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: First, a binary image is generated by binarizing an image. Next, a binary pixel ratio, that is a ratio of a binary pixel quantity that is a quantity of dotted pixels included in a specific area of the binary image to a total quantity of pixels included in the specific area of the binary image, is found. Then, a thin-line image is generated by performing a line-thinning process on the specific area. After that, a thin-line pixel ratio that is a ratio of the quantity of dotted pixels included in the generated thin-line image to the binary pixel quantity is found, and the specific area is determined to be a map area or a photograph area based on the calculated binary pixel ratio and the calculated thin-line pixel ratio.

Abstract: The present invention describes methods for discriminating between nucleotide sequences of first and second nucleic acids, including: providing a reaction solution, including a deoxynucleotide triphosphate, a DNA polymerase with strand displacement ability, a template nucleic acid fragment, a primer, and a mask oligo; incubating the reaction solution, obtaining a polymerase reaction, and producing an amplification product; detecting the amplification product to discriminate between the nucleotide sequences, wherein the primer is complementary to the first nucleic acid, the mask oligo hybridizes to the nucleotide sequence portion of the first and second nucleic acid, wherein the mask oligo is more complementary to the second nucleic acid than to the first nucleic acid, and wherein the mask oligo is not an origin of an elongation reaction with the polymerase, and a primer portion and a mask oligo portion hybridize to the same regions on the first and second nucleic acid.

Abstract: A scanning-type distance measuring apparatus includes: an optical system 9 having a first deflecting member 9a that deflects measurement light output from a light transmitting unit 3 toward a space to be measured via an optical window, a light receiving lens 9c that condenses reflection light from an object R to be measured existing in the space to be measured, and a second deflecting member 9b that deflects the reflection light passed through the light receiving lens toward a light receiving unit 5 disposed to oppose the light transmitting unit 3; a scanning mechanism 4 that rotates the optical system 9 about a predetermined axis P; and an optical member 90 that outputs the measurement light deflected by the first deflecting member 9a from an incident light path Lc of the reflection light to the second deflecting member 9b.

Abstract: In outline processing according to the present embodiment, a normalization coefficient is determined such that values outputted as outline data substantially coincide with a maximum value in a prescribed number of digits in accordance with a variation amount between coordinate values. Such determination can constantly enhance image quality (legibility of a character) of the outline data up to a highest value under conditions of the prescribed number of digits as well as being free of the influence of a size of a target character. In other words, it is possible to provide the highest feasible image quality under the limitation of the number of digits set from the limit of a file size.

Abstract: An exhaust gas containing a perfluoride compound (PFC) and SiF4 is conducted into a silicon remover and brought into contact with water. A reaction water supplied from a water supplying piping and air supplied from an air supplying piping are mixed with the exhaust gas exhausted from the silicon remover. The exhaust gas containing water, air, and CF4 is heated at 700° C. by a heater. The exhaust gas containing PFC is conducted to a catalyst layer filled with an alumina group catalyst. The PFC is decomposed to HF and CO2 by the catalyst. The exhaust gas containing HF and CO2 at a high temperature exhausted from the catalyst layer is cooled in a cooling apparatus. Subsequently, the exhaust gas is conducted to an acidic gas removing apparatus to remove HF. In this way, the silicon component is removed from the exhaust gas before introducing the exhaust gas into the catalyst layer.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus separates in a scanned image a text area from a graphic area primarily including a graphic form or a graph. For the text area, neighboring black pixels are connected to perform character determination in a unit of a rectangle obtained by connecting the black pixels. For the graphic area, labeling processing is used to extract a circumscribed rectangle of consecutive black pixels, without connecting the black pixels, to perform character determination in a unit of the circumscribed rectangle.

Abstract: A pedal device is provided with an accelerator pedal pivotally mounted in a vehicle; and a damper disposed between the accelerator pedal and the vehicle. The depressing force as a depression degree of the accelerator pedal is deter mined by the damper according to the movement of the accelerator pedal. Thus, the pedal device does not use friction members which create abrasion and the function thereof is not impaired even if exchange and maintenance are not carried out over a long period of time. Therefore, maintenance frequency and cost of the pedal device can be reduced.

