Abstract: An output monitoring comparator outputs an ON signal when an output voltage becomes lower than a reference voltage. A pulse modulator generates a pulse signal at a predetermined level, an ON time-period from when the ON signal is outputted. A driver circuit alternately turns ON, after a dead time, a switching transistor and a synchronous rectification transistor, based on the pulse signal. A light load mode detector compares a switching voltage at a connection point of the switching transistor and the synchronous rectification transistor, and ground potential, and at timing at which the ON signal is outputted from the output monitoring comparator, when the switching voltage is higher than the ground potential, nullifies the ON signal.

Abstract: A speech recognition apparatus includes a generating unit generating a speech-feature vector expressing a feature for each of frames obtained by dividing an input speech, a storage unit storing a first acoustic model obtained by modeling a feature of each word by using a state transition model, a storage unit configured to store at least one second acoustic model, a calculation unit calculating, for each state, a first probability of transition to an at-end-frame state to obtain first probabilities, and select a maximum probability of the first probabilities, a selection unit selecting a maximum-probability-transition path, a conversion unit converting the maximum-probability-transition path into a corresponding-transition-path corresponding to the second acoustic model, a calculation unit calculating a second probability of transition to the at-end-frame state on the corresponding-transition-path, and a finding unit finding to which word the input speech corresponds based on the maximum probability and the s

Abstract: According to one embodiment, an apparatus for discriminating speech/non-speech of a first acoustic signal includes a weight assignment unit, a feature extraction unit, and a speech/non-speech discrimination unit. The first acoustic signal includes a user's speech and a reproduced sound. The reproduced sound is a system sound having a plurality of channels reproduced from a plurality of speakers. The weight assignment unit is configured to assign a weight to each frequency band based on the system sound. The feature extraction unit is configured to extract a feature from a second acoustic signal based on the weight of each frequency band. The second acoustic signal is the first acoustic signal in which the reproduced sound is suppressed. The speech/non-speech discrimination unit is configured to discriminate speech/non-speech of the first acoustic signal based on the feature.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, an apparatus for discriminating speech/non-speech of a first acoustic signal includes a weight assignment unit, a feature extraction unit, and a speech/non-speech discrimination unit. The weight assignment unit is configured to assign a weight to each frequency band, based on a frequency spectrum of the first acoustic signal including a user's speech and a frequency spectrum of a second acoustic signal including a disturbance sound. The feature extraction unit is configured to extract a feature from the frequency spectrum of the first acoustic signal, based on the weight of each frequency band. The speech/non-speech discrimination unit is configured to discriminate speech/non-speech of the first acoustic signal, based on the feature.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a television apparatus includes a speech input unit, an indication input unit, a speech recognition unit, and a control unit. The speech input unit is configured to input a speech. The indication input unit is configured to input an indication to start speech recognition from a user. The speech recognition unit is configured to recognize the user's speech inputted after the indication is inputted. The control unit is configured to execute an operation command corresponding to a recognition result of the user's speech. The control unit, if a volume of the television apparatus at a timing when the indication is inputted is larger than or equal to a threshold, temporarily sets the volume to a value smaller than the threshold while the speech recognition unit is recognizing.

Abstract: An output monitoring comparator outputs an ON signal when an output voltage becomes lower than a reference voltage. A pulse modulator generates a pulse signal at a predetermined level, an ON time-period from when the ON signal is outputted. A driver circuit alternately turns ON, after a dead time, a switching transistor and a synchronous rectification transistor, based on the pulse signal. A light load mode detector compares a switching voltage at a connection point of the switching transistor and the synchronous rectification transistor, and ground potential, and at timing at which the ON signal is outputted from the output monitoring comparator, when the switching voltage is higher than the ground potential, nullifies the ON signal.

