Abstract: A imaging-device driving unit, comprising a signal generator, a detector, and a controller, is provided. The imaging-device driving unit drives an imaging device that has a charge-transfer channel. The charge-transfer channel transfers the signal charges at a speed according to a frequency of a channel-driving signal. The signal generator generates one among a normal transfer signal, and a first and second discharge signals. The first discharge signal is the channel-driving signal whose frequency is determined for discharging an electrical charge remaining in the charge-transfer channel and greater than that of the normal transfer signal. The detector detects a remaining power. The controller orders the signal generator to generate the first discharge signal if the electrical charges remaining in the charge-transfer channel should be discharged and the remaining power is less than a threshold.

Abstract: The present invention provides a door mirror for an automobile, in which molding errors are made difficult to occur in a housing and assembling accuracy between the housing and a lamp assy is improved. A housing applied to the door mirror for an automobile is divided into two parts, that is, an upper housing located on the upper side and a lower housing located on the lower side, and a lamp assy constituting a side-turn lamp is disposed between the upper housing and the lower housing. Since the housing is divided vertically into two parts, materials or colors of the upper housing and the lower housing can be made different so that a texture and an appearance of the housing can be easily changed. Moreover, assembling errors between the housing and the lamp assy due to deformation by injection molding or thermal deformation applied during painting can hardly occur, and a gap can be hardly generated between the housing and the lamp assy on the surface side of the housing.

Abstract: A fixing apparatus for fixing a probe card to a holder includes a screw fixed to the holder and binding the probe card onto the holder in a vertical direction, a first bearing member intervening between a head of the screw and the probe card and allowing expansion and contraction of the probe card with respect to the screw in a horizontal direction, and a second bearing member intervening between the probe card and the holder and allowing expansion and contraction of the probe card with respect to the holder in the horizontal direction.

Abstract: A workpiece cutting method utilizing a band-saw machine, includes the following steps of: guiding tooth tips of an endless band-saw blade provided on the band-saw machine in a direction of a workpiece by a band-saw blade guiding apparatus; and applying vibrations to the band-saw blade in a cutting direction to the workpiece so as to perform cutting of the workpiece by a vibration applying unit provided on the band-saw blade guiding apparatus.

Abstract: A board terminal is formed by cutting a metal wire material at a predetermined length, the metal wire material having a cross-sectional shape similar to and slightly larger than a terminal holding hole. A press-fit portion press-fitted to the terminal holding hole is pressure-forged in a direction orthogonal to an axis. Thereby, a tapered portion and a stepped edge portions are provided on both sides of the pressure-forging direction, the tapered portion tapering toward a press-fit direction, the stepped edge portion being provided to an end side of the tapered portion. Further, externally projected portions are provided to both sides of the press-fit portion in the direction orthogonal to the axis which is orthogonal to the pressure-forging direction.

Abstract: Cap for a testing device. The cap includes a lancet movably mounted within the cap and a skin-engaging end having an opening that allows a portion of a needle of the lancet to pass therethrough. A test strip may be arranged on the cap. This Abstract is not intended to define the invention disclosed in the specification, nor intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way.

Abstract: An intake manifold includes a manifold case having an intake passage. A valve is arranged in the intake passage. The valve is rotatable about its proximal end so as to partly close the intake passage. When the valve partly closes the intake passage, a clearance is formed between a wall surface defining the intake passage and a distal end of the valve. The clearance connects a section of the intake passage upstream of the valve and a section of the intake passage downstream of the valve to each other. When the valve partly closes the intake passage, each of side edges of the valve comes in surface-to-surface contact with a portion of the intake passage wall surface that faces the side edge of the valve, thereby airtightly sealing the spaces between the side edges of the valve and the wall surface of the intake passage.

