Abstract: A gateway apparatus is provided which connects to appliances via a home network. The gateway apparatus includes means for acquiring appliance panel information indicating panel parts of the appliance and an operational range of the panel parts, and means for memorizing gateway apparatus information indicating whether a control command input to the appliance thorough a network built outside the home. The gateway apparatus further includes means for determining whether or not it is possible to accept the input by making reference to the gateway apparatus information when the control command input is received through the outside network and for producing a control command to the appliance based on the appliance panel information when the acceptance is possible. This makes it possible to perform remote control in a similar feeling obtained in operating a front panel of an actual home appliance. Through the outside network, the home appliance can be controlled with easier operations.

Abstract: The present invention provides a portable transceiver where a broadband of an antenna characteristic can be realized and efficiency is improved. The present invention provides a portable transceiver includes a first housing (7) having a first circuit board (5) in its inside and an input section at its surface, a second housing (8) having a second circuit board (6) in its inside and a display section at its surface, and a coupling section (4) for electrically coupling the first circuit board (5) with the second circuit board (6). An antenna section (3) and an element section (9) are disposed at one of the circuit boards, and the first housing (7) and the second housing (9) are coupled with each other via a hinge section (2) and can be folded.

Abstract: A method for rapidly accessing program guide information is described. The method includes displaying program guide information on a grid showing a channel axis and a time axis, with each program positioned at a location in the grid representing a channel of transmission and a corresponding time of transmission. The method includes the steps of: (a) displaying the program guide information; (b) placing a time selection field on the display; (c) highlighting and activating the time selection field; (d) determining a time index in response to the activating step; (e) calculating a new time of transmission for display based on the time index; and (f) displaying the program guide information at the new time of transmission. The time selection field includes a page field, a day field and a date field. The page field is adapted to provide a six-hour time index, the day field is adapted to provide a 24-hour time index, and the date field is adapted to provide a seven-day time index.

Abstract: A sound collecting device is provided which is designed to minimize adverse effects on an output caused by exposure of an electroacoustic transducer to the air. The device includes an electroacoustic transducer and a vibrating circuit. The transducer is exposed to the air and responsive to input of a sound wave to produce a corresponding acoustic signal. The vibrating circuit vibrates the transducer to shake foreign substances such as dust or drops of water from the transducer. In a modified form, an electromagnetic sensor is provided which measures an electromagnetic noise transmitted to the transducer and which removes the electromagnetic noise from an output of the transducer to produce a noiseless acoustic signal.

Abstract: A high-frequency heating apparatus includes a magnetron (1), a magnetron holding plate (2), a waveguide (3), a heating chamber (4), and screws (5), and the magnetron (1) is attached to the magnetron holding plate (2) with two screws. Hereby, attachment of the magnetron is facilitated, speed-up of the manufacturing process of the high-frequency heating apparatus can be realized, and production efficiency can be improved. Further, in the breakdown repair requiring exchange of the magnetron, working time can be also reduced, so that service to customers can be also improved.

Abstract: A color image formation apparatus includes a plurality of stages of photosensitive drums provided for respective developing agents, the photosensitive drums arranged in a predetermined direction; and developer units which are provided for respective photosensitive drums and which develop electrostatic latent images formed on the photosensitive drums, wherein an overlap exists in the predetermined direction between a portion of each photosensitive drum and a portion of the developer unit provided so as to correspond to an adjacent photosensitive drum.

Abstract: A program guide display system that utilizes a set of hierarchical templates broadcast from a broadcasting station. The set includes a plurality of frame templates and component templates to be embedded in the frame templates. If a user issues a program guide request while viewing a program of a channel, a form of program guide is determined. One of the frame templates which one is suitable to the form is selected. A text describing the program guide of the form is generated by embedding necessary one(s) of the component templates in the selected frame template while substituting variables of the selected and necessary templates with data which are determined by display conditions and obtained from program information broadcast from the broadcasting station. The generated text is passed to means for executing the text to display program guide.

