Abstract: A response unit located on a vehicle performs transmission operations for transmitting signals including a pilot response signal responsive to receipt of a pilot signal from a fixed transceiver. The transceiver uses a highly directive transmission antenna to transmit a beam-shaped signal containing a pilot signal to a communication zone set with respect to a lane along which the vehicle travels. The fixed transceiver also performs data transmission/reception operations with the response unit when it receives a pilot response signal therefrom. The beam-shaped signal is set to have a radiation area smaller than the area of the communication zone and is electronically scanned within the communication zone in a direction orthogonal to the movement direction of the vehicle by a scanner in the transceiver. The scan patterns of beams from transceivers corresponding to adjacent lanes are synchronized so that the scan areas of signals from adjacent transmission antennas do not overlap.

Abstract: A shoe housing 3 is connected to and rotatable together with an input shaft. A vane rotor 9 is connected to an output shaft and accommodated in shoe housing 3 so as to cause a rotation within a predetermined angle with respect to shoe housing 3. Vane rotor 9 and shoe housing 3 cooperatively define hydraulic chambers 10, 11, 12 and 13 whose volumes are variable in accordance with a rotational position of vane rotor 9 with respect to shoe housing 3. A locking member 7 is accommodated in vane rotor 9 and shiftable in a direction parallel to a rotational axis common to shoe housing 3 and vane rotor 9. And, an engaging bore 20, formed on a front plate 4 secured to shoe housing 3, receives locking member 7 through a tapered surface.

Abstract: A vehicular constant-speed running system converges a vehicle speed control of a vehicle quickly to a target vehicle speed when the vehicle is set in a cruise control mode. The vehicular constant-speed running system includes a constant-speed running section for controlling a throttle opening independently of an accelerator opening to maintain a vehicle at a target vehicle speed. It also includes an initial opening setting section which, at the time of transfer by the constant-speed running section, sets the throttle opening before the transfer to an initial value at the time of the transfer if the throttle opening is in a region which is preset based on either the vehicle speed at the time of the transfer or a parameter correlated with the vehicle speed. If the throttle opening is not in this region, the initial opening setting section sets the same throttle opening to the upper limit and/or the lower limit of that region.

Abstract: An apparatus for producing a mineral water is provided with a mineral source having a mineral element containing a soluble mineral component. Plain water is supplied to the mineral source. The mineral component dissolves in the plain water when the soluble mineral of the mineral element is brought into contact with the plain water. Ultrasonic waves are applied to the mineral source by an ultrasonic source. The conditions for applying ultrasonic waves to the mineral source is controlled to prepare a mineral water which contain mineral component according to a user's requirements or liking.

Abstract: To be able to control minute flow in a heat exchanger flow control valve without requiring a minute opening portion, an opening surface area of a hot-water inlet pipe into which hot water flows from an engine is restricted by a first restricting portion of a control passage provided in a needle valve of a flow control valve, and along with this, an opening surface area of a hot-water outlet pipe connected to an inlet side of a heat exchanger for heater use is restricted by a second restricting portion of a control passage formed in the needle valve, and a middle portion of these two control passages is constantly connected to a bypass circuit by a third restricting portion.

Abstract: A phase separation of a salt hydrate as a heat accumulating medium is prevented, thereby maintaining a heat accumulating density of a heat accumulator for a long period of time. A heat accumulating pipe contains Ba(OH).sub.2 .cndot.8H.sub.2 O as a heat accumulating medium which is not subjected to supercooling and a sphere movable in the heat accumulating pipe. A heat insulating vessel having a cooling water inlet pipe and a cooling water outlet pipe is filled with the heat accumulating pipes. By vibrating a heat accumulator having an agitating function which includes the heat accumulating pipes and the heat insulating vessel, the sphere moves in the heat accumulating pipe to agitate the heat accumulating medium, so that a distribution of water becomes uniform and a phase separation is prevented.

Abstract: A picture signal encoding system capable of transmitting a motion picture at an extremely low rate while sufficiently controlling the occurrence of a retransmission mode and the occurrence of a picture freeze. The encoding system comprises an encoding control section, an attribute memory, an attribute prediction section and an area extraction and recognition processing section. For realizing the extremely low rate transmission, the encoder system integrally performs the alteration of the syntax, the substitute of the code word, the adaptive control for the prediction of the current frame encoding attribute based on the past encoding attribute and the attribute decision, the object area extraction based on the motion and a model, the area-separated quantization control, and the control of the necessary number of transformation coefficients according to the use mode, the transmission rate and the motion occurrence quantity. A protocol transformer is provided to match the current picture compression standard (H.

