Abstract: A nonvolatile semiconductor memory employs sense amplifiers, circuits for providing stabilized source voltages, and circuits for realizing high-speed and reliable read and write operations. The semiconductor memory has a matrix of nonvolatile erasable memory cell transistors.

Abstract: A graphic drawing apparatus divides an xy plane corresponding to a two-dimensional display region into plural display units. While one of two variables of the polynomial f(x, y) is fixed, a univeriate polynomial is generated. All intervals in which zeros are present are obtained within the width of the display units. By painting pixels of the display units that contain the intervals in which the obtained zeros are present, a graph f(x, y)=0 is precisely displayed. Even if the graphic to be displayed contains a singular point, the vicinity thereof can be precisely drawn.

Abstract: An oxygen electrode comprising a plastic sheet, two or three electrode patterns formed on the plastic sheet, a paraffin layer formed on the peripheral portion of the plastic sheet for delineating a sensitive area, a carrier sheet impregnated with an electrolyte and placed on the central portion or the sensitive area of the plastic sheet, and a gas permeable membrane covering the carrier sheet and the paraffin layer. A biosensor may be also provided by further providing a microorganism or enzyme-immobilized layer on the gas permeable membrane of the above oxygen electrode.

Abstract: A breather filter unit for a magnetic disk drive including a base and a cover fixed to the base, the cover having a vent. The breather filter unit includes a casing fixed to an inner surface of the cover, the casing having a vent inlet communicating with the vent of the cover and a vent outlet communicating with an inside of the magnetic disk drive, and a first filter contained in the casing at a position adjacent to the vent inlet, the first filter being formed from a plurality of fibers extending in a direction substantially parallel to that of an air flow from the vent inlet to the vent outlet. The breather filter unit further includes a second filter bonded to the casing so as to cover the vent outlet, and an activated carbon layer contained in the casing at a position between the first filter and the second filter.

Abstract: A congestion relieving system in a communication system includes a local switch (62a) and a customer station including a network terminator (64a) connected to the local switch (62a) and plural data receiving/transmitting units (65) connected to the network terminator (64a) through buses (67D and 67U) conformable to a DQDB protocol. The local switch (62a) includes a congestion relieving signal generating unit for generating a congestion relieving signal when congestion is detected. The congestion relieving signal is inserted, as a request bit, into a request bit area in the cell having a format conformable to the DQDB protocol. The cell is then transmitted from the local switch (62a) through the network terminator (64a) to the data receiving/transmitting units (65), and each data receiving/transmitting unit (65), is restricted, under the DQDB protocol, to transmit data, when the data receiving/transmitting unit (65) receives the request bit.

Abstract: An optical signal receiver apparatus contains: a photoelectric conversion circuit for receiving an optical signal conveying cyclic timing information, and converting the optical signal into an electrical signal conveying the cyclic timing information; a receiving clock signal extraction circuit for extracting a receiving clock signal indicating the cyclic timing information, from the electrical signal; and a loss-of-clock digital-detection circuit for detecting absence of a change in a digital level of the receiving clock signal.

Abstract: There is provided an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in which ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received in directions each along the associated one of a plurality of scan lines extending in a depth direction within the subject to obtain received signals, and data representative of displacement of the respective pixel points along each scan line within the subject are evaluated on the basis of the thus obtained received signals, thereby displaying an image based on the data representative of the displacement. According to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, color data of a pixel train involved in the presence of displacement (color-displayed) appearing continuously by less than N pixels (typically, one pixel to two or three pixels at most) is replaced by data representative of the absence of the displacement (not color-displayed).

Abstract: An electric-supply-switch relay-circuit includes a first switch unit for passing an input current from an electric-supply line as a relay operating current; a relay for performing switching operations in accordance with the relay operating current; and a current detect control unit for detecting the input current. When the input current is found to be equal to or larger than a predetermined value necessary for operating the relay, the current detect control unit turns on the first switch unit to thereby allow the input current to the relay.

Abstract: The speed of a write operation in an optical magnetic disk unit is improved by effectively setting the bias magnetic field. When new data is written in an area on a medium, a bias control method for a rewritable storage apparatus which records data by applying a bias magnetic field for data recording and erases recorded data by applying a bias magnetic field for data erasing, applies the bias magnetic field for data erasing to the area to perform an erase operation; applies the bias magnetic field for writing to the area to perform a record operation to record the new data; and applies and maintains the bias magnetic field for data erasing to the medium directly after the record operation is finished.

Abstract: In a block exposure pattern extracting system applied to a charged-particle beam exposure system having a block mask including a plurality of transparent stats having different shapes, a comparator unit compares first vectors connecting one of apexes of an input exposure pattern to other apexes thereof with second vectors connecting a reference point which is one of apexes of a unit block exposure pattern to other apexes of the unit block exposure pattern. A determining unit determines whether or not the first vectors coincide with the second vectors. An extracting unit extracts the input exposure pattern as the unit block exposure pattern when the determining unit determines that the first vectors coincide with the second vectors.

