Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Hideyuki Miyazawa

Makito Nakashima

Tomoaki Sugawara

Takahiro Imai

Tsuneaki Kondoh

Junichiro Natori

Mizuki Otagiri

Mayuka Araumi

Yuko Arizumi

Kimio Aoki

Shigeru Yamada

Aya Utsuki

Yuki Hoshikawa

Yoshihiro Norikane

Masahiro Masuzawa

Shozo Murata

Masaru Ohgaki

Shogo Suzuki

Megumi Kitamura

Yuu Zama

Toshiyuki Mutoh

Kenichi Hayakawa

Shinji Tezuka

Noriaki Okada

Eiji Kamizyo

Yu Zama

Emergency stop pressure sensorsare installed on both side surfaces of a movable linkof a robot armof an assembly robot. When a worker S unintentionally walks in a swing range Ra of the robot armand contacts the emergency stop pressure sensor, a detection signal is transmitted to a control unit, and the control unitshuts power transmission to a driving source swinging the robot arm. The emergency stop pressure sensorhas a first electrode and a second electrode constituting a pair of electrodes and an intermediate layer formed of rubber or a rubber composition, which is disposed between the pair of electrodes, the intermediate layer generating power upon deformation caused by contact with a contacted body (the worker). A side of the intermediate layer in a laminate direction undergoes surface modification treatment and/or inactivation treatment. With this treatment, the one side and the other side of the intermediate layer have different degrees of deformation to the same deformation adding force.

Emergency stop pressure sensor, safety device, and safety system

An elementincludes a pair of electrodesand, and an intermediate layerhaving deformability, arranged between the pair of electrodesand, and containing, as a material, a silicon compound including an unpaired electron. The intermediate layermay contain a particle including the unpaired electron. The intermediate layermay have rubber elasticity. The intermediate layermay have at least one peak at a g value between 2.070 and 2.001 when being measured at an environment temperature of &#x2212;150&#xb0; C. by using an electron spin resonance (ESR) device. The intermediate layermay have at least one peak at a g value between 2.070 and 2.001 when being measured at an environment temperature of &#x2212;150&#xb0; C. by using the electron spin resonance (ESR) device.

Element, cell, and power generation device

A power generating element is provided. The power generating element includes a pair of electrodes, an intermediate layer being insulating, and a substrate being flexible. The intermediate layer is disposed between the electrodes. The substrate is configured to support the electrodes and the intermediate layer. When the substrate undergoes a deformation, the intermediate layer is separated from or pressed against one of the electrodes.

Power generating element and power generating device

An input element includes: a first electrode and a second electrode that face each other; and an intermediate layer disposed between the first and the second electrodes and made of rubber or a rubber composition, the rubber or rubber composition containing siloxane. The intermediate layer is made of rubber or a rubber composition, the rubber or rubber composition containing siloxane that has a silicon atom bound to three to four oxygen atoms. The intermediate layer has concentration profiles such that, while oxygen increases from one side to the other side of a thickness direction thereof and has a maximal value, carbon decreases from the one side to the other side thereof and has a minimal value.

Input element and input device

A sensor includes a plurality of elements and an insulating layer. The plurality of elements is deformable to generate power. The insulating layer is interposed between the plurality of elements. Each of the plurality of elements includes a pair of electrodes and an intermediate layer. The intermediate layer is disposed between the pair of electrodes and formed of one of a rubber and a rubber composition.

Sensor and sensor system

A sensor includes an electrode, an insulator, a pressure receiver, and a pressure imparting unit. The insulator is disposed at a position facing the electrode and away from the electrode. The pressure receiver is disposed on a surface of the insulator on a side opposite to the electrode. The pressure imparting unit presses a part of the insulator toward the electrode at a position different from the pressure receiver to contact the insulator with the electrode. The insulator generates power by contact charging or separation charging with respect to the electrode, to output the power as a signal.

Sensor including an electrode, insulator, pressure receiver, and pressure imparting unit, and a system including the sensor

A gripping deviceis provided at the front end of an arm of an assembly robot. The gripping deviceincludes a pair of grippersandcapable of opening and closing. The side configured to come into contact with a part, of each gripperincludes a pressure-sensitive sensor. The pressure-sensitive sensorincludes a first electrode and a second electrode serving as a pair of electrodes and an intermediate layer formed of rubber or a rubber composition between the pair of electrodes. The intermediate layer is configured to generate electricity when deformed by contact with an object (part). The side configured to come into contact with the object, of the intermediate layer is subjected to a surface modification treatment and has a higher hardness than the opposite side.

