Abstract: A drive unit includes a motor, a housing mountable on a vehicle to hold the motor, and a cover including a bottom portion to cover at least a portion of a lower surface of the housing, and a left side wall extending from the bottom portion and covering at least a portion of the left side of the housing. The cover includes a first hole located in at least one of (a) a location on the bottom portion to the left of a center of the bottom portion in a left-right direction of the vehicle, or (b) the left side wall. When the vehicle with the housing mounted thereon tilts to the left from an upright position by 5°, at least a portion of an interior edge of the cover at the first hole is at a lowest location on an inner surface of the cover in a direction of gravity.

Abstract: A three-dimensional watch dial plate structure abundant in ornamental effect is provided fully utilizing the characteristics of an electro-optical display device such as a liquid crystal device or an electrochromic device. A color coat such as a white color and clear lacquer layer is laminated on a metal dial plate base. Successively laminated on the surface of a lower glass substrate are a lower transparent electrode layer, a lower electrochromic layer, a solid electrolyte layer, an upper electrochromic layer and an upper transparent electrode layer. The upper transparent electrode layer is formed on the back face of an upper glass substrate, and a transparent glass plate is bonded to the upper glass substrate. A metal hour scale and a metal minute scale each are formed on the surface of the transparent glass plate.

Abstract: Cooking apparatus capable of saving calorie necessary for cooking and generating desired convection in to-be-treated materials and stirring them during cooking are disclosed. The cooking method sends a gas into the to-be-heated materials inside the cooking container to generate bubbles, and heats and cooks the to-be-heated materials while fluidizing and stirring them by ascending streams of the bubbles. According to this cooking method, the heating temperature and the intensity of the stirring stream can be combined freely under the most suitable condition for respective cooking, and freedom of cooking can be drastically improved.

Abstract: Cooking method and apparatus capable of saving calorie necessary for cooking and generating desired convection in to-be-treated materials and stirring them during cooking are disclosed. The cooking method sends a gas into the to-be-heated materials inside the cooking container to generate bubbles, and heats and cooks the to-be-heated materials while fluidizing and stirring them by ascending streams of the bubbles. According to this cooking method, the heating temperature and the intensity of the stirring stream can be combined freely under the most suitable condition for respective cooking, and freedom of cooking can be drastically improved.

Abstract: Provided is a luminous dial plate structure for watches, relatively high in luminance, sufficiently long in visual time and abundant in ornamental effect. The dial plate structure is composed of a lower plate and an upper member. The lower plate is made of a metal such as brass. The upper surface of the lower plate is coated with a phosphorescence-maintaining luminous agent made of a rare-earth element metal oxide. The surface of phosphorescence-maintaining luminous agent is coated with clear lacquer serving as a sealing material. The upper member is made of a thin transparent or translucent material, on which a time indication scale is provided. The upper member is bonded through an adhesive onto the upper surface of clear lacquer.

Abstract: In fitting of a band to a wristwatch case; in order to minimize the gap at the area of fitting of these members, or pretend that a middle that constitutes the watch case is formed integral with the band and also to prevent excessive pivoting of the band relative to the watch case when the user wears the wristwatch, a recess for receiving the end portion of the band is formed in a part of the middle which is contiguous with each fitting portion where the band is fitted to the middle, thereby limiting the pivoting of the first link of the band by the inner wall of the recess. In addition, a projection is provided in the center of each of the fitting portions formed on the watch case to limit the pivoting of the second link of the band by the distal end of the projection.