Abstract: A fixing device for thermally fixing a developing agent image to a sheet fed in a sheet feeding direction includes a tubular flexible fusing member, a nip plate, a heater, a reflection plate, and a backup member. The tubular flexible fusing member has an inner peripheral surface defining an internal space and an axis defining an axial direction. The nip plate is disposed in the internal space, and the inner peripheral surface is in sliding contact with the nip plate. A heater is disposed in the internal space and confronts the nip plate in a confronting direction. The heater includes a glass tube, a heat source provided in the glass tube, and a gas sealed in the glass tube. The glass tube includes a glass tube body and a tip portion protruding radially outwardly from the glass tube body for sealing the gas in the glass tube body.

Abstract: There is provided a fixing device for thermally fixing a developing agent image to a sheet. The fixing device includes a tubular flexible member, a heater, a nip member, a reflection plate, a backup member, a stay and a temperature sensor. The flexible member has an inner peripheral surface defining an internal space. The heater is disposed in the internal space and is configured to generate a radiant heat. The nip member is disposed in the internal space, the inner peripheral surface being in sliding contact with the nip member. The reflection plate is configured to reflect the radiant heat from the heater toward the nip member, the reflection plate having an outer profile. The backup member is configured to provide a nip region in cooperation with the nip member for nipping the flexible member between the backup member and the nip member.

Abstract: In a fixing device, a nip plate is disposed on an inner surface of a tubular flexible fusing member which is flexibly deformable, and configured to be heated by a heating element disposed inside the fusing member. The fusing member is nipped between the nip plate and a backup member to form a nip portion. First and second portions of the nip plate which are located in positions upstream and downstream, respectively, with respect to a recording sheet conveyance direction and to be supported by a stay are each configured to be a flat plate extending along the recording sheet conveyance direction. A central portion between the first and second portions of the nip plate is in a position shifted from those of the first and second portions in a direction perpendicular to flat surfaces of the first and second portions.

Abstract: There is provided a fixing device for thermally fixing a developing agent image to a sheet. The fixing device includes: a tubular flexible member having an inner peripheral surface defining an internal space; a nip member disposed in the internal space and having one surface, the inner peripheral surface being in sliding contact with the one surface; a heater disposed in the internal space: a reflection plate configured to reflect a radiant heat from the heater toward the nip member; a backup member providing a nip region in cooperation with the nip member for nipping the flexible member between the backup member and the nip member; and a temperature sensor disposed in the internal space to detect a temperature of the reflection plate.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus is provided. The image forming apparatus includes a fixing unit to thermally fix an image transferred onto a sheet, a discharge unit to discharge the sheet carried from the fixing unit outside the image forming apparatus through a discharge path, a swingable member to be swung by the sheet being discharged, a swing-detectable sensor to detect swing movement of the swingable member being swung by the sheet, and a judging unit to judge as to whether the sheet is in one-sided alignment, in which the sheet is aligned to one of the widthwise sides in the discharge path based on result detected by the swing-detectable sensor.

Abstract: An image forming device has a housing, a cover, a frame, a heating member, a transfer roller, a first shaft, and a shielding assembly. The housing has an opening. The cover opens and closes the opening. The frame is provided in the housing. The heating member is supported to the frame and heating a recording sheet. The transfer roller is rotatably positioned between the heating member and the opening in the frame. The transfer roller conveys the recording sheet in a sheet conveying direction and is positioned downstream of the heating member in the sheet conveying direction. The first shaft is rotatable about a first axis extending in a first direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction. The first shaft supports the transfer roller and facing the frame through a gap through which the sheet passes. The heating member is exposed to the opening through the gap.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a detected member of which a temperature is to be detected; a temperature sensor including a contact portion provided to contact the detected member, the temperature sensor being configured to detect the temperature of the detected member; and a condition determining unit. The condition determining unit is configured to control electric power supplied to the temperature sensor such that the temperature sensor self-heats during a heating time period, and determine a condition of the contact portion based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor after the temperature sensor starts self-heating.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide a disk drive capable of writing information on data tracks even more positively when a shingle write method is adopted. In one embodiment, the disk drive is characterized in that, when information is to be written on a plurality of adjacent data tracks on a recording medium through the shingle write method, writing of information is controlled by detecting an actual writing position based on servo information recorded on the recording medium and determining whether or not the detected actual writing position meets a predetermined condition.

Abstract: An image-taking control apparatus lets the operations of a plurality of drivable parts, including a first drivable part whose driving speed can be switched only in steps, finish substantially simultaneously. A speed selector selects an operation speed for each of the drivable parts, based on its current position, its target position, and a target operation time. A controller performs lets the operation of the first drivable part start when a waiting time corresponding to a difference between the anticipated operation time for the selected operation speed and the target operation time has passed after a start command time.