Abstract: In a starter with a planetary gear speed reduction mechanism, a first output shaft retaining member (retaining member 10, washer 20) and a second output shaft retaining member (pinion retaining ring 250) are mounted on an output shaft 220 in such a manner as to sandwich from axially front and rear directions a bearing support portion of a housing 400 which supports one end of the output shaft 220, so that a thrust load in the frontward and rearward directions of the output shaft 220 is received at the front and rear end faces of the bearing support portion of the housing 400. Therefore, the axially rearward movement of the output shaft 220 is regulated assuredly without regulating it by the rear end face of the center bracket 360 and the mortor partition wall 800, thereby preventing deformation of the center bracket.

Abstract: An etching method for a silicon substrate, which can easily smooth the etching surface of the (110)-oriented silicon, is disclosed. A container is filled with KOH solution. In the KOH solution is immersed a (110)-oriented silicon wafer having a PN junction and is also disposed a platinum electrode plate to face the silicon wafer. To between a platinum electrode of the silicon wafer and the platinum electrode plate are connected a constant voltage power source, an ammeter and a contact in series. A controller starts etching from one surface on which the PN junction is formed, and terminates voltage application when the specified time lapses after the formation of an anodic oxide film is equilibrated with the etching of the anodic oxide film on the etching surface on the PN junction part.

Abstract: An oxygen concentration detector easily assembled without producing conducting malfunctions at an external electrode includes a cylindrical housing and a detecting element being inserted into and disposed inside the housing. Powdery seal materials made of ceramic power are filled under pressure between a top portion of the detecting element and the housing. The detecting element has the external electrode at an external surface thereof and a lead portion extending upwardly from the external electrode. A ring-shaped conducting member is installed between the lead portion of the detecting element and the housing as a ground to conduct electricity therebetween and has a resilient contacting piece in contact with the lead portion at an inner peripheral portion of the ring-shaped conducting member.

Abstract: An extruding apparatus for producing a honeycomb structure having cell walls and a skin. The apparatus includes a die (10) and a mask (20). The mask (20) is of an annular shape of an inner diameter (D1) and is located on an annular recess formed by a taper surface (19) and an outlet end surface (18b) of the die. The mask (20) has a top surface (21), which is in contact with an outlet end surface (18b) of the die (10), so that the degree of the opening of feed holes (11a), (11b) and (11c) are controlled by the particular shape of the end surface (21). A change of the mask to the one as shown by a phantom line (30) allows the shape of the top surface to be changed from the one shown by (21) to the one shown by (31), which allows the degree of the opening of the feed holes (11a), (11b) and (11c) to be desirably controlled.

Abstract: A semiconductor sensor including a movable member beam structure having a reduced deflection characteristic. The sensor includes a movable beam structure film suspended from a semiconductor substrate, with a gap interposed between the beam structure film and the substrate. The beam structure film is composed of a plurality of film layers that are laminated in a direction of film thickness. Further, a stress relieving layer is interposed between respective films to reduce overall internal stress on the structure.

Abstract: An electroluminescence element provided with a luminescent layer sandwiched between two electrodes on an insulating substrate. The luminescent layer is composed of zinc sulfide with a fluoride or a luminescent center element added, wherein the X-ray diffraction spectrum thereof has only a single peak at an X-ray diffraction angle from the luminescent layer, ranging from 25.degree. to 30.degree. according to a thin film X-ray diffraction measurement method using Cu-Kd radiation, and no other peaks of the X-ray diffraction spectrum exist at an X-ray diffraction angle of 27.degree..

Abstract: A continuously-fed flat tube is cut into sub tubes each having a given length. The flat tube has multiple ports therein. A pair of roller cutters are enabled to follow the flat tube at a zero relative speed between the roller cutters and the flat tube. The roller cutters are moved across portions of the flat tube respectively to cut the flat tube while the roller cutters are enabled to follow the flat tube at the zero relative speed. At least one of the roller cutters enters the flat tube by a depth equal to or greater than a half of a distance between outer flat surfaces of the flat tube while the roller cutters are moved across the portions of the flat tube.