Pressure-sensitive sensor, gripping device, and robot

A fluid treatment apparatus for treating a target fluid is provided. The fluid treatment apparatus includes a cylindrical reactor and one or more catalyst members each having a rod-like or plate-like shape extending in a longitudinal direction within the reactor. The cylindrical reactor decomposes an organic substance contained in a mixed fluid of the target fluid with an oxidant by an oxidation reaction under heat and pressure. The cylindrical reactor has an introduction port on one end and a discharge port on the other end. An upstream end surface, relative to a direction of flow of the target fluid, of each of the catalyst members is located in a downstream vicinity of or upstream from an inflow position where the target fluid flows into the reactor through the introduction port. Each of the catalyst members is suspended with the upstream end surface being fixed.

Fluid treatment apparatus

A power generating element is provided. The power generating element includes a piezoelectric body and a pair of electrodes. The piezoelectric body is expandable and contractible in response to a movement of a moving body. The piezoelectric body undergoes a deformation when expanding or contracting and generates power when undergoing the deformation. The pair of electrodes extracts the power generated as the piezoelectric body undergoes the deformation.

Power generating element

A fluid purifying apparatus that purifies fluid containing organic matter has a reactor including a first transfer part that receives the fluid from outside and transfers the fluid in a vertical direction from an upper side to a lower side while heating and pressurizing the fluid and mixing the fluid with an oxidant, a second transfer part that receives the fluid that has passed through the first transfer part and transfers the fluid in the vertical direction from the lower side to the upper side, and a partition member that partitions an upper part of the reactor into the first transfer part and the second transfer part, and a solid storage part that communicates with the first transfer part and the second transfer part below the partition member and receives solid matter contained in the fluid that settles while the fluid is transferred.

Fluid purifying apparatus

Plural types of fluids that are incompatible with each other are merged. A disturbance is induced at an interface between the fluids by causing the fluids to flow through a merged flow passage having a cross-sectional area that changes. One type of the fluids is turned into microscopic liquid droplets.

Microscopic flow passage structure, microscopic liquid droplet generating method, microscopic liquid droplet generating system, particles, and microcapsules

An image data reading apparatus is provided, comprising a transport part for transporting an original sheet to a reading position within the image data reading apparatus, a white reference plate provided at the reading position, a light source for generating a light projected to the reading position, a light receiving part for converting an incoming light reflected from the white reference plate into a white reference signal and for converting an incoming light reflected from the original sheet into an image signal, a correction part for eliminating a shading from the image signal based on a reference voltage, a peak level holding part for detecting and storing a peak level of a corrected signal from the correction part, a quantization part for converting an incoming signal from the correction part into digital information based on the peak level, and a switching part for turning the peak level holding part off to stop detection and storing of the peak level of the incoming signal for a prescribed time period between a time the white reference signal is received by the light receiving part from the white reference plate and at a time the original sheet is transported to the reading position, so that the peak level holding part receives no signal from the light receiving part during the prescribed time period.

Image data reading apparatus

An integrated input/output device includes a substrate having a pair of opposite surfaces, and an input function unit is defined on one of the pair of opposite surfaces and an output function unit is defined on the other of the pair of opposite surfaces. In the preferred embodiment, a reading unit for optically reading an original document and a thermal printhead for recording an image on recording paper are defined on opposite surfaces of the same substrate. Such an integrated input/output device is compact in size, thereby contributing to minimize its space requirement for installation, and sturdy in structure.

Integrated input/output device

An image reader applicable to a document or image reading section of a facsimile apparatus or the like and equipped with a line image sensor. Light-sensitive cells of the line image sensor are divided into blocks which in turn are sorted by the order of arrangement into a plurality of groups. The blocks in one group are switched from one to another while outputs of the other group are selected. The light-sensitive cells constituting the respective blocks are classified into a plurality of groups by the order of arrangement, so that the different groups are driven in parallel.

Image reader for image processing apparatus

An image reader for a facsimile apparatus or like image processing apparatus which uses a line image sensor. An array of photodiodes arranged in the line image sensor and switches serially connected in one-to-one correspondence with the photodiodes are divided into a plurality of blocks. These blocks are further divided into a plurality groups. Selection switches are associated one with each of the groups and have their output terminals commonly connected group by group. The common output terminals of the selection switches are connected to different input terminals of differential amplifiers, so that a block to be read and another block which is different in group from that block are simultaneously selected by the selection switches.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Hideyuki Miyazawa