Abstract: An actuator is provided which can be driven with a simple configuration and by simple control. The actuator comprises a thin film made of a shear piezoelectric material, a first electrode formed on a first main surface of the thin film, and a second electrode formed on a second main surface of the thin film. The actuator is characterized in that driving force is generated on at least one end edge of the thin film by applying a predetermined AC voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode.

Abstract: A specific region of a polylactic acid sheet is heated by a microwave. To allow the polylactic acid sheet to exhibit piezoelectricity in the thickness direction of the polylactic acid sheet, a high voltage is applied to the heated polylactic acid sheet in the thickness direction of the polylactic acid sheet, and thereby the screw axes of at least a part of the polylactic acid molecules are relatively aligned with the thickness direction. Then the polylactic acid sheet is rapidly cooled, and thereby the polylactic acid molecules are immobilized. The same step is executed for other regions of the polylactic acid sheet, and thereby piezoelectricity is imparted to a wide area of the polylactic acid sheet in the thickness direction. The resultant piezoelectric sheet is capable of exhibiting a high piezoelectricity in the thickness direction.

Abstract: The objective to be solved by the present invention is to provide an ice-crystallization inhibitor which has a practicable and excellent ice-crystallization inhibiting property and which can be efficiently and stably produced in a safe process suitable for food production. Also, the objective of the present invention is to provide an antibody which specifically reacts with the ice-crystallization inhibitor, and a composition, a food, a biological sample protectant and a cosmetic which contain the ice-crystallization inhibitor. Furthermore, the objective of the present invention is to provide a polysaccharide which is derived from a basidiomycete and which is used for inhibiting ice-crystallization of a liquid containing water, and a method for inhibiting ice-crystallization of a liquid containing water. The ice-crystallization inhibitor according to the present invention is characterized in being a polysaccharide derived from a basidiomycete.

Abstract: A piezoelectric device is provided with a sound source IC, an amplifier for amplifying a sound source from the sound source IC, a piezoelectric speaker for generating sound based on a drive signal from amplifier, an MPU for performing a predetermined control process on the drive signal, a memory for storing temperature dependency information about the piezoelectric constant (d14) and Young's modulus E of the piezoelectric speaker, and a temperature sensor for detecting an ambient temperature. MPU has correcting unit, compares a detected result of the temperature sensor with the temperature dependency information, and performs temperature correction on the drive signal serving as an acoustic signal based on a compared result. The piezoelectric speaker outputs the acoustic signal temperature-corrected by correcting unit.

Abstract: A composite electrode for an electricity storage device of the present invention includes: a substrate; a whisker or a fiber which is made of at least one of a metal and a metal compound and is formed on the substrate; and a coating layer which contains an active material and is formed on at least a part of a surface of the whisker or the fiber.

Abstract: A touch panel capable of detecting a pen and a finger, capable of corresponding to multi-touch, capable of detecting pressing force, and capable of reducing the use amount of a transparent electrode as much as possible. The touch panel has a piezoelectric sheet of poly-L-lactic acid having a predetermined stretching axial direction, electrodes that are opposed to each other and formed on the piezoelectric sheet do not cover the entire surface of the piezoelectric sheet and are formed so that they are discretely distributed in plural positions. The piezoelectric sheet is brought into the condition that tension is imparted in directions not coincident with the stretching axial direction.

Abstract: A flame-retardant lithium secondary battery is provided that has better battery performance and higher safety than conventional batteries. The lithium secondary battery uses a positive electrode that includes a positive electrode active material of the general formula (I) below, and a nonaqueous electrolytic solution in which an ionic liquid that contains bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide anions as an anionic component is used as the solvent, (1) LiNixMny O4, wherein x and y are values that satisfy the relations x+y=2, and x:y=27.572.5 to 22.577.5.

Abstract: The invention provides a piezoelectric polymer material comprising a helical chiral polymer having a weight average molecular weight of from 50,000 to 1,000,000 and optical activity, the piezoelectric polymer material having: crystallinity as obtained by a DSC method of from 20% to 80%; a transmission haze with respect to visible light of 50% or less; and a product of the crystallinity and a standardized molecular orientation MORc, which is measured with a microwave transmission-type molecular orientation meter at a reference thickness of 50 ?m, of from 40 to 700.

