Abstract: A camera includes a retractable built-in flash unit which is movable between a retracted position and a discharge position, and a controller which controls the built-in flash and provides an auto flash mode in which the controller allows the built-in flash to discharge automatically when necessary. In the auto flash mode, the controller moves the built-in flash from the retracted position to the discharge position when predetermined conditions are satisfied, and subsequently controls the retractable built-in flash unit to discharge automatically at a time of exposure. Furthermore, the controller temporarily prohibits the retractable built-in flash unit from automatically discharging if the retractable built-in flash unit is pushed down to the retracted position after the controller moves the retractable built-in flash unit from the retracted position to the discharge position.

Abstract: A display member, particularly a plasma display member, can be produced by a process comprising applying a paste which comprises a urethane compound and inorganic fine particles onto a substrate and then firing the paste. The display member has a post-firing pattern without any defect.

Abstract: Disclosed is a permanent magnet generator incorporated in a 3.5″ diskette that can be used as an input/output adapter for memory cards that can generate a power generation output of 40 mW or more when the rotor of the generator is rotated at 300 rpm. The permanent magnet generator has such a construction that rotor magnetic poles are provided only on one end face of a disc-shaped permanent magnet serving as a rotor, a plurality of stator magnetic poles are provided only on that end face of the permanent magnet in such a manner as to face the rotor magnetic poles, and a soft magnetic hub is fixedly fitted to the other end face of the permanent magnet. Even when a bonded NdFeB magnet is used as the permanent magnet, a sufficient power can be produced.

Abstract: In a motorcycle, a seat member includes a rider seat section and a pillion section which is continuous to a rear portion of the rider seat section and the article storage device is arranged below the seat member. The article storage device comprises an article storage box as a body of the storage device disposed below the seat member and an article access port formed to the article storage box and opened upward in an installed state of the storage box. A recessed portion protruding upward is formed at a central portion of a bottom surface of the article storage box, the bottom surface has a front side portion in front of a top portion of the recessed portion is inclined forward downward and the bottom surface also has a rear portion at the rear of the top portion of the recessed portion inclined rearward downward. The article access port has a rear edge portion positioned at the rear of the top portion of the recessed portion.

Abstract: A digital memory card includes a first area for storing a first file set having a set of audio objects and a second area for storing a second file set including a set of sound objects. A managing area is provided in the second file set and includes data for managing the first and the second file sets. Another memory card includes a first area for storing a set of sound files having a managing area, a second area for storing a still picture file and a third area for storing a motion picture file. The managing area stores data for managing the still picture and the motion picture files separately or together. The first and second file sets and the still picture and the motion picture files can be reproduced by a reproduction apparatus. Tune information is embedded in tune data as a digital watermark, the tune information being peculiar to the tune data. The tune information is further recorded in a file provided other than the tune data.

Abstract: An adhesive, a flocked weather strip, and a process for producing the weather strip. The adhesive is a moisture-curing reactive hot-melt adhesive for weather strip flocking, which comprises as the main component a urethane prepolymer containing isocyanate groups, the adhesive having a dielectric constant at 25° C. of 3 to 10 and a melting point of 40° C. to 150° C. The flocked weather strip comprises a substrate and piles flocked thereon through the moisture-curing reactive hot-melt adhesive. The process for producing the flocked weather strip comprises thermally melting the moisture-curing reactive hot-melt adhesive, applying the melt to a substrate in a thickness of 40 to 150 &mgr;m, electrostatically flocking piles in the resulting layer of the molten adhesive, cooling the adhesive to solidify the same and fix the flocks to the substrate, and then cutting the substrate into a given size.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods for producing a highly pure aromatic bromocarboxylic acid derivative and an aromatic acylthiocarboxylic acid derivative in high yields. The methods of the present invention include reacting an aromatic amino acid in an aqueous solvent in the presence of sodium nitrite, hydrogen bromide and at least one member selected from the group consisting of an aliphatic carboxylic acid and an alcohol, to give an aromatic bromocarboxylic acid derivative, and reacting the aromatic bromocarboxylic acid derivative and an organic thio acid in the presence of an amine to give an aromatic acylthiocarboxylic acid derivative.

Abstract: A distribution management device, a distribution management method, a program storage medium and a distribution management system are disclosed. The client order data of the merchandise 4 of the sales channel utilized the internet 3 and the store order data of the merchandise 4 for the quantity sold of the sales channels excluding the Internet 3 are received by the sales managing server 20 via the internet 3. The stock of merchandise 4 is controlled by the settlement/delivery instructing server 21 based on the client and store order data. The actual sales condition of merchandise in each sales channel is grasped by the shipment control server 55 based on the storage data and the delivery condition data obtained from the client and store order data and the storage data and delivery condition data obtained from the settlement/delivery instructing server 21, and the supply of merchandise 4 to the manufacturing factory will be instructed based on the actual sales condition.

Abstract: A route guiding system and method for use with a navigation device that provides route guidance utilizing portions of speech uttered by a user to further guide the user to a location. The route guiding system includes a route guide request presence or absence determining unit and an institution extracting unit. The route guide request presence or absence determining unit determines whether a pre-registered a route guide request, such as “I see,” is included in a user utterance. The institution extracting unit extracts a word related to an institution such as, “post office,” from the user utterance. For example, if the user states, “I see a post office.” The route guide request presence or absence determining unit identifies “I see” and the institution extracting unit identifies “post office.

Abstract: There is provided a coating method in which an extrusion-type coating head having a plurality of doctor edge surfaces is pressed onto a flexible support laid and running between pass rollers so as to coat the flexible support with a coating composition ejected from a slit, the method comprising the steps of: preparing a lower-layer coating composition so as to have a viscosity of not less than 1 P at rest and a viscosity of not more than 50 cP at a shear rate of 10,000 sec−1; excessively applying the lower-layer coating composition to a surface of the support; scraping a surplus of the lower-layer coating composition by the coating head so that a lower layer is formed; and applying an upper-layer coating composition, which is ejected from the slit, onto the lower layer.

