Abstract: A chip has been developed that can accurately measure cell potential and cell morphology on a single cell basis. The chip also constitutes a cardiac model that comprises a closed loop whereupon cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts are suitably dispersed and arranged, and that can evaluate the effects of a drug thereon. An in vitro cardiac reentry model chip is fabricated by constructing a closed loop comprising cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts arrayed on transparent electrodes formed on a transparent substrate by using a constitution where single cells are enclosed in a specific spatial configuration. A pulse wave of a random cardiomyocyte or a specific cardiomyocyte is propagated on both sides of the loop, and the pulsation status of the cells in the loop is detected electrically. A drug is applied to this cardiac reentry model chip, and the benefit or toxicity of the drug to cardiomyocytes is evaluated by measuring the cell potentials of individual cells.

Abstract: A compact via transmission line for a printed circuit board having preferred characteristic impedance and capable of miniaturizing the printed circuit board including a multilayer printed circuit board, and extending the frequency range of a via transmission line mounted on the printed circuit board, and a design method of the same. The transmission line has a central conductor forming an inner conductor layer boundary make up a signal via hole, a plurality of via holes arranged around the central conductor form an outer conductor layer boundary, and a plurality of conductor plates formed of a printed circuit board conductor layer, is further provided with a constitutive parameter adjustment clearance hole between the inner and outer conductor layer boundaries of the compact via transmission line, and electrically isolates to prevent cross-talk of a signal propagating through a signal via hole with other signals in a high-frequency signal band.

Abstract: Disclosed is a tire surface inspecting technique capable of surely discriminating rubber pieces of a quality different from that of a tire embedded in the surface of the tire by vulcanization from the tire. A first illuminating unit 11 include paired first light projectors 11a and 11b that project light respectively from opposite sides toward an objective line L on a tire T. A second illuminating unit 12 include paired second light projectors 12a and 12b that project light respectively from opposite sides toward the objective line L in a direction different from that in which the first illuminating unit 11 project light. The first illuminating unit 11 and the second illuminating unit 12 operate alternately for illumination. The line camera 3 forms an image of a part of the surface of the tire corresponding to the objective line L in synchronism with the respective illuminating operations of the first and second illuminating unit.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of creating master data used for inspecting a concave-convex figure, which can create accurate master data with no variation. In the present invention, an image of respective figures is cut out by selecting a figure from tire CAD drawings, and an arranging position of the figure is set in accordance with a distance in a radial direction form a tire center and a deformed angle in a circumferential direction of the tire from a designated location, so that a height of respective regions of the cut-out image is set.

Abstract: A compact via transmission line for a printed circuit board having preferred characteristic impedance and capable of miniaturizing the printed circuit board including a multilayer printed circuit board, and extending the frequency range of a via transmission line mounted on the printed circuit board, and a design method of the same. The transmission line has a central conductor forming an inner conductor layer boundary make up a signal via hole, a plurality of via holes arranged around the central conductor form an outer conductor layer boundary, and a plurality of conductor plates formed of a printed circuit board conductor layer, is further provided with a constitutive parameter adjustment clearance hole between the inner and outer conductor layer boundaries of the compact via transmission line, and electrically isolates to prevent cross-talk of a signal propagating through a signal via hole with other signals in a high-frequency signal band.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a broadband transition to joint a via structure and a planar transmission line in a multilayer substrate is formed as an intermediate connection between the signal via pad and the planar transmission line disposed at the same conductor layer. The transverse dimensions of the transition are equal to the via pad diameter at the one end and strip width at another end; The length of the transition can be equal to the characteristic dimensions of the clearance hole in the direction of the planar transmission line or defined as providing the minimal excess inductive reactance in time-domain according to numerical diagrams obtained by three-dimensional full-wave simulations.

Abstract: A compact via transmission line for a printed circuit board having preferred characteristic impedance and capable of miniaturizing the printed circuit board including a multilayer printed circuit board, and extending the frequency range of a via transmission line mounted on the printed circuit board, and a design method of the same. The transmission line has a central conductor forming an inner conductor layer boundary make up a signal via hole, a plurality of via holes arranged around the central conductor form an outer conductor layer boundary, and a plurality of conductor plates formed of a printed circuit board conductor layer, is further provided with a constitutive parameter adjustment clearance hole between the inner and outer conductor layer boundaries of the compact via transmission line, and electrically isolates to prevent cross-talk of a signal propagating through a signal via hole with other signals in a high-frequency signal band.

Abstract: A tire T as a workpiece mounted on a rotary table 2 is imaged by using floodlight means 10 for applying white slit light and a color CCD camera 20 for imaging a portion illuminated by the slit light while it is turned, the coordinates and brightness of the tire T are detected from the obtained image data by coordinate computing means 31 and brightness computing means 33, and the 3-D coordinate data and color image of the tire T are re-formed from the obtained shape data and brightness data of the tire T by shape image forming means 32 and appearance image forming means 34 and compared with tire appearance and shape data prestored in tire information storage means 35 to judge whether the appearance and shape of the tire T are acceptable or not.

Abstract: There are provided an inspection method of tire uneven marks capable of judging defect of three-dimensional form of the mark in a higher reliability without depending on a brightness distribution image of unevenness, and an inspection apparatus of tire uneven marks.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an external-appearance apparatus that inspects an external appearance of a photographing object to combine a two-dimensional image and a three-dimensional image to improve inspection accuracy. The external-appearance inspection apparatus 10 includes a 3D camera 30 that acquires a three-dimensional image of an object, a 2D camera 20 that acquires a two-dimensional image of the object, and a second converter 16 that assigns pixel values of the two-dimensional image corresponding to the physical coordinates of pixels of the three-dimensional image to the physical coordinates corresponding to pixels of the three-dimensional image.

