Abstract: The lubricant-return holes are provided in the intermediate portion of the ring gear. Thus, the lubricant stagnating above the first oil sealing member can be easily discharged to the oil pan side via the lubricant-return holes even when the ring gear has stopped rotating in response to the starter motor being turned off after completion of the start of the internal combustion engine. As such, the level of the surface of lubricant stagnating between the ring gear and the outer race member does not rise, and therefore the lubricant surface virtually does not reach the outer race and the one-way clutch that are rotating while the internal combustion engine is running. Thus, bubbling of lubricant and production of sludge, which may otherwise be caused by agitation of the lubricant surface, can be prevented.

Abstract: An illuminating device includes a light guide plate, a light source disposed on a side face of the light guide plate, and a light modulation element disposed on a surface or on inside of the light guide plate and joined to the light guide plate. The light modulation element has a pair of transparent substrates disposed apart from each other and opposed to each other, a pair of electrodes provided on surfaces of the pair of transparent substrates, and a light modulation layer provided in a gap between the pair of transparent substrates. The light modulation layer includes a first region and a second region both having optical anisotropy and having response speeds to an electric field different from each other.

Abstract: The present invention provides a thermal bonding conjugate fiber with excellent compression resistance and nonwoven fabric using the same. More specifically, the present invention provides a thermal bonding conjugate fiber and nonwoven fabric using the same, in which the bulkiness of the nonwoven fabric under a light load is retained well even under a heavy load, and the rate of decrease in bulkiness between under a light load and under a heavy load can be reduced. The thermal bonding conjugate fiber with thermal shrinkage properties has an eccentric core-sheath structure in which a first component comprising a polyester resin constitutes a core and a second component comprising a polyolefin resin having a melting point at least 15° C. lower than a melting point of the polyester resin constitutes a sheath, and a shrinkage ratio after a heat treatment of 120° C. is at least 20% when calculated by a predetermined measurement method.

Abstract: An illumination device includes a light guide plate, a light source, and a light modulation element. The light guide plate has convex portions extending in a direction parallel to a normal to a face opposed to the light source among side faces of the light guide plate, and the light source is configured of light source blocks. The light modulation element includes a pair of transparent substrates disposed separately and oppositely to each other, a plurality of first electrodes provided on a surface of one of the transparent substrates, and extending in a direction crossing an extending direction of the convex portions, a second electrode provided on a surface of the other transparent substrate, and a light modulation layer provided in a gap between the transparent substrates, and exhibiting a scattering property or a transparent property to light from the light source depending on magnitude of an electric field.

Abstract: A thermal bonding conjugate fiber constituted from a first component comprising a polyester resin and a second component comprising a polyolefin resin with a melting point lower than that of the polyester resin by not less than 20° C., characterized in that a post-heat treatment bulk retention rate thereof is 20% or more when calculated by the following measurement method: Bulk retention rate=(H1 (mm)/H0 (mm))×100(%) (wherein H0 is the web height when a 0.1 g/cm2 load is applied to a web with a mass per unit area of 200 g/m2; and H1 is the web height after a heat treatment for 5 min at 145° C. when a 0.1 g/cm2 load is applied to that web).

Abstract: A lighting device includes: a light guide plate; a light source disposed on a side face of the light guide plate; and a light modulation element disposed on a surface or in the inside of the light guide plate and adhered to the light guide plate. The light modulation element has a pair of transparent substrates disposed separately and oppositely, a pair of electrodes provided on respective surfaces of the pair of transparent substrates, and a light modulation layer provided in a gap between the pair of transparent substrates. The light modulation layer includes a first region, having optical anisotropy, responsive to an electric field, and a second region, having optical anisotropy, unresponsive to an electric field. The second region has a striped structure with average striped texture size of 0.05 ?m to 10 ?m both inclusive in a short axis direction.

