Abstract: Rare-earth alloy is cast into a sheet (6) or the like by using a tundish (3, 13). The refractory material of the tundish used for casting does not necessitate preheating for improving the flowability of the melt (2). The refractory material used essentially consists of 70 wt % or more of Al2O3 and 30 wt % or less of SiO2, or 70 wt % or more of ZrO2 and 30 wt % or less of one or more of Y2O3, Ce2O3, CaO, MgO, Al2O3, TiO2 and SiO2. The refractory material has 1 g/cm3 or less of bulk density, has 0.5 kca/(mh° C.) or less of thermal conductivity in the temperature range of from 1200 to 1400° C., and has 0.5 wt % or less of ratio of ignition weight-loss under the heating condition of 1400° C. for 1 hour.

Abstract: An imaging system includes an imager outputting an analog green signal, an analog blue signal, and an analog red signal in a predetermined progressive-scanning format. The analog green, blue, and red signals are converted into parallel-form digital green, blue, and red signals, respectively. A set of the parallel-form digital green, blue, and red signals is converted into a set of a parallel-form digital luminance signal, a first parallel-form digital color-difference signal, and a second parallel-form digital color-difference signal. A signal divider separates the parallel-form digital luminance signal into a first sub parallel-form digital luminance signal and a second sub parallel-form digital luminance signal. The first and second sub parallel-form digital luminance signals are converted into a serial-form digital luminance signal. The first and second parallel-form digital color-difference signals are converted into a serial-form digital color-difference signal.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a casting method which employs rapid solidification of metal, rare-earth metal or the like, as well as to a casting apparatus and a cast alloy. A centrifugal casting method includes the steps of pouring a molten material onto a rotary body; sprinkling the molten material by the effect of rotation of the rotary body; and causing the sprinkled molten material to be deposited and to solidify on the inner surface of a rotating cylindrical mold. The axis of rotation of the rotary body and the axis of rotation of the cylindrical mold are caused not to run parallel to each other. The centrifugal casting method can attain a decrease in average deposition rate. As a result, generation of the dendritic &agr;Fe phase or generation of a segregation phase of Mn or the like is suppressed, thereby realizing a high-performance R-T-B-type rare-earth magnet alloy.

Abstract: Processes for the preparation of a sintered alloy comprising R2Fe14B as a magnetic phase constituting a main phase include a binary alloy process wherein a main phase alloy having a lower R content than the above phase is mixed with a grain boundary phase alloy rich in R component and serving as a liquid phase in the sintering in order to prepare a mixture to be used as the starting material. The conventional main phase alloy has a structure comprising the R2Fe14B phase and, in addition, a large amount of an easily oxidizable lamella R-rich phase and a harmful dendrite &agr; phase. On the other hand, the main phase alloy of the invention has a low dendrite a phase content and a low lamella R-rich phase and contains a lamella &agr; Fe phase. This contributes to excellent oxidation resistance and improved properties of the magnet. The preparation of a sintered magnet by mixing the main phase alloy with the grain boundary phase alloy by the binary alloy method can reduce abnormal growth of crystal grains.

Abstract: An alloy used for the production of a rare-earth magnet alloy, particularly the boundary-phase alloy in the two-alloy method is provided to improve the crushability. The Alloy consists of (a) from 35 to 60% of Nd, Dy and/or Pr, and the balance being Fe, or (b) from 35 to 60% of Nd, Dy and/or Pr, and at least one element selected from the group consisting of 35% by weight or less of Co, 4% by weight or less of Cu, 3% by weight or less of Al and 3% by weight or less of Ga, and the balance being Fe. The volume fraction of R2Fe17 phase (Fe may be replaced with Cu, Co, Al or Ga) is 25% or more in the alloy and the average size of an R2Fe17 phase is 20 &mgr;m or less. The alloy can be produced by a centrifugal casting at an average accumulating rate of melt at 0.1 cm/second or less.

