Abstract: A thin film actuated mirror for an actuated mirror array includes a pedestal and at least piezoelectric structure cantilevered from the pedestal. The piezoelectric structure includes a layer of piezoelectric material having two opposing surfaces. Each of two metal electrodes are mounted on a respective one of the opposing surfaces of the piezoelectric material layer. An electrical signal is applied across the piezoelectric material, between the electrodes, causing deformation of the piezoelectric material. The thin film actuated mirror further includes a mirror surface interconnected to the piezoelectric material layer such that the mirror surface deforms in response to the deformation of the piezoelectric material layer.

Abstract: A valve for performing pressurization, decompression and pressure maintenance includes linear shape memory alloys. An anti-lock brake system utilizes the valve. The valve has plural spools movable up and down within a housing having plural bores. The respective bores have inlets and outlets. A mechanism for holding a lowering state of the spools is installed to the lower portion of the housing, and the spools return to their original positions by bias springs. In the anti-lock brake system, a master cylinder, wheel brakes and a hydraulic pump are connected to the inlets and outlets of the valve, and an electronic control unit is connected to the shape memory alloys to actuate the shape memory alloys, thereby attaining pressurization, decompression and maintenance of brake pressure.

Abstract: A disc clamping device of a compatible disc player, by which a mini disc or a compact disc can be selectively loaded on a single turntable clamps either the mini disc or the compact disc. The disc clamming device has a base plate including two side walls each having a reversed "L" shaped cut-out portion, a supporter extending upward, a clamper arm and a rotating body pivoting about a hinged shaft fastened to the supporter, an actuating rod projected through the lower end of the rotating body, a folded forward portion having a clamper mounted thereto; a moving plate having a arcuate portion defined in the lower corner of the rear end thereof, a rack gear, and a stepped cut portion formed in side thereof; a tray holder receiving a compact disc tray and a mini disc tray; and a loading device. Since the disc clamping device is simple in construction, stable operation is ensured and manufacturing cost is reduced.

Abstract: Disclosed is a three dimensional projection system. A holder housing has upper and lower plates and a plurality of longitudinally inclined guiding holes inclined at predetermined angles about central axes of the upper and lower plates. First and second projecting lens holders have cylindrical shapes and are provided with projecting lenses in front sides thereof. Movable pins protrusively formed on upper and lower portions of the first and second projecting lens holders are provided. The movable pins are respectively inserted into corresponding longitudinally inclined guiding holes. A holder supporting plate has a pair of front and rear plates and a spacer. The front and rear plates are provided with first and second leg portions formed at both sides thereof and extended onto an upper portion of the upper plate, and third and fourth leg portions extended onto a lower portion of the lower plate. A driving motor for supplying driving power for transporting the projecting lens holders is provided.

Abstract: Motion vectors between a current frame and its preceding frame of video signals are optimally determined to a half-pixel accuracy by finding a plurality of full-pixel resolution motion vectors corresponding to a plurality of best matching blocks in a search region; and, thereafter, deriving a half-pixel resolution motion vector by selecting an half-pixel resolution block which yields the minimum error functions out of all possible half-pixel resolution candidate blocks included in half-pixel resolution search regions, each of which corresponding to one of the full-pixel motion vectors.

Abstract: Disclosed is an elevating apparatus of a disc player for moving up and down a spindle assembly and a position determination pin in a disc player for a combined use of a compact disc and a minidisc. The elevating apparatus includes a power, an elevating plate having a vertical guide plate provided with a cut portion and connected to the actuating member to be linearly moved, an elevating member hinged on one side of the elevating plate for converting a linear movement of the elevating plate into an elevating movement of the position determination pin, and the spindle assembly connected to the base plate and the vertical guide plate to be elevated conforming to the linear movement of the vertical guide plate. So, the elevating apparatus which can operate the spindle assembly and the position determination pin at the same time is simple in its construction thereby to lower the production cost.

