Abstract: An apparatus is provided for integrating a removable fader component with an audio component while also enabling the fader component to be connected with one or more external audio components and/or to function as a standalone fader when removed from the apparatus. Embodiments include an audio component configured to produce a first audio signal; a removable fader component configured with a first connection point for connectivity to the audio component and a second connection point for connectivity to an external audio component that produces a second audio signal, wherein a hardware component, a software component, or a combination thereof for performing a mixing of the first audio signal and the second audio signal is contained within the removable fader component; and a receptacle integrated into the apparatus, wherein the receptacle is configured to hold the removable fader component to the apparatus.

Abstract: An acoustic lethal ovitrap, comprising a tray defining an inner space and having a floor which slopes downwardly toward a center point, and also having a side wall defining a curved internal radius; a housing mounted within the tray; a transducer and power/control unit mounted within the housing for generating acoustic energy at a desired wavelength; a solar panel mounted on the housing and producing power for the transducer and power/control unit of the apparatus; wherein the tray captures water and attracts mosquitos to the water within the tray, and the transducer within the housing generates acoustic energy sufficient to kill mosquitos as they are attracted to the device.

Abstract: A system and method for controlling a controllable appliance resident in an environment which includes a device adapted to receive speech input. The system and method establishes a noise threshold for the environment in which the device is operating, receives at the device a speech input, determines a noise level for the environment at the time the speech input is received by the device, compares the determined noise level to the established noise threshold, and causes one or more commands to be automatically issued to the controllable device to thereby cause the controllable device to transition from a first volume level to a second volume level that is less than the first volume level when the determined noise level for the environment is greater than the established noise threshold for the environment.

Abstract: A hearing aid gain determination system includes: a biological signal measurement section for measuring an electroencephalogram signal; a sound group determination section for determining a frequency of a sound group including first, second and third sounds; a sound pressure determination section for determining sound pressures of the first to third sounds so that the respective sound pressures are less than a threshold and that the first to third sounds consecutively decrease; an output section for presenting the first to third sounds at the determined frequency and sound pressures; a characteristic amount extraction section for extracting a characteristic amount concerning time-frequency information of an event-related potential in a time range after presenting the first to third sounds; a gain determination section for determining a hearing aid gain for the frequency of the sound stimulation group against a predetermined criterion based on the characteristic amounts.

Abstract: A condenser microphone element is disclosed with an electrically conducting transducer membrane having an acoustically active area arranged to receive sound waves and to vibrate in response to the sound waves. The membrane is arranged in parallel with and at a distance from a back plate, which is formed from a non-conductive base. The base is provided with a conductive layer. The conductive layer has an active area that is arranged opposite the acoustically active area of the membrane and has a shape that faces the acoustically active area, and is delimited by an area where no conductive layer is provided. A microphone including the condenser element and a method of producing the microphone element are also provided.

Abstract: Two different sets of electrodes in a touch sensitive device are formed to produce an electric field gradient from one end of the electrodes to the other end when opposite ends of the electrodes are driven with different voltages. A signal measuring cycle is performed by alternately driving the ends of one set of electrodes, while using the other set of electrodes to receive signals. The roles of the sets of electrodes are then reversed, such that the set that that was driven is now used to receive signals from the other set of electrodes. Reference signals may be obtained by driving both sides of one set of electrodes, and then both sides of the other set of electrodes. The signals obtained are then used to determine the touch position on the touch sensitive device.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for processing a signal in a read channel using an oversampled analog to digital conversion. An oversampled analog to digital conversion is performed on an analog input signal to generate a plurality of digital samples corresponding to the analog input signal for a given bit interval. A data detection algorithm can then be applied on one or more of the digital samples to obtain a detected output. The oversampled analog to digital conversion simplifies the analog design by transferring at least a portion of the equalization and/or filtering processes to the digital domain.

Abstract: A processing circuit for optical data is provided. The processing circuit includes a signal-processing module and a radio frequency (RF) signal-summing module. The signal-processing module averages and filters the data signals to obtain a low-frequency signal. The RF signal-summing module receives the data signals and the low-frequency signal, sums the data signals to obtain a summed data signal, and subtracts the low-frequency signal from the summed data signal to obtain a RF summing signal.

Abstract: A writing condition adjusting apparatus according to the present invention adjusts a writing condition using first and second recording patterns. The first recording pattern is used to adjust a writing condition for recording marks and spaces, of which the lengths are equal to or longer than a predetermined recording length, while the second recording pattern is used to adjust a writing condition for recording marks and spaces, of which the lengths are shorter than the predetermined recording length by one recording unit length. If it has been decided that the writing condition that has once been determined by making the write adjustment on such marks that are shorter by one recording unit length needs to be adjusted again, a signal index value that has been defined based on the first recording pattern is set to be a target value.

Abstract: The present invention is a turntable which includes an internal analog to digital converter and a controller for a standard digital format. This allows a jack for a standard digital format to be incorporated into the turntable, so that digital signals are generated to be received by the soundcard of an external computer or similar piece of digital equipment.

Abstract: A data reproduction apparatus includes: arithmetic means for calculating difference data that indicate a difference between left-channel and right-channel data that have been compressed in a predetermined compression format; higher harmonic component generation means for generating a higher harmonic component, which was lost during compression, by performing, when the difference data's signal level exceeds a predetermined threshold, a digital limiter process that suppresses the signal level to the threshold; and adding means for adding the higher harmonic component to the left-channel and right-channel data to reproduce original data before being compressed.

