Abstract: A vehicle air conditioning apparatus includes a shutting door for interrupting the air flow from a rear face air outlet and a rear face shutting switch for generating a shutting signal when the shutting door closes the rear face air outlet. An electronic control unit (ECU) controls the operation of a rear air mixing door so that communication between a rear bypass passage and a warm air passage downstream from a heater core is interrupted by the rear air mixing door when the shutting signal is generated from the rear face shutting switch.

Abstract: A blower unit includes a case divided into an upper case portion having an air introduction port, a lower case portion for accommodating a fan, and a bell-mouth portion interposed between the upper and lower case portion portions. An air leading port is provided in the bell-mouth portion, so that air sucked from the air introduction port is introduced to the fan through the air leading port. An attachment boss portion onto which a motor is attached is formed to protrude from an outer wall surface of the upper case portion. Air blown by the fan flows through a duct which is divided into a first member integrated with the bell mouth portion and a second member integrated with the lower case portion. The first member extends from the bell mouth portion obliquely to cover the attachment portion, and the second member extends from the lower case portion in the same direction as the first member to be engaged with the first member.

Abstract: In an air conditioning apparatus for a vehicle, a heater core is disposed in an air conditioning case so that a cool air bypass passage through which air bypasses the heater core is provided at an upper side of the heater core. When a foot/defroster mode is set, a defroster door for opening and closing a defroster opening is rotated to an intermediate position between a fully opening position and a fully closing position of the defroster opening. Therefore, a first air passage through which air from the cool air bypass passage flows into the defroster opening is provided between an inner wall portion of the air conditioning case and a top end of the defroster door. Further, a second air passage through which air from an air mixing chamber flows into the defroster opening is provided between an inner wall portion of the air conditioning case and a side end of the defroster door, and an amount of air passing through the second air passage is set to be larger than that of the first air passage.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a PDP device fabricated by using photosensitive thick film conductor compositions wherein a black electrode is present between the substrate and a conductor arrangement electrode. Also, the invention is directed to methods for fabricating the PDP device.

Abstract: A coatable insulator composition for use in the formation of a green tape comprising fine inorganic micropowders composed of amorphous glass and a refractory oxide in a volatile organic solvent solution of a binder composed of a polymer substance and a plasticizer(s). A green tape obtained by coating said composition over a flexible substrate, and heating and drying this product to remove the organic solvent; and a method for forming a barrier-rib for a plasma display apparatus by sandblast etching using said green tape as an insulator layer for the barrier-rib formation. A use of a pre-formed green tape of uniform thickness in the formation of the barrier-rib of a plasma display apparatus allows the thickness uniformity of the barrier-rib to be improved and the work rationalized, which means that the plasma display apparatus can be made larger and finer, and mass production throughput will be enhanced.

Abstract: In an ultrasonic inspection apparatus, a piezoelectric element having a first resonant frequency is stuck to a complex resonance member having a second resonant frequency. The second resonant frequency is determined with a conversion in terms of half wavelength. A resultant ultrasonic probe transmits/receives ultrasonic waves of the first resonant frequency and a plurality of other frequencies. In constructing an ultrasonic tomographic image of the object to be inspected from a received signal obtained by using the ultrasonic probe, the imaging frequency is changed according to the depth in the object to be inspected.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a PDP device fabricated by using photosensitive thick film conductor compositions wherein a black electrode is present between the substrate and a conductor arrangement electrode. Also, the invention is directed to methods for fabricating the PDP device.

Abstract: A needle-like ultrasonic probe includes an inner needle received in a hollow, tubular outer needle for rotation about an axis thereof. The inner needle has a pointed distal end, and a notch is formed in an outer peripheral surface of that portion of the inner needle which is located adjacent to the distal end thereof. At least one ultrasonic transducer, as well as an acoustic lens for converging an ultrasonic wave, produced by the ultrasonic transducer, onto a point near to the outer peripheral surface of the inner needle, is provided in the notch. A filler, having an outer surface conforming to the outer peripheral surface of the inner needle, is fitted in the notch. With this construction, after the inner needle is smoothly stuck into a living tissue, even if it is rotated and axially moved, the living tissue is less affected or damaged by the inner needle.

Abstract: A coatable insulator composition for use in the formation of a green tape comprising fine inorganic micropowders composed of amorphous glass and a refractory oxide in a volatile organic solvent solution of a binder composed of a polymer substance and a plasticizer(s). A green tape obtained by coating said composition over a flexible substrate, and heating and drying this product to remove the organic solvent; and a method for forming a barrier-rib for a plasma display apparatus by sandblast etching using said green tape as an insulator layer for the barrier-rib formation. A use of a pre-formed green tape of uniform thickness in the formation of the barrier-rib of a plasma display apparatus allows the thickness uniformity of the barrier-rib to be improved and the work rationalized, which means that the plasma display apparatus can be made larger and finer, and mass production throughput will be enhanced.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for displaying a subject moving at high speed, in slow motion. The apparatus has a circuit for picking up an ultrasonic image signal at a frame rate higher than a display frame rate, a circuit for writing the picked-up image signal at a frame rate higher than the display frame rate, a circuit for reading the image signal from the memory at the display frame rate, and a device for displaying the read image signal.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnosis system includes a probe and a diagnosis processing apparatus. Ultrasonic transmission signal-transmission power characteristic intrinsic to the probe is previously measured and a transmission power identifying signal indicating the characteristic is imparted to the probe itself. Upon connection of the probe to the diagnosis processing apparatus, the transmission power identifying signal is inputted to a CPU of the diagnosis processing apparatus which includes a memory for storing correcting data corresponding to ranks of the characteristics. The CPU reads out from the memory the correcting data on the basis of the inputted transmission power identifying signal indicating the rank of the probe for thereby correcting the ultrasonic transmission signal.

