Abstract: Disclosed is a zoom lens that forms an optical image of an object on a light receiving surface of an imaging element converting the optical image to an electrical signal, having the diagonal length of 2Y max, is constituted by a positive first group, a negative second group, a negative third group, an aperture, and a rear group having positive power as a whole, in order from an object side, and satisfies a conditional expression 1.5<frw/Ymax<2.1 (frw denotes the combined focal length of the rear group on a wide end, and Ymax denotes the maximum image height).

Abstract: A positive-negative-positive-positive-positive zoom lens changes magnification by moving each of a first group to a fourth group so as to alter the interval between each group. The third group comprises first and second lens components, at least one of which has an aspheric surface, and the first lens component is a positive-negative-positive cemented lens in sequence from the object side. The zoom lens satisfies the conditional expressions, 7<?2t/?2w<10, 5<?3t/?3w<12, 0.7<(?2t/?2w)/(?3t/?3w)<1.65) (where: ?2t is the lateral magnification of the second group at the telephoto end; ?2w is the lateral magnification of the second group at the wide end; ?3t is the lateral magnification of the third group at the telephoto end; and ?3w is the lateral magnification of the third group at the wide end).

Abstract: The present invention provides a waste heat recovering device capable of recovering waste heat with good efficiency from various heat sources in an internal combustion engine.

Abstract: There is provided a voltage controlled oscillator that is compact and can be manufactured at low cost. The voltage controlled oscillator is structured to include: a resonance part including a variable capacitance element and an inductance element, the variable capacitance element having a capacitance that varies according to a control voltage for frequency control input from an external part, and a series resonant frequency of the resonance part being adjusted according to the capacitance; an amplifying part amplifying a frequency signal from the resonance part; and a feedback part including a capacitance element for feedback and feeding the frequency signal amplified by the amplifying part back to the resonance part to form an oscillation loop together with the amplifying part and the resonance part, wherein the amplifying part is provided in an integrated circuit chip, and the resonance part and the capacitance element for feedback are formed as circuit components separate from the integrated circuit chip.

Abstract: A zoom lens system is composed of negative, positive, negative, and positive lens groups, of which at least the first to third move during zooming. During zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end, the distance between the first and second lens groups decreases, the distance between the second and third lens groups varies, and the distance between the third and fourth lens groups increases. The conditional formulae 1.0?|f2/f1|?1.5 and 2.0?|f4/f1|?5.0 are fulfilled (f1, f2, and f4 representing the focal lengths of the first, second, and fourth lens groups).

Abstract: A steam engine in which a liquid and a steam are jetted so that a rotor is turned by the reaction thereof, and the rotor having a well-balanced simple structure. In the steam engine, the rotor 5 having a plurality of bent flow paths 53A to 53D arranged at regular intervals therein is rotatably supported in a closed container 1 filled with the liquid being fitted onto a boss portion 11 of the closed container 1. The boss portion 11 is alternately forming slide-contact portions 11A having a steam feed port and recessed portions 11B. The steam fed into the bent flow path 53 from the steam feed port causes the liquid in the flow path to be jetted outward to rotate the rotor 5. The rotor 5 is of a point-symmetrical shape in cross section free of unbalanced weight, has no moving part, and is simple in structure. When the bent flow path 53 communicates with the recessed portion 11B, the steam remaining in the flow path is cooled and disappears, and the flow path is filled with the liquid.

Abstract: The present invention relates to the 3,4-Dicarboalkoxybiphenyl-3?,4?-dicarboxylic acid (including the corresponding acid anhydride) represented by the general formula (1): wherein R11 and R12 each represents an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and n represents the number of waters of hydration that is 0 or 1.

Abstract: A coasting control device capable of avoiding coasting control during running on road having a small coefficient of friction between a tire and a road surface (“low ? roads”) includes a low ? road running recognition unit which recognizes that a vehicle is running on a low ? road and a unit for prohibiting coasting control during low ? road running when the low ? road running recognition unit recognizes that the vehicle is running on a low ? road.

Abstract: A coasting control device capable of avoiding coasting control during turning is provided. A turning recognition unit that recognizes that a vehicle is turning and a unit for prohibiting coasting control during turning that prohibits coasting control when the turning recognition unit recognizes that the vehicle is turning are provided.

Abstract: A coasting control device that prevents failures due to deterioration of a release bearing. The device includes an cumulative disengagement time measuring unit cumulatively measuring a duration of time that a clutch is being disengaged during coasting control, and an overtime restricting unit prohibiting coasting control when the measured cumulative clutch disengagement time has exceeded a predetermined time giving an indication of fatigue of a member of the clutch, and/or an overtime alarm unit providing an alarm when the measured cumulative clutch disengagement time has exceeded a predetermined time giving an indication of fatigue of the member of the clutch.

Abstract: A coasting control device for avoiding dangerous modes such as tire lock up upon the end of coasting control. The device, which performs coasting control to disengage the clutch and to reduce the engine revolutions per minute (RPM), also prevents a gearshift operation during coasting control.

