Abstract: A speech input device includes a speech input section for converting the input speech made by a speaker into an electric signal and outputting the electric signal, and a display section for displaying information indicating a spatial displacement of the position of the lip portion of the speaker from a predetermined position.

Abstract: When gas is generated in an emergency situation of a vehicle and a cylinder is driven, one of wires rotates a pulley via a small diameter portion of the pulley. For this reason, the other wire connected to a large diameter portion of the pulley has a length wound around the large diameter portion, which is longer than that of the one wire. A drive stroke of the cylinder is increased and transmitted to a seat belt buckle. As a result, even if the cylinder is of a small size, a long pulling stroke is applied to a seat belt.

Abstract: A pretensioner is disclosed which, when a vehicle suddenly decelerates, a large quantity of gas is generated, and the gas flows into a cylinder from a gas-generating a device. As a result of pressure of the gas, a movable pulley moves instantaneously together with a piston, so that the wire trained around the movable pulley is pulled. An amount by which a wire is pulled is twice an amount by which a wire is pulled in cases where the wire is directly connected to the piston, as in conventional devices. Accordingly, the wire can be pulled by the same amount by using only half of a length of a conventional cylinder, thus making it possible to manufacture a pretensioner which has a short cylinder.

Abstract: A polyethylene composition which is useful in insulations and joints of extra-high voltage power cables, and in which a cross-linking agent, comprising an organic peroxide subjected to purification processing, and an antioxidant, are blended, wherein the cross-linked composition has a dielectric loss tangent (tan.delta.) of less than or equal to 0.07% at a temperature of 90.degree. C. and under an electric field stress of 20 kV/mm. This polyethylene composition exhibits little dielectric loss, even at high temperatures or high electric field stresses, and is optimally employed in insulations and joints for extra-high voltage power cables of 275 kV or more.

Abstract: In a push-type safety lever, a contact surface between a safety lever and a trigger lever is slanted. In a rotation-type safety lever, its circumferential surface is gradually increased in radiuses from an area in which a safety lever does not contact a trigger lever to an area in which it contacts the trigger lever. A mechanical ignition sensor is thereby provided so as to prevent the safety lever and the trigger lever from catching on each other and to reliably operate the safety device.

Abstract: Upon a sudden deceleration of a vehicle, if an inertial body moves a predetermined amount against the urging force of a return spring, the trigger means will be released from engagement with the firing pin. Under the urging force of a spring, the firing pin is released from engagement with the trigger means, strikes and ignites a detonator so as to activate the actuator. The trigger means will not move until the inertial body has moved by the predetermined amount. Only after the inertial body has moved the predetermined amount, will the trigger means start to move suddenly and quickly. Therefore, friction at the time the inertial body engages the trigger means is kept constant. The stable operation of the sensor is thereby assured.

Abstract: A preloader for use in a webbing retractor for retracting an occupant-restraining webbing onto a webbing takeup shaft, and adapted to allow a webbing to be applied to a vehicle occupant with appropriate tightness. An engaging shaft is coaxially coupled with the takeup shaft, and a rotating drum is disposed around the engaging shaft at a fixed distance from the engaging shaft. The rotating drum is held by a plate, and a wire is tightly wound around the outer periphery of the rotating drum. A clamp member is disposed swingably in a direction in which the clamp member engages the webbing and in a direction in which the clamp member moves away therefrom. An urging member is provided for constantly urging the clamp member in a webbing-clamping direction. A trigger member is disposed between the clamp member and the plate, and holds the clamp member in spaced-apart relationship with the webbing.

Abstract: An optical encoder irradiating light emitted from a light emitting unit includes a rectangular collimator lens having a rectangular face onto a main scale which moves in the longitudinal direction, receives the collimated light beam passing the main scale in a light receiving unit, and optically reads the displacement of the main scale. Since the collimator lens is rectangular, the light emitting unit can be made compact without decreasing the irradiation area of a light beam which is effective in the detection of the displacement. Furthermore, it is possible to increase the irradiation area of the light beam by dividing a collimated light beam from the collimator lens into a plurality of diffracted light beams by a transmitting or reflecting diffracton grating.

Abstract: An automatic seat belt system, having; a guide rail disposed in a room of a vehicle, a slider engaged with one end of a webbing for restraining an occupant of the vehicle and guide by the guide rail in a manner capable of moving therealong between a webbing-application canceling position and a webbing applying position, and a slider retaining member which engages with the slider and retains thereof at the webbing applying position and which enables to alter the retaining position while retaining the slider.

Abstract: A lock mechanism for a webbing retractor prevents an occupant restraining webbing from being wound off from a webbing takeup shaft when a vehicular emergency occurs. The lock mechanism is provided with a member to which the rotational force of the takeup shaft is transmitted through frictional contact and which cancels the locked state of the lock mechanism when the takeup shaft rotates in the webbing wind-up direction. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the webbing from being gradually wound up when the vehicle is running thus avoiding any possibility of causing the webbing to undesirably tighten against the body of the occupant.

Abstract: A slider stopping mechanism for an automatic seatbelt system which is supported by a guide rail extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle and having a groove extending in the same direction and is adapted to stop the movement of a slider at one end of the guide rail so as to apply a webbing to a seat occupant or cancel the application thereof as the webbing is moved in the transverse direction by a driving apparatus. The slider stopping mechanism includes a switch inserted in the groove from the end portion and adapted to stop the driving of the driving apparatus when the slider reaches a predetermined position, as well as a shock-absorbing member which is disposed in the groove in such a manner as to be located adjacent to the switch and with which the slider is brought into contact. Hence, the slider is prevented from coming into direct contact with the switch.

