Abstract: An input apparatus that inputs a reproduction speed of a video signal is disclosed. The input apparatus has a position detection section and a control section. The position detection section linearly detects a position that a user's finger has touched. The control section detects a moving speed of the user's finger that has touched the position detection section corresponding to a first position and a second position detected by the position detection section and outputs reproduction speed information corresponding to the moving speed. After the first position has been detected and a predetermined time period has elapsed, the second position is detected by the position detection section.

Abstract: A card connector can selectively receive one of two IC cards. The card connector has an improved structure of contacts arranged in a card receiving space to simplify the structure thereof and to allow the card connector to be manufactured easily. The card connector at least includes a space for receiving a card and a plurality of contacts that are provided in the space parallel to the direction along which a card is inserted. The respective contacts provided in the space for receiving the IC card include a plurality of contact points that respectively correspond to the respective pads of the plurality of IC cards and that are provided in the direction along which the IC card is inserted. Thus, the card connector can be selectively attached with one of a plurality of IC cards having the same pad pitch.

Abstract: An input apparatus that inputs a reproduction speed of a video signal is disclosed. The input apparatus has a position detection section and a control section. The position detection section linearly detects a position that a user's finger has touched. The control section outputs reproduction speed information corresponding to the position detected by the position detection section.

Abstract: A vacuum station is used for storing sewage from a vacuum sewage pipe and then delivering the sewage to a sewage treatment plant or the like. The vacuum station includes a collection tank for collecting sewage, a plurality of vacuum pumps for depressurizing and pressurizing an interior of the collection tank, and a controller for controlling the plurality of vacuum pumps. The controller controls at least one of the vacuum pumps so as to rotate in normal direction so that the interior of the collection tank is depressurized to collect sewage into the collection tank, and at least one of the vacuum pumps so as to rotate in reverse direction when the sewage in the collection tank reaches a predetermined sewage level so that the interior of the collection tank is pressurized to discharge the sewage from the collection tank.

Abstract: The present invention provides a vacuum valve controller for opening and closing a vacuum valve mounted on an end of a pipe of a vacuum system that is part of a vacuum sewage system. A vacuum valve controller includes a pressure sensor for converting a water level of sewage in a sewage pit into a pressure, a vacuum valve opening and closing mechanism for opening and closing the vacuum valve according to a variation of the pressure detected by the pressure sensor, an open-state holding mechanism for holding the vacuum valve open until air is drawn in through the suction pipe after sewage is drawn in through a suction pipe, and a pressure transmitting mechanism for transmitting a pressure upstream of the vacuum valve in the suction pipe to the open-state holding mechanism to detect when air is drawn in through the suction pipe.

Abstract: An electrode for an electron gun and an electron gun using same are provided which make use of stable carbon material having small work function and which permit orientation control to be achieved and which can be manufactured at a low cost. An electrode for an electron gun uses carbon electrode(s) formed from amorphous carbon and carbon nanotubes or carbon nanofibers and molded in linear shape. The carbon electrode is obtained by mixing a resin composition such as chlorinated vinyl chloride resin, furan resin, etc., which forms non-graphitizing carbon after carbonizing, with a carbon powder such as carbon nanotubes or carbon nanofibers and, after extrusion, molding and carbonizing the molding obtained.

Abstract: A method for synthesizing diamond is provided that can form a thin film of synthetic diamond even on an amorphous substrate such as a glass substrate. Electrodes, each formed from a composite carbon material comprising amorphous carbon and carbon powder uniformly dispersed therein, are placed in a hydrogen atmosphere, and a spark is produced between the electrodes, causing the carbon to sublime and deposit on a silicon substrate.

Abstract: Provided is a fuel cell characterized in that a base material comprises a carbonaceous porous body having electrical conductivity in a part or the whole part and that a unit cell in which the respective layers of electrode/electrolyte/electrode are formed on the surface of the base material assumes a structure in which the base material is impregnated with liquid fuel (for example: methanol solution) and the surface of the electrode formed on the outside surface of the base material is exposed to air. The carbonaceous porous body having an electrical conductivity is allowed to have jointly functions as an electrode•collector, an impregnating medium for liquid fuel and oxidizing agent gas and a cell supporter, whereby a separator can be unneeded, and therefore a fuel cell which can reduce a size of a fuel cell system and which can exhibit a high output is provided by making use of the above unneeded space as a field for convecting and diffusing oxidizing agent gas or the liquid fuel.

Abstract: A card connector can selectively receive one of two IC cards. The card connector has an improved structure of contacts arranged in a card receiving space to simplify the structure thereof and to allow the card connector to be manufactured easily. The card connector at least includes a space for receiving a card and a plurality of contacts that are provided in the space parallel to the direction along which a card is inserted. The respective contacts provided in the space for receiving the IC card include a plurality of contact points that respectively correspond to the respective pads of the plurality of IC cards and that are provided in the direction along which the IC card is inserted. Thus, the card connector can be selectively attached with one of a plurality of IC cards having the same pad pitch.

Abstract: An image recording system for setting processing contents related to image recording processing on the basis of the types of color components employed for printing data is provided. A donor sheet roll stored in an image recorder is rendered exchangeable in an intermediate stage of image recording, and recording conditions as to all recordable color components and the storage state of rolls are previously registered in a table. A control part of the image recorder compares/collates information of color components on which color separation data are obtained in a raster image processor with the roll storage state and determines necessariness/unnecessariness of roll exchange, for presenting an exchange object and requesting exchange to an operator if necessary. Thus, a proof image finished approximately to a regularly output image from a regular press can be obtained without increasing the number of rolls stored in the image recorder, so far as inks used in regular press and corresponding rolls are present.

