Abstract: A brake device having: an actuator which is provided on a wheel side of a vehicle having a suspension and generates a braking force by being electrically driven; and a drive controller for receiving a signal regarding the braking force from a vehicle motion controller and driving the actuator, wherein the drive controller is attached to the actuator side and makes communication with the vehicle motion controller provided on the vehicle body side of the vehicle by bidirectional multiplex communication.

Abstract: A braking apparatus comprises a first contact unit arranged on the rotary shaft side of a wheel, at least a second contact unit for contacting the first contact unit for generating a friction force, an actuator for pressing the second contact unit against the first contact unit, and a control unit for controlling the operation of the actuator, wherein the control unit performs the position control operation for moving the second contact unit in such a manner that the interval between the first contact unit and the second contact unit is smaller than a preset distance, and the force control operation for pressing the second contact unit against the first contact unit in accordance with the required braking force.

Abstract: A method for laser-assisted separation and enrichment of silicon isotopes such as 28Si, 29Si and 30Si on the basis of infrared multiple-photon dissociation of silicon halides represented by Si2F6, wherein the silicon halides are irradiated synchronously with multiple infrared pulsed laser beams at different wavelengths.

Abstract: An electrically driven brake device includes a plurality of brake actuators for generating braking force when driven electrically, a power supply source for storing electric energy and supplying power to the brake actuators, a power source line for connecting the power supply source and the brake actuators, and a power breaker at a position of the power source line at which the brake actuators can be insulated and separated into at least two systems.

Abstract: An apparatuses and methods for correcting parallax information between pixels obtained by stereo image processing to more reliable values, wherein first a first parallax is calculated by establishing correspondence between pixels of a standard picture and pixels of a reference picture by an area base matching method using a predetermined evaluation function, a detected corresponding point is evaluated to be correct when the value of the evaluation function indicates a high correlation and then the calculated first parallax is used as it is, while when the value of the evaluation function shows a low correlation, the detected corresponding point is evaluated to be unreliable, the pixel exhibiting the highest correlation is found based on the value of the evaluation function between pixels contained in a predetermined pixel block having the pixel having the unreliable correspondence as a center pixel and the corresponding points, then the first parallax is replaced with the parallax of the found pixel for the c

Abstract: In order to measure a distance with high accuracy, a corresponding pixel extraction section reads a projection transformation matrix from a storage section, determines a reference pixel corresponding to a standard pixel, and outputs the pixel value thereof to a correlation value computation section. The correlation value computation section computes the mutual correlation value between a predetermined small area with the standard pixel being the center and a similar small area with the reference pixel being the center, as the sum of the squares of the difference of each pixel within the small area. A distance computation section extracts the point of the smallest value of an addition value input from the correlation value computation section and the points before and after it, creates a second-order curve passing through the three points, and outputs a distance corresponding to the smallest value of the second-order curve, as the distance of the standard pixel, to a distance image memory.

Abstract: A braking apparatus comprises a first contact unit arranged on the rotary shaft side of a wheel, at least a second contact unit for contacting the first contact unit for generating a friction force, an actuator for pressing the second contact unit against the first contact unit, and a control unit for controlling the operation of the actuator, wherein the control unit performs the position control operation for moving the second contact unit in such a manner that the interval between the first contact unit and the second contact unit is smaller than a preset distance, and the force control operation for pressing the second contact unit against the first contact unit in accordance with the required braking force.

Abstract: An information processing system for processing three-dimensional information on an object existing actually in a three-dimensional space for detecting a collision between a space having an optional configuration and size in the three-dimensional space and the object. In the information processing system, a virtual space setting section sets a virtual space in the three-dimensional space, and a three-dimensional information creating section creates three-dimensional information on the object such as an intruder. A decision is made, on the basis of the three-dimensional information on the object, on whether or not the collision between the intruder and the virtual space occurs.

Abstract: Circuitry for detecting tonal signals, each of which has a particular nature in the frequency or time domain, while distinguishing them from each other. A rough frequency analyzer roughly analyzes an input signal in an entire frequency band with lower accuracy in the frequency or time domain, thereby roughly distinguishing the tonal signals. Detectors, each of which is associated with a subband occupied by a particular target tonal signal, detect the attribute of the power variation of the target tonal signal with respect to time with higher accuracy in the direction of the frequency or time domain to thereby finely identify the target tonal signal. A controller selectively enables and disables the detectors in accordance with the results from the detectors. One of the detectors is enabled which is selected under the control of the controller.

Abstract: The solenoid current increases at low temperatures and decreases at high temperatures because the modulus of elasticity of an elastically deformable valve body and the slide resistance of an elastically deformable seal member vary with temperatures. Therefore the solenoid current for opening the valve mechanism from a closed position is required to be changed with low and high temperatures. To supply the solenoid current necessary for opening the valve mechanism without directly measuring the temperature, the solenoid current (the boost starting current leaning value) indicated when the pressure varies with the opening of the valve mechanism is recorded at the time of pressure-increasing, and thereafter when the valve mechanism is opened again after the closing of the valve mechanism, the solenoid current computed on the basis of the pressure-increase starting current learning value thus recorded is supplied.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus performs predetermined processing for images captured by a plurality of image capturing apparatuses. In the image processing apparatus, the images captured by the image capturing apparatuses are as a base image and at least one reference image. Evaluation values representing correspondence in pixels in each reference image to the pixels of the base image are computed. The images captured by the image capturing apparatuses are assigned to groups so that each group includes the base image and at least one reference image. From groups obtained by the grouping, a group having highest base-image to reference-image correspondence is selected. A distance to a point on an object by determining parallax is computed based on the evaluation values for the selected group.

