Abstract: In a radio-frequency device in which a dielectric layer, a first conductive layer and a second conductive layer are stacked one on another, the second conductive layer is including a plurality of conductive elements which are arrayed periodically and independently of one another at a specified array pitch, and a plurality of connecting elements for electrically connecting a plurality of mutually neighboring ones of the conductive elements to each other. The connection by the connecting elements is selectively made, thus making it possible to control radiation directivity of an electromagnetic field formed by the first and second conductive layers.

Abstract: A glass composition for covering electrodes of the present invention contains: 0 to 15 wt % SiO2; 10 to 50 wt % B2O3; 15 to 50 wt % ZnO; 0 to 10 wt % Al2O3; 2 to 40 wt % Bi2O3; 0 to 5 wt % MgO; 5 to 38 wt % CaO+SrO+BaO; 0 to 0.1 wt % Li2O+Na2O+K2O; 0 to 4 wt % MoO3; and 0 to 4 wt % WO3, and the total of the contents of MoO3 and WO3 is in the range of 0.1 to 8 wt %. The glass composition for covering electrodes of the present invention may contain: 0 to 2 wt % SiO2; 10 to 50 wt % B2O3; 15 to 50 wt % ZnO; 0 to 10 wt % Al2O3; 2 to 40 wt % Bi2O3; 0 to 5 wt % MgO; 5 to 38 wt % CaO+SrO+BaO; 0 to 4 wt % MoO3; and 0 to 4 wt % WO3, and the total of the contents of MoO3 and WO3 may be in the range of 0.1 to 8 wt %.

Abstract: A receive part demodulates and decodes a digital modulated signal obtained by receiving a digital broadcast to generate a transport stream, and extracts data-broadcast data transmitted over a data channel. An electronic program list generator generates, from program sequence information included in the transport stream, display data for a program list. Based thereon, a video display part displays the program list. When the user looks at this and selects a program desired for preset recording through an input operation part, a system control part determines whether or not the weather during the broadcast time period of the program will be bad based on weather forecast information obtained from the data-broadcast data. As a result, if the weather is determined as bad, the system control part causes the video display part to provide a display indicating a possibility of degradation in image quality, etc., during the broadcast time period.

Abstract: An encoding/recording device encodes a video signal according to MPEG, encodes an audio signal with a predetermined method, and multiplexes the encoded video signal and the audio signal to produce a system stream. The encoding/recording device then records the system stream onto a recording medium. On receiving a pause instruction, the encoding/recording device suspends reception of the audio signal and the video signal in synchronization with a timing with which the video signal is received, and thereafter suspends encoding, multiplexing, and recording for the audio signal and the video signal with predetermined timings. On receiving a pause release instruction, the encoding/recording device resumes reception of the audio signal and the video signal in synchronization with a timing with which the video signal is received, and thereafter resumes the encoding, the multiplexing, and the recording with predetermined timings.

Abstract: The present invention is to provide an inexpensive transmission apparatus which has the function of receiving standard television broadcasting, uses a minute-power wave, and is able to coexist with future digital television broadcasting or mobile communication equipment which will use the same frequency band as that of the transmission apparatus. By using an RF converter 102 and an RF tuner 118 which are adapted to a standard television signal, available frequencies within the reception band are detected, and the use frequency is rapidly changed to spread the spectrum, thereby performing communication by the minute-power wave.

Abstract: A plasma display device exhibits suppressed luminance degradation of a phosphor, a suppressed change in chromaticity and improved discharge characteristics as a result of suppression of adsorption of water or hydrocarbon-containing gas on a surface of a blue phosphor. A blue phosphor layer used in the plasma display device is formed of a compound expressed by Ba1?XMgAl10O17:EuX or Ba1?x?ySryMgAl10O17:EuX and includes at least one element that is selected from Nb, Ta, Pr, P, As, Sb, Bi and Tm which substitutes for a part of its Al or Mg element.

Abstract: When aging is performed by applying aging voltage to a data electrode, a scan electrode, and a sustain electrode via respective inductors (301, 401, 302, 402, 303, 403) coupled to the electrodes, frequency of a ringing waveform included in an aging voltage waveform applied to the data electrode is set in a range of ½ to 2 times frequency of a ringing waveform included in an aging voltage waveform applied to the scan electrode. With the method above, the time required for aging is significantly shortened, and the aging with high efficiency in electric power is realized. Instead of using inductors (301, 302, 303) including a coil, controlling the length of lead wires (401, 402, 403) can also obtain desired inductance.

Abstract: A photo-detecting device that enables a solid-state image sensor to meet the requirement of higher quality imaging including: a first silicon substrate 120 having p- and n-type regions; a first SOI substrate 130 in which a second silicon substrate 132 having p- and n-type regions is formed on a first SOI insulation layer 131; and a second SOI substrate 140 in which a third silicon substrate 142 having p- and n-type regions is formed on a second SOI insulation layer 141. Each pn-junction of the first silicon substrate 120, the second silicon substrate 132, and the third silicon substrate 142 forms a photodiode for converting incident light into electric charges. The depth of each pn-junction, which is measured from the surface of the second SOI substrate 140 irradiated with the light, is determined according to absorption length of light to be converted into electric charges.

