Abstract: An electrode mounting structure of a surface treatment apparatus in which a metal electrode is disposed so as to oppose to an inner-peripheral surface of a cylinder, the electrode and the cylinder are energized in a state where treatment liquid is interposed between the electrode and the cylinder inner-peripheral surface so as to perform pre-plating or plating to the cylinder inner-peripheral surface, and the metal electrode is detachably attached to a metal electrode holder member. The structure includes a resin coupler having a threaded portion engaged with a threaded portion formed on the electrode holder member.

Abstract: A heat exchanger including plate fins stacked at respective intervals relative to one another, and heat exchanger tubes penetrating the fins in. The heat exchanger exchanges heat between first and second fluids flowing, respectively, inside and outside the heat exchanger tubes. Each of the fins includes a substantially planar main body and cut-raised portions extending from the main body and disposed at an upstream side of flow of the second fluid. Each of the cut-raised portions corresponds to a respective heat exchanger tube and includes first and second opposed side ends connected to the main body of the fin. The first side end is nearer to the corresponding heat exchanger tube than is the second side end, the first side end is longer than the second side end, and the first side end is disposed at a downstream side of the flow of the second fluid, facing the corresponding heat exchanger tube.

Abstract: A plating processing line or system includes a plurality of surface processing apparatus including a surface processing apparatus for processing a surface of an object to be treated by introducing a treatment liquid to the surface, and a conveyer unit for conveying the object to be treated, which is disposed between the respective surface processing apparatus linearly or in a curved manner. Each of the surface processing apparatus includes a positioning unit for positioning the object to be treated, which has been conveyed by the conveyer unit to a predetermined position, at which the object is subjected to a pre-plating process or a plating process as a surface processing.

Abstract: A sealing jig comes into contact with a cylinder inner peripheral surface as a surface to be processed of a cylinder block and seals the cylinder inner peripheral surface in introducing treatment liquid to the cylinder inner peripheral surface. The sealing jig includes: a sealing member made of an expandable material and having a ring-buoy shape; a lower plate for supporting a lower side of the sealing member; and a seal base disposed so as to face the lower plate and to support an upper side of the sealing member. The sealing member is regulated by the lower plate and the seal base and expanded only in a radial direction to come into contact with the cylinder inner peripheral surface when air is introduced inward.

Abstract: A plating method for pre-plating or plating a cylinder inner peripheral surface to be treated of a cylinder block by introducing treatment liquid to the cylinder inner peripheral surface by using a plating apparatus provided with a sealing jig having a sealing member and an electrode to which the seal jig is mounted includes the steps, which are performed successively: sealing the cylinder inner peripheral surface by bringing the sealing jig into contact with the cylinder inner peripheral surface; introducing the treatment liquid to the cylinder inner peripheral surface; and treating the cylinder inner peripheral surface by applying predetermined charge to the electrode of the plating apparatus and the cylinder block to thereby perform pre-plating or plating process in a state that a liquid to be treated fills a space including the cylinder inner peripheral surface. In the method, the treatment liquid introducing step is performed after confirmation of sealing by the sealing step.

Abstract: A heat exchanger including plate fins and, the tubes fins being stacked at respective intervals relative to one another, and heat exchanger tubes penetrating the fins in a fin-stacking direction. The heat exchanger exchanges heat between fluids flowing, respectively, inside and outside the heat exchanger tubes, through the heat exchanger tubes and the fins. Each of the fins includes cut-raised portions with a bridge shape having leg and beam segments. The cut-raised portions associated with each of the heat exchanger tubes are located substantially only in a region of the fin satisfying Ws=(1??)Dp+?D ?>0.5, where Ws is spread width of the cut-raised portions in a direction (column direction) extending along an end of the fin on the upstream side of the second fluid, and D is outer diameter of the heat exchanger tube. Dp is alignment pitch of the heat exchanger tubes in the column direction.

Abstract: A power system protection system prevents a voltage drop resulting from the reactive power characteristic of a power system. A main device for acquiring a system electric quantity of one or a plurality of upper substations detects a voltage drop resulting from the reactive power characteristic of the power system and transmits a detection signal of the voltage drop to a terminal device for acquiring a system electric quantity of one or a plurality of lower substations. Each terminal device sequentially sheds loads starting from those suffering more from the influence of the voltage drop resulting from the reactive power characteristic based on the load voltage and load current of a load bus.