Abstract: An electroluminescent element includes a glass substrate, on which are formed a first electrode, a first insulating layer, a first luminescent layer, a second luminescent layer, a second insulating layer, a second electrode, a protective film and a red color filter. In this structure, the first luminescent layer is made of ZnS having Mn added thereto, and the second luminescent layer is made of ZnS having Tb added thereto. Here, the clamp electric field intensity of the second luminescent layer is higher than that of the first luminescent layer, and the product of a dielectric constant and clamp electric field intensity of the first luminescent layer is larger than the product of a dielectric constant and clamp electric field intensity of the second luminescent layer. Consequently, it is possible to increase the luminance of light emitted from the luminescent layer and decrease the luminescence threshold voltage when the luminescent layer is made into a stacked layer structure.

Abstract: A matrix liquid crystal display using an antiferroelectric liquid crystal prevents the displayed image from tailing off. The liquid crystal display includes a liquid crystal panel, a temperature sensor, a control unit, a scanning electrode driver circuit, and a signal electrode driver circuit. When the temperature of the liquid crystal panel is detected by the temperature sensor, the control unit increases or reduces the de-select period according to the detected temperature. The scanning electrode driver circuit and the signal electrode driver circuit serve to drive scanning electrodes and signal electrodes, respectively included in the liquid crystal panel according to control signals from the control unit and from a level converter. These control signals include a signal indicating the controlled de-select period. Thus, the controlled de-selected period is secured.

Abstract: A semiconductor device having a concavity formed by LOCOS technique, in which defects induced due to the LOCOS oxidation step or a following heat-treatment step are suppressed, is disclosed. An n.sup.+ type region, the impurity concentration of which is caused to be 1.times.10.sup.19 cm.sup.-3 or more, is formed in an n.sup.- type semiconductor layer. By means of this, defects occur within the n.sup.+ type region or in a proximity of the boundary of the n.sup.+ type region and the n.sup.- type semiconductor layer. The defects trap contaminant impurities taken into the wafer during the manufacturing steps, and cause contaminant impurities existing in the proximity of a concavity of the semiconductor surface to be reduced. As a result thereof, defect occurrence in the proximity of the concavity can be suppressed, and occurrence of leakage and degradation in breakdown voltage between drain and source accompanying defect occurrence in a channel region can be suppressed.

Abstract: A movable scroll element for a scroll type compressor is produced by a combination of a mold casting process and a machining process. The mold casting process produces a cast product having an end-plate forming portion, a spiral-member-forming portion and a projecting portion for forming a drive power receiving portion. The cast product has an entire outer faces covered with black scale, and the machining process machines the end-plate-forming portion, a spiral member forming portion, the projecting portion by cutting. Nevertheless, at least an outer circumference of the drive power receiving portion, i.e., a boss portion of the movable scroll element is covered with an outermost layer consisting of black scale. Thus, a sufficient mechanical strength of the movable scroll element is obtained even if the wall thickness of the drive power receiving portion, i.e., the boss portion of the movable scroll element, is reduced.

Abstract: A semiconductor sensor having a thin-film structure body, in which thin-film structure is prevented from bending due to the internal stress distribution in the thickness direction, is disclosed. A silicon-oxide film is formed as a sacrificial layer on a silicon substrate, and a polycrystalline-silicon thin film is formed on the silicon-oxide film. Thereafter, phosphorus (P) is ion-implanted in the surface of the polycrystalline-silicon thin film, and thereby the surface state of the polycrystalline-silicon thin film is modified. A portion of distribution of stress existing in the thickness direction of the polycrystalline-silicon thin film is changed by this modification, and stress distribution is adjusted. By removal of the silicon-oxide film, a movable member of the polycrystalline-silicon thin film is disposed above the silicon substrate with a gap interposed therebetween.

Abstract: A weight (4) rotates with a shaft (5) as a rotational center during acceleration detection. A rotor (1) fixed on the weight (4) rotates integrally therewith. A first cam portion 1a of noncircular configuration on the rotor (1) contacts a plate spring (2) and a second cam portion (1b) of semicircular configuration contacts a plate spring (3), urging constantly the rotor (1) in a direction opposite to rotation direction thereof. The plate springs (2) and (3) have a contact-point function, and when the rotor (1) rotates in resistance to urging force thereof, contact is made with a contact points (2a) and (3a) on the plate springs (2) and (3) due to action of the first cam portion (1a) and second cam portion (1b), and the contacting state thereof is detected via a plate (6) and plate (7) as an electrical signal.