Abstract: A multilayer piezoelectric device includes long internal electrodes and short internal electrodes which are arranged so as to extend from a pair of opposing side surfaces of a piezoelectric substrate towards the corresponding side surfaces opposite to the side surfaces from which they extend, and so as to be alternately stacked in the piezoelectric substrate. Active portions are located at portions where the long internal electrodes and the corresponding short internal electrodes are stacked. Further, a first external electrode, connected to the short internal electrodes, is electrically connected to the side surface near the active portions, and a second external electrode, connected to the long internal electrodes, is electrically connected to the side surface distant from the active portions.

Abstract: A laminated piezoelectric element includes a second connecting internal electrode electrically connected to a common external electrode that is located in a bottom portion, which lies below the bottoms of slits, of a monolithic piezoelectric body, and the second connecting internal electrode is spaced away from and substantially parallel to the first and second driving internal electrodes. In the laminated piezoelectric element, a notch is formed on a side surface of the monolithic piezoelectric body, having a driving external electrode and a connecting external electrode disposed thereon, and a conducting external electrode is disposed on the side surface of the notch, having an end of the second internal electrode exposed thereat.

Abstract: An applicator includes a shank, an application liquid impregnated part disposed on at least one end of the shank, and a film covering the shank and the application liquid impregnated part. The film includes a shank cover region and an impregnated part cover region formed integrally with and separable from the shank cover region. The shank cover region of the film is formed to have a small width capable of being gripped by a user in the state that the shank is covered with the film. Therefore, it is avoidable that the user's hand becomes dirty with application liquid such as medical liquid by separating only the impregnated part cover region and then gripping the shank through the film covering the shank.

Abstract: A multilayer piezoelectric device includes a piezoelectric layered body having a driving-side external electrode and a connection-side external electrode disposed at one side surface of the piezoelectric layered body, in which a plurality of actuator units are formed by dividing the piezoelectric layered body by a slit extending from the top surface to the bottom surface of the piezoelectric layered body. A cutaway portion is provided in the one side surface of the piezoelectric layered body where the driving-side external electrode and the connection-side external electrode are located so that the cutaway portion is substantially parallel to driving internal electrodes and a connecting internal electrode. The cutaway portion has a width that allows it to reach a location above the bottom end of the slit from the bottom surface of the piezoelectric layered body but that does not allow it to reach the driving internal electrodes.

Abstract: A distributed control device in a decentralized supervisory control system comprises an I/O interface, a data storage section for storing PIO data from a controller and additional information such as data obtention time, a time obtention section for adding a time to the data when the data is stored in the data storage section, a data distribution section for distributing the PIO data and other supervisory information, a supervisory control section for carrying out supervisory control using the PIO data from the controller, a network interface for communicating with other distributed control devices and the supervisory device, and a communication section for connecting this distributed control device to the other distributed control devices and the supervisory device.

Abstract: Waste plastics including solid plastics, thin plastics, and foamy plastics are fed into a ring die of an extrusion molding machine. The waste plastics are either semi-melted or melted, and are then extruded onto an outer circumferential surface the ring die through die cavities. Thus, granular plastic moldings are extruded onto the outer circumferential surface of the ring die through the die cavities, and are then cut or scraped from the outer circumferential surface of the ring die. The pellets have a melt-solidified surface, and have a strength sufficient to reach a predetermine zone in a raceway of a furnace and a grain diameter sufficient to be fed at a velocity higher than a limiting velocity thereof during injection to the furnace.

Abstract: A laminated piezoelectric element includes a second connecting internal electrode electrically connected to a common external electrode that is located in a bottom portion, which lies below the bottoms of slits, of a monolithic piezoelectric body, and the second connecting internal electrode is spaced away from and substantially parallel to the first and second driving internal electrodes. In the laminated piezoelectric element, a notch is formed on a side surface of the monolithic piezoelectric body, having a driving external electrode and a connecting external electrode disposed thereon, and a conducting external electrode is disposed on the side surface of the notch, having an end of the second internal electrode exposed thereat.

Abstract: A multilayer piezoelectric device includes long internal electrodes and short internal electrodes which are arranged so as to extend from a pair of opposing side surfaces of a piezoelectric substrate towards the corresponding side surfaces opposite to the side surfaces from which they extend, and so as to be alternately stacked in the piezoelectric substrate. Active portions are located at portions where the long internal electrodes and the corresponding short internal electrodes are stacked. Further, a first external electrode, connected to the short internal electrodes, is electrically connected to the side surface near the active portions, and a second external electrode, connected to the long internal electrodes, is electrically connected to the side surface distant from the active portions.

Abstract: A multilayer piezoelectric device includes a piezoelectric layered body having a driving-side external electrode and a connection-side external electrode disposed at one side surface of the piezoelectric layered body, in which a plurality of actuator units are formed by dividing the piezoelectric layered body by a slit extending from the top surface to the bottom surface of the piezoelectric layered body. A cutaway portion is provided in the one side surface of the piezoelectric layered body where the driving-side external electrode and the connection-side external electrode are located so that the cutaway portion is substantially parallel to driving internal electrodes and a connecting internal electrode. The cutaway portion has a width that allows it to reach a location above the bottom end of the slit from the bottom surface of the piezoelectric layered body but that does not allow it to reach the driving internal electrodes.

