Abstract: Conventional dispersion compensators were not sufficient to satisfy a demand to set a different dispersion value for each WDM wavelength in a ring-mesh type network that utilizes wavelength selective switches or the like. The devices were insufficiently reduced in size and power consumption and used with difficulty to change dispersion characteristics for each wavelength flexibly in a simple manner. A dispersion compensator of the present invention uses general-purpose optical components including a spatial light modulator for providing discrete phases to set appropriately the relationship between the focusing beam radius and the spatial light modulator pixel, thereby providing various dispersion compensation characteristics.

Abstract: A blood pressure measuring apparatus includes a cuff which is attached to and around an external ear; a first pulse wave detector and a second pulse wave detector which detect a pulse wave in a part squeezed by the cuff and which are affected differently from each other by a characteristic of body movements; a body movement detecting means which detects the characteristic of body movements; a pulse wave selecting means which selects a pulse wave detected by one of the first pulse wave detector and the second pulse wave detector based on the characteristic of body movements detected by the body movement detecting means; and a blood pressure value deriving means which derives a blood pressure value based on the pulse wave selected by the pulse wave selecting means.

Abstract: In a conventional optical signal processing device, a confocal optical system is configured in which a focusing lens is positioned at a substantially-intermediate point of a free space optical path. Thus, the free space optical system had a long length. It has been difficult to reduce the size of the entire device. The optical signal processing device of the present invention uses a lens layout configuration different from the confocal optical system to thereby significantly reduce the length of the system. The optical signal processing device consists of the first focusing lens positioned in the close vicinity of a signal processing device, and the second focusing lens positioned in the vicinity of a dispersing element. A distance between the dispersing element and the signal processing device is approximately a focal length of the first focusing lens. Compared with the conventional technique, the length of the optical path can be halved.

Abstract: In a nest MZI modulator in which each arm includes a child MZI, the power consumption is reduced. The hybrid integrated-type nest MZI modulator of the embodiment 1a is configured so that, instead of placing a relative phase adjusting section in a parent MZI, a bias electrode Bias 90° in which an electric field is applied in the same direction to the polarization direction in both of the upper and lower arms is placed in each child MZI (see FIG. 4B). The bias electrode Bias 90° provided in each child MZI constitute the entirety of a relative phase adjusting section. The optical signals are subjected to a phase change after the output from the child MZI (see FIG. 1A), because such relative phase adjusting section can subject the optical signals of the upper and lower arms of the child MZI to a shift change in the same direction, respectively.

Abstract: An electrode for a lithium secondary battery including a sheet-like current collector and an active material layer carried on the current collector. The active material layer is capable of absorbing and desorbing lithium, and the active material layer includes a plurality of columnar particles having at least one bend. An angle ?1 formed by a growth direction of the columnar particles from a bottom to a first bend of the columnar particles, and a direction normal to the current collector is preferably 10° or more and less than 90°. When ?n+1 is an angle formed by a growth direction of the columnar particles from an n-th bend counted from a bottom of the columnar particles to an (n+1)-th bend, and the direction normal to the current collector, and n is an integer of 1 or more, ?n+1 is preferably 0° or more and less than 90°.

Abstract: In order to enhance charge and discharge efficiency and to improve cycle characteristics by increasing a facing area between a positive electrode active material and a negative electrode active material, in a negative electrode for lithium secondary battery having a current collector and an active material layer carried on the current collector, the active material layer includes a plurality of columnar particles. The columnar particles include an element of silicon, and are tilted toward the normal direction of the current collector. Angle ? formed between the columnar particles and the normal direction of the current collector is preferably 10°??<90°.

Abstract: In order to enhance charge and discharge efficiency and to improve cycle characteristics by increasing a facing area between a positive electrode active material and a negative electrode active material, in a negative electrode for lithium secondary battery having a current collector and an active material layer carried on the current collector, the active material layer includes a plurality of columnar particles. The columnar particles include an element of silicon, and are tilted toward the normal direction of the current collector. Angle ? formed between the columnar particles and the normal direction of the current collector is preferably 10°??<90°.

Abstract: In measurement requiring application of pressure to a tissue of a living body such as blood pressure measurement, noise due to vibration tends to occur. It is therefore difficult to accurately measure a pulse wave and a blood pressure value, and there is a problem of measuring blood pressure stably. It is also difficult to measure blood pressure in daily life activities or to measure blood pressure at predetermined intervals or continuously in a state where a tonometer is always attached. There is consequently a problem of providing a method of holding a biologic information detecting apparatus. The present invention has been achieved to solve the problems and an object of the invention is to provide an easy-to-wear biologic information detecting apparatus for stably detecting biologic information.

Abstract: In measurement requiring application of pressure to a tissue of a living body such as blood pressure measurement, noise due to vibration tends to occur. It is therefore difficult to accurately measure a pulse wave and a blood pressure value, and there is a problem of measuring blood pressure stably. It is also difficult to measure blood pressure in daily life activities or to measure blood pressure at predetermined intervals or continuously in a state where a tonometer is always attached. There is consequently a problem of providing a method of holding a biologic information detecting apparatus. The present invention has been achieved to solve the problems and an object of the invention is to provide an easy-to-wear biologic information detecting apparatus for stably detecting biologic information.

