Abstract: The allergen inhibitor of this invention comprises at least one compound selected from the group consisting of an aromatic hydroxy compound, an alkali metal carbonate, alum, lauryl benzene sulfonate, lauryl sulfate, polyoxyethylene lauryl ether sulfate, and a divalent or more sulfate having either or both of a polyoxyethylene chain and a polyethylene chain in the molecule thereof.

Abstract: An optical fiber coupling part that reduces the difficulty in adjusting cores, minimizes coupling loss, and prevents optical characteristics from deteriorating. An optical fiber is fused to one end of a GRIN lens which includes a quartz glass containing one or more refractive index regulating substances selected from Sb2O3, Ta2O5, TiO2 or ZrO2. Optical characteristics are not deteriorated because an adhesive is not used, and self-alignment effects facilitate adjustment of the cores of the GRIN lens and the optical fiber. Furthermore, coupling loss can be minimized by setting a refractive index distribution constant g of the GRIN lens within an appropriate range.

Abstract: A fiber optic collimator system, a fiber optic collimator array, and a fiber optic collimator array system, which can reduce difficulty in an alignment process, minimize a coupling loss, and prevent the optical characteristics from deteriorating. An optical fiber is fused to one end of a GRIN lens made of quartz glass containing one or more selected from Sb2O3, Ta2O5, TiO2 and ZrO2 as a refractive index regulating substance, to form an optical fiber with a GRIN lens. Since an adhesive is not used, the core alignment of the GRIN lens and the optical fiber can be facilitated by a self alignment effect without deteriorating the optical characteristics. Moreover, the coupling loss is remarkably reduced by appropriately setting a refractive index distribution constant g of the GRIN lens.

Abstract: An optical fiber coupling part capable of reducing coupling loss while maintaining a large operating distance, and having a good module assembling property. AT least one GRIN lens having numerical aperture NA that is larger than numerical aperture NAs of a light-emitting source (such as a semiconductor laser) is fusion-spliced with one end of the optical fiber. All lights emitted from the light-emitting source can enter the GRIN lens, and the loss of the light can thereby be reduced. In addition, a second GRIN lens having numerical aperture NA2 is fusion-spliced with one end of the optical fiber having numerical aperture NAf, and further a first GRIN lens having numerical aperture NA1, which is larger than numerical aperture NA2, is fusion-spliced with the other end of the second GRIN lens. Thereby, the light emitted from the light-emitting source can efficiently enter the optical fiber, and loss of the light can thereby be reduced. In this case, the formula expressed by NAf?NA2<NAs?NA1 is desirable.

Abstract: There is provided a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet which has none of the offset of an antistatic agent, the transfer of the antistatic agent onto a carrier roll of a thermal printer or the like, a lowering in whiteness, glossiness, and sensitivity in printing of the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet, and a remarkable lowering in coating strength under high-humidity environmental conditions and thus can realize stable and excellent antistatic properties. The thermal transfer image-receiving sheet comprises a substrate sheet and a dye-receptive layer provided on at least one side of the substrate sheet. An electrically conductive layer is provided as at least one layer between the substrate sheet and the receptive layer, or as at least one layer on the substrate sheet in its side remote from the receptive layer. The electrically conductive layer comprises electrically conductive synthetic phyllosilicate.

