Abstract: In an optical information storage medium reproduction apparatus (10) for reproducing an optical information storage medium including a plurality of information recording layers each including a recording mark having a length shorter than an optical system resolution limit, reproduction laser power for reading an information recording layer closest to a reproduction-laser-incident surface of the optical information storage medium is set to be lower than reproduction laser power for reading an information recording layer farthest from the reproduction-laser-incident surface but not lower than minimum reproduction laser power that satisfies a reproduction signal characteristic that the optical information storage medium reproduction apparatus (10) requires.

Abstract: A super-resolution medium (1) has a medium identification information for specifying a type of medium recorded in a medium information area (3) by use of pre-pits having a length not shorter than a length of a resolution limit of an optical system in a reproducing device (10).

Abstract: An electric junction box has a binding band fitting hole, and two through holes through which a binding band for securing wire harnesses which are arranged along a lower face of a bottom wall of the binding band fitting hole are provided on the bottom wall so as to be positioned at both sides of the wire harnesses. When the wire harnesses are secured, a tip end of the binding band is inserted into one of the two through holes from a lower side of the bottom wall, the tip end of the binding band which has been exposed to an upper side of the bottom wall is U-turned in a downward direction to be inserted into the other of the two through holes, and then, the tip end of the binding band which has been exposed to the lower side of the bottom wall is locked to a lock part provided at a base end of the binding band, thereby to secure the wire harnesses to the lower face of the bottom wall.

Abstract: In order to realize (A) an optical information recording medium in which information is stored in high density and can be precisely and securely reproduced, (B) a method for reproducing the optical information recording medium, and (C) an optical information processing apparatus using the optical information recording medium, an optical information recording medium 1, 2, or 3 of the present invention includes: (a) a substrate 12, having pits and/or grooves, each of which is made up of a rise and a recess, and each of which corresponds to recorded information that is optically reproduced by irradiation of a light beam; and (b) at lease one super resolution reproducing film 13, which has an optical property to be changed in response to a temperature increase caused by the irradiation of the light beam, the optical property of the super resolution reproducing film being reversibly changed depending on a temperature change in the super resolution reproducing film.

Abstract: A super-resolution optical recording medium (10) of the present invention includes: a medium information region (1) on which medium identification information is recorded; a content region (3) on which content information is recorded; and a blank region (2) provided between the medium information region (1) and the content region (3) and in which at least two tracks are provided so as to connect a train of prepits in the medium information region (1) and a train of prepits in the content region (3). No information is recorded on the blank region (2). With this arrangement, the present invention provides a super-resolution optical recording medium in which a region on which medium identification information is recorded and a region on which content information is recorded are different in track pitch and in which a reproduction error hardly occurs when reproduction shifts from the region on which the medium identification information is recorded to the region on which the content information is recorded.

Abstract: A force sensor is disposed on a hand attaching base portion, a finger base on which a pair of fingers are placed so as to be opposed to each other is disposed on a measuring unit of the force sensor, a finger driving mechanism base is disposed on the hand attaching base portion in a manner so as not to be made in contact with none of the force sensor, the finger base and the fingers, finger driving mechanisms are disposed on the finger driving mechanism base so that vectors of driving forces, which allow the pair of the opposed fingers to move so as to open or close, are made face to face with each other within a plane on which the pair of the opposed fingers are moved to open or close so as to be cancelled with each other, with the result that the fingers are driven so as to make the resultant force virtually zero, and an actuator, which is positioned at a place other than the hand attaching base portion, the force sensor, the finger base, or the fingers and the finger driving mechanism base, and drives the

Abstract: Provided is a high frequency unit for suppressing deformation of a mounting plate which needs to be concerned when attaching or detaching an external connector, at low cost and high reliability of a connection between a core of a coaxial connector and a circuit board. The high frequency unit includes: a circuit board on which a high frequency circuit unit is formed, a shield case having a frame shape enclosing the circuit board with a plurality of side walls; a partition wall for partitioning a space on the circuit board; a mounting plate which is made of a rectangular metal sheet disposed to face the circuit board and of which three peripheral portions of an outer edge are supported by the two side walls and the partition wall; a coaxial connector fixed to the mounting plate; and a sheet metal cover covering an upper open end of the shield case.

