Abstract: Provided are a magnetic tunnel junction dement suppressing diffusion and penetration of constituent elements between a hard mask film, and a magnetic tunnel junction film and a protection layer, and a method for manufacturing the magnetic tunnel junction element. The magnetic tunnel junction element has a configuration in which a non-magnetic insertion layer (7) including Ta or the like is inserted beneath a hard mask layer (8).

Abstract: To cope with requirements for strict accuracy of crankshafts while alleviating the task of controlling a forming process, a preliminary machining step (S117) is added before primary mass balance measurement (S118) prior to boring of center holes into opposite end surfaces of a crankshaft mold. In the preliminary machining step (S117), balance weight portions of the crankshaft mold are machined.

Abstract: Described herein are method and apparatus for producing instantly cookable pasta including various kinds of pasta and Chinese and Japanese noodles, and an encased instantly cookable pasta produced by such method and apparatus. According to the invention, part of raw dough of a starting mixture, which contains wheat flour as a major component, is subjected to preliminary steam-cooking, and then mixed with the remaining uncooked part of the starting mixture. The resulting mixture is then processed through shaping, steam-cooking and drying stages to obtain instantly cookable pasta, enshrouding the instantly cookable pasta product in a water-permeable casing before shipment. Due to suppression of thermal degeneration of gluten, the instantly cookable pasta possesses favorable resiliency and is free of the smell inherent to raw wheat flour and cohesion of individual pasta cords.

Abstract: A binary pattern signal producing apparatus for optical character recognition comprises a pre-scanning section for determining an area containing the information to be scanned, a scanning apparatus for producing a signal in accordance with the luminance of the scanning area, an automatic gain control circuit for controlling the level of the information signal in accordance with the level of a portion of the same information signal representing less than the entire scanned area, and a comparison circuit responsive to the output of the automatic gain control circuit for generating the binary pattern signal. In addition to or in place of a gate circuit which is used to provide only a portion of the information signal to the gain control terminal of the automatic gain control device, the apparatus may include noise eliminating circuitry for removing pulsive noise from the gain control signal.

Abstract: A current is applied to a thermistor or like heat sensitive element having a temperature-resistance characteristic to heat the heat sensitive element up to a temperature above the open air temperature and the heat sensitive element is held in the open air. Since the resistance value of the heat sensitive element varies with the amount of water vapor contained in the open air, the change in the resistance value is detected, from which the humidity of the open air is obtained. By temperature compensation, direct reading of absolute or relative humidity is made possible.

Abstract: An arrangement for detecting a window area of a window-having mail item is for use in combination with a device of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,341 for detecting addressee's addresses described on the mail items successively fed thereto by determining information positions of the respective postal information pieces including the addressee's names and addresses, senders' names and addresses, and so forth. Responsive to a point signal produced by the device to determine a point on each mail item and to the light incident on the window area from the device and approximately regularly reflected therefrom to be sensed by an optical sensor of the arrangement, a window position detector of the arrangement produces a window position signal representative of the window position relative to the window-having mail item.

Abstract: A character recognizing system for recognizing an input pattern of a character by comparing with a plurality of standard patterns is disclosed. The standard patterns are classified into a plurality of groups, and each group has a common standard pattern and a plurality of non-common standard patterns. The non-common standard patterns represent differences between the standard patterns and the common standard pattern. An input pattern read out by scanning a printed character is first compared with the common standard pattern of any group. When the difference between the input pattern and the common standard pattern is less than a predetermined value, the input pattern is compared with the non-common standard patterns in the same group.