Stanley Electric Co., Ltd

Japan Tobacco Inc.

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

Fumio Kubo

Yutaka Ishiyama

Tadashi Kawata

Takehiro Suzuki

Hisao Suzuki

Mikio Komori

Michinori Ichikawa

Takahiro Matsumoto

Takeshi Matsumura

Yasuo Toko

Yasuyuki Kawakami

Masayuki Kanechika

Koichi Okamoto

Shigenobu Kushihashi

Fumiaki Tomita

Shigemitsu Inomata

Shozo Horikawa

Ryohei Ikeno

Yasushi Sumi

Syozo Horikawa

Junichi Nagai

Kenichi Zentani

Ryouhei Ikeno

A stereographic display apparatus and a vehicle headlight can include an optical modulator including a position sensor and a voltage supply. The position sensor can be configured to detect an inclined angle, and the voltage supply can be configured to apply a voltage to the optical modulator in accordance with the inclined angle output from the position sensor. The optical modulator can refract light at a refraction angle in accordance with the voltage output from the voltage supply. Therefore, when the optical modulator is incorporated into a stereographic display apparatus, the stereographic display apparatus can provide comfortable stereographic displays to viewers, even if it inclines due to hand movement and the like. A vehicle headlight incorporating the optical modulator can also form light distributions in a useful direction for drivers with a simple structure, even when it moves in various directions with reference to a road due to road conditions.

Stereographic display apparatus and vehicle headlight

A particle detector includes a light source, and a metal layer having an incident/reflective surface and a photoelectric surface opposing the incident/reflective surface. Incident light from the light source reaches the incident/reflective surface to excite near-field surface plasmon resonance photons at the photoelectric surface. A particle deposited on the photoelectric surface of the metal layer changes the near-field surface plasmon resonance photons to far-field scattered light. The particle detector further includes a scattered light detecting unit, provided above the photoelectric surface of the metal layer, for detecting the far-field scattered light.

Light scattering type particle detector using scattered light of surface plasmon resonance photons

The disclosed subject matter is directed to solid state cameras and sensor systems that include a pickup surface thereof with both a distance detecting area for measuring a distance from a moving object and a movement detecting area for detecting the object's movement. The device can also include an optical communication area for communicating with an outside communication device. Therefore, the device enables a single pickup surface to include at least the following three functions: distance measurement; movement detection; and optical communication. The above-described sensor systems can output a control signal for collision avoidance with stationary or moving obstacle(s) by using the solid state camera. Because the sensor system can be integrated as a single chip IC with a small size, the system is useful as a sensor device in a vehicle, a robot, and the like.

Solid state camera and sensor system and method

The disclosed subject matter relates to a method and apparatus for position judgment, which can include a plurality of light sources and a photo-detector. The plurality of light sources can be configured to emit a plurality of pulsed lights towards an object from different directions, and a photo-detector can be configured to serially detect the light reflected from the object. A determination of whether the object is moving further away or coming closer to the apparatus can be judged by calculating at least one of a position, an area and a brightness of the object from the reflected light and comparing the data with the previous data for the same value(s). Thus, because the method of the disclosed subject matter does not require a measurement of time as in the conventional methods, the method can result in providing a similar apparatus with a simple configuration and at a low cost, and can be used as a sensor for detecting an obstacle and the like in a vehicle, alarm system, etc.

Method and apparatus for position judgment

The disclosed subject matter relates to a method and distance measurement apparatus for measuring a distance to an object, which can include a light source, a solid state camera, a controller and a distance data generator. The light source can be configured to emit a modulated light towards an object, and the solid state camera can convert the light reflected from the object into charges. The distance data generator can be configured to calculate the distance based on the charges, and the controller can be configured to adjust the modulated light to be more favorable under various circumstances. Thus, the method of the disclosed subject matter can accurately measure distance under various circumstances and can result in providing a distance measurement apparatus with a simple configuration and at low cost, and can be used as a sensor for distance measurement of an obstacle and the like in a vehicle, security system, robot, etc.

Method and apparatus for distance measurement

An object movement tracking apparatus and its method tracks an object with an unknown initial position and which object is continually moving, the apparatus for recovering a tracking process even when the tracking has failed and includes an observing device such as a video camera for observing a scene at a video frame rate. Time-sequentially acquired image data from the observing device are stored in an image memory device and the data processed in parallel. During data processing, an object recognition module selects a frame memory based on predetermined information. An estimated value of position/posture of the object are calculated from the image data and transmitted. A movement tracking module receives transmitted data from the object recognition module, replacing a current frame with a next frame and waits until image data in the next frame are inputted. When image data inputting is finished, the up dated replacement in position/posture of the object and its evaluated value are calculated by comparing image data and the object model. The system mode is changed and updated based on the obtained evaluated value.