Abstract: A digital camera having an image mover includes a controller, a location information inputter, an orientation information inputter, a focal length information inputter, and an exposure time setter which sets an exposure time for which a celestial body image is exposed to an image sensor. The controller calculates a movement path of the celestial body image, which moves relative to the photographing optical system due to the rotation of the earth within the exposure time, using the location information that is input to the controller via the location information inputter, and the azimuth information and the altitude information that are input to the controller via the orientation information inputter. The controller drives the image mover in accordance with the calculated movement path to move the image sensor in a manner such that the image of the celestial body remains at a stationary position on the image sensor.

Abstract: A drive device is provided having a movable part, a fixed part, a drive part, and a direction-detecting part. The fixed part is provided within a movement range of the movable part. The drive part drives the movable part in a first direction against the fixed part. The direction-detecting part detects the bound direction of the movable part after the movable part strikes the fixed part. The drive part drives the movable part so as to strike the fixed part according to the bound direction detected by the direction-detecting part after the movable part strikes the fixed part.

Abstract: An organic luminescence includes pixel electrodes. Banks are each generally between adjacent ones of the pixel electrodes. The banks define apertures that each correspond to one of the pixel electrodes. An organic luminescent layer is within each of the apertures, and an upper electrode is above the banks and the organic luminescent layer. At least a portion of a periphery of each of the apertures includes curved portions and cusps. The curved portions are concave, and adjacent ones of the curved portions define each of the cusps.

Abstract: The present invention is intended to realize a screen configuration according to a propagation environment and display capability by causing a server to transmit a plurality of pieces of screen configuration information describing a spatial arrangement of contents to a reception terminal and select, when the reception terminal receives a plurality of pieces of screen configuration information, screen configuration information and display the contents according to the propagation environment of the reception terminal and conditions such as display capability.

Abstract: Fused silica glass having an internal transmittance of UV with 245 nm wavelength, being at least 95% at 10 mm thickness, a OH content of not larger than 5 ppm, and a content of Li, Na, K, Mg, Ca and Cu each being smaller than 0.1 ppm. Preferably the glass has a viscosity coefficient at 1215° C. of at least 1011.5 Pa·s; and a Cu ion diffusion coefficient of not larger than 1×10?10 cm2/sec in a depth range of greater than 20 ?m up to 100 ?m, from the surface, when leaving to stand at 1050° C. in air for 24 hours. The glass is made by cristobalitizing powdery silica raw material; then, fusing the cristobalitized silica material in a non-reducing atmosphere. The glass exhibits a high transmittance of ultraviolet, visible and infrared rays, has high purity and heat resistance, and exhibits a reduced diffusion rate of metal impurities, therefore, it is suitable for various optical goods, semiconductor-production apparatus members, and liquid crystal display production apparatus members.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for detecting an end of life (EOL) condition of a lamp that exhibits a re-ignition behavior. A voltage is applied to the lamp to cause the lamp to start emitting light, and a lamp re-ignition voltage to normal lamp voltage difference after a mask-off period expires is monitored. The lamp is determined to have reached the EOL condition when a predetermined percentage of high difference half cycles occur during a set number of lamp voltage half cycles that are measured during a measurement window. The method continuously monitors the lamp re-ignition voltage to normal lamp voltage difference and records whenever the lamp re-ignition voltage to normal lamp voltage difference is higher than the re-ignition difference threshold level at any lamp voltage half cycle. An EOL lamp is detected when a predetermined number of high difference half cycles occurs in a set total number of lamp voltage half cycles measured in a rolling measurement window.

Abstract: Disclosed is a mold cased circuit breaker (MCCB) comprising a plurality of single pole breaking units simultaneously opened and closed by a pair of common shaft pins. The MCCB effectively transmits a torque for opening or closing contacts to adjacent single pole breaking unit for electrical pole with a minimized loss, and prevents the shaft pins from being bent. The MCCB comprises a crank installed across the pair of shaft pins so as to connect the shaft pins to each other.

