Abstract: This invention relates to a sintered body of conductive sialon and a heater element made of this sintered body. They are relieved from damage by partial expansion without any adverse effect on mechanical strength and electrical properties. According to this invention, the thickness of the oxidation layer in the sintered bodies is controlled. Thus the sintered body of sialon pertaining to this invention is formed by sintering a mixture composed of a base mixture containing Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 (major constituent), a small amount of AlN (polytype), and less than 5 wt % of Y.sub.2 O.sub.3, and a small amount of Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 and 23-70 vol % (based on the base mixture) of at least one kind of Ti carbide, Ti nitride, and Ti carbonitride.

Abstract: A diesel engine glow plug having an elongated hollow electrically conductive holder, which holds a rod-like ceramic heater at one end thereof such that one end of the heater extends outside the holder. An external connecting terminal is positioned in the other end of the hollow holder and electrically insulated from the hollow holder. The ceramic heater is a U-shaped heating element with a pair of parallel lead portions made of a resistive ceramic material extending backward from both ends of the U-shaped heating element and arranged such that the outer surfaces of the lead portions are held by the distal end of the holder through electrical insulating layers between the inner surface of the holder and the outer surface of the lead portions.

Abstract: A glow plug for a diesel engine includes a hollow holder, and a ceramic heater made of SiAlON extending through a distal end portion of the hollow holder and held by it. The ceramic heater is provided with a U-shaped heating element and a pair of lead portions extending backward from both ends of the U-shaped heating element and parallel to each other. The heating element and the pair of lead portions are integrally made of a resistive ceramic material. One of the lead portions is coupled to one end of an electrically conducting flexible wire, the other end of the wire being coupled to an external connecting terminal. A ration .epsilon.(.dbd.SH/SL) of cross-sectional areas SH of the U-shaped heating element to cross-section areas SL of the lead portions falls within the range of 0.15.ltoreq..epsilon..gtoreq.0.6.

Abstract: A method for setting up density values of highlight and shadow points of original pictures to a picture reproducing machine such as a color scanner and a color facsimile, wherein one of the original pictures now being scanned is discriminated to output a discrimination signal, and wherein the highlight and the shadow point density values or values corresponding to a density range of the one original picture are read out of a memory in which the highlight and the shadow point density values or the values corresponding to the density ranges of the original pictures are stored, by addressing the memory by means of the discrimination signal, and then are set up to the picture reproducing machine.

Abstract: In a mold to be hardened by a CO.sub.2 gas, a mold binder material comprising a combination of polymers containing carboxyl groups, at least one of multi-valent metal oxides and multi-valent metal hydroxides, and resins of polyvinyl alcohol group, and at least one of sodium salt of gluconic acid and polyhydric alcohols or a mold binder material comprising a combination of polymers having carboxyl groups, at least one of multi-valent metal oxides and multi-valent metal hydroxides, and at least one of sodium salt of gluconic acid and polyhydric alcohols is provided.

Abstract: An aperture plate for use in the exposure head of a picture scanning reproducer which constructs an image by exposure of a film attached to a rotating drum in scanning mode, the aperture of which plate has a shape incorporating parallel lines and end portions consisting of twin lines opening up away from a cusp, which in some embodiments may be exponential curves, whereby overlap effects in the constructed image are substantially eliminated.

Abstract: A picture scanner using a light beam which has first passed through a mask plate to scan a picture fixed to a revolving cylinder is provided with a system for adjusting the transverse position of the light source, consisting of a mirror which can be pivoted into the path of the light beam, a screen on which an image of the light source and an image of the mask plate can be simultaneously projected, and means for focusing both these images into the same plane.