Abstract: A high efficiency loudspeaker without a damper is provided. The loudspeaker includes magnetic circuit having a magnetic gap and a voice coil member, which has movable coil, disposed in the magnetic gap of the magnetic circuit. The loudspeaker also includes a diaphragm, whose inner peripheral part is linked with the voice coil member, outside the magnetic gap and a frame linked with an outer peripheral part of the diaphragm via a first edge. An inner peripheral part of a suspension holder is linked with the voice coil member at a linked position which is closer to the magnetic circuit than a linked position of the diaphragm and the voice coil member. An outer peripheral part of the suspension holder is linked with a frame via a second edge. The first edge and the second edge are substantially symmetrical with each other about a median of a first edge and a second edge.

Abstract: A recording apparatus contains a timer that measures the current time based on a time zone. When writing a VOB onto a DVD, the recording apparatus refers to TM_ZONE recorded on the DVD, and judges whether the time zone which the timer is based on matches the time zone that the TM_ZONE specifies. If the two time zones do not match, the recording apparatus operates as follows. First, the recording apparatus obtains VOB_REC_TM that indicates the recording date/time of the VOB based on TM_ZONE. The recording apparatus then writes the VOB onto the DVD together with VOBI that is information of the VOB and contains (a) the obtained VOB_REC_TM; (b) LOCAL_TZ_TY indicating that the two time zones do not match and (c) LOCAL_TZ specifying the time zone which the timer is based on.

Abstract: An optical pickup having a light-emitting element, an objective lens unit, a reflecting mirror and a light-receiving element, emits a beam onto an optical recording medium and uses a reflected beam to read recorded information. In the objective lens unit, a central part of a surface, facing the light-emitting element, of an objective lens disposed so that an optical axis is substantially aligned with a chief ray of the beam emitted by the light-emitting element, is a transmissive diffraction grating, and a central part of a surface of the objective lens that will face the optical recording medium is a convex mirror which bulges toward the light-emitting element. The reflecting mirror, which is annular and encompasses the optical axis of the objective lens, reflects toward the objective lens the beam from the light-emitting element that has passed through the transmissive diffraction grating and been reflected by the convex mirror.

Abstract: An optical disc recording method is provided for superimposing sub information by displacing edges of one or more optically-readable recording marks by a minute amount on the basis of a binary sequence code, when recording main information by forming said one or more recording marks, the optical disc recording method including a sequence generation step of generating a first binary sequence code and a second binary sequence code that is different from the first binary sequence code; a first displacement step of displacing one of the edges according to the first binary sequence code; and a second displacement step of displacing another of the edges according to the second binary sequence code.

Abstract: Noise-superimposed speech data is grouped according to acoustic similarity, and sufficient statistics are prepared using the speech data in each of the groups. A group acoustically similar to voice data of a user of the speech recognition is selected, and sufficient statistics acoustically similar to the user's voice data are selected from the sufficient statistics in the selected group. Using the selected sufficient statistics, an acoustic model is prepared.

Abstract: A phosphazene compound and an ionic liquid are added to a non-aqueous electrolyte to provide a less flammable electric double layer capacitor in which decline in storage characteristics under a high temperature and deterioration under a high charging voltage are suppressed.

Abstract: A moving picture coding apparatus 1 includes a counter unit 102 which counts the number of pictures following an intra coded picture; and a motion estimation unit 101 which compares respectively only reference pictures which are the intra coded picture or the following pictures, selected from among a reference picture Ref1, a reference picture Ref2 and a reference picture Ref3 stored in memories 408˜410, with a picture signal Vin, and determines the reference picture whose inter picture differential value is smallest.

Abstract: A magnetic recording and reproduction apparatus includes a pivotable arm section; an arm pivoting center shaft for supporting the pivoting center of the arm section; a capstan section for driving a magnetic tape so as to run; a pinch roller provided on the arm section for pressing the magnetic tape to the capstan section; and an extendable and compressable section extendable so as to be wound around the arm pivoting center shaft in accordance with the pivoting of the arm section and compressable so as to retract from the arm pivoting center shaft in accordance with the pivoting of the arm section.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of manufacturing plasma display panels for carrying out aging with high productivity. In an aging process for applying a predetermined voltage and driving plasma display panels 21 for display operation, each plasma display panel is set into an aging unit provided with cooling means, and the aging is carried out on the plasma display panel while cooling the plasma display panel by the cooling means provided in the aging unit. This method can thus reduce temperature rise of the panel and prevent the panel from being cracked during the aging process.

Abstract: A memory control unit and a memory unit is connected to each other by a bus used for transfer of address, data and control signals. The memory control unit outputs a first command including a first predetermined location in the memory unit, to the memory unit. The memory control unit outputs a second command including a second predetermined location in the memory unit, to the memory unit when a predetermined time period has elapsed since the output of the first command.

Abstract: A switch comprises voltage applying means for providing direct current potentials to first to third beams arranged with a spacing slightly distant one from another, and electrodes for inputting/outputting signals to/from the beams. By controlling the direct current potential provided to the beam, an electrostatic force is caused to thereby change the beam positions and change a capacitance between the beams. By causing an electrostatic force between the first and second beams and moving the both beams, the first and second beams can be electrically coupled together at high speed. Also, an electrostatic force is caused on the third beam arranged facing to the first and second beams, to previously place it close to the first and second beams. When the electrostatic force is released from between the first and second beams, the second beam moves toward the third beam thereby releasing the first and second beams of an electric coupling.