Abstract: An automatic seat belt system capable of girding a crew member automatically with a webbing, equipped with a reinforcement anchor mounted to reinforce a car rear side end portion of a guide rail supporting shiftably a slider with the webbing locked thereon frontward and rearward of a car. A housing enclosing a lock member engaged with the slider and mounted on the reinforcement anchor, wherein an enclosing part in which the guide rail is inserted longitudinally only is formed on the reinforcement anchor. A locking part locked on the guide rail to constrain a shift of the guide rail is formed on the housing. Accordingly, the guide rail is fixed to the reinforcement anchor through the housing.

Abstract: A recognition system including a data carrier which is attached to a moving article and which has a memory storing identification data of the article and a control system communicating with the data carrier without any contact therebetween. The control system includes a higher-level controller, a plurality of lower-level controllers connected thereto, and read/write heads connected to the lower-level controllers. The higher-level controller sequentially sends an auto read/write command to the lower-level controllers. In response thereto, when the data carrier approaches one of the lower-level controllers, the lower-level controller communicates with the data carrier so as to access the memory thereof. The lower-level controller temporarily keeps a result of the memory access (the response from the data carrier) such that on receiving a command from the higher-level controller, the lower-level controller transmits the memory access result thus temporarily kept therein to the higher-level controller.

Abstract: A memory of a data carrier attached to an article to be identified stores a classification code indicative of the data carrier's own communication protocol. Plural types of communication protocols are registered, in correspondence with the classification codes thereof, in the memory of a controller capable of communicating with the data carrier. Upon receiving a classification code transmitted by the data carrier, the controller selects from its memory a communication protocol indicated by the received classification code and then executes communication with the data carrier by using the selected communication protocol.

Abstract: An automatic seat belt device having a guide rail arranged in a room of a vehicle in a longitudinal direction thereof, a slider engaged with one end of a webbing and supported by the guide rail such as to be movable along the guide rail in forward and rearward directions of the vehicle, and an elongate member engaged at its one end with the slider and moved by a driving force so as to move the slider in the direction. The elongate member is movable so as to move the slider to a rear end portion of its movement so that the webbing may be fastened around a body of an occupant on a vehicle seat when he gets on the vehicle.

Abstract: A variable resistor whose resistance is adjustable by rotating a rotor on an insulating substrate having an arcuate resistive element. The rotor is formed of an insulating resin and includes an inner skirt and an outer skirt extending from a bottom surface thereof. The inner skirt contacts the upper surface of the insulating substrate inside the arcuate resistive element. A metallic slider is integrated with the rotor by insert molding. The slider comprises a base formed of a metal plate folded at least into two, and arms having contacts at the tips thereof for slidably contacting the resistive element on the insulating substrate. The arms are folded along lines which are parallel to a line extending from the center of the base to the contacts of the arms to cause the contacts to project toward the insulating substrate. One of the metal plates forming the base cooperates with the inner and outer skirts of the rotor to seal a space accommodating the resistive element and the arms of the slider.

Abstract: A structure for supporting a guide rail of an automatic seat belt apparatus of a vehicle on a side wall of the compartment via a holder engageable with the sides of the guide rail that are arranged in the widthwise direction of the compartment, the guide rail slidably supporting a slider and being adapted to guide the slider in the to-and-fro direction of the compartment, the slider being kept in engagement with one end of a webbing adapted to be worn by an occupant of the vehicle. The holder is engaged with the side portion of the guide rail that is outward in the widthwise direction of the compartment at an engagement portion formed in the vicinity of the end portion of the guide rail that is remote from the webbing with respect to the slider. Therefore, the holder is kept from readily being disengaged from the engagement portion even when the guide rail is, via the slider, subjected to a lateral force acting to pull the webbing inwardly of the compartment.

Abstract: An apparatus for driving an intermediate portion of a webbing for use in a seatbelt system for restraining an occupant of a vehicle by means of a webbing having one end accommodated in a webbing accommodating device through a biasing force is arranged to withdraw the webbing from the accommodating device in opposition to the biasing force. Accordingly, when an occupant is to apply the webbing to himself by withdrawing it from the accommodating device, the webbing can be withdrawn and applied with a small manual force.

Abstract: An automatic seatbelt system for a vehicle, which is designed to restrain the body of an occupant when an emergency situation of the vehicle occurs, has a slider which retains one end of a webbing and which is movable along a guide rail laid on the body of the vehicle between a position at which the webbing is fastened to the occupant's body (hereinafter referred to as a "webbing fastening position") and a position at which the webbing is unfastened therefrom (hereinafter referred to as a "webbing unfastening position"), and a continuous member for moving the slider between the above-described two positions. The continuous member and the slider are allowed to move relative to each other by a predetermined amount.

Abstract: A variable resistor of a type for mounting against the surface of a printed circuit substrate, the variable resistor having:an insulating substrate having one surface for supporting a resistor and an opposite surface for being positioned against the surface of a printed circuit substrate;a curved resistor on the one surface of the insulating substrate and having opposite ends;a sliding member rotatably mounted on the insulating substrate and sliding on the resistor;a plurality of outside electrodes on the insulating substrate, one for each end of the curved resistor, and extending from the corresponding end of the resistor along the one surface of the insulating substrate, along an edge of the insulating substrate, and along the opposite surface of the insulating substrate, each outside electrode having a three layer structure constituted by a lower layer against the insulating substrate, a middle layer and an outer layer, the lower layer being an electrically conductive material suitable for plating, the mid