Abstract: An array of M .times.N electrostrictive actuated mirrors for use in an optical projection system manufactured using the inventive method, comprising: an active matrix including a substrate and an array of M.times.N connecting terminals thereon; an array of M.times.N electrostrictive actuators, wherein each of the actuators includes an electrostrictive member having a top and a bottom surfaces, the top surface being separated by a trench thereby creating first top surface and a second top surface, a first electrode located on the bottom surface, a pair of second electrodes, each of the of second electrodes placed on the first and second top surfaces, respectively, and a pair of insulating layers, each covering the first and second top surface, respectively, including the second electrode placed thereon; an array of M.times.N hinges, wherein each of the M.times.N hinges is provided with a flat top surface and a bottom surface having a protrusion mounted on the top of each actuators; an array of M.times.

Abstract: Disclosed is an elevating apparatus of a spindle assembly of a disc player for adjusting height of the spindle assembly to rotate a minidisc and a compact disc which are mounted on a minidisc tray and a compact disc tray, respectively. The spindle assembly having a turntable for rotating the disc mounted on the tray is secured thereto to reciprocate vertically in a first direction. The elevating apparatus is secured to a lower portion of the base plate to reciprocate in a horizontal direction of a second direction perpendicular to the first direction thereby to move vertically the spindle assembly. An actuation apparatus is provided thereon to move backwards and forwards the elevating apparatus. In the compact and minidisc player capable of selective reproduction operation, height difference between a minidisc mounting surface and a compact disc mounting surface can be compensated.

Abstract: Motion vectors are determined between a current frame and a preceding frame within a frame duration by employing a time-sharing multi-tier hierarchical motion estimation approach, wherein the candidate blocks being grouped into a multiple number of hierarchical search areas. The motion vector determination scheme is initiated by performing a motion estimation of a highest hierarchy for all of the search blocks; and an error function and a motion vector of the highest hierarchy are stored. Subsequently, motion-estimation of a lower hierarchy is performed for each of the selected search blocks which have the error functions greater than the threshold value of the highest hierarchy. In the next step, the error functions of the highest and the lower hierarchies are compared for each of the selected search blocks and a smaller error function is selected therefrom to thereby update each of the stored potential motion vectors with the motion vector corresponding to the selected error function.

Abstract: An upper drum assembly for use in a video cassette recorder includes an upper drum having an inner part with a top surface and an outer side surface with one or more head windows, the inner part thereof being provided with recesses, one or more openings and one or more through holes, one or more heads, the head having a head chip joined to a head base, one or more first screws, one or more second screws and one or more nut caps, each of the nut caps having a fixed part provided with a first tapped hole corresponding to the through hole in the upper drum, a body part provided with a second tapped hole, and a stepped part. Each of the nut caps is fitted onto the upper drum in such a way that the body part therein is fitted into one of the openings, the fixed part therein is placed on the top surface of the inner part of the upper drum, and the stepped part is placed into the corresponding recess.

Abstract: A photoresist is deposited on a glass substrate for forming a separation layer. Then, an array of reflectors is generated on the separation layer; followed by a supporting layer thereon, which is made of a self-adhesive epoxy. Thereafter, an actuator array is bonded on the supporting layer. The separation layer is then removed to disengage the glass substrate. The mirror array formation is finalized by patterning the separation layer. Consequently, the above inventive process allows the fabrication of a mirror array in a simple manner without having to employ the electroplating process.

Abstract: An inventive apparatus determines true motion vectors between a current and its previous frames for feature points selected from the previous frame wherein a selected feature point is surrounded by its neighboring four feature points to form a previous rhombus having a set of four triangles based on the selected feature point. A motion vector displacement generator gives a predetermined N number of displacements to an initial motion vector for its corresponding feature points to thereby produce a subset of N candidate motion vectors and a motion prediction block provides a current rhombus corresponding to the previous rhombus by the initial motion vectors, wherein the current rhombus has N sets of four triangles due to the N candidate motion vectors.

Abstract: An apparatus for processing a still screen in a digital video reproducing system which eliminates a color pattern appearing at a color boundary portion when digital video data is displayed in a still screen mode is disclosed. In the apparatus for processing the still screen in the digital video reproducing system, a horizontal synchronizing signal is delayed or led by one-half period of a chrominance subcarrier at every predetermined scanning field with reference to the chrominance subcarrier, thereby eliminating a jagged pattern at the color boundary portion of the still screen in case of a non-interlaced scanning system. Accordingly, a clear image is provided during the still screen operation while displaying the digital data on a display equipment.

