Abstract: Outputs from first and second DC power supplies are controlled based on a first reactor current and a second reactor current. For controlling an output from a corresponding DC power supply, a relative maximum point and a relative minimum point as two inflection points are provided in a high current of the first and second reactor currents in one control cycle, by controlling on and off of switching elements. In a low current of the first and second reactor currents, inflection points more than in the high current are provided. Each of the inflection points on a side of the high current is provided at timing identical to the inflection point on a side of the low current.

Abstract: An internal combustion engine is provided, in which a quantity of NOx emission can be reduced without using any special components even when a NOx reduction catalyst has an elevated temperature due to high-load operation. The internal combustion engine includes an engine, a three-way catalyst and a NOx reduction catalyst for purifying exhaust gas emitted from the engine, a temperature sensor for acquiring the temperature of the NOx reduction catalyst, a rotation speed sensor for acquiring an engine rotation speed, an injection controller for controlling a fuel injection quantity in the engine, and a combustion switching controller for switching a combustion mode of the engine between lean and stoichiometric combustion modes based on the NOx reduction catalyst temperature, the engine rotation speed, and the fuel injection quantity acquired from the fuel injection controller.

Abstract: A negative electrode electrolyte solution which contains titanium ions, a chelating agent, and a catechol-based compound having a catechol structure is used for a negative electrode of a flow battery in which an electrolyte solution is circulated so as to perform charge and discharge.

Abstract: A degree of freedom of a hypoid gear is improved. An instantaneous axis in a relative rotation of a gear axis and a pinion axis, a line of centers, an intersection between the instantaneous axis and the line of centers, and an inclination angle of the instantaneous axis with respect to the rotation axis of the gear are calculated based on a shaft angle, an offset, and a gear ratio of a hypoid gear. Based on these variables, base coordinate systems are determined, and the specifications are calculated using these coordinate systems. For the spiral angles, pitch cone angles, and reference circle radii of the gear and pinion, one of the values for the gear and the pinion is set and a design reference point is calculated. Based on the design reference point and a contact normal of the gear, specifications are calculated. The pitch cone angle of the gear or the pinion can be freely selected.

Abstract: A fuel cell system may include a first fuel cell provided on a first substrate; a second fuel cell provided on a second substrate, and having a power generation capacity higher than a power generation capacity of the first fuel cell; a first heater provided at the first fuel cell; a second heater provided at the second fuel cell; and a battery, wherein the first heater heats the first fuel cell by using power supplied from the battery, and wherein the second heater heats the second fuel cell by using power supplied from the first fuel cell.

Abstract: An oxygen storage/release material includes: a ceria-zirconia composite oxide porous body that has at least one ordered phase of a pyrochlore phase and a ? phase, and that has a central pore diameter of 70 nm to 1 ?m as measured by a mercury penetration method, and in which a cumulative pore volume of pores that each have a pore diameter in the range of 0.5 times to 2 times the central pore diameter is 40% or more of the cumulative pore volume of pores that each have a pore diameter in the range of 10 nm to 10 ?m as measured by the mercury penetration method.

Abstract: A relative maximum point and a relative minimum point, are provided in a first reactor current and a second reactor current within one control cycle as a result of control of on and off of switching elements. At least one of the inflection points in the first and second reactor currents, a plurality of switching elements to simultaneously be turned on or and off are controlled to be turned on or off in a prescribed order with a time lag being set. At the inflection point with the time lag being set, a switching loss is produced in a switching element turned on later or a switching element turned on earlier in accordance with the prescribed order.

Abstract: A fuel cell disclosed herein may comprise: a substrate provided with a recess through which fuel gas passes; an electrolyte membrane covering an opening of the recess; an insulating film covering one surface of the electrolyte membrane and having a through hole reaching the electrolyte membrane; a first electrode in contact with the one surface of the electrolyte membrane in the through hole; a second electrode in contact with the other surface of the electrolyte membrane; and a heater disposed in the insulating film at a position adjacent to the through hole.

Abstract: A catalyst for purification of exhaust gas, wherein a substrate and a catalyst coat layer which is formed on a surface of the substrate and which comprises catalyst particles, wherein the catalyst coat layer has an average thickness in a range of 25 to 160 ?m, and a void fraction in a range of 50 to 80% by volume as measured by a weight-in-water method, 0.5 to 50% by volume of all voids in the catalyst coat layer consist of high-aspect ratio pores which have equivalent circle diameters in a range of 2 to 50 ?m in a cross-sectional image of a cross-section of the catalyst coat layer which the cross-section is perpendicular to a flow direction of exhaust gas in the substrate, and which have aspect ratios of 5 or higher, and the high-aspect ratio pores have an average aspect ratio in a range of 10 to 50.

Abstract: A highly reliable bonded structure having excellent thermal fatigue resistance characteristics and thermal stress relaxation characteristics is provided. The bonded structure of the present invention comprises a first member, a second member capable of being bonded to the first member, and a bonding part interposed between a first bond surface at the first member side and a second bond surface at the second member side to bond the first member and the second member. The bonding part has at least a bonding layer, a reinforcing layer, and an intermediate layer. The bonding layer is composed of an intermetallic compound and bonded to the first bond surface.

Abstract: An ignition device for an internal combustion engine with an ignition plug that ignites an air-fuel mixture in a combustion chamber, wherein a discharge current i provided by the ignition plug to the air-fuel mixture is controlled to be greater than a discharge current reference value ibf, which is a minimum current value at which a spark discharge blow-out phenomenon does not arise.

