Abstract: A developer container includes: a housing chamber 147 which includes an opening 145 and which houses developer; a stirring member 160 which includes a sheet-like stirring portion 160b and a rotary shaft 160a to which the stirring portion 160b is attached; and a first electrode 143 and a second electrode 144 which are used to detect an amount of the developer and which are arranged with an interval therebetween, where in an area X1 between the first electrode 143 and the second electrode 144 in the housing chamber 147 is positioned below the rotary shaft 160a of the stirring member 160, and the sheet-like stirring portion 160b comes into contact with the area X1 due to rotation of the stirring member 160.

Abstract: A vehicle-lamp control device includes a control unit that adjusts an optical axis with respect to a change in a total angle that includes a road surface angle and a vehicle attitude angle while the vehicle is at rest, and maintains the optical axis with respect to a change in the total angle while the vehicle is traveling. The control unit fixes the optical axis angle when a fault state of the control device is detected. Upon the control device having recovered from a fault state, the control unit generates an adjustment signal either upon estimating a current vehicle attitude angle on the basis of an output value from the tilt sensor obtained while the vehicle is traveling, or upon receiving a signal indicating a current vehicle attitude angle from an external device.

Abstract: There is configured a solid-state imaging unit including: a semiconductor base 21 having one surface serving as a circuit formation surface and another surface serving as a light receiving surface; a photoelectric conversion section 22 provided in the semiconductor base 21; a reflection layer 24 provided on the circuit formation surface above the photoelectric conversion section 22; and an insulating section 23 arranged in the reflection layer 24.

Abstract: There is configured a solid-state image pickup unit including a photoelectric conversion section formed on a light incident side of a substrate; a first charge accumulation section accumulating a signal charge generated by the photoelectric conversion section; a second charge accumulation section formed in a region other than a light-condensing region where incident light is condensed in the substrate on a side opposite to a light incident side and formed to be laminated together with the first charge accumulation section in a depth direction of the substrate; and a floating diffusion section formed in a region other than the light-condensing region in the substrate on the side opposite to the light incident side and converting the signal charge into a voltage.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a potential detection portion that determines a surface potential of an image bearing member on the basis of an applied voltage value of a detection voltage applied to a voltage application member by a voltage application portion and a detected current value detected by a current detection portion in response to the applied voltage, and a control unit that sets an image formation condition for performing image formation in order to form a toner image on the image bearing member on the basis of the surface potential determined by the potential detection portion. When the surface potential is determined by the potential detection portion, the voltage application portion applies the detection voltage after applying, to the voltage application member, a voltage having an opposite polarity to an image formation voltage that is applied to the voltage application member during image formation.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a solid-state imaging device that can perform phase difference detection at a high sensitivity even in fine pixels, and an electronic apparatus. Pixels of the solid-state imaging device share one on-chip lens, and the pixels each have an in-layer lens below the on-chip lens. The present disclosure can be applied to various kinds of electronic apparatuses, such as solid-state imaging devices, imaging apparatuses like digital still cameras and digital video cameras, portable telephone devices having imaging functions, and audio players having imaging functions.

Abstract: A solid-state image pickup device includes at least two stacked first and second photoelectric conversion sections in each of a plurality of pixels. Sensitivity of the first photoelectric conversion section to a light incident angle is equivalent to sensitivity of the second photoelectric conversion section to a light incident angle, for each of the pixels.

Abstract: A solid-state imaging device includes a substrate and a photoelectric conversion region. The substrate has a charge accumulation region. The photoelectric conversion region is provided on the substrate. The photoelectric conversion region is configured to generate signal charges to be accumulated in the charge accumulation region. The photoelectric conversion region comprises a material that is not transparent.

Abstract: A vehicular head-lighting system includes: an identification unit that from a plurality of zones defined in front of a driver's vehicle identifies a zone in which a frontward vehicle is located; and a selection unit that in accordance with the zone identified by the identification unit selects from the plurality of light distribution patterns a light distribution pattern that is to be formed. The selection unit selects the low beam light distribution pattern when the identification unit identifies the frontward vehicle as being located in the first zone, selects the adaptive high beam light distribution pattern when the identification unit identifies the frontward vehicle as being located in the second zone, and maintains the currently selected light distribution pattern when the identification unit identifies the frontward vehicle as being located in the transitional zone.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable photosensitive drum including a photosensitive layer; a drum charging member contacted or disposed closely to the drum, to be supplied with a DC voltage; a developing device; a transfer member for transferring a toner image onto a toner image receiving member; a device for applying to the transfer member a transfer bias voltage; a light projecting portion for projecting light to the drum before the charging and after the image transfer; a controller for controlling a quantity of the projected light, on the basis of the transfer bias and a film thickness of the photosensitive layer, wherein under a condition that the transfer bias is the same, the light amount controlled by the controller is smaller when the film thickness is a second value than when it is a first value, the second value being smaller than the first value.

