Abstract: A driving device includes a stepping motor for causing the light-amount adjusting member to open and close so as to adjust an amount of light passing through an optical system. A driving range where the light-amount adjusting member is actually used for effecting light amount adjustment is set to a range exceeding an electrical angle 360° of the stepping motor. A mechanical abutment portion is provided at a position outside the driving range, and a portion of the light-amount adjusting member is brought into abutment with the mechanical abutment portion when an initial reset of the stepping motor is performed. The light-amount adjusting member is brought to a position a predetermined distance away from the mechanical abutment portion when a light-amount adjusting function of the light-amount adjusting member is stopped.

Abstract: A lens drive mechanism, enabled to move lens holding member in a stable state, is disclosed. The lens drive mechanism comprises: first and second guide members, each extending in a predetermined direction; a first lens holding member holding a first lens and including a first cam follower portion and a first sleeve portion which engages with the first guide member and is guided in the predetermined direction; a second lens holding member holding a second lens and including a second cam follower portion and a second sleeve portion, which engages with the second guide member and is guided in the predetermined direction; and a cam member engaging with the first and second cam follower portions and driving the first and second lens holding members.

Abstract: A rental service handling electronic data is faced with a challenge of accurately managing time within a machine. With currently available systems, time instant data to be set could be tampered using a machine and it is therefore difficult to protect the rights over programs and data. Disposed within a memory card are a time measuring part which is capable of measuring time, a memory part in which key information and various types of data are coded and stored, a power source part which supplies power to the time measuring part and other respective parts, a code processing part which decodes time instant information set in the time measuring part and codes time instant information retrieved from the time measuring part using the key information, and a calculation control part which controls so as to validate or invalidate rights based on the various types of time instant information, whereby management of time such as the term of validity of data is always performed inside the memory card.

Abstract: A network game is continued in simulated fashion when a fault occurs in a communication circuit. A CPU 261 of a control section of an arcade's server device is provided with: an abnormality monitoring section 261b that detects a disconnected circuit that is incapable of communication in the communication circuits whose communication is necessary for progress of the game, a simulated signal generating section 261d that generates simulated operation signals that simulate the necessary operation signals required for progress of the game for each client terminal device that is connected through the disconnected circuit, and a simulated signal provision section 261e that provides the simulated signals that are thus generated to the other client terminal devices, respectively.

Abstract: A processor and program for analyzing network trace with the use of data packets transmitted via a network includes: a memory section 32 for storing trace data generated from the data packets; a packet analyzing section 34 for retrieving a pair of packets belonging to the same session from the trace data to generate an order relation between nodes; an array data generating section 36 for using packet pair data and order relation data to generate and store array data used for estimating time difference of the specific time axis of each node; and a solution engine section 38 for calculating an estimated value of the time difference with the use of the array data to store the estimated value in a memory.

Abstract: A lens barrel includes a lens-holding cylinder which supports a lens and is provided with a cam-follower and a rectilinear key; a cam-cylinder having a cam-groove which engages with the cam-follower so as to apply a driving force to the lens-holding cylinder in the optical-axis direction; and a guide cylinder which is enclosed by the cam-cylinder and has a rectilinear guide opening that engages with the rectilinear key so as to guide the lens-holding cylinder in the optical-axis direction. A segment of the cam-cylinder adjacent to an object to be photographed has a greater wall thickness such that the cam-cylinder has a level difference. A portion of the guide cylinder adjacent to an object to be photographed, which corresponds to the level difference of the cam-cylinder, is made thinner by the amount of the level difference.

Abstract: A film scanner irradiates a film with visible light and infrared light to read image data. Infrared image data and visible light image data are compared, and any shift therebetween is corrected to accurately specify a dust particle/flaw region.

Abstract: A polysilicon film evaluation apparatus is provided which enables objective automatic evaluation of the status of a polysilicon film, as formed to a high accuracy in a contact-free fashion.

Abstract: An image reading method for forming an image on a transmission original irradiated with visible light and infrared light by an image forming optical system and reading the image by reading means, comprising an image forming magnification correction step of correcting a difference between the image forming magnification of a visible-light image and the image forming magnification of an infrared-light image by the image forming optical system, so that the image reading apparatus can be miniaturized and simplified and defects such as foreign matters and flaws on the original can adequately be corrected.

Abstract: An image reading apparatus is arranged to illuminate a transparent or transmissive original with light fluxes emitted by a plurality of light emission parts which differ in wavelength characteristic from each other, to select by means of a reflection mirror the wavelength characteristics of light fluxes emitted from the light emission parts, and to control each of the light emission parts every time a scanning motion is made by an original-placing board relative to an image pickup part.

