Abstract: In a guiding method, an object of interest existing in a vicinity of a guidance point, at which a driver of a vehicle needs guidance, on a travel path of the vehicle is retrieved. A recognizable range the driver will have is estimated based on at least one of (a) time required to provide guidance with respect to the object of interest and (b) time required for the driver to visually check the object of interest after receiving the guidance. The guidance with respect to the object of interest is provided when the object of interest exists in the estimated recognizable range.

Abstract: Provided is a vehicle surroundings awareness support device capable of providing a prompt for a driver to intuitively direct their attention, without the driver feeling hassled. Captured images comprising a plurality of frames taken sequentially by an onboard camera for imaging the surroundings of the vehicle are received; an optical flow is computed on the basis of feature points contained in the plurality of frames imaged at different times; moving objects in the surroundings of the vehicle are detected on the basis of the optical flow; and a display for showing movement trajectories for the moving objects is superimposed on the captured images on the basis of the optical flow.

Abstract: A damping valve comprises a through-hole forming a passage for a working fluid. A poppet having a center axis is seated on a valve seat around the through-hole. The poppet is housed in a housing so as to be free to slide along the center axis. The poppet is pressed against one wall surface of the housing by a biasing mechanism, that biases the poppet in a direction perpendicular to the center axis, vibration of the poppet is thereby suppressed.

Abstract: In a method according to the present invention for calculating the combustion ratio RC of fuel added to an exhaust passage, the temperature To of the exhaust gas flowing in the exhaust passage located downstream of a region in which the fuel added to the exhaust passage is burned is acquired; the thermal capacity CE of the exhaust gas is acquired; the energy quantity QF of the fuel supplied to the exhaust passage is acquired; an increase ?To in exhaust temperature To immediately before the exhaust gas is heated is obtained; a change ratio dTo of the exhaust temperature To immediately before the exhaust gas is heated is obtained; a parameter Z relevant to the exhaust gas flowing in the exhaust passage is acquired; and the combustion ratio RC of the fuel added to the exhaust passage is calculated in accordance with RC=(CE/QF)(Z·dTo+?To).

Abstract: A signal processing apparatus includes a differential processing unit to differentiate a reflection signal corresponding to a pulse measurement beam that is periodically scanned in a polarized manner; an arithmetic unit to obtain, with a rising time of a first-order-differential reflection signal as a reference, a barycentric position of the first order differential reflection signal as a detection time of a reflected beam, and to calculate a distance to a measured object based on a time difference between an output time of the measurement beam and the detection time of the reflected beam; and a waveform determining unit to determine whether the reflected beam includes a plurality of overlapping reflected beams from a plurality of measured objects, based on rising and falling characteristics of the first-order-differential reflection signal and based on a rising characteristic of a second-order-differential reflection signal obtained by the second order differential of the reflection signal.

Abstract: Parking support systems, methods, and programs store road information and obtain information regarding a vacant space on a road. The systems, methods, and programs calculate parking availability in a predetermined area specified by the stored road information based on the obtained information; and provide notification of the calculated parking availability.

Abstract: An exhaust gas purifying apparatus for an internal combustion engine is provided with: a first catalyst (234) which is disposed in an exhaust passage of the internal combustion engine (200); a second catalyst (235) which is disposed in the exhaust passage on a downstream side of the first catalyst; a reducing agent supplying device (233) which is disposed on an upstream side of the first catalyst and which is configured to supply a reducing agent into the exhaust passage; and a reducing agent supply controlling device (100) which is configured to control the reducing agent supplying device such that an air-fuel ratio on the upstream side of the first catalyst becomes momentarily rich.

Abstract: Scanning distance measuring equipment includes a light emitter/receiver and a deflector for deflecting and reflecting measurement light emitted from the light emitter/receiver to outside through an optical window. The deflector is provided with a first deflection mechanism including a movable unit swingable about a first axis and a drive unit for driving to swing the movable unit; a second deflection mechanism for driving to rotate the first deflection mechanism about a second axis perpendicular to the first axis; and a contactless power supply unit including a second coil that is located to rotate about the second axis along with the rotating second deflection mechanism, and a first coil that is located to face the second coil on a common axis.

Abstract: A metal elastic member to be used for beams 4 for supporting a movable unit 3 at respective ends with respect to a fixed unit 2 in a miniature machine including at least one movable unit 3, the fixed unit 2 and the beams 4, and capable of swinging the movable unit about an axis P with the beams 4 serving as torsional rotation axes, includes a metal bar 4a having a predetermined length, a fixed unit pad 4b that is provided at a first end of the metal bar 4a and is fixed to the fixed unit 2, and a movable unit pad 4c formed on the other end side of the metal bar 4a and fixed to the movable unit 3. At least the metal bar 4a is molded to have a sectional area of 1 mm2 or less by using a physical or chemical processing method excluding a mechanical processing method and swings the movable unit 3 within a frequency of 150 Hz to 500 Hz.

Abstract: In a driving support device and method, images of a vicinity of a vehicle are captured and recorded. Movement information relating to movement of the vehicle is acquired and a movement status of the vehicle based on the acquired movement information is determined. Based on (i) the determined movement status and (ii) a parameter associated with the determined movement status, the recorded image data is composited to create a composite image of an area including a position of the vehicle. The composite image is displayed on a display unit. The parameter is calibrated based on (a) a position of a reference marker included in the composite image created according to the movement status and (b) a predicted position of the reference marker superimposed and displayed on the composite image according to the movement status.

