Abstract: To improve the illumination efficiency of hand-held illumination devices, this invention proposes a new illumination device having the “rolling” function, which is capable of illuminating the target area on which a user is currently focusing and rolling the illuminated area as the user is reading forward or backward. The illumination device comprises two pluralities of lighting elements, an illuminating body and a controller. The controller can control one plurality of lighting elements to emit light to illuminate a part of the illuminating body, which can further deflect the light to a part of the surface of the target.

Abstract: The invention provides a method and system of controlling illumination characteristics of a plurality of lighting segments. According to the invention, there is provided an illumination system, comprising: a plurality of lighting segments; a detecting subsystem configured to detect an illumination intensity and/or color of lights emitted from each lighting segment; a controller configured to receive the detecting subsystem's output signals representing illumination intensity and/or color of lights emitted from each lighting segment and to generate sets of driving signals to respectively adjust the driving currents of each lighting segment in response to the output signals, so as to adjust the illumination intensity and/or color of the lights emitted from each lighting segment in accordance with a predetermined illumination setting, wherein each set of driving signals has a unique period feature which is distinguished from that of other sets of driving signals corresponding to other lighting segments.

Abstract: To improve the illumination efficiency of hand-held illumination devices, this invention proposes a new illumination device having the “rolling” function, which is capable of illuminating the target area on which a user is currently focusing and rolling the illuminated area as the user is reading forward or backward. The illumination device comprises two pluralities of lighting elements, an illuminating body and a controller. The controller can control one plurality of lighting elements to emit light to illuminate a part of the illuminating body, which can further deflect the light to a part of the surface of the target.

Abstract: This invention relates to an illumination apparatus. The illumination apparatus comprises a light guide plate and a light source configured to emit light into the light guide plate through a first surface, and the light guide plate comprises a concentrator configured to direct incident light in the light guide plate so as to radiate in a direction substantially parallel to a preset plane. The preset plane is perpendicular to any one of the top surface and bottom surface of the light guide plate, and intersects the first surface and a second surface of the light guide plate or intersects the first surface and one of the side surfaces at an angle that is substantially larger than the critical angle of a total reflection. In this way, unwanted light loss in the light guide plate is reduced, and the distribution of the light intensity or luminance along the light guide plate is improved, i.e., a substantially uniform distribution of the light intensity can be achieved.

Abstract: The present invention aims to provide a light guide apparatus based on diffraction gratings. The apparatus comprises a light guide plate (11) comprising a first diffraction grating (13) located on a first surface of or inside the light guide plate (11); a first light source (12), coupled to a first side of the light guide plate (11); wherein the first diffraction grating (11) is configured to extract the light generated by the first light source (12) from the first surface of the light guide plate (11). Since the first diffraction grating (13) is invisibly small, users hardly notice any change of the light guide (11). When the light guide apparatus of the present invention is used as a book reader, the dark area produced when lifting the book reader in a direction away from the objects to be read is smaller than that of existing light guide apparatus based on microstructures, since the light exit angle is relatively small when using a diffraction grating.

Abstract: The invention discloses a light guide apparatus which comprises a light guide (1). The light guide (1) comprises a plurality of diffraction gratings (2) on a first surface of the light guide (1), wherein each diffraction grating (2) has a pre-set pitch and is configured to diffract a portion of light emitted from a corresponding light source to one side of the light guide (1). As the plurality of diffraction gratings (2) is placed on the first surface of the light guide (1) facing the light sources, the light guide apparatus is more robust to damage and fingerprints.

Abstract: The invention provides a method and system of controlling illumination characteristics of a plurality of lighting segments. According to the invention, there is provided an illumination system, comprising: a plurality of lighting segments; a detecting subsystem configured to detect an illumination intensity and/or color of lights emitted from each lighting segment; a controller configured to receive the detecting subsystem's output signals representing illumination intensity and/or color of lights emitted from each lighting segment and to generate sets of driving signals to respectively adjust the driving currents of each lighting segment in response to the output signals, so as to adjust the illumination intensity and/or color of the lights emitted from each lighting segment in accordance with a predetermined illumination setting, wherein each set of driving signals has a unique period feature which is distinguished from that of other sets of driving signals corresponding to other lighting segments.