Abstract: An electrode for an electron gun and an electron gun using same are provided which make use of stable carbon material having small work function and which permit orientation control to be achieved and which can be manufactured at a low cost. An electrode for an electron gun uses carbon electrode(s) formed from amorphous carbon and carbon nanotubes or carbon nanofibers and molded in linear shape. The carbon electrode is obtained by mixing a resin composition such as chlorinated vinyl chloride resin, furan resin, etc., which forms non-graphitizing carbon after carbonizing, with a carbon powder such as carbon nanotubes or carbon nanofibers and, after extrusion, molding and carbonizing the molding obtained.

Abstract: An image forming method is provided which, even when misregistration occurs in locating of a recording position of each color, can make color misalignment inconspicuous, and hence is effective in obtaining a recorded image of a high quality. An image is recorded while, for one color, unit blocks which are adjacent to each other in the main scanning direction of image recording are provided with gradation characteristics in different matrix arrangements in which front and rear portions that are obtained by division at an intermediate position in the sub-scanning direction are replaced with each other.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image conversion apparatus that converts an input image having process color components and a spot color component and represented by density data for the respective colors into a halftone dot image represented by halftone dot data. A first halftoning means changes the process color components into halftone dots, a spot color separation means separates the spot color component into two or more colors, a second halftoning means changes the two or more colors into halftone dots using, for example, a halftone dot sort which is higher in screen ruling than that of a halftone dot sort used in the first halftoning means, and a halftone dot composition means composites the halftone dots of each process color component of the two or more colors provided by the second halftoning means with the halftone dots of the corresponding process color component provided by the first halftoning means.

Abstract: A vacuum station is used for storing sewage from a vacuum sewage pipe and then delivering the sewage to a sewage treatment plant or the like. The vacuum station includes a collection tank for collecting sewage, a plurality of vacuum pumps for depressurizing and pressurizing an interior of the collection tank, and a controller for controlling the plurality of vacuum pumps. The controller controls at least one of the vacuum pumps so as to rotate in normal direction so that the interior of the collection tank is depressurized to collect sewage into the collection tank, and at least one of the vacuum pumps so as to rotate in reverse direction when the sewage in the collection tank reaches a predetermined sewage level so that the interior of the collection tank is pressurized to discharge the sewage from the collection tank.

Abstract: The present invention provides a vacuum valve controller for opening and closing a vacuum valve mounted on an end of a pipe of a vacuum system that is part of a vacuum sewage system. A vacuum valve controller includes a pressure sensor for converting a water level of sewage in a sewage pit into a pressure, a vacuum valve opening and closing mechanism for opening and closing the vacuum valve according to a variation of the pressure detected by the pressure sensor, an open-state holding mechanism for holding the vacuum valve open until air is drawn in through the suction pipe after sewage is drawn in through a suction pipe, and a pressure transmitting mechanism for transmitting a pressure upstream of the vacuum valve in the suction pipe to the open-state holding mechanism to detect when air is drawn in through the suction pipe.

Abstract: There is provided an image forming apparatus that enables the formation of high-quality multi-level images by ensuring that the size of blocks into which the image is to be divided is specified in accordance with the resolution of the image to be recorded. The apparatus divides input image gradation level data into a plurality of blocks and performs graduated recording by converting the divided image gradation level data into multi-level recording data in accordance with gradation conversion characteristics determined as keyed to relative positions in each of the blocks; the blocks are typically set to a size satisfying the following relation: (55/n)<X/p<(65/n), provided p is an integral multiple of 10; where X is the resolution of the image to be recorded in a given direction and expressed in dpi, p is the length of each block in said given direction and expressed in dots, and n is a natural number.

Abstract: A flash fixing apparatus effectively collect vapor gas produced at the time of fixation while fixing a toner image of medium by means off flashlight. In the flash fixation unit, vapor gas produced in flash fixation flows toward the medium transportation direction. Utilizing this phenomenon, a gas suction face is provided in a gas collector so as to receive the vapor gas flowing toward the medium transportation direction. Otherwise, a gas blast portion is provided at the rear stage of the gas collector. The vapor gas flows to the gas suction face naturally, bringing about improved gas collection efficiency.

Abstract: It is one objective of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus that increases the printing stability for a highlighted portion, and that can form a high quality image without causing a barrier due to the application of excessive energy to a shadow portion. In an image forming apparatus that, when gray level image data are input, divides the data into a plurality of blocks and, for gray level recording, converts the gray level image data into multi-valued data, in accordance with a gray level transformation characteristic determined in accordance with relative pixel positions in each of the blocks, the gray level transformation characteristic is so set that B<0.

Abstract: The present invention provides a carbon heating element having an arbitrary specific resistance and an arbitrary shape which are arbitrary necessary as a heating element, and a method of producing the same. The carbon heating element is obtained by uniformly dispersing one or at least two metal or metalloid compounds into a composition having shapability and showing a high yield of a carbon residue after firing, shaping the dispersed material-containing mixture thus obtained, and firing the shaped material under a nonoxidizing atmosphere.