Abstract: A metronome ticking the beat for performance especially with moving tempo, and having display looks like conductor's baton so that watcher can precisely predict beat timing to catch up the moving tempo. It has tapping button to record all the beat duration time data on memory. With the data on memory all the beats can be reproduced. Partial modification of beat duration time is also possible by tapping. Dedicated device uses vertically placed light emitting element array. Emitting point moves like ball thrown upward. Bound timing is beat timing. The metronome opens new way to produce music minus one or karaoke media.

Abstract: Timpani with quick and accurate tuning are shown. Each of timpani has a motor to drive the mechanism which gives variable tension to the head. Given tone is transformed to period of vibration and then to target displacement value of head rim against body. Motor is driven so that the head rim reaches the target displacement. Parameters of transform function to transform period to target displacement are stored, and updated, when head sounds and pair data of period of head vibration and the displacement are acquired, so that pair data fit the transform function. Combination of tones can be programmed stepwise in advance. In performance, steps are advanced by foot pedal or touch pad and tone changes of timpani are quickly done without sound. Muffling device is equipped and its actions are programmed with tone change.

Abstract: In displaying a music score by using a computer, there is provided a function for matching an in-music position being updated in a computer with an in-music position being played. According to the in-music position, display update is controlled. Space of music score display is divided into several partitions. The timing of updating each partition is defined as the moment when the in-music position in the computer has arrived at the position in the page obtained by predetermined function from the position of the page divided and the partitions are successively updated. Thus, it is possible to realize smooth display update capable of displaying the preceding partition and holding the display with a sufficient width before and after the position being played. Here, a plurality of timing input means are provided for matching the in-music position required here, so that a trace shift in the lower level can be corrected by means having a higher-level reliability when necessary.

Abstract: A metronome ticking the takt for performance especially with moving tempo, and having display looks like conductor's baton so that watcher can precisely predict takt timing to catch up the moving tempo. It has tapping button to record all the takt duration time data on memory. With the data on memory all the tact can be reproduced. Partial modification of takt duration time is also possible by tapping. Dedicated device uses vertically placed light emitting element array. Emitting point moves like ball thrown upward. Bound timing is takt timing. The metronome opens new way to produce music minus one or karaoke media.

Abstract: In displaying a music score by using a computer, there is provided a function for matching an in-music position being updated in a computer with an in-music position being played. According to the in-music position, display update is controlled. Space of music score display is divided into several partitions. The timing of updating each partition is defined as the moment when the in-music position in the computer has arrived at the position in the page obtained by predetermined function from the position of the page divided and the partitions are successively updated. Thus, it is possible to realize smooth display update capable of displaying the preceding partition and holding the display with a sufficient width before and after the position being played. Here, a plurality of timing input means are provided for matching the in-music position required here, so that a trace shift in the lower level can be corrected by means having a higher-level reliability when necessary.

Abstract: Timpani with quick and accurate tuning are shown. Each of timpani has a motor to drive the mechanism which gives variable tension to the head. Given tone is transformed to period of vibration and then to target displacement value of head rim against body. Motor is driven so that the head rim reaches the target displacement. Parameters of transform function to transform period to target displacement are stored, and updated, when head sounds and pair data of period of head vibration and the displacement are acquired, so that pair data fit the transform function. Combination of tones can be programmed stepwise in advance. In performance, steps are advanced by foot pedal or touch pad and tone changes of timpani are quickly done without sound. Muffling device is equipped and its action s are programmed with tone change.

Abstract: During filtering of an image having different regions, the operation of a filter unit is adapted in response to the detection of a boundary between these regions. To this end, one or more intermediate signal values stored in the filter unit for recursive use and derived from signal values from a first region are replaced before any signal value from the second region is filtered. The intermediate signal values are replaced by one or more signal values from the second region, or by filtered signal values derived from the signal values from the second region.

Abstract: In a document information system and a method for realizing such a system, document data are transferred and displayed at a high speed. In response to an operation made from a terminal apparatus, the document data which have been stored via communication apparatus into a data storage apparatus are read out, and the read document data are temporarily stored before being transmitted by employing the communication apparatus. In the terminal apparatus, the received document data are temporarily stored as display data, and additionally the display data are swapped to a secondary storage device in such a case that a total amount of the temporarily stored data exceeds a predetermined capacity. Then, the display data may be transferred from either the terminal apparatus, or the secondary storage device to a display buffer and then may be displayed in a unit of representation.

Abstract: In detecting patterns in data arranged in a spatial field of one, two or higher dimension, a pattern contrast signal is evaluated which measures the similarity to the pattern of the data around a location in the spatial field. The pattern is subsequently detected if the pattern contrast signal is sufficiently strong. There is, however, a risk of erroneous detection when a coincidental noise configuration causes an increased pattern contrast signal. The invention provides for a method and apparatus to discriminate against such erroneous detections. For this purpose, the method observes the extent to which a would-be pattern dominates the effect on the pattern contrast signal of the distribution of data values in the surroundings of the location, this distribution being taken to be typical of noise. In one embodiment, this is done by confirming that the pattern is sufficiently strong to suppress any other would-be pattern detections in the surroundings.

Abstract: Multimedia data in an object structure include entity objects and relation objects, wherein each entity object has data representing a media element as internal data, and each relation object represents a relation between the entity objects. A relation object is searched according to information specified by a search command, and a searched relation object and internal data of an entity object related thereto are displayed on the screen of a display unit as a set of display elements. To generate a digest of the multimedia data, a matching between a structure portion of a user model and a structure portion of a system model is examined. The user model is generated according to a request of the user and arranged in layers, while the system model has been previously generated. The multimedia data are arranged in layers according to the importance of respective data elements constituting the multimedia data.