Abstract: For the prevention and/or treatment of chymase-mediated diseases such as skin diseases, circulatory diseases, digestive system diseases, respiratory diseases, liver diseases, ocular diseases or the like, a drug is provided having as an active ingredient a compound having extremely strong chymase inhibitory activity, high safety, and high metabolic stability. The compound represented by the formula (I): wherein all symbols have the same meanings as in the description, a salt thereof, an N-oxide thereof or a solvate thereof, or a prodrug thereof, is useful as a pharmaceutical ingredient having chymase inhibitory activity for preventing and/or treating of chymase-mediated disease, such as skin diseases, circulatory diseases, digestive system diseases, respiratory diseases, liver diseases, ocular diseases or the like.

Abstract: A node initializing unit generates a root node including inputted phonemic models. A candidate generating unit generates candidates of a pair of child sets by partitioning a set of phonemic models included in a node having no child node into two. A candidate deleting unit deletes candidates each including only phonemic models attached with determination information indicating that at least one of the child sets has a small amount of speech data for training. A similarity calculating unit calculates a sum of similarities among the phonemic models included in the child sets. A candidate selecting unit selects one of the candidates having a largest sum. A node generating unit generates two nodes including the two child sets included in the selected candidate, respectively. A clustering unit clusters the phonemic models in units of phonemic model sets each included in a node.

Abstract: An output monitoring comparator outputs an ON signal when an output voltage becomes lower than a reference voltage. A pulse modulator generates a pulse signal at a predetermined level, an ON time-period from when the ON signal is outputted. A driver circuit alternately turns ON, after a dead time, a switching transistor and a synchronous rectification transistor, based on the pulse signal. A light load mode detector compares a switching voltage at a connection point of the switching transistor and the synchronous rectification transistor, and ground potential, and at timing at which the ON signal is outputted from the output monitoring comparator, when the switching voltage is higher than the ground potential, nullifies the ON signal.

Abstract: A speech recognition apparatus includes a first grammar storage unit configured to store one or more grammar segments, a second grammar storage unit configured to store one or more grammar segments, a first decoder configured to carry out a decoding process by referring to the grammar segment stored in the second grammar storage unit, a grammar transfer unit configured to transfer a trailing grammar segment from the first grammar storage unit to the second grammar storage unit, a second decoder configured to operate in parallel to the grammar transfer unit and carry out the decoding process by referring to the grammar segment stored in the second grammar storage unit, and a recognition control unit configured to monitor the state of transfer of the trailing grammar segment carried out by the grammar transfer unit and activate the both decoders by switching the operation thereof according to the state of transfer of the grammar segment.

Abstract: According to an embodiment, voice recognition apparatus includes units of: acoustic processing, voice interval detecting, dictionary, collating, search target selecting, storing and determining, and voice recognition method includes processes of: selecting a search range on basis of a beam search, setting and storing a standard frame, storing an output probability of a certain transition path, determining whether or not the output probability of a certain path is stored. Number of times of calculation of the output probability is reduced by selecting the search range on basis of the beam search, calculating the output probability of the certain transition path only once in an interval from when the standard frame is set to when the standard frame is renewed, and storing and using thus calculated value as an approximate value of the output probability in subsequent frames.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a characteristic value calculator configured to calculate characteristic values of input pixels based on an input pixel signal and a tone controller configured to perform a tone control independently by each of the input pixels using control parameters corresponding to brightness of a peripheral pixel in vicinity of the corresponding input pixel based on each of the characteristic values calculated by the characteristic value calculator.

Abstract: An output monitoring comparator outputs an ON signal when an output voltage becomes lower than a reference voltage. A pulse modulator generates a pulse signal at a predetermined level, an ON time-period from when the ON signal is outputted. A driver circuit alternately turns ON, after a dead time, a switching transistor and a synchronous rectification transistor, based on the pulse signal. A light load mode detector compares a switching voltage at a connection point of the switching transistor and the synchronous rectification transistor, and ground potential, and at timing at which the ON signal is outputted from the output monitoring comparator, when the switching voltage is higher than the ground potential, nullifies the ON signal.

