Abstract: A vulcanized fluoro rubber is provided by vulcanizing a composition comprising 100 parts by mass of mixture in which a raw fluoro rubber (A) in which appropriate amount of vulcanizing agent has been previously compounded and a raw fluoro rubber (B) in which the vulcanizing agent is not compounded are mixed at a rate of 8/2 to 3/7, 1 to 10 parts by mass of an acid acceptor and 0 to 5 parts by mass of another compounding agent which is compounded as needed. Number average molecular weight of each of the raw fluoro rubber (A) and the raw fluoro rubber (B) is 3.5×104 to 2.0×105.

Abstract: A disk drive comprises a cartridge holding mechanism which has a small size and reduces a damper load. The disk drive comprises: a spindle motor 91 which mounts and rotates a disk; a traverse base 82 which holds the spindle motor 91; a rubber damper 71 which flexibly holds the traverse base 82; a mechanical chassis 60 which holds the traverse base 82 through the rubber damper 71; a tray 20 which mounts a cartridge 1 in which a disk is housed; and a loading motor 61 which moves the disk in the cartridge 1 close to the spindle motor 91 or away from the spindle motor 91. The cartridge 1 is supported by the mechanical chassis 60 through the tray 20.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an electrophotographic photosensitive member having high durability and hardly causing sensitivity decrease even if short wavelength light, particularly light having a wavelength of 380 to 450 nm is used as exposure light, and a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus having the electrophotographic photosensitive member. The present invention includes an electrophotographic photosensitive member comprising a support and a photosensitive layer which is provided on the support and contains a charge generation material and a charge transport material, characterized in that the surface layer of the electrophotographic photosensitive member contains an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid polyester resin with a weight average molecular weight of 80,000 or more having a specific repeating structural unit, and a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus having the electrophotographic photosensitive member.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus forms a plurality of tone patterns of different colors, each of which containing a plurality of toner patches having different toner densities. Some of the toner patches in each of the tone patterns are formed with a predetermined fixed developing bias and the rest of the toner patches in each of the tone patterns are formed with developing biases set based on previous developing biases that have been obtained through a previous control process. The largest toner density of the toner patches in each of the tone patterns is determined based on a magnitude relation of previous index values obtained through the previous control process.

Abstract: In a reuse method for reusing a reusable device and a sensor of a first image forming apparatus having a first process linear velocity in a second image forming apparatus having at least one second process linear velocity different from the first process linear velocity, the reusable device and the sensor are installed in the first image forming apparatus, and when the first image forming apparatus switches from the first process linear velocity to the second process linear velocity at an initial state before the reusable device is used, output of the sensor at the second process linear velocity is measured. When information on the output of the sensor at the second process linear velocity is stored, the reusable device and the sensor are removed from the first image forming apparatus and installed in the second image forming apparatus.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an electrophotographic photosensitive member having high durability and hardly causing sensitivity decrease even if short wavelength light, particularly light having a wavelength of 380 to 450 nm is used as exposure light, and a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus having the electrophotographic photosensitive member. The present invention includes an electrophotographic photosensitive member comprising a support and a photosensitive layer which is provided on the support and contains a charge generation material and a charge transport material, characterized in that the surface layer of the electrophotographic photosensitive member contains an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid polyester resin with a weight average molecular weight of 80,000 or more having a specific repeating structural unit, and a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus having the electrophotographic photosensitive member.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to effectively manufacture a charged-particle beam lithography mask, an X-ray lithography mask, or an extreme ultraviolet beam lithography mask by using, for example, an existing writer such as an electron beam writer for photomasks, while achieving improvement in processing accuracy of a mask pattern. A lithography mask (1) comprises a substrate (2) which has a lower surface provided substantially at the center thereof with an opening (3) and a self-supporting membrane (m) having a pattern region (4) substantially at the center of an upper surface of the substrate (2) corresponding to the opening (3). The self-supporting membrane (m) is provided with through-holes (h) of a mask pattern in it or an absorber or scatterer of a mask pattern on it, and the pattern region (4) and a peripheral region around the pattern region (5) are in one plane.

Abstract: A process of producing a part for casting including the step of preparing a raw material slurry containing inorganic fibers, organic fibers, a thermosetting resin, a papermaking binder, and a sulfonate-based and/or a cellulose-based dispersant. The raw material slurry preferably further contains an inorganic powder and/or a water repellant.

Abstract: A disk drive includes a cartridge holding mechanism which has a small size and reduces a damper load. The disk drive includes a spindle motor which mounts and rotates a disk. A traverse base holds the spindle motor, and a rubber damper flexibly holds the traverse base. A mechanical chassis holds the traverse base through the rubber damper, and a tray mounts a cartridge in which a disk is housed. A loading motor moves the disk in the cartridge close to the spindle motor or away from the spindle motor. The cartridge is supported by the mechanical chassis through the tray.

Abstract: The present invention provides a diamond-like carbon coated carrier for holding an object to be polished used for double-sided polishing, and a manufacturing method therefor. The carrier for holding a workpiece according to the present invention has a substrate whose entire surface is coated with diamond-like carbon. The method of the present invention includes coating the entire carrier surface with diamond-like carbon using a surface coating apparatus using plasma CVD.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a control device that calculates a developing ability of the developing device based on a detection value detected by an optical detection device from the plural toner patches. The control device adjusts an image formation condition based on the calculated developing ability. A factor detection device is provided to detect a contributing factor that causes the developing ability to largely change after the last adjustment of the image formation condition. The control device controls image formation such that when the factor detection device does not detect the contribution factor and a developing ability calculated this time is different from that calculated last time (as to a part of the plural toner patches), the plural toner patches are formed based on a prescribed fixed image formation condition so that an attraction amount of toner attracting to the plural toner patches enter a prescribed range detectable for the optical detection device.

