Abstract: A method for manufacturing an optical element including: a surface including a plurality of grooves arranged concentrically. Each of the grooves includes a bottom surface with a predetermined width, a side surface, and a curved surface with a predetermined curvature radius. The bottom surface extends in a radius direction of the grooves. The curved surface connects the bottom surface and the side surface.

Abstract: A fixation unit which allows paper with a toner image formed thereon to be fed between a first roller and a second roller for fixing the toner image on the sheet. The fixation unit includes a drive controller. The drive controller rotates the first and second rollers on different driving conditions. The drive controller rotates the first roller at a constant circumferential speed at least in a state where the first and second rollers are in pressure contact with each other and rotates the second roller with a constant torque which is low enough for the second roller to stop rotating when the first roller stops rotating.

Abstract: A wafer lens member producing method includes post-curing lens portions made of a light-curing resin formed on at least one face of a substrate so as to promote curing of the light-curing resin. The post-curing includes first post-curing and second post-curing. The first post-curing performs heating at a first post-curing temperature, which is a glass transition temperature of the light-curing resin to the glass transition temperature+100° C., for 30 minutes to two hours. The second post-curing performs heating at a second post-curing temperature, which is lower than the glass transition temperature, and lower than the first post-curing temperature by 25° C. or more, for three hours to six hours.

Abstract: A medical imaging system includes: an image generating unit which captures an image of a subject and generates a medical image which is a still image; a region extracting unit which extracts a subject region from the medical image and extracts a local region which includes no edge from the subject region; a motion judging unit which extracts high spatial frequency components from the local region extracted by the region extracting unit and judges whether there is any motion in the subject during image capture based on the extracted high spatial frequency components; and a controlling unit which causes an outputting unit to output a judgment result made by the motion judging unit.

Abstract: In a color sensor unit for use in a display device, a color measuring device for use in a display device, a display system and a display calibration method of the invention, a CPU is operable to calculate a luminance value or a chromaticity value substantially equivalent to that to be obtained by a measuring device having a light receiving angle smaller than a light receiving angle of a sensor, by correcting a luminance value or a chromaticity value measured by the sensor based on gradation information from the display device.

Abstract: Disclosed are a radiation image conversion panel, which provides high luminance, an image without white or black defects, an image free from cracks and an image with reduced unevenness, and its manufacturing method. Also disclosed is an X-ray radiographic system employing the radiation image conversion panel. The radiation image conversion panel of the invention comprises a substrate and provided thereon, a reflection layer, a phosphor layer and a protective layer in that order, wherein the phosphor layer is composed of a phosphor crystal in the form of column, and the reflection layer is formed by vapor phase deposition of two or more kinds of metals.

Abstract: Provided is an optical pickup device which suppresses the decrease of light amount and performs conversion to circular polarization light, wherein the optical pickup device includes a beam splitter and a raising mirror on each of which a layered member is formed, and the optical pickup device satisfies conditional expressions relating to intensities of S-polarized light and P-polarized light with respect to the beam splitter of a laser beam emitted from a semiconductor laser element, reflectances of S-polarized light and P-polarized light on the beam splitter, a reflection phase difference obtained by subtracting a phase of S-polarized light from a phase of P-polarized light after the reflection, reflectances of S-polarized light and P-polarized light on the raising mirror, and a reflection phase difference obtained by subtracting a phase of S-polarized light from a phase of P-polarized light after the reflection.

Abstract: This aims to provide an inkjet recording apparatus which prevents a beading or a color bleeding in a recording system using a line head, and an inkjet recording method. The inkjet recording apparatus comprises an ink line head equipped with nozzle rows having a plurality of nozzles arranged at a predetermined pitch for discharging inks containing coloring materials, and a fixing liquid line head equipped with nozzle rows having a plurality of nozzles arranged at a predetermined pitch for discharging fixing liquids to enhance the fixtures of the inks to a recording medium. The inkjet recording apparatus performs the records by discharging the inks and the fixing liquids from the individual line heads to the recording medium while moving the recording medium and the individual line heads relatively in predetermined directions.

Abstract: A job ticket issuing device includes: a document encryption processing unit for encrypting document data with a document data encryption key; and a job ticket encryption processing unit for encrypting a job ticket, including information about a content of job processing with respect to the document data, with a job ticket encryption key which is different from the document data encryption key.

Abstract: An image encryption method is described for encrypting an images using an encryption key. The encryption method includes dividing the image into pixel groups and shifting the location of the pixel groups according to an encryption key, and reordering the bits of the pixel values of the image according to an encryption key. Each shifting and reordering is done according to a shifting patterns that is defined by a shifting rule and the bit values of a bit sequence generated from the encryption key. The encrypted image is embedded in a cover image using less significant bits of the cover image for transmission or storage. Corresponding decryption method is also provided. Also described are various applications of image encryption methods in secure handling of digital images, including secure scanning, secure printing, secure ID scanning, secure check reading, remote picture ID verification, and remote document submitting and receiving systems.

Abstract: A method for forming a metallic pattern, which is provided with a printing process to print a pattern portion on a substrate by means of an inkjet method utilizing ink containing a precursor of a nonelectric plating catalyst and a plating process to form a metallic pattern by nonelectric plating on said pattern portion, wherein the surface of said substrate is constituted of ink non-absorptive resin and has been subjected to a plasma treatment, and said ink has a pH value at 25° C. of not less than 9.0.

