Abstract: A strap tensioning device that uses ratchet means to wind up and secure a tension strap in a tensioned condition for securing loads for hauling or transport. The device is adapted to be moveable along the length of a tension strap prior to tensioning the strap and includes a slotted member having a guide slot through which the strap is threaded for facilitating movement of the device along the strap and to prevent the device from cocking or twisting away from the device when the device is actuated to tension the strap. A slidable hook for a tensioning strap is also provided for use with the tensioning device. The hook includes a guide clip that provides for a receiving slot through which the strap is also threaded. The receiving slot maintains the strap in alignment with the guide slot.

Abstract: An equalizer used for an optical reproducing apparatus performs an optimal equalizing operation in accordance with the spatial frequency without needing an electrical equalizer. The optical reproducing apparatus reproduces the reproducing data in the following manner. A detector is provided for receiving reflected light from a disc. The detector is divided into a plurality of light receiving areas by a line perpendicular to the light receiving direction corresponding to the disc track direction. Then, calculations are made on the outputs from the respective light receiving areas to specifically correct the spatial frequency characteristics. The calculated signal is then decoded.

Abstract: Information signals recorded in a signal recording area of a magnetic disk 100 are reproduced for each sector unit by a magnetic head 3, and are taken out through an equalizer 8, an ECC circuit 9 and a buffer 10. A control circuit 12 obtains an estimate value indicating the difficulty of reproduction with respect to operation for reproducing the information signals from the magnetic disk 100, and accumulates the estimate value obtained until the information signals can be correctly reproduced. When the accumulated estimate value has become a predetermined value or greater, the control circuit 12 carried out control to record the information recorded in the corresponding sector into another sector. Thus, generation of such a state that the information signals cannot be reproduced in the future can be prevented.

Abstract: A TV transmitter, a TV transmitting method, a TV receiver and a TV receiving method allowing users to find and choose desired programs through the use of a program guide displayed by graphical user interface (GUI). The TV transmitter comprises a signal generation unit for generating text data signals associated with TV broadcast programs and hyper text data signals corresponding to the text data signals, a multiplexer for multiplexing the text data signals and the hyper text data signals onto video signals of the TV broadcast programs to provide a multiplexed TV broadcast signal, and an output unit for outputting the multiplexed TV broadcast signal provided by the multiplexer.

Abstract: A laser system includes two separate active laser-resonators. A first of the laser-resonators delivers laser-radiation at a first wavelength, and the second generates fundamental laser-radiation at second wavelength. The second resonator includes an optically-nonlinear crystal. The radiation delivered by the first laser-resonator is mixed in the optically-nonlinear crystal with the fundamental radiation circulating in the second resonator thereby generating radiation having the sum frequency of the first and second wavelengths. In one example, an OPS-laser-resonator having a fundamental wavelength of 976 nm includes a CLBO crystal. 244 nm radiation from an intracavity-frequency-doubled 488 nm argon-ion laser is mixed in the CLBO with the 976 nm radiation to provide 195 nm radiation.

Abstract: A structure and process are provided for converting DC-DC voltages, which allows both buck and boost conversion utilizing a single switched capacitor array. In one embodiment of this invention, the switched capacitor array comprises multiple gain blocks, where the gain blocks are identical and stacked upon each other. The switches and capacitors are configured so that various combinations of series and parallel capacitor connections are possible, and thus both buck and boost conversions are attainable with one switched capacitor array. Other embodiments of the present invention use multiple gain blocks, configured such that the capacitor in each gain block can be connected to ground. As a result, a single charge state for a range of desired gains can be configured for use with a shared or common rest state, i.e., a capacitor configuration which is the same regardless of the desired gain.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for collecting data for automatically presenting the results to the user, and a storage medium for a data collection program. An agent parameter Pi appended to an i'th (i=1˜n) E-mail is stored in a memory to check to see whether or not the title (Subject:) is the ‘race’. If the title is the ‘race’, the pet name and the physical parameter are stored in the memory. The counter is incremented by one (i=i+1) at step 48. This processing is continued until i>n. This formulates a physical parameter table for the user-based mail addresses, pet names and physical power parameters. The ranks are set in the order of the decreasing magnitudes of the physical parameters.

Abstract: A disc cartridge includes a shell for storage of a recording medium taken in the form of a disc having a center core formed at the center thereof. The disc has signal recording portions formed around the center core on the opposite surfaces thereof. The shell has opposite inner surfaces facing to each other to define a disc receipt space containing the disc supported for rotation therein between the inner surfaces. The shell has a chucking hole through which the center core of the disc is exposed and read-write windows through which the respective signal recording portions are exposed. A shutter is mounted for sliding movement on the shell to open and close the read-write windows. A pair of slippery films are formed on the respective inner surfaces.

Abstract: A method is shown for a central node to flow control one or more end stations operating under a medium access control protocol wherein the central node transmits a signal to the end stations that causes the end stations to defer a data transmission, and wherein the central node halts the transmission to reset a protocol timer in the end stations, and wherein the central node resumes transmission before expiration of another protocol timer that would cause the end stations to commit to attempting a data transmission onto the communications medium and the end stations can thereby be held in a flow control state without loss of transmission packets.

