Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a fixing unit including a tubular film, a pressure roller, and a heater including a heating element. The apparatus further includes a control unit configured to calculate an accumulated electrical energy supplied to a portion of the heating element. The portion of the heating element is located in an area corresponding to a second area of the nip portion. The second area is an area of the nip portion through which the recording material conveyed to the nip portion is not passed. The control unit is configured to determine an operation of heat leveling, which is performed for leveling a heat distribution in the nip portion after the recording material had passed the nip portion, based on the calculated accumulated electrical energy.

Abstract: A detector that is downsized by efficiently applying a high-period alternating magnetic field to a magnetic wire by use of a plurality of magnetic-field generation sources is provided. A detector 400 detects motion of a moving body 410 by use of a power generation sensor 420. The power generation sensor includes a magnetic wire 421 and a coil 422, and the moving body includes a soft magnetic body portion 411 and a plurality of magnetic-field generation sources 412. The power generation sensor is disposed in a vicinity of a trajectory drawn by the magnetic-field generation sources by the motion of the moving body.

Abstract: A marker device embodiment may include separate concentrically-oriented receive and transmit antenna elements coupled to an ASIC which includes electronics to receive an input signal at a first frequency from a transmitter, convert the input signal to a power supply to power the electronic circuit, generate, in response to the input signal, an output signal at a second frequency different from the first frequency, and provide the output signal, via the transmit antenna element, to an above-ground receiver for assistance in determining the location of a buried utility.

Abstract: Electric fields are deployed to determine electrical characteristics of an object. A dielectric substrate has a first surface and a second surface, a first set of substantially parallel electrodes are located on said first surface and a second set of substantially parallel electrodes are located on the first surface. The second set is substantially orthogonal to said first set thereby defining electrode crossings. Discontinuities are formed in an electrode at each electrode crossing to electrically isolate electrodes of the first set from electrodes of the second set. An electric bridge is created at each discontinuity to maintain electrical continuity. A selected electrode of the first set is energized two or more times while sequentially monitoring remaining electrodes of said first set. This is followed by energizing a selected electrode of the second set two or more times while sequentially monitoring remaining electrodes of the second set.

Abstract: There is provided a capacitive sensing system including multiple sensor electrodes, an insulating layer and a single active shielding metal. The single active shielding metal has an overlapped region with each of the multiple sensor electrodes. The insulating layer is arranged between the single active shielding metal and the multiple sensor electrodes. When one of the multiple sensor electrodes is driven by a driving signal, the rest of the multiple sensor electrodes are grounded or receive an active shielding signal, and the single active shielding metal receives the active shielding signal.

Abstract: A battery inspection method comprises charging a battery to a fully charged state, determining, when the charging is finished while the battery is in a fully charged state, deviation of an open circuit voltage (OCV) value of each of a plurality of cells included in the battery at a first time point after a preset first reference time has elapsed from a time point of finishing the charging while considering polarization voltage, and determining, according to a result of comparing the determined deviation with a preset first reference value, whether an internal short circuit has occurred in the battery on the basis of the open circuit voltage (OCV) value of each of the plurality of cells or a state of charge (SOC) of each of the plurality of cells.

Abstract: A manual control for an electronic apparatus includes a manually activated rocker actuator mechanism coupled to a magnet source. The magnet source is in a rest position relative to a Variable Hall effect sensor device when the rocker actuator mechanism is in a rest position. A variable output signal from the sensor device is substantially at a minimum value when the magnet source is in the rest position relative to the sensor device. The magnet source is in a maximum position relative to the sensor device when the rocker actuator mechanism is in a maximum position. The variable output signal is substantially at a maximum value when the magnet source is in the maximum position relative to the sensor device.

Abstract: A wearable electric field detector is configured to detect an electric field generated by a high-voltage electrical source in an environment, and includes a housing providing a cavity in which electrical components are provided, an indicator operatively coupled to the electrical components and configured to provide an alert to the wearer indicative of a strength of a detected electric field, and a spring-biased clip coupled to the housing by a pivotal connection. The clip includes a first arm section which overlays a top wall of the housing, and a second arm section which overlays a front wall of the housing. At least one pin is mounted within a bore in the housing, and a spring within the bore biases the pin outward from the housing and into contact with the second arm section of the clip.

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed relating to sensing an object using an inductive proximity sensor. In an embodiment, an apparatus includes a transmission coil having turns formed on a first circuit board and including a first primary winding having a first winding direction. The apparatus further includes a first sensor coil having turns formed on a second circuit board and including a second primary winding having a second winding direction and a second sensor coil having turns formed on a third circuit board and including a third primary winding having a third winding direction opposite to the second winding direction. The coils are spaced apart from one another in a common axial direction and at least one of the coils includes a compensation winding having at least one turn, where the compensation winding is arranged radially outside of, and has a winding direction opposite to, the same coil's primary winding.

Abstract: A temperature control device controls power supplied to a heater based on a temperature estimate value estimated over time so that a temperature control target to which heat propagates from the heater of the fixing unit reaches a preset target temperature. The temperature control device includes a temperature sensor, first and second storage circuits, a temperature difference detection circuit, and a target temperature correction circuit. The temperature sensor detects a temperature of the heater. The first storage circuit stores the temperature estimate value. The second storage circuit stores a sensor temperature. The temperature difference detection circuit calculates an actual temperature rise amount from a temperature difference between the temperature estimate value and the temperature of the heater from the respective storage circuits. The temperature correction circuit performs control such that a target temperature is lowered in accordance with the actual temperature rise amount.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to an all-solid-state battery analysis system capable of reliably obtaining an electrochemical signal according to the degree of charge of an electrode, and an all-solid-state battery analysis method using the same. The system may include a body member, of cylindrical shape, having a first cavity extending therethrough in a vertical direction and a second cavity extending therethrough in a horizontal direction and communicating with the first cavity. The system may include a first conductive member including a first base having a plate shape and a first protrusion protruding from the first base having a shape corresponding to a shape of the first cavity; and a second conductive member including a second base having a plate shape and a second protrusion protruding from the second base and having a shape corresponding to the shape of the first cavity.