Abstract: A super resolution medium (1) is provided with an information signal region (11) where a content, such as a video or audio content, is recorded and a test read region (12) where reproduction setting value adjustment information is recorded for adjusting a setting value for reproduction. A shortest mark length on a first prepit row formed in the information signal region (11) is shorter than a length of an optical system resolution limit of a playback apparatus. The types of mark lengths, recorded in the test read region (12), on the second prepit row for adjusting the setting value are the same as part or all types of mark lengths on the first prepit row. Further, the second prepit row includes a prepit having a mark length shorter than the length of the optical system resolution limit of the payback apparatus. Still further, each of the first and second prepit rows has at least three types of mark lengths.

Abstract: An optical information storage medium includes a light transmitting layer, a first information storage layer, an intermediate layer mainly made of resin, a second information storage layer, and a substrate. The light transmitting layer, the first information storage layer, the intermediate layer, the second information storage layer, and the substrate are layered in this order from a reproduction light incident side. Each of the first information storage layer and the second information storage layer includes: a light absorbing film that absorbs reproduction light to generate heat; and a reproduction film that is heated by the heat generated by the light absorbing film so as to reproduce a signal shorter in mark length than a resolution limit of an optical system of a reproducing apparatus.

Abstract: An optical data recording medium, in which irradiation of a light beam is used for recording and/or reproducing data includes (i) a substrate having an a rise and/or a recess which are a light-incident surface, (ii) a reflective layer, provided on the light-incident surface of the substrate, for reflecting the light beam, (iii) a light absorption layer for converting, to heat, a light of the light beam to heat on the surface of the reflective layer, (iv) a reproducing layer, provided on the surface of the heat-light converting layer, having a transmittance that changes in accordance with a light intensity distribution of the light beam. The optical data recording medium is excellent in super-resolution property, and enables reproduction of a shorter mark length.

Abstract: An optical information recording medium reproducing apparatus 1 includes: a signal detecting/extracting section 15 extracting, from reproduction signal data, extracted reproduction signal data corresponding to a predetermined data pattern; a calculating circuit 10 calculating, from the extracted reproduction signal data, a reproducing power control value for controlling laser light reproducing power; and a reproducing power control section 16 controlling the reproducing power based on the reproducing power control value. The predetermined data pattern is obtained from a space which is sandwiched between marks of ?/2NA or longer and is shorter than ?/4NA and/or a mark which is sandwiched between spaces of ?/2NA or longer and is shorter than ?/4NA.

Abstract: An actuator as a drive source of robots and the like is usable for housekeeping assistance, job assistance, and nursing help. The drive source itself is small, light, flexible, and safe. A manufacturing method for a planar electrode support therefor is also described. The actuator has an electrolyte layer in contact with a conductive polymer layer disposed in between a first electrode having the conductive polymer layer attached thereto and opposite second electrode, for deforming the conductive polymer layer by application of electric fields to the electrodes. The first electrode has low rigidity in a longitudinal direction of the conductive polymer layer to facilitate expansion and contraction thereof.

Abstract: A process for producing a carbon structural body is provided, with which a carbon structural body having any of various nanostructures can be produced inexpensively and efficiently. The method includes forming a carbon-containing material into a pattern, coating the obtained pattern with a proto-shaped mold, and calcining and carbonizing the coated pattern.

Abstract: An optical information recording medium includes a substrate formed in a concave-convex state by providing pits or grooves corresponding to recorded information, used for optically reproducing the information by irradiation of a light beam, and may also include a recording layer. The optical information recording medium includes a temperature responsive layer 21 whose reflectance and/or transmittance for the light beam changes with an increase in temperature caused by the irradiation of a light beam and a light absorption layer 22. With such an arrangement, the present invention provides an optical information recording medium enabling secure and highly accurate readout of information recorded with high density, a recording method and a readout method using the same, a readout device, and a recording device.

