Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Ricoh Elemex Corporation

Ricoh Seiki Company, Ltd.

Hiroyuki Horiguchi

Toshiyuki Furuta

Hirotoshi Eguchi

Yoshio Watanabe

Toshihiro Tsukagoshi

Yutaka Ebi

Tatsuya Furukawa

Takahiro Watanabe

Yasuo Katano

Sugitaka Oteki

Yoshikazu Kaneko

Shuji Motomura

Satoshi Otsuki

Tsutomu Nakajima

Atsuo Hashimoto

Eiki Aono

Takashi Kitaguchi

Norihiko Murata

Masanori Itagaki

Tatsuo Miyachi

Yoshinobu Nakayama

A thermally-sensitive type flow meter measures a flow rate with a high accuracy by eliminating a noise generated in a source voltage. The flow meter includes a sensor chip comprising a substrate carrying sensing elements. First and second resistors are provided on first and second bridges formed over a depression formed on the substrate. The first bridge is positioned on an upstream side and the second bridge is positioned on a downstream side. The first and second resistors generate a heat by the same voltage source. First and second temperature measuring resistors are provided adjacent to the first and second resistors, respectively, to measure a temperature of the first and second resistors. Third and fourth temperature measuring resistors are provided for measuring the temperature of the fluid. A temperature control unit, including the first, second, third and fourth temperature measuring resistors, controls a temperature of each of the first and second resistors to be constant. A flow rate of the fluid is determined based on a voltage difference between a first voltage applied to the first resistor and a second voltage applied to the second resistor.

Thermally-sensitive type flow meter having a high accuracy

A heater-heat sensor type thermal flow sensor including a substrate installed in a fluid path, a channel formed on a part of the substrate; a bridge suspended over the channel; a heater constructed with an electric resistor formed on the bridge; a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the heater which is constructed with another electric resistor situated on the bridge and measuring the temperature of the heater; and a fluid temperature sensor constructed with still another electric resistor formed on a position of the substrate not thermally affected by the heater. There is a bridge circuit including the temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the heater, the fluid temperature sensor, and first and second resistors both installed outside of the fluid path. A control circuit is provided to control the voltage applied to the heater in accordance with the output of the bridge circuit. The heater and the heat sensor are superposedly formed on the bridge through an interlayer insulating film in order to substantially eliminate the difference between the temperatures of the heater and heat sensor. A temperature compensating circuit is connected to the output stage of the control circuit.

Thermal-type flow sensor

A neuron unit processes a plurality of input signals and outputs an output signal which is indicative of a result of the processing. The neuron unit includes input lines for receiving the input signals, a forward process part including a supplying part for supplying weight functions and an operation part for carrying out an operation on each of the input signals using one of the weight functions and for outputting the output signal, and a self-learning part including a generating part for generating new weight functions based on errors between the output signal of the forward process part and teaching signals and a varying part for varying the weight functions supplied by the supplying part of the forward process part to the new weight functions generated by the generating part.

Neuron unit, neural network and signal processing method

A hierarchical signal processing apparatus includes aggregates having logic operation portions. The apparatus compares a final output signal from a logic operation portion in a final aggregate with a teaching signal, and generates an error signal by taking a signal which exists only in the teaching signal as a positive error signal, and taking a signal which exists only in said final output signal as a negative error signal. An error signal generating portion in the apparatus generates a positive error signal of a logic operating portion within a certain aggregate which supplies one or more output signals thereof to said logic operation means of another aggregate based on one or more logic operations on the excitatory weight function signal of said weight function signal, the positive error signal, the inhibitory weight function signal of said weight function signal and the negative error signal, and also generates a negative error signal of said logic operation means within said certain aggregate which supplies one or more output signals thereof to said logic operation means of said other aggregate based on one or more logic operations on the inhibitory weight function signal of said weight function signal, the positive error signal of said other aggregate, the excitatory weight function signal of said weight function signal and the negative error signal.

Signal processing apparatus including plural aggregates

A neuron unit processes a plurality of input signals and outputs an output signal which is indicative of a result of the processing. The neuron unit includes input lines for receiving the input signals, a forward process part including a supplying part for supplying weight functions and an operation part for carrying out an operation on each of the input signals using one of the weight functions and for outputting the output signal, and a self-learning part including a generating part for generating new weight functions based on an error signal representing an error between the output signal of the forward process part and a teaching signal and a varying part for varying the weight functions supplied by the supplying part of the forward process part to the new weight functions generated by the generating part. The error signal includes first and second error signal components representing pulse densities.