Abstract: Disclosed is an image processing apparatus comprising an image compression conversion unit to quantize an image having attribute data for each pixel, wherein when a region has the attribute data of a photographic image, the image compression conversion unit quantizes the region by a BTC method, wherein when a region has the attribute data of other than the photographic image, and the region is a halftone region, the image compression conversion unit quantizes the region by the BTC method, and wherein when a region has the attribute data of other than the photographic image, and the region is a high resolution region, the image compression conversion unit generates a density pattern for the region to quantize the region according to the generated density pattern.

Abstract: A one-way clutch is mounted on an outer periphery of a rotary shaft in a manner to place a clutch needle bearing in contact with the outer periphery of the rotary shaft. A rotary member is disposed on one side of the one-way clutch and engaged with the one-way clutch to be subjected to the rotation of the rotary shaft transmitted thereto. A retaining member is mounted on the outer periphery of the rotary shaft and located on the opposite side of the one-way clutch from the rotary member, while an urging unit is provided for urging the one-way clutch to abut against the retaining member.

Abstract: A sheet feeding apparatus which includes: a sheet loading tray for stacking sheets; a suction and conveyance section placed above stacked sheets on the sheet loading tray and sucks and conveys a sheet in the sheet conveying direction; an air blowing section which blows air at the stacked sheets on the sheet loading tray and causes the sheet to float up; a skew correction section which is provided with a pair of conveyance rollers, and corrects a skew of the sheet being conveyed by the suction and conveyance section; and a control section which controls a force of sucking the sheet, wherein the control section changes the force of sucking the sheet from a first level to a second level that is lower than the first level, before a leading edge of the sheet butts against a pair of conveyance rollers of the skew correction section.

Abstract: The present invention provides a gas barrier film having high barrier properties, folding/bending resistance and smoothness and excellent cutting suitability, and also provides an organic photoelectric conversion element equipped with the gas barrier film. The gas barrier film is characterized by having a gas barrier layer unit (5) on a side face of at least one surface of a base material (2), wherein the gas barrier layer unit (5) comprises a first barrier layer (3) formed by a chemical vapor deposition method and a second barrier layer (4) formed by applying a silicon compound onto the first barrier layer (3) to form a coating film and modifying the coating film, and wherein the second barrier layer (4) has an unmodified region (4B) on a side facing the base material and a modified region (4A) on a side facing the front layer of the film.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a near-infrared reflective body in which a near-infrared reflective film is manufactured that has excellent manufacturing cost performance, is capable of being employed over a large area, and has excellent application stability and resistance to refractive index unevenness in the surface. A method for manufacturing a near-infrared reflective film in which a high refractive index layer and a low refractive index layer are alternately laminated on a support, wherein the difference in the refractive index of adjacent high refractive index layers and low refractive index layers is at least 0.3, and the near-infrared reflective film is formed using a coating liquid for a high refractive index layer and a coating liquid for a low refractive index layer, if the viscosity of the high refractive index layers and low refractive index layers at 15° C. is ?15 and at 45° C. is ?45, the viscosity ratio (?15/?45) in each case is at least 2.0.

Abstract: A liquid developer used for wet-type image forming apparatuses includes toner particles and an insulating liquid, the toner particles include a resin, a pigment, and a pigment dispersant, the pigment includes a pigment having an acid group, and the pigment dispersant is a basic polymer dispersant including units derived from ?-caprolactone.

Abstract: A reflector for solar thermal power generation includes a light collecting mirror attached to a self-supporting base material. The light collecting mirror includes at least: a flexible supporting body; and a light/heat reflective layer provided on at least one side of the supporting body. The self-supporting base material has any one of configurations A and B below: A: the base material includes a pair of metallic plates and an intermediate layer provided between the metallic plates, the intermediate layer being a layer having a hollow structure or a layer composed of a resin material; and B: the base material is composed of a resin material layer having a hollow structure.

Abstract: The present invention provides a near-infrared reflective film and a near-infrared reflector provided with the same, which provide excellent manufacturing cost performance, can be used over large areas, exhibit excellent flexibility, and have high visible light transmittance. The near-infrared reflector is characterized in that, in an infrared film in which high refractive index layers and low refractive index layers are alternately laminated on a support body, the refractive index difference between adjacent high refractive index layers and low refractive index layers is at least 0.3, and at least one of the high refractive index layers and low refractive index layers contains a metal oxide and a polysaccharide thickener.

Abstract: A fluorescence detecting apparatus includes: an excitation light emitter for emitting excitation light exciting a fluorescent material onto a measurement object; an illumination light emitter for emitting illumination light onto the measurement object; an image pickup device for sensing light from the measurement object; and a controller for controlling the image pickup device, the excitation light emitter, and the illumination light emitter. The excitation light is emitted from the excitation light emitter onto the measurement object to define an image pickup condition of the image pickup device, based on an image pickup result to be obtained by sensing light from the measurement object by the image pickup device. A light amount of the illumination light to be emitted from the illumination light emitter is set depending on the image pickup condition.