Abstract: A seated-state detection sensor is disposed in a seat portion of a seat cushion of a passenger seat. The seated-state detection sensor is divided into three parts, that is, a first seated-state detection sensor, a second seated-state detection sensor and a third seated-state detection sensor, which are arranged in this order from the rear side of the vehicle. The first seated-state detection sensor and the second seated-state detection sensor are designed to determine whether or not there is a passenger seated. The second seated-state detection sensor and the third seated-state detection sensor are designed to detect forward displacement of the passenger.

Abstract: A sensor attaching portion of an upper rail and a sensor attaching portion of a cushion frame are provided with a sensor attaching plate having a sensor disposed thereon. The upper rail and the seat cushion frame are connected with a bracket at a position facing the sensor attaching plate. When the passenger sits on the seat, the seat cushion frame moves down and a bent portion of the bracket is pressed and deformed downwards. At this time, the center in the vertical direction of the sensor attaching plate is bent outward in the lateral direction of the seat. The sensor serves to detect the generated deformation.

Abstract: According to the invention, the presence of a child seat mounted on a vehicle seat or the presence of a passenger seated in the vehicle seat is determined automatically. A child seat detecting apparatus incorporated into a vehicle seat is provided with a plurality of load sensors comprising stress sensors or the like, and a determining function for monitoring a relative change of each load detected by each load sensor and determining whether a child seat is mounted on the vehicle seat or whether a passenger is seated in the vehicle seat by the difference of the change of each load. Accordingly, this child seat detecting apparatus makes it possible to accurately determine whether a child seat is mounted on the vehicle seat or whether a person of small stature yet who does not require a child seat is seated in the vehicle seat.

Abstract: A vehicle seat that detects a child restraint apparatus, which is attached to the seat by a seat belt, for operation of an air bag. A first load sensor is attached to one side of the seat to detect load and generate a first detection value. A second load sensor is attached to the seat at an opposite side of the seat to detect load and generate a second detection value. A control unit is connected to the first and second load sensors and determines whether the child restraint apparatus is present based on the first and second detection values.

Abstract: A sitting state detector of the present invention has an electrode which is installed in a seat back and which has a capacitance fluctuating depending on whether or not a passenger sits in a normal posture, conversion means for generating an electric signal corresponding to the capacitance, means which detects predetermined changes in the electric signal and which generates a detection signal indicative of whether or not the passenger sits in the normal posture, a sitting state sensor for a seat cushion, and control means which adjusts the conversion means for standardizing the electric signal at intervals of a short period and by a great amount in the absence of a sitting passenger and which adjusts the conversion means at intervals of a long period and by a small amount in the presence of a sitting passenger.

Abstract: Developing devices are provided adjacent to a light sensitive element. An intermediate transfer drum is provided adjacent to the light sensitive elements. After exposure of the light sensitive element, a first color or third color image is formed on the light sensitive element. On the other hand, after exposure of the light sensitive element, a second color or fourth color image can be formed on the light sensitive element. The first color image is transferred from the transfer unit to the intermediate transfer drum at the first transfer portion, and the second color image is transferred from the transfer unit at the second transfer portion so as to be superimposed on the first color image. Similarly, the third color image is transferred so as to be superimposed on the second image and the fourth color image is transferred so as to be superimposed on the third color image to the intermediate transfer drum. Accordingly, the first to fourth color images are superimposed.

Abstract: The image processing circuit essentially includes an image data input portion, an image processing portion, an image data output portion, an image memory composed of a hard disk drive etc., a central processing unit (CUP), an image editing portion, an external interface portion. Based on the determination result of the laser recording status determination by the CPU, an LCU also serving as a mirror motor control device, stops or retards the drives of driving motors, one by one, in the order of their completion of laser recording. The image processing circuit may further has a mode manager for checking the usage frequencies of the first most processing mode in which the input image information is image processed as color image information and the second processing mode in which the input image information is processed as monochrome image information. Moreover, the image processing portion may further has an original discriminating portion for determining the color type of an original.

Abstract: In conventional color digital copy machines, when copying in color mode, the polygon mirror of the laser beam scanner for black, which is driven at a higher speed than those of the other colors, is switched to a slower speed in conformity with the speed of the polygon mirrors for the other colors. However, a drawback of this structure is that, especially when switching from monochrome to color mode, the time required to obtain the first copy is lengthened, and the operating efficiency of copying is poor. In the present invention, when copying in color mode, the rotation speed of the polygon mirror of the laser scanner unit for black is not changed at all, but, by skipping certain mirror surfaces of the polygon mirror, and/or by skipping certain of a plurality of laser light sources, the scanning density of the laser scanner unit for black can be brought into conformity with that of the laser scanner units for the other colors.

Abstract: In this digital color copier, laser beam scanner units of the same configuration are arranged in parallel with each other, and all are controlled in a unified manner by a laser control unit provided outside the units. In order to synchronously rotate the polygon mirrors in a precise manner, the speeds of rotations of their motors, fed back from tacho-generators are compared to the reference frequency generated from an oscillator so as to allow a motor control circuit to control the driving motors of the polygon mirrors. Further, the BD signals from beam detectors (BD) are fed back to the laser control unit so that all the BD signals from the laser scanner units for black and the three colors can become synchronized with each other, thus enabling control of the polygon mirrors.

Abstract: To provide a method for easily discriminating used and unused gas generators from among gas generators for air bags separated from used cars in a car scrapping process. A method for discriminating between used and unused gas generators according to the present invention is a method for discriminating used and unused gas generators from among gas generators for air bags separated from used cars in a car scrapping process, and this method comprises the steps of:a) crushing used cars mounted with gas generators each having on a surface thereof a material discoloring according to the surface temperatures in actuating the gas generator to separate the gas generators, andb) discriminating the gas generators in which surfaces are discolored and the gas generators in which surfaces are not discolored from among the separated gas generators.