Abstract: There is provided an exhaust purifying system for an internal combustion engine comprising a fuel supply valve for supplying fuel to an exhaust passage for an internal combustion engine of a vehicle, an ignition device for igniting the fuel supplied from the fuel supply valve, and a controller for heating the ignition device to selectively realize at least an ignition temperature Ti in which the fuel can be ignited and a waiting temperature Ts in which the fuel cannot be ignited. The controller controls the waiting temperature Ts to be the lower as a predicted deceleration time tp that is the time for which a decelerating state of the vehicle lasts is larger.

Abstract: In an internal combustion engine, inside of an engine exhaust passage, a hydrocarbon feed valve (15), an exhaust purification catalyst (13), and a particulate filter (14) are arranged. At the time of engine operation, the amplitude of change of the concentration of hydrocarbons which flow into the exhaust purification catalyst (13) is made to become within a predetermined range of amplitude by control of the injection amount of hydrocarbons from the hydrocarbon feed valve (15). When the temperature of the particulate filter (14) is to be raised to be regeneration temperature, the injection amount of hydrocarbons is increased and thereby the pass through amount of hydrocarbons which pass through the exhaust purification catalyst (13) is increased.

Abstract: An assay chip includes fluidic-channel member composed of a light-transmissive lower member and an upper member, forming a fluidic-channel therebetween, and a cover member fitted with the fluidic-channel member from the upper-member-side thereof. An inlet for injecting a sample solution into the fluidic-channel and a suction opening for sucking, from the downstream side, the injected sample solution, both communicating with the fluidic-channel, are formed on the upper surface of the upper member. A pot for carrying out predetermined pre-processing on the sample solution, a pot for first-reaction processing to bind a photoresponsive labeling substance to an analyte in the sample solution, an inlet insertion-hole for inserting the inlet, and a suction-opening insertion-hole for inserting the suction opening are linearly arranged on the upper surface of the cover member.

Abstract: The method of the present invention calculates based on the status of the exhaust emission purifier, a required supply of fuel to be supplied from the fuel supply valve to the exhaust passage, reads a unit fuel supply LU in accordance with a energized time tU for the fuel supply valve per one shot, supplies with a driving cycle depending on the required supply, fuel in the unit supply to the exhaust passage, when EDT?EDU<EA?(LU?g) is established, the energized time tUT corresponding to the target fuel supply is interpolated as a function of (LU/g) and the target fuel supply LU is updated as a new unit supply LU, and the function of (LU/g) is supplied as a new energized time tU from the fuel supply valve to the exhaust passage.

Abstract: Image recognition is performed based on a surrounding image and a recognition template used for the image recognition of a marker object, and a recognition confidence level used for determining if the marker object can be recognized in the surrounding image is calculated. A determination is made if the recognition confidence level has increased as compared with the recognition confidence level calculated based on the surrounding image acquired at the guidance output point. If it is determined that the recognition confidence level has increased, the image of the marker object, generated based on the surrounding image acquired at the guidance output point, is stored as a new template to be used for the image recognition of the marker object. This increases the possibility to recognize the marker object based on the new template, thus increasing the recognition accuracy of the marker object.

Abstract: An object to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a nucleic acid amplification method by which a nucleic acid can be amplified substantially isothermally using oligonucleotide primers and DNA polymerase capable of strand displacement. The present invention provides a nucleic acid amplification method which comprises performing substantially isothermal incubation of a reaction solution containing at least one type of deoxynucleotide triphosphate, at least one type of DNA polymerase having strand displacement activity, a divalent cation, at least 0.01% or more surfactant, at least two types of oligonucleotide primer, and the nucleic acid fragment as a template so as to perform a polymerase reaction that initiates from the 3? end of the primer and thus amplifying the nucleic acid fragment.

Abstract: An object to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a nucleic acid amplification method by which a nucleic acid can be amplified using oligonucleotide primers and DNA polymerase.

Abstract: A microchip includes fluid circuits therein, formed by uniting together at least a first substrate that is a transparent substrate and a second substrate having grooves provided at the substrate surface and/or through holes penetrating in a thickness direction. The fluid circuits include a liquid reagent receptacle unit to store a liquid reagent, a quantification unit to quantify the liquid reagent or specimen, and an overflow liquid storage unit connected to the quantification unit to store the liquid reagent or specimen overflowing from the quantification unit during quantification. There is also provided a method of using the microchip.

Abstract: A travel guidance system including a navigation-route setting unit; a reference-marker setting unit that sets a reference marker located closer to a departure place of a navigation route than a guidance junction, a guidance-marker setting unit that sets a reference marker located near the guidance junction; a marker-position acquiring unit; a guidance setting unit that sets the guidance on the guidance junction on the basis of a position of the reference marker and a position of the guidance marker; and a junction guiding unit that provides the guidance on the guidance junction on the basis of the guidance set by the guidance setting unit. The guidance setting unit sets the guidance including a first phrase specifying a positional relationship between the movable body and the reference marker and a second phrase specifying a positional relationship between the reference marker and the guidance marker.

Abstract: A microchip including a first substrate with a groove formed on a substrate surface or a pass-through hole passing in a thickness direction of the substrate, and one or more second substrates laminated on a surface of the first substrate; the microchip including an optical measurement cuvette consisting of a space configured by the groove or the pass-through hole, and a substrate surface of the second substrate; wherein a side wall surface of the second substrate is positioned on an inner side than a side wall surface of the first substrate in at least one part of a side wall surface of the microchip, and a method of using the same are provided.