Abstract: An image processing device for dividing an image imaged by imaging means into multiple regions includes: processing means for grouping, when difference of the pieces of image data between a single pixel within the image and a pixel adjacent thereto is less than a predetermined threshold, the single pixel and the adjacent pixel, and dividing the image into multiple regions with finally obtained each group as each region of the image; and average-value calculating means for calculating the average value of the image data within the group including the single pixel; with the processing means comparing the image data of the single pixel, and the average value calculated at the average-value calculating means regarding the group to which the adjacent pixel belongs; and when the difference thereof is equal to or greater than a predetermined second threshold, doing not group the single pixel and the adjacent pixel.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for desulfurization of a hydrocarbon oil (e.g., kerosene which is a raw fuel for a fuel cell) which can effectively remove benzothiophenes and dibenzothiophenes contained in the hydrocarbon oil under mild conditions to produce a desulfurized hydrocarbon oil having a significantly low sulfur content. The method comprises the step of desulfurizing the hydrocarbon oil such as kerosene containing benzothiophenes and dibenzothiophenes with the combination of a solid acid-type desulfurizing agent and an active carbon-type desulfurizing agent. This method can provide a hydrocarbon oil having a significantly low sulfur content. By using the hydrocarbon oil, the operation or maintenance of a fuel cell system can be made easily, a fuel cell itself can be miniaturized in size, and the lifetime of a desulfurizing agent in a desulfurization apparatus equipped in a fuel cell system can be prolonged.

Abstract: A resin composition is disclosed, which is obtained by polymerizing and curing a polymerizable composition at least containing: component A: a compound having in one molecule at lease one episulfide structure represented by the following formula (1): wherein X represents S or C, and R1 represents C1-10 hydrocarbon, component B: a compound having per molecule at least one SH group, and component C: an organosilicon compound represented by the following formula (2): R1mR2pSiX14?p?m??(2) wherein R1 is an organic group having a polymerizable reaction group, R2 is a C1-6 hydrocarbon group, X1 is a hydrolytic group, m is 0 or 1, and p is 0 or 1, the component C being present in a proportion of 6 parts by mass or more and 50 parts by mass or less per 100 parts by mass of the total of the component A and the component B.

Abstract: A dyeing method for a plastic lens includes immersing the plastic lens in an oil bath containing a dye.

Abstract: An object detecting system includes stereo-image taking means for outputting a reference image and a comparative image, stereo matching means for performing stereo matching, object detecting means for detecting an object in the reference image, estimated-region setting means for setting estimated regions of the object in the current frame in the reference image and the comparative image, on the basis of a distance of the object in the reference image in the previous frame, and determination means for correlating information about the object detected in the estimated region of the reference image or information that the object is not detected with information that noise is included, when an absolute value of a difference between average luminances of the estimated regions is more than or equal to a predetermined threshold value.

Abstract: An object detecting system includes stereo-image taking means for taking images of an object and outputting the images as a reference image and a comparative image, stereo matching means for calculating parallaxes by stereo matching, and determination means for setting regions of objects in the reference image on the basis of the parallaxes grouped by grouping means, and performing stereo matching again for an area on the left side of a comparative pixel block specified on an epipolar line in the comparative image corresponding to a reference pixel block in a left end portion of each region. When a comparative pixel block that is different from the specified comparative pixel block and provides the local minimum SAD value less than or equal to a threshold value is detected, the determination means determines that the object in the region is mismatched.

Abstract: An environment recognition system includes image taking means for taking a pair of images of an object in a surrounding environment with a pair of cameras and outputting the pair of images, stereo matching means for conducting stereo matching on a plurality of pairs of images that are taken by different image taking methods or that are formed by subjecting the pair of taken images to different image processing methods and forming distance images respectively for the pairs of images, selection means for dividing the distance images into a plurality of sections, calculating representative parallaxes respectively for the sections, and selecting any of the representative parallaxes of the corresponding section as a representative parallax of the section, and detection means for detecting the object in the image on the basis of the representative parallaxes of the sections.

Abstract: A vehicle detecting system includes image taking means for taking an image of the surroundings of a subject vehicle, vehicle detecting means for detecting a vehicle from the taken image, and lateral-position detecting means for detecting a lateral position of the vehicle in the taken image. The lateral-position detecting means vertically divides, into a plurality of sections, a region set in a portion of the taken image in which an image of the vehicle is included or is presumed to be included. The lateral-position detecting means calculates average brightnesses of pixels belonging to pixel columns vertically extending in the sections and having a width corresponding to one pixel or a plurality of number of pixels. The lateral-position detecting means calculates differences in average brightness between pixel columns adjacent in a lateral direction, and detects the lateral position of the vehicle on the basis of absolute values of the differences.

Abstract: A branch-lane entry judging system includes a traffic-line detecting means for detecting traffic lines on right and left sides of a vehicle, a length and width detecting means for detecting lengths and widths of the traffic lines in a real space, a lane-type judging means for judging types of the traffic lines and a type of a lane in which the vehicle is running, a branch-lane detecting means for detecting a branch lane when one of the traffic lines changes from a solid line to a broken line having a predetermined length and a predetermined width, the branch lane existing near the changed traffic line, and a branch-lane entry judging means for judging that the vehicle will enter the branch lane when the vehicle moves toward the branch lane or a directional indicator is operated toward the branch lane while the branch lane is detected.

Abstract: A manufacturing method of an optical material, the method including: blending an inorganic compound (a) containing at least one of a sulfur atom and a selenium atom and a compound (b) represented by a following formula (1) in a tank, the compound (a) and the compound (b) being blended at a ratio of 1 mass % or more and 50 mass % or less of the compound (a) and 50 mass % or more and 99 mass % or less of the compound (b) relative to a total mass of a mixture of the compound (a) and the compound (b); mixing a compound (c) containing at least one thiol (SH) group; preliminarily polymerizing the compounds; cooling the compounds; and deaerating the compounds, in which a viscosity of the composition stored in the tank is controlled during at least one of the preliminarily polymerizing, the cooling and the deaerating.