Abstract: In measurement requiring application of pressure to a tissue of a living body such as blood pressure measurement, noise due to vibration tends to occur. It is therefore difficult to accurately measure a pulse wave and a blood pressure value, and there is a problem of measuring blood pressure stably. It is also difficult to measure blood pressure in daily life activities or to measure blood pressure at predetermined intervals or continuously in a state where a tonometer is always attached. There is consequently a problem of providing a method of holding a biologic information detecting apparatus. The present invention has been achieved to solve the problems and an object of the invention is to provide an easy-to-wear biologic information detecting apparatus for stably detecting biologic information.

Abstract: In measurement requiring application of pressure to a tissue of a living body such as blood pressure measurement, noise due to vibration tends to occur. It is therefore difficult to accurately measure a pulse wave and a blood pressure value, and there is a problem of measuring blood pressure stably. It is also difficult to measure bloodpressure in daily life activities or to measure blood pressure at predetermined intervals or continuously in a state where a tonometer is always attached. There is consequently a problem of providing a method of holding a biologic information detecting apparatus. The present invention has been achieved to solve the problems and an object of the invention is to provide an easy-to-wear biologic information detecting apparatus for stably detecting biologic information.

Abstract: In measurement requiring application of pressure to a tissue of a living body such as blood pressure measurement, noise due to vibration tends to occur. It is therefore difficult to accurately measure a pulse wave and a blood pressure value, and there is a problem of measuring blood pressure stably. It is also difficult to measure blood pressure in daily life activities or to measure blood pressure at predetermined intervals or continuously in a state where a tonometer is always attached. There is consequently a problem of providing a method of holding a biologic information detecting apparatus. The present invention has been achieved to solve the problems and an object of the invention is to provide an easy-to-wear biologic information detecting apparatus for stably detecting biologic information.

Abstract: In a conventional optical signal processing device, a confocal optical system is configured in which a focusing lens is positioned at a substantially-intermediate point of a free space optical path. Thus, the free space optical system had a long length. It has been difficult to reduce the size of the entire device. The optical signal processing device of the present invention uses a lens layout configuration different from the confocal optical system to thereby significantly reduce the length of the system. The optical signal processing device consists of the first focusing lens positioned in the close vicinity of a signal processing device, and the second focusing lens positioned in the vicinity of a dispersing element. A distance between the dispersing element and the signal processing device is approximately a focal length of the first focusing lens. Compared with the conventional technique, the length of the optical path can be halved.

Abstract: An optical module controls its output characteristics electrically and an optical switch constitutes the optical module. An optical waveguide circuit (PLC) and an electronic circuit (IC) for driving the PLC are mounted on the same substrate. The IC is composed of a bare chip to be molded afterward. Wiring of the IC is grouped and integrated on the PLC substrate to achieve higher density and miniaturization of the optical module.

Abstract: A blood-pressure meter having storing means for storing a blood pressure measurement result, and time measurement means for measuring a time is disclosed. The blood-pressure meter includes: input means for entering behavior history; means for storing the blood pressure measurement result into the storing means while associating the blood pressure measurement result with a time when blood pressure measurement is performed; and means for storing the entered behavior history into the storing means while associating the behavior history with a time corresponding to the behavior history.

Abstract: A film formation method according to the present invention includes the step of forming a film of material powders 7 by introducing a carrier gas 5 to a first chamber 8 accommodating the material powders 7 intermittently and mixing the material powders 7 and the carrier gas 5 to generate a first aerosol, introducing the first aerosol to a second chamber 9 to generate a second aerosol, and jetting the second aerosol to a third chamber 13 to form a film of the material powders 7.

Abstract: A nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery according to the present invention includes: a negative-electrode current collector 16; a negative-electrode active material layer 15 provided on the negative-electrode current collector 16; a positive-electrode current collector 11; a positive-electrode active material layer 12 provided on a face of the positive-electrode current collector 11 opposing the negative-electrode active material layer 15; and at least one inorganic insulating layer 13 provided between the positive-electrode active material layer 12 and the negative-electrode active material layer 15, the at least one inorganic insulating layer 13 being composed of inorganic particles. The inorganic insulating layer 13 contains no binder.

Abstract: A conventional optical signal processing device had a disadvantage where the temperature dependency of the spectroscopic characteristics of a spectroscopic element causes a deteriorated performance. In order to solve the temperature dependency, there has been a method to form a plurality of grooves for dividing a core on the array waveguide of the AWG. However, this method cannot avoid an excess loss and causes a high manufacture cost. By directly controlling the modulation characteristic profile formed by an element device of a spatial light modulator, athermalization can be achieved in a simpler and low-cost manner. This consequently provides a remarkable reduction of the light coupling loss in the spatial optical system of the optical signal processing device. More accurate temperature compensation can be realized that copes with an actual behavior of the device to a temperature fluctuation, including causing factors of a complicated temperature fluctuation of the optical system.

Abstract: A cuff including a base composed of a non-elastic member. The cuff further including an elastic member provided on one surface of the base. The cuff also including an air supplying pipe, where a pressing surface of the elastic member swells only on the one surface by supplying air from the air supplying pipe.

Abstract: Conventionally, there has been a problem that a structure in which optical signals outputting from a substrate facet in a PLC are optically coupled to a different bulk type optical device is so complicated that its assembly is laborious. There also has been a problem that a structure in which an output facet of a PLC is polished with an angle results in an increase in coupling loss in free space optics. With a lens bonded to an angled facet of a PLC, an optical circuit of the present invention achieves an optical coupling, with low loss, to a bulk-type optical device or another PLC with a simple structure. Moreover, a lens part and an optical fiber part are respectively bonded to different core apertures exposed on a single angled facet. Thereby, optical signals can be inputted to and outputted from the PLC through the single facet.