Abstract: A metronome ticking the takt for performance especially with moving tempo, and having display looks like conductor's baton so that watcher can precisely predict takt timing to catch up the moving tempo. It has tapping button to record all the takt duration time data on memory. With the data on memory all the tact can be reproduced. Partial modification of takt duration time is also possible by tapping. Dedicated device uses vertically placed light emitting element array. Emitting point moves like ball thrown upward. Bound timing is takt timing. The metronome opens new way to produce music minus one or karaoke media.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus, a sheet discharging device and method of controlling the sheet discharging device are disclosed. They require no instructions from users and no recording materials for initial setting of a staple when the users exchange a staple cartridge.

Abstract: A gear transmission permits an increased flexibility in the layout of shift gears and reduces the axial size of the transmission by providing an engaging portion on a specific one of the shift gears. The gear transmission includes a main shaft having drive gears, a countershaft having driven gears adapted to be respectively driven by the drive gears to set predetermined shift positions, and shifters engageable with specific gears of the drive gears and the driven gears. The specific gears respectively have engaging portions for engaging the shifters, whereby the main shaft rotationally drives the countershaft through any one of the shifters and any one of the specific gears at any one of the predetermined shift positions. Of the engaging portions, the outer diameter of the engaging portion is larger than the outer diameter of a toothed portion of the drive gear as one of the specific gears.

Abstract: To provide a process for producing a fluorocarbon film, which is capable of constantly forming a fluorocarbon film excellent in durability and functionality. The process for producing a fluorocarbon film of the present invention is a process for producing a fluorocarbon film at least a part of which is chemically bonded to a substrate surface, and is characterized by conducting, in sequence, step (a) for applying plasma to a substrate surface in a continuous or pulse manner to form active points on the substrate surface and step (b) for applying plasma to the substrate surface in a continuous or pulse manner in the presence of a gas of a fluorocompound represented by the formula CxFy and/or CxFyOz under such a condition that active species impinge on the substrate surface at a relatively lower collision energy than in step (a).

Abstract: To provide: a very thin elliptically polarizing plate having broadband and wide viewing angle; a simple method of producing the same; and an image display apparatus employing the elliptically polarizing plate. The elliptically polarizing plate of the present invention includes a polarizer, a protective layer formed on one side of the polarizer, a first birefringent layer serving as a ?/2 plate, and a second birefringent layer serving as a ?/4 plate. In the elliptically polarizing plate, the first birefringent layer and the second birefringent layer are each formed by using a liquid crystal material. Preferably, the first birefringent layer has a thickness of 0.5 to 5 ?m and the second birefringent layer has a thickness of 0.3 to 3 ?m.

Abstract: An image editing apparatus edits on an image editing screen a printing image to be printed on a printing medium. The printing image is arranged by a plurality of translated terms of at least one term represented by a plurality of languages. The apparatus stores therein plural sets of the plurality of translated terms, selects one set of the translated terms out of the plural sets of the translated terms, displays on the image editing screen the selected one set of the translated terms as a printing block, where addition and deletion of a letter are prohibited, on a translated term-by-translated term basis, and designates an editing input position of the printing block on the image editing screen.

Abstract: A gate driver circuit of a voltage drive type power semiconductor switching device capable of speeding up di/dt and dv/dt even during large-current driving to thereby reduce the switching loss is disclosed. This power semiconductor switching device gate driving circuit includes a drive circuit which applies a drive signal to the gate electrode of the power semiconductor switching device and a measurement unit for measuring a flow current of the power semiconductor switching device. Based on a detected value of the flow current of the power semiconductor switching device, the gate is made variable in mirror voltage thereof.

Abstract: A transmission for a vehicle is provided which prevents generation of a speed change shock at the time of starting the vehicle from a neutral condition. In the transmission, hydraulic clutches are each put into a connected state according to an action of an oil pressure, and a plurality of selectively engageable speed-stage gear trains are provided so that a neutral condition can be obtained. At the time of shifting from the neutral condition, where the oil pressures in hydraulic clutches are in a lowered state, to a starting condition in which a starting gear train is engaged, pressure in the hydraulic clutch corresponding to the starting gear train is controlled by a control valve, so that the oil pressure in the hydraulic clutch is maintained in the lowered state during and immediately after a shifting operation, and is subsequently increased in response to complete engagement of the starting gear train.

Abstract: When it accepts an input sentence, the present apparatus divides the input sentence into substrings through morpheme analysis and obtains a candidate word group for translation of the substrings from a machine translation dictionary. It then obtains information on occurrence of each candidate word in the candidate word group within a bilingual example sentence database and calculates their priorities based on the occurrence information. Then, it grants priority as translation to each of the candidate words to generate a prioritized candidate word group and sorts the candidate words in descending order of priority for output.

