Abstract: This headrest guide 52 for holding a pillar 43 protruding from a headrest 4 is provided with cylindrical section 61 having formed therein a through-hole 63 which extends in a longitudinal direction and into which the pillar 43 is inserted. The cylindrical section 61 has a protrusion 64 provided on the inner peripheral surface of the through-hole 63 and coming in contact with the pillar 43 inserted in the through-hole 63. The protrusion 64 extends in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical section 61, and the length of the protrusion 64 in the top-bottom direction is set to be greater than the length thereof in the left-right or front-rear direction. The configuration makes it possible to suppress the rattling of the headrest because of an increase in the region of contact with the pillar inserted in the through-hole.

Abstract: This headrest guide 52 for holding a pillar 43 protruding from a headrest 4 is provided with cylindrical section 61 having formed therein a through-hole 63 which extends in a longitudinal direction and into which the pillar 43 is inserted. The cylindrical section 61 has a protrusion 64 provided on the inner peripheral surface of the through-hole 63 and coming in contact with the pillar 43 inserted in the through-hole 63. The protrusion 64 extends in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical section 61, and the length of the protrusion 64 in the top-bottom direction is set to be greater than the length thereof in the left-right or front-rear direction. The configuration makes it possible to suppress the rattling of the headrest because of an increase in the region of contact with the pillar inserted in the through-hole.

Abstract: A drive device and a lens unit include a base member; a driven member disposed at a prescribed distance from the base member and having a flat plane; a support member coupling the base member and the driven member and supporting the driven member so as to substantially maintain a prescribed distance between the base member and the driven member from start to end of movement of the driven member; and a driving member driving the driven member so as to move the flat plane in parallel from start to end of movement. The driving member causes a linear shape-memory alloy wire to expand and contract, thereby moving the driven member.

Abstract: An optical scanner capable of preventing breakage of a shaft section due to stress concentration is provided. A mirror frame 13 is shaped so as to enclose a mirror 11, and holds the mirror 11, via torsion bars 121 and 122, so as to be vibratable. A unimorph 15 is constituted by four unimorphs 151, 152, 153, and 154 formed on upper left, lower left, upper right, and lower right sides, and holds the mirror frame 13, via a shaft section 14, so as to be vibratable. The shaft section 14 has a connection section 144. On the mirror frame 13, an adjustment member 16 for increasing a moment of inertia m1 of the mirror frame 13 is provided.

Abstract: On the light-entering surface side of a base material 10, a coating layer 11 in which a high-refractive layer and a low-refractive layer are sequentially disposed alternately on one on the other is provided for blocking infrared radiation. One of the high-refractive layers is configured by an ITO film 11a so that the conductivity is increased on the surface of the coating layer. Herein, in view of preventing, to a further extent, the attachment of dirt and dust by providing the conductivity to the surface of the coating layer, it is desirable if the outermost high-refractive layer is made of a transparent conductive material. Moreover, it is desirable if the total layer thickness is 140 nm or smaller for the refractive layers formed outside of the high-refractive layer made of the transparent conductive material.

Abstract: A driving device is adapted to drive a driven member, and includes a driving member, and a linear shape memory alloy (SMA) actuator. The driving member has a displacement output portion which is movable in a first axis direction, and a displacement input portion for moving the displacement output portion in the first axis direction in response to an application of a moving force in a second axis direction orthogonal to the first axis direction. The driving member is engaged with the driven member at the displacement output portion. The SMA actuator is disposed in contact with the driving member at least at the displacement input portion to apply the moving force to the displacement input portion.

Abstract: An optical scanner capable of preventing breakage of a shaft section due to stress concentration is provided. A mirror frame 13 is shaped so as to enclose a mirror 11, and holds the mirror 11, via torsion bars 121 and 122, so as to be vibratable. A unimorph 15 is constituted by four unimorphs 151, 152, 153, and 154 formed on upper left, lower left, upper right, and lower right sides, and holds the mirror frame 13, via a shaft section 14, so as to be vibratable. The shaft section 14 has a connection section 144. On the mirror frame 13, an adjustment member 16 for increasing a moment of inertia m1 of the mirror frame 13 is provided.