Abstract: There are provided an inspection method of tire uneven marks capable of judging defect of three-dimensional form of the mark in a higher reliability without depending on a brightness distribution image of unevenness, and an inspection apparatus of tire uneven marks.

Abstract: A via transmission line for a multilayer printed circuit board (PCB) in which a wave guiding channel is formed by a signal via or a number of signal vias, an assembly of ground vias surrounding the signal via or corresponding number of coupled signal vias, a set of ground plates from conductor layers of the multilayer PCB, and a clearance hole.

Abstract: A compact via transmission line for a printed circuit board having preferred characteristic impedance and capable of miniaturizing the printed circuit board including a multilayer printed circuit board, and extending the frequency range of a via transmission line mounted on the printed circuit board, and a design method of the same. The transmission line has a central conductor forming an inner conductor layer boundary make up a signal via hole, a plurality of via holes arranged around the central conductor form an outer conductor layer boundary, and a plurality of conductor plates formed of a printed circuit board conductor layer, is further provided with a constitutive parameter adjustment clearance hole between the inner and outer conductor layer boundaries of the compact via transmission line, and electrically isolates to prevent cross-talk of a signal propagating through a signal via hole with other signals in a high-frequency signal band.

Abstract: A tire T as a workpiece mounted on a rotary table 2 is imaged by using floodlight means 10 for applying white slit light and a color CCD camera 20 for imaging a portion illuminated by the slit light while it is turned, the coordinates and brightness of the tire T are detected from the obtained image data by coordinate computing means 31 and brightness computing means 33, and the 3-D coordinate data and color image of the tire T are re-formed from the obtained shape data and brightness data of the tire T by shape image forming means 32 and appearance image forming means 34 and compared with tire appearance and shape data prestored in tire information storage means 35 to judge whether the appearance and shape of the tire T are acceptable or not.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a tire chuck apparatus for holding a tire having a tire bead. The apparatus comprises: a gripping mechanism with at least two gripping members movable in tire radial direction from a retracted position to an extended position for pressing against the inner side of the bead portion of the tire, thereby holding the tire; gripping rollers as the gripping members adapted to be rotatable around an axis substantially parallel to a central axis of the tire; and a rotation drive mechanism for rotating the tire around the central axis of the tire. According to this apparatus, even if the center of the tire and the center of the chuck are out of alignment with each other, by rotating the gripping rollers so as to rotate the tire, the tire is shifted so that the center thereof is aligned with the center of the chuck apparatus, thus reducing mispositioning.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for inspecting appearance and shape of a subject body is provided. Installation cost and installation space are reduced, working efficiency is superior and judgement accuracy is high. A first picture taking structure takes a picture of a linear portion of a subject body lighted by a first slit light to obtain appearance data, and a second picture taking structure takes a picture of the same linear portion lighted by a second slit light to obtain shape data. The quality of appearance and shape of the subject body is judged based on the appearance data and the shape data.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for inspecting appearance and shape of a subject body is provided. Installation cost and installation space are reduced, working efficiency is superior and judgment accuracy is high. A first picture taking means takes a picture of a linear portion of a subject body lighted by a first slit light to obtain appearance data, a second picture taking means takes a picture of the same linear portion lighted by a second slit light to obtain shape data, and quality of appearance and shape of the subject body is judged based on the appearance data and the shape data.

Abstract: A tire configuration judging device according to the present invention comprises a light projecting (emitting) device, a photographing device, and a control device. The light projecting device irradiates slit light onto a bead portion of a tire. The photographing device photographs a slit image which is formed on the tire. The control device forms an image to be judged which represents an external configuration of the bead portion of the tire, by applying a 2-D coordinate conversion to image data for the slit image which is photographed by the photographing device. The image to be judged and a predetermined reference image are compared to each other by a comparing device such that quality of the tire is judged, and the tire is classified as a normal tire or an abnormal tire according to results of comparison.

Abstract: In an optical communication system and an optical transmitting device applied thereto, there are provided two LDs to an optical transmission circuit within a branch station, one of which for generating a transmission optical signal with a wavelength .lambda.i, and the other for generating an adjustment optical signal with a wavelength .lambda.x. Those two optical signals with wavelengths .lambda.i and .lambda.x are to be integrated at an optical coupler so as to be transmitted to a branching device where ADM is to be conducted, after passing through an optical amplifier where an output level is controlled to be fixed. Therefore, by adjusting with an adjuster the output level of the LD generating the adjustment optical signal, the level of the adjustment optical signal is adjusted, which makes it possible to alter the level of a transmission signal with the wavelength .lambda.i within the output from the optical amplifier.

Abstract: In an optical transmission system, an optical branching device is in use, the number of original transmission lights decreases or level of transmission lights deteriorates for some cause or other. Since output of optical amplifier is predetermined, when the number of transmission lights reduces, level of remaining transmission light is changed, thus departing from optimum operation condition. There is provided an optical branching device including a fiber grating for reflecting light with a wave length different from transmission light, at the time of malfunction such as disconnection, it causes a light with a wave length different from the transmission light to transmit from terminal station or branching station, thus maintaining the level of the transmission light to prescribed level. When the level of the transmission lights deteriorates, it causes the level of transmission light from the branch office to be adjusted.