Abstract: Valve timing control apparatus for internal combustion engine includes a cam phase actuator (1113) composed of a first rotor (1) rotatable with a crank, a second rotor (6) fixed on a cam shaft (7) for actuating an intake or exhaust valve, and a lock mechanism (15, 16, 17, 18) for locking the second rotor to the first rotor at a first angle, a pump (1118) for generating a hydraulic pressure, an ECU (1117) for determining a current value for releasing a locked state at the first angle for shifting to a second angle, and an oil control valve (1114) for regulating a cam phase of the second rotor. The ECU determines a locked state or an unlocked state of the lock mechanism to allow the second rotor to be released from being locked to the first rotor when the lock mechanism is in the locked state.

Abstract: Valve timing control apparatus for engine includes a cam phase actuator (1113) composed of a first rotor (1) rotatable with a crank shaft, a second rotor (6) mounted on a cam shaft (7) and a lock mechanism (15, 16, 18) for locking the second rotor to the first rotor, a pump (1118) for generating a hydraulic pressure, an ECU for computing a current value corresponding to a pressure for clearing a locked state at the first relative angle for shifting the first relative angle to a second angle, and an OCV (1114) for supplying a pressure for regulating a cam phase of the second rotor in dependence on the current value. The ECU computes a first current value for generating a first pressure for releasing the locked state. The first current value is supplied to the OCV for a predetermined time before shifting the first relative angle.

Abstract: A plurality of joined members each made of thermoplastic resin and having a fluid flow path formed of a groove and/or a hole in a junction face are vacuum-packed in a state in which the joined members are joined to each other. After a wrapped body obtained by the vacuum-packing is heated to soften the joined members, the joined members are welded to each other through the junction faces by applying fluid pressure to an entire outer periphery of the wrapping to evenly pressurize the wrapping from a periphery. Then, the pressurization is cancelled to cool the welded joined members.

Abstract: The image recording method and apparatus are used to record an image formed by a group of light source elements disposed in a two-dimensional manner corresponding to recording pixels on a recording medium. In the image recording method and apparatus, an image recording position on the recording medium by the group of light source elements is moved in a direction that contains a component in at least one of two-dimensional disposing directions of the group of light source elements during the recording while modulating, in response to the movement, each recording pixel of the group of light source elements in accordance with an image to be recorded to thereby record the image on the recording medium. The image recording position is moved in accordance with a set magnification for changing the resolution par recording pixel of the group of light source elements.

Abstract: An Al alloy member having excellent corrosion resistance comprises an Al or Al alloy substrate having an anodic oxide film including a porous layer and a pore-free barrier layer. At least a part of a structure of the barrier layer is altered into boehmite and/or pseudo-boehmite, a dissolution rate of the film is at 100 mg/dm2/15 minutes or below when determined by an immersion test in phosphoric acid/chromic acid (JIS H 8683-2), and a corroded area percent is at 10% or below after allowing the film to stand in an atmosphere of 5% Cl2—Ar gas at 400° C. for 4 hours.

Abstract: A valve timing control system for accelerating activation of a catalytic converter in an internal combustion engine in a cold starting operation mode while enhancing control accuracy by learning a reference position of a cam angle. The system includes actuators (15; 16) coupled to cam shafts (15C; 16C), respectively, hydraulic pressure supply means (19; 20) for driving the actuators (15; 16), and a controller (21A) for controlling hydraulic pressure fed to the actuators (15; 16) in dependence on engine operation states to change phases of the cam shafts (15C; 16C) relative to a crank shaft (13C). The controller (21A) is so designed as to set a valve timing to a most advanced position or alternatively to a most retarded position in a cold-state idling operation mode for the purpose of learning a reference position.

