Abstract: An aromatic polyimide film favorably employable for the chip-on-film (COF) system is composed of a polyimide derived from 3,3?,4,4?-biphenyltetracarboxylic acid dianhydride and p-phenylenediamine and a powdery inorganic filler, in which the film has a thickness in the range of 25 to 35 ?m and does not have protrusions of 1 ?m or higher, and the filler has a mean diameter of less than 1 ?m.

Abstract: An aromatic polyimide film favorably employable for the chip-on-film (COF) system is composed of a polyimide derived from 3,3?,4,4?-biphenyltetracarboxylic acid dianhydride and p-phenylenediamine and a powdery inorganic filler, in which the film has a thickness in the range of 25 to 35 ?m and does not have protrusions of 1 ?m or higher, and the filler has a mean diameter of less than 1 ?m.

Abstract: An aromatic polyimide film of polyimide composed of a 3,3′,4,4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic acid component and a p-phenylenediamine component, which has a thickness of 35 to 55 &mgr;m and is employed for manufacturing a polyimide film/metal film laminate, preferably has a linear thermal expansion coefficient of 17×10−6 to 24×10−6 cm/cm/° C. (TD) in the temperature range of 50-200° C., and a modulus of tensile elasticity of 700 kgf/mm2 or more (TD), and has a surface having been subjected to discharge treatment.

Abstract: An aromatic polyimide film of polyimide composed of a 3,3′,4,4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic acid component and a p-phenylenediamine component, which has a thickness of 35 to 55 &mgr;m and is employed for manufacturing a polyimide film/metal film laminate, preferably has a linear thermal expansion coefficient of 17×10−6 to 24×10−6 cm/cm/° C. (TD) in the temperature range of 50-200° C., and a modulus of tensile elasticity of 700 kgf/mm2 or more (TD), and has a surface having been subjected to discharge treatment.

Abstract: A tetraester of 3,3′,4,4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic acid is advantageously prepared by a process composed of a step of dimerizing an o-phthalic diester in the presence of a catalyst comprising a powdery palladium salt having a specific surface area of at least 0.5 m2/g and a basic bidentate ligand compound and one or more steps of continuing the dimerization after supplemental addition of at least one of the powdery palladium salt and the basic bidentate ligand compound.

Abstract: A planning method by computer support is based on a planning program using data concerning an object to be planned and data necessary for planning. The planning method comprises the steps of reading out of a memory various kinds of data concerning the object to be planned; preparing a plan by using the data in accordance with the planning program; delivering results of the prepared plan; inputting definition data for an explaining statement concerning the planning results and data concerning an output form of the explaining statement; processing the planning results on the basis of the definition data for the explaining statement and the data concerning the output form to prepare an explaining statement concerning the planning results; and delivering the prepared explaining statement.

Abstract: The computer aided planning support system of this invention is constructed of a planning information input device from which an object data for making a plan is inputted; an object data storage unit for storing the inputted object data; a planning unit for making a plan by reading the object data stored in the object data storage unit and processing the read-out data in accordance with a planning program; a planning data storage unit for storing the data associated with the plan made by the planning unit; a planning data processing unit for processing the planning data stored in the planning data storage unit in accordance with a predetermined scheduling function and sending the processed data to the planning unit; and a planning information output device for outputting the planning result generated by the planning unit in the form a user can use it.

Abstract: In a method for determining an optimum scheduling in a computer-aided scheduling system the data associated with a schedule to be generated is previously stored in a memory data. A strategy decision table showing therein one or more scheduling strategies suitable for a plurality of the states in a scheduling process is prepared. An optimization definition table indicating degree of improvement precedence or precedence order of the scheduling strategies of the evaluation items, where degree of improvement precedence is defined as degree of improvement of evaluation value of he evaluation item in changing of the scheduled strategy, is prepared. A schedule is generated by repetition of selecting and executing the scheduling strategies by using the strategy decision table. The other schedules are generated by changing the scheduling strategy selected in the state of the scheduling process by using the optimization definition table. An optimum schedule having the best evaluation value is selected.

Abstract: An automated ordering system in a retail shop adapted to automatically order goods. In the system, a demand amount in the future is first supposed on the basis of an average of the past demands, the supposed future demand amount is corrected by the variable condition used to change the demand amount to predict a future demand amount, and the order amount is determined pursuant to a calculation formula on the basis of the predictive future demand amount and the stock volume of goods. Goods tend to be stocked in surplus or out of stock are diagnosed on the basis of the change of the past demands and the worker determines the amount of orders in respect to these goods.

