

Abstract: An optical modulation device comprises scanning electrodes and signal electrodes disposed opposite to and intersecting with the signal electrodes, and an optical modulation material disposed between the electrodes, a pixel being formed at each intersection of the electrodes and showing a contrast depending on the polarity of a voltage applied thereto.

Abstract: An optical modulation element, in which a pixel surrounding a ferroelectric liquid crystal layer and an column shaped orientation layer is formed between a pair of electrodes. The orientation layer is formed by a high-molecular polymer in which an ultrafine granular conductive substance may be dispersed. External voltage applied across the electrodes in response to gradation signals performs gradation drivings.

Abstract: A liquid crystal device is constituted by a pair of oppositely disposed substrates including a first substrate having a uniaxial alignment characteristic and a second substrate having a non-uniaxial alignment characteristic and a liquid crystal disposed between the first and second substrates. The first and second substrates are controlled to have surface potentials providing a difference therebetween of less than 50 mV in terms of an absolute value at their liquid crystal-contacting surfaces. As a result, the liquid crystal device is provided with an improved symmetry of switching threshold while retaining a good liquid crystal alignment characteristic.

Abstract: Provided an image forming method comprising the steps of;forming electric charges on a recording layer by charging the recording medium comprising a conductive substrate and, provided thereon a photoconductive layer and a recording layer containing a polymeric liquid crystal compound, in this order;irradiating, after the step of charging, said recording medium with a light corresponding to an image information to move electric charges to said photoconductive layer; andwriting said image information by means of changing a birefringence of the recording layer caused by said movement of electric charges.

Abstract: An optical modulation device comprises scanning electrodes and signal electrodes disposed opposite to and intersecting with the signal electrodes, and an optical modulation material disposed between the electrodes, a pixel being formed at each intersection of the electrodes and showing a contrast depending on the polarity of a voltage applied thereto.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display device having a matrix of pixels in driven for gradational display with better temperature compensation and better flicker suppression by a driving method, wherein (a) a first voltage signal is applied to a pixel on a selected scanning line, the first voltage signal including a clear pulse, a writing pulse of a polarity opposite to that of the clear pulse and a correction pulse of a polarity opposite to that of the writing pulse, (b) a second voltage signal is applied to an associated pixel on a subsequent scanning line, the second voltage signal including a clear pulse, a writing pulse and a correction pulse of which polarities are respectively opposite to corresponding pulses of the first voltage signal, and (c) the correction pulse applied to the pixel on the selected scanning line is determined based on gradation data for the associated pixel on the subsequent scanning line, and the writing pulse applied to the pixel on the selected scanning line is determined based on gradation d

Abstract: An active matrix liquid crystal device is driven by sequentially applying a first scanning pulse to reset each pixel on a first selected line, a second scanning pulse to write each pixel on a second selected line and a third scanning pulse to provide a voltage signal which is equal to or less than the optical threshold value of the liquid crystal to each pixel on a third selected line. According to the driving method, the first, second and third selected lines are spaced at a predetermined number of lines from each other, and a sum of time integrated values of the applied voltage signals is or approaches zero.

Abstract: A liquid crystal device is constituted by a pair of oppositely disposed substrates including a first substrate having a uniaxial alignment characteristic and a second substrate having a non-uniaxial alignment characteristic and a liquid crystal disposed between the first and second substrates. The first and second substrates are controlled to have surface potentials providing a difference therebetween of less than 50 mV in terms of an absolute value at their liquid crystal-contacting surfaces. As a result, the liquid crystal device is provided with an improved symmetry of switching threshold while retaining a good liquid crystal alignment characteristic.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display device is constituted by a pair of oppositely disposed substrates each having a plurality of opposing electrodes, and a ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed between the substrates so as to form a plurality of pixels each composed by a combination of a pair of the opposing electrodes and the ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed therebetween. Each pixel is provided with regions of different polarity inversion threshold voltages, and at least one of the pair of opposing electrodes is provided with a plurality of regions having unevennesses at different densities including a region with a higher density of unevennesses corresponding to a region of a lower polarity inversion threshold voltage and a region with a lower density of unevennesses corresponding to a region of a higher polarity inversion threshold voltage.

Abstract: An optical modulation device comprises scanning electrodes and signal electrodes disposed opposite to and intersecting with the signal electrodes, and an optical modulation material disposed between the electrodes, a pixel being formed at each intersection of the electrodes and showing a contrast depending on the polarity of a voltage applied thereto.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an optical modulation device that maintains good contrast despite changes in temperature and is capable of performing stable display. A polarizer, a first and second modulator and an analyzer are provided. Each modulator is a chiral smectic liquid crystal layer held between two opposite substrates which have different orientation determining abilities. The chiral smectic liquid crystal layers have at least two stable alignment states and substantially the same temperature dependency and tilt angle. The molecular axis of the first modulator at one of the two stable alignment states is substantially parallel to a transmitting modulation axis of said polarizer and is substantially perpendicular to a transmitting polarizing axis of said analyzer, and a molecular axis at one of the two stable alignment states of said second modulator is substantially parallel to a transmitting polarization axis of said analyzer.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display device is constituted by a pair of oppositely disposed substrates each having a plurality of opposing electrodes, and a ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed between the substrates so as to form a plurality of pixels each composed by a combination of a pair of the opposing electrodes and the ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed therebetween. Each pixel is provided with regions of different polarity inversion threshold voltages, and at least one of the pair of opposing electrodes is provided with a plurality of regions having unevennesses at different densities including a region with a higher density of unevennesses corresponding to a region of a lower polarity inversion threshold voltage and a region with a lower density of unevennesses corresponding to a region of a higher polarity inversion threshold voltage.