Abstract: A piezoelectric element including a plurality of stacked piezoelectric sheets, wherein the stretching axis of a first piezoelectric sheet and the stretching axis of a second piezoelectric sheet of the plurality of piezoelectric sheets are oriented in different directions from each other. Preferably, the stretching axis of the first piezoelectric sheet and the stretching axis of the second piezoelectric sheet are intersected at an angle of 90 degrees.

Abstract: According to the present invention, a torque applied from a golf player to a golf club during a swing is analyzed in a time-series manner. A DLT method is suitable as a determination procedure. Preferably, a link model is used in this analysis. Preferably, the three-dimensional coordinate of the mark provided at a position that corresponds to the link model is determined by a DLT method. Preferable analysis method includes: modeling using a golf club, and at least a part of a golf player who grips a grip member of the golf club to provide a link model in which the golf club is connected with the golf player via a joint; and analyzing the torque that acts on the joint is analyzed during the swing in a time-series manner. This joint is positioned in the vicinity of the grip member. This analysis can be applied to a method of diagnosing a swing, a method of selecting a golf club, and a method of designing a golf club.

Abstract: The invention provides a piezoelectric polymer material including a helical chiral polymer having a weight average molecular weight of from 50,000 to 1,000,000 and having optical activity, the piezoelectric polymer material having a piezoelectric constant d14 at 25° C. of 10 pC/N or more, a degree of crystallinity obtained by X-ray diffraction of from 40% to 80%, and a haze of from 0.5 to 30.

Abstract: A designing method of the present invention includes the steps of: measuring a golf swing to obtain a measured result; obtaining a swing model provided with a link model and joint torque data based on the measured result, the link model having at least two links; performing simulation for swing the golf club using the swing model; and obtaining head information in a specific situation during a swing based on a result of the simulation. In the designing method, a plurality of specifications of the golf club and/or the plurality of swing models are used to obtain the plurality of head information, and stability is evaluated using a difference between the head information. In the designing method, it was found that a great lateral moment of inertia of a head and a small depth of a center of gravity of the head contribute to the stability.

Abstract: A piezoelectric element including a plurality of stacked piezoelectric sheets, wherein the stretching axis of a first piezoelectric sheet and the stretching axis of a second piezoelectric sheet of the plurality of piezoelectric sheets are oriented in different directions from each other. Preferably, the stretching axis of the first piezoelectric sheet and the stretching axis of the second piezoelectric sheet are intersected at an angle of 90 degrees.

Abstract: According to the present invention, a torque applied from a golf player to a golf club during a swing is analyzed in a time-series manner. A DLT method is suitable as a determination procedure. Preferably, a link model is used in this analysis. Preferably, the three-dimensional coordinate of the mark provided at a position that corresponds to the link model is determined by a DLT method. Preferable analysis method includes: modeling using a golf club, and at least a part of a golf player who grips a grip member of the golf club to provide a link model in which the golf club is connected with the golf player via a joint; and analyzing the torque that acts on the joint is analyzed during the swing in a time-series manner. This joint is positioned in the vicinity of the grip member. This analysis can be applied to a method of diagnosing a swing, a method of selecting a golf club, and a method of designing a golf club.

Abstract: The invention provides an electric double-layer capacitor comprising a bipolar interelectrode formed by bonding a collector to a carbon electrode with no adhesive put therebetween. The electric double-layer capacitor is so designed that a plurality of combinations of an intermediate electroconductive polymer composite electrode and a separator placed in layers between a pair of terminal electroconductive polymer composite electrodes, wherein; the intermediate electroconductive polymer composite electrode is composed of an electroconductive sheet made of a polymer substance to which electroconductivity is imparted and which has an apparent melt viscosity of from 300 to 3,000,000 poises, and a carbon electrode heat-sealed to at least one surface of the sheet, and the carbon electrode and the separator contain an electrolytic bath infiltrated thereinto.