Abstract: A fan assembly includes a plurality of rotor vanes, a motor rotating the rotor vanes with a center axis J1 as center, a plurality of stator vanes arranged in a passage of air flow generated by rotation of the rotor vanes, and a base portion including a plate-like portion and side circumferential wall. A radially inner end of the stator vane is connected to the side circumferential wall of the base portion, and a side opening is arranged in the side circumferential wall. The air flow generated by rotation of the rotor is guided along the stator vane and taken into the motor to cool of the heat generating source arranged therein.

Abstract: A system for supervising a battery that supplies power to an electrical unit includes a control part that is supplied with power from the battery and executes a predetermined process when abnormal discharge of the battery occurs; an activation part that detects current consumed in the battery when the electrical unit and the control part are in a sleep mode and activates the control part when the activation part detects abnormal discharge that occurs when an amount of the current consumed in the battery exceeds a given threshold value.

Abstract: It is possible to keep a diameter of an impeller and a cross sectional area of an air channel as large as possible while reducing a size of a centrifugal fan in a direction perpendicular to an axis. Thereby, it is possible to acquire characteristics of a high air volume and a high static pressure without lowering the efficiency. In the centrifugal fan, when the radial gap of the cross section in an air channel 10b is gradually enlarged from a clapper portion 10c toward an outlet 10d except for a specific region 10h, the cross inner sectional area of an air channel 10b is gradually enlarged from the clapper portion 10c toward the outlet 10d.

Abstract: A motor includes a heat dissipating structure. The motor may be used for a fan and includes on an upper surface of a circuit board a heat dissipating layer. The heat dissipating layer has a high thermal conductivity. The fan also includes a coil provided on the teeth of a stator core. The heat dissipating layer and the coil axially face each other, and thermal conductive members are arranged therebetween. An outer dimension of the circuit board is greater than that of an impeller cup so that a radially outward portion of the circuit board protrudes radially outwardly from the impeller cup. The heat generated by the coil is transferred to the heat dissipating layer via the thermal conductive members. Therefore, the heat is dissipated from a wide area, which efficiently dissipates heat from the fan. In addition, since the circuit board and the heat dissipating layer protrude radially into an air-flow generated by an impeller, the heat transferred to the heat dissipating layer is actively dissipated.

Abstract: A thrust plate for supporting a bottom end of a shaft in an axial direction is provided on a top surface of a bottom section of a bearing housing. An attracting magnet for attracting the shaft, which is made of a magnetic material, in the axial direction is provided below the thrust plate. A substantially cup shaped magnet holder is provided surrounding a periphery of the attracting magnet. The magnet holder retains the attracting magnet by a bottom section and a radial periphery surface of the attracting magnet. The magnet holder is integrally formed, by an insert molding, with the bottom section of the bearing housing.

Abstract: A centrifugal fan includes a cylindrical housing for housing an impeller, a motor for driving the impeller and a disk-like circuit board that are arranged coaxially in an accumulated manner. When the impeller rotates, air is taken in along the axial direction of the housing and goes out through an air outlet disposed in the circumference surface of the housing. A ring-like air inlet is disposed in a wall face on one side of the housing in the axial direction. An outer rim of the circuit board that is disposed inside the wall face is substantially within the inside edge of the air inlet, and a self-heating electronic component is mounted on the circuit board at the outer edge portion. A part of air taken in from the air inlet flows at a vicinity of the electronic component so that the electronic component is cooled.

Abstract: Autofocus device has a lens-driving unit that drives a lens and a focal-point-position-detecting unit that detects a position of a focal point of the lens. The device also has a distance-measuring sensor that measures a distance to a subject and a control unit that performs a focusing operation to control the lens-driving unit to drive the lens, thereby meeting the position of the focal point of the lens detected by the focal-point-position-detecting unit to an in-focus position thereof. The control unit allows to be set a driving direction of the lens and a driving speed of the lens based on the position of the focal point of the lens detected by the focal-point-position-detecting unit and a distance measurement result measured by the distance-measuring sensor. The focusing operation then starts.

Abstract: Autofocus device has a lens-driving unit, a focal-point-position-detecting unit, and a distance measurement sensor that measures a distance to a subject. The device also has a control unit for controlling the lens-driving unit to drive the lens, thereby meeting the detected position of the focal point of the lens to an in-focus position. If a restart condition has not yet been satisfied after meeting the position of the focal point to the in-focus position to stop the focus operation, the control unit determines a switch of focusing on subjects based on the detected position of the focal point and a measured distance result by the distance measurement sensor and then restarts the focus operation based on a determination result thereof, thereby driving the lens to meet the position of the focal point to an in-focus position based on a measured distance result by the distance measurement sensor.

Abstract: A control apparatus for controlling a driver driving an optical element of an image pickup device to adjust a focus position of the image pickup device in the capturing of an image of a subject, includes a local peak comparing unit for comparing a local peak of an assessment value, as a parameter for adjusting the focus position, with a local peak of an integrated luminance value, the assessment value assessing an out-of-focus level of the captured image of the subject on a per field image basis, and the integrated luminance value being obtained by integrating a luminance value of the captured image of the subject on a per field image basis, and a mode selecting unit for selecting, from among a plurality of prepared modes, a mode searching for a peak over the entire range of the assessment value based on the comparison result provided by the local peak comparing unit.

