Abstract: A measuring apparatus comprising: a reference member held in fixed position and orientation with respect to a workpiece during measurement; a stylus for scanning a surface of the workpiece while being displaced upward and downward in accordance with unevenness of the surface of the workpiece; a displacement gauge for measuring a displacement of a specific part of the stylus relative to the reference member; and a scanner for causing the stylus to scan the workpiece along the surface; wherein the fixed position and orientation of the reference member with respect to the workpiece are not changed even during the operation of the scanner; the up-and-down displacement of the specific part of the stylus is measured relative to the reference member; a fine shape of the workpiece is detected in accordance with the measured displacement of the specific part of the stylus.

Abstract: A shape measuring apparatus includes a probe for scanning across a surface to be measured, while vibrating up and down; a minute-vibration generation section for vibrating the probe up and down; a vertical movement control section for moving the probe up and down to keep a constant contact force or a constant distance between the surface to be measured and the probe; a scanning section for scanning the surface to be measured with the probe; a displacement sensor for measuring the vertical displacement of the probe and outputting a probe displacement signal; and a signal processing section for obtaining information about the contact force or the distance between the surface to be measured and the probe from a high-frequency component of the probe displacement signal, and for obtaining information about profile of the surface to be measured from a low-frequency component of the signal obtained when the surface to be measured is scanned such that the distance or the contact force is kept constant.

Abstract: A measuring apparatus comprising: a reference member held in fixed position and orientation with respect to a workpiece during measurement; a stylus for scanning a surface of the workpiece while being displaced upward and downward in accordance with unevenness of the surface of the workpiece; a displacement gauge for measuring a displacement of a specific part of the stylus relative to the reference member; and a scanner for causing the stylus to scan the workpiece along the surface; wherein the fixed position and orientation of the reference member with respect to the workpiece are not changed even during the operation of the scanner; the up-and-down displacement of the specific part of the stylus is measured relative to the reference member; a fine shape of the workpiece is detected in accordance with the measured displacement of the specific part of the stylus.

Abstract: A company information disclosure system quickly discloses information about companies listed in a securities exchange with fairness and in an adequate time to enhance the trading of the securities. A transmission server stores a registration program which registers company information while a disclosure time determining program produces a table required for disclosing processes at the time of registration of the company information. The disclosure time determining program uses the registration program by setting the company information disclosure time to be a time determined by adding a predetermined time to a closing time of trading in the securities exchange. A satellite distribution program distributes company information by way of satellite and a server distribution program distributes company information using a terrestrial line.

Abstract: A reseat system of a touch signal probe includes a fixed component, a movable component, a pair of hard balls provided on the fixed component, a cylindrical body provided on the movable component for abutting the hard balls, and a piezoelectric element for relatively sliding the hard balls and the cylindrical body. Since an outer circumference of the cylindrical body has conic shape, both a contact point on the cylindrical body and a contact point on a hard ball change position thereof during relative slide movement.

Abstract: A reseat system capable of restraining reseat shift in returning from escape movement and thus capable of obtaining reseat return accuracy without adding separate mechanism is provided. A locus drawn by a tip of a stylus when the stylus moves parallel to an axis thereof at a rest position while a hard ball on a fixed component is in contact with a cylindrical body on a movable-component having the stylus is inclined in a direction of a biasing force. When a pressing force is applied to the movable component, since a reaction force against the pressing force is generated at a contact point of the cylindrical body and the hard ball, reseat shift of the movable component can be restrained.

Abstract: An inside of a U-shaped frame of a micrometer is made of a material having a smaller linear thermal expansion coefficient than an outside of the U-shaped configuration. Furthermore, a spindle can be made of a material having an extremely small linear thermal expansion coefficient. Accordingly, thermal deformation of the micrometer can be made smaller, and measurement accuracy is maintained even under a widely changing temperature.