Abstract: A document integrated management apparatus which manages documents, stored in plural databases controlled by different applications, based on linkage of the documents. A linkage information manager manages linkage information of documents stored in the plural databases managed by the different applications or document sets each having one or more documents linked to each other, and a document information manager manages document information on the documents or document sets. When a client designates a document set, a search is performed on the document information and the linkage information, and the client can extract a document linked to the document set. Thus document extraction or search can be performed without consciousness of control applications of the databases holding the respective documents.

Abstract: An alloy used for the production of a rare-earth magnet alloy, particularly the boundary-phase alloy in the two-alloy method is provided to improve the crushability.The alloy consists of (a) from 35 to 60% of Nd, Dy and/or Pr, 1% or less of B, and the balance being Fe, or (b) from 35 to 60% of Nd, Dy and/or Pr, 1% or less of B, and at least one element selected from the group consisting of 35% by weight or less of Co, 4% by weight or less of Cu, 3% by weight or less of Al and 3% by weight or less of Ga, and the balance being Fe. The total volume fraction of R.sub.2 Fe.sub.17 and R.sub.2 Fe.sub.14 B phases (Fe may be replaced with Cu, Co, Al or Ga) is 25% or more in the alloy. The average size of each of the R.sub.2 Fe.sub.17 and R.sub.2 Fe.sub.14 B phases is 20 .mu.m or less. The alloy can be produced by a centrifugal casting at an average accumulating rate of melt at 0.1 cm/second or less.

Abstract: The magnetic properties of rare earth magnet are improved by means of forming a novel structure of the cast alloy used for the production of a rare earth magnet, which contains from 27 to 34% by weight of at least one rare earth element (R) including yttrium, from 0.7 to 1.4% by weight of boron, and the balance being essentially iron and, occasionally any other transition element, and comprises an R.sub.2 T.sub.14 B phase, an R-rich phase and optionally at least one ternary phase except for the R.sub.2 T.sub.14 B phase and the R-rich phase. The novel structure is that the volume fraction (V) in percentage of said R.sub.2 T.sub.14 B phase and said at least one ternary phase is more than 138-1.6r (with the proviso that r is the content of R), the average grain size of the R.sub.2 T.sub.14 B phases is from 10 to 100 .mu.m and, further, the average spacing between the adjacent R-rich phases is from 3 to 15 .mu.m.

Abstract: An alloy used for the production of a rare-earth magnet alloy, particularly the boundary-phase alloy in the two-alloy method is provided to improve the crushability.The Alloy consists of (a) from 35 to 60% of Nd, Dy and/or Pr, and the balance being Fe, or (b) from 35 to 60% of Nd, Dy and/or Pr, and at least one element selected from the group consisting of 35% by weight or less of Co, 4% by weight or less of Cu, 3% by weight or less of Al and 3% by weight or less of Ga, and the balance being Fe. The volume fraction of R.sub.2 Fe.sub.17 phase (Fe may be replaced with Cu, Co, Al or Ga) is 25% or more in the alloy and the average size of an R.sub.2 Fe.sub.17 phase is 20 .mu.m or less. The alloy can be produced by a centrifugal casting at an average accumulating rate of melt at 0.1 cm/second or less.

Abstract: The magnetic properties of rare earth magnet are improved by means of forming a novel structure of the cast alloy used for the production of a rare earth magnet, which contains from 27 to 34% by weight of at least one rare earth element (R) including yttrium, from 07 to 1.4% by weight of boron, and the balance being essentially iron and, occasionally any other transition element, and comprises an R.sub.2 T.sub.14 B phase, an R-rich phase and optionally at least one ternary phase except for the R.sub.2 T.sub.14 B phase and the R-rich phase. The novel structure is that the volume fraction (V) in percentage of said R.sub.2 T.sub.14 B phase and said at least one ternary phase is more than 138-1.6r (with the proviso that r is the content of R), the average grain size of the R.sub.2 T.sub.14 B phases is from 10 to 100 .mu.m and, further, the average spacing between the adjacent R-rich phases is from 3 to 15 .mu.m.

