Dainichiseika Color & Chemicals Mfg. Co., Ltd.

Victor Company of Japan, Limited

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

Other

Tsubakimoto Chain Company

Inter Energy Co., Ltd.

Agency of Industrial Science and Technology

Japan Science and Technology Corporation

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Spacecreation Co., Ltd.

Dainichiseika Color & Chemical

Ichiro Ueno

Norio Tanaka

Takashi Hiraga

Noritaka Yamamoto

Toshiko Mizokuro

Nobutaka Tanigaki

Tetsuo Moriya

Hiromitsu Yanagimoto

Noriyasu Shiga

Shigeru Takarada

Hisao Kinjo

Koji Tsujita

Hiroshi Nagaeda

Yoshiyo Wada

Hiroyuki Mochizuki

Shiro Futaki

Yasuhiro Ueki

Junji Tominaga

Nobufumi Atoda

Hideharu Eguchi

Susumu Kawano

Kuniaki Aoki

Atsushi Hosoda

Hirobumi Watanabe

Qiying Chen

Hirofumi Watanabe

Akira Morikiyo

Kazuo Tatsuguchi

Juichi Shikunami

Kenji Umezawa

Yoshihiko Honjo

Kouji Tsujita

Masakatsu Kai

Shogo Okamoto

Keiji Toyonaga

Yousuke Sugawara

Masutaka Koyano

Kunio Ikuma

T Hiraga

N Tanaka

N Tanigaki

N Yamamoto

H Mochizuki

T Mizokuro

An optical path switching type optical signal transmission/reception apparatus includes a one-to-seven compatible optically controlled optical path switching apparatusthat is connected to a host optical signal transmission/reception apparatusvia an optical fiber, a total of seven subordinate optical communication adaptersconnected via optical fibers, user side devicesconnected to respective subordinate optical communication adapters via an electric circuit, an optical transmission/reception control circuit provided in each of the total of seven subordinate user side optical communication adapters, and including an uplink optical signal transmission mechanism, a downlink optical signal reception mechanism, a control light source that can generate control light to drive the optical path switching apparatus, in which a wavelength of the generated control light is different from a wavelength of signal light, and an optical communication oriented transmission/reception mechanism using the wavelength of the control light source, optical pathstodedicated to the control light to connect the optical path switching apparatusto the seven user side optical communication adapters, and a reflection-type star coupler.

Optical path switching signal transmission/reception apparatus and corresponding method

An optical-path-switching apparatus according to the present invention includes a reducing optical system capable of guiding signal light and control light along the direction of gravity into a thermal-lens-forming optical element having an incidence plane positioned to be perpendicular to the direction of gravity in such a way as to differentiate respective convergence points in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis. The apparatus further includes a light-receiving unit configured to converge or condense straight-traveling signal light in the absence of irradiation with the control light and signal light whose optical path has been switched due to irradiation with the control light using the same optical element. Further, the apparatus includes a wedge-type prism provided at a passing position of the optical-path-switched signal light to increase the distance between the optical axis of the optical-path-changed signal light and the optical axis of the straight-traveling signal light.

Optical-path-switching apparatus and light signal optical-path-switching method

An optical deflection apparatus includes a signal light source configured to emit signal light having one or more wavelengths, a control light source configured to emit control light having a wavelength different from the wavelength of the signal light, a thermal lens forming optical element including a light absorption layer configured to transmit the signal light and selectively absorb the control light, and a beam-condensing unit configured to cause beam-condensation of the control light and the signal light at different convergence points in the light absorption layer. The thermal lens forming optical element causes convergence and divergence of the control light and the signal light on an incidence plane of the light absorption layer or its vicinity in a light traveling direction, wherein a thermal lens is reversibly formed in the light absorption layer due to a temperature increase occurring in a region where the control light is absorbed and its peripheral region, and the thermal lens changes a refractive index to change a traveling direction of the signal light.

Optical deflection method and optical deflection apparatus

A thermal lens forming element includes a first chamber serving as a control light absorbing region, which is configured as a columnar body or an N prismatic body (wherein N is an integer equal to or greater than 4) circumscribing the columnar body and filled with a control light absorbing dyestuff solution containing a solvent having a viscosity of 0 to 3 mPa&#xb7;s at 160&#xb0; C. or above and a ratio of the viscosity of the solvent at 160&#xb0; C. to a viscosity of the solvent at 40&#xb0; C. not less than 1 and not greater than 6, wherein the columnar body or the N prismatic body circumscribing the columnar body has a central axis coinciding with an optical axis of incident signal light. The first chamber is connected to a second chamber via a solution channel and a dam. The dyestuff solution and a bubble of an inert gas are confined in the second chamber.

Thermal lens forming element

An automatic circulation collection type data system is constructed by connecting a monitoring device and data collecting modules disposed at respective places through optical cables. The monitoring device transmits a trigger pulse for data collection through the optical cable to each data collecting module. An identification code is given to each data collecting module, and each data collecting module has an automatic circulation mechanism comprising first and second optical switches, a data collecting unit, and a controllerfor performing various kinds of control for data collection. When receiving the trigger pulse from the monitoring device, the automatic circulation mechanism turns on the third switch and transmits the collected data through the optical cable to the monitoring device together with the identification code, and also transmits a trigger pulse through the optical cable to a next data collecting module.