Abstract: A cleaning device for cleaning the front cover lens of a vehicular lamp, including a bracket 8 that is attached to the cylinder of a spray nozzle 5 and positions the cylinder in the opening formed in a vehicle body, a fixing member 9 that covers the bracket, and an elastic member (a clip spring) 101 disposed between the bracket and the fixing member. Engagement pieces 83b and 84a of a pair of arm elements 83 and 84 of the bracket engage the front (outer) side of the opening, a plurality of contact portions 92a, 93a, 94a and 95a of the fixing member are in contact with the rear (inner) side of the opening, and the elastic member interposed between the bracket and the fixing member urges the fixing member toward the opening, thus securing the bracket to the opening.

Abstract: A control signal generating circuit (1) comprises a comparator (10) for comparing an output voltage VO with a reference voltage outputted from a reference voltage source (11), a flipflop (12) set by the output of the comparator (10), and a pulse control circuit (13) which receives an input voltage VIN, a reference voltage VREF2, and the inverted output of the flipflop (12), sets the on time in accordance with the ratio between the input voltage VIN and the reference voltage VREF2, and resets the flipflop (12) when the on time elapses after the output pulse of the flipflop (12) rises. The output pulse of the flipflop (12) is outputted as a control signal into a driver logic circuit (2). The driver logic circuit (2) performs on/off control of NMOSs (3, 4) according to the control signal. Thus, a switching regulator capable of operating at high speed can be realized.

Abstract: A phoneme model clustering apparatus stores a classification condition of a phoneme context, generates a cluster by performing a clustering of context-dependent phoneme models having different acoustic characteristics of central phoneme for each model having a common central phoneme according to the classification condition, sets a conditional response for each cluster according to acoustic characteristics of context-dependent phoneme models included in the cluster, generates a set of clusters by performing a clustering on clusters according to the conditional response, and outputs the context-dependent phoneme models included in the set of clusters.

Abstract: A node initializing unit generates a root node including inputted phonemic models. A candidate generating unit generates candidates of a pair of child sets by partitioning a set of phonemic models included in a node having no child node into two. A candidate deleting unit deletes candidates each including only phonemic models attached with determination information indicating that at least one of the child sets has a small amount of speech data for training. A similarity calculating unit calculates a sum of similarities among the phonemic models included in the child sets. A candidate selecting unit selects one of the candidates having a largest sum. A node generating unit generates two nodes including the two child sets included in the selected candidate, respectively. A clustering unit clusters the phonemic models in units of phonemic model sets each included in a node.

Abstract: An image defect correction system using directional detection. An image data memory stores a two-dimensional image data output from an image capturing device. A decision means decides whether a target pix cell is a defective pix cell by deciding whether an image data of the target pix cell is a prominent spot using a plurality of image data of the target pix cell and 8 adjacent pix cells arranged in 4 directions of upper-lower, left-right, lower-right and upper-right, counting direction number having the prominent spot, and deciding whether the target pix cell is the defective pix cell according to the counted direction number. A replacement means replaces the image data of the target pix cell with a predetermined image data when the target pix cell is determined to be the defective pix cell.

Abstract: A speech recognition apparatus includes a first grammar storage unit configured to store one or more grammar segments, a second grammar storage unit configured to store one or more grammar segments, a first decoder configured to carry out a decoding process by referring to the grammar segment stored in the second grammar storage unit, a grammar transfer unit configured to transfer a trailing grammar segment from the first grammar storage unit to the second grammar storage unit, a second decoder configured to operate in parallel to the grammar transfer unit and carry out the decoding process by referring to the grammar segment stored in the second grammar storage unit, and a recognition control unit configured to monitor the state of transfer of the trailing grammar segment carried out by the grammar transfer unit and activate the both decoders by switching the operation thereof according to the state of transfer of the grammar segment.