Abstract: A power supply device has a first power supply capable of storing and discharging electric power, a second power supply connected in series to the first power supply and capable of storing and discharging the electric power, an isolated DC-DC converter including a primary side terminal to which the first power supply is connected, and a secondary side terminal to which the second power supply is connected, and a power supply control unit that controls a voltage of the second power supply using the isolated DC-DC converter. A direct-current voltage outputted from the first power supply and the second power supply connected in series is inputted to a first inverter, converted into an alternating-current voltage by the first inverter, and then supplied to a vehicle drive motor.

Abstract: A power conversion device generates drive command signals for switch elements of multiple phases, the drive command signals designed to control connecting and disconnecting operations of the multiple phase switch elements in such a way that a direction of a current change attributed to a connecting or disconnecting operation of one switch element and a direction of a current change attributed to a connecting or disconnecting operation of another switch element are opposite to each other. Furthermore, the power conversion device corrects output timings of the drive command signals to be outputted to the switch elements so as to synchronize connecting and disconnecting timings of the switch elements with each other.

Abstract: An electric component structure is provided with at least two electrical conductive parts, an insulator and a magnetic flux generating structure. The electrical conductive parts are arranged with an electric line of force existing between adjacent ones of the conductive parts. The insulator holds the conductive parts. The magnetic flux generating structure generates a magnetic flux with magnetic flux lines oriented in a direction different from a direction of the electric line of force existing between the adjacent ones of the conductive parts.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier, a cleaning device having a cleaning member that comes into contact with a surface of the image carrier, and a lubricant applying device provided on the downstream side of the cleaning member. The lubricant applying device includes a solid lubricant, a lubricant supply roller, and a trailing type lubricant smoothing blade that is provided on the downstream side of the lubricant supply roller, and comes into belly contact with the surface of the image carrier. After image carrier is stopped, constantly or under a predetermined condition, the surface of the image carrier is moved in a direction opposite to an image forming direction. The opposite movement distance is equal to or more than the shortest distance between a contact point between the lubricant supply roller and the image carrier and a contact point between the lubricant smoothing blade and the image carrier.

Abstract: A power conversion system as an aspect of the present invention includes: a power converter using a plurality of legs to convert inputted electric power and output powers in a plurality of phases, each leg including upper and lower arms; and a controller 30 controlling the upper and lower arms of each leg to control pulse current flowing through the leg. The controller 30 calculates a duty ratio instruction of each leg in one control period for each phase and, concerning first and second legs among the plurality of legs provided for a certain one of the phases, changes the phase of the calculated duty ratio instruction so that a time period when positive pulse current flows through the first leg and a time period when negative pulse flows through the second leg overlap each other in the one control period.

Abstract: A resistant body 13 is provided in a periphery of at least one of the current-carrying members 11 on a surface of the insulator 12. The resistant body 13 distributes a voltage applied to the surface of the insulator 12 between a pair of the current-carrying members 11 adjacent to each other, so that a potential difference distributed on the surface of the insulator 12 is set to a discharge starting voltage or less.

Abstract: An optical pulse time spreading apparatus wherein an optical splitter divides an input optical pulse into first to U-th input optical pulses; first to U-th optical pulse time spreaders respectively have the first to U-th input optical pulses input thereto and output first to U-th chip pulse sequences each consisting of N chip pulses from a first to an N-th chip pulse arranged in order on a time axis into which the input optical pulse is time-spread; and an interval between adjacent ones of unit FBGs arranged in a p-th optical pulse time spreader and a Bragg reflection wavelength of the unit FBGs in the p-th optical pulse time spreader are set such that spectra of the first to U-th chip pulse sequences are different from each other.

Abstract: Super-structured fiber Bragg gratings (SSFBGs) of s optical pulse time spreaders are provided with N unit FBGs disposed starting from an input/output end in the order of first to N-th unit FBGs, where s is a parameter less than or equal to a parameter N, a natural number. The unit FBGs are configured such that the reflectivities of the unit FBGs placed from one end to the center of the SSFBG formed in an optical fiber are monotonically increased, while the reflectivities of the unit FBGs placed from the center to the other end of the SSFBG are monotonically decreased. The chip pulses in a pulse train are given relative phases such that the relative phase of the first chip pulse is equal to zero, the relative phase of the second chip pulse is equal to a phase difference d1=2?{a+(n?1)/N}, . . . , and the relative phase of the N-th chip pulse is equal to (N?1)d1. The parameter a is any real number satisfying the condition of 0?a<1.