Abstract: It is an object of the invention to provide a thermal transfer image receiving sheet which can enhance sensitivity by low heat conductivity and can be easily manufactured at a low cost compared with the lamination of a foaming film. In a thermal transfer image receiving sheet 1 wherein a thermal insulation layer 5 and a dye receiving layer 8 are formed on a base material sheet 2, the thermal insulation layer 5 is formed by extrusion-molding a resin containing at least one of a foaming agent and hollow bodies. The resin extruded at the time of forming the thermal insulation layer 5 is inserted between the base material sheet 2 and the base material film 6, and the base material sheet 2 and the base material film 6 are bonded to each other via the thermal insulation layer 5. The dye receiving layer 8 is formed outside of the base material film 6.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a GRIN lens includes the steps of forming a wet gel provided with a concentration distribution having a different concentration of a refractive index distribution imparting metal that differs in concentration in a radial direction, drying the wet gel to form a dry gel having a bulk specific gravity ? (g/cm3), sintering the dry gel to form a GRIN lens base material and stretching the GRIN lens base material while heating. The method is characterized in that, in the step of sintering the dry gel, partial pressures of oxygen during sintering at 800° C. or higher are 10?1 Pa or lower and also the relation between a rate of temperature increase ? (° C./hr) and a bulk density ? of the dry gel during sintering at 1,000 to 1,150° C. is defined by ??105*EXP (?12?). As a result of this, the GRIN lens, which has a large numerical aperture and a small diameter, can stably and easily be manufactured.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide an allergen suppressor exerting an effect of suppressing an allergen under humidities normally used, and an allergen-suppression processed fiber, which can suppress an allergen adhering to fibers automatically without applying an allergen-suppression process and a method of producing the same. That is, the present invention is an allergen, suppressor, which contains a hydrophilic polymer and a component suppressing an allergen.

Abstract: A fiber optic collimator system, a fiber optic collimator array, and a fiber optic collimator array system, which can reduce difficulty in an alignment process, minimize a coupling loss, and prevent the optical characteristics from deteriorating. An optical fiber is fused to one end of a GRIN lens made of quartz glass containing one or more selected from Sb2O3, Ta2O5, TiO2 and ZrO2 as a refractive index regulating substance, to form an optical fiber with a GRIN lens. Since an adhesive is not used, the core alignment of the GRIN lens and the optical fiber can be facilitated by a self alignment effect without deteriorating the optical characteristics. Moreover, the coupling loss is remarkably reduced by appropriately setting a refractive index distribution constant g of the GRIN lens.

Abstract: An antiallergen filter of the present invention is characterized in that a water-insoluble high-molecular weight anti-allergenic agent having a phenolic hydroxyl group and a moisture-absorbing material are carried on a filter. Because of using the water-insoluble high-molecular weight substance as an anti-allergenic agent, the antiallergen filter of the present invention is free from a problem that the anti-allergenic agent flows and drops or is detached from the filter due to moisture in the atmosphere, etc. even in a highly humid environment or the like. Further, since the moisture-absorbing material is carried on the filter, moisture that the anti-allergenic agent requires for adsorbing and capturing an allergen and inactivating its allergic activity can be effectively retained on the filter. Thus, the antiallergen filter of the present invention can effectively exert its anti-allergenic effect over a prolonged period of time.

Abstract: The present invention provides a thermal transfer image receiving sheet having a good productivity, capable of inexpensively obtaining an image with high density and high resolution. A dye receiving layer is provided on one surface side of a base material film, and a porous layer with hollow particles bonded by a binder resin provided on the other surface side, respectively. The porous layer is attached with a base material via an adhesive layer.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a receiving-layer-forming polyester resin for use in a thermal-transfer image-receiving sheet, comprising: not less than 70 mol % of isophthalic acid and not more than 30 mol % of terephthalic acid as acid components; and not less than 30 mol % of diols having an alicyclic structure and not more than 30 mol % of ethylene glycol as diol components, and a thermal-transfer image-receiving sheet with a receiving layer formed on at least one of surfaces of the substrate sheet, in which the receiving layer is formed by such a receiving-layer-forming polyester resin.

Abstract: Disclosed are a thermally transferable image protective sheet and a method for protective layer formation that can provide a protective layer which can protect an image of a record produced by a nonsilver photographic color hard copy recording method, can impart lightfastness and other properties to the record, and can realize a record having a glossy impression comparable to silver salt photographs. The thermally transferable image protective sheet comprises a support and a thermally transferable resin layer having a single-layer or multilayer structure stacked on the support so as to be separable from the support.

