Abstract: An optimum performance is achieved relative to write-once type optical recording mediums on which information is recorded by means of a blue-violet semiconductor laser. An optical disc recording/reproduction apparatus 10 comprises an LD control section 17 adapted to control the irradiation power of a laser when writing data. If the cycle of the channel clock is T, when forming a recording mark having a length of n×T (n being an integer not smaller than 2), a pulse beam is irradiated onto the write-once type information recording medium for n/2 times (decimals, if any, being to be rounded down). When forming a recording mark having a length of not smaller than 6T and even number times of T, a pulse beam is irradiated for n/2 times with all the intermediate pulse beams synchronized with the phase of the channel clock except the leading pulse beam and the tail end pulse beam.

Abstract: A solid-state imaging device is provided in which noise to an image signal is restrained and miniaturization is facilitated in a peripheral circuit formation region. A solid-state imaging device includes a pixel formation region 4 and a peripheral circuit formation region 20 formed in the same semiconductor substrate; in the peripheral circuit formation region 20 a first element isolation portion is formed of an element isolation layer 21 in which an insulation layer is buried in a semiconductor substrate 10; in the pixel formation region 4 a second element isolation portion made of an element isolation region 11 formed inside the semiconductor substrate 10 and an element isolation layer 12 projecting upward from the semiconductor substrate 10 is formed; and a photoelectric conversion element 16 (14, 15) is formed extending to a position under the element isolation layer 12 of the second element isolation portion.

Abstract: An abnormal operation in which a current flows through a switching device before the end of an off period of the switching device at medium load is eliminated by setting the coupling coefficient of an isolated converter transformer to about 0.7 or lower. A primary side parallel resonance frequency and a secondary side series resonance frequency are set so as to obtain favorable power conversion efficiency characteristics.

Abstract: A disc conveying apparatus includes a first conveyor unit having a plurality of rollers which are arranged along a conveying path of a disc-shaped recording medium with gaps therebetween, which move in a direction away from the conveying path and rotate individually, and which convey the disc-shaped recording medium by successively rolling on a peripheral surface of the disc-shaped recording medium to pass the disc-shaped recording medium from one to another, a second conveyor unit which faces the first conveyor unit across the disc-shaped recording medium being conveyed, which is oriented along the conveying path, and which retains the disc-shaped recording medium between the first conveyor unit and the second conveyor unit, and a control unit which detects the position of the disc-shaped recording medium and controls the rotation of the rollers on the basis of the movement of the rollers in the direction away from the conveying path.

Abstract: A method is provided of fabricating a damascene interconnection. The method begins by forming on a substrate a first dielectric layer, a capping layer on the first dielectric sublayer and a resist pattern over the capping layer to define a first interconnect opening. The capping layer and the dielectric layer are etched through the resist pattern to form the first interconnect opening. The resist pattern is removed and a barrier layer is applied over the capping layer and in the first interconnect opening. An interconnection is formed by filling the first interconnect opening with conductive material. The interconnection is planarized to remove excess material and a portion of the first dielectric layer damaged by the planarizing step is selectively etched. A second dielectric layer is applied to replace the damaged portion of the first dielectric.

Abstract: A maximum likelihood decoder includes metric generators for generating metrics based on a plurality of partial responses and a Viterbi decoder for realizing maximum likelihood decoding by using a synthetic metric generated by synthesizing the metrics. A first partial response is an original partial response. A second partial response is a differential response generated by subtraction by shifting the first partial response by 1 clock. Alternatively, the differential response may be generated by subtraction by shifting the first partial response by 2 clocks. The second partial response may be a response generated by addition by shifting the first partial response by 2 clocks. Alternatively, the second partial response may be an integration response generated by adding all previous samples of the first partial response.

Abstract: An edge enhancement circuit uses bandpass filters to separate an original video signal into low-, middle- and high-frequency band edge components which will be supplied to waveform shaping circuits. Each of the waveform shaping circuits detects an amplitude peak level of the edge component, generates a gain coefficient based on the peak level, and multiplies the original video signal by the gain coefficient. The results of multiplication are added together to generate a final detail signal. Thus, the edge enhancement circuit amplifies the amplitude of the edge component having a frequency approximate to the spatial frequency of the video signal to provide an edge enhancement based on a frequency characteristic corresponding to the spatial frequency of the video signal.

Abstract: A selective encryption encoder consistent with certain embodiments of the invention has a packet identifier that identifies packets of a specified packet type, the specified packet type being defined by packets occurring in a star pattern approximately situated at an upper center of an image which contain intra-coded macroblocks. A packet duplicator duplicates the identified packets to produce first and second sets of the identified packets. The packets are sent to and from a primary encryption encoder to encrypt the first set of identified packets under a first encryption method. A secondary encrypter encrypts the second set of identified packets under a second encryption method.

Abstract: A watermarking system comprises an encoding data processor operable to generate at least one marked version of an original item of material by introducing one of a predetermined set of code words into a copy of the original material item. The encoding processor comprises a code word generator operable to form the code word by generating a plurality of code word coefficients, and an encoder operable to combine the code word coefficients with the material item, and an adaptation processor. The adaptation processor is operable to adapt the strength of the code word coefficients or the material item samples in accordance with a relative sensitivity of the material item samples to carry the code word coefficients. The strength of the watermark is therefore adapted in accordance with the sensitivity of the material item to carry watermark code word coefficients. As a result there is a reduced likelihood of an attacker identifying parts of the material item to which the watermark code word has been added.