Neuron unit with error signal having components representing pulse

A neuron unit simultaneously processes a plurality of binary input signals. The neuron unit includes input lines for receiving first and second input signals which undergo transitions with time, first and second memories for storing weighting coefficients, a first gate for successively obtaining a logical product of one of the first input signals and a corresponding one of the weighting coefficients read out from the first memory for each of the first input signals, a second gate for successively obtaining a logical product of one of the second input signals and a corresponding one of the weighting coefficients read out from the second memory for each of the second input signals, a third gate for obtaining a logical sum of logical products output from the first gate, a fourth gate for obtaining a logical sum of logical products output from the second gate, and an output part including an inverter for inverting the logical sum output from the fourth gate and a gate for obtaining one of a logical product and a logical sum of the logical sum output from the third gate and an inverted logical sum output from the inverter. This gate outputs an output signal of the neuron unit.

Neuron unit and neuron unit network

A recording apparatus which when used includes in an arbitrary order steps of brining a contact material into contact with a surface of a recording medium, and selectively heating the surface of the recording medium. The surface of the recording medium has a characteristic which a receding contact angle becomes smaller when the recording medium is brought into contact with liquid and it is in the heated status. The contact material is selected from a liquid, a vapor or a liquid under conditions of a temperature lower than a temperature at which the receding contact angle of the recording medium starts to decrease. An area having the receding contact angle corresponding to a temperature of the recording medium obtained by selectively heating the surface of the recording medium in accordance with image information in formed, as latent image, on the surface of the recording medium.

Recording apparatus

A neuron unit processes a plurality of input signals and for outputs an output signal which is indicative of a result of the processing, and includes input lines for receiving the input signals, a forward process part including a supplying part for supplying weight functions and an operation part for carrying out an operation on each of the input signals using one of the weight functions and for outputting the output signal, and a self-learning part including a function generating part for generating new weight functions based on errors between the output signal of the forward process part and teaching signals and a varying part for varying the weight functions supplied by the supplying part of the forward process part to the new weight functions generated by the generating part. The supplying part includes a memory for storing each weight function in the form of a binary value, and a generating circuit for generating a random pulse train based on each binary value stored in the memory. The random pulse train describes each weight function in the form of a pulse signal having a pulse density.

Neuron unit

A neuron unit processes a plurality of binary input signals and outputs a neuron output signal which is indicative of a result of the processing. The neuron unit is provided with a plurality of first gates respectively for carrying out a logical operation on a binary input signal and a weighting coefficient, a second gate for carrying out a logical operation on an excitatory output signal of each of the first gates, a third gate for carrying out a logic operation on an inhibitory output signal of each of the first gates, a fourth gate for synthesizing output signals of the second and third gates and outputting the neuron output signal, and a generating circuit for generating the weighting coefficients which are supplied to each of the first gates. The generating circuit for generating one weighting coefficient includes a random number generator for generating random numbers, and a comparator for comparing each random number r with a predetermined value q and for outputting a pulse signal having first and second values depending on whether each random number r is such that r.ltoreq.q or r&gt;q, and each weighting coefficient is described by a pulse density.

A recording process includes in an arbitrary order steps of bringing a contact material into contact with a surface of a recording medium, and selectively heating the surface of the recording medium. The surface of the recording medium has a characteristic which a receding contact angle becomes smaller when the recording medium is brought into contact with liquid and it is in the heated status. The contact material is selected from a liquid, a vapor or a liquid under conditions of a temperature lower than a temperature at which the receding contact angle of the recording medium starts to decrease. An area having the receding contact angle corresponding to a temperature of the recording medium obtained by selectively heating the surface of the recording medium in accordance with image information in formed, as latent image, on the surface of the recording medium.

Recording process and apparatus and recording medium in the same

A neuron unit simultaneously processes a plurality of binary input signals. The neuron unit includes input lines for receiving input signals which undergo transitions with time, first and second memories for storing weighting coefficients, a first gate for successively obtaining a logical product of one of the input signals and a corresponding one of the weighting coefficients read out from the first memory for each of the first input signals, a second gate for successively obtaining a logical product of one of the input signals and a corresponding one of the weighting coefficients read out from the second memory for each of the second input signals, a third gate for obtaining a logical sum of logical products output from the first gate, a fourth gate for obtaining a logical sum of logical products output from the second gate, and an output part including an inverter for inverting the logical sum output from the fourth gate and a gate for obtaining one of a logical product and a logical sum of the logical sum output from the third gate and an inverted logical sum output from the inverter. This gate outputs an output signal of the neuron unit.

A total contact type photoelectric conversion device comprises a substrate having an optically transparent portion, a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements formed in a line on the substrate, and a cover layer covering the plurality of the photoelectric conversion elements and having a roller load region within which the cover layer is to make contact with a sheet partially wrapped around a peripheral surface of a roller for feeding the sheet in a sub-scanning direction. The plurality of photoelectric conversion elements are aligned in a main scanning direction perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction and are located outside the roller load region. Therefore, incident light passing through the device is reflected on a position on the sheet outside the roller load region.

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Yokohama, Japan

Hiroyuki Horiguchi