Abstract: An Er:YAG laser system has a resonant cavity including an Er:YAG rod pulse-pumped by a pulsed flashlamp. The pump-pulse repetition rate and average power is selected to provide a known essentially constant thermal-lensing power in the Er:YAG rod. Design parameters of the Er:YAG rod and the resonant cavity are selected to compensate for this thermal-lensing power. A shutter in the resonant cavity, when closed or open, respectively prevents or allows a laser output-pulse to be generated in response to a pump-pulse. Laser output-pulse duration is continuously variable and is controlled by controlling the duration of flashlamp-pulses. A sequence of laser output-pulses is controlled by opening and closing the shutter. This arrangement has the advantage that the laser output-pulse repetition rate can be selected to be the flashlamp-pulse repetition rate or some sub-multiple thereof while maintaining thermal-lensing power in the rod essentially constant and compensated for.

Abstract: The eye pillows of the present invention, used for therapeutic treatment of a user's eye and accu-pressure points around the user's eye, each include a hollow shell formed of a pliable material, and a predetermined amount of particulate material having a predetermined weight contained in the shell. The amount and weight of the particulate material and the pliability of the shell are selected so that when the pillow is placed over a user's eye, the shell conforms to, fills in, and applies evenly distributed pressure to the eye socket around the user's eye, including evenly distributed pressure to accu-pressure points around the eye. The pillows can be individually applied, connected together with a strap or head band, or even removably or integrally attached to a larger pillow or mask.

Abstract: An apparatus for and method of reducing transistor body effect when detecting and correcting a phase error between clock signals using delay-locked and phase-locked loop circuits. The clock signals are provided to an equal number of circuit elements in cross-coupled XOR circuits. The circuit includes a transconductance circuit having at least two PMOS transistors with their substrates directly connected to their sources.

Abstract: For recording data into a disc-like recording medium without any lower linear density in data tracks in the lead out zone even in the CAV mode, a radial position on the recording medium of an n-th one of the sectors is calculated to generate a position information; a write frequency is determined based of the position information; a number of bits which are to be recorded into the n-th one of the sectors is calculated based on a following expression (1): F 2 ⁢ π · N · 2 ⁢ π P ⁢ ( R 0 2

Abstract: Vibrations transferred to the outside are lessened and high performance against external vibrations and impact is maintained. Further, data is recorded and reproduced satisfactorily. A CD-ROM drive device is provided which is capable of reproducing data at a standard speed, a quadruple speed and a sextuple speed. When a disk is mounted to the CD-ROM drive device, TOC information is read in a playback state at the standard speed. Next, the disk is placed in a playback state at the sextuple speed and is set to a state held at a predetermined address position. It is distinguished using a tracking error signal, a control signal for a spindle motor, and so on whether the disk is either an eccentric disk or an unbalance disk. When the disk is found to be neither the eccentric disk nor the unbalance disk, a playback speed is set to the sextuple speed. On the other hand, when the disk is found to be either the eccentric disk or the unbalance disk, the playback speed is set to the quadruple speed.

Abstract: The running real time length of combined video and audio signal programs is shortened or lengthened by deleting or repeating individual fields or frames and corresponding amounts of audio segments. The video and audio portions of the programming material are separated and subjected to processing through a pair of program time changing units. The video portion is processed by deleting individual fields or frames on a manual, periodic or automatic basis. Manual deletion is done by an operator observing the program material on a monitor. Periodic deletion is performed automatically after the operator specifies the total amount of time (or number of fields or frames) to be deleted, with every ith frame or field deleted regardless of content. Automatic deletion is done in a fashion similar to periodic deletion, but the fields or frames are examined and are deleted on the basis of the amount of between frame motion.

Abstract: An IC card and an IC card system for transmitting a signal modulated with a desired data sequence. In the IC card, a reference signal having the same frequency as a carrier of a transmission signal received by an antenna and phase-synchronized with the carrier is formed, and a response data sequence corresponding to the desired data sequence is sent out from the antenna by modulating the reference signal with the response data sequence in a phase shift keying manner.

Abstract: A servo circuit performs tracking control such that the center of scanning is positioned at the center between the track from which data is reproduced and the track immediately before. Then, the beam spot scans the track from which data is to be reproduced and the immediately preceding track at the same time, and a reproduction signal made by inter-code interference between these two tracks is output. A constant relationship is maintained between data specified only by the pit or mark formed on one track and the data specified only by the pit or mark made on the former adjacent track. In this way, pits or marks are formed such that inter-code interference is canceled during reproduction.

Abstract: A programming system and method for programming a programmable memory device having multiple individually programmable memory cells, such as an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), includes the use of an address and programming pulse signal source and a programming and test controller for establishing, based upon the programming of a small number of on-chip sample memory cells, a presumptively sufficient initial programming pulse duration for programming the remaining memory cells. In the event it is found during actual programming that such an initial programming pulse duration is insufficient for any particular memory cell, additional programming pulses, each of which is significantly shorter in duration than the initial programming pulse, are applied to such memory cell as needed until the programming of such memory cell is completed.

Abstract: A charge pump circuit is provided which includes a plurality of successively coupled charge pump stages. Each of these successively coupled charge pump stages receives at least one input signals and at least one clock input signals, and in accordance therewith, conveys at least one output signal. Significantly, at least one output signal of a prior charge pump stage is substantially equal to at least one input signal of a next adjacent charge pump stage, so that the prior adjacent charge pump stage will be effectively shut off, so that reverse current flow can be prevented through the charge pump circuit.