Abstract: An internal combustion engine is equipped with a valve timing controller capable of minimizing the electric power consumption and frictional wear of elements. The valve timing controller can vary the valve timing of valves. A camshaft is moved axially forwardly or rearwardly by electrically energizing an outer solenoid clutch or a brake releasing solenoid, respectively. An axial movement of the camshaft results in a change in valve timing. With the exception of a transient period during which the valve timing is being varied, both the brake releasing solenoid and the outer clutch are electrically deenergized to thereby reduce the electric power consumption, and both of them are maintained out of contact with a displaceable disc 13 to thereby reduce frictional wear thereof.

Abstract: A valve operating system of an engine opens and closes a valve by a swing cam being swung by rotation of an operating cam. The operating cam has a cam surface and is rotated by the engine, and the swing cam has a cam surface in sliding contact with the valve and a cam follower in sliding contact with the cam surface of the operating cam. The cam surface of the operating cam and the cam surface of the swing cam are formed so that an acceleration component of the swing cam is larger than that of the operating cam in a positive region of a valve lift acceleration defined as a sum of the acceleration component of the operating cam and the acceleration component of the swing cam.

Abstract: An intake valve or an exhaust valve is lifted through a swingable cam by the rotation of a rotatable cam formed in the cam shaft. A surface at which the swingable cam abuts with the rotatable cam is tapered in the axial direction in which said cam shaft extends, and the valve shift timing is changed by transferring the cam shaft, that is, the rotatable cam in the axial direction in which said cam shaft extends. The power transmitting member such as a helical gear to be rotated with the output shaft of the engine is engaged with the cam shaft through a helical spline. The power transmitting member is so arranged as to be unmovable in the axial direction in which said cam shaft extends. The rotational phase of the rotatable cam relative to the output shaft of the engine is changed by displacement of the cam shaft relative to the power transmitting member in the axial direction in which said cam shaft extends.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display device comprises a converging reflector, a liquid crystal panel, a condenser lens and a projection lens, wherein a correlation between these optical parts and structure of sizes of the optical parts is considered. Accordingly, a convergence efficiency of the device as whole system can be improved. A converging reflector comprises a light source and a reflecting mirror reflecting a light from the light source, wherein a curved plane shape of the mirror is offset radially to the same length as a radius of a light emitting tube of the light source. Accordingly, a convergence efficiency of the converging reflector can be improved.

Abstract: A liquid crystal projector is obliquely disposed in a lower front portion of a cabinet. A first mirror for reflecting light beams of R, G and B coming from the liquid crystal projector is disposed obliquely with respect to the top-bottom, right-left and front-rear directions of the cabinet. A second mirror is disposed so as to be inclined toward a screen. With this configuration, the optical axis of the light beams that extends from the liquid crystal projector to the screen is folded back three-dimensionally. In the liquid crystal projector, the optical axis of a condensing reflector may be slightly inclined from the central axis of a projection lens.

Abstract: A three color separation/synthesis mirror device for a liquid crystal projector comprises four dichroic mirrors whose joint part has a V-shaped notch in which a higher refractive index is filled thereby to eliminate stray lights. The device may have a prism at the joint part for causing an emitted light to be parallel with an incident light.

Abstract: A converging reflector comprises a linear light source having two end points located with a predetermined spacing therebetween, a first reflection surface having a curvature so as to have a focal point at one of the two end points, and a second reflection surface having another curvature so as to have a focal point at the other of the two end points. Accordingly, a light from the linear light source is incident onto the first and second reflection surfaces. Thus, this reflector can project a light as an ideal plane of projection, resulting in improved projection efficiency.

Abstract: A V-shaped engine has an inlet passage and an outlet passage for coolant. The inlet passage for introducing coolant to a water pump mounted to a front face of a cylinder block of the engine is arranged vertically in a space between a right bank and a left bank. The outlet passage is so arranged as to pass between a timing belt idler provided forwardly of the space between the right bank and the left bank and the inlet passage. This arrangement of the inlet passage and the outlet passage enables the V-shaped engine to be made compact.

Abstract: An interframe video data coding and decoding apparatus utilizes a differential amplitude suppression circuit in combination with a block encoder and a motion detector to non-linearly suppress amplitude values of interframe differential block data based on a motion detection threshold value determined by an encoding control circuit. The determined threshold value is based on the amount of encoded data being stored in a transmission buffer memory. The suppressed amplitude differential block data is added to corresponding blocks in a frame memory to update the contents of the frame memory during each frame of input video data. In another embodiment, vector quantization encoders are utilized to transmit a motion vector index with encoded frame differential data.

Abstract: A photo-conductive liquid crystal display in which the liquid crystal light valve and the electroluminescence element are disposed integrally with each other. The photo-conductive liquid crystal light valve is arranged such that a pair of transparent electrodes are disposed on the outside of a lamination of a photo-conductive layer and a liquid crystal layer, and an electroluminescence element is disposed on the outside of the transparent electrode which is disposed on the writing side of the device.