Abstract: A friction material composition containing a fibrous material, a binder and a friction adjusting agent, wherein the friction adjusting agent is secondary aggregates of an activated alumina being spherical and having a diameter of 10 to 300 ?m, or an activated alumina having a specific surface area of 100 to 400 m2/g and an average particle diameter of 1 to 200 ?m. The composition can be used for producing a friction material which exhibits significant improvement with respect to fading phenomenon, without adversely affecting its characteristics of attacking to a disc rotor, which is the article mating therewith, and without marked reduction of the friction coefficient at an elevated temperature, and is capable of controlling the thickness of the sliding film formed on a frictionally sliding face and preventing a high frequency noise (grabbing chatter).

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide a disk drive capable of writing information on data tracks even more positively when a shingle write method is adopted. In one embodiment, the disk drive is characterized in that, when information is to be written on a plurality of adjacent data tracks on a recording medium through the shingle write method, writing of information is controlled by detecting an actual writing position based on servo information recorded on the recording medium and determining whether or not the detected actual writing position meets a predetermined condition.

Abstract: A drive controller for a lens apparatus including a first lens unit which moves for changing magnification and a second lens unit which moves to prevent an image plane variation in response to the first lens unit moving to change the magnification. The drive controller includes a memory storing a plurality of tracking data corresponding to position data of the second lens unit, and a control unit for detecting a change in a focus state of the lens apparatus during the movement of the first lens unit and for changing one of the plurality of tracking data based on the detection result. The control unit stores a direction of the changing of the one tracking data and thereafter changes the one tracking data based on the stored direction.

Abstract: The present invention provides a gene-trap system, which can trap any gene including transiently expressed genes. A gene can be trapped by a trap vector, which employs Cre recombinase from bacteriophage P1, and the expression of the trapped gene is converted to constitutive expression of another reporter gene.

Abstract: A drive controller for a lens apparatus including a first lens unit which moves for changing magnification and a second lens unit which moves to prevent an image plane variation in response to the first lens unit moving to change the magnification. The drive controller includes a memory storing a plurality of tracking data corresponding to position data of the second lens unit, and a control unit for detecting a change in a focus state of the lens apparatus during the movement of the first lens unit and for changing one of the plurality of tracking data based on the detection result. The control unit stores a direction of the changing of the one tracking data and thereafter changes the one tracking data based on the stored direction.

Abstract: This invention relates to a system for communicating speed data from a camera to a lens unit to drive the lens unit. Even if speed data changes stepwise, a change amount of the driving speed can be changed within a predetermined range for each stepwise change of the speed data in a whole driving speed change range.

Abstract: A friction material composition containing a fibrous material, a binder and a friction adjusting agent, wherein the friction adjusting agent is secondary aggregates of an activated alumina being spherical and having a diameter of 10 to 300 &mgr;m, or an activated alumina having a specific surface area of 100 to 400 m2/g and an average particle diameter of 1 to 200 &mgr;m. The composition can be used for producing a friction material which exhibits significant improvement with respect to fading phenomenon, without adversely affecting its characteristics of attacking to a disc rotor, which is the article mating therewith, and without marked reduction of the friction coefficient at an elevated temperature, and is capable of controlling the thickness of the sliding film formed on a frictionally sliding face and preventing a high frequency noise (grabbing chatter).

Abstract: A TV optical lens system is provided which can prevent any problem to be caused by transmission of data not initialized upon a data transmission request from a camera. The system includes a movable optical member, a position detecting unit for detecting a position of the movable optical member as relative information, an initializing unit for performing an initializing operation of moving the optical member to a reference position so as to convert the information detected by the position detecting unit into absolute position information, and a communication unit for communicating with a camera mounted on the photographing lens system, wherein the system is provided with a communication inhibiting unit for inhibiting the communication by the communication unit until the initializing operation is completed.

Abstract: There is disclosed a command-answer type serial communication device between TV lens and TV camera, or between TV lens and accessory. In the command-answer type serial communication, answer data is transferred in response to a command in ordinary communication, but data to be processed at high speed on the side of a device having transferred the command is transmitted to a camera from a lens even if no command is transmitted, so that high-speed communication can be performed.

Abstract: An image-taking control apparatus lets the operations of a plurality of drivable parts, including a first drivable part whose driving speed can be switched only in steps, finish substantially simultaneously. A speed selector selects an operation speed for each of the drivable parts, based on its current position, its target position, and a target operation time. A controller performs lets the operation of the first drivable part start when a waiting time corresponding to a difference between the anticipated operation time for the selected operation speed and the target operation time has passed after a start command time.

Abstract: A decanter type centrifugal separator capable of discharging sludge directly from a portion of the sludge with least moisture content in a bowl so as to lower a moisture content and increase a separation efficiency, wherein a screw conveyor rotated with a difference in speed provided relative to the bowl is stored in the bowl rotated at a high speed, a dewatering cake discharge route (20) is provided in one end wall (2) of the bowl, an opening (20a) of the route into the bowl is provided near the inner peripheral wall of the bowl, the discharge route provides a restriction effect to the discharge of the dewatering cake, and a sedimentary layer with thick sedimentation layer is formed near the opening, whereby that portion only of the cake is discharged through the discharge route under head press of the sedimentation layer, that portion receiving the highest consolidation effect by the head press of a centrifugal force acting on the sediment, among the sedimentation layers accumulated at one end of the bowl.