Abstract: A process cartridge includes a drum unit configured to rotatably hold a photosensitive drum, a developing unit that is assembled in such a manner as to be rotatable relative to the drum unit and includes a developing roller, gap maintaining members provided to the photosensitive drum or the developing roller on both end portions of the photosensitive drum in an axial direction, and urging members configured to bias the developing unit toward the drum unit. The urging members are respectively disposed on outer sides of the gap maintaining members disposed at both end portions in the axial direction. The drum unit or the developing unit includes an electric contact portion configured to come into contact with an electric contact of an image forming apparatus when the process cartridge is attached to the image forming apparatus, the electric contact portion being disposed between the gap maintaining members in the axial direction.

Abstract: A solid-state image pickup device includes at least two stacked first and second photoelectric conversion sections in each of a plurality of pixels. Sensitivity of the first photoelectric conversion section to a light incident angle is equivalent to sensitivity of the second photoelectric conversion section to a light incident angle, for each of the pixels.

Abstract: A physical information acquisition method in which a corresponding wavelength region of visible light with at least one visible light detection unit coupled to an image signal processing unit is detected, each said visible light detection unit comprising a color filter adapted to transmit the corresponding wavelength region of visible light; a wavelength region of infrared light with at least one infrared light detection unit coupled to the image signal processing unit is detected; and, with the signal processing unit, a first signal received from the at least one visible light detection unit by subtracting a product from said first signal is corrected, said product resulting from multiplication of a second signal received from the at least one infrared light detection unit and a predetermined coefficient factor.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes: a light emitting unit configured to emit light; an optical unit configured to induce an optical influence to the light from the light emitting unit, the optical unit having an astigmatic lens configured to generate astigmatism with a plurality of focal lengths; a detecting unit configured to detect the light emitted in the light emitting unit, radiated outside through the optical unit, and reflected by an object; and a measuring unit configured to measure a distance to the object based on astigmatism generated in the reflection light detected in the detecting unit.

Abstract: A solid-state imaging device includes a substrate and a photoelectric conversion region. The substrate has a charge accumulation region. The photoelectric conversion region is provided on the substrate. The photoelectric conversion region is configured to generate signal charges to be accumulated in the charge accumulation region. The photoelectric conversion region comprises a material that is not transparent.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a solid-state imaging device, a driving method for the same, and an electronic appliance, and an object is to provide a solid-state imaging device that can achieve the pixel miniaturization and the global shutter function with higher sensitivity and saturated charge amount. Another object is to provide an electronic appliance including the solid-state imaging device. In a solid-state imaging device 1 having the global shutter function, a first charge accumulation unit 18 and a second charge accumulation unit 25 are stacked in the depth direction of a substrate 12, and the transfer of the signal charges from the first charge accumulation unit 12 to the second charge accumulation unit 25 is conducted by a vertical first transfer transistor Tr1. Thus, the pixel miniaturization can be achieved.

Abstract: Voltages are applied to an image bearing member using at least three application voltage values which are larger than a discharge start voltage value and which have different magnitudes, at least one of the application voltage values having a value at which a direction of a current corresponding to the one of the application voltage values is reverse to those of currents corresponding to the other application voltage values. A relation between the application voltage value and the detection current value in a discharge area is calculated based on at least three application voltage values Vd1, Vd2, Vd3 and at least three detection current values Id1, Id2, Id3 detected by a current detection portion in relation to at least three application voltage values Vd1, Vd2, Vd3 and a voltage value V0 at which the detection current value is zero is calculated based on the relation in the discharge area.

Abstract: Solid-state imaging devices (1) including: a substrate (12); a photoelectric conversion section (50) comprising a chalcopyrite material formed over the substrate in a light incident side; a transparent electrode (57) in the light incident side of the photoelectric conversion section; and an electron barrier layer (58) formed between the photoelectric conversion section and the transparent electrode; and methods of manufacturing the solid-state imaging devices and electronic apparatuses including the solid-state imaging devices.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a solid-state imaging device that can be made smaller in size, a method of manufacturing the solid-state imaging device, and an electronic apparatus. The solid-state imaging device includes a photoelectric conversion film that performs photoelectric conversion of light emitted from the back surface side of the semiconductor substrate. Also, in each pixel, a charge accumulation layer is formed to be in contact with the photoelectric conversion film on the back surface of the semiconductor substrate, a transfer path unit is formed to extend from the charge accumulation layer to a point near the front surface of the semiconductor substrate, and a memory unit is disposed near the back surface side of the semiconductor substrate, with a charge transfer gate being interposed between the memory unit and the transfer path unit.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes: a light emitting unit configured to emit light; an optical unit configured to induce an optical influence to the light from the light emitting unit, the optical unit having an astigmatic lens configured to generate astigmatism with a plurality of focal lengths; a detecting unit configured to detect the light emitted in the light emitting unit, radiated outside through the optical unit, and reflected by an object; and a measuring unit configured to measure a distance to the object based on astigmatism generated in the reflection light detected in the detecting unit.