Abstract: According to one embodiment, a switching circuit includes a high-side switch, a rectifier, and a driver. The high-side switch is connected between a high potential terminal and an output terminal. The rectifier is connected between the output terminal and a low potential terminal, and forward direction of the rectifier is the direction from the low potential terminal to the output terminal. The driver supplies a first voltage to a control terminal of the high-side switch in accordance with a high-side control signal and turns the high-side switch on. The driver supplies a second voltage being higher than the first voltage to the control terminal of the high-side switch when the voltage of the output terminal increases to not less than a predetermined value.

Abstract: Provided is a piezoelectric material having good piezoelectric properties and a Curie temperature (Tc) of 150° C. or higher, and a piezoelectric device using the piezoelectric material. The piezoelectric material includes a sintered body made of a perovskite-type metal oxide represented by the following general formula (1): xBi(Mg1/2Ti1/2)O3-(1-x)BaTiO3 (1), where x satisfies 0.17?x?0.8, in which an average grain size of grains contained in the sintered body is 0.5 ?m or larger to 10 ?m or smaller, and the sintered body is polycrystalline. In addition, the piezoelectric device includes a piezoelectric material and a pair of electrodes disposed in contact with the piezoelectric material, in which the piezoelectric material is the above-mentioned piezoelectric material.

Abstract: An image encoding device includes: an image division section for dividing one frame of image into a plurality of image fragments, grouping the plurality of image fragments into N sets (N: an integer of 2 or more), and outputting the N sets of image fragments as N partial images; an image swapping section for swapping at least one image fragment with another between the N partial images to thereby output N partial images each having shuffled image fragments; and an encoding section for encoding the N partial images output from the image swapping section.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a switching circuit includes a high-side switch, a rectifier, and a driver. The high-side switch is connected between a high potential terminal and an output terminal. The rectifier is connected between the output terminal and a low potential terminal, forward direction of the rectifier is a direction from the low potential terminal to the output terminal. The driver is connected between the high potential terminal and the output terminal. The driver switches a high-side switch ON based on a high-side control signal. The driver switches the high-side switch OFF when a first short detector detects shorts of the output terminal with the low potential terminal after a first period longer than a backward recovery time of the rectifier until the high-side control signal changing.

Abstract: An actuation system includes a pump assembly configured to form a pump chamber, an actuator having first and second chambers and a movable member and configured to convert pressures applied to the first and second chambers into a movement of the movable member, and a valve section. The valve section has a plurality of positions set by a controller, and the plurality of positions includes a first position in which the valve section opens the first flow path and closes the second flow path, a second position in which the valve section closes the first flow path and opens the second flow path, and a neutral position in which the valve section closes the first and second flow paths.

Abstract: Provided is a piezoelectric material having good piezoelectric properties and a Curie temperature (Tc) of 150° C. or higher, and a piezoelectric device using the piezoelectric material. The piezoelectric material includes a sintered body made of a perovskite-type metal oxide represented by the following general formula (1): xBi(Mg1/2Ti1/2)O3-(1-x)BaTiO3??(1), where x satisfies 0.17?x?0.8, in which an average grain size of grains contained in the sintered body is 0.5 ?m or larger to 10 ?m or smaller, and the sintered body is polycrystalline. In addition, the piezoelectric device includes a piezoelectric material and a pair of electrodes disposed in contact with the piezoelectric material, in which the piezoelectric material is the above-mentioned piezoelectric material.

Abstract: A sheet conveying apparatus includes a curved sheet conveyance path through which a sheet passes, and a sensor that is disposed in the sheet conveyance path and detects the passing sheet. The sensor includes a light-emitting portion that collects light from a light source and irradiates the passing sheet in an irradiating range which is broader in a sheet conveyance direction than a width direction, and a light-receiving portion that receives the light arriving at and reflected from the sheet.

Abstract: A sheet conveyance device that is capable of correcting skew of a sheet like an index sheet without complicating a use setting and without increasing a cost significantly. A plurality of conveyance units are arranged in a direction intersecting a sheet conveyance direction to convey a sheet. At least three detection sensors are arranged in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction at an upstream side from the conveyance units to detect the sheet. A skew amount computation unit measures a time difference between detection timings of a front end of the sheet by two of the at least three detection sensors except the detection sensor that detects first, and computes a front-end skew amount according to the time difference. A speed change unit makes the conveyance speeds of the conveyance units be different according to the front-end skew amount so as to correct the skew of the sheet.

Abstract: When a fault of any one of phases is detected by a fault detector, each of the phases is checked for fault on the basis of fault detection information input to a controller, and the phases of normal phase currents which have been judged to be not faulty by a faulty phase discriminator are varied such that a current vector obtained by decomposing the normal phase currents into orthogonal X- and Y-axis components to derive resultant currents and then combining the resultant currents follows a nearly circular locus.

Abstract: A 3D image processing device capable of processing a 3D image signal, the 3D image signal including a left eye image signal and a right eye image signal and realizing a 3D The 3D image processing device includes: a parallax detecting unit operable to receive the left eye image signal and the right eye image signal, detect a parallax of an object within the 3D image, and output the detected parallax as parallax information; and an image processing unit operable to perform, based on the parallax information, a predetermined image processing to an image region of an object of at least one of the left eye image signal and the right eye image signal, the object having a parallax within a predetermined range.