Automatic circulation collection type data collecting system

Data to be sent are, in a data communication unit, first divided into electric signal packets by a data transmission/receipt control unit, whereby an electric signal sequence tag is added to each electric signal packet, then converted into optical packets by an optical signal transmitting unit, and transmitted through an optical signal path. At optical switch, the optical paths of the packets are switched to optical signal paths by the actions of optical destination tags that are respectively synchronized with optical packets and irradiated by an optical signal transmitting unit. At optical signal receiving units, the received optical packets are converted to electric signal packets, and reassembled to be original data according to the identification information on the reassembly sequence recorded in the sequence tag in an electric signal packet by data transmission/receipt control units, and distributed to client devices as electric signals.

Optically controlled optical-path-switching-type data distribution apparatus and distribution method

A data distribution system transmitting and receiving a large capacity of data such as image data smoothly without incurring a delay over an optical fiber line located between a data sever and a client device. In the data transmission system, a plurality of client devices are bus-connected through an optical fiber to a data server transmitting and receiving data as signal light. Each of the client devices has a client optical switch and is connected with a client access device. The client optical switch is structured with a thermal-lens forming element and a signal-light path shifting member. When any of the client devices forwards an access command to its own client access device, control light is irradiated from the client access device to the own client optical switch thus effecting a switchover. Thus, transmission data of from the data server is stored in a data storage of the relevant client device.

Data distribution system and method

A transfer conveyor which prevents collisions between works to be conveyed when the works to be conveyed or stored are carried on a conveyer track by a work support having a length shorter than the length of works to be conveyed, which permits reverse traveling during maintenance operations and the like. The collision preventing mechanism includes a sensing element which is biased into a contact position where it engages a leading work support on the conveyor track and is deflected, a sensing leverwhich mounts the sensing element and pivots in accordance with the contacting/deflecting operation of the sensing element, and a stopper lever downstream from the sensing element, which is connected to the sensing element to be displaced into the path of travel of the next trailing work support when the sensing element is in the contacting position, The stopper lever limits the travel of the trailing work support to a predetermined storage conveying interval.

Transfer conveyor

A flip-flop circuit of the present invention includes a first switch and a second switch which are connected in series to each other. The first switch includes: two input ports upon which light source light and signal light are incident; two output ports for outputting an optical output; and a thermal lens forming element for forming a thermal lens in a predetermined optical inputting condition. Although the second switch is composed in the same manner as that of the first switch, a relation between the wave-lengths to be utilized is inverted. When a state is changed from OFF to ON, a pulse signal is inputted for setting and one of the rays of output light of the second switch is fed-back to the first switch so as to maintain the state of ON. When the state is changed from ON to OFF, a pulse of additional signal light is inputted. Due to the foregoing, the two states of ON and OFF can be stably maintained.

Optical flip-flop circuit

In an end surface closely arranged multicore optical fiber, at least two single-mode optical fibersare, at one and the other ends of the individual single-mode optical fibers, closely arranged in parallel to each other and bound together, such that a center-center distance of adjacent single-mode optical fibersis twice a core diameter of the single-mode optical fiberor greater andtimes a value obtained by subtracting the core diameter of the single-mode optical fiber from a core diameter of a multimode optical fiber to be connected or less, and that the remaining individual single-mode optical fibersare individually independent from each other.

End-surface closely arranged multicore optical fiber and manufacturing method thereof

An optical signal optical path switching method comprising steps of using a thermal lens based on a distribution of refractive index produced reversibly caused by temperature increase generated in an area of the light-absorbing layer film of thermal lens forming devicesand, that has absorbed control light beamsand, and in the periphery thereof, causing the converged signal light beam to exit from the thermal lens forming device with an ordinary divergence angle when the control light beamsandhave not been irradiated and no thermal lens has been formed, and causing the converged signal light beam to exit from the thermal lens forming device with a divergence angle larger than the ordinary divergence angle when the control light beams have been irradiated and a thermal lens has been formed, and causing the signal light beam to travel straight through holesandof mirrors provided with the holes for the signal light beam to pass through when the control light beams have not been irradiated and no thermal lens has been formed, and changing the optical path by reflecting the signal light beam using the hole-provided mirror when the control light beams have been irradiated and a thermal lens has been formed.

Optically controlled optical-path-switching apparatus, and method of switching optical paths

An optical path switching method includes converging and irradiating, on a light absorption layer film provided in a thermal lens forming element including at least the film, each of a control light having a wavelength selected from a wavelength band which is absorbed by the film and a signal light having a wavelength selected from a wavelength band which is not absorbed by the film. A thermal lens is reversibly formed according to a distribution of refraction index created by a temperature increase generated in and around an area of the film in which the control light is absorbed according to whether or not the control light is irradiated. The converged signal light is output either in its converged form or after its spread angle is changed. A includes a hole and reflector where the signal light output is either passed through the hole or reflected by reflector.

Optical path switching device and method

An organic compound having an affinity for a resin of a molded resin article and sublimation properties is allowed to penetrate/disperse into the surface of the molded resin article, thereby modifying and/or coloring a resin surface layer. The molded resin article and the organic compound having the affinity for the resin and the sublimation properties are put into a tightly closable container, and the pressure and the temperature in the container are adjusted to place them in a saturated sublimation pressure state of the organic compound, whereby a vapor of the organic compound is uniformly deposited on the surface of the molded resin article and it further penetrates/disperses into the resin surface layer, and in consequence, the resin surface layer can be modified and/or colored. In addition, the modification of the resin surface layer permits imparting a function thereto.

Method of modifying surface layer of molded resin and apparatus for modifying surface layer of molded resin

Modification method of surface layer of molded resin article, and modification apparatus of surface layer of molded resin article

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Isehara, Japan

Ichiro Ueno