Abstract: According to a first aspect of the invention, in an echo canceler having an adaptive filter, the tap coefficients of the adaptive filter are partitioned into at least two segments, and different step gains are assigned to different segments. The step gains are used in adjusting the tap coefficients, and determine the sensitivity of the adjustment to noise in the residual signal left after echo cancellation. Comparatively small step gains are assigned to noise-sensitive segments. According to a second aspect of the invention, the step gain is switched according to the level of local background noise.

Abstract: An electric lamp device which is capable of suppressing obstruction light toward the sky even if being used as a garden light or the like as well as a common lighting electric lamp. In the electric lamp device comprising an envelope and a small-sized light-emitting element assembly, an open end of a globe is coupled to a globe connection opening of a base body to constitute the envelope, and the small-sized light-emitting element assembly, such as a set of baseless small-sized electric lamps connected in series to each other, is housed within this envelope, and additionally, a louver including ring-like louver components is put within the envelope surrounding the small-sized light-emitting element assembly. Further, when needed, an attachment is fixed in the globe connection opening of the base body. The louver is mounted on this attachment. The attachment is composed of a plate section, a light-emitting element mounting section, and a support standing section.

Abstract: A mobile station is provided for autonomously detect an abrupt change of a propagation environment of a radio wave signal from a base station for servicing a peripheral cell and immediately executing a peripheral cell search. In order to execute a received signal strength indication plural times within one period of the peripheral cell search, the mobile station operates to set a cell search execution period &Dgr;t1 to a timer of a peripheral cell search controller and a RSSI measuring execution period &Dgr;t2 to a timer. The RSSI measuring unit operates to measure the RSSI in the receiving band at each RSSI measuring execution period &Dgr;t2 and immediately execute the peripheral cell search when the peripheral cell search controller determines that the RSSI has greatly varied.

Abstract: A voltage monitoring circuit compares a voltage, which is obtained by dividing the voltage required for writing or erasing data to or from a semiconductor storage device, with a reference voltage (Vref) using a comparator, and if the comparison result indicates that the voltage required for writing or erasing data is not being supplied, then it disables the operation of a CPU, thus enabling quick discovery of a failure of the supply of the voltage necessary for writing to or erasing from the semiconductor storage device.

Abstract: A level shifter K1 receives a part of a precharge generation signal Sp, raises its level to a predetermined value, and transfers it to an NMOS transistor NT1. A capacitor Cp receives a part of the output of the level shifter K1, supplies it to a first electrode of a complementary amplifier composed of a PMOS transistor PT1 and an NMOS transistor NT2, and pumps an operation power source to a predetermined value. The operation power source of the complementary amplifier is pumped by an electric charge charged in the capacitor Cp, and the level of a precharge control signal Spc is raised.

Abstract: There is provided an individual identification system and a method thereof which are capable of identifying individuals having elliptical pupils and elliptical irises. In the individual identification system 10, the image storage unit 11 stores eye images 20, the ellipse preparation unit 12 prepares a plurality of ellipses, and the pixel addition unit 13 adds up pixels laid along circumferences of the ellipses. The ellipse selection unit 14 selects ellipses representative of the pupil 21 and the iris 22 among the plurality of ellipses based upon the sums of the pixels given by the pixel addition unit 13, whereby the parameters of the selected ellipses are output.

Abstract: An animal identification system is provided which is designed to determine outlines of a pupil and irial granule in an input image of an eye of an animal to be identified, apply an arc to a lower portion of the outline of the pupil, turn back the arc from a principal axis to define a reference axis, and map an image of the irial granule into a polar coordinate system whose origin is the center of the reference axis. The shape of the irial granule corrected in the above manner is compared with a reference shape stored in a memory to determine whether the input image arises from the same animal or not.

Abstract: The present invention provides a wavelength division multiplexing filter that requires lower costs, a smaller size, and a smaller amount of fiber routing operations. According to the present invention, a first module constitutes a first filter. A second module constituting a second filter is produced by connecting together circuits identical in number to a plurality of output ports of the first module, the circuits each comprising a combination of directional couplers and Bragg gratings both formed of silica-based-glass waveguides, the circuits each having a wavelength selection characteristic so as to correspond to each of the output ports. The second module is connected to the first module via an 8-fiber ribbon to simplify the integration and connection of the circuits.

Abstract: In a clock control circuit there are provided a counter for dividing a reference clock signal so as to generate a plurality of divided clock signals and selectors for selectively outputting one of the plurality of divided clock signals and the reference clock signal as an operation clock signal relative to a CPU or as an operation clock signal relative to a peripheral circuit.

Abstract: A spread spectrum demodulation circuit includes a correlation signal generator which generates a correlation signal from a reception signal to which a quadrature phase shift keying and a spread spectrum modulation are performed. First and second delay elements have different delay times, and delay the correlation signal to obtain first and second delay signals, respectively. First and second adders add the correlation signal and the first and second delay signals to obtain first and second addition signals, respectively. First and second distributors distribute the first and second addition signals, respectively. First and second multiplication circuits obtain first and second multiplication signals from distributed signals inputted from the first and second distributors, respectively. A data demodulation circuit demodulates the first and second multiplication signals to recover a transmission information signal.