Abstract: In a magnetic sensor (1) including a substrate (10) having a magnetism-sensitive element (11) formed thereon, a hard membrane (14) is formed on the outermost surface, an organic film (13) to relieve the stress caused by the hard membrane (14) is formed under the hard membrane (14), and an inorganic film (12) to relieve the stress caused by the organic film (13) is formed between the organic film (13) and magnetism-sensitive element (11). Also, an intermediate film formed from an element having a large force of bonding to carbon may be formed between the organic film (13) and hard membrane (14). Thus, the magnetic sensor (MR sensor, for example) can be protected against an external shock.

Abstract: An information processing system comprises an information providing medium that stores information in an electromagnetic or optical manner, the information providing medium being attached to an entity in order to provide information associated with the entity; a hand held terminal device having an information read function that reads information from the information providing medium in an electromagnetic or optical manner and record the information; and an information processing unit for retrieving the information recorded in the hand held terminal device; wherein the information providing medium is inconspicuously attached to the entity. In this manner, the information can be recorded into the hand held terminal for later use by a user.

Abstract: A rendering processing apparatus is provided which performs occlusion culling for excluding from rendering targets a hidden object behind another object as seen from a point of view, when given a plurality of objects. An object input unit stores a plurality of objects in an object storing unit. An internal volume generating unit generates an internal volume which is included in a target object. A reduced Z-buffer updating unit updates a reduced Z-buffer based on the internal volume. An external volume generating unit generates an external volume which includes the target object subject to culling test. A culling determination unit consults the reduced Z-buffer and performs a Z culling test on the target object based on the external volume.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for controlling an electronic device (10), to an electronic device (10) as such as well as to an electronic assembly (100). A key idea of the present invention is to provide a standby state in which no operation power is consumed with respect to processes of monitoring and terminating said standby state. The standby state can at most be terminated upon receipt of a remote wakeup radio signal (WS) from which also the operation power for terminating said standby state is extracted.

Abstract: Mobile terminals may connect to one another of dynamically formed local networks to exchange certain files, such as bandwidth intensive files. Licensing or payment information for these files may be exchanged via a wide-area network, such as the cellular network to which the mobile terminals normally connect. In one embodiment, a mobile terminal includes logic to join a local network in response to the mobile terminal coming into range of the local network; logic to request a file from the local network; logic to receive the file from the local network when the file is available from another mobile terminal in the local network; and logic to exchange payment or license information for the file over a cellular network.

Abstract: A computerized method of representing a dataset with a taxonomy includes augmenting a dataset containing a plurality of records with a plurality of predetermined exemplars; representing the plurality of records and predetermined exemplars within the augmented dataset as a plurality of clusters in an initial taxonomy layer; generating a truncated hierarchy of cluster sets based on clusters within the initial taxonomy layer, wherein clusters within the truncated hierarchy contain no more than a predetermined number of exemplars; and labeling clusters within the truncated hierarchy.

Abstract: A solid-state imaging apparatus is provided. The solid-state imaging apparatus includes a solid-state imaging device, an ?-ray shielding layer formed so as to cover at least an imaging area of the solid-state imaging device and a cover glass provided above the ?-ray shielding layer.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes an input unit that inputs image data; and an analysis filtering unit that generates coefficient data of a plurality of subbands by performing analysis filtering of the image data input by the input unit for each predetermined number of lines from an upper-end line to a lower-end line such that analysis filtering of a lower-end line of the current picture is completed before analysis filtering of an upper-end line of the next picture starts.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes a face image extractor portion, a matching image detector portion, a linking processing portion, a communication address information acquiring portion, and a controller portion. The face image extractor portion extracts a face image of a person in a still image content. The matching image detector portion detects from a memory containing or storing face images and communication address information of respective users the matching face image matching with the extracted face image, which has been extracted by the face image extractor portion. When the matching face image matching with the extracted face image, which has been extracted by the face image extractor portion, is detected by the matching image detector, the linking processing portion performs a linking process to link the extracted face image and communication address information corresponding to the extracted face image and stored in the memory.

Abstract: A computerized method of representing a dataset includes obtaining a dataset, the dataset defining an attribute space; decomposing the attribute space into a plurality of attribute subspaces; generating a parent taxonomy of the obtained dataset with respect to one of the plurality of attribute subspaces, the parent taxonomy organizing the obtained dataset into a plurality of data subsets; generating a child taxonomy with respect to another one of the plurality of attribute subspaces, the child taxonomy organizing each of the plurality of data subsets within the parent taxonomy into at least one data subset; iteratively repeating generating the child taxonomy until a predetermined termination condition is satisfied, wherein the child taxonomy of a preceding iteration is the parent taxonomy of the current iteration; and assigning category labels to the data subsets.

Abstract: An imaging apparatus operating on the basis of setting information determining quality of a captured image.