Abstract: In a detecting patterns in data arranged in a spatial field of one, two or higher dimension, a pattern contrast signal is evaluated which measures the similarity to the pattern of the data around a location in the spatial field. The pattern is subsequently detected if the pattern contrast signal is sufficiently strong. There is, however, a risk of erroneous detection when a coincidental noise configuration causes an increased pattern contrast signal. The invention provides for a method and apparatus to discriminate against such erroneous detections. For this purpose, the method observes the extent to which a would-be pattern dominates the effect on the pattern contrast signal of the distribution of data values in the surroundings of the location, this distribution being taken to be typical of noise. In one embodiment, this is done by confirming that the pattern is sufficiently strong to suppress any other would-be pattern detections in the surroundings.

Abstract: A half tone display apparatus using a display apparatus of bilevel representation in white and black is provided. The apparatus includes a unit supplied with a multilevel image such as a color image, a device for detecting edges in characters, patterns and photographic images, a unit for deriving a level difference between pixels adjacent to the edge, and a control unit for forcibly displaying a pixel of the edge portion as a white or black pixel for emphasis provided that the level difference is not larger than a predetermined threshold and for applying dither conversion to other pixels.

Abstract: This invention provides a method and apparatus for automatically producing a standard pattern for local pattern matching. According to the present invention, local patterns equivalent in size to a standard pattern to be obtained are successively removed from the image of an object being examined to prepare standard pattern candidates. Evaluation values representing appropriateness as a standard pattern are obtained from the local patterns successively removed or the local patterns together with the image of the object being examined. The evaluation values are used in an evaluation function expressing the uniqueness of the standard pattern and in an auxiliary evaluation function as an aid to the former. The standard pattern is selected using such evaluation values.

Abstract: A high speed, multi-function and expandable image processing LSI (image signal processor) for realizing a gray level image processing technique is disclosed. The architecture of the image signal processor can process a gray level image having 256 tones at a video rate (256.times.256 image, 6 MHz, non-interlace), allows expansion of a partial operation area (kernel) and can carry out various partial neighborhood operations. The image signal processor is a partial parallel type image processing LSI which carries out a parallel operation by using the same number of processor elements as that of input pixel data used to produce one output pixel of data.

Abstract: An automatic assembly system wherein parts supplied from a feeder are held by a holder and are automatically mounted onto predetermined positions of a circuit board; comprising a first image pickup device which images at least a portion of said circuit board, a second image pickup device which images at least a portion of the part held by the holder means, a signal processor which processes an output of said first image pickup device to detect a deviation of said circuit board from a reference position and which also processes an output of said second image pickup device to detect a magnitude of deviation between said part and the predetermined position of said circuit board, and a positioning device which operates under control of said signal processor so as to adjust said predetermined position of said circuit board to a position opposing to said part and also to move said part toward said circuit board.

Abstract: A method of determining an optimum threshold for obtaining a binary image signal for use in a pattern recognition system is disclosed in which a pattern of a predetermined shape which exists at one or a plurality of positions on a surface of an object to be imaged is previously stored as a reference pattern. A threshold for obtaining a binary signal is changed stepwise. A video signal is converted into the binary signal on the basis of each value of threshold to obtain a binary image. A plurality of partial patterns which are different in position on the binary image to each other, are successively cut out of the binary image to be compared with the reference pattern. The overall degree of coincidence between the plural partial patterns and the reference pattern is calculated, and a value of threshold at which the overall degree of coincidence is highest, is selected from various values of threshold.

Abstract: In an image transformation method in an image display apparatus for displaying a digital image derived by transforming an original digital image, each of intensities of second picture elements including at least three points on the original digital image surrounding a first point on the original digital image, corresponding to coordinates of a first picture element on a transformed digital image is weighted by a value related to a length of at least one of two sides of a polygon which apexes are the second picture element opposing to its own second picture element and the first point, the two sides surrounding the first point, and the intensity of the first picture element is determined based on the calculated intensities of the second picture elements.

Abstract: A position detecting method is disclosed wherein the position of an object is detected by the use of pattern information which are taken from an observational region on the object contained within a whole region. Positional information of at least one of standard pattern is extracted from a pattern of the whole region are stored in advance; positional information of the standard pattern are extracted from the pattern taken from the observational region on the object; and the positional information of the standard pattern in the whole region and the observational region are compared, to decide which part of the whole region the observational region is and to detect the position of the object.

Abstract: Herein disclosed is a pattern defect inspecting method which is characterized: in that an image is picked up from an article having a preset pattern thereby to extract the data of the pattern to be inspected while shifting the article with respect to the standard position preset in a picking-up picture image; in that a parameter indicating the defective degree of the pattern to be inspected is determined on the basis of the aforementioned data extracted and the dictionary data stored in advance; in that the parameter indicating the minimum defective degree is extracted from among those determined for such plural patterns to be inspected as are extracted from the vicinity of the standard position; and in that the parameter extracted is compared with a preset threshold value thereby to determine the propriety of the pattern.

Abstract: A pattern position detecting system includes an image pickup device to pick up the image of an object which includes a target pattern which is to be detected. On the basis of the output of the pickup device, local patterns of the image surface are successively cut out and positional coordinates of the local patterns are successively generated to indicate the typical positions of each of these local patterns. The respective local patterns are then compared with a standard pattern having the same feature as that of the target pattern and the degree of coincidence therebetween is detected. The different degrees of coincidence of the local patterns in the vicinity of a particular local pattern are then compared so as to successively sample the local pattern whose degrees of coincidence become a maximum, and the positional coordinates and degrees of coincidence of the respective local patterns whose degrees of coincidence become a maximum are then stored.