Abstract: An optical pick-up and a disc apparatus having the same. The inferiority of a tracking signal caused by an adjacent layer during the recording and/or reproducing of an optical disc with multiple recording layers is effectively prevented. The optical pickup includes a light source to emit light with a predetermined wavelength, a light collecting unit to collect the light emitted from the light source to form a light spot on a signal recording layer of an optical disc having a plurality of recording layers, a photodetector to receive the light reflected by the optical disc to detect a signal, and an optical member to change the optical transmission of the light reflected by the optical disc according to an incident angle of the reflected light to decrease an optical transmission of a noise light entering the photodetector.

Abstract: A system and method of controlling data recording process of optical recording medium by adjusting writing signal to record the adjusted writing signal on the optical recording medium in a sequential writing are described. The control system for controlling a recording process of an optical recording medium comprises an information unit, a data-preparing unit and a recording controller. The information unit generates an information signal. The data-preparing unit is coupled to the information unit receives data from a data source and prepares the data for recording. The data is then transformed into a writing signal according to the information signal. The recording controller coupled to the information unit and the data-preparing unit controls the data-preparing unit to adjust the writing signal while acquiring the information signal from the information unit during a sequential writing. Thus, the recording controller adjusts the writing signal according to the information signal.

Abstract: A signal processing apparatus includes a device for converting a data stream containing audio packs into packets each having a given area assigned to real data. The audio packs store PCM multiple-channel audio contents information. Another device operates for enabling channel information and a portion of the audio contents information to be placed in adjacent portions of the given area respectively. The channel information corresponds to the portion of the audio contents information.

Abstract: A disk drive is disclosed comprising a disk for storing data, the disk comprising a public area for storing plaintext data and a pristine area for storing encrypted data. The disk drive comprises a head for reading the encrypted data from the pristine area of the disk, and a control system for controlling access to the pristine area of the disk. Authentication circuitry within the disk drive is provided for authenticating a request received from an external entity to access the pristine area of the disk and for enabling the control system if the request is authenticated. The disk drive further comprises a secret drive key, and decryption circuitry responsive to the secret drive key, for decrypting the encrypted data stored in the pristine area of the disk.

Abstract: A data storage system has a media cartridge library subsystem. The subsystem includes a cartridge storage array which has receptacles for removably receiving cartridge holding bins. Each bin stores a plurality of cartridges in slots. The slots are arranged to open to a transport system in the subsystem such that the bins held in the receptacles constitute a storage array of cartridges. Cartridges are inserted into and removed from the subsystem either by an IO bin or station or by removing and inserting cartridge containing bins. Cartridges are assignable to affinity groups; such affinity cartridges in an affinity group are stored in affinity bins. An affinity bin cannot be removed from the subsystem until all of the affinity cartridges assigned to the bin are present. Each of the bins and cartridges have bar code labels. A battery operated bar code read is transportable by the cartridge transport means for reading the bar code labels.

Abstract: An information recording and/or reproducing apparatus reproduces a pre-recorded address information from a recording medium when recording and/or reproducing a main information signal on and/or from the recording medium, where the address information is pre-recorded on substantially parallel tracks of the recording medium with a predetermined period. The information recording and/or reproducing apparatus comprises a first circuit for producing a reproduced signal by scanning one track on the recording medium, a second circuit for generating an address interval signal having a predetermined level during a time corresponding to an interval in which the address information is pre-recorded on the recording medium, and a third circuit for passing the reproduced signal from the first circuit only during the predetermined level of the address interval signal so as to obtain only the address information reproduced from the one track.

Abstract: A method for correcting higher order distortion introduced in a complex multifrequency waveform by an element which introduces signal-induced nonlinearities uses a replica of the non-linear element as a part of a high gain electronic feedback circuit between the output and an input of an amplifier. The replica of the non-linear element receives the multifrequency waveform, and is driven to duplicate the non-linear effects, which are used to generate a compensating voltage which is compared to the voltage obtained from the non-linear device. The resultant difference voltage after the comparison and amplification is then closer to the original signal. Thus, in an audio system for example, distortions which are audibly apparent to the human ear but so small they are immeasurable by instrumentation can be eliminated or minimized by employing a number of replicas in the same fashion.

Abstract: An input gain control circuit for an audio signal recorder includes a first transmission path for compressing an audio signal supplied thereto and having a variable gain amplifier and a control circuit which supplies a control signal to the variable gain amplifier for varying the gain thereof, a second transmission path for transmitting the audio signal with substantially unity gain through a resistor thereof, and an adding amplifier for adding the compressed audio signal from the first transmission path and the audio signal with substantially unity gain from the second transmission path whereby the compressed audio signal is effectively transmitted for recording when the level of the audio signal is below a predetermined value and the audio signal with substantially unity gain is transmitted for recording when the level of the audio signal is above the predetermined value.

Abstract: In a tracking servo system of a recording-disc information reading and reproducing apparatus such as a video disc player, a tracking error signal indicative of an amount of deviation of an information pickup medium such as a focused spot of a scanning beam of light from a target track of the recording disc being scanned is amplified with a gain which is varied as the pickup medium is displaced radially of the recording disc between an outer peripheral area and a central area of the disc.

Abstract: A microphone sensitivity-changing apparatus used with a tape recorder whose recording or playback mode can be paused and whose microphone has its sensitivity changed in accordance with the object for which said tape recorder is applied, the improvement being that a first switch for instructing the pause mode and a second switch for instructing the changeover of the sensitivity of the microphone are operated interlockingly with each other.