Abstract: A gas generating composition for generating gas by a combustion reaction to inflate, for example, an airbag. The gas generating composition includes an oxidant and crystalline carbon powder that reacts with the oxidant. The oxidant is preferably ammonium nitrate. The crystalline carbon powder is preferably activated carbon powder. The gas generating composition preferably includes a high energy substance, binder and plasticizer.

Abstract: A component management system includes: a component database for registering component data regarding a plurality of components, which have been admitted to be purchased based on predetermined criteria; an e-mail server for receiving information regarding components from a component provider and for sending the received information to a person in charge of component admission. The component database is updated based on a result of selection performed based on the sent information.

Abstract: A device according to the present invention is provided with element temperature measurement voltage application circuit for temporarily applying a predetermined voltage for element temperature measurement to a sensor element of an air-fuel ratio sensor equipped to an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine, first sensor output reading circuit for reading in a sensor output just before applied with the voltage, and second sensor output reading circuit for reading in a sensor output being applied with the voltage, wherein the element temperature of the air-fuel ratio sensor is estimated based on the sensor output just before applied with the voltage and the sensor output being applied with the voltage. Further, during internal resistance measurement of the sensor element of the air-fuel ratio sensor equipped to the exhaust system of the internal combustion engine, a voltage applied to the heater for heating the sensor element is maintained to be constant.

Abstract: A yaw rate comparison road friction coefficient estimating section estimates a first road friction coefficient based on a high friction road reference yaw rate calculated according to a high friction coefficient road vehicle motion model in a high friction road reference value estimating section, a low friction road reference yaw rate calculated according to a low friction coefficient road vehicle motion model in a low friction road reference value estimating section, and an actual yaw rate calculated in an actual value estimating section. A final road friction coefficient estimating section calculates a present final road friction coefficient by weight-averaging a previous final road friction coefficient and the first road friction coefficient using a weight function established in a weight function establishing section. The weight function is variable according to a road roughness parameter produced in a road roughness detecting apparatus.

Abstract: A blanket-mounting mechanism includes a dragging shaft, a rotating device, a correction device, and a deflection suppression device. A dragging-shaft accommodation bore extends axially through a blanket cylinder. A blanket insertion groove extends axially on the outer circumferential surface of the blanket cylinder and extends radially to the dragging-shaft accommodation bore. The dragging shaft has a blanket-end reception groove formed on the outer circumferential surface and adapted to receive one end of a blanket. The dragging shaft is inserted into the dragging-shaft accommodation bore with an appropriate gap maintained therebetween and is supported rotatably. The rotating device is disposed at the side of one end face of the blanket cylinder and is connected to the dragging shaft. The correction device is disposed at the side of the other end face of the blanket cylinder and is able to grip/release the dragging shaft so as to adjust the angular position of the dragging shaft.

Abstract: The present invention provides a bump-joining apparatus, a bump-joining method, and a semiconductor component-manufacturing apparatus whereby bumps and electrode portions of circuit board are perfectly joined with higher join strength than in the conventional art. The apparatus includes a vibration generation device, a pressing device and a control unit, wherein bumps are pressed to electrode portions of a circuit board and vibrated with ultrasonic waves after reaching an initial contact area before reaching a join-completed-contact area at a completion of the joining, so that the bumps are more perfectly joined to the electrode portion than in the conventional art which vibrates the bump only after reaching the join-completed-contact area. Larger join strength is achieved than in the conventional art.

Abstract: An engine control unit receives a print reservation command for plural pages prior to a print request command from a printer control unit. When the engine control unit received the print reservation command for the plural pages, it is judged whether or not a sheet feed operation of recording sheets can be performed. When it is judged that the recording sheets can be fed, the recording sheets are fed and transported to a predetermined position on a transportation path with a minimum constant interval corresponding to the sheet size by sheet feed rollers or transportation rollers, then printing operation is performed according to the print request command.

Abstract: In order provide an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer that can perform efficient measurement by optimizing signal processing time of an X-ray counting section, an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer is provided with an energy dispersive X-ray detector, an X-ray counting section for analyzing the signal from the energy dispersive X-ray detector and generating a frequency distribution for each energy level, namely an energy spectrum, and a data control section for performing data processing, user interface etc. The X-ray counting section of the energy dispersive X-ray analyzer has signal processing methods with different processing times for a single X-ray input, and a function for selecting which method result to make use of using input X-ray energy.

Abstract: An image signal expressing pel values and a significance signal declaring for each pel whether the pel value is significant are supplied as input signals. By referring to the input significance signal values for the pels proximal to the pel being processed, the significant pels are identified and a resolution conversion characteristics selector selects one of two or more frequency conversion characteristics to be used for resolution conversion of the image signal using only significant pels. A resolution converter then converts the resolution of the input image signal using the selected resolution conversion characteristic, and outputs the result as the image conversion apparatus output signal. Resolution conversion of the input image signal can therefore be accomplished by means of pel subsampling or interpolation without being affected by nonsignificant pels, and resolution conversion with minimal image quality loss caused by the conversion process is achieved.

Abstract: A longitudinal profile measuring apparatus including a relative distance meter located on a frame supported by more than two wheels in a row in a direction of a measuring line for measuring relative distance to a target surface, a moving distance meter for measuring moving distance of movement along the measuring line on the target surface, and a data processing unit for finding spatial data, which shows a rough profile of the target surface, along the measuring line from the relative distance measured by the relative distance meter.