Abstract: A data transmission rate control method in which a transmission control scheme used for data transmission over each channel is switched depending on a subband to which a proper transmission rate of the channel belongs, the subband being prepared by dividing an entire band by one or more boundaries. This makes it possible to solve a problem in conventional systems of variations in accuracy due to the bandwidth, and an increase in the circuit scale, when the a cell rate to be controlled ranges over wide bandwidth.

Abstract: A booster circuit uses a source voltage to generate a boosted voltage that is higher than the source voltage. The booster circuit has two capacitors. The two capacitors are alternately charged and discharged in response to a signal applied to an input terminal. The first capacitor is discharged to boost a voltage at the boosting node, whereas the second capacitor is discharged to boost the voltage at an output terminal. Further, the booster circuit includes a control circuit. When the voltage at the input terminal changes from an “H” level to an “L” level, the control circuit supplies a voltage for discharging the first capacitor to the first capacitor after the second capacitor has been brought into a charging state. Since the voltage at the output terminal is reduced by the charging of the second capacitor, a transistor is deactivated in response to the voltage at the output terminal.

Abstract: A digitized image is encoded by detecting edges in the image, encoding the position and sharpness of the detected edges, filtering the image by a low-pass filter to generate a low-frequency image, and encoding the low-frequency image. A digitized image encoded in this way is reconstructed by generating a horizontal edge image and a vertical edge image from the encoded edge position and sharpness information, synthesizing a pair of high-frequency images by filtering the horizontal and vertical edge images with an edge synthesis filter, decoding the low-frequency image, and performing an inverse wavelet transform on the decoded low-frequency image and the high-frequency images.

Abstract: The invention effectively avoids a CPU congestion in a packet switching apparatus. For this purpose, a packet switching apparatus of the invention comprises an AAL part connected with an ATM communication network where communication is performed in packets, a LAN control part connected to a LAN where communication is performed in frames, an IP part for translating a communication protocol of the ATM communication network and a communication protocol of the LAN communication network into each other, a congestion monitoring part for judging whether or not this IP part is in a congestion state, and an IP routing part for discarding a part or all of IP frames received by the LAN control part in case that this congestion monitoring part has judged that the IP part is in a congestion state.

Abstract: A branching filter comprising a SAW resonator. The branching filter comprises a transmission SAW filter linked between an antenna terminal and a transmission terminal; a receiving SAW filter with different bandpass characteristics from the transmission SAW filter linked between the antenna terminal and the transmission terminal; a composite circuit that combines a frequency adjusting LC circuit linked between the antenna terminal and the transmission and receiving SAW filters with a branching filter circuit; and the branching filter circuit being structured to have a serial arm SAW resonator.

Abstract: A packaging platform for optically coupling one or more optical waveguides of one or more optical components having the optical waveguide to one or more optical fibers is provided with a reference structure portion for the horizontal and vertical positioning of the optical component. The platform is further provided with one or more fiber positioning portions for inserting and holding the optical fiber and positioning the optical fiber at a position where the optical fiber is optically connected to the optical waveguide. The provided packaging platform and an optical module using the platform can simplify all alignment steps for optical coupling, electrical connection and sealing in the coupling of the optical component and the optical fiber.

Abstract: An electronic transaction processing system for transferring a monetary value between a payer and a receiver includes a first memory apparatus storing a payer's digital cash, a second memory apparatus storing a receiver's digital cash, and a third memory apparatus storing temporarily the payer's digital cash transferred from the first memory apparatus. A transaction is processed by transferring the digital cash transferred from the first memory apparatus to the second memory apparatus via the third memory apparatus.

Abstract: A jitter resistant clock regenerator for receiving program data transmitted on a transmission channel in synchronism with a transmission clock signal and cancelling jitter, having occurred on the channel, to restore from the transmitted program data a highly accurate program clock signal from which the jitter is removed. The regenerator includes a buffer for temporarily storing transmitted data received over the channel. A read clock selector monitors the buffer to determine the amount of the transmitted data stored in the buffer, and selects one of read clock signals in response to the data amount. A program clock acquisition circuit reads out the transmitted data from the buffer in response to a read clock signal selected by the selector, and restores the clock signal of the program data from the transmitted data.

Abstract: A process for preparing a superconductor which is a low anisotropy, high temperature superconductor, includes providing a target in molded form comprised of one of the superconductor or constituent elements of the superconductor, the superconductor having a layered crystal structure, having a superconducting transition temperature, Tc, of 110 K or more, and having a composition expressed by Cu1−zMzAe2Cax−1CuxOy where M is at least one member selected from the group consisting of (a) a trivalent ion of Tl, and (b) polyvalent ions of Mo, W, and Re, Ae is at least one of Ba and Sr, x ranges from 1 to 10, and y ranges from 2x+1 to 2x+4, and z ranges from 0<z≦0.5; and forming a film of the superconductor from the target on a substrate by one of sputtering or laser abrasion.