Abstract: A steering column includes a telescopic mechanism and an impact absorbing mechanism. The steering column includes an inner tube (6) that accommodates a steering shaft (8) and an outer tube (3) that is held by a housing (1) and that is coupled with the inner tube (6). A projecting portion (3a) is formed on an outer peripheral surface of a base end portion of the outer tube (3) and then the projecting portion (3a) is brought into contact with a tensioner bushing (4a) to thereby restrict movement of the outer tube (3) in a direction indicated by an arrow (a1), thus preventing the outer tube (3) from slipping off from the housing (1).

Abstract: A center take-off rack-and-pinion steering apparatus includes a cylindrical rack housing having an elongate hole extending in a longitudinal direction, a mounting bracket for mounting ends of a pair of tie rods on a rack shaft, and a slider interposed between the mounting bracket and the rack shaft and slidable in an inner periphery of the elongate hole. The inner periphery of the elongate hole and the slider include sliding contact sections that are brought into sliding contact with each other along with the slide of the slider slides. The sliding contact sections include at least a pair of curved sliding contact surfaces that are brought into sliding contact with each other in a curved shape when seen in an axial direction of the rack shaft.

Abstract: An ultrasonic picture processing method comprising the steps of extracting contour information of a target from respective frame pictures of an ultrasonic moving image, dividing the extracted contour information into a plurality of regions at a preset interval, comparing the divided contour information parts with one another and making a predetermined determination of the ultrasonic moving pictures based on the comparison results.

Abstract: A center take-off rack-and-pinion steering apparatus includes a cylindrical rack housing having an elongate hole extending in a longitudinal direction, a mounting bracket for mounting ends of a pair of tie rods on a rack shaft, and a slider interposed between the mounting bracket and the rack shaft and slidable in an inner periphery of the elongate hole. The inner periphery of the elongate hole and the slider include sliding contact sections that are brought into sliding contact with each other along with the slide of the slider slides. The sliding contact sections include at least a pair of curved sliding contact surfaces that are brought into sliding contact with each other in a curved shape when seen in an axial direction of the rack shaft.

Abstract: A center-takeoff rack-and-pinion steering apparatus includes a connecting unit arranged to connect respective ends of a pair of tie rods for steering a pair of vehicle wheels to an axially intermediate portion of a rack shaft. The connecting unit includes a slider slidably movable on an inner periphery of an elongate hole of a rack housing. A sliding contact surface on the inner periphery of the elongate hole and a sliding contact surface of the slider, which slide on each other, are inclined in both a widthwise direction of the elongate hole which is perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the elongate hole and a depthwise direction of the elongate hole.

Abstract: An ultrasonic picture processing method comprising the steps of extracting contour information of a target from respective frame pictures of an ultrasonic moving image, dividing the extracted contour information into a plurality of regions at a preset interval, comparing the divided contour information parts with one another and making a predetermined determination of the ultrasonic moving pictures based on the comparison results.

Abstract: An ultrasonic picture processing method comprising the steps of extracting contour information of a target from respective frame pictures of an ultrasonic moving image, dividing the extracted contour information into a plurality of regions at a preset interval, comparing the divided contour information parts with one another and making a predetermined determination of the ultrasonic moving pictures based on the comparison results.

Abstract: The invention provides a packaging structure applied to an automotive component having semiconductors and electronic parts mounted on a ceramic base, characterized in that the semiconductors and electronic parts are partly or entirely sealed with a thixotropic silicone gel which has a thixotropy index of about 1.5-3.6 and a penetration depth of about 6-10 mm and a rate of change in viscosity of less than 10% of the initial value.

Abstract: The invention provides a packaging structure applied to an automotive component having semiconductors and electronic parts mounted on a ceramic base, characterized in that the semiconductors and electronic parts are partly or entirely sealed with a thixotropic silicone gel which has a thixotropy index of about 1.5-3.6 and a penetration depth of about 6-10 mm and a rate of change in viscosity of less than 10% of the initial value.

Abstract: An ultrasonic picture processing method comprising the steps of extracting contour information of a target from respective frame pictures of an ultrasonic moving image, dividing the extracted contour information into a plurality of regions at a preset interval, comparing the divided contour information parts with one another and making a predetermined determination of the ultrasonic moving pictures based on the comparison results.