Abstract: This invention relates to a fiber-made surface fastener comprising joining faces each in which a plurality of fiber-made engaging elements are provided on one surface of each flat base fabric. By specifying a structure and composition yarns of the base fabric of the same surface fastener, the ratio (A/B) of an area A of a range in which sound spectrum of a peeling-off sound Fourier-transformed in a range of 100 Hz to 15000 Hz is 100 Hz to 3000 Hz to an area B of a range in which sound spectrum of a peeling-off sound Fourier-transformed in a range of 100 Hz to 15000 Hz is 3000 Hz to 15000 Hz is 0.4 or more. Consequently, tone of a sound generated when the surface fastener is peeled off and when the surface fastener attached on a product is peeled off is shifted to a low tone side so as to reduce an uncomfortable sound to a lower tone thereby reducing a feeling of discomfort.

Abstract: To improve the heat transfer performance of a heat exchanger and achieve an air conditioner having high energy efficiency. The heat exchanger 15 includes a plurality of fins 1 that is arranged in parallel with each other with a predetermined spacing along the rotational axis direction of a blower 5; heat exchanger tubes 2 that are substantially perpendicularly inserted into the fins 1 so as to form a plurality of rows along the longitudinal direction of the fins 1 connected to each other along the airflow direction, to thereby form refrigerant channels; and a branch portion that is provided to connection portions of the heat exchanger tubes 2, and that partially increases or decrease the number of paths in the refrigerant channels.

Abstract: In a clean unit in which an active dust filter is used to keep a work chamber as a clean environment, the cleanliness of the work chamber depends upon 1/? where ? is the dust collection efficiency of the dust filter. A solar cell is formed from an anode and cathode formed spiral with a semiconductor layer being laid between them to have the general form of a plate. The solar cell has, for example, a circular, a triangular or hexagonal form.

Abstract: A power system protection system for preventing a voltage drop resulting from the reactive power characteristic of a power system. A main device for acquiring a system electric quantity of one or a plurality of upper substations detects a voltage drop resulting from the reactive power characteristic of the power system and transmits a detection signal of the voltage drop to a terminal device for acquiring a system electric quantity of one or a plurality of lower substations. Each terminal device sequentially sheds loads starting from those suffering more from the influence of the voltage drop resulting from the reactive power characteristic based on the load voltage and load current of a load bus.

Abstract: A heat exchanger including plate fins and, the tubes fins being stacked at respective intervals relative to one another, and heat exchanger tubes penetrating the fins in a fin-stacking direction. The heat exchanger exchanges heat between fluids flowing, respectively, inside and outside the heat exchanger tubes, through the heat exchanger tubes and the fins. Each of the fins includes cut-raised portions with a bridge shape having leg and beam segments. The cut-raised portions associated with each of the heat exchanger tubes are located substantially only in a region of the fin satisfying Ws=(1??)Dp+?D ?>0.5, where Ws is spread width of the cut-raised portions in a direction (column direction) extending along an end of the fin on the upstream side of the second fluid, and D is outer diameter of the heat exchanger tube. Dp is alignment pitch of the heat exchanger tubes in the column direction.

Abstract: An input apparatus includes a first optical waveguide and a second optical waveguide disposed so as to intersect each other and coupled to each other at the intersection portion. The intersection portion has a stress-luminescent material. When each of the first and second optical waveguides is configured as an optical fiber, the stress-luminescent material is provided in a clad of the optical fiber. The stress-luminescent material is represented by a composite material of SrAl2O4:Eu and polyester. The composite material emits luminescence, for example, by contact with a finger with the material, or applying ultrasonic vibration to the material. An optical waveguide apparatus, an optomechanical apparatus, a detecting apparatus, an information processing apparatus, a key-input apparatus, and a fiber structure, each of which uses the stress-luminescent material, are also disclosed.