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: Provided is a vehicle periphery image generation apparatus for generating a vehicle periphery image which can provide a wide view of vehicle periphery at a time.

Abstract: Around-vehicle visual recognition apparatus, methods, and programs acquire circumstances of a vehicle, including the vehicle's location and cause a camera to take images around the vehicle. The apparatus, methods, and programs determine at least one first area around the vehicle that is more relevant to a driver based on the circumstances of the vehicle than another area around the vehicle and display an image of the at least one first area on a display.

Abstract: There is provided a microchip that is formed of a first substrate having a surface with a groove and a second substrate joined together and has a fluid circuit in the form of a cavity defined by the groove and a surface of the second substrate closer to the first substrate. The fluid circuit at least includes a detection portion having an optical path for transmitting light. The microchip includes at least one of a step defined by a groove formed in contact with at least one side surface of a groove of the first substrate that defines the optical path and a recess provided in the second substrate at a position opposite to the step.

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: A scanning-type distance measuring apparatus includes: an optical system 9 having a first deflecting member 9a that deflects measurement light output from a light transmitting unit 3 toward a space to be measured via an optical window, a light receiving lens 9c that condenses reflection light from an object R to be measured existing in the space to be measured, and a second deflecting member 9b that deflects the reflection light passed through the light receiving lens toward a light receiving unit 5 disposed to oppose the light transmitting unit 3; a scanning mechanism 4 that rotates the optical system 9 about a predetermined axis P; and an optical member 90 that outputs the measurement light deflected by the first deflecting member 9a from an incident light path Lc of the reflection light to the second deflecting member 9b.

Abstract: A parking assist apparatus includes a CPU for obtaining image data from a camera mounted on a vehicle, an image memory for storing the obtained image data as recorded image data, and an image processor for recognizing an object based on the image data. The image processor determines when to display a parking assist image to reveal an area hidden as a blind spot of the camera when the recognized object is in the blind spot of the camera and displays the parking assist image combining both current image data and the recorded image data for the area currently hidden as the blind spot of the camera, together with an indicator indicating the current position of the vehicle superimposed on the display.

Abstract: The image processing device is provided with an area process portion for generating objects indicating specific areas included in original image data of an scanned original and for discriminating whether each of the objects is a character object or a non-character object, an integration process portion for performing a process of integrating character objects that satisfy a first condition so as to make one character object and a process of integrating character objects that have remained after integration and satisfy a second condition if the number of the remaining character objects is larger than a preset value, a lossless compression portion for performing a lossless compression process on a character object, and a lossy compression portion for performing a lossy compression process on a non-character object.

Abstract: The connection between the terminals of three-phase electric parts used in a matrix converter is simplified to thereby reduce the inductance between conductors. An AC capacitor and an IGBT are disposed such that the linearly arranged terminals of the AC capacitor and the linearly arranged input terminals of the IGBT are parallel to each other, and also that the three terminals of the AC capacitor and the three input terminals of the IGBT are situated close to each other. A bus bar is formed as a laminate bus bar which can be provided by laminating three plate-shaped bus bars on top of each other. In the respective plate-shaped bus bars, there are provided internal terminals for connecting together the mutually adjoining ones of the three-portion terminals of the AC capacitor and the three-portion input terminals of the IGBT, and the mutually adjoining terminals are connected together through the internal terminals.

Abstract: A method for extracting nucleic acid comprising: adsorbing nucleic acid to a nucleic acid-adsorptive solid carrier by contacting a sample solution containing nucleic acid with the nucleic acid-adsorptive solid carrier; washing the nucleic acid-adsorptive solid carrier by contacting a washing solution with the nucleic acid-adsorptive solid carrier, while the nucleic acid is adsorbed to the nucleic acid-adsorptive solid carrier; and desorbing the nucleic acid from the nucleic acid-adsorptive solid carrier by contacting a recovering solution with the nucleic acid-adsorptive solid carrier, wherein at least one of a time where the washing solution is dispensed and allowed to stand; and a time where the recovering solution is dispensed and allowed to stand is controlled to a predetermined time.