Abstract: The following processes are performed to improve the accuracy of the process of estimating the volume of a cell clump from an image including the cell clump. First, the image including the cell clump is acquired, and the optical density of the cell clump in the image is measured. Cross-section information about the cell clump is acquired by observation using a confocal microscope or by physical cutting. Based on the cross-section information, the vertical height of the cell clump is determined. Thereafter, data representing a relationship between the aforementioned optical density and the height is acquired. This improves the accuracy of the process of converting the optical density into the height to thereby achieve the accurate estimation of the volume of the cell clump.

Abstract: A method of welding an overlapped portion according to the present invention in which a plurality of steel sheet members are joined at an overlapped portion, and at least one of the plurality of steel sheet members contains martensite, includes: forming a spot-welded portion having a nugget in the overlapped portion; and emitting a laser beam to form a melted and solidified portion crossing an end of the nugget and located between the nugget and a position externally spaced apart from an end of the nugget by not less than 3 mm, this melted and solidified portion being formed in the steel sheet member containing the martensite so as to have a depth of not less than 50% of the thickness of the steel sheet member containing the martensite at a position externally spaced apart from the end of the nugget by 1 mm.

Abstract: A culture quality evaluation method comprises: a first step of culturing a pluripotent stem cell under a predetermined culture condition and creating a sample; a second step of imaging a proliferated cell colony in the sample and accordingly capturing an original image; a third step of dividing the original image into smaller images of a predetermined size and calculating standard deviations of pixel values of pixels of the smaller images; and a fourth step of judging whether the sample is an acceptable sample based upon a ratio of a number of the smaller images whose values of the standard deviations are within a predetermined range to a total number of the smaller images.

Abstract: An imaging apparatus for imaging a two-dimensional image of an imaging object comprises a holder which holds a sample container carrying a biological sample as the imaging object on a carrying surface, a light emitting part which emits light toward the carrying surface, an imager which includes a strip-like light receiving part, receives the light incident on the light receiving part and thereby images an image of a strip-like region of the carrying surface, a strip-like light shield which shields a part of light emitted from the illuminator toward the strip-like region, and a mover which integrally and relatively moves the light emitting part, the light receiving part and the light shield with respect to the sample container.

Abstract: The following processes are performed to improve the accuracy of the process of estimating the volume of a cell clump from an image including the cell clump. First, the image including the cell clump is acquired, and the optical density of the cell clump in the image is measured. Cross-section information about the cell clump is acquired by observation using a confocal microscope or by physical cutting. Based on the cross-section information, the vertical height of the cell clump is determined. Thereafter, data representing a relationship between the aforementioned optical density and the height is acquired. This improves the accuracy of the process of converting the optical density into the height to thereby achieve the accurate estimation of the volume of the cell clump.

Abstract: Switching between highlighting and unhighlighting of an object determined as adopted and switching between highlighting and unhighlighting of an object determined as not adopted are performed individually and independently by manipulation of an on/off selectable button. This allows switching to be freely performed between the following states in which: objects are highlighted regardless of whether the objects are adopted or not; only an object determined as adopted is highlighted; only an object determined as not adopted is highlighted; and objects are not highlighted regardless of whether the objects are adopted or not. A user visually judges whether the result of the adoption/non-adoption process is proper or not easily while switching between these displays.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus displays an object adopted and an object not adopted by an adoption/non-adoption process in a distinguishable manner. A user designates an object whose adoption/non-adoption result is desired to be reversed among the objects displayed by the image processing apparatus. The image processing apparatus changes an allowable range stored in a storage part so that the adoption/non-adoption result of the designated object is reversed. That is, the user views the adoption/non-adoption result of the objects to change the allowable range of a parameter so that the adoption/non-adoption result becomes proper. This makes the allowable range of the parameter for use in the adoption/non-adoption process proper with ease.