Abstract: A spark plug gap adjustment system is provided which is designed to adjust a spark gap between a ground electrode and a center electrode installed in a spark plug to a target value. The system determines the position of the ground electrode in a given coordinate system to calculate a target distance required to move an end of the ground electrode toward an end of the center electrode for bringing the spark gap into agreement with the target value and moves the ground electrode under pressure by the target distance to define a desired spark gap. This achieves the spark gap adjustment precisely at high speeds.

Abstract: A piezoelectric actuator is constructed to have a displacement value caused by bending to be added to a usual d31 component displacement, thereby increasing the total amount of displacement of the actuator. The actuator includes an actuator body having a layered structure of piezoelectric layers and internal electrodes, and external electrodes disposed on an external surface of the actuator body at both ends thereof.

Abstract: In a method or an apparatus for adequately securing a predetermined distance of a spark discharge gap of a spark plug by means of an image data processing, the image data taken by a camera are processed in a manner that a measurement is made on the image data along each of a plurality of measurement lines nearly parallel to each other connecting the center and ground electrodes so as to cover an entire range of a width length of the center electrode in order to obtain a plurality of values of the distance of the spark discharge gap along the measurement lines.

Abstract: A monolithic piezoelectric body includes first internal electrodes which extend to a first side surface of the piezoelectric body but do not extend to a second side surface of the piezoelectric body, and second internal electrodes which extend to the second side surface but do not extend to the first side surface. A connecting internal electrode is disposed within the piezoelectric body and extends between the first and second side surfaces. A first external electrode is disposed on the first side surface and is electrically connected to the first internal electrodes. A second external electrode is arranged on the first side surface so as to be separated from the first external electrode and electrically connected to the connecting internal electrode. A third external electrode is disposed on the second side surface so as to electrically connect the second internal electrodes and the connecting internal electrode.

Abstract: There is provided a medical swab comprising a thin stick comprising a drawn plastic stick and a sphere-like fiber lump formed on at least one end of the stick; the fiber lump has a fiber winding portion which is formed by winding a part of the fibers around the stick and then is fixed to the stick either by using an adhesive, or by tightening the fiber lump containing a fibrillating cellulose without using an adhesive.

Abstract: To improve the accuracy of the automatic adjustment of a spark plug and the adjustment of the eccentricity of a multiple-electrode spark plug, a spark plug holder 2 for supporting and fixing a lower portion of the multiple-electrode spark plug 1 and a positioning device 3 for supporting and positioning an upper portion of the multiple-electrode spark plug 1 are provided to an adjustor for automatically regulating the gap and the eccentricity of the multiple-electrode spark plug having a center electrode and at least one ground electrode. A projector 4 projects light to the multiple-electrode spark plug 1 from above the positioning device 3. A CCD camera 5 produces images of the spark gap/eccentricity of the multiple-electrode spark plug 1. An image processor 6 executes image processing for inputting the images from the CCD camera 5 and determining the spark gap/eccentricity.

Abstract: A center electrode of a spark plug has an oval shape in cross section as an identification mark. An electrode positioning apparatus fixedly holds a ground electrode and rotates an insulator together with a center electrode relative to the ground electrode. During the rotation, a signal light is irradiated toward the center electrode and the shape of the identification mark is detected from the received signal light. When the shape of the mark comes to correspond to a predetermined pattern, the center electrode is stopped from rotating and fitted solidly with the ground electrode.

Abstract: Disclosed is a piezoelectric resonator device. This piezoelectric resonator device comprises a piezoelectric substrate having an almost rectangular plane shape. The piezoelectric substrate is provided with a slit extending to the inside from one edge of the piezoelectric substrate, for forming a tuning fork portion, and a pair of slits for separating the tuning fork portion, spaced apart from the slit forming the tuning fork portion by a predetermined distance on both sides of the slit forming the tuning fork portion, and approximately parallel with the slit forming the tuning fork portion. Vibrating electrodes are formed on both major surfaces of the piezoelectric substrate at a piezoelectric vibrating portion, between the slits separating the tuning fork portion from non-vibrating portions of the substrate.

Abstract: A tuning fork type piezoelectric resonator constructed by forming tuning fork arm portions on both sides of a first slit provided for a piezoelectric substrate, forming resonance electrodes on both major surfaces of the piezoelectric substrate in a region around the first slit, and forming steps in outer edges of the tuning fork arm portions.

Abstract: Disclosed is a piezoelectric resonator device. This piezoelectric resonator device comprises a piezoelectric substrate having an almost rectangular plane shape. The piezoelectric substrate is provided with a slit extending to the inside from one edge of the piezoelectric substrate, for forming a tuning fork portion, and a pair of slits for separating the tuning fork portion, spaced apart from the slit forming the tuning fork portion by a predetermined distance on both sides of the slit forming the tuning fork portion, and approximately parallel with the slit forming the tuning fork portion. Vibrating electrodes are formed on both major surfaces of the piezoelectric substrate at a piezoelectric vibrating portion between the slits separating the tuning fork portion from non-vibrating portions of the substrate.