Abstract: A taught position modification device easily correcting, in a short time, positions of taught points in a program prepared by an offline programming system. A workpiece image captured by a visual sensor and an image of a three-dimensional workpiece model having three characteristic points are displayed on a screen. Based on coordinate values of workpiece portions corresponding to the characteristic points which are specified in the workpiece image, the position and orientation of the model in a robot operating space are corrected, and also positions of taught points are corrected. When a tool end of a robot is positioned by jog feed to the operation position on a workpiece after being automatically moved to one of the corrected taught points, the taught point is modified based on the robot operating position detected at that time.

Abstract: A teaching device and a teaching modification device capable of easily attaining conformity between an operation program of a robot prepared by off-line programming and an actual operation of the robot. A layout of a robot system including three-dimensional models of the robot and peripheral objects thereof (table, a workpiece, etc.) are prepared by an off-line programming system and taught points are defined for the workpiece. The system layout and a model of the workpiece are displayed on a display device of a teaching pendant. An operator specifies a present position of the operator in the system layout and a taught point to be modified referring to the display device. A line-of-sight vector is automatically calculated and the model of the workpiece as viewed from a direction of the line-of-sight is displayed on the display device.

Abstract: A hinge structure includes a rotatable plate member, a frame member, a spring member that connects the rotatable plate member with the frame member at each of two opposite positions along a rotation axis. The spring member includes a first axial section, a second axial section. An end of the first axial section is connected to the frame member, and an end of the second axial section is connected to the rotatable plate member. The spring member includes a first zigzag section and a second zigzag section formed on opposite sides with respect to the rotation axis, each of the first and second zigzag sections including parallel portions which are parallel with each other and with the rotation axis and bent portions each connecting adjacent parallel portions. A predetermined gap between the first and second axial section is smaller than a length of the parallel portions.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for setting virtual volume groups in a storage network system. The system includes a lower storage apparatus, host computers, an upper storage apparatus, and an administrative server. The method for setting virtual volume groups, executed by the administrative server, includes the steps of acquiring information on the real volumes, and port information on the physical devices in which the real volumes reside, creating virtual volumes being linked to the real volumes, based on the information on the real volumes, forming one or more virtual volume groups by combining the virtual volumes, based on the port information, in such a way that a relation between the virtual volumes and the virtual volume group are identical to a relation between the real volumes and the physical devices, and establishing the created virtual volume groups in the upper storage apparatus.

Abstract: A computer system including: at least one host computer, a storage system for storing data used in the host computer, and a managing computer for managing storing the data in the storage system which are connected to each other with a network. The managing computer monitors the journal volume which is a storing destinations of the journal, in a case that the journal is stored in the journal volume in parallel, when it is detected that the storing destination of the journal changes from one of the groups into which the journal is just stored to another group, transmits an instruction to the storage system to change the storing destination of the journal to another group.

Abstract: An electrostatically driven micro-device includes a base substrate configured to have an electrically insulated surface, a rotatable electrode configured to be rotatable with respect to the base substrate, at least one recessed area configured to be recessed by a predetermined depth from surface of the base substrate, and a fixed electrode formed with a predetermined thickness on each of the at least one recessed area, the fixed electrode being located close to the rotatable electrode so as to generate an electrostatic attractive force between the fixed electrode and the rotatable electrode when a voltage is applied therebetween. The predetermined thickness of the fixed electrode is thinner than the predetermined depth of the at least one recessed area. A rotatable angle range of the rotatable electrode is restricted by the surface of the base substrate.

Abstract: An illumination device that can adjust the chromaticity and brightness of the illuminating light in a broad range using a simple construction includes a first LED and a second LED having mutually different color temperatures, and a control circuit arranged to perform lighting and extinguishing control of the first and second LEDs. The control circuit performs periodic lighting and extinguishing control of the first and second LEDs such that during a lighting period, the first and second LEDs are lit and extinguished in a complementary manner, and during an extinguishing period, both the first and second LEDs are extinguished.

Abstract: A power supply device has a transformer 1; Tr2 that is serially connected to a winding Np; a first circuit 3 that turns on Tr2 by using Vi and Vd; Tr4 that turns on so as to turn off Tr2; a second circuit 5 that turns on/off Tr4 by using Vd; an output smoother circuit 6 that produces Vo by smoothing Vs; an output detector circuit 7 that detects whether or not Vo has reached a threshold; and a third circuit 8 that, when Vo has reached the threshold during the off period of Tr4, advances the timing with which Tr4 turns on by using Vd, and that, when Vo has reached the threshold during the on period of Tr4, delays the timing with which Tr4 turns off until a period during which Tr4 is forcibly kept on has elapsed, or, before this, until Vo has dropped below the threshold. With this configuration, it is possible to achieve an improvement in efficiency in light load conditions without increasing an output ripple voltage.

Abstract: A storage system has a pool which is made up of a plurality of storage regions supplied by physical disks, and allocates the storage regions within this pool to volumes supplied to host computers, and cancels such allocations. When a volume addition event has occurred, a management computer forecasts, for each volume, the capacity which is to be required at a certain time point in the future, based on usage capacities acquired for each volume, calculates a non-required capacity from this capacity which has been forecast and the capacities of the storage region groups which are already allocated to the volume, decides, based on one or more non-required capacities which have been calculated, whether or not there is a storage region enough to satisfy the capacity requested for a volume which is the object of addition, and, if a positive decision result is obtained, allocates storage regions equivalent to the non-required capacity to the volume which is the object of addition.