Abstract: A method of producing a mechanical component with superior fatigue strength comprises the steps of casting melted ferrous alloy which includes carbon within the range of 0.3% to 0.45% by weight, silicon within the range of 1.3% to 2.0% by weight, chromium within the range of 5.0% to 6.0% by weight, molybdenum within the range of 1.0% to 1.5% by weight, vanadium within the range of 0.8% to 1.2% by weight, manganese not more than 0.5% by weight, and iron of the major remainder, into an untreated mechanical component by the use of a casting mold formed through a lost-wax process; annealing the untreated mechanical component to produce an unfinished mechanical component; machining roughly the unfinished mechanical component having been annealed; quenching and tempering in sequence the unfinished mechanical component having been roughly machined; and finishing the unfinished mechanical component having been quenched and tempered to obtain a finished mechanical component.

Abstract: An improved swing type substrate cleaning apparatus comprises a substrate chuck for holding the substrate while rotating the same, a cleaning brush holding apparatus for holding a cleaning brush while rotating the same, a cleaning brush elevating apparatus for holding the cleaning brush holding apparatus in a manner enabling elevation and swing of the same, and a buffer apparatus for reducing the velocity at which the cleaning brush elevating apparatus lowers the cleaning brush holding apparatus when the cleaning brush is lowered to be in contact with the substrate. Since the velocity with which the cleaning brush is lowered is reduced to be lower than a prescribed value by means of the buffer apparatus, no significant shock is created when the cleaning brush is brought into contact with the substrate.

Abstract: In an image coding and decoding device, input digital image signals are divided into blocks of prescribed size, and coding processing is performed on differential signals taken between the input block signal and interframe forcasting signals thereby enabling efficient transmission to be performed.

Abstract: An apparatus for storing and transferring a wafer. The apparatus includes a wafer transfer portion having a path through which a wafer can be transferred; structure for storing the wafer, the structure for storing the wafer being removably attached to the wafer transfer portion; a first elevator for elevating and lowering the wafer transfer portion and the storing structure to a predetermined level; a holder for temporarily holding the wafer in the wafer transfer portion; and a second elevator for elevating and lowering the wafer holder, the second elevator being separate and independent from the first elevator. Since the wafer storing structure and the wafer transfer portion are elevated and lowered by different elevators, the wafer can be transported while the wafer transfer portion is stationary. Thus, the apparatus has a simplified construction and replacement of the storing structure can be automated.

Abstract: An amplitude-adaptive vector quantization system intended for efficient signal coding and decoding. A mean value separation circuit (2) separates the mean value from an input signal which has been divided into blocks, and a tree-search vector quantizer (6) implements tree-search inner product vector quantization so that index information is truncated depending on the detected vector amplitude, thereby reducing the volume of information for transmission.

Abstract: A wafer transferring device for transferring a wafer to be treated from a wafer supply station of a wafer treating apparatus to a wafer holding member, where the wafer is treated, and from the holding member to a wafer discharge station. The device includes a transfer unit for separately supporting untreated and treated wafers at different heights relative to one another. A carrier unit moves horizontally and reciprocates between the supply and discharge stations and toward and away from the holding member integrally with the transfer unit and is adapted to move up and down the transfer unit.

Abstract: An improved processing apparatus for a substrate surface, which provides uniform and smooth air flows A within the processing chamber 26, by which an even thin film of a processing solution can be formed on the substrate surface. Undersirable surplus processing solution is collected primarily in a first chamber 13. A second chamber 15 is provided which is separate from the first chamber and pneumatically communicated therewith through a slit 16.

Abstract: Each of the cylinder heads forming right and left cylinder banks of a V-type engine is provided, in the inner side wall thereof, with intake ports each communicating with a cylinder formed in the cylinder bank. A camshaft is provided in each cylinder bank above intake and exhaust valves to drive the valves in synchronization with the rotation of the engine and supported for rotation by a plurality of bearings. Each discrete intake passage is connected to one of the intake port of one of the cylinder banks and extends above the other cylinder bank. Cylinder head covers mounted on the respective cylinder heads are provided with recessed portions at the portions corresponding to the inter-bearing portions of the camshaft and said discrete intake passages extend through the recessed portions.

Abstract: In an interframe adaptive quantization encoding apparatus to perform efficient encoding of video signals using vector quantization method, analog signals raster-scanned from the left to the right on the screen and from the upper side to the lower side are converted into digital signals, the digital signals per every m picture elements x n lines are made a block and the block data is subjected to mean value separation in a vector quantization encoder thereby input vector is formed, inner product between the input vector and output vector read from a code book ROM is estimated by an inner product operation circuit, and maximum value of the inner product is estimated by a maximum inner product detection circuit and made amplitude coefficient, thereby efficient encoding is performed.

Abstract: An amplitude-adaptive vector quantization system intended for efficient signal coding and decoding. A mean value separation circuit (2) separates the mean value from an input signal which has been divided into blocks, and a tree-search vector quantizer (6) implements tree-search inner product vector quantization so that index information is truncated depending on the detected vector amplitude, thereby reducing the volume of information for transmission.