Abstract: A process cartridge for use in an image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member and a developing unit. The developing unit includes a developer bearing member to bear developer including toner and carrier, a casing forming a developer container containing the developer, a screw having a shaft with a spiral screw blade, a toner density sensor to detect a density of the toner on a detection surface, and a detection surface agitating member fixedly mounted on the shaft of the screw at a position facing a detection surface to scrape away the developer accumulated on the detection surface as the screw rotates. The detection surface agitating member includes an elastic sheet elastically deformable to scrape away the developer accumulated on the detection surface and disposed at a substantially same angle to an axial direction of the shaft of the screw as the spiral screw blade.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus and an image density control method for controlling image density in the image forming apparatus, involving adjusting a toner concentration control reference value in accordance with an amount of the toner replaced in a developing device so as to adjust the image density to maintain a consistent developability and changing image forming intervals in accordance with an amount of the toner replaced in the developing device during continuous printing operation.

Abstract: Provides is a compound semiconductor substrate about which the thickness of its nitride semiconductor single crystal layer can be made large while the generation of cracks, crystal defects or the like is restrained in the nitride semiconductor single crystal layer. The substrate has a first intermediate layer 110 formed on a Si single crystal substrate 100 having a crystal plane orientation of {111}. In the layer 110, a first metal compound layer 110a made of any one of TiC, TiN, VC and VN, and a second metal compound layer 110b made of any one of compounds which are different from the compound of the first metal compound layer out of TiC, TiN, VC and VN are laminated in this order alternately each other over the Si single crystal.

Abstract: A combined AD/DA converting apparatus includes an input signal selection circuit configured to select one analog signal out of a plurality of analog input signals based on an input selection signal; an input sample hold circuit configured to sample and hold the analog input signal; a DA converter configured to convert a digital signal into an analog signal; a comparator circuit configured to output a comparison signal that indicates a size relation between the analog input signal and the analog signal; a sequential comparison register configured to define sequentially each place of a digital signal stored in the register based on the comparison signal; and a selection circuit configured to output the digital signal to the DA converter when the conversion selection signal indicates AD conversion, and to output the digital input signal to the DA converter when the conversion selection signal indicates DA conversion.

Abstract: A system, method, and computer program product that have a graphical user interface capable of easily generating different kinds of items on a canvas by a user by operation of a mouse pointer on the canvas without requiring movement of the mouse pointer between a palette and the canvas are disclosed. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention a system is provided which comprises displaying means to display a pointer and a positional reference on a display screen; input means to accept an operation by a user; and control means to control a position and a function of the pointer on the display screen in response to the operation; wherein the control means determines the function of the pointer according to a distance between the position of the pointer and the positional reference.

Abstract: A switching element is switched at a high frequency in accordance with control by a pulse generating circuit by using a D.C. power source portion as a power source, which results in that a discharge lamp is driven with a D.C. current through a smoothing circuit. A current detecting resistor detects the lamp current caused to flow through the discharge lamp, a current controlling circuit amplifies a deviation between the detected lamp current value and a preset current reference value, and the resulting value is applied to a feedback terminal (F/B) of the pulse generating circuit through a gain setting circuit. A gain changing circuit changes a loop gain of a feedback control system including the switching element, the smoothing circuit, the discharge lamp, and the pulse generating circuit at an output point of the gain setting circuit in correspondence to a fluctuation in a power source voltage (Vp) from the D.C. power source portion.

Abstract: A cushioning material for a heat press having a non-woven fiber composed of a fiber web (4), wherein the fiber web (4) comprises a first fiber (4a) containing softening temperature as a main component and a second fiber (4b) containing a second component having a relatively high softening temperature as a main component, and wherein the non-woven fabric has been compressed at a temperature being the softening temperature of the first component or higher and being the softening temperature of the second component or lower.

Abstract: To provide a nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate comprising a Si substrate and a nitride semiconductor film which has semi-polar (10-1m) plane (m: natural number) and a thickness of 1 ?m or more, the nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate being suitably used for a light-emitting device, the nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate being suitably used for a light-emitting device, this invention provides a nitride semiconductor single crystal substrate comprising a Si substrate having an off-cut angle of 1 to 35° in the <110> direction from the <100> direction, a buffer layer 2a (2b) made of at least one of SiC or BP formed on the Si substrate, a AlN buffer layer formed on the buffer layers, and a nitride semiconductor single crystal film formed on the AlN buffer layer, the nitride semiconductor single crystal film comprising any one of GaN (10-1m), AlN (10-1m), InN (10-1m) or a GaN (10-1m)/and AlN (10-1m) superlattice film.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier configured to carry an electrostatic latent image, a developing device configured to develop the electrostatic latent image with a two-component developer including toner and magnetic carrier, a toner supplier configured to supply the toner to the developing device, a toner concentration detector configured to detect toner concentration in the two-component developer inside the developing device, and a controller. The controller is configured to detect first information to determine toner replacement amount in the developing device during a predetermined time period and second information to determine a charge characteristic of the toner in the developing device, change a toner concentration control reference value based on the first information and the second information, and control the toner concentration based on an output from the toner concentration detector and the toner concentration control reference value.