Abstract: A region-of-interest (ROI) setting apparatus for respiration monitoring and a respiration monitoring system capable of setting an ROI in an automatic manner. Absolute values of subtractions between every successive two of a plurality of frame images photographed by a CCD camera 2 for a period of time equal to half a respiration period are calculated, then summed and stored. Based on the change information thus calculated and stored, the position and size of each changed region is calculated. Provisional regions are set from the changed regions successively from the greatest to the smallest one thereof. In each of these provisional regions, it is determined whether a gray level histogram indicative of distribution of the number of pixels for respective gray level values includes a twin peak characteristic having twin peaks each equal to or higher than a predetermined value, and whether the area of the corresponding changed region is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

Abstract: A moving picture processing apparatus comprises an image capture unit for taking in time-series images (moving picture series) of a target object, a feature point extraction unit for extracting feature points constituting the surface of the object whose model is to be made, a three-dimensional position information extraction unit for finding three-dimensional position information on the feature points by correlating the feature points contained in the image at a point in time with those at another point in time in the time-series images and analyzing positional coordinate information on the correlated feature points, a three-dimensional patch group generating unit for generating three-dimensional patch groups constituting the surface of the target object on the basis of the feature points for which the three-dimensional position information has been found and supplying the three-dimensional patch groups as information on a model of the target object to an output section.

Abstract: A modelling apparatus including a three-dimensional information input unit for measuring and inputting three-dimensional information concerning objects in a space. An environmental model processing unit constructs an environmental model for each object in the space by comparing prestored object data to the three-dimensional information. A picture composing unit composes an artificial picture from a specific viewpoint within the space according to the environmental model constructed by the environmental model processing unit. An analyzing unit validates the environmental model by comparing the artificial picture composed by the picture composing unit with the three-dimensional information from the specific viewpoint. An observation control unit controls the measurement and input operation of the three-dimensional information input unit according to the result of validation by the analyzing unit.

Abstract: A moving obstacle detecting device detects moving objects, may be applied in the field of autonomous vehicles, intelligent robots, video monitoring system and similar systems. The device includes an optical flow extracting unit 1 for extracting optical flows for the respective local regions in the measured images, an focus of expansion (F.O.E.) calculating unit for calculating an F.O.E. of a straight line extended by the extracted optical flows, and a moving obstacle detecting unit for analyzing a temporal change of the calculated F.O.E. to judge the presence of the moving obstacle when the temporal positional change is larger than a predetermined variation quantity.

Abstract: A running control system for a mobile robot has the functions necessary for motion clustered into a danger avoidance portion, a safe region advance portion and an interest region follow portion, and these are coupled to a motion actuator control portion which directly controls each movement of the robot, and fused in the motion actuator control portion. Operation commands are configured from a moving distance and a moving direction of the mobile robot. In addition, there is also a coupling in the direction of the safe region advance portion from the danger avoidance portion but internal situations such as the failure and end of processing and like are transmitted using these couplings of portions. Interference between intelligent behavior and reflexive behavior is basically performed via the motion actuator control portion.

Abstract: A video camera includes a vibration generation section including a camera body having a lens system with an auto-focus mechanism, an image pickup element, arranged along an optical axis of the camera body, for picking up an optical image obtained through the lens system, and a piezoelectric actuator for linearly vibrating the image pickup element with a predetermined amplitude at a predetermined period along the direction of the optical axis, an image signal processing circuit for A/D-converting a plurality of images time-serially obtained at arbitrary positions within the amplitude of the image pickup element vibrating along the optical axis, and an image memory for storing the plurality of time-serial images, further including an image input processing section consisting of an in-focus decision/extraction circuit for selecting and extracting clear in-focus areas of a predetermined image area, and an image synthesizing circuit for selecting desired ones of the plurality of areas from the image memory and syn

Abstract: A moving object detecting system includes an image acquiring section, a feature extracting section, a background detecting section, a prediction parameter calculating section, a region estimating section, and a moving object determining section. The image acquiring section has a mobile imaging system and acquires image frames sequentially obtained upon movement of the imaging system. The feature extracting section extracts features of the acquired image frames. The background feature detecting section detects a background feature from the features. The prediction parameter calculating section obtains prediction parameters for predicting a motion of the background region upon movement of the imaging system in accordance with a positional relationship between the correlated background features.

Abstract: According to the image self-alignment system of the present invention, desired partial image areas are extracted by a partial image area designator from a pair of to-be-aligned picture images used for, for example, medical purposes. Each partial image area is divided by an area divider into a plurality of image segments arranged in a matrix form. Each corresponding image segment pair is subjected to a first misalignment detection by using a first evaluation parameter called correlation coefficient data. Each image segment pair is then subjected to a second misalignment detection by using a second evaluation parameter including pixel density difference data for finer detection. The first and second picture images are automatically aligned based on highly reliable final misalignment data obtained by carrying out the first and second misalignment detections.