Abstract: It is an object of the invention to provide a vision regeneration assisting apparatus capable of assisting in vision regeneration without making a system structure complicated.

Abstract: An object of the invention is to provide an intraocular implant-type vision stimulating unit which is capable of outputting a bipolar pulse signal in a simple constitution, and is highly sensitive, compact, and low power consumptive.

Abstract: To make the thickness of an interlevel insulating film uniform and suppress variations in output signal, in a photoelectric conversion element including a plurality of photoelectric conversion portions, and light-shielding units having openings formed above the photoelectric conversion portions, the light-shielding units have first light-shielding layers, and second light-shielding layers formed on the first light-shielding layers via an interlevel insulating film. The first light-shielding layers have gaps (GP) for allowing two adjacent openings (OP) to communicate with each other. The second light-shielding layers have light-shielding portions (12a) above the gaps of the first light-shielding layers.

Abstract: An active substance treating method is characterized in that an active substance is caused to react with an inactivating substance in an exhaust system for a thin film forming apparatus. A thin film forming apparatus includes a common chamber having a region where plasma CVD is carried out and a region where thermal CVD is carried out, a device provided in the chamber for pressing a substrate onto a holder, a lamp for illuminating light having a component of a wavelength of 1 .mu.m or above to heat the substrate, an introducing port for separately introducing two active substances to a vicinity of the substrate, a vaporizing device in which at least two bubblers are series-connected to vaporize the active substances, and an exhaust system which is divided into two systems each of which has a heater and which has a port for introducing an inactivating substance into an exhaust pump.

Abstract: A semiconductor device is constructed to have an insulating layer containing an impurity provided upon a semiconductor substrate. This insulating layer contains a plurality of windows of different sizes. A first layer is provided in the windows. This first layer does not extend over a periphery of the windows to the surface of the insulating layer. Further, this semiconductor device is constructed such that the surface of the insulating layer and the first layer opposite the semiconductor substrate are flat. In addition, the semiconductor substrate in contact with the first layer also contains the impurity. The semiconductor device, having less surface unevenness that a conventional device, provides both improved and greater stability of device properties.

Abstract: A field sequential image pickup apparatus which prevents misregistration in color pictures with respect to a visible freeze image and improves the S/N of an infrared image with respect to a movement of an object of observation. R (red), G (green), B (blue) and infrared light beams are sequentially projected from a color disk provided with filters for visible light and a filter for infrared light, and a CCD sequentially generates R, G, B picture signals and infrared picture signals. A movement detection circuit detects a movement in the object from the picture signals. When there is a movement, a freeze operation is inhibited with respect to a visible image, while executing it when there is no movement. With respect to an infrared image, a noise reducing operation is suppressed when there is a movement, while fully executing it when there is no movement.

Abstract: A process for preparing a semiconductor device, in which a polycrystalline silicon film is formed on a monocrystalline semiconductor substrate and arsenic or phosphorus is injected as an impurity into the polycrystalline silicon film by an ion-injection method to make the polycrystalline silicon film an amorphous layer. The amorphous layer is heat-treated at a temperature of 600.degree. C. to 650.degree. C. to recrystallize the amorphous layer, thus forming a recrystallized layer having a grain size greater than that of the polycrystalline silicon film by solid phase growth. The recrystallized layer is heat-treated at a temperature of 800.degree. C. to 900.degree. C. to diffuse the impurity into the monocrystalline semiconductor substrate.

Abstract: An active substance treating method is characterized in that an active substance is caused to react with an inactivating substance in an exhaust system for a thin film forming apparatus. A thin film forming apparatus includes a common chamber having a region where plasma CVD is carried out and a region where thermal CVD is carried out, a device provided in the chamber for pressing a substrate onto a holder, a lamp for illuminating light having a component of a wavelength of 1 .mu.m or above to heat the substrate, an introducing port for separately introducing two active substances to a vicinity of the substrate, a vaporizing device in which at least two bubblers are series-connected to vaporize the active substances, and an exhaust system which is divided into two systems each of which has a heater and which has a port for introducing an inactivating substance into an exhaust pump.

Abstract: A process for preparing a semiconductor device forms an insulating thin film capable of tunnelling phenomenon of carriers on a semiconductor substrate and forms a polycrystalline semiconductor layer on the thin film. An impurity is injected to the surface of the polycrystalline semiconductor layer, the diffusion coefficient to the thin film being smaller than that to the polycrystalline semiconductor layer. The process effects a first heat treatment at a temperature of 800.degree. C. or less to diffuse the impurity injected into the polycrystalline semiconductor layer in the polycrystalline semiconductor layer, thereby forming a uniform or substantially uniform impurity containing region at least at the thin film side of the polycrystalline semiconductor layer, and, effects a second heat treatment the temperature of which is 950.degree. C.