Abstract: A personal communication apparatus is presented for generating a verifiable recording of a transaction, the transaction comprising an exchange of information. The apparatus includes a receiving component, a protection component, a memory and a recording component. The receiving component receives a transaction between a user of the apparatus and a remote person, and of receiving biometric data (BIOKY) of the remote person. The protection component protects the voice conversation with the biometric data (BIOKY). The recording component records the transaction protected with the biometric data on the memory. A communication apparatus is also presented that includes a memory and an authentication component. The authentication component provides access to a protected transaction stored on the memory.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for optimizing optical disc navigators. According to the present invention, the optical disc player sets the optimum optical disc navigator that can be realized as the optical disc navigator for playing the optical disc by testing and adjusting basing on the optical disc navigator resources that are retrieved from the optical disc playing system (including the optical disc player, optical disc and network or other storage media) and the functions that can be realized by the default optical disc navigator within the optical disc playing system, so as to achieve the purpose of fully utilizing the resources and smooth playing.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for optical disc writing. The method provided by the present invention comprises steps: acquiring the writing history information of the optical disc, wherein the data storage area of the optical disc is divided into several writing areas by starting address and ending address of each writing in the history information; selecting a writing area from the plurality of writing areas for the current optical disc writing; determining the write strategy for the optical disc adopted by the current writing for writing the optical disc; and updating the writing history information of the optical disc. According to the method provided by the present invention, the appropriate area can be selected to carry out the optical disc writing, so that the life cycle shortening of the optical disc due to the over-usage of partial recording areas will be avoided, furthermore, the appropriate write strategy can be determined to improve the optical disc writing effects.

Abstract: The electronic device (21) for receiving product-related data comprises a memory (23) for storing a unique product identifier identifying a product selected from a database, a wireless transmitter (25), a wireless receiver (27) and a processor (29). The processor (29) performs a method comprising the steps of wirelessly transmitting a unique product identifier to be received by a nearby electronic device, the unique product identifier identifying a product selected from a database, and wirelessly receiving data related to said product from the nearby electronic device. The electronic device (31) for transmitting product-related data comprises a storage means (33) for storing a unique product identifier and data associated with the unique product identifier, a wireless transmitter (35), a wireless receiver (37) and a processor (39).

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and a system for performing digital rights management. The idea of the invention is that a master right associated with a content is stored at a first authorized device (211). An authorized device is a device which can be considered trusted and performs actions with contents according to the associated rights. These devices enforce rights that are bound to contents, and perform the security tasks of the DRM system employed. A subright is derived from the master right, which subright controls what type of access a second authorized device (261) is given to the associated content. Finally, the subright is distributed to the second authorized device, given that the second device complies with predetermined distribution criteria associated with the master right. The device distributing the subright authenticates the device which is to receive the subright, ensuring that the second device can be trusted.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for optimizing optical disc writing strategy. The method for optimizing optical disc writing strategy comprises the steps of obtaining the information concerning whether said area to be written has experienced any writing before; searching for an area that has the corresponding information in the writing optimization area on said optical disc; and performing writing test on said area that has the corresponding information to optimize and determine an optical disc writing strategy for writing said optical disc. The method and apparatus could not only reduce the difference between the optical disc writing strategy and the real optical disc writing condition as much as possible, but also lower the requirement on the optical disc writing equipment and the cost, and could be easily realized.

