Abstract: The object is to isolate a substance having a potent anti-allergic effect inherent in tea leaves of an Assam hybrid line. Thus, disclosed is an anti-allergic agent comprising, as an active ingredient, a catechin yielded by the isolation, i.e. epicatechin-3-O-(3-O-methyl)gallate, epicatechin-3-O-(4-O-methyl)gallate, epicatechin-3-O-(3,4-O-dimethyl)gallate, epicatechin-3-O-(3,5-O-dimethyl)gallate, epicatechin-3-O-(3,4,5-O-tromethyl)gallate, an epimer thereof or the like. Also disclosed is a food/beverage, a preparation for external application, and a cosmetic including the anti-allergic agent. An anti-allergic composition can be prepared using a compound represented by the general formula (1): in which R1, R2 and R3 independently represent a hydrogen atom or a methyl group.

Abstract: Provided is a dispenser including an ice-making water tank for storing ice-making water and an auger-type ice-making machine for producing ice chips by freezing the ice-making water in the ice-making water tank. The auger-type ice-making machine includes a refrigeration casing into which the ice-making water is supplied, and the refrigeration casing and the drain pan are connected to each other through the intermediation of an ice-making water drain pipe. The ice-making water in the refrigeration casing is drained at predetermined time points, and the drain pan is washed with the ice-making water thus drained.

Abstract: Provided is a dispenser in which a wash water discharge opening provided to a drain pan is connected to an external tap water system via a wash water supply path. The wash water supply path is provided with a wash water supply valve for controlling whether or not to supply wash water to the drain pan. Based on delivery information output from a delivery control section for controlling delivery of ice chips, a wash control section in a controller judges whether or not a delivery count of the ice chips has reached a predetermined set count, and, when it is judged that the delivery count has reached the set count, opens the wash water supply valve to perform a wash action.

Abstract: To provide a transflective liquid crystal display apparatus that employs in-plane switching mode (in-plane switching system), which exhibits a reflection property of wide view angles. Provided is a transflective liquid crystal display apparatus which comprises: a reflective area and a transmissive area; an uneven reflective plate provided in the reflective area; a flattening film laminated on the uneven reflective plate; and common electrodes and pixel electrodes arranged on the flattening film, wherein, the uneven reflective plate comprises a diffusive reflecting function that is capable of diffusely reflecting light making incident at an incident angle of 30 degrees towards directions at exit angles of 0-10 degrees, and a surface of the flattening film is set to be substantially flat.

Abstract: A first coating rod placed on an upper-surface side of a resin film is pressed onto the resin film in a state where the first coating rod is circumscribed and supported by support members each comprising a pair of rollers and spaced with intervals therebetween in a length direction of the first coating rod so that the first coating rod is rotated in a forward direction at a speed substantially equal to that of the resin film, and a lower surface of the resin film is supported by a guide roll or a second coating rod placed on a downstream side of the first coating rod and an upstream side of a tenter so that the coating liquid continuously measured and supplied to an upper surface of the resin film is smoothened by the first coating rod.

Abstract: An LCD device includes a reflective area in each pixel. A reflection film having a convex-concave surface is provided in the reflective area, film in cross section configuration is formed. Each pixel includes a pixel electrode and a common electrode for applying a lateral electric field on a LC layer. The inclination angle of the reflection film has an inclination angle distribution, wherein the angle component in an area corresponding to the electrodes has a lower angle distribution than the angle components in an area corresponding to a gap between adjacent two of the electrodes.

Abstract: An IPS-mode transflective LCD device includes an array of pixels each including a reflective region and a transmissive region juxtaposed. The reflective region operates in a normally-white mode, and the transmissive region operates in a normally-black mode. A common data signal is supplied to the reflective region and transmissive region, whereas the common electrode signal in the transmissive region is an inverted signal of the common electrode signal in the reflective region, to thereby obtain similar gray-scale levels.

Abstract: Provided is a dispenser in which a wash water discharge opening provided to a drain pan is connected to an external tap water system via a wash water supply path. The wash water supply path is provided with a wash water supply valve for controlling whether or not to supply wash water to the drain pan. A wash control section in a controller performs timing separately from control of a generation/delivery control section for performing generation and delivery of ice chips, and also performs a wash action at predetermined time intervals by opening the wash water supply valve.

Abstract: To provide a transflective liquid crystal display apparatus that employs in-plane switching mode (in-plane switching system), which exhibits a reflection property of wide view angles. Provided is a transflective liquid crystal display apparatus which comprises: a reflective area and a transmissive area; an uneven reflective plate provided in the reflective area; a flattening film laminated on the uneven reflective plate; and common electrodes and pixel electrodes arranged on the flattening film, wherein, the uneven reflective plate comprises a diffusive reflecting function that is capable of diffusely reflecting light making incident at an incident angle of 30 degrees towards directions at exit angles of 0-10 degrees, and a surface of the flattening film is set to be substantially flat.

Abstract: A LCD device includes a pair of polarizing films sandwiching therebetween a LC cell. The light-incident-side polarizing film includes a polarizing layer and a first retardation film, whereas the light-emitting-side polarizing film includes a polarizing layer and second and third retardation films. A specific combination of the first and third retardation films provides an optical compensation for achieving a lower leakage light and a lower chromaticity shift upon display of a dark state in the LCD device.

