Abstract: The present invention provides a node device for connecting a plurality of networks. The node device comprises a plurality of input units for respectively inputting data from first transmission lines installed in each of the networks, a plurality of output units for respectively outputting data to second transmission lines installed in each of the networks, and a switching unit for switching the data input from the input units to the output units. The input unit that inputs data from a transmission line shared by the networks among the first transmission lines has a higher transmission speed than other input units.

Abstract: In an apparatus 10, a space is formed by a pair of impermeable supports 16 and a pair of spacer members 12 for providing a predetermined distance between the impermeable supports 16. A permeable membrane is provided within the space and outlets 15 are provided on each of the pair of impermeable members 16. A stirrer 20 is provided within the space where the permeating object is present, and comprises a stirring axis 22, a driving source for oscillating the stirring axis 22, and a plurality of stirring blades 24 mounted on the stirring axis 22. Cut sections 26 are provided at a portion of each of the stirring blades 24 so that the permeating object can be circulated at the space between the stirring blade 24 and the inner wall of the spacer member 12 or at the space between the stirring blade 24 and the permeable membrane 14. The cut sections are alternately provided at the right and left sides of the layered stirring blades.

Abstract: An iron comprising a bottom member as an ironing face, which is provided with a plated metal film containing fluorine compound fine particles, so that the ironing face provides high surface hardness which shows less wear, good slidability and less generation of static electricity.

Abstract: A first dispersion phase is dispersed in a first continuous phase comprising a solidifying component so as to prepare a primary emulsion, and this primary emulsion s ispersed in a second continuous phase as a second dispersion phase so as to prepare a secondary emulsion. The solidifying component in the secondary emulsion is then solidified, and the first dispersion phase is removed leaving pores so as to form porous particles.

Abstract: A lubricating and breather system is provided for use with a crankcase and a cylinder block in both a horizontal-type engine and a vertical-type engine, in which the discharge of a blow-by gas and the circulation of oil separated from the blow-by gas into the crankcase can be reliably performed. When the engine is of a vertical-type, it includes a crankcase which is disposed so that a second bearing boss is located above a first bearing boss. The second bearing boss is provided with an annular chamber into which splashed oil produced in the crankcase is passed. A breather chamber is provided in a cylinder block to communicate with the annular chamber, and includes a first return bore provided in a portion thereof which is a lowermost portion when in the horizontal-type engine, and a second return bore in a portion thereof which is a lowermost portion when in the vertical-type engine.

Abstract: In manufacturing hollow particles, gas is supplied from a gas cylinder to a first tank under pressure for solution in a raw material liquid in the first tank for the particles. The resulting raw material liquid is supplied to a second tank where the liquid is stirred with a dispersing medium under pressure, thereby forming a compressed emulsion in the second tank. As the compressed emulsion is discharged to the outside, it is released from the compressed state so that the gas dissolved in corpuscles of the raw material liquid in the emulsion will come out as bubbles. Thus since the corpuscles in the emulsion become hollow particles, an emulsion containing fine hollow particles of the raw material liquid as nuclei is obtained. Therefore it is possible to obtain a large quantity of fine hollow particles with ease.

Abstract: In manufacturing hollow particles, gas is supplied from a gas cylinder to a first tank under pressure for solution in a raw material liquid in the first tank for the particles. The resulting raw material liquid is supplied to a second tank where the liquid is stirred with a dispersing medium under pressure, thereby forming a compressed emulsion in the second tank. As the compressed emulsion is discharged to the outside, it is released from the compressed state so that the gas dissolved in corpuscles of the raw material liquid in the emulsion will come out as bubbles. Thus since the corpuscles in the emulsion become hollow particles, an emulsion containing fine hollow particles of the raw material liquid as nuclei is obtained. Therefore it is possible to obtain a large quantity of fine hollow particles with ease.

Abstract: An agitator is disposed in the interior of a casing through which fluids to be mixed pass. The agitator is connected with a source of oscillation for oscillating the agitator in the axial direction. The inner wall of the casing includes a stationary vane extending inwardly therefrom. A relative motion is generated between the agitator and the stationary vane. When the fluids flow through the interior of the casing, they are agitated and mixed together by impingement of the fluids against the stationary vane and agitator and by the relative motion between the stationary vane and the agitator.

Abstract: In a digital image forming apparatus, in which images of a document placed on a document table are read through scanning by a scanner unit and electrostatic latent images are formed on a photosensitive body in accordance with data as for the images of the document by a laser scanning unit (LSU) arranged under the scanner unit, the upper box body which accommodates the document table and the scanner unit can be easily opened upwards relative to the lower box body which accommodates the LSU, centering around a hinge unit provided at the back side thereof. In addition, the laser scanning unit is placed and positioned on a plurality of bar-like members which are in parallel to the drive axis center of the photosensitive body.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of making a huge elongated space of square or rectangular cross section under the ground. The outer shell of the huge elongated space is built in the form of integral arrangement of lateral shell-units having shielded passages therein. Such a huge underground space can be made without requiring any large-scale equipments on the ground. The huge outer shell can be made with accuracy and efficiency by skiving and jointing adjacent parallel lateral shell-units and by using selected lateral passage of shell-units to discharge the soil or mud removed in making the underground space.

Abstract: A multicolor developing device having a plurality of developing mechanisms for executing developing with differrent colors. The developing device includes a stationary frame member, a movable frame member mounted on the stationary frame member to reciprocally move in a predetermined direction, and a moving device for reciprocally moving the movable frame member. The plurality of developing mechanisms are mounted on the movable frame member and maintaining a distance in the said predetermined direction. Any one of the plurality of developing mechanisms is selectively positioned at a developing zone depending on the movement of the movable frame member. The moving device includes a screw device having a threaded shaft extending in the predetermined direction and a nut engaged with the threaded shaft, a stepping motor for rotating the threaded shaft, and a nonexcited operation-type electromagnetic brake.