Abstract: A 5-aminolevulinic acid salt which is useful in fields of microorganisms, fermentation, animals, medicaments, plants and the like; a process for producing the same; a medical composition comprising the same; and a plant activator composition comprising the same.

Abstract: A translator support device consists of a display device, an input device, and a main body to which these devices are connected. The main body has a CPU, a DRAM, a MD, and a HDD built-in. A translator support software is installed in the HDD. The translator support software consists of a program group and a data group that operate a computer as a device to support a translator. The translator support software includes a machine translation module, a dictionary database, a translation-memory-retrieval module, and a translation example database. When a translated phrase displayed on the display device is corrected, the translator support device retrieves units that include the correction portion from the database, reflects the correction to each of all the retrieved units.

Abstract: An asymmetrical flat antenna contains an insulation layer. The antenna also contains a conductive power supply pattern that is provided on the insulation layer and a conductive antenna pattern that extends from the power supply pattern and is provided on the insulation layer. The conductive antenna pattern has an asymmetrical configuration with respect to the power supply pattern.

Abstract: A damage detection system including: a optical fiber sensor including a core portion to have a grating portion formed therein, the grating portion having gratings reflecting light, wherein a wavelength band of the reflected light changes when a distance between adjacent gratings changes; a light source to input broadband light into the core portion; two optical filters connected to an output end of the sensor; and an apparatus to perform arithmetic processing on output values of the optical filters, wherein each passband of the optical filters overlaps with the vibration range of the wavelength band, in which a center wavelength of one of the passbands is fixed to an upper area of a vibration center of a center wavelength of the reflected light and that of the other of the passbands is fixed to a lower area thereof.

Abstract: A method of growing a group III nitride crystal grows a group III nitride crystal from a solution in which an alkaline metal, a group III metal and nitrogen are dissolved, and includes, in the solution, a material which increases solubility of the nitrogen into the solution.

Abstract: An optical element and a manufacturing method therefor, an exposure apparatus, and a device manufacturing method that can reduce the effect of intrinsic birefringence under high NA conditions. According to an optical element as one aspect of the present invention, an angle between a [0 0 1] axis of an isometric crystal and an optical axis is less than 10°, and preferably 0°.

Abstract: A vehicle backward movement assist device includes an image capturing means for capturing an image of an outside area in back of a vehicle, a parking mode judging means for judging whether a parking mode by reversing of the vehicle is a back-in parking or a parallel parking, a target parking position inputting means for setting a target parking position where the vehicle is parked based on the parking mode determined by the parking mode judging means, and a displaying means for displaying the image captured by the image capturing means and superimposedly displaying the target parking position set by the target parking position inputting means on the captured image so as to guide the vehicle to the target parking position.

Abstract: A shortest cut duration is a minimum required period between an edit point set on a stream of pictures such as an MPEG stream and the next edit point set on the stream. Restrictions are made on the shortest cut duration lenient in a process to seamlessly reproduce a result of editing the stream in order to enhance the freedom of editing in carrying out a process of editing the stream. A controller detects each edit point set on the stream and, for the edit point, the controller identifies fewest possible pictures, which are not to be displayed but must be decoded first before decoding a picture to be displayed after the edit point. Then, the controller finds a start point representing a timing to start a process of decoding the one or fewest possible pictures. Subsequently, the controller controls processes carried out by decoders to decode the stream in picture units on the basis of the start point, and controls a switcher to select one of outputs of the decoders on the basis of the edit point.

Abstract: A chain-driving mechanism and a conveyor apparatus of the present invention include a plurality of rollers (20) arranged to convey to-be-conveyed objects, a driving mechanism that drives the rollers (20) in conjunction with each other, and a motor (80) that exerts a driving force onto the driving mechanism. The driving mechanism includes a plurality of sprockets (40) that rotate coaxially with and together with the rollers (20), an endless chain (50) wound onto the sprockets (40), and a chain guide (60, 61, 62) disposed adjacent to the chain (50) so as to sandwich the chain (50) from the outside in the upward and downward directions. With this structure, there is no need to adjust the stretch of the chain, and the chain can be prevented from slipping off. Additionally, the structure can be made simpler, and costs can be made smaller.

Abstract: In a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery having a positive electrode containing a positive electrode active material, a negative electrode containing a negative electrode active material, and a nonaqueous electrolyte, as the positive electrode active material or as the negative electrode active material, a mixture containing molybdenum dioxide and lithium titanate in a weight ratio (molybdenum dioxide:lithium titanate) of 90:10 to 50:50 is used.

Abstract: A secure hardware comprises a secure pipe, a secure DMA, a secure assist and a secure bus, which connects between those blocks. The secure pipe stores a common encryption key in an encryption key table so as not to be able to access from software. The secure DMA comprises a data common key system process function and a hashing process function. The secure assist comprises a common key system process function and an authentication process function, receives an issued command from a program executed by the processor core via a public IF, and performs setting/control of the secure pipe and the secure DMA via the secure bus.