Abstract: A thermistor material for a short range of low temperature use includes a matrix material composed of nitride-based and/or oxide-based insulating ceramics, conductive particles composed of ?-SiC and dispersed in the grain boundary of each crystal grain of the matrix material so as to form an electric conduction path. The thermistor material further contains boron and second conductive particles added thereto, which are composed of a metal or an inorganic compound, having a specific electric resistance value at room temperature lower than that of the ?-SiC and a melting point of 1700° C. or more. Such a thermistor material is produced by mixing matrix powder, conductive powder, second conductive powder, boron powder, and a sintering agent as necessary such that a temperature coefficient of resistance (B value) and a specific electric resistance value at room temperature are each within a predetermined range, and molding and sintering the resultant mixture.

Abstract: A heat management control device for a vehicle that includes: an electric motor that is applied as a motive power source; a power supply section that includes a storage battery and that supplies electrical power to the electric motor; a charging device that charges the storage battery through a connection to an external power source; a heat exchanger that performs heat exchange of heat generated by the charging device during charging with fluid flowing in a specific transport path; a heat storage section that uses a chemical reaction partway along the specific transport path in order to recover heat from the fluid and that stores the recovered heat; and a fluid supply controller that, from immediately after a vehicle is started, releases heat stored by the heat storage section to the fluid, and selectively supplies the fluid to a predetermined plurality of warm-up targets.

Abstract: A semiconductor device used in a protection circuit including a thyristor and an LCR circuit which includes a coil L, a capacitor C and a resistor R, the semiconductor device may include: a semiconductor layer in which the thyristor is provided; an insulating film provided on the semiconductor layer; and a pair of electrodes provided on the insulating film and connected to a protection target circuit, wherein at least one of the coil L the capacitor C and the resistor R is provided in the insulating film, and the at least one of the coil L, the capacitor C and the resistor R is connected to an anode of the thyristor by a first metal wire filling a first hole provided in the insulating film.

Abstract: A torque variation suppressing apparatus includes a rotation element, and a plurality of first elastic elements and second elastic elements which apply elastic forces to the rotation element. With a rotation of the rotation element, a torque applied to the rotation element from each of the first elastic elements and the second elastic elements changes periodically, and a phase of the torque applied to the rotation element from at least one of the first elastic elements and the second elastic elements is changed so that an overall torque characteristic applied to the rotation element is set variable.

Abstract: To realize a compact device that detects phase or controls phase or an amplitude with high sensitivity, a signal controller includes: a linear conductor having a first end fixed to a negative electrode and a second end serving as a free end; a positive electrode facing the free end with a small gap therebetween; a first signal source that applies a voltage between the negative electrode and the positive electrode, the voltage applied being variable; a driving electrode that applies an electric field to a space around the conductor, the electric field having a component perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the conductor; and a second signal source that applies an AC signal to the driving electrode. The signal processor can be a device for controlling or modulating phase or amplitude.

Abstract: A time measuring circuit is provided with an oscillating circuit configured to generate a low-speed clock signal and a high-speed clock signal; and a measuring circuit configured to measure target time based on clock number of the low-speed clock signal and the high-speed clock signal outputted from the oscillating circuit, wherein the low-speed clock signal has a relatively low frequency and the high-speed clock signal has a relatively high frequency. The oscillating circuit is configured to switch from outputting the low-speed clock signal to outputting the high-speed clock signal when elapsed time from when a measurement of the target time started reaches a set value, and the set value is calculated by subtracting a predetermined value from a preliminary value which is provided by a preliminary measurement measuring the target time using only the low-speed clock signal.

Abstract: A eukaryotic cell having xylose utilization ability. Provided is a protein that has xylose isomerase activity and has an amino acid sequence including, when aligned with an amino acid sequence expressed by SEQ ID NO:1, the 1st to 6th motifs expressed respectively by SEQ ID NOs:2 to 7 from the N-terminus side in the order described, and having, in place of asparagine (N) in an amino acid sequence of the 6th motif, another amino acid.

Abstract: Sensor information acquisition section acquires surrounding information including three dimensional information of respective surrounding positions of subject vehicle, and positional information of subject vehicle. Road surface information extraction section generates road surface image in which acquired surrounding information is projected onto road surface on which subject vehicle is travelling. Environment image generation section generates environment image in which three dimensional information of respective surrounding positions included in surrounding information has been appended to positions corresponding to surrounding positions in generated road surface image. Based on acquired positional information of subject vehicle, stored image acquisition section acquires stored image corresponding to positional information of subject vehicle from database. Image matching section matches generated environment image against acquired stored image.

Abstract: A sliding machine includes: a pair of sliding members having sliding surfaces that oppose each other and are able to move relative to each other; and a lubricating oil which is able to be interposed between the opposed sliding surfaces, in which at least one of the sliding surfaces is covered with a chromium (Cr)-containing amorphous carbon film (chromium-coating DLC), and the lubricating oil contains an oil-soluble molybdenum compound having a chemical structure formed from a trinuclear material of molybdenum (Mo). Specifically, the chromium-coating DLC contains, when the entirety of the film is assumed to be 100 at. %, 1% to 49% of Cr, 0% to 30% of hydrogen (H), carbon (C) as a remainder, and impurities. The lubricating oil contains 5 ppm to 800 ppm of the oil-soluble molybdenum compound in terms of Mo mass ratio with respect to the entirety of the lubricating oil.