Abstract: Autofocus device has a lens-driving unit, a focal-point-position-detecting unit that detects a position of a focal point of the lens, and a distance measurement sensor. The sensor measures a distance to a subject based on a reference field of view for distance measurement and a field of view for distance measurement being offset outwardly from the reference field of view and/or a field of view for distance measurement having a field of view that is different from the reference field of view. The device has a control unit that controls the lens-driving unit to drive the lens to meet the position of the focal point of the lens to an in-focus position thereof. The focusing operation starts by setting the lens drive based on a representative value selected from measured distance results obtained by the distance measurement sensor and the position of the focal point of the lens.

Abstract: A control apparatus for controlling a driver driving an optical element of an image pickup device to adjust a focus position of the image pickup device in the capturing of an image of a subject, includes a focus position control process startup unit for managing a startup of a focus position control process, a focus position control process executing unit for executing the focus position control process that is started under the control of the focus position control process startup unit, and a startup condition adjusting unit for adjusting a startup condition of the focus position control process, based on a change in a saturated luminance count contained in the image captured in the focus position control process.

Abstract: Autofocus device has a lens-driving unit, a focal-point-position-detecting unit that detects a position of a focal point of the lens, a distance measurement sensor that measures a distance to a subject, and a focus-evaluation-value-calculating unit that calculates a focus evaluation value using a frequency component of an image signal in a particular region in an imaging frame. The device also has a user interface and a control unit that controls the lens-driving unit to drive the lens based on the focus evaluation value or the focus evaluation value, the position of a focal point of the lens, and a measured distance result measured by the distance measurement sensor, thereby meeting the position of the focal point to an in-focus position. The control unit controls the lens-driving unit, the distance measurement sensor and the focus-evaluation-value-calculating unit based on the autofocus contents set by the user interface.

Abstract: A control apparatus for controlling a driver driving an optical element of an image pickup device to adjust a focus position of the image pickup device in the capturing of an image of a subject, includes a relative angle variation calculating unit for calculating a relative angle variation, a mode change detecting unit for detecting of a change of a mode of the relative angle variation through determining whether the mode of the relative angle variation, calculated by the relative angle variation calculating unit, is a stable mode involving a small amount of change or an unstable mode involving a large amount of change, and a focus position control process startup unit for managing a startup of a focus position control process controlling the focus position through controlling the driver in response to a pattern of the change of the mode detected by the mode change detecting unit.

Abstract: A case that is used for an electronic or electric device has an opening portion arranged at a vicinity of a fan motor that generates airflow inside and outside the case. The opening portion has a protection portion for preventing a finger or other matters from entering the fan motor. The protection portion includes a first rib group extending linearly in a lateral direction, a second rib group extending linearly in a second direction vertical direction. Each of the ribs has an inclined surface that is along a direction of the airflow exhausted from the fan motor and faces the inside or the outside of the opening portion.

Abstract: An inputted video audio signal is temporarily memorized in a video and audio memorizing section 310. Auxiliary information appended to the video audio signal is temporarily memorized in an auxiliary information memorizing section 320. A memory control device 620 controls write and read operations of the video audio signal with respect to the video and audio memorizing section 310 and write and read operations of the auxiliary information with respect to the auxiliary information memorizing section 320. The video audio signal read from the video and audio memorizing section 310 and the auxiliary information read from the auxiliary information memorizing section 320 are sequentially recorded on a recording medium 500 by a recording device 400.

Abstract: A first video signal having a first frame rate optionally settable is generated by an image pickup device, and the first video signal is memorized in a memory and outputted from the memory. A write control device controls the write of the first video signal with respect to the memory, and a read control device controls the read of the video signal with respect to the memory. The write control device writes respective first frame data constituting the first video signal in the memory in each cycle determined by the first frame rate of the first video signal. The read control device reads the first frame data as a second video signal. The second video signal is formed from sequentially arranging the first frame data in a partially duplicating manner in a standard video signal having a standard frame rate based on a determined arrangement rule.

Abstract: It is possible to keep a diameter of an impeller and a cross sectional area of an air channel as large as possible while reducing a size of a centrifugal fan in a direction perpendicular to an axis. Thereby, it is possible to acquire characteristics of a high air volume and a high static pressure without lowering the efficiency. In the centrifugal fan, when the radial gap of the cross section in an air channel 10b is gradually enlarged from a clapper portion 10c toward an outlet 10d except for a specific region 10h, the cross inner sectional area of an air channel 10b is gradually enlarged from the clapper portion 10c toward the outlet 10d.

Abstract: An information recording apparatus comprising image signal processing units for processing image signals from an image taking unit for recording with respect a magnetic tape and a microcomputer for recording, when abnormality occurs in the recording with respect to the magnetic tape due to abnormality in the image signal processing units, information relating to the recording abnormality in a blank recording region of the magnetic tape together with actual time information.

Abstract: A pickup 1 generates a video signal based on an arbitrarily set frame rate. A frame rate converter 2 converts a frame rate of the video signal output from the pickup 1 into a predetermined frame rate. Frame rate conversion information output units 6 and 4 output information on frame rate conversion in a manner corresponding to a video signal after the frame rate conversion.

Abstract: A case that is used for an electronic or electric device has an opening portion arranged at a vicinity of a fan motor that generates airflow inside and outside the case. The opening portion has a protection portion for preventing a finger or other matters from entering the fan motor. The protection portion includes a first rib group extending linearly in a lateral direction, a second rib group extending linearly in a second direction vertical direction. Each of the ribs has an inclined surface that is along a direction of the airflow exhausted from the fan motor and faces the inside or the outside of the opening portion.