Abstract: An agitator is disposed in the interior of a casing through which fluids to be mixed pass. The agitator is connected with a source of oscillation for oscillating the agitator in the axial direction. The inner wall of the casing includes a stationary vane extending inwardly therefrom. A relative motion is generated between the agitator and the stationary vane. When the fluids flow through the interior of the casing, they are agitated and mixed together by impingement of the fluids against the stationary vane and agitator and by the relative motion between the stationary vane and the agitator.

Abstract: In an image forming apparatus in which toner is fed to a developer unit from a toner storage container through toner conveying means provided between the toner storage container and the developer unit, the image forming apparatus comprises a toner remaining amount detector for detecting not more than a predetermined amount of toner in the toner storage container, a toner density detector for detecting the density of toner in the developer unit, and means for interrupting the image forming operation to feed the toner to the developer unit from the toner storage container through the toner conveying means when the amount of the toner in the toner storage container is larger than the predetermined amount and the density detected by the toner density detector is lower than a predetermined density.

Abstract: The present invention provides a mixer having a duct into which a fluid (or fluids) is (or are) inducted and a stirrer disposed within the duct and adapted to stir and/or mix the fluid (or fluids) by repeating division and join on the fluid (or fluids) when the fluid (or fluids) moves (move) through the duct. The stirrer has a vane device dividing the interior of the duct into a plurality of spaces and openings formed in the vane device and through which the fluid (or fluids) moves (move) from one space to another. The mixer further includes a vibrator for vibrating the stirrer at a desired frequency. The vibrator may be of any one of various types vibrators such as an electromagnetically driven type vibrator consisting a coil and a permanent magnet, a motor drive type vibrator consisting of a motor-cam mechanism of a cam-follower mechanism and the like.

Abstract: A mixing machine has a rotor which can be displaced along an axis. The rotor and its drive shaft are rotatably supported by a casing and a cylindrical shaft respectively. A motor for driving the rotor is mounted on a support connected to the end of the cylindrical shaft. The cylindrical shaft can be displaced along the axis. At the lowermost position, holes in a plate of the casing communicate with a discharge port in the structure supporting the cylindrical shaft, whereby rotation of the rotor forces the tank contents out the discharge port.

Abstract: A heating apparatus having doors mounted on the inlet and outlet of a furnace body to cover them and at least one additional door disposed in an intermediate portion of the furnace body to divide it into compartment furnace chambers forming a preheating chamber, a heating chamber and/or a warmth-keeping chamber, from the inlet side to the outlet side. A hot air circulating device is disposed in each of the compartment furnace chambers in a manner such that areas close to each door are much heated. When a material to be heated is charged from the preheating chamber, outer air is shut off from the heating chamber, and when the material to be heated is delivered into the heating chamber, outer air is shut off from the preheating chamber. When the material is shifted from the heating chamber to the warmth-keeping chamber or is discharged to the outside from the warmth-keeping chamber, outer air is shut off in the same manner as above.

Abstract: In a method of impregnating carbon electrodes, a step of heating and drying carbon electrodes is separately juxtaposed to a step of pitch impregnation and cooling so that respective palettes are transported on separate courses for the respective steps, and at a position where said courses approach each other, the electrodes are transferred from a palette for said heating and drying step to a palette for said impregnation and cooling step so that the palette in the step of impregnation and cooling does not pass through a heating and drying furnace in the other step.

Abstract: A horizontal-type tank for therein operating heated pitch impregnation of carbon electrode blanks, comprising a cylindrical body having an annular weir member disposed near its open end portion for preventing flowing out of an unused pitch portion, and a lid member releasably closing the opening of the body, which has a double wall structure providing between the outer and the inner walls a heated pitch jacket in liquid communication with the body, said inner wall having an outer edge portion protruding into the body beyond the location of the weir member. The body also has an annular coolant jacket disposed close to its flange surface portion against which an annular seal member provided to a flange portion of the lid abuts.

Abstract: In order to improve mechanical and electric characteristics of carbon electrodes, they are impregnated with pitch. This impregnation operation can be accomplished at high efficiency by loading a plurality of electrodes on a specific pallet. However, when the carbon electrode-loaded pallet is dipped in an impregnation vessel, pitch adheres to the pallet, and if such pitch-adhering pallet loading fresh carbon electrodes thereon is introduced again into a pre-heating furnace prior to the impregnation operation, the pre-heating furnace is contaminated with pitch and there is a risk of a fire. In order to avoid this disadvantage, there is adopted a method in which different pallets are used for introducing carbon electrodes into the pre-heating furnace and for introducing them into the impregnation vessel, respectively. In this method, the operation of shifting carbon electrodes from one pallet to another pallet is necessary.

Abstract: A motionless mixing device for mixing fluidic materials such as liquid, gas, wet and dry powders, etc. employing a generally horizontal cylindrical housing with an inlet at one end and an outlet at the opposite end. A plurality of spaced-apart mixing elements are positioned in the housing to form a mixing device, each of mixing elements being inclined transversely of the longitudinal axis of the housing at a linear edge thereof in the direction of the flow of the fluidic materials flowing through the housing, one end of each said mixing element in the radial direction of the housing being fixedly disposed in the inner wall of the housing, a suitable space being formed between another end of each said mixing element and the adjacent inner wall thereof so that materials trapped by said element are permitted to pass therethrough.