Hitachi Metals, Ltd.

IP Trading Japan Co., Ltd.

Shinji Furuichi

Takeo Sasaki

Masakatsu Saitoh

Kuniaki Yoshimura

Masahiro Ao

Shigetoshi Morita

Akira Taguchi

Kiyoharu Fujita

Shunichi Taka

Fumio Nitanda

Hirohide Yamada

Masaru Suzuki

Yoshiaki Takada

Hiroyuki Hatano

Shigetoshi Takashima

Yoshiaki Uchida

Hirohisa Suwabe

Yasunori Abe

Hideo Nitta

Nobuyuki Yamada

Yuji Nihei

Norio Uemura

Yasuo Kuriyama

Tomoki Soutome

Kenichi Tsunota

Yasuko Furuichi, Legal Representative

Takashi Satoh

To disclose a magnetic encoder being subjected to only small gap variation between a magnetic sensor element and a magnetic medium and readily assembled, and having a smaller number of components, high sliding resistance, and high stability against outside force, such as shock or the like. The magnetic sensor holding mechanism has a swirling spring plate structure having elasticity with respect to rotation around a rotation axis in a reciprocative slide relative movement direction, elasticity with respect to rotation around a rotation axis in a direction perpendicular to the reciprocative relative movement direction and in parallel to the magnetic medium, and elasticity in the direction perpendicular to the sensor element. A load between 50 mN and 80 mN is applied to press onto the magnetic medium.

Magnetic encoder

Disclosed is a multi-channel array radiation detector that can provide high-definition and high-resolution CT photo-images. The radiation detector has semiconductor photo-detecting elements arranged lengthwise and breadth-wise in a lattice manner and scintillator elements arranged on them one-to-one. The scintillator elements have thin metal light-reflecting material layers formed on side surfaces of the scintillator elements, and a radiation shielding material layer composed of resin blended with heavy metal element particles is filled in between adjacent metal light-reflecting material layers.

Radiation detector and method for producing the same

An optical power monitor comprising a pig-tail fiber and a GRIN lens opposed to each other with a spacing and each having an end face (angled face) angled with respect to the axis, being low on reflection loss and able to be easily assembled. The pig-tail fiber and the GRIN lens are fixed in respective sleeves having axial end faces adhered to each other. At least one of the pig-tail fiber and the GRIN lens has an arc-segmental end face directed in its axial direction at the tip of its angled face. The arc-segmental end face is positioned in the same plane as the axial end face of the sleeve of the one. The axis of the sleeve of the one is kept vertical to the axial end face of the sleeve of the one. It can be prevented that the axial tip of the other enters the sleeve of the one and comes into contact with an inner wall of the sleeve of the one. Therefore, the assembling man-hours needed to adjust their relative positions can be reduced, and the assembling yield can be improved.

Optical power monitor and its manufacturing method

An optical power monitor having a reduced number of component parts, easy to assemble, capable of facilitating positioning for achieving improved optical coupling, and having a reduced size and a reduced manufacturing cost. A pigtail fiber in which the center axis of an optical fiber is shifted from the center axis of the columnar capillary by 0.020 to 0.150 mm is used. The pigtail fiber and a photo diode are provided in a cylindrical tube with the pigtail fiber center axis and the photo diode center axis aligned with each other. The pigtail fiber and the photo diode can be adjusted to the optimum position in the cylindrical tube by adjustment in the longitudinal direction, thus advantageously simplifying the adjustment process in comparison with that in the conventional optical power monitor in which adjustments by movement in the radial direction, movement in the longitudinal direction and rotation about the center axis are made.

