Abstract: A laser beam oscillated from a laser source is folded in its path by first and second plane mirrors and enters a beam expander. The surface of each plane mirror is deteriorated with illumination by the laser beam and the reflectance is reduced. To avoid a light quantity of the laser beam entering the beam expander from being reduced below a reference value, when the laser beam is illuminated over a certain time, a position on each of the first and second plane mirrors at which the laser beam is illuminated is changed by a structure for rotating and/or translating a reflecting surface of each plane mirror on a plane, which includes the plane mirror, while an optical axis is kept same. Thus, the useful life of each plane mirror can be prolonged without displacing the optical axis.

Abstract: An inactivating device for inactivating virus, bacteria, etc. including a humidifying unit for humidifying flowing air, a humidifying water supply unit for supplying the humidifying unit with humidifying water containing active oxygen species achieved by electrolyzing tap water, and a concentration adjusting unit for adjusting the concentration of the active oxygen species in the humidifying water to a predetermined concentration.

Abstract: An air filtering apparatus including a housing having an air suction port through which air is sucked and an air blow-out port through which air is blown out, an air blower for forming in the housing an air flowing passage through which the air sucked from the air suction port flows to the air blow-out port, an air filtering unit that is disposed on the air flowing passage and brings the air supplied along the air flowing passage into contact with electrolytic water containing active oxygen species to filter the air, an electrolytic water supply unit for electrolyzing prescribed water to generate the electrolytic water and supplying the electrolytic water to the air filtering unit, and a water supply unit having a water stock unit for stocking the prescribed water supplied through a water distributing pipe from an external water supply source, the water stocked in the water stock unit being supplied to the electrolytic water supply unit, wherein the air filtered by the air filtering unit is blown out from the

Abstract: An air filtering apparatus including a housing having an air suction port and air blow-out port, an electrolytic bath for generating electrolytic water, a gas-liquid contact member disposed in the housing, an electrolytic water supply unit for supplying the electrolytic water to the gas-liquid contact member so that the electrolytic water infiltrates into the gas-liquid contact member, an air blowing fan for bringing indoor air sucked from the air suction port into contact with the electrolytic water infiltrating in the gas-liquid contact member and blowing out the indoor air from the air blow-out port, a water receiving portion for receiving the electrolytic water passed through the gas-liquid contact member, and a foreign material removing mechanism for removing foreign materials contained in the electrolytic water. The foreign material may be a filter member disposed in front of the gas-liquid contact member, or a dam member disposed in the water receiving portion.

Abstract: A laser beam oscillated from a laser source is folded in its path by first and second plane mirrors and enters a beam expander. The surface of each plane mirror is deteriorated with illumination by the laser beam and the reflectance is reduced. To avoid a light quantity of the laser beam entering the beam expander from being reduced below a reference value, when the laser beam is illuminated over a certain time, a position on each of the first and second plane mirrors at which the laser beam is illuminated is changed by a structure for rotating and/or translating a reflecting surface of each plane mirror on a plane, which includes the plane mirror, while an optical axis is kept same. Thus, the useful life of each plane mirror can be prolonged without displacing the optical axis.

Abstract: A semiconductor wafer, which is an inspection object, is stuck by vacuum on a chuck and this chuck is mounted on an inspection object movement stage consisting of a rotational stage and a translational stage, located on a Z-stage. The rotational stage provides a rotational movement and the translational stage provides a translational movement. And when a foreign particle or a defect on an inspection object surface is detected, the parameter of digital filtering is dynamically changed during inspection, and the foreign particle or the defect is differentiated using the result after removing a low frequency fluctuation component to be a noise component.

Abstract: A semiconductor wafer, which is an inspection object, is stuck by vacuum on a chuck and this chuck is mounted on an inspection object movement stage consisting of a rotational stage and a translational stage, located on a Z-stage. The rotational stage provides a rotational movement and the translational stage provides a translational movement. And when a foreign particle or a defect on an inspection object surface is detected, the parameter of digital filtering is dynamically changed during inspection, and the foreign particle or the defect is differentiated using the result after removing a low frequency fluctuation component to be a noise component.