Abstract: There is described a personal communication apparatus (10), for example a mobile telephone, for generating a verifiable recording of a transaction (240), the transaction (240) comprising an exchange of information. The apparatus includes a receiving component, a protection component, a memory and a recording component. The receiving component is capable of receiving a transaction between a user (100) of the apparatus and a remote person, and of receiving biometric data (BIOKY) of the remote person. The protection component is capable of protecting the voice conversation with the biometric data (BIOKY). The recording component is capable of recording the transaction protected with the biometric data on the memory (30). There is also described a communication apparatus (10), which may be the same mobile telephone, operable to support authentication of a transaction therein. The communication apparatus comprises a memory (30) and an authentication component.

Abstract: There is described a communication apparatus (10) for communicating via one or more services provided by a service provider (80). The apparatus (10) is preferably a mobile telephone. Moreover, the apparatus (10) includes a memory device (30) susceptible to receive one or more data carriers (20) distributed by the provider (80) in return for payment. The device (30) is operable on presentation of the one or more data carriers (20) thereto to directly access data (60, 65, 300) on the one or more data carriers (20). Furthermore, the apparatus (10) is further arranged to be capable of communicating the data (60) to the provider (80) for the provider (80) to check the data (60) for updating a toll credit for the apparatus (10) according to information conveyed in the data (60) when the data (60) is found to be valid. Use of the data carrier (20) enables advertising and addresses problems encountered when, for example, using contemporary scratch cards for toll crediting purposes.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for optimizing optical disc navigators. According to the present invention, the optical disc player sets the optimum optical disc navigator that can be realized as the optical disc navigator for playing the optical disc by testing and adjusting basing on the optical disc navigator resources that are retrieved from the optical disc playing system (including the optical disc player, optical disc and network or other storage media) and the functions that can be realized by the default optical disc navigator within the optical disc playing system, so as to achieve the purpose of fully utilizing the resources and smooth playing.

Abstract: There is provided a method of automatically including one or more context related links in association with scene data content. The method is distinguished in that involves providing a recording apparatus including: (i) a data store for reading and/or writing data content; (ii) a sensor for sensing audio and/or visual subject matter from a scene and generating corresponding scene data content; (iii) identifying components for use in identifying a spatial location of the apparatus in proximity of the scene and/or an identity of the scene; (iv) a microprocessor for co-ordinating operation of the data store, the sensor and the identifying components.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and a system for performing digital rights management. The idea of the invention is that a master right associated with a content is stored at a first authorised device (211). An authorised device is a device which can be considered trusted and performs actions with contents according to the associated rights. These devices enforce rights that are bound to contents, and perform the security tasks of the DRM system employed. A subright is derived from the master right, which subright controls what type of access a second authorised device (261) is given to the associated content. Finally, the subright is distributed to the second authorised device, given that the second device complies with predetermined distribution criteria associated with the master right. The device distributing the subright authenticates the device which is to receive the subright, ensuring that the second device can be trusted.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus, contains a disc (12) storing a database with a set of records, each record containing a same set of fields, each record capable of containing record specific content in the fields. A disc drive (10) reads data from the disc (12) a fragment (F) at a time. Each fragment (F) contains a plurality of data blocks that are stored substantially contiguously on the disc (12). The disc drive (10) can be switched between a read mode and a power saving mode, wherein at least part of the disc drive (10) is disabled to cut power consumption. A user interface device renders a view of the database with selected records and fields from a user selectable one of a plurality of respective subsets of the set of records and/or fields of the records. The user interface (14, 16, 18) is programmed to command the disc drive (10) to switch to the read mode to retrieve fields from records from the selected subset from the disc (12).

Abstract: The present invention provides a disc player that authenticates a disc via the Internet. According to one embodiment of the invention, upon insertion of a disc into a player, the player reads a disc identification (ID) on the disc. The player then sends a registration request with the disc ID to a server over the Internet for obtaining an authentication key for playing the disc, upon proper registration of the disc by the server. To properly register the disc, the server first determines whether the disc ID is included in its database. Upon proper registration of the disc, the server will set a registration status associated with the disc to prevent any subsequent unauthorized registrations for the same disc. Thus, by using the present invention, unauthorized copying of the disc can be effectively eliminated.