Optical power monitor

An acceleration sensor comprises an acceleration sensor element having a mass portion in the center, a thick frame surrounding the mass portion and a plurality of elastic support arms bridging the mass portion and the thick frame, and an upper regulation plate covering the acceleration sensor element and fixed on the thick frame with adhesive. The mass portion has, on the mass portion upper surface, connection portions connecting the mass portion with each of the arms, wired areas having lead wires on it and non-wired areas. The non-wired areas have a major area of the upper surface of the mass portion and are lower than the wired areas. The upper regulation plate has a first gap with the wired areas and a second gap with the non-wired areas, of which length is more than the sum of the first gap length, a lead wire thickness and 0.1 &#x3bc;m (preferably 1.0 &#x3bc;m). Even if contaminants adhere the mass portion upper surface, there is a large possibility of removing the contaminants from the upper surface when etching the non-wired areas, so that the vibration amplitude of the mass portion is scarcely lessened due to them.

Acceleration sensor

The invention provides a variable optical attenuator capable of adjusting the attenuation of an optical signal to obtain the optical signal having a controlled intensity. The variable optical attenuator includes a circular loop formed by winding an optical fiber by at least one turn. The circular loop of the optical fiber is mechanically transformed into an oval loop to change the curvature radius at the deflected part of the optical fiber so that the attenuation of the output light is adjusted.

Variable optical attenuator

An acceleration sensor in which a regulation plate is fixed with adhesive onto a support frame of a sensor chip of the sensor to limit the movement of a mass portion of the sensor chip within a predetermined gap range. In the acceleration sensor, the adhesion area of the adhesive can be controlled to a predetermined value to prevent a variation of the sensitivity due to the variation of the adhesion area. The sensor chip comprises the mass portion, the frame surrounding the mass portion and having on an upper surface of the frame a plurality of the recesses to fill adhesive into, elastic support arms bridging the mass portion and the frame, and strain gauges formed on the elastic support arms. The regulation plate is fixed with paste onto the frame with the predetermined gap with an upper surface of the mass portion. The paste contains hard plastic balls, of a diameter larger than the predetermined gap, mixed with adhesive. The adhesive is preferably of silicon-rubber resin.

An optical switching device comprising a plurality of mechanical optical switching structures having one to several movable optical fibers and one to several fixed optical fibers installed in a housing in which a refractive index matching oil is filled up and immerses the structures. Each of the structures has an electromagnetic actuator to reciprocate open ends of the movable optical fibers relatively to open ends of the fixed optical fibers and to connect/disconnect optical paths. Ends opposite to the open ends of the movable optical fibers and the fixed optical fibers are drawn out through ports located on the housing so that a certain number of optical fibers among the optical fibers drawn out serve as input optical fibers, while a certain number of optical fibers among the other optical fibers drawn out serve as output optical fibers, to constitute the optical switching device of m&#xd7;n type, in which m is the number of input paths and n is the number of output paths, providing a small-sized optical switching device having variable numbers of input/output paths.

Optical switching device comprising plural mechanical optical switches

An ultra-small and slim semiconductor acceleration sensor with high sensitivity is provided. The acceleration sensor has a mass portion formed at a center part of a silicon semiconductor substrate, a frame formed on an edge part of the substrate, thin elastic support arms which are provided on top surfaces of the mass portion and the frame and connect the mass portion and the frame, and strain gauges constituted by a plurality of pairs of piezoresistors formed on top surfaces of the elastic support arms. A distance between a pair of Z-axis strain gauges provided on the top surface of the elastic support arm is made longer by 0.4L to 1.2L or shorter by 1.0L to 1.8L than a distance between a pair of X-axis strain gauges, whereby output of the Z-axis strain gauge is made at the same level as output of the X-axis strain gauge. Alternatively, an angle formed by the Z-axis strain gauge with an X-axis is made 10 to 30 degrees or 65 to 90 degrees, whereby the output of the Z-axis strain gauge is made at the same level as the output of the X-axis strain gauge.

A protective member, which covers a sensor portion, is positioned on a slider so that this sensor portion is in close proximity to the slider flying surface. Furthermore, a step is formed on the surface of this slider on the side opposite the flying surface at a location separated from the protective member. Then, an actuator is either mounted on the flat portion which was made thin by the formation of the step, or an actuator is stored and affixed within a slot created in line with the formation of the step. Furthermore, a suspension is bonded to a surface of this actuator on the side opposite the slider, and a head assembly is configured.