Abstract: An improved method for manufacturing an array of M.times.N thin film actuated mirrors comprises the steps of: providing a base having a flat top surface; forming sequentially a separation layer, a first thin film layer, and a thin film electrodisplacive layer on the top surface of the base; heat treating the thin film electrodisplacive layer to allow a phase transition to take place; forming sequentially a second thin film layer, a elastic layer, and a thin film sacrificial layer on top of the thin film electrodisplacive layer; forming an array of M.times.N empty slots to the sacrificial layer; forming a supporting layer on top of the sacrificial layer; forming an array of M.times.N conduits, each of the conduits passing through the supporting layer and each of the empty slots to thereby form a multilayer structure; forming an array of M.times.

Abstract: An apparatus used in a motion-compensated video signal encoder for determining a predicted current frame based on a current frame and a previous frame of a digital video signal using a predetermined number of search grids, each search grid being a set of search blocks formed in the current frame, comprising: a motion estimator for detecting a set of motion vectors for each of the search grids, each of the motion vectors being determined by calculating an error between each of the search blocks and candidate blocks and selecting one candidate block which yields a minimum error; an error accumulator for accumulating each minimum error for all of the search blocks contained in each of the search grids to provide an accumulated minimum error signal for each of the search grids; a selector for comparing each of the search grids by using the accumulated error signal to provide a search grid selection signal; a switch, in response to the search grid selection signal, for selecting one set of motion vectors correspon

Abstract: A video cassette recorder is structured to have the skirt plates within its chassis frame, which extend toward the bottom cover and the main printed circuit board situated between the skirt plates at a location farther from the plate portion of the chassis frame than from its deck, with the pattern surface of the main printed circuit board facing the bottom cover.

Abstract: Disclosed is a water-supply valve of a washing machine in which the consumption of electric power can be minimized in opening and closing the valve to supply water into and block off the water supply from a washing tub of the washing machine. In the water-supply valve, an actuator rod is elevated against downward biasing force of a spring by a magnetic force of the solenoid generated by applying a voltage thereto, and then is retained at its uppermost position by the engagement between protuberances protruded from the inner wall of the actuator chamber and circumferential strips formed on the actuator rod.

Abstract: Disclosed is an actuating plunger of an electromagnetic pump, the actuating plunger having a good magnetic characteristic so as to improve the operational efficiency of the electromagnetic pump and reduce the vibration and the operational noise due to the actuating plunger. The actuating plunger has a plunger head made by a high-temperature sintering. The plunger head has a cylindrical side wall, and a plurality of shoulders protruding inwards from a lower end of the cylindrical side wall. A piston is fixedly fitted in the middle of the shoulders. The piston extends downwards so as to be slidably fitted in a second cylinder.

Abstract: Disclosed is a focus servo circuit for an optical pickup actuator capable of performing a normal focusing operation accurately and fast with detecting predetermined regions of a focus error signal and focus servo drive signal. The circuit has a focus zero detection unit for generating a focus zero detection signal with a detection of a predetermined region including a zero crossing from the focus error signal, a drive signal zero detection unit for generating a focus servo drive zero detection signal with a detection of a predetermined region including a zero crossing from the focus error signal and a unit for controlling the focus start enable signal thereby to start a focus servo of the optical pickup actuator with reference to both of the focus zero detection signal and the focus servo drive zero detection signal.

Abstract: A disc player has a compact disc spindle assembly, mini-disc spindle assembly, and a pickup device on its base plate. A compact disc tray is connected with the base plate and a mini-disc tray is connected with the compact disc tray, respectively in a horizontally and vertically movable state. The disc player has a moving plate for driving the base plate and the compact disc tray. A mini-disc tray conveying device having a rack plate, a transfer gear, etc., is positioned between the compact disc tray and the mini-disc tray provided therein. Rack gears are formed on two opposite side walls of the mini-disc tray and the rack plate, and between the rack gears the transfer gear is interposed into which the fixed shaft projected upward from the lower surface of the compact disc tray is inserted. Thus, in loading a mini-disc cartridge or compact disc, the compact disc tray can be transferred horizontally together with the mini-disc tray provided therein.