Abstract: A positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heater apparatus is provided. The PTC heater apparatus includes a PTC heater, a resistance temperature detector (RTD) sensor mounted to the PTC heater and a controller logic unit electrically connected to the RTD sensor to receive readings of the RTD sensor, which, when the PTC heater is powered on, indicate whether the PTC heater is faulty.

Abstract: Radiometer systems and methods that mitigate flicker (1/f) noise are provided. A microwave radiometer system with accuracy impacted by 1/f noise comprises active components which, between measurements, are powered off and on. By powering the active components off and on, 1/f noise is mitigated. Disclosed systems and methods include performing a first measurement with a sensor of a radiometer, after performing the first measurement, switching power to one or more active components of the radiometer off, the active components comprising one or more of an amplifier, a square law detector, and an A/D converter, after switching the power to the one or more active components off, switching the power to the one or more active components on, and after switching the power to the one or more active components on, performing a second measurement with the sensor.

Abstract: Provided is a test pin for inspecting the presence of an electrical defect in a semiconductor and a camera module, the test pin comprising: a top plunger which is in contact with an object to be inspected to transmit an electrical signal thereto, and detects an output signal output from the object to be inspected; and a bottom plunger which transmits, to the top plunger, an electrical signal received from inspection equipment and transmits, to the inspection equipment, a monitoring signal detected by the top plunger, wherein the bottom plunger adopts a double spring structure and thus is configured to elastically support a load applied from the top plunger, such that the object to be inspected may be precisely inspected for the presence of an electrical defect, and electrical contact of the test pin may be improved, thereby increasing measurement precision.

Abstract: An image forming device includes a fixing unit to fix a toner image to a recording material while heating the recording material, a frame unit provided with a guide portion to guide the recording material to the fixing unit, and a width detector provided in a portion of the frame unit in which the guide portion is provided to detect a recording material width. The frame unit has a first mounting hole to which the width detector is attached and a second mounting hole. The second mounting hole is provided at a position that differs from a position of the first mounting hole in a recording material width direction, the second mounting hole further is provided in the portion of the frame unit in which the guide portion is provided, and the width detector is attachable in the second mounting hole but not attached to the second mounting hole.

Abstract: A photovoltaic system, a relay detection method, and a power supply system. When a fault, for example, sticking of the relay is detected, the controller stops sending a PWM driver gating signal to the inverter, and stops driving of a switch transistor in the inverter, and the inverter stops outputting power, and then determines whether a voltage difference between two ends of the relay is greater than a preset value, to determine whether the relay is faulty. The controller stops sending the PWM driver gating signal to the inverter only within a preset phase range of a voltage of the filter capacitor, to ensure that the voltage of the filter capacitor has a large value. Because the voltage of the filter capacitor is large, an alternating current grid-to-ground voltage is pulled up, to avoid detecting the fault as an alternating current grid-to-ground short circuit.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus comprises a sensor provided in a toner container and is configured to detect information regarding a remaining amount of toner contained in the toner container. An AC power supply supplies an AC voltage to the sensor. A DC power supply generates a DC voltage in a given polarity by converting the AC voltage output from the AC power supply, and applies the DC voltage in the given polarity to a primary transfer member.

Abstract: A device for selecting the driving mode of an autonomous motor vehicle includes an electrical assembly in which a switch is associated in series with a first resistor. A safety resistor is connected in parallel with the switch and with the associated first resistor. The electrical assembly is connected firstly to a DC voltage source of a computer and secondly to a ground of the computer such that the equivalent resistance of the electrical assembly makes it possible to determine firstly whether the switch is closed or open and secondly a potential fault with the electrical assembly.

Abstract: A semiconductor Hall plate-based sensor can provide information about package stress and can be substantially immune to the influence of magnetic fields. In an example, the sensor can include a Hall plate and an excitation circuit. The excitation circuit can provide signals to respective node pairs of the Hall plate. A measurement circuit can receive information about a first electric signal at a first pair of nodes in response to a first portion of the excitation signal, and can receive information about a second electric signal at a second pair of nodes in response to a second portion of the excitation signal. The first and second electric signals can indicate a charge carrier mobility characteristic of the semiconductor, which can be used to provide an indication of physical stress on the sensor.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides a circuit and apparatus for generating a signal source for impedance measurement of rock and ore samples, including a smart mobile device; an integrated instrument, where the integrated instrument is connected to the smart mobile device via a wireless network, and a first electrode interface, a second electrode interface, a third electrode interface and a fourth electrode interface are fixedly arranged on the integrated instrument; and a sample rack, where the sample rack includes a first unpolarized electrode, a second unpolarized electrode, a third unpolarized electrode, and a fourth unpolarized electrode, rock and ore samples are placed between the second unpolarized electrode and the third unpolarized electrode, and a first end of the first unpolarized electrode is electrically connected to the first electrode interface by a triaxial cable.