Abstract: A radiation imaging system is configured by a collimator 30A including a detector 21 with a discrete detection pixel corresponding with a pixel and a plurality of radiation passages 31 and looks into a plurality of detectors 21 through one radiation passage 31 to set a step width of rotation around a rotation center axis X1 only for an angle ?p made by lines provided by connecting a center detector 21 of the radiation passage 31 and the adjacent two detectors 21. In the case of generating a flat plane projection image for one direction, radio-graphing is carried out on a projection image in a plurality of predetermined angle positions (??p, 0, +?p) in the circumferential direction of the rotation center axis X1 and thereby one plane projection image is obtained.

Abstract: On the light-entering surface side of a base material 10, a coating layer 11 in which a high-refractive layer and a low-refractive layer are sequentially disposed alternately on one on the other is provided for blocking infrared radiation. One of the high-refractive layers is configured by an ITO film 11a so that the conductivity is increased on the surface of the coating layer. Herein, in view of preventing, to a further extent, the attachment of dirt and dust by providing the conductivity to the surface of the coating layer, it is desirable if the outermost high-refractive layer is made of a transparent conductive material. Moreover, it is desirable if the total layer thickness is 140 nm or smaller for the refractive layers formed outside of the high-refractive layer made of the transparent conductive material.

Abstract: A timing signal generating device capable of generating different kinds of signals is disclosed. A first, a second and a third data setting circuit each generate a particular kind of set data for generating corresponding timing signals. The set data are selectively set in a timing pulse generating circuit at the time of start-up of a camera or similar system, which includes the device, or in accordance with the operation mode of the system. The timing pulse generating circuit generates timing signals based on the set data. The timing signals are fed to a solid-state image pickup section and a signal processing section, causing them to operate in accordance with the timing signals.

Abstract: An image pickup device wherein the range in the amount of incident light (dynamic range) for obtaining an appropriate image can be expanded, and shutter and aperture functions are provided. A light shielding element for light shielding a photoelectric conversion section and an actuator for driving the light shielding element are provided on the pixel of the image pickup device using the MEMS technology, and the amount of light shielding is controlled for each pixel, whereby the dynamic range is expanded, and shutter and aperture functions are also provided.

Abstract: A radiation imaging system is configured by a collimator 30A including a detector 21 with a discrete detection pixel corresponding with a pixel and a plurality of radiation passages 31 and looks into a plurality of detectors 21 through one radiation passage 31 to set a step width of rotation around a rotation center axis X1 only for an angle ?p made by lines provided by connecting a center detector 21 of the radiation passage 31 and the adjacent two detectors 21. In the case of generating a flat plane projection image for one direction, radio-graphing is carried out on a projection image in a plurality of predetermined angle positions (??p, 0, +?p) in the circumferential direction of the rotation center axis X1 and thereby one plane projection image is obtained.

Abstract: An image data processing method transforms a picture signal having a broad dynamic range to another picture signal having a narrow dynamic range. The picture signal having the narrow dynamic range is subjected to inverse transform to thereby output a recovered signal having the broad dynamic range. A difference between the original picture signal and the recovered signal, both having the broad dynamic range, is produced and then stored in a recording medium as difference data. A parameter for software processing to be executed for reproduction of the original picture signal later is also stored in the recording medium. In this way, the method can transform the original data with the broad dynamic range to the data of a standard file format with the narrow dynamic range, record the transformed data, and allow the original data to be recovered and effectively used later, as desired.

Abstract: In a digital camera that captures object light through a CCD and creates an image signal, a CPU and a bias controller set an overflow drain voltage when smear is read by a vertical drive section to an overflow drain voltage lower than an overflow drain voltage when a still picture is read. With the above arrangement, there are provided a read controller for an image pick-up device, which can read out a sufficiently large amount of saturated charges from the image pick-up device by suppressing a decrease in an amount of saturated charges even if a voltage fluctuation occurs due to smear read-out, and an image pick-up apparatus that can obtain an image of excellent quality.