Object tracking apparatus, object tracking method and recording medium

A double-faced splicing tape of the present invention splices a first web used for forming a tobacco rod and a second web in a stand-by state to and has a plurality of perforations extending in a longitudinal direction of the webs. Furthermore, the present invention provides a feeding device for making the double-faced splicing tape hang toward a feeding position located in between a main delivery path of the first web and a sub-delivery path of the second web.

Splicing tape for splicing webs used as wrapping material for rod-like article together and feeding device of the same

A cigarette inspection apparatus is provided, which is capable of measuring ventilation resistances of a large number of filter cigarettes easily and accurately and which includes an inspection drum ( ) provided with part of an air-introducing unit for introducing air into a filter cigarette (C) from a non-filter side end face thereof, a measurement section ( ) provided with the rest of the air-introducing unit, pressure transducers ( ) for detecting inlet side and outlet side air pressures of the cigarette, and a data processor ( ) for determining the ventilation resistance of the cigarette based on a difference between the air pressures.

Cigarette inspection device

An automatic splicing system is provided that includes a motor ( ) for rotating an active roll (R ) while a web (P ) is drawn from the roll (R ) toward a cigarette rod-manufacturing machine, a motor ( ) for rotating a standby roll (R ) when a residual of the roll (R ) reaches a predetermined amount or less so that a web (P ) is fed from the roll (R ), a splicing section ( ) splicing the webs (P ; P ) and changing over the feeding of web from the roll (R ) to the roll (R ) when feed speeds of the webs match each other, and suction casings ( ) disposed on feed paths of the webs, respectively, the suction casings drawing the webs thereinto temporarily. The rotational speeds of the motors ( and ) are controlled so as to maintain drawn amounts of the webs in the respective suction casings ( ) within a predetermined range.

Automatic web splicing system

A compact millimeter wave radar transceiver at low cost is provided wherein a direct current voltage applying circuit is coupled to a high frequency line to apply a fast pulse wave without losing a sharp input pulse pattern. A voltage is applied to a negative resistance diode, such as a Gunn diode, which is variably controlled to vary the diode oscillating frequency signal, which signal is outputted as a transmitting wave. The transmitted wave is reflected by a target and received by the negative resistance diode. The received wave is detected as a heterodyne detection utilizing a non-linear property of the negative resistance diode. A frequency difference between the transmitted wave and the received reflected wave is outputted via a low-pass filter and processed to detect the target. To keep the sharp pulse wave pattern for applying to the high frequency line, a Y-shaped power distributor, &ldquo;Wilkinson divider&rdquo;, consisting of &lgr;/4 (&lgr; designates wave length) line elements Z , Z and Z , is between a capacitor connected to a high frequency input/output terminal and a direct current voltage input terminal to provide a leakage power suppressing effect between the latter terminals.

Radar transceiver

A monitoring system comprises an inspection device incorporated in a cigarette manufacturing machine and a server computer connected to the inspection device by means of a communication line. The inspection device includes a measuring circuit for continuously calculating the fill of the cut tobacco in each of a given number of divisions of each cigarette in accordance with a detection signal from a density sensor, an enrollment control section for repeatedly storing calculation data from the measuring circuit in a quantity corresponding to a predetermined number of cigarettes at a time, and a CPU for computing average calculation data for each division of each cigarette in accordance with the stored calculation data. The server computer originates quality data for the cigarettes in accordance with the average calculation data and displays the quality data on a CRT.

System for monitoring the quantity of cut tobacco in cigarettes

A dilution monitoring system for filter cigarettes has pairs of pressure sensors provided individually for left- and right-hand manufactured filter cigarettes, a dilution processor card adapted to receive pressure signals from the pressure sensors through an A/D converter, and a server computer connected to the processor card by means of a communication line and including a CRT. The dilution processor card computes the respective dilutions of the individual filter cigarettes in accordance with the pressure signals, and stores the computation results in a RAM. Thereafter, the processor card obtains quality data, such as the average, frequency distribution, and standard deviation of the stored dilutions, for each group of the left- and right-hand filter cigarettes, also stores the quality data in the RAM. The server computer receives the quality data transmitted from the processor card, and displays them in the form of a graph or table on the CRT.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Fumio Kubo