Abstract: A gateway apparatus is provided which connects to appliances via a home network. The gateway apparatus includes means for acquiring appliance panel information indicating panel parts of the appliance and an operational range of the panel parts, and means for memorizing gateway apparatus information indicating whether a control command input to the appliance thorough a network built outside the home. The gateway apparatus further includes means for determining whether or not it is possible to accept the input by making reference to the gateway apparatus information when the control command input is received through the outside network and for producing a control command to the appliance based on the appliance panel information when the acceptance is possible. This makes it possible to perform remote control in a similar feeling obtained in operating a front panel of an actual home appliance. Through the outside network, the home appliance can be controlled with easier operations.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus is disclosed, which apparatus has a pressure chamber that holds an ink liquid, and a nozzle communicating with the pressure chamber for discharging the ink liquid when pressure is applied to the pressure chamber. The pressure chamber has a diaphragm disposed therein. A piezoelectric element made of a monocrystalline or polycrystalline piezoelectric member highly oriented along a polarization axis showing perovskite structure, and mainly composed of lead zirconate titanate or barium titanate, is used to vibrate the diaphragm. When a specified voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element, it causes the ink liquid in the pressure chamber to be discharged into a recording medium at the front side of the nozzle.

Abstract: A microcellular communication system which broadcasts its local channel block, including the control channels allotted from a total channel block to the microcellular system, on all control channels being used by the system. A mobile unit seeking access to the microcellular system initially searches the total channel block in an effort to receive the local channel block information broadcast by the microcellular system. The mobile unit compares received local channel block information with stored total channel block information and replaces its memory content with the newly received information. Periodic searching of stored channel block information is conducted to verify that the mobile unit has the relevant channel block information for the local microcellular system.

Abstract: There is disclosed image predictive coding apparatus and method, image predictive decoding apparatus and method, and recording medium which stores therein the image predictive coding method or the image predictive decoding method, of which the transform efficiency is remarkably improved in comparison with the prior art.

Abstract: An objective lens driving apparatus includes an objective lens opposed to an optical disk, the objective lens having an optical axis in a vertical direction which is perpendicular to the optical disk, a holder for holding the objective lens; a supporting member for supporting the holder to be movable in at least the vertical direction and a radial direction of the optical disk; a focusing coil provided on the holder and wound around the vertical direction; and a magnetic field generation section for generating a magnetic flux crossing the focusing coil in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, the magnetic flux being generated to be substantially linear.

Abstract: An image coding apparatus which performs an adaptive coding process in macroblock units each comprising a predetermined number of pixels into which the image space is divided, comprises: a color motion vector coding unit for coding either a frame-basis color motion vector or a field-basis color motion vector of a target macroblock to be coded which is used in either the frame-by-frame motion compensation coding process or the field-by-field motion compensation coding process for an interlaced color signal, based on its prediction value; and a shape motion vector coding unit for coding a frame-basis shape motion vector of the target macroblock which is used in the frame-by-frame motion compensation coding process for an interlaced shape signal, based on a prediction value obtained from a color motion vector and a shape motion vector of a coded macroblock.

Abstract: A semiconductor IC includes a test circuit comprising a logic circuit, a test timing generator, a first register serving as a test signal generation point, and second and third registers serving as test signal observation points. In this test circuit, a target signal transmission path to be tested is selected from a plurality of signal transmission paths in the logic circuit, and the test timing generator outputs a test clock having a cycle according to a delay time of the selected signal transmission path on design to the first to third registers, whereby the first register generates a test signal and the second and third registers observe the test signal. Therefore, the signal transmission paths connecting the test signal generation point and the test signal observation point are tested with high efficiency, whereby more signal transmission paths are tested for delay faults with less number of times the test is executed.

Abstract: A disk rotation control apparatus includes a spindle motor for rotating a disk, a rotational speed detecting device for detecting the rotational speed of the spindle motor, a signal generating device for generating an acceleration signal that accelerates the rotation of the spindle motor and a deceleration signal that decelerates the rotation of the spindle motor. A storage device for rotating the spindle motor with an acceleration signal generated by the signal generating device, measures a rise time required to reach a prescribed rotational speed &ohgr;1 while detecting the rotational speed of the spindle motor by the rotational speed detecting device, and stores the measured rise time. A control device for decides a time to generate the deceleration signal in the signal generating device on the basis of the rise time stored in the storage device, and stops the rotation of the spindle motor by applying the deceleration signal to the spindle motor.