Abstract: A solid-state image pickup apparatus includes photo-sensors arranged in the directions of row and column and each corresponding to a particular pixel included in an imaging frame. Each photo-sensor is made up of a higher- and a lower-sensitivity photosensitive cell for photoelectrically transducing incident light to electric signal charges. A corrector executes shading correction on an image signal derived from the higher-sensitivity photosensitive cell in accordance with the shading characteristic of the higher sensitivity photosensitive cell, and on an image signal derived from the lower-sensitivity photosensitive cell in accordance with the shading characteristic of the lower-sensitivity photosensitive cell.

Abstract: A radiation imaging system is configured by a collimator 30A including a detector 21 with a discrete detection pixel corresponding with a pixel and a plurality of radiation passages 31 and looks into a plurality of detectors 21 through one radiation passage 31 to set a step width of rotation around a rotation center axis X1 only for an angle ?p made by lines provided by connecting a center detector 21 of the radiation passage 31 and the adjacent two detectors 21. In the case of generating a flat plane projection image for one direction, radio-graphing is carried out on a projection image in a plurality of predetermined angle positions (??p, 0, +?p) in the circumferential direction of the rotation center axis X1 and thereby one plane projection image is obtained.

Abstract: A biaxially oriented laminated polypropylene film comprising a biaxially oriented polypropylene film substrate layer (B) made from a propylene-based polymer composition (A) in which an inorganic compound powder (a2) has been added to a propylene-based polymer (a1), the biaxially oriented polypropylene film substrate layer (B) has a front surface layer and a back surface layer on its both sides, both layers are made from the propylene-based polymer (a1), wherein the surface roughness (three-dimensional center-line roughness SRa) of the front and the back surface layers is less than 0.08 ?m and the gloss value (at an incidence angle of 60 degrees) is 114% or greater, and the total light transmittance of the laminated polypropylene film is 20% or less and the density is in the range of 0.40 to 0.65 g/cm3.

Abstract: A thermal transfer receiving sheet in which at least a low-density layer, barrier layer and image receiving layer are sequentially laminated on one side of a sheet-like support, wherein the low-density layer contains hollow particles, a hydrophobic resin adhesive and a hydrophilic resin adhesive, the hydrophobic resin adhesive is at least one type selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid ester-acrylonitrile copolymer, methacrylic acid ester-acrylonitrile copolymer, styrene-butadiene copolymer, butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer, styrene-butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer and polybutadiene, the glass transition temperature in accordance with JIS K 7121 is between ?90 and 10° C., and the weight ratio between the hydrophobic resin adhesive and the hydrophilic resin adhesive is between 95/5 and 65/35.

Abstract: Disclosed is a horizontal transfer line in which first horizontal transfer pulses are applied to transfer electrodes via a commonly connected electrode line, second horizontal transfer pulses are applied to transfer electrodes via a commonly connected electrode line, and final horizontal transfer pulses are applied to a final transfer electrode via an electrode line independent of the above-mentioned electrode lines. Since the independent electrode line is independent of the other electrode lines, amount of capacitance produced in equivalent terms is reduced. The final transfer pulses exhibit a steep characteristic, thereby improving transfer efficiency. The input/output characteristic of the horizontal transfer line is improved as a result.

Abstract: There is provided a thermal transfer receiving sheet comprising a sheet-like support and an image receiving layer formed on at least one side of the sheet-like support, wherein the image receiving layer contains a polyester resin with a branched structure obtained by polycondensation of a polyhydric carboxylic acid component and a polyhydric alcohol component, and 30-75 mol % of the polyhydric carboxylic acid component is an aromatic dicarboxylic acid while 15-60 mol % is an alicyclic dicarboxylic acid.