Abstract: An image of an object illuminated by illumination light having given intensity is formed as an optical image. The distance between respective points of the object is determined on the basis of a video which is obtained by acquiring the optical image with a given image pick-up gain. Here, either the intensity of the illumination light or the image pick-up gain is changed with time. The distribution of intensity of the image acquired by utilization of such intensity or image pick-up gain reflects a time lag between the time at which the illumination light is emitted from a light source and the time at which the light reflected from individual points of the object reaches an image pick-up device. The distribution of intensity includes information pertaining to the distance between the light source and the respective points of the object.

Abstract: An imaging apparatus includes an electron emission array having electron sources arranged in matrix form and having a plurality of horizontal scan lines, a photoelectric conversion film opposed to the electron emission array, and a control and drive circuit configured to select one or more of the horizontal scan lines in a given video signal output period and to cause the electron sources included in the selected one or more horizontal scan lines to emit electrons toward the photoelectric conversion film to produce a video signal, wherein the control and drive circuit is configured to cause the electron sources included in unselected one or more horizontal scan lines not selected in the given video signal output period to emit electrons toward the photoelectric conversion film in a blanking period immediately preceding the given video signal output period.

Abstract: An imaging apparatus includes an electron emission array having electron sources arranged in matrix form, a photoelectric conversion film opposed to the electron emission array, and a control and drive circuit configured to select one or more horizontal scan lines in a given video signal output period and to cause the electron sources included in the selected one or more horizontal scan lines to emit electrons toward the photoelectric conversion film, wherein the control and drive circuit is further configured to cause the electron sources included in the selected one or more horizontal scan lines to emit electrons toward the photoelectric conversion film in any one or more blanking periods excluding both a blanking period immediately following the given video signal output period and a blanking period immediately preceding a next video signal output period in which the one or more horizontal scan lines will be selected next time.

Abstract: An imaging apparatus includes an electron emission array having electron sources arranged in matrix form and having a plurality of horizontal scan lines, a photoelectric conversion film opposed to the electron emission array, and a control and drive circuit configured to select one or more of the horizontal scan lines in a given video signal output period and to cause the electron sources included in the selected one or more horizontal scan lines to emit electrons toward the photoelectric conversion film to produce a video signal, wherein the control and drive circuit is configured to control electron emission of the electron emission array in a blanking period in response to a signal level of the video signal produced in the given video signal output period.

Abstract: Disclosed are an imaging device and a display device which both have a simple structure without any need of an image conversion. The imaging device includes a lens component group including multiple lens component systems, each of which focuses incident light from the object, thereby creating a non-inverted image of the object, the lens component systems being arranged in an array form and on the same level, and an image capturing mechanism for picking up the created image. In addition, each of the lens component systems includes an afocal optical system and an image-forming system. The afocal optical system includes at least one optical element for inverting an externally incident light ray relative to its optical axis and outputting the light ray. The optical element has uniform refractive index. The image-forming system includes at least one optical element having uniform refractive index throughout its interior.

Abstract: A method of transmitting contents, which are to be received at a reception side where a portion of the contents is previewed while the contents are not accessible for playing other than for a preview purpose, includes the steps of encrypting the contents by a first encryption key, generating information indicative of an elapsed time of the contents that indicates a relationship between positions on a time axis of the contents representing an amount of time that passes as the contents are played and a time count that accrues as a preview time when the contents are previewed, encrypting the first encryption key and the information indicative of an elapsed time of the contents by a second encryption key, thereby generating first encrypted information, encrypting the second encryption key and content-usage control information by a third encryption key, thereby generating second encrypted information, the content-usage control information indicating usage of the contents on the reception side, and transmitting the

Abstract: A method of transmitting a content to a reception side includes the steps of encrypting the content by use of a scramble key that varies with time, encrypting scramble-key-associated information that includes at least the scramble key and usage-control information, the usage-control information indicative of usage of the content on the reception side, and transmitting the encrypted content and the encrypted scramble-key-associated information to the reception side.

Abstract: A contour compensation circuit that generates a contour-compensated signal by which a signal level of a contour of the object is emphasized, from an image signal obtained by an image pickup of an object. This circuit includes a reverse gamma controller, a contour compensation signal generator, and a calculator. The reverse gamma controller determines a standard channel from among the channels constituting the image signal, and obtains a liner standard channel from the standard channel by the reverse control. The contour compensation signal generator generates a contour compensation signal from the liner standard channel. The control signal generator computes a comparative value from the liner standard channel and the contour compensation signal, and generates a control signal based on a comparison between the comparative value and a threshold value. The calculator computes the contour-compensated signal based on the contour compensation and control signals, and the liner standard channel.

Abstract: A transmitting system wherein a transmission signal composed of main data and a TMCC signal having a SYNC pattern indicating the header portion and a bit pattern indicating setting information of the main data is transmitted and received. In the transmitting apparatus, the reference timing for starting the input data scramble process is rendered to coincide substantially with the modulation timing for modulating the scrambled data and generating the main data, and the modulation timing is rendered to coincide substantially with the timing for generating the TMCC signal thereby to generate the TMCC signal. From the transmission signal, the receiving apparatus demodulates the main data, extracts the SYNC pattern indicating the header portion from the TMCC signal and inversely scrambles the main data based on the extracted SYNC pattern.

Abstract: A chip microphone implemented as a single silicon-based chip includes a diaphragm which includes a vibration portion that vibrates in response to sound pressures, a support block which is formed on the diaphragm, excluding at least the vibration portion to provide a vibration space, and a back plate which is formed on the support block and over the vibration space, thereby facing the vibration portion of the diaphragm across the vibration space.