Abstract: An outer race support plate to which torque of a pinion gear is transmitted from a ring gear via a one-way clutch and thus rotates a crankshaft is provided separately from a flywheel and is mounted to the crankshaft not via the flywheel. As a result, impact noise produced when the one-way clutch engages is not directly transmitted to the flywheel. Accordingly, noise radiation from the flywheel can be suppressed, thereby enabling noise to be reduced.

Abstract: A thermal bonding conjugate fiber constituted from a first component comprising a polyester resin and a second component comprising a polyolefin resin with a melting point lower than that of the polyester resin by not less than 20° C., characterized in that a post-heat treatment bulk retention rate thereof is 20% or more when calculated by the following measurement method: Bulk retention rate=(H1 (mm)2/H0 (mm))×100 (%) (wherein H0 is the web height when a 0.1 g/cm2 load is applied to a web with a mass per unit area of 200 g/m2; and H1 is the web height after a heat treatment for 5 min at 145° C. when a 0.1 g/cm2 load is applied to that web).

Abstract: An illuminating device includes a light guide plate, a light source disposed on a side face of the light guide plate, and a light modulation element disposed on a surface or on inside of the light guide plate and joined to the light guide plate. The light modulation element has a pair of transparent substrates disposed apart from each other and opposed to each other, a pair of electrodes provided on surfaces of the pair of transparent substrates, and a light modulation layer provided in a gap between the pair of transparent substrates. The light modulation layer includes a first region and a second region both having optical anisotropy and having response speeds to an electric field different from each other.

Abstract: A ring gear is formed by joining a race side-region formed body, a gear side-region formed body and an intermediate region formed body. Accordingly, it is possible to perform processing of an inner race portion of the race side-region formed body with none of the gear side-region formed body and the intermediate region formed body present. By causing the gear side-region formed body and the intermediate region formed body to absorb changes in design depending on the type of internal combustion engine, it is possible to standardize the size and the shape of the race side-region formed body for various engine types. Because the inner race portion, as well as a disposition surface and a contact surface for the seal rings are formed on the same race side-region formed body, it is possible to finish the surfaces with precise positional relationship.

Abstract: A torque transmitting mechanism, including a ring gear; a crankshaft side member which rotates in conjunction with a crankshaft; a one-way clutch arranged between the ring gear and the crankshaft; a bearing arranged between the crankshaft or the crankshaft side member and a surface of the ring gear that faces in the opposite direction from the side of the ring gear on which the one-way clutch is arranged; a first oil seal member arranged together with the bearing between the crankshaft or the crankshaft side member and the surface of the ring gear that faces in the opposite direction from the side of the ring gear on which the one-way clutch is arranged, and is arranged on the opposite side of the bearing from the internal combustion engine main body; and a second oil seal arranged between the ring gear and the internal combustion engine main body.

Abstract: A starter for an internal combustion engine includes a power transmission mechanism. The power transmission mechanism has an outer race plate fastened to a crankshaft, and a ring gear coupled to a rotational shaft of an electric motor for starting the engine. The power transmission mechanism further has a one-way clutch for permitting torque transmission only from the ring gear to the outer race plate, and two sealing members. Lubricant is supplied from the cylinder block to the interior of the power transmission mechanism for lubricating the power transmission mechanism. The outer race plate has a groove on its contact surface of a contact portion between the crankshaft and the outer race plate. The groove extends in the entire circumferential direction of the crankshaft. This maintains the coupling strength between the outer race plate and the crankshaft, while enhancing the sealing performance of the power transmission mechanism.

Abstract: The lubricant-return holes (12d) are provided in the intermediate portion (12c) of the ring gear (12). Thus, the lubricant stagnating above the first oil sealing member (32) can be easily discharged to the oil pan (36) side via the lubricant-return holes (12d) even when the ring gear (12) has stopped rotating in response to the starter motor being turned off after completion of the start of the internal combustion engine. As such, the level of the surface of lubricant stagnating between the ring gear (12) and the outer race member (14) does not rise, and therefore the lubricant surface virtually does not reach the outer race (30) and the one-way clutch (20) that are rotating while the internal combustion engine is running. Thus, bubbling of lubricant and production of sludge, which may otherwise be caused by agitation of the lubricant surface, can be prevented.