Abstract: A stable phosphor complex or blend includes a lanthanum phosphate phosphor with Tm3+ as an activator, Li+ and an optional amount of an alkaline earth element (AE2+) as a coactivator, having the empirical formula:: (La1-x-zTmxLiyAEz)PO4, wherein 0.001≦x≦0.05, 0.01≦y≦0.05, and 0≦z≦0.05; and 15 to 30% by weight of either: (i) divalent europium-activated barium, magnesium, aluminate (BAM), having an empirical formula: (Ba1-xEux)O MgyO (Al2O3)z, wherein 0.005≦x≦0.05 and 1≦y≦2; or (ii) divalent europium-activated barium, magnesium, lanthanum aluminate (BLMA), having an empirical formula: (Ba1-xEux)O MgyO (Al2-vLAvO3)z, wherein 0.005≦x≦0.05, 1≦y≦2, 5≦z≦7 and 0.1≦v≦1; or (iii) divalent europium activated alkaline earth chloro apatite (AECAP) having an empirical formula: (x.Sr,y.Ba,z.Cz,u.Mg)5(PO4)3Cl, wherein x+y+z+u=0.1, 0≦x≦1.0, 0≦y≦1.0, 0≦z≦1.0 and 0≦u≦1.

Abstract: A digital display device, such as a plasma display or a digital micromirror device (DMD) based digital light projector, employs a minimum moving pixel distortion (MPD) set of codewords for reducing visually perceived artifacts viewed on a digital display device (PDP). The digital display device includes a minimum MPD mapping process, which maps by, for example, a ROM look-up table, corresponding present and previous pixel intensity values from first and second image frames into a preferred equalizing code value corresponding to the present pixel intensity value. An optimal set of equalizing codewords is determined by comparing objective measures of MPD error for each of a plurality of trial equalizing codewords and selecting the codeword having the smallest measure of MPD error. The optimal equalizing codewords are stored in a ROM lookup table which is addressed by the previous and current codewords.

Abstract: The invention provides a decoding method of coded moving image signal and a decoding apparatus using the same, being a decoding method of moving image signal obtained by coding input digital moving image signals, gathering in a unit of one picture, issuing bit streams including the time information of present picture, accumulating the bit streams in the transmission side buffer, and decoding the bit streams being controlled to code a next picture when the buffer residue capacity becomes smaller than a certain threshold, characterized by calculating the time between pictures from the generated coding amount of the received previous picture, the threshold and transmission speed, comparing the time information extracted from the input bit stream and the time between pictures, and judging whether the extracted time information is correct or not.

Abstract: A spread spectrum receiver for use in a mobile communication system is provided which includes a plurality of spread spectrum demodulators, a diversity combiner, a power level detector, a correlation determining circuit, a signal combination determining circuit, and a demodulator phase control circuit.The correlation determining circuit determines correlation among input multipath signals transmitted through different transmission paths. The signal combination determining circuit selects the same number as that of the spread spectrum demodulators out of the multipath signals, which minimizes a drop in power level of a diversity combined signal outputted from the diversity combiner according to the determined correlation. The demodulator phase control circuit controls phases of demodulating operations of the spread spectrum demodulators to demodulate the selected multipath signals, respectively.

Abstract: A method of locating a machine-readable two dimensional marker, such as a barcode, in an image. An image of a medium containing the two dimensional marker is processed to generate a mask containing one or more filled regions each of which is sufficiently large to contain the predetermined dimensions of the marker. To generate the mask, small image areas having a first pixel polarity which are internal to larger image areas having a different pixel polarity are first filled with pixels having the same polarity as the surrounding larger image areas. A morphological opening operation is then performed on the filled image to leave only such filled regions as are equal in size or larger than the predetermined dimensions of the marker. After the mask has been generated, the mask is logically combined with the original image to extract one or more candidate regions.