Abstract: A voice packet communications system which objectively evaluates the voice quality in real time. Voice packets received from a network are input into an adjustment circuit. The adjustment circuit evens out the periods of the voice packets, detects the drop-out of voice packets, and inserts substitute packets in the voice packet sequence. Furthermore, the adjustment circuit outputs the number of voice packets that have dropped out, the number of substitute packets that have been inserted, and the number of voice packets that have accumulated inside the circuit, as quality information in each monitoring period. A decoding circuit converts the voice packets adjusted by the adjustment circuit into voice information. A judgement circuit calculates an index that indicates the communications quality of the voice packets from the quality information using a specified calculation formula.

Abstract: A quality control device which improves the quality of voice packet communication. The quality control device used for voice packet communications for transmitting voice packets through a quality non-assurance type network includes a buffer memory for temporarily storing voice packets received through the network and forming a queue of the received voice packets, a queue operating device for operating the queue in accordance with an operation control signal to be supplied, a sequence examining device for examining vocal properties of a sequence of voice information contained in a plurality of voice packets that constitute the queue stored in the buffer memory, and an operation control device for changing the operation control signal in accordance with an examination result of the sequence examining means.

Abstract: A texture picture with a highest resolution is selected among a plurality of pictures taken from different points of view for each patch surface, and texture mapping is carried out by pasting a texture picture selected for a patch surface on the patch surface. Then, processing is carried out to correct differences in concentration, which are caused by differences in beam-source condition, between pictures or between patch surfaces. As the correction processing, inter-frame picture-concentration-value correction, inter-patch texture-picture-shift correction and inter-patch boundary concentration smoothing correction are performed to allow texture mapping with a high picture quality to be carried out to produce a three-dimensional picture having a high quality. It is thus possible to provide a texture mapping technique capable of producing a three-dimensional picture having a high picture quality.

Abstract: A plasma display panel is provided that has a good productivity of partition formation and air exhaustion process and realizes a bright and stable display. A discharge gas is filled in a gap between two substrates. A mesh-patterned partition is arranged on the inner surface of one of the substrates for dividing the gap into plural squares corresponding to a cell arrangement. The partition has low portions for forming a mesh-like air path that travels all gas-filled space enclosed by the partition in a plan view.

Abstract: A speech coding rate selector includes: a speech input unit for receiving an input speech; a short-term power arithmetic unit for computing the power of an input speech at a predetermined time unit; an ambient noise power estimating unit for estimating the power of an ambient noise superimposed on an input speech; a rate selection threshold value arithmetic unit for computing a group of power threshold values for selecting a speech coding rate; a power comparator for selecting one appropriate rate from among a plurality of speech coding rates; an ambient noise property inferring unit for inferring the property of an ambient noise superimposed on an input speech; and a comparison power corrector for correcting an output value of the short-term power arithmetic unit if an ambient noise, the property of which has been inferred by the ambient noise property inferring unit, proves to exhibit a considerable time-dependent change in power.

Abstract: A noise codebook selects a code most suitable to the characteristics of an input speech vector from an inside quantification table. Furthermore, a codebook renewal circuit determines a correlative value between a noise code selected by the noise codebook and the input speech vector, subsequently calculates a multiplication value for each of noise codes to generate a renewal code by using the multiplication value with respect to the code selected most frequently by the coding processing at the time of voice. Renewal processing is preformed by replacing a desired code of the codebook with the renewal code. Furthermore, the renewal code is sent to a multiplexing circuit together with a renewal flag value to be sent to a decoding device by using the superfluous bit portion of an unvoice frame.

Abstract: Two photodiodes are disposed side by side in the direction in which the slit light reflected from the object to be measured moves. One photodiode 1 of the two photodiodes receives the reflected slit light for a longer period than the other photodiode 2. When neither of the two photodiodes receive the slit light reflected from the object to be measured but both receive the same bias light, even if very weak noise light is incident from the outside or the characteristics of the photodiodes slightly differ, a higher light current flows through the photodiode 1 than through the photodiode 2, making the output of the clock-type comparator 7 stable in the initial state. This allows distance measurement to be always performed stably.

Abstract: A distance measuring method and apparatus capable of achieving fast and precise measurement of distances to positions on the surface of a three-dimensional object. The measuring procedure comprises the steps of: calculating count values C.sub.1 and C.sub.2 indicative respectively of angle differences .theta..sub.1 and .theta..sub.2 of a scanning mirror where slit light reflected from a reference plane set at first, second and third positions S0, S1 and S2 is incident upon a predetermined one of sensing cells arranged on an image pickup plane; calculating a count value C.sub.x indicative of an angle difference between an angle .theta..sub.S2 of the scanning mirror where the slit light reflected from the reference plane at the third position thereof is incident upon the said cell on the image pickup plane, and another angle .theta..sub.

Abstract: A braided structure forming method suitable for forming a braided structure of a complicated structure capable of serving as the core of FRP and FRTP, in which a speed of pulling up or down a braided structure is varied in process with time to vary the structural density thereof.