Abstract: A coasting control device for reducing uneasiness experienced by a driver when pressing a clutch pedal during coasting control. The device includes a clutch control unit that, when the clutch pedal is pressed during coasting control, controls an actuator to cause an amount of hydraulic oil that depends on the amount of depression of the clutch pedal to be ejected from a clutch-free operating cylinder.

Abstract: To provide a voltage controlled oscillator having small size and capable of obtaining a low phase noise characteristic over a large span of adjustable range of frequency. A quartz crystal having a characteristic (dielectric loss tangent: tan ?) better than that of fluorocarbon resin, LTCC or the like conventionally used as a substrate of a resonance part, and on which a fine pattern of metal film can be formed through a photolithography method, is used as a quartz-crystal substrate, and a conductive line is formed on the quartz-crystal substrate to form an inductance element in the resonance part. Accordingly, since the resonance part having a high Q value can be formed, it is possible to obtain a voltage controlled oscillator having small size and low loss over a wide frequency range.

Abstract: A wide-angle lens LN consists of, in order from an object side: a first lens group Gr1 having positive refractive power; and a second lens group Gr2 having positive refractive power; the second lens group Gr2 is movable toward the object side with fixing the first lens group Gr1, thereby carrying out focusing on a close object, and a given conditional expression is satisfied. Therefore, a wide-angle lens having high optical performance with suppressing variation in aberrations upon focusing in spite of being a large aperture, an imaging optical apparatus equipped therewith, and a digital equipment are provided.

Abstract: A clutch control device for vehicle equipped with a clutch actuator driven by a working fluid, wherein secular change in the flow rate control valve for controlling the working fluid is compensated, and the rate of connection of the clutch is correctly controlled by a simple means. To control the stroke of a clutch actuator 110, the clutch control device is provided with a single flow rate control valve 1 that controls the feed and discharge of the working fluid by using an electromagnetic solenoid. A flow rate control valve control device 9 is provided with a learning device 91 that learns the neutral position of the flow rate control valve 1 which shuts off the flow of the working fluid, separately detects the amounts of electric current to a coil 8 of when the rate of change in the stroke becomes zero depending upon the directions in which the valve body of the flow control valve 1 moves, and learns the central point at the neutral position by averaging the detected values.

Abstract: A catalyst for alkylation contains an inorganic structural material having an ion-exchange ability and a metal ion having a valency of 2 or more. The metal ion is supported on the inorganic structural material. The inorganic structural material is preferably a zeolite. The metal ion is preferably a lanthanide metal. The catalyst for alkylation imparts industrially satisfiable activity and selectivity and can be readily separated, collected and recycled. Furthermore, the process for producing an alkylaromatic hydrocarbon compound includes reacting an aromatic hydrocarbon compound and a compound having an unsaturated bond in the presence of the catalyst for alkylation.

Abstract: Disclosed is a fastener stringer where at least one surface of each of the fastener elements is colored. A plurality of fine fixing spaces is disposed on at least one surface of the fastener element which is colored. Accordingly, when a slide fastener is colored through an inkjet method, ink droplets ejected to the fastener element may be received by a plurality of fixing spaces and stably fixed onto a surface of the element. Consequently, a desired pattern or color can be continuously given to a fastener tape or the fastener element and the contour of the pattern or color can be formed clearly and neatly.

Abstract: A fastener tape according to the invention includes a tape main body portion and an element attachment portion in which a core thread is knitted. The tape main body portion includes a first tape main body portion region at the element attachment portion and a second tape main body portion region. A wale interval between a wale of the element attachment portion adjacent to the first tape main body portion region and a wale constituting the first tape main body portion region is narrower than that of the second tape main body portion region. Therefore, while the flexibility of the second tape main body portion region is ensured, a tape strength and an abrasion resistance are improved, and further, when a fastener element is formed, this prevents resin leakage through knitted loops of the element attachment portion.

Abstract: A large aperture zoom optical system and an image pickup apparatus have a five-lens-group arrangement of positive-negative-positive-negative-positive refractive powers. At the time of zooming, the fifth lens group is fixed, and at least the second lens group, the third lens group and the fourth lens group are moved. The third lens group for use in focusing is composed of a single lens element.

Abstract: A clutch control device for vehicle is equipped with a clutch actuator driven by a working fluid, and works to correctly control the rate of connection of the clutch by a simple means compensating secular change of a flow rate control valve that controls the working fluid. The clutch control device has a single flow rate control valve 1 for controlling the feed and discharge of the working fluid to change the stroke of the clutch actuator 110. The flow rate control valve 1 has a neutral position at where feed and discharge of the working fluid is stopped. A flow rate control valve control device 9 is provided with a learning device 91 for learning the neutral position. To control the stroke, the flow rate control valve control device 9 corrects the amount of electric current to a coil 8 of an electromagnetic solenoid based on a value learned by the learning device 91 and compensates a change in the flow rate characteristics caused by secular change.