Abstract: A laser beam oscillated from a laser source is folded in its path by first and second plane mirrors and enters a beam expander. The surface of each plane mirror is deteriorated with illumination by the laser beam and the reflectance is reduced. To avoid a light quantity of the laser beam entering the beam expander from being reduced below a reference value, when the laser beam is illuminated over a certain time, a position on each of the first and second plane mirrors at which the laser beam is illuminated is changed by a structure for rotating and/or translating a reflecting surface of each plane mirror on a plane, which includes the plane mirror, while an optical axis is kept same. Thus, the useful life of each plane mirror can be prolonged without displacing the optical axis.

Abstract: A laser beam oscillated from a laser source is folded in its path by first and second plane mirrors and enters a beam expander. The surface of each plane mirror is deteriorated with illumination by the laser beam and the reflectance is reduced. To avoid a light quantity of the laser beam entering the beam expander from being reduced below a reference value, when the laser beam is illuminated over a certain time, a position on each of the first and second plane mirrors at which the laser beam is illuminated is changed by a structure for rotating and/or translating a reflecting surface of each plane mirror on a plane, which includes the plane mirror, while an optical axis is kept same. Thus, the useful life of each plane mirror can be prolonged without displacing the optical axis.

Abstract: An external cavity type semiconductor laser that has a larger output and a more excellent single mode characteristic than a conventional external cavity type semiconductor laser is provided. The external cavity type semiconductor laser has a laser diode 11, a window glass 16, a grating, and a lens. The external cavity type semiconductor laser has several modifications over the conventional one. A first modification is that the window glass 16 is inclined to a beam emission surface 19 of a laser diode 11 for a predetermined angle. A second modification is that arrangements of the laser diode 11 and so forth are adjusted so that a S wave reaches the grating. A third modification is that when an output power of the laser diode 11 is 45 mW or less, a kink is suppressed.

Abstract: A vibrating gyrosensor includes a support substrate on which a wiring pattern having lands is formed. A vibrating element is mounted on a surface of the support substrate. The vibrating element includes a base part having a mounting surface on which a number of terminals connectable to the lands is formed. A vibrator part integrally projects from a side of the base part and has a substrate-facing surface coplanar with the mounting surface of the base part. The vibrator part has a first electrode layer, a piezoelectric layer, and a second electrode layer which are laminated on the substrate-facing surface. The vibrator part vibrates when an AC signal is applied between the first and second electrode layers. The central electric field strength of the AC signal is set at a position shifting to the positive direction from the center of a hysteresis loop of the piezoelectric layer.

Abstract: A vibrating gyrosensor includes a support substrate on which a wiring pattern having a plurality of lands is formed, and a vibrating element mounted on a surface of the support substrate. The vibrating element includes a base part having a mounting surface on which a plurality of terminals, and a vibrator part integrally projected in a cantilever manner from one of the sides of the base part and having a substrate-facing surface coplanar with the mounting surface of the base part. The vibrator part has a first electrode layer, a piezoelectric layer, and a second electrode layer, which are formed on the substrate-facing surface in that order. Furthermore, a reinforcing part is formed at the base end of the vibrator part so that the sectional area of the vibrator part gradually increases toward the base part.

Abstract: A laser beam emitted from a laser light source is divided into two laser beams, a 2-dimensional spatial modulation is performed to one of the two divided laser beams based on recording information, the modulated laser beam is projected as signal light onto a recording medium, the other laser beam is projected as reference light onto the recording medium, and the recording information is recorded onto the recording medium. The recording information recorded on the recording medium is reproduced based on the laser beam transmitted through or reflected by the recording medium. An optical system includes: a rotatable mirror portion for guiding the reference light to the recording medium at an angle according to the direction of its reflecting surface; a vibration proofing member coupled with a rear surface of the mirror portion; and a driving mechanism which decides an angle position of the mirror portion and is coupled with the mirror portion.