Abstract: Trim panel including a decoration layer having a decoration side provided with a decoration, a contact layer having a contact side structured and arranged for contact with a substrate, and an intermediate layer having a cell structure and being at least one of: connected one of indirectly or directly to the decoration layer and connected one of indirectly or directly to the contact layer. A connecting layer is produced from a wood material and formed in one piece with at least one connecting element formed on at least two opposing sides of the connector layer in the form of complementary tongue and groove connectors. Intermediate layer is one of: arranged on a side of connecting layer facing towards decoration layer or on a side of connecting layer facing towards contact layer, and is exposed on edges of trim panel running orthogonally to panel plane.

Abstract: A tightening string is used in an endoscope for firmly securing an outer cover of a flexible tube of the endoscope onto an internal member disposed inside the outer cover. The tightening string is comprised of a filament assembly formed by bundling a plurality of filaments made of a synthetic resin. The invention also provides an outer cover securing method, a flexible tube for an endoscope, and an endoscope equipped with the flexible tube. Alternatively, the filament assembly may include a first filament having an elongation ratio at room temperature of greater than 10% and a second filament having a elongation ratio at room temperature of equal to or lower than 10%, in which the filament assembly is formed by twisting the first and second filaments. An outer cover securing method using the tightening string, a flexible tube for an endoscope equipped with the thus secured outer cover, and an endoscope equipped with the flexible tube are also provided.

Abstract: Provided is a motion estimation device in which an amount of pixel data transferred from an external frame memory to an internal reference local memory is reduced. By the motion estimation device, it is possible to reduce a memory capacity and a size or processing of a circuit controlling the pixel transfer. In a reference memory control unit and an internal reference memory, a height of a area to be updated is set to L pixels, where L is power of 2, a logical address segments, whose size is suitable for address calculation, are allocated to picture space, and FIFO management is performs. In another application, an assistance memory is added, and another element other than the assistance memory performs the FIFO management for rectangular areas in an image of a conventional width. As a result, the address calculation is simplified, which makes it possible to reduce an embedded circuit for the reference memory control unit and the internal reference memory.

Abstract: An electric-discharge lamp lightning device includes a first frequency controller for sweeping a switching frequency so that the output of an inverter is gradually increased in order to allow an electric-discharge lamp to be started and lighted, and a second frequency controller for detecting the output power of the inverter by a current flowing in a resonant circuit and controlling the switching frequency so that the output power is set to be a target value after the discharge lamp is started and lighted. The first frequency controller includes a holding means for holding the switching frequency just after the lighting detection when the output power is smaller than the target value at the lighting detection of the electric-discharge lamp by a lighting detection circuit.

Abstract: An object is to obtain a dielectric layer constituting material, a capacitor circuit forming piece, etc. in which unnecessary dielectric layer is removed except capacitor circuit parts that improve accuracy of position of an embedded capacitor circuit in a multi-layer printed wiring board. For the purpose of achieving the object, “a method for manufacturing a dielectric layer constituting material characterized in that step a is a step for forming a first electrode circuit by etching a conductor layer on one side of a metal clad dielectric comprising a conductor layer on each side of a dielectric layer; step b is a step for removing the dielectric layer that is exposed between the first electrode circuits to manufacture the dielectric layer constituting material; and the step a is conducted and then the step b is conducted” is adopted.

Abstract: An illumination apparatus, which controls a supply power supplied to a lamp according to an accumulated interval of on-time and a light control signal, is configured in which a maximum supply power supplied to the lamp according to the accumulated interval of on-time is supplied to the lamp when the supply power to the lamp corresponding to the light control signal is above the maximum supply power to the lamp according to the accumulated interval of on-time at a point when the illumination apparatus is turned on or the lamp starts lighting. When the light control signal is operated so as to exceed a level of the maximum supply power to the lamp according to the accumulated interval of on-time or the light control signal varies more than a prescribed level, the supply power is shifted to an adjustable condition so as to be higher than the maximum supply power to the lamp according to the accumulated interval of on-time.