Abstract: A plane thin-type polymer actuator is provided with a conductive active member serving as a first electrode layer, and a second electrode layer, with at least a first electrolytic layer made in contact with the active member layer. The first electrolytic layer being sealed between the two electrode layers so that, by applying an electric field between the two electrode layers, the active member layer is expanded and contracted. In this structure, the first electrolytic layer is a solid-state electrolyte having a specific elastic modulus, or a liquid-state electrolyte. A holding member is provided to maintain the thickness between the active member layer and the second electrode layer.

Abstract: This invention allows super-resolution reproduction with which a better bER value is attainable, when information is recorded by a random pattern including a mark length not longer than a resolution limit, by use of a highly versatile signal decoding method. Information is recorded as marks and spaces coded by RLL(1, 7) modulation, which each of the marks and spaces have one of a plurality of lengths, and 2T marks and 2T spaces of the marks and spaces being formed are shorter than 0.12 ?m. An information recording layer (20) includes a reproduction film (21) and a reflective film (22) which are provided in this order from a side from which reproducing light is incident, which reproduction film is made of (i) zinc oxide, (ii) strontium titanate, (iii) titanium oxide, (iv) cerium oxide, or (v) a material including at least one of the (i) through (iv), and which reflective film is made of tantalum or titanium.

Abstract: An optical information storage medium includes a light transmitting layer, a first information storage layer, an intermediate layer mainly made of resin, a second information storage layer, and a substrate. The light transmitting layer, the first information storage layer, the intermediate layer, the second information storage layer, and the substrate are layered in this order from a reproduction light incident side. Each of the first information storage layer and the second information storage layer includes: a light absorbing film that absorbs reproduction light to generate heat; and a reproduction film that is heated by the heat generated by the light absorbing film so as to reproduce a signal shorter in mark length than a resolution limit of an optical system of a reproducing apparatus.

Abstract: A multi-joint drive mechanism includes a bone-member layer member (101) in which a plurality of bone members are arranged in arrays and in a generally planar fashion, the plurality of bone members being movably coupled at coupling portions (3A), and elastically expanding/contracting members (3) which are arranged so as to stretch over the coupling portions on one side or both sides of the bone-member layer member and moreover which are fixed between the plurality of bone members, wherein the multi-joint drive mechanism drives flexural motions of joints between the plurality of adjoining bone members by expanding or contracting the elastically expanding/contracting member.

Abstract: By using an existing, relatively inexpensive manufacturing device, micropatterns (e.g. guiding grooves, prepits) having such track pitch and pit pitch that are smaller than the diameter of a light spot are formed more finely. There are provided at least two layers, i.e. (i) a resin substrate and (ii) a depressed part inducing layer made of dielectric material or metal oxide. A light beam is radiated and focused onto the depressed part inducing layer so as to form pit parts and/or guiding grooves on irradiated parts of the resin substrate. The depressed part inducing layer is then removed, so as to expose the pit parts and/or guiding grooves.

Abstract: The subject invention achieves further improvement in recording density for an optical information recording medium using a medium super-resolution effect with a super-resolution film, by reduction of the effective spot diameter in a further effective way. According to the optical information recording medium of the present invention, information is recorded on a recording surface of a substrate 5 in the form of phase pits. On the recording surface, an information layer 4, composed of a reflection film 6, a light-absorbing film 3 and a temperature-responsive film 2, is formed. The temperature-responsive film 2 is made of a ZnO film, which is an inorganic super-resolution film whose complex refractive index changes according to intensity of incident light, the film is also superior in a light transmittance property. The light-absorbing film 3 is made of an Si film 3, which absorbs a part of the incident light so that the temperature of the information layer 4 increases.