Abstract: Communication systems, communication terminals and communication methods are provided.

Abstract: Communication equipment having an available bandwidth less than 100 Mbps may be regarded as IEEE1394 communication equipment in which buses (21, 31) are connected together via a bridge (40). The bridge (40) includes portals (40A, 40B), and the portals (40A, 40B) communicate with each other through infrared rays. RAMs (43A, 43B) include bandwidth available registers for writing a remaining amount of an available bandwidth, which may be used in an isochronous communication within the bridge (40). ROMs (44A, 44B) store an available bandwidth, which may be used in a isochronous communication in respective infrared communication units (45A, 45B), as an initial value (BWR). When the bridge (40) is initialized, the initial value (BWR) is written in the bandwidth available registers. Thus, even when an available bandwidth between the infrared communication units (45A, 45B) is less than 100 Mbps, the bridge (40) may be regarded and operated as communication equipment in which the available bandwidth is 100 Mbps.

Abstract: In a radio communication method and a apparatus in which a fixed-length data block is transferred between respective nodes by using a predetermined time slot of a plurality of time slots provided within each consecutive cycle, a transmission efficiency can be improved. The control node manages the transmission of isochronous communication data of each node at the unit of one cycle or a plurality of cycles. The unit information is transmitted to the control node by each node, and each node calculates a total data length of isochronous communication data transmitted within one cycle. A remainder is calculated by dividing this total data length with a data length of data block the unit information is obtained by using this remainder (S13 to S18), and this unit information is reported to the control node (S19).

Abstract: A control device preferably applied to a wireless network in which a control node 2 holds a predetermined number of node IDs (bus IDs) to be allocated to the controlled nodes 3 to 6 which are newly connected to the network. The control node allocates a node ID not yet allocated among the held node IDs to a controlled node when the controlled node is newly connected to the network, and deallocates the node ID allocated to the controlled node when the controlled node is removed from the network. Thus, the control device may grasp the configuration of the whole network easily when the controlled node is connected to and removed from the network, eliminating a need for resetting the whole network.

Abstract: A luminaire is provided with a reflector, a lamp body, a discharge lamp, an igniter, a lighting circuit including an inverter, and a socket, wherein both of the igniter and lighting circuit are disposed in the socket, the discharge lamp is fixed to the socket, the socket is fixed to the reflector, and the discharge lamp is housed in the reflector, whereby it is enabled to attempt a reduction of constituting parts of the lighting circuit in the luminaire and, in particular, to attempt an improvement in assembling workability of the luminaire.

Abstract: A luminaire includes a discharge lamp, a lighting device supplying a power for lighting the discharge lamp, and a lamp body for housing the discharge lamp and an igniter for starting the discharge lamp, the lighting device and igniter being provided separately, while the lighting device being disposed in the lamp body, whereby such parts employed in the lighting device as harness or the like to which a high voltage is applied can be shortened in the length to be able to improve the safety.

Abstract: A bridge manager (bridge management equipment) is automatically determined. In a network, bridges 51 to 54 are configured by connecting portals 41 to 48 respectively connected to buses 11 to 15 and the different buses 11 to 15 are connected via the bridges 51 to 54. A value denoting the function of the bridge manager managing the portals 41 to 48 and equipment ID are stored in registers in each portal 41 to 48. One bridge manager is selected out of candidates 31 and 34 for a bridge manager based upon a value in the registers.

Abstract: WN nodes (2 to 5) set the number of clocks in low-order 12 bits of cycle time data from cycle masters (20-50) to a bus counter (102A) and an internal counter (102B). When a control block is transmitted to the WN nodes (3 to 5), the WN node (2) stores a counted value of the counter (102B) in a cycle sync area. The WN nodes (3 to 5) which receive the control block extract the counted value from the cycle sync area, generate control information for correcting a difference so as to maintain an initial value by comparing the extracted counted value and the counted value of the above-mentioned counter (102A), and transmits such control information to the cycle masters (30 to 50). Thus, the number of clocks in the low-order 12 bits of the cycle time data in the cycle masters (30 to 50) is corrected, and a time synchronization among respective buses is established. Therefore, a time synchronization among a plurality of buses may be established satisfactorily.

Abstract: A safety ballast for a discharge lamp capable of interrupting the supply of the electric power upon failure of starting the lamp. The ballast includes a converter providing a DC power voltage from a DC voltage source, a booster providing a boosted DC voltage to a starter which generates, based upon the boosted DC voltage, a starting voltage for starting the lamp, and an inverter receiving the DC power from the converter to provide an AC power for operating the lamp. The booster includes a capacitor which is charged by the DC power and accumulate the boosted voltage. A controller monitors a load condition of the lamp and issues a disable signal when a no-load condition continues over a predetermined starting period. The inverter includes a plurality of switching elements one of which is regulated to be turned on in response to the no-load signal for establishing a supply path of supplying the boosted voltage from the booster's capacitor through the switching element to the starter.

