Abstract: A reproduction apparatus includes: an enlarging processing unit for enlarging a desired area of an image displayed on a screen; and a control unit for changing operation characteristics of the enlarging processing means in accordance with whether the image is a moving image or a still image. The reproduction enlarging range can be quickly shifted during moving image reproduction, and can be finely shifted during moving image reproduction stop.

Abstract: A net database holds, for each user, user information which contains information indicating a forwarding destination (FAX, Web, portable terminal, or the like) of a received e-mail message, and information indicating a destination to which a message indicating that an e-mail message is forwarded is to be sent. A site which includes a judgment module and conversion module converts a received e-mail message into a data format matching the forwarding destination designated by the user information using the self function or in collaboration with another site. The converted data is forwarded to a mail server, Web server, or FAX server in accordance with the designated forwarding destination. When the e-mail message is forwarded via the Web server or FAX server, a message indicating this is sent to a portable terminal via the mail server.

Abstract: An illumination apparatus is disclosed, with which an illumination optical system can be made small while attaining uniform light distribution properties within an irradiation region of light, by properly designing the shape of a reflection member. The illumination apparatus of the present invention includes a light source and a reflection member which reflects toward an irradiated side a first light flux emerging from the light source and having an emergence angle with respect to an irradiation optical axis which is larger than a predetermined angle. The reflection member reflects a light ray of the first light flux for which the emergence angle is maximal in a direction intersecting with the irradiation optical axis, and satisfies the following condition: ?1<?2 where ?1 and ?2 are angles defined by, respectively, a first and a second light ray before and after reflection at the reflection surface.

Abstract: An assembly for storing electrolyte in a carbonate fuel cell is provided. The combination of a soft, compliant and resilient cathode current collector and an inactive anode part including a foam anode in each assembly mitigates electrical contact loss during operation of the fuel cell stack. In addition, an electrode reservoir in the positive end assembly and an electrode sink in the negative end assembly are provided, by which ribbed and flat cathode members inhibit electrolyte migration in the fuel cell stack.

Abstract: A Bluetooth device includes a processing unit and a memory unit. The memory unit has a default device name stored therein, and stores program instructions for configuring the processing unit to perform a method for reconfiguring the default device name of the Bluetooth device. The method includes, in response to a change name command received by the Bluetooth device from a host terminal, storing a user-defined device name received from the host terminal in the memory unit such that the user-defined device name serves as the default device name during subsequent transactions between the Bluetooth device and the host terminal.

Abstract: This invention provides an information output apparatus which outputs tactile information or the like corresponding to the surface state of an object as three-dimensional information together with image information, and allows the user to easily discriminate the surface material or the like of an image object in the image information. A hybrid display unit of the information display apparatus of this invention has a structure formed by overlaying, e.g., a display panel used to display an image, and an unevenness output element group used to output the unevenness level of that image, and voltage values to be applied to respective unevenness output elements of the unevenness output element group are determined on the basis of, e.g., unevenness information stored in a memory. Therefore, material differences (smooth or rough touch) of images displayed on the display panel can be felt by touching unevenness output by the unevenness output elements.

Abstract: An electronic still camera comprises an image sensor which allows each of its horizontal lines to be individually specified so that a video signal contained in each specified horizontal line can be read, a storage circuit for storing the video signal read from the image sensor, a selecting circuit for selecting a high-speed continuous shooting mode, and a controlling circuit for executing, when the high-speed continuous shooting mode is selected by the selecting circuit, control to effect a high-speed reading for reading the video signal from the image sensor by thinning out the horizontal lines of the image sensor, and to cause the storage circuit to store video signals for a plurality of pictures obtained by the high-speed reading.

Abstract: Image pickup processes of a plurality of image pickup apparatuses are synchronized by using one kind of communication medium (for example, IEEE 1394-1995 standard or its extended standard). A control device selects a master camera from the plurality of image pickup apparatuses. The master camera generates a time stamp for synchronizing frame synchronization signals of all of the image pickup apparatuses (including the master camera). All of the image pickup apparatuses (including the master camera) generate the frame synchronization signals on the basis of the time stamp generated by the master camera and generate image data on the basis of the generated frame synchronization signals.