Abstract: An organic polymeric phosphorescent compound and an organic light-emitting device employing the organic polymeric phosphorescent compound. The phosphorescent compound is a neutral organic polymeric phosphorescent compound emitting phosphorescence and used in an organic light-emitting device, and includes a phosphorescent unit and a carrier transporting unit.

Abstract: A solid-state imager 20 outputs image signals corresponding to picture elements received from light-receptive areas thereof. A sample-and-hold circuit 24 performs a sample-and-hold operation for the image signals at prescribed times. A driving circuit 22 generates driving pulses and sample-and-hold pulses. A horizontal charge-transfer circuit of each light-receptive area is driven with the driving pulses, and the sample-and-hold circuit 24 is driven with the sample-and-hold pulses in synchronization with the driving pulses. The driving circuit 22 intermittently drives the horizontal charge-transfer circuit and the sample-and-hold circuit after the output of at least one of the first and last image signals. Consequently, noise that would be produced in picture elements located at the junctures between adjoining light-receptive areas can be reduced, and loss of image quality that would be caused by the effects of operations in subsequent processes performed in various circuits can be reduced.

Abstract: A prefilter for use in a compressive coding apparatus, the compressive coding apparatus including the prefilter for limiting a frequency band of an input image and a compressive coding unit for implementing compressive coding of an image signal of which frequency band is limited with the prefilter, the prefilter includes: a time filter unit; a two-dimensional filter unit; and an enhancement unit. A compressive coding pre-processing apparatus provided with the prefilter includes: a prefilter unit for attenuating a diagonal frequency component of each image; a pixel skipping unit for skipping a pixel of an image signal of which diagonal frequency component is attenuated by the prefilter unit by folding back a horizontal high frequency component to a vertical high frequency component, or folding back the vertical high frequency component to the horizontal high frequency component; and a pixel space contracting unit for contracting a space of the skipped pixel.

Abstract: A flexible display of the present invention is an active matrix flexible display in which a TFT is provided for each pixel. In the flexible display, an adhesive layer, a protective layer, a gate electrode for the TFT, which is buried in the protective layer, a gate insulating layer for the TFT, source and drain electrodes for the TFT, a pixel electrode electrically connected to the drain electrode, an organic active layer for the TFT, an organic EL layer including a red (R) emitting layer, a green (G) emitting layer and a blue (B) emitting layer, which are formed on a plurality of the pixel electrodes, a metal electrode, and a sealing layer are formed on a plastic film.

Abstract: A three-dimensional image optical system including at least an elementary image optical subsystem constructed with plural afocal optical elements which include the first and the second optical components, wherein the plural afocal optical elements are aligned in a planar arrangement. The variety of the focal length to satisfy the afocal property is realized with the combination of the first optical components and the second optical components, that results in to provide the flexibility of the depth magnification, by which a remote observation is possible.

Abstract: An audio mixing circuit used in an audio mixing console includes an equalizer, a fader cascaded to the equalizer, a distance filter cascaded to the fader, and a pan circuit cascaded to the distance filter. The distance filter is configured to attenuate and increase an audio signal level of an input audio signal in an entire audio-frequency band and an audio signal level of a high-audio-frequency component extracted from the input audio signal, in a correlated manner. Thus, a natural transition of sense of distance can be adjusted with a simple operation without the need for adjusting three elements of the fader, equalizer and an AUX feed from the post-fader terminal at the same time.

Abstract: An image display panel that is composed of a plurality of picture elements aligned in a form of a matrix wherein picture elements consist of red, green and blue color cells corresponding to three primary colors and a picture element wherein three color cells are placed in an order of a red cell 2R, a green cell 2G and a blue cell 2B from a peripheral to the other peripheral and the other picture elements where three color cells are placed in an order of a blue cell 2B, a green cell 2G and a red cell 2R from a peripheral to the other peripheral are alternatively arranged in the vertical direction to the direction of the arrange of the cells in the picture element has been proposed. The invention can improve the picture quality of image display panel.

Abstract: Disclosed are an imaging device and a display device which both have a simple structure without any need of an image conversion. The imaging device includes a lens component group including multiple lens component systems, each of which focuses incident light from the object, thereby creating a non-inverted image of the object, the lens component systems being arranged in an array form and on the same level, and an image capturing mechanism for picking up the created image. In addition, each of the lens component systems includes an afocal optical system and an image-forming system. The afocal optical system includes at least one optical element for inverting an externally incident light ray relative to its optical axis and outputting the light ray. The optical element has uniform refractive index. The image-forming system includes at least one optical element having uniform refractive index throughout its interior.

Abstract: A transmission apparatus of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing for multiplexing a plurality of carriers orthogonal to one another to transmit a modulated signal. The transmission apparatus includes a first modulator for outputting a code modulated in accordance a modulation scheme which can be applied with a synchronous detection for demodulation, a second modulator for outputting a code modulated in accordance with a modulation scheme different from the modulation scheme associated with the first modulator, and a distributing circuit for distributing the codes modulated by the first and second modulators to a plurality of carriers. The distributing circuit distributes the code modulated by the second modulator to all or some of carriers existing within a predetermined number of columns from at least one of both end regions of a signal transmission frequency band, and the code modulated by the first modulator to the remaining carriers.

Abstract: An image of an object illuminated by illumination light having given intensity is formed as an optical image. The distance between respective points of the object is determined on the basis of a video which is obtained by acquiring the optical image with a given image pick-up gain. Here, either the intensity of the illumination light or the image pick-up gain is changed with time. The distribution of intensity of the image acquired by utilization of such intensity or image pick-up gain reflects a time lag between the time at which the illumination light is emitted from a light source and the time at which the light reflected from individual points of the object reaches an image pick-up device. The distribution of intensity includes information pertaining to the distance between the light source and the respective points of the object.