Abstract: A chamber material made of Al alloy excellent in thermal cracking resistance and chemical and/or physical corrosion resistance and capable of reducing contamination excellently and further having excellent and wide applicable brazing property in a high temperature corrosive circumstance, in which the substrate aluminum material for the chamber material made of Al alloy having an anodized film comprises 0.1 to 2.0% Si, 0.1 to 3.5% Mg, 0.02 to 4.0% Cu on the mass% basis and the balance of Al and impurity element with Cr in the impurity elements being less than 0.04%. Preferably, Fe is 0.1% or less and Mn is 0.04% or less in the impurity element and, further, the total sum of impurity elements other than Cr and Mn being restricted to 0.1% or less. This invention can be utilized suitably to various materials used in high temperature corrosive circumstance, particularly, in high temperature corrosive gas or plasma atmosphere.

Abstract: An embedding hole is formed in a base made of thermoplastic resin, an embedded part is inserted in the embedding hole, the base is subjected to heating treatment for softening the base to bring the base into an elastomeric region and restraining treatment for restricting outward thermal expansion of the base to thereby expand the base in an inward direction of the embedding hole 2a to reduce a hole diameter and to deform a hole wall of the embedding hole along a shape of an outer wall face of the embedded part and to bring the hole wall into close contact with the outer wall face, and then the base is cooled and hardened.

Abstract: The image recording method and image recording apparatus synchronize phase of a light deflector with rotation of a drum in response to the drum start point detection signal generated each time the drum rotates once, expose the two-dimensional image of one frame formed by a group of light sources disposed two-dimensionally onto the recording medium while causing the image at rest on the recording medium relatively thereto, thereafter move the optical system in the auxiliary scanning direction by an integral multiple of a pixel pitch forming one frame as well as deflect an angle of the light deflector in the main scanning direction by one frame so as to expose the next frame and on for one rotation of the drum.

Abstract: A method of operating a computer allows those who lack a high level of expertise in OSes and network technology to operate a computer as a server without difficulty and to take prompt action in the event of troubles.

Abstract: A valve timing control system for accelerating activation of a catalytic converter in an internal combustion engine in a cold starting operation mode while enhancing control accuracy by learning a reference position of a cam angle. The system includes actuators (15; 16) coupled to cam shafts (15C; 16C), respectively, hydraulic pressure supply means (19; 20) for driving the actuators (15; 16), and a controller (21A) for controlling hydraulic pressure fed to the actuators (15; 16) in dependence on engine operation states to change phases of the cam shafts (15C; 16C) relative to a crank shaft (13C). The controller (21A) is so designed as to set a valve timing to a most advanced position or alternatively to a most retarded position in a cold-state idling operation mode for the purpose of learning a reference position.

Abstract: A plurality of joined members each made of thermoplastic resin and having a fluid flow path formed of a groove and/or a hole in a junction face are vacuum-packed in a state in which the joined members are joined to each other. After a wrapped body obtained by the vacuum-packing is heated to soften the joined members, the joined members are welded to each other through the junction faces by applying fluid pressure to an entire outer periphery of the wrapping to evenly pressurize the wrapping from a periphery. Then, the pressurization is cancelled to cool the welded joined members.

Abstract: An embedding hole is formed in a base made of thermoplastic resin, an embedded part is inserted in the embedding hole, the base is subjected to heating treatment for softening the base to bring the base into an elastomeric region and restraining treatment for restricting outward thermal expansion of the base to thereby expand the base in an inward direction of the embedding hole 2a to reduce a hole diameter and to deform a hole wall of the embedding hole along a shape of an outer wall face of the embedded part and to bring the hole wall into close contact with the outer wall face, and then the base is cooled and hardened.

Abstract: In manufacture of a fluid passage forming member by heating and joining passage members formed of a thermoplastic synthetic resin, there is provided a method for forming the external configurations of the fluid passages and the fluid passage forming members to virtually predetermined configurations despite the heating. In this method, to join passage members 1a through 1c made of a thermoplastic synthetic resin, fluid passages formed by apertures 3 or grooves 4 in junction surfaces 2 between the passage members are formed by allowing expected shrinkage of the passages beforehand so that they are formed to have predetermined design sections by the shrinkage when heating and joining the passage members. The passage members are closely fitted in a forming mold 10, sealed in a state wherein the jointing surfaces to be joined with each other are pressed into contact, and heated and softened to join them.