Abstract: An optical scanner device, comprising a scanning unit, which casts irradiation light emitted from a light source in an arbitrary direction to scan an observation object, an objective lens system, which converges the irradiation light on the observation object, and a photo-detector unit, which is disposed on an optical axis of the objective lens system to have the irradiation light transmit therethrough, is provided. A position of the irradiation light converged on the observation object is detected based on a position of a light spot of the irradiation light transmitting through the photo-detector unit.

Abstract: An endoscope probe system includes an endoscope probe to be inserted into a body cavity to observe tissue of a living body. The endoscope probe system further includes a laser source that emits multiple laser beams, a light detector having multiple light receiving elements each of which detects intensity of light incident thereon, and a plurality of confocal optical systems arranged to focus the laser beams emitted from the laser source to small spots arranged in a matrix pattern on the target and selectively transmit the laser beams reflected by the target at the spots to respective ones of the light receiving elements of the light detector.

Abstract: Disclosed is to prevent deterioration in I/O performance of a computer resulted from a use of the same physical disk among different logical volumes. A volume management server 1010 groups together logical volumes which use the same physical disk of a storage device 1020 as a volume group and allocates a storage area on the physical disk to be used on a priority basis by this volume group to the volume group, and thereby a physical arrangement according to a present physical arrangement of the logical volume can be performed when an automatic expansion of the logical volume is performed thereafter so that the I/O performance deterioration of the computer caused by a mutual interference is avoided at the time of access from the computer 1030 to the storage device 1020.

Abstract: A bimorph switch electrically connecting a traveling contact and a fixed contact. The switch comprises a substrate having a front face, a rear face, and a through hole penetrating from the front face to the rear face; a fixed contact extending from an edge portion of the aperture of the through hole towards the inside of the aperture; and a bimorph section holding the traveling contact at a position facing the aperture and driving the traveling contact. One end of the bimorph section may be formed on a silicon oxide layer formed on a front face of the substrate.

Abstract: A confocal probe emits a scanning beam to a target and receives light returned therefrom to obtain an image thereof. The confocal probe has a chamber accommodating an optical system. The optical system includes an optical fiber through which a light beam is introduced to the optical system, a converging lens that converges the light beam introduced by the optical fiber, an optical element having a light incident surface, a first surface and a light emerging surface which statically define an optical path of the light beam, and a deflecting device mounted on the first surface of the optical element. The light beam enters the optical element through the light incident surface, enters the deflecting device through the first surface, and is dynamically deflected by the deflecting device. The deflected beam is output through the light emerging surface, as the scanning beam, toward the target.

Abstract: A bimorph switch electrically connecting a traveling contact and a fixed contact. The switch comprises a substrate having a front face, a rear face, and a through hole penetrating from the front face to the rear face; a fixed contact extending from an edge portion of the aperture of the through hole towards the inside of the aperture; and a bimorph section holding the traveling contact at a position facing the aperture and driving the traveling contact. One end of the bimorph section may be formed on a silicon oxide layer formed on a front face of the substrate.

Abstract: There is provided a micromirror device, which is provided with a mirror layer including a mirror surface which is supported to be rotatable around a first axis passing through a center of the mirror surface, and an upper substrate having transparency including a first upper electrode part and a second upper electrode part arranged on its surface facing the mirror layer to face each other via a first upper boundary passing through a center of the surface and parallel to the first axis, and a lower substrate including a first lower electrode part and a second lower electrode part arranged on its surface facing the mirror layer to face each other via a first lower boundary passing through a center of the surface and parallel to the first axis.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for setting virtual volume groups in a storage network system. The system includes a lower storage apparatus, host computers, an upper storage apparatus, and an administrative server. The method for setting virtual volume groups, executed by the administrative server, includes the steps of acquiring information on the real volumes, and port information on the physical devices in which the real volumes reside, creating virtual volumes being linked to the real volumes, based on the information on the real volumes, forming one or more virtual volume groups by combining the virtual volumes, based on the port information, in such a way that a relation between the virtual volumes and the virtual volume group are identical to a relation between the real volumes and the physical devices, and establishing the created virtual volume groups in the upper storage apparatus.

Abstract: A hinge structure, for rotatably supporting a mirror surface of a micromirror device which rotates the mirror surface around at least an axis for scanning a beam, includes a linear body with one end joined to a surface which is rotated around the axis and the other end joined to a surface which does not rotate around the axis. The linear body includes a linear central part situated on the axis and a pair of extension parts extending from both ends of the central part to both ends of the linear body respectively to surround the central part in the same direction. The extension parts are formed so that space between them will be substantially constant. By the above composition, the hinge structure delivers high spring performance while being small-sized.

Abstract: A confocal probe is provided with an optical fiber introducing light having wavelengths within a predetermined wavelength range in the confocal probe, a collimating lens that collimates light emerged from an end surface of the optical fiber, a dispersing prism that receives the light collimated by the collimating lens and disperses the received light in a predetermined direction, light emerged from the dispersing prism and having the same wavelength being kept collimated, and a light converging optical system that converges the light emerged from the dispersing prism on a target (i.e., region of interest).

Abstract: There is provided a micromirror device, which is provided with a mirror layer including a mirror surface which is supported to be rotatable around a first axis passing through a center of the mirror surface, and an upper substrate having transparency including a first upper electrode part and a second upper electrode part arranged on its surface facing the mirror layer to face each other via a first upper boundary passing through a center of the surface and parallel to the first axis, and a lower substrate including a first lower electrode part and a second lower electrode part arranged on its surface facing the mirror layer to face each other via a first lower boundary passing through a center of the surface and parallel to the first axis.