Abstract: An outer race support plate to which torque of a pinion gear is transmitted from a ring gear via a one-way clutch and thus rotates a crankshaft is provided separately from a flywheel and is mounted to the crankshaft not via the flywheel. As a result, impact noise produced when the one-way clutch engages is not directly transmitted to the flywheel. Accordingly, noise radiation from the flywheel can be suppressed, thereby enabling noise to be reduced.

Abstract: A one-way clutch and a bearing are both grease-filled so even if an oil seal member prevents engine oil from flowing thereto, it will cause no problems in terms of lubrication of the one-way clutch and the bearing. Therefore, the oil seal member 18 need only seal between a main body side of an internal combustion engine and a crankshaft and so does not need to have a large diameter. As a result, even when the crankshaft rotates while the internal combustion engine is operating, the small diameter oil seal member will not slide at a high rate of speed against an outer peripheral surface of the crankshaft and so will not degrade quickly.

Abstract: A airtight cap structure is capable of coming into close contact with a tip to be used and securing airtightness, even if the tip might be inserted in the cap with having a relative angle or offset between the cap and the tip. A cap comprises an outer cap and an inner cap arranged in the outer cap. The inner cap is mounted to the outer cap so that the inner cap can incline relative to the central axial line of the cap, and the cap comes into close contact with the tip or its periphery when the cap covers the tip.

Abstract: A airtight cap structure is capable of coming into close contact with a tip to be used and securing airtightness, even if the tip might be inserted in the cap with having a relative angle or offset between the cap and the tip. A cap comprises an outer cap and an inner cap arranged in the outer cap. The inner cap is mounted to the outer cap so that the inner cap can incline relative to the central axial line of the cap, and the cap comes into close contact with the tip or its periphery when the cap covers the tip.

Abstract: A construction width region Aowc of a one-way clutch overlaps with a mesh width region Agg where torque is transferred from a pinion to a ring gear at the time of startup of the engine, so that the center positions of the two regions coincide with each other in the direction of the rotation axis. Due to this overlap, the reaction force that occurs on a one-way clutch when torque is transferred from the pinion to the ring gear can be sufficiently restrained from becoming, together with the torque, a force that inclines the rotation axis of the ring gear. Therefore, it is possible to restrain the direction of engagement force from tilting from a normal position relative to a sprag or the like of the one-way clutch, and to sufficiently prevent occurrence of bad engagement. Furthermore, damages, such as impressions inside a bearing and the like, and deformations of oil seal portions can be prevented.

Abstract: A semiconductor integrated circuit according to the present invention has a logical circuit network that implements predetermined processing, a plurality of scan chains that are penetrated through the logical circuit network and test the logical circuit network in a plurality of test modes, a plurality of shared terminals that share signals in a normal operating mode and in the plurality of the test modes, and input and output the signals, and a plurality of selectors that selectively switch one of a plurality of normal paths connected to the logical circuit network and one test path connected to the scan chain, and connect the switched path to one of the shared terminals. When the selector selects the test path in one test mode, the selector selects the normal path in the other test modes.

Abstract: An instrument includes a holder for holding a medium, a cap capable of covering a tip end portion of the medium, and a knock member provided to be capable of knocking to attach and detach the cap. The cap is connected to the knock member via a rotational transform mechanism. The rotational transform mechanism advances the cap in accordance with one knock of the knock member in the axial direction, the rotational transform mechanism rotates the cap around an axis parallel to the axial direction, then retreats the cap, so that the state in which the cap covers the tip end portion of the medium and the state in which the cap allows the tip end portion of the medium to be exposed are switchable for each knock of the knock member.