Slider and head assembly

A method for forming a composite vapor-deposited film one side of which suitable for vapor-deposition on a phosphor surface of a CRT, such as a color television picture tube, has high light reflectivity, and the other side of which has a property to absorb radiant heat, and a composite vapor-deposition material suitable for vacuum deposition are disclosed. The composite vapor-deposition material has a high vapor-pressure metal envelope and a low vapor-pressure metal in the core region of the envelope. Low vapor-pressure metal powder should preferably be dispersed and held by high vapor-pressure metal powder in the core region. Vacuum deposition using this composite vapor-deposition material yields a composite deposited film having a composition comprising almost 100% of the high vapor-pressure metal formed in the initial stage of evaporation, and a composition comprising 100% of the low vapor-pressure metal formed in the final stage of evaporation.

METHOD FOR FORMING COMPOSITE VAPOR-DEPOSITED FILMS WITH VARIED COMPOSITIONS FORMED IN THE INITIAL AND FINAL STAGES OF DEPOSITION, COMPOSITE VAPOR-DEPOSITION MATERIAL FOR THE FILM AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURE THEREOF

A method for forming a composite vapor-deposited film which is suitable for the deposition on the fluorescent screen of a color television picture tube and the like and in which one side has a high light-reflectance and the other side has a property of absorbing heat rays, and a composite vapor-deposition material suitable for vacuum vapor deposition therefor are disclosed. This composite vapor-deposition material has an aluminum envelope and a low vapor-pressure metal/metalloid compound powder in the its core region. It is desirable that the low vapor-pressure metal/metalloid compound powder is dispersed and retained with aluminum in the core region. Vacuum vapor deposition carried out employing this composite vapor-deposition material yields a composition of almost 100% aluminum at the first stage of the vapor deposition, and subsequently forms a layer containing the low vapor-pressure metal/metalloid compound, from which the low vapor-pressure metal/metalloid compound is not diffused into the aluminum layer formed at the initial stage of the vapor deposition, even though heat treatment is applied. Therefore, a reflection layer having a high light-reflectance can be maintained.

METHOD FOR FORMING COMPOSITE VAPOR-DEPOSITED FILM HAVING VARIED FILM COMPOSITION AT INITIAL AND FINAL STAGES OF VAPOR DEPOSITION, COMPOSITE VAPOR-DEPOSITION MATERIAL FOR PRODUCING THE SAME, AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING THE COMPOSITE VAPOR-DEPOSITION MATERIAL

An optical switch comprising a fixed optical-fiber holder for holding either of input/output optical fibers, a movable optical-fiber holder for holding the other of the input/output optical fibers, which faces the fixed optical-fiber holder and is movable with respect to the fixed optical-fiber holder, and a driver for moving the movable optical-fiber holder with respect to the fixed optical-fiber holder immersed in the refractive index matching material, such as silicone oil. Inside the housing provided are a heater for heating the refractive index matching material, a means for sensing temperature inside the housing, and a controller for turning on the power to the heater when the measured value of the temperature sensing means is lower than a first predetermined value, and turning off the power to the heater when the measured value of the temperature sensing means is higher than a second predetermined value. This optical switch is capable of maintaining proper operation even when its service temperature becomes low, and preventing overheat.

Optical switch

Sintered ceramics having such high radiation shielding capability and so easy to machine that they can be used as a radiation shield for radiation detectors are disclosed. The ceramics show a radiation shielding capability more than 90% and preferably have high light reflecting performance. They may comprises rare-earth oxides such as gadolinium oxide, oxide of at least one of vanadium, tantalum and niobium and alkali-earth oxide which is used for a sintering agent. They can be used as a radiation shield in place of a molybdenum or tungsten radiation shielding plate and also as a light reflecting film instead of titanium dioxide film in a radiation detector for radiation CT equipment.

Growing community of inventors

Mohka, Japan

Shinji Furuichi