Abstract: A memory for temporarily storing a transmitting signal is provided in association with each channel i.e., each transducer of a probe, a transmitting signal for transmitting an ultrasonic wave of a desired waveform is formed through a computer processing, and the thus formed transmitting signal is stored in each memory. Transmitting signals are sent simultaneously to individual channels from individual memories. This ensures that a transmitting signal of a desired waveform can be applied to each channel and the transmission of an ultrasonic wave can be controlled desirably.

Abstract: A two-dimensional echogram or a tomogram (B-mode image) and a volume of an organ are displayed in real time while radiating an ultrasonic wave to the organ. The volume of the organ is obtained by first designating a plurality of line segments traversing the image of the organ on the two-dimensional echogram, by obtaining a pair of intersections between each line segment and the wall of the organ by using a signal intensity profile (A-mode image) of each line segment, by obtaining a length between the pair of intersections, and by calculating the volume by the Simpson method by using the obtained length. In order to improve the precision of volume calculation, the signal intensity profile is smoothed and the intensity is normalized. The intersections are displayed superposed upon the two-dimensional echogram to allow an operator to visually check easily whether the intersections are correctly aligned with the wall of the organ.

Abstract: A receiving beamformer is provided which simultaneously generates a plurality of receiving beam signals corresponding to receiving beams of a plurality of directions on the basis of signals received by an array of vibrator elements for receiving an ultrasonic wave. This receiving beamformer includes a variable amplifying unit for amplifying the received signals in accordance with the depth of measurement to produce output signals, an A/D converting unit for converting the output signals from the variable amplifying unit into digital signals at a predetermined sampling period, a digital delay unit for receiving each of the digital signals and for producing a plurality of delayed signals corresponding to the receiving beams for each of the digital signals, and a first adding unit for adding the delayed signals corresponding to each of the receive beams and to the respective digital signals.

Abstract: An ultrasound diagnosis system including a plurality of elements arrayed for transmitting ultrasonic wave to a testing object and for receiving ultrasonic wave reflected from the testing object, a device for giving a delay time distribution to respective transmitting and receiving signals of the elements to thereby form an ultrasonic beam having directivity in a predetermined direction, a device for displaying a sectional image of the testing object, and a sound velocity distribution control device for changing sound velocities in the testing object to be set up in respective elements in accordance with a focal point position of the ultrasonic beam and the respective positions of the elements in order to determine the delay time distribution, wherein the system further includes a sound velocity distribution control device for changing sound velocities to be set up in the respective elements on the basis of functions forming a system of orthogonal functions in which array number successively given to respectiv

Abstract: In ultrasonotomography, ultrasonic transducers are divided in the scanning direction and in a direction (elevation direction) orthogonal to the scanning direction and by changing the aperture in the elevation direction through focus in elevation direction, a tomogram and a Doppler signal of a blood flow can be obtained and displayed two-dimensionally. Doppler data is obtained by effecting slight angle scan of the ultrasonic beam mechanically or electronically in the elevation direction. Data pieces for the same raster of a plurality of Doppler data pieces obtained through the slight angle scan in the elevation direction are added/averaged or added to improve the S/N ration. By effecting the slight angle scan of the ultrasonic beam in the elevation direction orthogonal to a tomogram plane, a vessel at a position deviant form the tomogram plane can be found.

Abstract: An ultrasonic flow mapping apparatus transmits and reflects waves from sampling points on a two-dimensional cross-section. The waves are detected while transmitting repeatedly ultrasonic pulses. The phase shifts of different reflected waves are calculated, and displayed in color to show a distribution of blood flow velocity. Artifact due to reflected waves from body organs, which remain even by using MTI filters, is detected from phase signals, which have not passed through the MTI filters, and the artifact is removed by lowering display brightness for a sampling point corresponding to a relevant detection output.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a pulse Doppler measuring apparatus using the so-called acceleration method. In order to prevent production of a secondary aliasing (where a phase vector is subjected to an aliasing), the apparatus is provided with an MTI filter, which decomposes a first phase vector of a reflected wave obtained by mixing a reflection signal with a reference signal into a real part and an imaginary part, obtains a first regression line for variations of each of the parts and extracts a second phase vector corresponding only to the high frequency component of the reflected wave by calculating differences of the real part and the imaginary part from the first regression line; and/or an angular component .DELTA..theta. of the phase difference vector is obtained; a second regression line is obtained for this phase difference angle .DELTA..theta.; and the phase difference angle .DELTA..theta. is corrected by using this second regression line, to prevent the production of a secondary aliasing.

Abstract: An ultrasonic probe comprising an acoustic lens (20) having a concave lens surface (21) formed on one side of a lens body, and a piezoelectric transducer (23) disposed on the other side of the acoustic lens, ultrasonic waves generated by applying voltage to the piezoelectric transducer being focused through the lens surface to detect the reflected waves of the ultrasonic waves from a sample (26) by the piezoelectric transducer for obtaining information about the surface or interior of the sample. The lens surface (21) of the acoustic lens (20) is defined by an etch profile (15) formed by etching a substrate material (11) which makes up the lens body.

Abstract: A thin film pattern and a method of fabricating the thin film pattern available for an ultrasonic transducer are disclosed. That is, an oriented thin film made of a material different from the material of a substrate is formed on the substrate, a mask having a predetermined pattern is formed on the thin film, and anisotropic etching is carried out for the thin film in accordance with the predetermined pattern of the mask, by using an etchant for selectively etching a predetermined crystallographic plane parallel to the surface of the thin film, to form the predetermined pattern in the thin film, thereby obtaining a thin film pattern.