Abstract: To provide a curl straightening method for image receiving paper for sublimation dye transfer, which is capable of realizing a smaller roll core diameter of the roll paper. The curl of an image receiving paper 100 for sublimation dye transfer having stiffness from 500 to 2,500 mg in a direction parallel to the printing direction, which is measured according to JIS L1085, JIS L1096, is straightened by allowing the image receiving paper 100 to pass through gaps 4a, 5a of a guide 3 that bends the image receiving paper 100 in a reverse curling direction.

Abstract: There is provided a thermal transfer sheet which can surely prevent printing-derived cockling, fusing to a thermal head or the like caused by thermal head-derived thermal damage to a primer layer provided between a substrate sheet and a heat-resistant slip layer and, at the same time, can meet a demand for a reduction in thickness of the thermal transfer sheet and has a high level of suitability for high-speed printing. The thermal transfer sheet comprises: a substrate sheet; a colorant layer provided on one side of the substrate sheet; and a heat-resistant slip layer provided on the other side of the substrate sheet through a primer layer. The primer layer comprises a binder resin satisfying a G?a/G?b ratio value of not more than 100 wherein G?a represents the storage modulus of the binder resin at 80° C., Pa; and G?b represents the storage modulus of the binder resin at 140° C., Pa.

Abstract: An optical fiber coupling part capable of reducing coupling loss while maintaining a large operating distance, and having a good module assembling property. AT least one GRIN lens having numerical aperture NA that is larger than numerical aperture NAs of a light-emitting source (such as a semiconductor laser) is fusion-spliced with one end of the optical fiber. All lights emitted from the light-emitting source can enter the GRIN lens, and the loss of the light can thereby be reduced. In addition, a second GRIN lens having numerical aperture NA2 is fusion-spliced with one end of the optical fiber having numerical aperture NAf, and further a first GRIN lens having numerical aperture NA1, which is larger than numerical aperture NA2, is fusion-spliced with the other end of the second GRIN lens. Thereby, the light emitted from the light-emitting source can efficiently enter the optical fiber, and loss of the light can thereby be reduced. In this case, the formula expressed by NAf?NA2<NAs?NA1 is desirable.

Abstract: Disclosed are a thermally transferable image protective sheet and a method for protective layer formation that can provide a protective layer which can protect an image of a record produced by a nonsilver photographic color hard copy recording method, can impart lightfastness and other properties to the record, and can realize a record having a glossy impression comparable to silver salt photographs. The thermally transferable image protective sheet comprises a support and a thermally transferable resin layer having a single-layer or multilayer structure stacked on the support so as to be separable from the support.

Abstract: Disclosed are a thermally transferable image protective sheet and a method for protective layer formation that can provide a protective layer which can protect an image of a record produced by a nonsilver photographic color hard copy recording method, can impart lightfastness and other properties to the record, and can realize a record having a glossy impression comparable to silver salt photographs. The thermally transferable image protective sheet comprises a support and a thermally transferable resin layer having a single-layer or multilayer structure stacked on the support so as to be separable from the support.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for producing polyorganosiloxane particles through the step of hydrolyzing and condensing a silicon compound having a non-hydrolyzable group and a hydrolyzable alkoxyl group bonded to its silicon atom in the presence of a catalyst and thereby forming seed particles of polyorganosiloxane particles to obtain a seed-particles-containing solution and the step of adding a particle-diameter-growing aqueous solution containing the same silicon compound or a hydrolyzate thereof to the above seed-particles-containing solution to grow the above seed particles, the method comprising the step of obtaining the seed-particles-containing solution, in which particles are measured for a particle diameter continuously or at intervals of a constant time period and terminating the reaction at a time when an intended-particle diameter is reached.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a receiving-layer-forming polyester resin for use in a thermal-transfer image-receiving sheet, comprising: not less than 70 mol % of isophthalic acid and not more than 30 mol % of terephthalic acid as acid components; and not less than 30 mol % of diols having an alicyclic structure and not more than 30 mol % of ethylene glycol as diol components, and a thermal-transfer image-receiving sheet with a receiving layer formed on at least one of surfaces of the substrate sheet, in which the receiving layer is formed by such a receiving-layer-forming polyester resin.