Abstract: An angular velocity sensor includes a base portion, three arm portions that extend as one piece from the base portion to an approximately same direction, a piezoelectric film formed on one surface of each of the arm portions, drive electrodes for excitation formed on the piezoelectric films of at least two outer arm portions, and detection electrodes for angular velocity detection formed on the piezoelectric film of at least a center arm portion. Among the three arm portions, the two outer arm portions are excited in phase, and the center arm portion is excited in opposite phase with the two outer arm portions. The drive electrodes excite the arm portions in a first direction vertical to surfaces on which the piezoelectric films are formed. The detection electrodes detect a vibration in a second direction parallel to the surfaces on which the piezoelectric films of the arm portions are formed.

Abstract: Provided is a heat-storage unit capable of efficiently storing heat in a heat-storage material and sufficiently taking out the stored heat.

Abstract: To improve characteristics by achieving size reduction and high Q value with a simple structure. A vibratory gyrosensor 1 according to the present invention includes a supporting substrate 2, which has a circuit element mounted thereon and a wiring pattern having a plurality of lands 4 disposed thereon; and a vibration element 20 mounted on a surface 2-1 of the supporting substrate. The vibration element 20 includes a base portion 22 having a mounting surface 22-2 provided with a plurality of terminals 25 that are connected to the lands; and a vibrator portion 23 extending integrally from a side of the base portion 22 in a cantilever manner and having a substrate-facing surface which is flush with the mounting surface of the base portion 22, the substrate-facing surface being provided with a first electrode layer 27, a piezoelectric layer 28 stacked on the first electrode layer, and a second electrode layer 29, 30 stacked on the piezoelectric layer.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for detecting an avian influenza virus by an immunological assay using an anti-influenza virus antibody being unreactive to human influenza type-A virus subtypes H1, H2 and H3 and a human influenza type-B virus and being reactive to plural subtypes of avian influenza viruses, and an immunochromatographic test tool for use in the method. According to the present invention, an avian influenza virus can be detected specifically, rapidly and in a simple manner, as distinguishing an avian influenza virus from a human influenza virus.

Abstract: To provide an external heating type reduced pressure fryer capable of carrying out a cycle of heating and circulating an oil between a frying tank and a heating apparatus even when a frying treatment of a food is carried out in the frying tank, the external heating type reduced pressure fryer includes a frying tank for immersing the food to a heated oil to be subjected to a frying treatment, an oil heating apparatus for heating the oil, an oil transferring path and an oil recirculating path connecting the frying tank and the oil heating apparatus, a circulating pump installed in the oil transferring path, and an oil/water separating portion for removing water in the oil, the oil/water separating portion includes a first baffle plate for forming a flow path of detouring the oil bent in an up and down direction, the water in the oil is interrupted by the baffle plate during a time period of making the oil flow to a downstream side while detouring the first baffle plate to promote the water to evaporate to a gas

Abstract: Disclosed is an optical recording/reproducing apparatus capable of performing focus search with high reliability even when a wavefront aberration occurs due to a thickness of a protective layer of an optical disk. The optical recording/reproducing apparatus comprises: an optical system which focuses the beam spot into the recording medium; a spot moving section which moves the beam spot at least in a direction parallel to thickness of the protective layer; a surface detector which detects each of a surface of the protective layer and one or more signal recording surfaces based on a returning light; and a focus controller which starts focusing servo control with respect to the one or more signal recording surfaces when the surface detector detects the surface of the protective layer and thereafter detects the one or more signal recording surfaces.

Abstract: A method of producing a photocatalytic coating material which includes: the steps of coating the surface of a base material having hydrophobic substances on its surface with a photocatalytic coating material including at least (a) photocatalytic oxide particles, (b) a hydrophobic-resin emulsion, (c) water, and (d) silica particles, and hardening the coated material. The average sizes of the ingredient (a) and the ingredient (d) are smaller than that of the emulsified particles of the hydrophobic resin dispersed in the ingredient (b), ingredient (a) constitutes 1 to <5% by weight of the total solid matter of the coating material, ingredient (d) constitutes 1 to 90% by weight of a total solid matter of the coating material, and once the coating material is applied onto a base material, the photocatalytic oxide particles and the silica particles move upward and a coating film 1 ?m to 1 mm thick is formed.