Abstract: The present invention is intended to reduce a f.theta. correction error by correcting an error of an object scanning speed which is produced because a reflecting point of a laser beam moves on a polygon mirror. In an inventive laser scanner, laser light emitted from a laser oscillator is condensed into a beam by a condenser lens at first. This laser beam is reflected by a polygon mirror rotated by a scanning section and is reflected again to a photoreceptor by a curved reflecting mirror. A curved profile of a reflecting plane of the curved reflecting mirror in the main scanning direction is formed so as to be asymmetrical on right and left bounding about a scanning center point. Thereby, variation of speed for scanning the curved reflecting mirror by the light reflected by the polygon mirror may be canceled by the curved reflecting mirror and a speed for scanning the object may be fixed almost at a predetermined speed.

Abstract: Developing devices are provided adjacent to a light sensitive element. An intermediate transfer drum is provided adjacent to the light sensitive elements. After exposure of the light sensitive element, a first color or third color image is formed on the light sensitive element. On the other hand, after exposure of the light sensitive element, a second color or fourth color image can be formed on the light sensitive element. The first color image is transferred from the transfer unit to the intermediate transfer drum at the first transfer portion, and the second color image is transferred from the transfer unit at the second transfer portion so as to be superimposed on the first color image. Similarly, the third color image is transferred so as to be superimposed on the second image and the fourth color image is transferred so as to be superimposed on the third color image to the intermediate transfer drum. Accordingly, the first to fourth color images are superimposed.

Abstract: To provide a method for taking out gas generators readily from waste vehicles and then recovering metallic materials of gas generators taken out efficiently. The method is comprised by a) crushing waste vehicles in which air bag apparatuses are installed by a crushing means so that the crushed pieces have approximately the same size as that of the gas generators themselves and the gas generators themselves can be separated from the air bag apparatuses as single bodies without being substantially crushed; b) taking the gas generators out of the crushed pieces of the waste vehicles; c) charging the gas generators thus taken out into a melting furnace; and d) recovering the metallic materials of the gas generator from the melting furnace.

Abstract: An intermediate transfer drum has at least a drum main body having a volume resistivity of 10.sup.4 to 10.sup.8 .OMEGA.cm, and an insulating layer provided on an outer surface of the drum main body. A first transfer voltage applying roller is provided inside the intermediate transfer drum so as to be opposite to a photosensitive drum and so as to be in contact with an inner surface of the intermediate transfer drum. A transfer roller is provided inside the intermediate transfer drum so as to be opposite to a second transfer grounded roller and so as to be in contact with the inner surface of the intermediate transfer drum. By thus arranging an image forming apparatus wherein image formation is carried out with respect to recording paper through the intermediate transfer drum, an optimal first transfer voltage can be applied from the photosensitive drum to the intermediate transfer drum, while an optimal second transfer voltage can be applied from the intermediate transfer drum to the recording medium.

Abstract: An apparatus for unlocking a door lock for a vehicle, comprising a plurality of door locks for being mounted on doors of the vehicle, a collision direction detecting device for detecting a direction of an impact applied to a vehicle; and an unlocking mechanism for unlocking a door lock located on a side opposite to a collision side based on the direction detected by the collision direction detecting device.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus is provided with a photoreceptor, and an exposure device for exposing the photoreceptor based on image data so as to form an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor. The exposure device has a plurality of light emitting devices aligned along a main scanning direction of the photoreceptor, the respective light emitting devices having a plurality of luminescence portions, and a light emitting device driver for applying a voltage to the respective luminescence portions so that the luminescence area of the light emitting device increases step by step whenever the applied voltage increases by a predetermined voltage based on the image data. With the arrangement, tone expression is realized in the electrostatic latent image, according to the size of the luminescence area of the respective light emitting devices, which can be controlled by the voltage applied to the respective light emitting devices based on the image data.

Abstract: A card C having a predetermined thickness is guided by guide grooves formed in corresponding projecting portions of a card slot to enter. When the leading end of the card C is brought into contact with the lower edges of contact portions of a shutter member, the shutter member is pivoted about the front end sides of arm portions. A shutter plate arranged on the rear end side of the shutter member is moved upward to allow the card C having the predetermined thickness to pass deep. If a card C' having a thickness smaller than the predetermined thickness enters, a regulation portion projecting from the lower portion of the shutter plate of the shutter member is located lower than the bottom surface of a card passage. The leading end of the card C' having the smaller thickness is brought into contact with the regulation portion to prevent the card C' from entering deep.

Abstract: In order to certainly receive a proper IC card having a regular length to a terminal contact position without causing a forcible force to act on an integrated circuit incorporated in the IC card to discharge a wrong card having a length smaller than the regular length, an IC card inserted from a card insertion port is advanced toward a card storage unit of a frame having an opening formed in the lower surface thereof while the IC card is slightly pressed downward, and the leading end of the IC card is brought into contact with a card receiver of a slide member. The slide member is biased by a spring toward the card insertion port and is slid backward when the IC card is pressed deeper with a force stronger than the biasing force of the spring.

Abstract: A color separating optical apparatus is provided with a compensating members in order to compensate for the differences in output energy of the separated colors which is attributable to the particular spectral characteristics of the light source and the light receiver. In various embodiments, selectable masks are used to control the light flux, or the light source itself is controlled as to the number of lamps energized for each color.

Abstract: A light source device for use in a color copying machine comprises a plurality of light source lamps having different efficiencies respectively and means for lighting any number of light source lamp or lamps among said plural light source lamps depending on the luminous energy of the respective blue, green and red spectrums and/or the spectral sensitivity of the photosensitive member for said respective spectrums.