Abstract: A chamber material made of Al alloy excellent in thermal cracking resistance and chemical and/or physical corrosion resistance and capable of reducing contamination excellently and further having excellent and wide applicable brazing property in a high temperature corrosive circumstance, in which the substrate aluminum material for the chamber material made of Al alloy having an anodized film comprises 0.1 to 2.0% Si, 0.1 to 3.5% Mg, 0.02 to 4.0% Cu on the mass % basis and the balance of Al and impurity element with Cr in the impurity elements being less than 0.04%. Preferably, Fe is 0.1% or less and Mn is 0.04% or less in the impurity element and, further, the total sum of impurity elements other than Cr and Mn being restricted to 0.1$ or less. This invention can be utilized suitably to various materials used in high temperature corrosive circumstance, particularly, in high temperature corrosive gas or plasma atmosphere.

Abstract: A valve timing control device for use in an internal combustion engine includes a valve timing controller for variably controlling the open/close timing of intake and exhaust valves of the internal combustion engine, a drive force estimator provided in the valve timing controller for estimating a drive force of a VVT actuator on the basis of a hydraulic pressure supplied thereto, and a variable control limiter for limiting control made by the valve timing controller when the drive force of the VVT actuator, which is estimated by the drive force estimator, is equal to or less than a variable valve timing control limit boundary value.

Abstract: When an internal combustion engine is run at a high speed revolution, a large increase in a processing time executed every predetermined crank angle position can be suppressed, and fluctuations or variations in response characteristics can be reduced, thus enabling better valve timing control.

Abstract: A valve timing control system for an internal combustion engine capable of accurately accomplishing valve timing control irrespective of variation of the oil pressure to be applied to an hydraulic actuator. The apparatus comprises an hydraulic actuator for changing an operating angle of a cam of a cam shaft to advance or retard a valve timing in the internal combustion engine, a pump for sending a lubricating oil under pressure to the hydraulic actuator, an oil supply quantity adjusting valve for adjusting a quantity of the lubricating oil to be supplied to the hydraulic actuator, and a control unit for estimating a driving force of the hydraulic actuator on the basis of an oil pressure of the lubricating oil on the downstream side of the pump. The controlled variable for the oil supply quantity adjusting valve is determined on the basis of the estimated value of the driving force of the hydraulic actuator.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a vacuum chamber and chamber parts made of aluminum or its alloys which exhibit excellent corrosion resistance to a corrosive gas or plasma introduced into the vacuum chamber, the surface treatment, and material for the vacuum chamber. The vacuum chamber has a porous layer with a structure in which a pore diameter at the top thereof is small, while a pore diameter at the bottom thereof is large. In order to give such a structure to the porous layer, a final anodizing voltage is set to be higher than an initial anodizing voltage when the surface of the base material is anodized. After the porous-type anodizing is completed, non-porous type anodizing may be conducted so as to grow a barrier layer. Furthermore, the base material made of aluminum alloy preferably has particles such as precipitates and/or deposits with a diameter of 10 .mu.m or less in average, and the precipitates and/or deposits are arranged in parallel with a largest surface of the base material.

Abstract: An electrophotographic printer including feature extraction means 12 for judging on the basis of pattern matching whether a reference area generated by area generating means 11 is an image which should be subjected to smoothing processing, and detecting the gradient of a contour portion of the image when the image is judged to be subjected to the smoothing processing, resolution enhancing means 13 for subdividing each pixel in the reference area generated by the area generating means 11 into small areas in accordance with the extraction result of the feature extraction means 12 to thereby perform resolution enhancing correction processing, density calculation means 15 for calculating the density of an overall selected area of the corrected pixels generated by the resolution-enhancing means 13 on the basis of the respective pixel values of the selected area, center-of-gravity calculation means 16 for calculating the center of gravity of an overall selected area of the corrected pixels generated by the resoluti