Abstract: When the mount and demount operation of information media are achieved between an information medium storage shelf and a plurality of recording/playback apparatuses by use of a plurality of handling devices, in order to execute the operations in a concurrent fashion without causing an interference between the handling devices for an increased operation efficiency, the area of the storage shelf and at least one of the recording/playback apparatuses are respectively subdivided into a plurality of subareas so as to process the obtained subareas by the plurality devices respectively associated therewith.

Abstract: A goods layout planning method for making a layout for a quantity of goods arranged on gondolas in a store by using a terminal device including a display and a processor. Rules regarding goods layouts are stored in a knowledge base. The effort to make layout plans for goods can be simplified and the efficiency thereof improved by using sales data for each of the goods, attributes of goods, attributes of gondolas, and the rules with respect to the goods layouts.

Abstract: A plurality of devices for processing IF-THEN JOIN operation of IF-THEN rules are provided to process the JOIN operation in a pipe-line manner. A JOIN operation processing facility has an input buffer for latching status data corresponding to one condition in a certain rule; an associative memory for latching status data corresponding to another condition; an output buffer for latching the result of a JOIN operation; and a data combining arrangement for replacing an item value from the two data by a meaningful value to generate one data so that a series of operations of picking up the data one by one from the input buffer, retrieving associatively the data of the associative memory by using the data picked up as a retrieval data and the common item as a retrieval key, and storing in the output buffer the combined result of the data picked up and the retrieval data.

Abstract: A job scheduling method for scheduling of job allocation to various resources, wherein each workload of a job is allocated to each time unit along a time axis in units of job and resource type. Based on the workload allocated in units of resource type, an initial workload for all resources at each time unit is calculated. A first workload balancing is performed for an initial workload at a time unit exceeding a resource capacity so as to balance the initial workload within the resource capacity. Thereafter, a second workload balancing is performed so as to balance a workload allocated in units of resource type within its resource capacity.

Abstract: With the aim of designing efficiently and quickly such plans as production plans having a variety of requirements involved and requiring frequent modification of software, a planning logic prepared without regard to the preparation sequence of a plan is converted into a planning program. Upon the conversion, the planning logic is edited so that only part of the planning logic requiring modification may be modified, and a result of modification is displayed on a screen so as to be checked through a display.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus of removing works from each of the facilities in a production line is described in order to facilitate changing of a work monitoring operation in accordance with, for example, a layout change in the production line and a change in the facilities. Work tracking conditions are stored in a memory in the form of a table, and work tracking management data and plant status data which have been stored in the memory separately are retrived while the work tracking conditions are referred to, thereby extracting management data for which tracking conditions have been completed. The extracted management data is subjected to processing such as movement and updating in accordance with the contents of the above-described data which are referred to.

Abstract: In order to execute a series of moving sequences by synchronous and exclusive control of unit operations taught or programed in advance, there are provided a first storing of the relationship of the sequence of execution of each unit operation to other unit operations to be controlled synchronously or exclusively; a second storing of information relating to the operational status of each unit operation; and a third storing of operating instructions for executing each unit operation. When machine tools have stopped due to the occurrence of an abnormality while a series of unit operations are being executed by the operating instructions stored in the third storing means, a unit operation for restarting on the basis of the relationship of the executing sequence stored during the first storing is appointed, and information concerning the operational status stored during the second storing is corrected.

Abstract: In order to execute a series of operation sequence including synchronization and exclusion for an automatic machine such as a robot by combining pretaught or preprogrammed unit operations, there are provided first memory for storing a start sequence of the unit operations to be synchronized or excluded, second memory for storing operation status of the unit operations and third memory for storing operation command to start the unit operations. The unit operations to be started are determined by referring the start sequence and the operation status of the unit operations read from the memories, and the corresponding operation commands are read out of the third memory to squentially start the unit operations.In order to execute an repetitive operation of similar works, there is provided fourth memory for storing basic operation patterns common to the repetitive operation in a non-repetitive manner.

Abstract: A control system employs a controller for controlling the operation of a plurality of facilities and a memory which stores information employed by the controller for controlling the operation of the facilities. The memory includes a first portion for storing facility status signals and command signals, a second portion which stores a series of rules which are triggered in response to status information from the respective facilities, a portion which converts the rules into internal codes, and a portion which stores the results of the application of the internal codes to control commands. The controller monitors facility status signals and controls the generation of facility status signals. It also controls which rule set number is to be used in accordance with information stored in memory and contains an internal code generator for generating the internal codes corresponding to generated facility status signals.

Abstract: A system for controlling the number of waste liquid disposal units in operation is disclosed in which the amount of waste liquid to be produced during a predetermined period of time is forecast, and the forecast result is used to calculate the required minimum number N of the waste liquid disposal units according to a predetermined formula, thereby to control the operation of the required minimum number N of the units among a plurality of waste liquid disposal units.