Abstract: A formed member is provided which can be manufactured at a low cost, which has excellent dimensional accuracy, which has excellent axial crushing properties and three-point bending properties, which has excellent bending stiffness and torsional stiffness, and which is suitable for use in a component of an automobile. The formed member (20) has a reinforcing member (35) which is joined by a weld (40) provided on a ridge portion (28). It is manufactured by joining a flat sheet blank and a flat sheet reinforcing member (35) by a weld (40) and performing bending so that the weld (40) becomes a ridge portion (28).

Abstract: A preliminary image is obtained by irradiating illumination light, whose light quantity distribution is set at a standard state, to a specimen obtained by injecting fluid into a well from an illuminator capable of arbitrarily setting the light quantity distribution, for example, by a liquid crystal shutter, and a luminance distribution of the preliminary image is detected. As a result, luminance nonuniformity in the preliminary image is canceled by performing imaging with a light quantity distribution of illumination light to be incident on the well set such that an incident light amount is larger in a part with lower luminance.

Abstract: The welding quality classification apparatus relating to the present invention is an apparatus, wherein a data point indicating feature information of a welded joint to be classified whose welding quality is unknown is mapped to a point in a mapping space which has a dimensional number higher than the number of the features constituting the feature information, and the welding quality of a welded joint to be classified is classified based on which of regions of two welding qualities, which are formed by separating the mapping space with a decision boundary, contains the mapped point, and wherein a discriminant function is determined by adopting a weight which minimizes the sum of the classification error corresponding to classification accuracy of a training dataset and a regularization term having a positive correlation with the dimensional number of the discriminant function as weight for each feature constituting the discriminant function indicating the decision boundary.

Abstract: A laser welding method for stacked workpieces. A laser irradiation diameter that is irradiated on a surface of one workpiece among two stacked workpieces is set such that a laser irradiation diameter at a weld ending-edge portion is equal to or greater than approximately 1.5 times a laser irradiation diameter at a weld starting-edge portion. Thus, at the weld ending-edge portion, the material is melted in a wider area compared to a conventional example, and therefore, the melted material is supplied to the center portion of the weld ending-edge portion while the weld ending-edge portion is solidifying. As a result, a depth of the recess at the weld ending-edge portion can be made shallow enough to guarantee the welding quality of each of the workpieces.

Abstract: A laser welding method for stacked workpieces. A laser irradiation diameter that is irradiated on a surface of one workpiece among two stacked workpieces is set such that a laser irradiation diameter at a weld ending-edge portion is equal to or greater than approximately 1.5 times a laser irradiation diameter at a weld starting-edge portion. Thus, at the weld ending-edge portion, the material is melted in a wider area compared to a conventional example, and therefore, the melted material is supplied to the center portion of the weld ending-edge portion while the weld ending-edge portion is solidifying. As a result, a depth of the recess at the weld ending-edge portion can be made shallow enough to guarantee the welding quality of each of the workpieces.

Abstract: Welding equipment includes a torch for irradiating a laser beam, wire feeding means for feeding a filler wire, and tracking means for controlling the moving tracks of the torch and the wire feeding means so as to make the moving tracks follow a welding line. The tracking means has a contactor provided so as to be advanceable/retractable for making contact with a joint object resiliently. The torch and the wire feeding means are moved so as to follow the welding line by touching the contactor of the tracking means resiliently to the joint object while feeding the filler wire to a welding portion and irradiating that portion with the laser beam, thereby joining the joint objects.

Abstract: A material for welding 5 having a region 11 in which welding such as laser welding or arc welding is performed, the region including indentations 5a-1 which are produced by carrying out a first working step comprising embossing, V-bending, U-bending, L-bending, drawing, stepped drawing, or a combination of these to form a curved portion 5a in the material being worked, and a second working step which is press working which crushes the curved portion 5a which is formed by the first working step. The indentations 5a-1 have a protruded portion 11a which projects from a flat surface which forms the surface of the material being worked 5, and a recessed portion 11b which is formed on the inside of the protruded portion 11. Indentations 5a-1 are provided in the form of at least two separated dots so as to be generally parallel to the predicted welding position and are arranged on the expected welding position.