Abstract: A display device which can reduce easily the brightness unevenness produced by the insufficient writing of TFT, wherein, the display device having: a display panel which, over a surface of an insulating substrate, includes plural scanning signal lines; plural picture signal lines; plural TFTs; plural pixel electrodes coupled to sources of the TFTs; and a counter electrode, wherein the pixel and counter electrodes are arranged over the same surface of an insulating layer overlying the surface of the insulating substrate, and when a gate insulating film provided at one TFT among the TFTs is thinner than a gate insulating film provided at another TFT among the TFTs, a gap between a pixel electrode coupled to the source of the one TFT and the counter electrode is set to be wider than a gap between a pixel electrode coupled to the source of the another TFT and the counter electrode.

Abstract: A signal separation unit (101) separates an input picture made up of component pictures of RGB, each of which has an equal number of pixels as the input picture, into three component pictures, and outputs the three component pictures. Each of coding units (102 to 104) codes one of the component pictures into an intra-picture prediction coded picture or an inter-picture prediction coded picture, and outputs a bit stream corresponding to the component picture. A bit stream multiplexing unit (105) multiplexes three bit streams outputted from the three coding units into one bit stream, and outputs the bit stream. Each of the coding units (102), (103) and (104) determines a prediction method for the component picture at the time of coding.

Abstract: A data control apparatus includes: a separating unit for separating material data included in original video and audio files into a used portion and an unused portion, based on editing information indicating the used portion of the material data in the video and audio files, and generating first data including only the used portion and second data including only the unused portion; a connection information generation unit for generating connection information associating information about positions of the first data and the second data in the original video and audio files with information about positions of the first data and the second data on an external recording medium; and a formatting unit for arranging the first data, the second data, the connection information, and the editing information in a predetermined order, and outputting, as backup data, the first data, the second data, the connection information, and the editing information.

Abstract: A signal separation unit (101) separates an input picture made up of component pictures of RGB, each of which has an equal number of pixels as the input picture, into three component pictures, and outputs the three component pictures. Each of coding units (102 to 104) codes one of the component pictures into an intra-picture prediction coded picture or an inter-picture prediction coded picture, and outputs a bit stream corresponding to the component picture. A bit stream multiplexing unit (105) multiplexes three bit streams outputted from the three coding units into one bit stream, and outputs the bit stream. Each of the coding units (102), (103) and (104) determines a prediction method for the component picture at the time of coding.

Abstract: Provided are a cell balance device with high cell balance performance and high cell balance speed and requiring no high voltage process, and a battery system including the cell balance devices. The cell balance device includes: three terminals to be connected to secondary batteries; one terminal to be connected to a voltage hold device; three switches provided between the three terminals and the one terminal; and a receiving terminal and a transmitting terminal for a synchronization signal. Alternatively, the cell balance device includes: four terminals to be connected to secondary batteries; two terminals to be connected to a voltage hold device; six switches provided between the four terminals and the two terminals; and a receiving terminal and a transmitting terminal for a synchronization signal. The battery system includes: a plurality of secondary batteries; a plurality of voltage hold devices; a plurality of cell balance devices; and a clock generation circuit.

Abstract: A sheet conveying device that makes it possible to perform printing at high speed with high accuracy by easily correcting skew of a sheet, such as an index tab sheet, without requiring troublesome operations. Sheet detection sensors for detecting a sheet and skew correction rollers for conveying the sheet are disposed in a direction crosswise to a conveying direction of the sheet. A skew correction drive controller measures a leading edge detection time between respective detections of a leading edge of the sheet by the sensors, and controls the conveying speeds of the skew correction rollers independently of each other such that a skew represented by the leading edge detection time is corrected. If the leading edge detection time is not smaller than a predetermined threshold value, the skew correction drive controller reduces a skew correction amount for correcting the skew by a predetermined amount.

Abstract: A corona discharger, including a shield and a charging wire provided in the shield, for generating corona discharge by applying a voltage to the charge wire, the corona discharger includes a winding-up portion for winding up the charging wire by rotation thereof to move the charging wire in the shield; a driving portion for rotationally driving the winding-up portion; a rotation detecting portion for detecting the rotation of the winding-up portion; and a controller for controlling said driving means so that a cumulative rotation amount of the winding-up portion is counted on the basis of a detection result of said rotation detecting means and then a rotation amount of the winding-up means per unit winding-up length of the charging wire is decreased with an increase of the cumulative rotation amount.

Abstract: A corona discharger, including a shield for generating corona discharge by applying a voltage to a charging wire, the corona discharger includes a moving portion for moving the charging wire along a stretching direction; a stretching portion for stretching the charging wire through a first charging area, a non-charging area and a second charging area and for folding the charging wire in the non-charging area back into the second charging area, the first and second charging areas being substantially parallel with each other, and a portion of the charging wire disposed in the non-charging area having a length not less than a length of the charging wire disposed in the second charging area; and a controller for controlling the moving portion such that the portion of the charging wire disposed in the non-charging area replaces the portion of said charging wire disposed in the second charging area.

Abstract: A data control apparatus includes: a separating unit for separating material data included in original video and audio files into a used portion and an unused portion, based on editing information indicating the used portion of the material data in the video and audio files, and generating first data including only the used portion and second data including only the unused portion; a connection information generation unit for generating connection information associating information about positions of the first data and the second data in the original video and audio files with information about positions of the first data and the second data on an external recording medium; and a formatting unit for arranging the first data, the second data, the connection information, and the editing information in a predetermined order, and outputting, as backup data, the first data, the second data, the connection information, and the editing information.

Abstract: Distortion caused in the voltage of an audio signal due to a back electromotive force generated due to loads in a speaker is detected, the detected distorted voltage is eliminated from the voltage of the audio signal, and the audio signal without the distorted voltage is amplified and given to the speaker.