Abstract: The segregation in the hydrogen-absorbing alloy is decreased by a centrifugal casting which is devised in the present invention so that: a melt fed to the bottom portion of a cylindrical rotary mold solidifies during one rotation of the mold; and, the average depositing speed of melt is from approximately 0.005 to 0.1 cm/second.

Abstract: In a work flow management apparatus of the present invention, a packet of necessary information is given to each step when the step is started, and the step execution result is returned to the information packet from the step. Routing preprocessing unit is provided for adding an information field for determining whether or not the step is to be routed to its subsequent step to the information packet transferred between the person in charge of the step and the system. Routing postprocessing unit is provided for determining whether or not the step is to be routed to its subsequent step based on the information field contents in the information packet from the person in charge of the step.

Abstract: A diamond crystal comprises a tabular diamond crystal formed on a substrate by gas phase synthesis, wherein the diamond crystal has a ratio of thickness to width of from 1:4 to 1:1,000 and the surface of the substrate on which the diamond crystal has been formed and the top surface of the diamond crystal are at an angle ranging from 0.degree. to 10.degree..

Abstract: A tabular diamond crystal is formed on a substrate by gas phase synthesis, wherein the diamond crystal has a ratio of thickness to width of from 1:4 to 1:1,000 and the surface of the substrate on which the diamond crystal has been formed and the top surface of the diamond crystal are at an angle ranging from 0.degree. to 10.degree..

Abstract: An apparatus for the synthesis of diamond by the vapor-phase process using a combustion flame is provided with a cover set in place in the peripheral region of a combustion burner for enveloping the combustion flame and provided, when necessary, with gas inlets. A method for the synthesis of diamond by the vapor-phase process using the apparatus described above effects the diamond deposition by forming a combustion flame for synthesis of diamond and, at the same time, varying the relative parallel positions of the combustion flame and the substrate.

Abstract: A composite diamond grain which comprises a heat-resistant grain as a nucleus and discrete diamond crystal particles distributed on the surface of the grain or diamond crystal films formed to cover the entire surface of the grain and a method for producing the composite diamond grain by the vapor-phase process are disclosed. For the filament method which is one form of the vapor-phase method, tantalum is useful as the material for the filament. Since tantalum is susceptible of embrittlement by hydrogen, a treatment to be performed on tantalum for the elimination of this drawback is also disclosed.

Abstract: Composite diamond granules using granules of a ceramic substance line SiC as cores and covering the cores with a polycrystalline diamond coating are produced by the vapor phase method. The granules clearly manifest an automorphic diamond face and possess pyramidal projections, square faces, or rectangular faces on their surface. They are highly useful as abrasive granules for grinding. A grindstone obtained by mixing these granules with resin, metal, and vitrified binder and molding the resultant mixture is highly useful.

Abstract: A composite diamond grain which comprises a heat-resistant grain as a nucleus and discrete diamond crystal particles distributed on the surface of the grain or diamond crystal films formed to cover the entire surface of the grain and a method for producing the composite diamond grain by the vapor-phase process are disclosed. For the filament method which is one form of the vapor-phase method, tantalum is useful as the material for the filament. Since tantalum is susceptible of embrittlement by hydrogen, a treatment to be performed on tantalum for the elimination of this drawback is also disclosed.

Abstract: A method for vapor-phase synthesis of diamond comprises burning a raw material compound for synthesis of diamond thereby forming a combustion flame, disposing a substrate for deposition of diamond in said combustion flame, and keeping said substrate at a prescribed temperature, thereby inducing deposition of diamond on said substrate.

Abstract: A synthesizing process for diamond by the chemical vapor phase growth method, characterized by converting an organic compound containing carbon, hydrogen and at least one of oxygen and nitrogen, to a gas phase, mixing the gas with hydrogen gas, decomposing the mixed gas by an energy of heat, electron beam, light, direct current glow discharge, alternating current glow discharge, or direct current arc discharge, and introducing the decomposed gas to the surface of a heated substrate (5) to deposit diamond on the surface of the substrate.