Abstract: A semiconductor device is provided having a first semiconductor region comprising an n-type semiconductor and a second semiconductor region of an n-type semiconductor having a higher resistivity than the first semiconductor region. An insulation film is provided adjacent to the semiconductor region having an aperture therein, and an electrode region is provided in the aperture. A third semiconductor region comprising a p-type semiconductor is provided at a junction between the insulation film and the electrode region. The electrode comprises a monocrystalline metal and constitutes a Schottky junction with the semiconductor region. An ohmic electrode comprising aluminum is arranged on the electrode region.

Abstract: An electronic endoscope system which picks up images by colors sequentially in a field sequential method, simultaneously converts the field sequential image signals obtained thereby, and reproduces the images as color images. The electronic endoscope system sample checks at every given cycle whether an image being currently picked up is a still picture image or a moving picture image. In the electronic endoscope system, the field sequential image signals are simultaneously. Each time the currently picked-up image is found as a still image, the storage contents of the memory means are updated to the latest field sequential image signals. Due to this, the memories can always store the latest field sequential image signals with no color discrepancies, e.g. shift. If a freeze instruction is input, then the updating of the storage content of the memories is immediately inhibited, so that the latest still image signals having no color discrepancies can be obtained from the memories.

Abstract: An electronic endoscope, having an electronic circuitry arranged to apply output signals of a solid-state image sensor to a processor, to store sequentially obtained picture data of a subject in an image memory means after predetermined signal processing, and to read out a plural number of picture data from the image memory means to produce simultaneous video signal, while providing a still image memory means parallel with the image memory means, along with a switch means for selectively supplying the signals from the image memory means or from the still image memory means as output signals.

Abstract: A process for preparing a semiconductor device comprises exposing at least a part of the main surface of a semiconductor substrate, forming a layer comprising the same main component as the above substrate, forming a flattening agent layer on the surface of said layer, removing the above layer and the flattening agent layer at the same time and injecting an impurity after said removing step.

Abstract: A muffler cooling device for a V-type engine which includes an engine cooling fan disposed at an end of a crankshaft. An air guide plate is provided at a part of a duct through which air sucked by the cooling fan flows, and the duct has at least one opening through which the air flows as being guided by the air guide plate. The arrangement is such that the air having flown through the opening is led, through a space surrounded by a V-bank formed by cylinder heads and an intake manifold, to an area in which a muffler and exhaust pipes extending from the cylinder heads to the muffler are arranged.

Abstract: An oil relief valve for lubrication systems for internal combustion engines comprising a valve body having a hollow cylindrical shape, a valve seat provided at a bottom end of the valve body, a valve plug placed in the seat, a port bored in the seat to bring the oil relief valve into fluid communication with a lubrication line which supplies oil from an oil pump to various engine parts to be lubricated, a spring mounted on top of the valve plug and adapted to urge the plug against the seat to close the port, and slits cut in the valve body and provided to bring the valve in fluid communication with an oil pan. The spring has a free length smaller than the distance of the space defined between the valve plug and the top end of the valve body.

Abstract: A two-cylinder engine comprises a first cylinder and a second cylinder adapted to perform explosions at such timing that an interval from explosion in the first cylinder to explosion in the second cylinder becomes shorter than an interval from the explosion in the second cylinder to the explosion in the first cylinder, a single carburetor, and an intake manifold having an intake passage communicating with the carburetor and first and second branch passages branched from the intake passage and communicating with the respective cylinders. The intake passage and the branch passages are arranged such that an angle formed between an axis of the intake passage and an axis of the first branch passage becomes smaller than an angle formed between the axis of the intake passage and an axis of the second branch passage.

Abstract: In a moving body tracking apparatus having a moving body recognition circuit and TV camera, the moving body recognition circuit includes: a contour signal generator for producing a first contour signal indicative of contour of an image defined by at least one field, a second contour signal subsequent to the first contour signal, and a third contour signal subsequent to the second contour signal, a first and a second memory for temporarily storing, respectively the first and the second contour signals; contour line width increasing circuit responsive to the first and second memory for increasing the width of contour line represented by output signals of the first and second memory; and comparator responsive to the third contour signal and output signal from the contour line width increasing circuit for producing an output signal when a contour line represented by the third contour signal is out of phase with a contour line represented by the output signal from the contour line width increasing circuit.

Abstract: In a video signal processing apparatus, a contour signal of a moving object is separated from static background video image signals. The video signal photographed by a television camera is converted into a binary contour signal. One converted signal obtained at a certain time and another converted signal obtained at another time are processed to extract a contour signal of the moving object. The extracted contour signal of the moving object is supplied to a circuit which controls panning and/or tilting of the television camera.

Abstract: A video signal which is provided up by a conventional video camera is converted into a digital signal, and a necessary part of the digital signal is selected, is memorized and is displayed, and furthermore, two video images are picked up by two video cameras are connected in the shape of video signal side by side, and if necessary, disposition of one or both of the two video images are reversed in the horizontal direction.