Abstract: An optical code division multiplexing signal generator provided with an optical pulse light source, a first encoder to an Nth encoder, a first optical modulator to an Nth optical modulator, and a first optical circulator to an Nth optical circulator. The first optical circulator inputs an input optical pulse train to a first encoder, and inputs a first encoded optical pulse train output by Bragg reflection from the first encoder to the first optical modulator. The kth optical circulator inputs an input (k?1)th optical pulse train which has passed through the (k?1)th encoder to a kth encoder, and inputs a kth encoded optical pulse train output by Bragg reflection from the kth encoder to the kth optical modulator. Herein k takes all integers from 2 to N, and N is a positive integer of 2 or more.

Abstract: An electric component structure is provided with at least two electrical conductive parts, an insulator and a magnetic flux generating structure. The electrical conductive parts are arranged with an electric line of force existing between adjacent ones of the conductive parts. The insulator holds the conductive parts. The magnetic flux generating structure generates a magnetic flux with magnetic flux lines oriented in a direction different from a direction of the electric line of force existing between the adjacent ones of the conductive parts.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier, a cleaning device having a cleaning member that comes into contact with a surface of the image carrier, and a lubricant applying device provided on the downstream side of the cleaning member. The lubricant applying device includes a solid lubricant, a lubricant supply roller, and a trailing type lubricant smoothing blade that is provided on the downstream side of the lubricant supply roller, and comes into belly contact with the surface of the image carrier. After image carrier is stopped, constantly or under a predetermined condition, the surface of the image carrier is moved in a direction opposite to an image forming direction. The opposite movement distance is equal to or more than the shortest distance between a contact point between the lubricant supply roller and the image carrier and a contact point between the lubricant smoothing blade and the image carrier.

Abstract: An optical pulse time spreading device includes S optical pulse time spreading elements that spread input optical pulses into trains of (N×j) chip pulses, where j is an integer greater than zero, S is an integer greater than one, and N is an integer equal to or greater than S. In the chip pulse trains output by the n-th optical pulse time spreading element (n=1, 2, . . . , S), the light in successive chip pulses is shifted in phase by successive integer multiples of the quantity 2?{a+(n?1)/N}, where a is an arbitrary constant (0?a<1). In an optical code-division multiplexing system, this optical pulse time spreading device produces an autocorrelation wave with a high energy and a high signal-to-noise ratio.

Abstract: A phase control arrangement has a structure in which a Superstructured fiber Bragg Grating (SSFBG) 40 has fifteen unit Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs) arranged in series in a waveguide direction. The SSFBG 40 is fixed to the core of an optical fiber 36 that includes a core 34 and cladding 32. The difference ?n between the maximum and minimum of the effective refractive index of the optical fiber is 6.2×10?5. The phase difference of Bragg reflected light from two unit diffraction gratings that adjoin one another from front to back and provide equal code values is given by 2?M+(?/2), where M is an integer. Further, the phase difference of the Bragg reflected light from two unit diffraction gratings that adjoin one another from front to back and provide different code values is given by 2?M+(2N+1)?+(?/2) where M and N are integers.

Abstract: The present invention is an optical pulse time spreading device comprising a plurality of optical pulse time spreaders that output an input optical pulse as a series of chip pulses stream that are sequentially arranged time-spread on a time axis in accordance with optical phase code. Each of the optical pulse time spreaders comprises phase control means that supplies a phase difference between adjacent chip pulses. Identification parameters are introduced to realize channel discrimination by changing the phase difference conditions supplied between adjacent chip pulses for each of the phase control means. The phase control means have a structure in which an SSFBG is fixed to the core of the optical fiber, for example. The SSFBG has unit FBGs that are arranged in series in the waveguide direction of the core. The code values of the optical phase code established for the phase control means correspond each one-on-one with each of the unit FBGs.