Abstract: An optical fiber branch cable is provided that comprises a branch portion disposed stably with respect to a multi-core optical fiber cable of a trunk line from which branching is performed, that is excellent in handleability as a cable, and that exhibits high workability. In the optical fiber branch cable of the invention, in a middle of a multi-core optical fiber cable 2 of a trunk line, a branch portion 11 is disposed. The branch portion 11 has: a base member 16 which is attached so as to cover a tensile-strength wire 9 in a portion where a cable jacket 10 of the multi-core optical fiber cable 2 is removed away; a multi-core optical connector 30 which is connected to the tip end of a tape unit 4 drawn out from the multi-core optical fiber cable 2; an extra-length housing portion 18 which houses an extra length of the tape unit 4 to which the multi-core optical connector 30 is connected; and a connector attaching portion 19 to which the multi-core optical connector 30 is attachable in a plural number.

Abstract: A LCD unit includes a reflective area and a transmissive area in each pixel, which are driven by respective drive electrode assemblies. A first substrate and a second substrate that sandwich therebetween a LC layer include respective shied films in the boundary area between the reflective area and the transmissive area.

Abstract: A transflective liquid crystal display device is provided with a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between a first substrate with an array of switching elements and a second substrate with a black matrix so as to form a first area for a normally black display and a second area for a normally white display A first electric potential difference formed between the black matrix and both of the first common electrode and the first pixel electrode formed in the first area on the first substrate is made to be smaller than a larger one of the second electric potential difference formed between the black matrix and both of the second common electrode and the second pixel electrode formed in the second area.

Abstract: An educational simulator for transesophageal echocardiography device, which includes a human phantom patterned after a human upper body having a neck, an esophagus and a stomach which communicate with each other, and a heart, a dummy probe which is patterned after a genuine ultrasonic probe and of which the tip is embedded with a magnet, a sensor which detects the insertion length and rotation angle of the dummy probe and is placed in the said neck, magnetic sensors which sense the magnetism of the said magnet, a three-dimensional image data archive which stores three-dimensional image data of echocardiography, a CPU which calculates the position, inclination and direction of the dummy probe on the basis of information from each said sensor and clips tomographic image data from the three-dimensional image data on the basis of the calculation, and a display section which shows the clipped tomographic image data as two-dimensional images.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a simulation device for ultrasonic diagnosis targeting a heart and its object is to provide an educational simulator for transthoracic echocardiography which can run simulations in a feeling like actual ultrasonic diagnosis. The educational simulator for transthoracic echocardiography is composed of a chest phantom with position sensors embedded at prescribed positions beneath the chest surface, a dummy probe in which a magnet is embedded and which is provided with an inclination sensor placed in the acral part, a memory section which stores three-dimensional image data of echocardiography, a CPU which calculates the position, inclination and pressing force of the dummy probe on the basis of information from each said sensor and clips two-dimensional image data from the three-dimensional image data on the basis of the calculation, and a display section which shows the clipped two-dimensional data.

Abstract: A transflective LCD unit includes a liquid crystal (LC) layer: first and second substrates sandwiching therebetween the LC layer to define an array of pixels each including a reflective area and a transmissive area; an electrode assembly for driving the LC layer such that the LC layer in the reflective area is driven in a longitudinal-electric-field mode and the LC layer in the transmissive area is driven in a lateral-electric-field mode; and a reverse-tilt control member for controlling a reverse tilt area in which a reverse tilt of LC molecules occurs near the boundary between the reflective area and the transmissive area.

Abstract: An LCD device includes therein a splay-oriented LC layer, first and second substrates sandwiching therebetween the LC layer, and an optical compensation film for reducing leakage light upon display of a black color. The optical compensation film has three optical elastic axes including a fast axis coinciding the Y-axis, a slow axis rotated from the X-axis by a positive rotational angle ? 1, and another axis rotated from the Z-axis by the positive rotational angle ? 1. The positive rotational direction coincides with a counter-clockwise direction within the substrate surface, as viewed from minus side toward the positive side of the Y-axis.

Abstract: A LCD device includes a LC cell including a homogeneously-oriented LC layer and a pair of transparent substrates. A pair of polarizing films sandwiching therebetween the LC cell. A protective layer of the light-emitting-side polarizing film has an optical isotropy, and protective layer of the light-incident-side polarizing film has an thickness-wise retardation of 20 to 90 nm. A biaxial optical anisotropic film is interposed between the light-emitting-side polarizing film and the LC cell, and a second optical anisotropic film for cancelling the wavelength dispersion caused by the biaxial optical anisotropic film is interposed between the light-incident-side polarizing film and the LC cell. The biaxial optical anisotropic film has three-dimensional refractive indexes ns, nf and nz that satisfy therebetween (ns?nz)/(ns?nf)?0.

Abstract: To suppress light leakage at the time of dark state, and to provide a liquid crystal display device whose electrodes in the reflection areas can be formed with high precision. The liquid crystal display device has a reflection area within a pixel unit by corresponding at least to a reflection plate forming part, and the reflection area is driven with a lateral electric field mode and normally-white. A driving electrode for forming an electric field to a liquid crystal layer of the reflection area is formed on the reflection plate via an insulating film by using a non-transparent electric conductor.

Abstract: A transflective LCD unit includes an array of pixels each including a reflective area and a transmissive area. The LC layer has an effective retardation of ?/4 in the reflective area, and an effective retardation of ?/2 in the transmissive area. A retardation film disposed in the reflective area provides a retardation of ?/2 to the light passed thereby. An angle of ? between the optical axis of the retardation film and the polarized direction of the light is in a range of 0 degree<?<22.5 degrees.