Abstract: In an audio signal processing apparatus for recording a plurality of kinds or systems of audio signals on a recording medium and for reproducing a plurality of kinds or systems of audio signals recorded on the recording medium, in a state where a mixing output mode of mixing the plurality of kinds or systems of audio signals and outputting the mixed audio signals is designated, (i) when a recording operation mode of recording the plurality of kinds or systems of audio signals on the recording medium is designated, the plurality of kinds or systems of audio signals are mixed and outputted while making levels of the plurality of kinds or systems of audio signals equal to each other, and (ii) when a reproducing operation mode of reproducing a plurality of kinds or systems of audio signals recorded on the recording medium is designated, the plurality of kinds or systems of audio signals reproduced from the recording medium are mixed and outputted according to an arbitrarily variable mixing ratio.

Abstract: A plurality of images and image features of each of the plurality of images are stored in a form correlated with the images in an external storage device of an image retrieval apparatus. In retrieval of a desired image from the plurality of images that have been stored in the external storage device, a plurality of image features regarding one image are acquired by varying, over a predetermined range, each of the image features that have been stored in the external storage device. A fuzzy image search is conducted by calculating the degree of similarity between each of the plurality of images and a retrieval source image based upon the image features that have been acquired and the image features of the retrieval-source image.

Abstract: According to the present invention, an image processing apparatus is provided for inputting moving image data composed of a plurality of frames, for detecting definitions of a plurality of frames in the moving image data and a range of successive frames indicating an image similar to that of the image of the frame which is arbitrarily designated among the moving image data, and for selecting one of the frames in the moving image data which is inputted based on the definition and the similarity range.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an apparatus for driving a stepping motor, including a plurality of push-pull circuits each of which is capable of controlling a push state in which a current is supplied to a terminal and a pull state in which a current is drawn through the terminal and which are connected to coils to operate the stepping motor utilizing the bipolar driving. In the apparatus of the present invention, at least one of the push-pull circuits is connected to a common terminal having one ends of the coils of different phases connected thereto, thereby reducing the number of circuits and driving lines.

Abstract: An object is to provide an image pick up apparatus in which positioning of a lens barrel unit relative to a front cover with respect to the optical axis direction and directions perpendicular to the optical axis can be effected with high accuracy. In an image pick up apparatus including a lens barrel unit 201 having a photographing optical system, a structure 216 that holds the lens barrel unit 201 in such a way that the lens barrel unit 201 is movable in the direction of the optical axis of the photographing optical system and directions perpendicular to the optical axis and a front cover 205 that covers the front side of the image pick up apparatus, the position of the lens barrel unit 201 relative to the front cover with respect to directions perpendicular to the optical axis and with respect to the optical axis direction is determined by the front cover 205 when the front cover 205 is assembled.

Abstract: In a lens control apparatus for detecting a magnification lens position and a focus compensation lens and controlling a focus compensation position in zooming such that a focused position of the focus compensation lens with respect to a discrete magnification lens position is controlled with reference to a stored table in accordance with an object distance, when the magnification lens position and the focus compensation lens position are not stored in the table, the focus compensation lens position is estimated from the table data and the current lens positions.

Abstract: An apparatus having a memory box function manages the use states of data stored in memory boxes in units of memory boxes, and also manages charging unit information about the use of data. This makes it possible to calculate charges for the use of data in units of memory boxes.

Abstract: An image taking apparatus which takes a first and a second images by using an image pickup device is disclosed. The image taking apparatus comprises a controller which detects a displacement amount of the second image with respect to the first image which is a reference image and performs predetermined processing at stages of pre-exposure for object observation and exposure for image taking and a display unit which displays the first and the second images.

Abstract: There is provided a signal processing apparatus that generates play list information for controlling the reproducing procedure carried out by reproducing means such that in recording a new information signal on a recording medium on which is previously recorded an information signal, the new information signal is reproduced in succession to reproduction of the previously recorded information signal up to a reproduction stop position, and upon completion of the reproduction of the new information signal, the previously recorded information signal is reproduced again from a position corresponding to the reproduction stop position thereof.