Abstract: A surface fastener and a product attached with the same surface fastener, having a structure for reducing a sound generated upon separation of a surface fastener member itself and capable of reducing a sound generated upon separation of the product attached with the same surface fastener. A sheet material is attached to a rear surface of a flat base material of a surface fastener member comprising an engaging-element-formation region having multiple engaging elements on a front surface of the flat base material and an engaging-element non-formation region having no engaging elements or comprising a sewing region and a non-sewing region. The sheet material has apparent density of 0.5 g/cm3 or less at least in a region corresponding to the engaging-element-formation region or the non-sewing region as sound transmission restricting means, or has at least one through hole as the sound transmission restricting means. Further, the apparent density of the flat base material is set to 0.5 g/cm3.

Abstract: This invention relates to an air conditioner having an air inlet at its upper portion. The heat exchanger (4) includes multiple plate fins (1) arranged in parallel so that air flows therebetween, and heat transfer tubes (2) perpendicularly inserted into the plate fins (1) and arranged perpendicularly to the air flow direction through which working fluid passes. The heat exchanger (4) includes a lower front heat exchanger (4a), an upper front heat exchanger (4b), and a rear heat exchanger (4c) separately produced and arranged to surround the circulating fan (5). The air pressure loss of the lower front heat exchanger (4a) is set to be smaller than the air pressure losses of the other heat exchangers.

Abstract: A fracture structure is grown from a plurality of starting points. A fractal structure, grown from respective starting points and interconnected by interactive growths, forms a neural network. A growth speed originated at a specific starting point is determined by the probability of a material reaching a grown portion from a remote location by means of a diffusion process and the probability of a growth promoting factor reaching a grown portion by means of a diffusion process from a portion grown from a starting point other than the specific one. Anisotropy is introduced into a space in which a fractal structure is to be grown, as required.

Abstract: The present invention provides an optical switch for making part of incident light, which has been made incident on an optical waveguide, selectively emergent to a light emergence portion provided outside the optical waveguide. The optical switch includes a liquid crystal device for selective emergence of the incident light. An arbitrary layer of the liquid crystal device is set such that letting ?n be a difference between a refractive index no of the optical waveguide and a refractive index n1 of the arbitrary layer of the liquid crystal device, “d” be a thickness of the arbitrary layer, and ? be a wavelength of the incident light, the values of ?n, “d”, and ? satisfy a condition of 2.20×10?3?|?n·d·??1|?3.03×10?3. With this optical switch, the uniformity of a light emergence efficiency can be easily realized by making use of a small change region in which the light emergence efficiency is not largely varied. The present invention also provides a display unit using the optical switches.

Abstract: This invention relates to a fiber-made surface fastener comprising joining faces each in which a plurality of fiber-made engaging elements are provided on one surface of each flat base fabric. By specifying a structure and composition yarns of the base fabric of the same surface fastener, the ratio (A/B) of an area A of a range in which sound spectrum of a peeling-off sound Fourier-transformed in a range of 100 Hz to 15000 Hz is 100 Hz to 3000 Hz to an area B of a range in which sound spectrum of a peeling-off sound Fourier-transformed in a range of 100 Hz to 15000 Hz is 3000 Hz to 15000 Hz is 0.4 or more. Consequently, tone of a sound generated when the surface fastener is peeled off and when the surface fastener attached on a product is peeled off is shifted to a low tone side so as to reduce an uncomfortable sound to a lower tone thereby reducing a feeling of discomfort.

Abstract: A functional device, a manufacturing method thereof, functional system and functional material are provided. A functional device is formed by coupling a first structure formed by local interaction and a second structure formed according to a predetermined global rule via a third structure having an anisotropic configuration. The third structure may be made by stacking two superlattice thin pieces, each split from a one-dimensional superlattice in form of a periodical lamination of conductive layers and dielectric layers, by rotating one from the other by 90 degrees.

Abstract: In an electro-rheological composition comprising an electrical insulating medium and solid particles dispersed therein, insulating solid particles possessed of morphological anisotropy are used as the solid particles. In a preferred embodiment, the insulating solid particles mentioned above are plate-like insulating solid particles, preferably plate-like insulating solid particles having a diameter (particle diameter) not less than 1 ?m, more preferably plate-like aluminum oxide particles having a diameter not less than 1 ?m. In another preferred embodiment, the insulating solid particles which have undergone a surface treatment with organic molecules or a semiconducting inorganic material, particularly the insulating solid particles having a metal oxide such as tin oxide and titanium oxide adhered to the surfaces thereof are used as the particles. Still another preferred embodiment is the ER composition of which electrical insulating medium is gelled.