Abstract: A film thickness measurement apparatus has an image pickup part (32) for acquiring a plurality of single-band images corresponding to a plurality of wavelengths, and the image pickup part (32) acquires a plurality of reference single-band images representing a pattern on a reference substrate. A correction factor setting part (51) performs setting of a plurality of correction factors in accordance with distances from a specified pixel by using a plurality of reference single-band images. Subsequently, the image pickup part (32) acquires a plurality of measurement single-band images representing a pattern on an objective substrate and corrects a value of the specified pixel for each of a plurality of measurement single-band images by using the value of the specified pixel and values of pixels surrounding the specified pixel and the correction factors.

Abstract: A material for welding 5 having a region 11 in which welding such as laser welding or arc welding is performed, the region including indentations 5a-1 which are produced by carrying out a first working step comprising embossing, V-bending, U-bending, L-bending, drawing, stepped drawing, or a combination of these to form a curved portion 5a in the material being worked, and a second working step which is press working which crushes the curved portion 5a which is formed by the first working step. The indentations 5a-1 have a protruded portion 11a which projects from a flat surface which forms the surface of the material being worked 5, and a recessed portion 11b which is formed on the inside of the protruded portion 11. Indentations 5a-1 are provided in the form of at least two separated dots so as to be generally parallel to the predicted welding position and are arranged on the expected welding position.

Abstract: A material for welding 5 having a region 11 in which welding such as laser welding or arc welding is performed, the region including indentations 5a-1 which are produced by carrying out a first working step comprising embossing, V-bending, U-bending, L-bending, drawing, stepped drawing, or a combination of these to form a curved portion 5a in the material being worked, and a second working step which is press working which crushes the curved portion 5a which is formed by the first working step. The indentations 5a-1 have a protruded portion 11a which projects from a flat surface which forms the surface of the material being worked 5, and a recessed portion 11b which is formed on the inside of the protruded portion 11. Indentations 5a-1 are provided in the form of at least two separated dots so as to be generally parallel to the predicted welding position and are arranged on the expected welding position.

Abstract: A two-dimensional image of a substrate surface targeted for polishing is periodically picked up, and the image is analyzed to obtain an entropy H1, H2 of the two-dimensional image. An end point of polishing is then determined according to the entropy H1, H2. Alternatively, other image characteristic value such as a difference statistic of the image may be employed instead of the entropy H1, H2.

Abstract: A film thickness measurement apparatus has an image pickup part (32) for acquiring a plurality of single-band images corresponding to a plurality of wavelengths, and the image pickup part (32) acquires a plurality of reference single-band images representing a pattern on a reference substrate. A correction factor setting part (51) performs setting of a plurality of correction factors in accordance with distances from a specified pixel by using a plurality of reference single-band images. Subsequently, the image pickup part (32) acquires a plurality of measurement single-band images representing a pattern on an objective substrate and corrects a value of the specified pixel for each of a plurality of measurement single-band images by using the value of the specified pixel and values of pixels surrounding the specified pixel and the correction factors.

Abstract: A material for welding 5 having a region 11 in which welding such as laser welding or arc welding is performed, the region including indentations 5a-1 which are produced by carrying out a first working step comprising embossing, V-bending, U-bending, L-bending, drawing, stepped drawing, or a combination of these to form a curved portion 5a in the material being worked, and a second working step which is press working which crushes the curved portion 5a which is formed by the first working step. The indentations 5a-1 have a protruded portion 11a which projects from a flat surface which forms the surface of the material being worked 5, and a recessed portion 11b which is formed on the inside of the protruded portion 11. Indentations 5a-1 are provided in the form of at least two separated dots so as to be generally parallel to the predicted welding position and are arranged on the expected welding position.