Abstract: An optical pulse time spreading apparatus wherein an optical splitter divides an input optical pulse into first to U-th input optical pulses; first to U-th optical pulse time spreaders respectively have the first to U-th input optical pulses input thereto and output first to U-th chip pulse sequences each consisting of N chip pulses from a first to an N-th chip pulse arranged in order on a time axis into which the input optical pulse is time-spread; and an interval between adjacent ones of unit FBGs arranged in a p-th optical pulse time spreader and a Bragg reflection wavelength of the unit FBGs in the p-th optical pulse time spreader are set such that spectra of the first to U-th chip pulse sequences are different from each other.

Abstract: An optical code division multiplexing signal generator provided with an optical pulse light source, a first encoder to an Nth encoder, a first optical modulator to an Nth optical modulator, and a first optical circulator to an Nth optical circulator. The first optical circulator inputs an input optical pulse train to a first encoder, and inputs a first encoded optical pulse train output by Bragg reflection from the first encoder to the first optical modulator. The kth optical circulator inputs an input (k?1)th optical pulse train which has passed through the (k?1)th encoder to a kth encoder, and inputs a kth encoded optical pulse train output by Bragg reflection from the kth encoder to the kth optical modulator. Herein k takes all integers from 2 to N, and N is a positive integer of 2 or more.

Abstract: An FBG system with lower power supplied to a temperature controller, while allowing for precise temperature control of an FBG grating. The FBG system includes a high temperature FBG-mounting structure and a low temperature FBG-mounting structure, and a housing containing them. The high temperature FBG-mounting structure includes an FBG module and a thermo module. The temperature of the FBG in the FBG module may be made higher than the environmental temperature by supplying heat from a heat-conducting portion to the thermo module. The low temperature FBG-mounting structure includes an FBG module and a thermo module. The temperature of the FBG in the latter FBG module may be made lower than the environmental temperature by supplying heat from the latter thermo module to the heat-conducting portion. The FBG-mounting structures are provided in parallel on the inner bottom surface of the heat-conducting portion, part of the housing.

Abstract: Super-structured fiber Bragg gratings (SSFBGs) of s optical pulse time spreaders are provided with N unit FBGs disposed starting from an input/output end in the order of first to N-th unit FBGs, where s is a parameter less than or equal to a parameter N, a natural number. The unit FBGs are configured such that the reflectivities of the unit FBGs placed from one end to the center of the SSFBG formed in an optical fiber are monotonically increased, while the reflectivities of the unit FBGs placed from the center to the other end of the SSFBG are monotonically decreased. The chip pulses in a pulse train are given relative phases such that the relative phase of the first chip pulse is equal to zero, the relative phase of the second chip pulse is equal to a phase difference d1=2?{a+(n?1)/N}, . . . , and the relative phase of the N-th chip pulse is equal to (N?1)d1. The parameter a is any real number satisfying the condition of 0?a<1.

Abstract: An optical pulse time spreading device includes an optical fiber and a superstructured fiber Bragg grating (SSFBG) formed in the optical fiber. The SSFBG includes unit fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) having the effective refractive index of the optical fiber periodically varying in the longitudinal direction of the fiber, and phase shifters having a constant effective refractive index. Each unit FBG is arranged between the adjacent phase shifters in the longitudinal direction. The unit FBG having its unit grating length in the longitudinal direction shorter than the unit segment length which is the distance between the unit FBGs next to each other. The optical pulse time spreading device provides the peak intensity of the autocorrelation wave less dependent on a code used for encoding and decoding.

Abstract: An optical communication system uses superstructured fiber Bragg gratings (SSFBGs) to encode and decode an optical pulse signal transmitted between two optical communication devices. Each SSFBG has uniformly spaced fiber Bragg gratings, producing a chip pulse train with a uniform phase difference between chips. The phase difference defines a code. There is one SSFBG at one of the two devices and two or more SSFBGs at the other device, using different codes to encode or decode the same optical signal. Using one code to encode and multiple codes to decode, or multiple codes to encode and one code to decode, provides a high signal-to-noise ratio and permits stable performance despite environmental temperature variations. For bidirectional communication, each communication device has at least three SSFBGs, divided into a transmitting group and a receiving group, mounted on a mounting plate with a negative thermal expansion coefficient.