Abstract: A structure and its fabrication method of an integrated semiconductor device including circuit elements such as MOSFETs. A well is formed in the semiconductor substrate within windows of a field oxide layer. A lightly-doped semiconductor layer is selectively formed on the exposed surface of the well. A channel region and a pair of source and drain regions of a MOSFET are formed in the lightly-doped semiconductor layer. The highly-doped buried semiconductor layer of the same conductivity type as that of the lightly-doped semiconductor layer is formed under the channel region in the lightly-doped semiconductor layer. The structural features and fabrication method provides a great degree of freedom in designing a MOSFET having a further shorter-channel length without deteriorating its drivability and punch-through breakdown voltage.

Abstract: A keep call back device for connecting calls between subscribers includes a first call establishing portion for establishing a first call by connecting a call received from a calling terminal to a called terminal when it recognizes the call from the calling terminal which is able to respond to a call from one terminal without ending communication with another terminal during communication with another terminal, a second call establishing portion for establishing a second call by placing a call to the calling terminal after the first call has been established, and a call releasing portion for releasing the first call by disconnecting the same when the second call is established.

Abstract: An infrared detection device has a substrate with a plurality of hollow mesas and a pyroelectric thin film formed on the surface having the mesas.

Abstract: The invention relates to a disk track emulation system and method, whereby, when a disk device is replaced by a new disk device having a disk track with a data format different from that of the conventional device, a program in a conventional host device can be used as it is, in the same way as in the conventional disk device, without reforming the program. To maintain the a compatibility, using the characteristic that the data format is divided by a unit called a cell having a constant number of bytes, and writing, into a home address area and a count area in the new data format, cell position data with the new data format, and compatible cell position data with respect to the conventional data format in which the compatibility should be maintained.

Abstract: A perpendicular magnetic recording medium for use on a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus which has a magnetic head for recording/reproduction includes a substrate, a magnetic recording layer having a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, and a soft magnetic under layer interposed between the substrate and the magnetic recording layer. The soft magnetic under layer includes a mechanism for for suppressing motion of the domain walls of the soft magnetic under layer at least with respect to an external magnetic field which is smaller than a stray magnetic field in a vicinity of the magnetic head within the magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus.

Abstract: Radio working lines are provided to correspond to optical lines and a single radio standby line is provided. An optical-line failure detecting unit monitors occurrence of failure in each of the optical line, and a radio-line failure detecting unit monitors the occurrence of failure in each of the radio working lines. When occurrence of failure in an optical line has been detected, a relief-rank management unit makes the rank for relief of the radio working line corresponding to this optical line lower than rank for relief of radio working lines corresponding to optical lines that have not failed. When a failure has occurred in two or more radio working lines, a line changeover controller transmits data, which is to be sent to a radio working line that failed, via the radio standby line.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for encoding and decoding image data in which continuous still images are compressed and decompressed. The apparatus divides a plurality of multivalue image data into blocks each comprising a plurality of pixels, the pixels in the block are orthogonal converted and compressed, and the original image data is decompressed from the encoded data. The apparatus detects the block having an image change as an effective block. For a macro block including a plurality of effective blocks, a compressing order of the macro blocks is decided by the order according to appearance frequencies of the effective blocks or a predetermined order and the image data is compressed every macro block. As encoded data, the order information and code information of the macro block are sequentially transmitted. In this instance, the code amount is monitored. When the code amount exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the compression is stopped and the compression of the next image is performed.

Abstract: A memory controlling apparatus is provided with: a record information memory, a vacant address controller for serially storing the address data which specifies the addresses where record information referred to has been stored in order of reference, supplying the address data in the order of storage, and designating the addresses for storing the record information on new events by the supplied address data; and a LRU (least recently used) unit for storing the address data; and a LRU unit for storing the address data which specifies the address of the memory at which record information is stored in the order of storage.

Abstract: An imaging device for use in an electrographic imaging process, without a cleaning unit for residual toners, which comprises an image-carrying element, an image exposure means, a developing means, an image transfer means, and a distribution roller means of an elastic and electrically conductive material for uniformly distributing the residual toners over a surface of the image-carrying element and at the same time deelectrifying and recharging the same surface of said element. The imaging device has a simplified and compact structure and does not cause an environmental pollution problem due to the generation of ozone in the device.

Abstract: A document editor for editing and displaying elements of a graphic with a logic structure which have an inclusive, side-by-side, or connective relationship mutually. The document editor comprises an editing unit for editing any element of said logic structure and reflecting the result of editing on other elements, an output unit for externally displaying the result of reflective editing, if necessary, and a control unit for designating display or non-display of the result of reflective editing for each element of said logic structure, and controlling the output unit in terms of display or non-display of the result of reflective editing according to the designation. By the constitution, during document editing and display, stepwise display of details can be controlled according to a logic structure, and any element can be edited in a selected display stage. Eventually, the constitution contributes to a reduction in the quantity of display information and a display time interval.