Abstract: A member constituting a support-connecting portion with another support structural member is a cast member, and the cast member is integrally built up with a long member formed of a plate material so as to avoid stress concentration. In a long structural member for equipment including a connecting structural portion at a proximal portion, a proximal constitutive portion (6) including a boss (7) and a bracket (8), which are a connecting support portion at the proximal portion, is integrally formed of cast steel. The cast steel proximal constitutive portion (6) is connected and built up with a steel long portion (2) at a connected portion, and thereafter, are integrally welded together.

Abstract: A digital electronic still-video camera is capable of performing rapid-sequence photography at high speeds. When a rapid-sequence photographic mode has been set, each of a plurality of frames of image data obtained by such photography is compressed. Image data which forms a single multiple-frame picture is constructed by a set of image data composed of the compressed plurality of frames. Thinning out is performed in order to compress the image data. The image data is successively stored, while being thinned out, at corresponding addresses of an image memory in such a manner that a multiple-frame picture is constructed in the image memory. After photography in the rapid-sequence mode ends, the image data in the image memory is subjected to data compression and then recorded on a memory card.

Abstract: This invention provides a laser welding method capable of supplying a filler wire to a welding object portion in a stabilized condition so as to stabilize welding quality. More specifically, the filler wire is supplied to the welding object portion while the laser beam is projected to the welding object portion. At this time, the filler wire is supplied obliquely from forward or backward in the welding advance direction such that the angle between the supplying direction and beam axis L of the laser beam is less than 45°.

Abstract: Bus-connected circuits are made to operate stably and at high speed. A cache memory for high-speed access and a DRAM for low-speed access are connected to a CPU by an address bus, control bus and data transfer bus. A switch is provided in the bus at a point between the cache memory and DRAM and the switch is opened at the time of high-speed access. Since bus length is essentially shortened at such time, the cache memory can be accessed stably at high speed. When the DRAM is accessed, the switch is closed.

Abstract: A digital electronic still-video camera is capable of performing rapid-sequence photography at high speeds. When a rapid-sequence photographic mode has been set, each of a plurality of frames of image data obtained by such photography is compressed. Image data which forms a single multiple-frame picture is constructed by a set of image data composed of the compressed plurality of frames. Thinning out is performed in order to compress the image data. The image data is successively stored, while being thinned out, at corresponding addresses of an image memory in such a manner that a multiple-frame picture is constructed in the image memory. After photography in the rapid-sequence mode ends, the image data in the image memory is subjected to data compression and then recorded on a memory card.

Abstract: A workpiece butt position detecting method for butt welding for detecting with a high accuracy the butt position of workpieces, even having chamfered edges or sags at the ends thereof. Workpieces (1, 2) are scanned with a light beam (52) across a weld line (4), and the surface positions of the workpieces (1, 2) are measured by reflected light, whereby the position of the gradually lowering workpiece ends is determined. Recess detecting lines (62) lower than the upper surfaces of the workpieces (1, 2) are set in advance. When the detected surface positions cross the recess detecting lines (62), the lowest surface position (C) among the surface positions between the two crossed points can be determined as the butt position (48).

Abstract: An IC memory card includes an input/output unit attachable to or detachable from a host processing apparatus, a storage unit having a semiconductor memory for storing data, and a control unit for performing write control of data transmitted from the host processing apparatus into the storage unit and read control of the data stored in the storage unit, which is to be transferred to the host processing apparatus. In such an IC memory card, the storage unit is provided with a fixed area in which fixed information not to be overwritten has previously been written and with a variable area in which rewritable data and management information for the rewritable data are written. The control unit includes an address detector for detecting if the fixed area of the storage unit is accessed and for generating a detection signal if such an access occurs.

Abstract: An IC memory card for storing picture data, character data or similar data. The memory card has an input/output section connectable to a host, a storage implemented by a semiconductor memory, and a controller for writing or reading data out of the storage. The input/output section has a data terminal for receiving an address signal and a data signal each being made up of a plurality of blocks continuously, an address/data discrimination terminal for receiving a bilevel signal for discriminating the address signal and data signal fed to the data terminal from each other, a read/write discrimination terminal for receiving a bilevel signal for discriminating the read-out and write-in of data from each other, and a bus clock input terminal for receiving a bus clock synchronous to each block of the address signal or each block of the data signal.

Abstract: An electronic still camera using a memory card as a picture recording medium, and a memory card applicable thereto and implemented by an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory). A picture signal generated by a CCD array and representative of a picture is routed through an amplifier and an analog-to-digital converter to a signal processing circuit. The picture signal is subjected to interpolation and other similar processing by the signal processing circuit, coded by a compressing circuit, and then written to a buffer memory. These steps proceed on a real time basis. The buffer memory is constituted by a storage device having a reading speed and a writing speed which are different from each other. A memory card controller reads data out of the buffer memory and writes them in the memory card at a low speed matching the memory card.

