Abstract: A pallet is configured to be stackable in a plurality of stages. The pallet includes a bottom plate, a top plate on which an object to be packed is placed, a leg member, and a sidewall member. The leg member connects the bottom plate and the top plate and is disposed along the outer edges of the bottom plate and the top plate. The sidewall member are vertically installed along the outer edge of the top plate and are formed with a connection hole to be used in a connection of an outside packing case that covers the object to be packed. When the pallet is stacked on a top plate of another pallet the leg member is provided with an engagement portion that is disposed in correspondence to a connection hole of a sidewall member of the other pallet.

Abstract: A pallet is configured to be stackable in a plurality of stages. The pallet includes a bottom plate, a top plate on which an object to be packed is placed, a leg member, and a sidewall member. The leg member connects the bottom plate and the top plate and is disposed along the outer edges of the bottom plate and the top plate. The sidewall member are vertically installed along the outer edge of the top plate and are formed with a connection hole to be used in a connection of an outside packing case that covers the object to be packed. When the pallet is stacked on a top plate of another pallet the leg member is provided with an engagement portion that is disposed in correspondence to a connection hole of a sidewall member of the other pallet.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus is provided with a cooling fan for cooling toner boxes within the apparatus. The outlet of the cooling fan and the toner boxes are connected by flexible tubes, respectively. This makes it possible to connect the cooling fan with the toner boxes even if there is not sufficient space, thereby enabling cooling of the toner boxes.

Abstract: An optical element holder is provided with a holding frame having a side surface provided spaced apart by a specific distance from an end portion of the correction lens in a longitudinal direction by deeming a light scanning direction as the longitudinal direction and holding the correction lens so as to cover the correction lens except for at least an incident portion and an exiting portion of light, and a pushing member that pushes the correction lens toward the holding frame, so that displacement in the light scanning direction due to heat of the optical element is lessened.

Abstract: An optical element holder is provided with a holding frame having a side surface provided spaced apart by a specific distance from an end portion of the correction lens in a longitudinal direction by deeming a light scanning direction as the longitudinal direction and holding the correction lens so as to cover the correction lens except for at least an incident portion and an exiting portion of light, and a pushing member that pushes the correction lens toward the holding frame, so that displacement in the light scanning direction due to heat of the optical element is lessened.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus is provided with a cooling fan for cooling toner boxes within the apparatus. The outlet of the cooling fan and the toner boxes are connected by flexible tubes, respectively. This makes it possible to connect the cooling fan with the toner boxes even if there is not sufficient space, thereby enabling cooling of the toner boxes.

Abstract: A method of configuring a storage phosphor reader. The method comprises the steps of: providing a database of user-selectable image processing parameters wherein the image processing parameters are grouped by geographical region; allowing an operator of the storage phosphor reader to select one of the groups of geographical regions; and applying the image processing parameters of the selected group to the storage phosphor reader to configure the reader with the image processing parameters of the selected group.

Abstract: A method of configuring a storage phosphor reader. The method comprises the steps of: providing a database of user-selectable image processing parameters wherein the image processing parameters are grouped by geographical region; allowing an operator of the storage phosphor reader to select one of the groups of geographical regions; and applying the image processing parameters of the selected group to the storage phosphor reader to configure the reader with the image processing parameters of the selected group.

Abstract: The invention provides a speech coding apparatus wherein a perceptual weighting filter is realized with a comparatively small amount of calculation. The speech coding apparatus includes a weighting circuit which in turn includes a coefficient code book in which weighting coefficients are stored, a coefficient determination section which selects and outputs one of the weighting coefficients which corresponds to a short-term prediction code, and a weighting section for performing weighting calculation of a speech signal with the selected weighting coefficient.

Abstract: A speech signal encoder includes a speech analyzer for determining short-term prediction codes at a predetermined time interval. The prediction codes indicate frequency characteristics of a speech signal. A reverse filter is provided for calculating residual signals of first synthesis filter. The residual signals are defined by the short-term prediction codes. A residual code book stores past residual signals. Further, a plurality of delay codes, each of which represents pitch correlation of the speech signal, are predetermined. A vector generator issues, using the residual code book, delay residual vectors each of which corresponds to the delay code. A filter is provided for generating a synthesis signal using second synthesis filter which receives the delay residual vectors and which is defined by the short-term prediction codes. A distance between the speech signal and the synthesis signal is calculated. Subsequently, a pitch path estimator estimates a pitch path which varies smoothly.

Abstract: A voice coder for coding a speech signal at a low bit rate with high speech quality and improved efficiency for gain quantization according to code-excited linear prediction (CELP) coding. The voice coder has an LPC (linear prediction coding) analyzer for calculating LPC coefficients, a parameter quantizer for quantizing the LPC coefficients to output a quantized code CL, an adaptive codebook, a long-term predicting circuit for searching the adaptive codebook to determine a delay code CD and an adaptive code vector, an excitation codebook, an excitation codebook searching circuit for determining an optimum quantized code CS and an excitation vector, and a gain codebook searching circuit for outputting a gain code CG by determining quantized gains representing quantized vectors of gains of the adaptive code vector and the excitation vector.

Abstract: A speech signal coding system for coding a speech signal at a bit rate of 8 to 4 kb/s wherein the amount of calculation for fractional search of delays of an adaptive codebook is reduced significantly. Before a fractional delay of the adaptive codebook is found, candidates of integer delay are found by an open-loop using correlation values. A search for a fractional delay by a closed loop is performed for a search range for fractional delays which is provided by .+-.several samples of each integer delay candidate thus found using the correlation values. The fractional delay search is realized by polyphase filtering of an excitation signal in the past. In the search, a plurality of candidates of fractional delay may be found for each integer delay candidate from the adaptive codebook. In this instance, a fractional delay is determined decisively from the decimal delay candidates after a search of an excitation codebook.