Abstract: In an image sensing apparatus of this embodiment, a variable angle prism for preventing a camera shake is used to attain a pixel shift. Consequently, low resolution images free from a blur and high-resolution images obtained by the pixel shift can be selectively obtained with an extremely simple arrangement. Whether a resolution increasing function is to be executed is properly determined in accordance with photographing conditions. Therefore, the resolution increasing function has no adverse effect on other functions. In addition, a power-saving effect can be enhanced since an unnecessary resolution increasing function is not performed. Since the resolution can be further increased by using a conventional camera shake preventing device, a larger amount of a high-frequency component can be detected. Consequently, focus detection can be performed accurately.

Abstract: A network game is continued in simulated fashion when a fault occurs in a communication circuit. A CPU 261 of a control section of an arcade's server device is provided with: an abnormality monitoring section 261b that detects a disconnected circuit that is incapable of communication in the communication circuits whose communication is necessary for progress of the game, a simulated signal generating section 261d that generates simulated operation signals that simulate the necessary operation signals required for progress of the game for each client terminal device that is connected through the disconnected circuit, and a simulated signal provision section 261e that provides the simulated signals that are thus generated to the other client terminal devices, respectively.

Abstract: A method of evaluating a state of a polysilicon film objectively, accurately, automatically, and in a non-contact manner is provided. The method includes the steps of picking up a surface of a polysilicon film formed by excimer laser annealing, dividing the picked-up image into meshes each having a specific size, calculating a contrast in each of the meshes, extracting a highest contrast value and a lowest contrast value in the picked-up image, calculating a contrast ratio therebetween, and judging an average grain size of the polysilicon film on the basis of the contrast ratio.

Abstract: The state of a polysilicon film formed by excimer laser annealing an amorphous silicon film is to be evaluated. When the amorphous silicon film is annealed to form a polysilicon film, linearity or periodicity presents itself in the spatial structure of the film surface of the polysilicon film formed depending on the energy applied to the amorphous silicon during annealing. This linearity or periodicity is processed as an image and represented numerically from the image by exploiting the linearity or periodicity. The state of the polysilicon film is checked based on the numerical results.

Abstract: An apparatus for the production of a porous optical fiber preform preventing cracks in the preform and stabilizing quality over the longitudinal direction. The apparatus includes a reaction portion, a feed port for introducing a stream of gas, and a main exhaust port. A rotating mechanism is provided for mounting, rotating, and pulling up a seed rod for forming the porous optical fiber preform. A first burner emits a flame carrying fine particles of glass forming the core portion, and a second burner emits a flame carrying fine particles of glass forming the cladding portion. A portion adjusts the flow of the stream from the feed port to the main exhaust port so that the flames carrying the glass particles are not disturbed by the stream and so that the stream does not directly contact a fine glass particle deposit formed at a bottom end of the seed rod.

Abstract: An image reading method for forming an image on a transmission original irradiated with visible light and infrared light by an image forming optical system and reading the image by reading means, comprising an image forming magnification correction step of correcting a difference between the image forming magnification of a visible-light image and the image forming magnification of an infrared-light image by the image forming optical system, so that the image reading apparatus can be miniaturized and simplified and defects such as foreign matters and flaws on the original can adequately be corrected.

Abstract: The present invention enables selection of appropriate opponent players for a player of a game. The CPU 361 of the controller of the center server device comprises a receiving unit 361a that receives a request for game participation from each player when a game begins on each respective client terminal device 1, a selection unit 361b that selects according to prescribed rules a number of players to play in a shared game space from among the players from whom game participation requests have been received by the receiving unit 361a, the number being no more than a prescribed maximum number and no less than a prescribed minimum number, and a first execution unit 161d that allows players selected by the selection unit 361b to play a game against one another in a shared game space.

Abstract: This invention has as its object to provide an image reading method and apparatus capable of obtaining a high-quality image at an arbitrary scan resolution. To achieve this object, in scanning an image on a transparent original at a resolution other than a preset resolution and correcting the image, a system controller (20) controls to temporarily receive the image at the preset resolution higher than the resolution, correct the image, and interpolate the image.

Abstract: An image of an inspection target having a concave and convex pattern is picked up in an off-focus state by an image pickup element 4. Further, the image of the inspection target picked up in the off-focus state is taken in by an image processing computer 6. Based on the image, the image processing computer 6 prepares a light intensity profile having a peak corresponding to a boundary portion between a concave portion and a convex portion of the concave and convex pattern of the inspection target. For example, a change of the width of the concave or convex portion of the concave and convex portion can be detected very accurately, by measuring the width of the concave or convex portion of the concave and convex portion on the basis of the intensity profile.

Abstract: In manufacturing a thin-film transistor the condition of a polysilicon film is evaluated, a manufacture margin for the film is determined from the condition evaluated, and the power of an excimer laser annealing apparatus is set based on the manufacture margin. The annealing apparatus anneals an amorphous silicon film, converting the same to a polysilicon film. The surface spatial structure of the polysilicon film thus formed exhibits linearity or periodicity, or both, depending on the energy applied to the amorphous silicon film during the annealing. The image data of the polysilicon film is processed, thereby determining the linearity and/or periodicity in numerical values, by utilizing the auto-correlation function of the surface image of the polysilicon film.