Abstract: A manufacturing method of optical goods, including: injecting a material composition stored in a tank into a cavity provided inside a mold; and polymerizing and curing the injected material composition, in which a viscosity of the material composition stored in the tank is measured.

Abstract: A plastic polarized lens 1 contains a lens substrate 2, which is obtained by curing through polymerization a polymerization composition having a refractive index of 1.60 or more containing a thiourethane polymerization composition or a thioepoxy polymerization composition, having embedded therein a polarized film 14, which is obtained by forming antireflection layers 14B having a five-layer structure of Al2O3 ZrO2 accumulated alternately on both surfaces of a polarized film substrate 14A obtained by curving an iodine polarized film to a prescribed curvature, followed by cutting into a circular outer shape. According to the constitution, such a plastic polarized lens can be obtained that is reduced in reflection on the surface of the polarized film embedded in the polymerization composition and has good polarizing capability.

Abstract: A vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus includes an image pickup means for taking an image of the surroundings of a vehicle, a preceding-vehicle detecting means for detecting a preceding vehicle from the taken image, a monitored-region setting means for setting predetermined monitored regions around the preceding vehicle on the image, a predicting means for predicting a brightness of an environment the preceding vehicle is going to enter, on the basis of brightnesses of pixels in the monitored regions, and an adjusting means for adjusting at least one of an exposure amount of the image pickup means and the brightnesses of the pixels output from the image pickup means beforehand in accordance with the brightness of the environment predicted by the predicting means.

Abstract: There is provided a monitoring system including an image capture module for capturing an image, an object detecting unit for detecting an object from the image, a monitoring range setting unit for setting a monitoring range in a side of the object on the image, a determining unit for determining the existence of a light source within the monitoring range, and an adjusting unit for adjusting one of an exposure amount of the image capture and a luminance of a pixel output from the image capture when the determining unit determines the existence of the light source.

Abstract: A preceding vehicle detection system includes an image capture module for capturing an image of surroundings of a subject vehicle, a preceding vehicle detection module for detecting a preceding vehicle from an image captured and a tail lamp detection module for detecting a pixel area having a luminance which is larger than or equal to a threshold value on a pixel line in the image and detecting the pixel area in each pixel line while scanning pixel lines on the image in leftward and rightward directions from the pixel line set as a reference to detect areas where tail lamps of the preceding vehicle are captured from the image.

Abstract: A distributed control system including a plurality of controllers mounted on a forklift, and a network providing connections between or among the plurality of controllers within the forklift. A first controller out of the plurality of controllers is configured to control a function in response to an interfacing signal received from a second controller out of the plurality of controllers. When not receiving the interfacing signal during a predetermined period, the first controller controls the function using data stored in the first controller in place of the interfacing signal.

Abstract: A heavy oil is hydrorefined using a hydrorefining catalyst. A spent hydrorefining catalyst whose activity has decreased is heat treated (S1) and pulverized to obtained a regenerated powder (S2). This regenerated powder is fractionated according to its metal content (S3), formed (S6), dried (S7), and calcined (S7) to manufacture a regenerated catalyst whose volume of pores with a diameter of 50 to 2000 nm is at least 0.2 ml/g, and whose volume of pores with a diameter over 2000 nm is no more than 0.1 mL/g. Using this regenerated catalyst, a heavy oil containing at least 45 wt ppm vanadium and nickel as combined metal elements is hydrodemetalized, and the vanadium and nickel are recovered from the used regenerated catalyst (SS1). Through hydrorefining, the metal components are recovered more efficiently, and the spent catalyst can be reused to manufacture a regenerated catalyst that exhibits high reaction, activity.

Abstract: The method of glossing a solid surface by forming a film thereon has the steps of: preparing a film-forming coating liquid containing at least an isocyanate compound having two or more isocyanate groups, a synthetic resin having a functional group which reacts with the isocyanate group, and an organic solvent; coating the film-forming coating liquid onto the solid surface; and forming a film on the solid surface after coating. The weight of the film-forming coating liquid is adjusted during coating so that after the film is formed, the film has a thickness from 0.1 to 5 ?m.

Abstract: Disclosed is a fixing apparatus which includes a first rotatable member having an endless configuration, and a second rotatable member in pressure contact with the first rotatable member which causes a recording material bearing an image to be nipped and conveyed at a pressure contact portion between the first and second rotatable members. A temperature raising unit is provided for raising temperature of a local portion of the first rotatable member by reception of electric power supply, and a temperature detecting unit detects a temperature of a location different from the pressure contact portion with respect to a rotational direction of the first rotatable member. A first control unit is provided for feedback-controlling electric power to be supplied to the temperature raising unit, and a second control unit is provided for temporally supplying electric power corresponding to a set value set by a setting unit to the temperature raising unit.

Abstract: A control system of an industrial truck includes a first switch, a second switch and a hydraulic circuit. The first switch detects whether an operator sits on a seat, and carries out a first operation based on the result. The second switch detects whether a device for operating an actuator is operated, and carries out a second operation based on the result. The hydraulic circuit is used for operating the actuator. It a control valve, a first circulating line, a hydraulic line and a drive lock valve. The control valve includes a spool whose position is changed by the device. The first circulating line includes the control valve, through which the hydraulic fluid circulates. The hydraulic line connects the spool with the actuator. The drive lock valve is provided for the hydraulic line and blocks the hydraulic line, based on the first operation and/or the second operation.