Abstract: In a memory card control device for interfacing an electronic still camera or similar electronic equipment and a memory card removably mounted on the equipment, a data processing device operates only at a supply voltage of 5 volts while a logic circuit operates at a supply voltage of 3 volts. A first level shifter converts the level of signals output from the memory card to a level matching the logic circuit. A second level shifter converts the level of signals output from the logic circuit to 5 volts and transfers it to the processing device, while converting the level of signals output from the processing device to 3 volts and feeding it to the logic circuit. The control device accommodates various kinds of memory cards each having a particular rated supply voltage.

Abstract: An integrated circuit (IC) chip which can be tested even after being packaged on a circuit board together with other IC chips, and a method of testing such IC chips on the circuit board are provided. The IC chip has a main IC section to which a particular function is assigned, and a plurality of testing circuits capable of freely extracting output data of the main IC section on a common bus. An interface is also provided on the IC chip which receives signals for controlling the testing circuits from the outside. The testing circuits, therefore, can selectively hold data sent from the outside or data from the main IC section and then send the data out via input/output terminals thereof or the interface.

Abstract: An image data storage/processing apparatus is provided, which is particularly applicable to an electronic still camera, for example. The image data storage apparatus uses a dynamic RAM as a frame memory for temporarily storing image data representative of a field of an image to be recorded. The frame memory includes at least first and second memories. In the apparatus, there is provided a control so that the image data corresponding to the adjacent two pixel lines on the field are continuously read out in such a manner that they are simultaneously read out from the first and second memories, and the image data corresponding to one of the two pixel lines are read out with delay by the time required for reading out of the image data corresponding to the other pixel line. The image signal processing apparatus is capable of performing processing for writing in and reading out of various types of image data with a single memory.

Abstract: An IC memory card system has a host for processing data, and an IC memory card removably connected to the host and incorporating a data recording medium implemented by an electrically erasable programmable semiconductor memory. The host comprises a system controller for sending to the memory card an address/data signal for distinguishing an address and data by a logical bilevel state, a read/write signal for distinguishing reading of data and writing of data in the semiconductor memory by a logical bilevel state, and an erase signal for erasing data stored in the semiconductor memory by a logical bilevel state as control signals, and bus clock pulses each being synchronous to a particular address and particular data.

Abstract: A surface hardened aluminum part having excellent heat resistance and abrasion resistance obtained by forming, on the surface of an aluminum base material, an alloy layer that has a uniform composition and uniform hardness, being free from cracks. An aluminum alloy powder made of aluminum and metals each of which forms an intermetallic compound of high hardness with aluminum is prepared. This aluminum alloy powder is supplied onto the aluminum base material and the aluminum or aluminum alloy contained in the aluminum base material is alloyed with the aluminum alloy powder using a high-density energy heat source to form an alloy layer. The alloy layer thus formed has an intermetallic compound of high hardness uniformly distributed throughout the layer so that the hardness of the alloy layer is uniform and cracking is unlikely to occur.

Abstract: A method of recording data in a memory card having an EEPROM, and a memory card system using the same are provided. A memory card has at least two collective erasure type EEPROM chips where at least one of which is conditioned for a spare memory. When an access of the kind needing overwriting is made to the memory card, data stored in memory locations of the addresses of a corresponding EEPROM chip, except for the address where overwriting is to occur, are copied in the spare memory, and then the EEPROM chip of interest and the spare memory are replaced with each other. The EEPROM chips may be replaced with a plurality of memory blocks or clusters defined in a block erasure type EEPROM.

Abstract: An electronic still camera using a memory card as a picture recording medium, and a memory card applicable thereto and implemented by an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory). A picture signal generated by a CCD array and representative of a picture is routed through an amplifier and an analog-to-digital converter to a signal processing circuit. The picture signal is subjected to interpolation and other similar processing by the signal processing circuit, coded by a compressing circuit, and then written to a buffer memory. These steps proceed on a real time basis. The buffer memory is constituted by a storage device having a reading speed and a writing speed which are different from each other. A memory card controller reads data out of the buffer memory and writes them in the memory card at a low speed matching the memory card.

Abstract: In a still picture recording apparatus such as an electronic still camera, an audio signal compressed in its time base is recorded on a magnetic disk together with a video signal. In order to relate the timing of recording the audio signal to that of the video signal, the audio signal to be recorded is processed in an audio signal processing circuit in response to the manipulation of a manual switch, and the video signal to be recorded is processed in a video signal processing circuit after a required delay time relative to the audio signal, so that the audio signal and the video signal can be recorded in matching relation without the possibility of mismanipulation and without the need for troublesome recording procedures.