Abstract: The movie film has two tracks of left and right digital audio data recording areas in addition to a frame image information recording area in the form of frames, an analog audio data recording area, and left and right perforations. In these audio data recording areas, the same encoded audio data is recorded. Preferably, the audio data is constituted, using the encoding system called the ATRAC system, by the encoding parameter data, the encoded audio data, and the same parameter as the encoding parameter doubly written. This doubly written parameter is recorded in a manner so that when for example the encoding parameter and the encoded audio data are recorded on the left side audio data recording area for a certain channel, the tracks are switched so that the recording is carried out on the opposite right side audio data recording area.

Abstract: With the signal encoding method and apparatus according to the present invention, noise components of plural channels are encoded individually by a first encoding unit 124, while noise components of plural channels are encoded in common by a second encoding unit 125. A discriminating unit 123 discriminates characteristics of noise components of plural channels. Based upon the results of discrimination, selective switching is made between an output of the first encoding unit 124 and an output of the second encoding unit 125. If the noise components of plural channels are encoded in common, the compression ratio for the noise components of plural channels may be improved. On the other hand, if the noise components of plural channels are not encoded in common, ill effects due to common handling can be prohibited.

Abstract: There is provided a coding method which can effectively prevent a pre-echo and a post-echo from being generated and can perform effective coding to which an psycho-acoustic model is applied. A coding apparatus according to the coding method of the present invention detects the attack and release portions of a waveform signal, and performs gain control to a waveform signal before the attack portion and the waveform signal of the release portion by using a gain control amount adaptively calculated according to the characteristics of the waveform signal. An psycho acoustic model window circuit to an aural model application circuit calculate a masking level based on the psycho-acoustic model from a frequency component obtained by transforming the waveform signal, and a quantization precision determination circuit determines a quantization precision by using the masking level. An window circuit and a transform circuit transform the waveform signal into a plurality of frequency components.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for high efficient signal coding by separating frequency components obtained by converting an input signal into tone property component signals and the other component signals by using a mask level obtained based on the psychoacoustic model and coding these signals respectively to increase signal coding quality and efficiency.

Abstract: The input signal of one of the plural channels is converted by a converting circuit into frequency components which are separated into tonal components and noise components in a signal comment separating circuit. The tonal components and the signal components are encoded by a tonal component encoding circuit and a noise component encoding circuit, respectively. The amount of bytes allocated to the noise components in the respective channels is determined by a byte allocation circuit based upon time changes of the sum of the scale factors of the respective channels.

Abstract: An encoding method and apparatus for encoding multi-channel signals employed in, for example, a stereo system of a video disc player, a video tape recorder, a motion picture film picture system, or a so-called multi-surround acoustic system. Five channels, namely the center (C) channel, left (L) channel, right (R) channel, left surround (SL) channel and the right surround (SR) channel, for example, are handled in common depending upon frequency characteristic of digital audio signal and the targeted playback environment, and encoding is done while the combinations of the channels to be handled in common are altered. High compression may be achieved with the use of pre-existing encoding and decoding units by handling the channels in common without dependency upon the degree of correlation of multi-channel digital data.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for encoding input signals, such as digital data, by so-called high-efficiency encoding, in which pre-echo and post-echo are suppressed. A gain control position decision circuit detects an attack portion and a release portion of an audio signal entering an input terminal. An acoustic model application circuit finds a masking level based on a psychoacoustic model of the input signal. A gain control decision circuit determines the gain control value adaptively selected in accordance with the masking level. A gain control circuit controls the gain of the audio signal entering the input terminal in meeting with the gain control value.

Abstract: A low bit rate encoder for compression-encoding digital audio signals of a plurality of channels makes use of both the property of the audio signal and the hearing sense of the human being. The encoder includes: an energy detecting section for detecting energies of the digital audio signals every digital audio signals of the respective channel, a bit allocation amount determining section for determining bit allocation amounts to the respective channels on the basis of the detected result, a compression-encoding section for compression-encoding the digital audio signals on the basis of the bit allocation amounts allocated for every respective channel in accordance with the determined bit allocation amounts, and a multiplexing section for multiplexing the compression-encoded signals every respective channels.

Abstract: A high-efficiency encoding method and apparatus assuring a higher data compression ratio than with known encoding method and apparatus. The multi-channel signals including bandwidth-limited signals of at least one channel are encoded by the same encoding technique by an encoding unit. The bandwidth-limited signals of at least one channel, resulting from encoding by the encoding unit, are re-encoded by a re-encoding unit for eliminating the redundant information produced by the bandwidth limitation.

Abstract: A motion picture film capable of reproducing the sound field full of ambience in the reproducing system. The digital sound tracks 5L and 5R, on which digital audio data have been recorded, are recorded so that temporally same digital audio signals are recorded with a spatial shift by a preset distance along the film running direction.

Abstract: A motion picture film capable of reproducing the sound field full of ambience in the reproducing system. The digital sound tracks 5L and 5R, on which digital audio data have been recorded, are recorded so that temporally same digital audio signals are recorded with a spatial shift by a preset distance along the film running direction.