Abstract: A travel control device includes: a vehicle detection device configured to detect a position of a peripheral vehicle that travels in a periphery of a host vehicle in a lane, in which the host vehicle travels, or a lane adjacent to and heading in a same direction of the host vehicle; a generation device configured to assign a potential field to a predetermined region, which is adjacent to the position of the peripheral vehicle, the potential field indicating a degree of psychological pressure received by a driver of the host vehicle, and configured to generate a potential distribution that represents a distribution of the potential field of the peripheral vehicle on a road; and a control device configured to control a travel condition of the host vehicle that the host vehicle travels in the potential field relatively low in the potential distribution.

Abstract: A travel control device includes: a vehicle detection device configured to detect a position of a peripheral vehicle that travels in a periphery of a host vehicle in a lane, in which the host vehicle travels, or a lane adjacent to and heading in a same direction of the host vehicle; a generation device configured to assign a potential field to a predetermined region, which is adjacent to the position of the peripheral vehicle, the potential field indicating a degree of psychological pressure received by a driver of the host vehicle, and configured to generate a potential distribution that represents a distribution of the potential field of the peripheral vehicle on a road; and a control device configured to control a travel condition of the host vehicle that the host vehicle travels in the potential field relatively low in the potential distribution.

Abstract: An item selection apparatus storing multiple items being classified into multiple groups, and selecting a desired item on a display screen by displaying the multiple items on the display screen and by changing a group with which the items are displayed, is provided. The item selection apparatus includes an operation portion, a selection candidate display portion, a selection candidate change portion, a determination portion, and a group change portion. The operation portion has a predetermined reference position and is rotated from the reference position. The selection candidate display portion displays an item of a selection candidate in a mode different from another item. The selection candidate change portion changes the item at a speed corresponding to a rotational angle. The determination portion determines the item as a selected item. The group change portion changes the group with which the multiple items are displayed on the display screen.

Abstract: A piezoelectric thin film of the present invention includes an aluminum nitride thin film that contains scandium. A content ratio of scandium in the aluminum nitride thin film is 0.5 atom % to 50 atom % on the assumption that a total amount of the number of scandium atoms and the number of aluminum atoms is 100 atom %. According to this arrangement, the piezoelectric thin film of the present invention can improve a piezoelectric response while keeping characteristics of elastic wave propagation speed, Q value, and frequency-temperature coefficient that the aluminum nitride thin film has.

Abstract: A vehicle information display system includes a head-up display for reflecting an image on a windshield of a vehicle and displaying the image so that a driver recognizes the image as a virtual image. Information is collected for being displayed by the head-up display. A circumstance of the vehicle, a circumstance of surrounding of the vehicle, or a circumstance of the driver is detected. The collected information is classified in accordance with a detection result. Then, display contents of the head-up display are controlled in accordance with a classification result.

Abstract: A piezoelectric thin film of the present invention includes an aluminum nitride thin film that contains scandium. A content ratio of scandium in the aluminum nitride thin film is 0.5 atom % to 50 atom % on the assumption that a total amount of the number of scandium atoms and the number of aluminum atoms is 100 atom %. According to this arrangement, the piezoelectric thin film of the present invention can improve a piezoelectric response while keeping characteristics of elastic wave propagation speed, Q value, and frequency-temperature coefficient that the aluminum nitride thin film has.

Abstract: A unique word that can be contained in transmittal data is to be accurately distinguished. A correlation detecting section 36 calculates correlations A through N between received data containing one of a plurality of unique words A through N and the unique words A through N respectively characteristic of the information transmission rates A through N. For the unique words A through N, the thresholds A through N are respectively set, and a formula distinguishing section 342, when a correlation i (i is one of A through N) is above a threshold i, a unique word i is contained in the received data, and supplies formula type data indicating that the received data have been generated at an information transmission rate i matching the unique word i. A threshold altering section 380, upon distinguishment of a unique word, performs alteration to reduce a value of the threshold i and enlarge values of other thresholds.

Abstract: A scanning apparatus includes a mirror coupled to a base via a spring portion, and a light source for emitting a beam toward a reflecting surface of the mirror so that the beam is incident thereon. The mirror reflects the beam from the light source and rotationally swings under a resilient force of the spring portion when a force is applied thereto. The reflecting surface of the mirror includes a plurality of mirror surfaces at different angles. The beam from the light source is simultaneously reflected by the mirror surfaces at different angles.

Abstract: A scanning apparatus includes a mirror coupled to a base via a spring portion, and a light source for emitting a beam toward a reflecting surface of the mirror so that the beam is incident thereon. The mirror reflects the beam from the light source and rotationally swings under a resilient force of the spring portion when a force is applied thereto. The reflecting surface of the mirror includes a plurality of mirror surfaces at different angles. The beam from the light source is simultaneously reflected by the mirror surfaces at different angles.

Abstract: An equalizer and an equalization method capable of suppressing distortion specific to radio unit and reducing both the oversampling number and the amount of calculations without causing characteristic deterioration.

Abstract: The communications characteristics are improved with a communications method for carrying out communications using a plurality of M signal points to be placed on an I-Q plane. When the M signal points are spaced on the I-Q plane around a point of origin to have a uniform space a in directions of an I-axis and a Q-axis, inside of a circle or inside of the circle covering over the circle having a radius of a space b between the point of origin and a point of the largest value in both directions of the I-axis and the Q-axis, the M signal points are placed in such a manner that a space between any two arbitrary signal points is equal to or larger than the uniform space a, and a space between at least a pair of signal points is larger than the uniform space a.

Abstract: A vehicle information display system includes a head-up display for reflecting an image on a windshield of a vehicle and displaying the image so that a driver recognizes the image as a virtual image. Information is collected for being displayed by the head-up display. A circumstance of the vehicle, a circumstance of surrounding of the vehicle, or a circumstance of the driver is detected. The collected information is classified in accordance with a detection result. Then, display contents of the head-up display are controlled in accordance with a classification result.

Abstract: A unique word that can be contained in transmittal data is to be accurately distinguished. A correlation detecting section 36 calculates correlations A through N between received data containing one of a plurality of unique words A through N and the unique words A through N respectively characteristic of the information transmission rates A through N. For the unique words A through N, the thresholds A through N are respectively set, and a formula distinguishing section 342, when a correlation i (i is one of A through N) is above a threshold i, a unique word i is contained in the received data, and supplies formula type data indicating that the received data have been generated at an information transmission rate matching the unique word i. A threshold altering section 380, upon distinguishment of a unique word, performs alteration to reduce a value of the threshold i and enlarge values of other thresholds.

Abstract: A plurality of grooves, each having a depth of 10 &mgr;m or more and arranged adjacent to each other, are formed at a predetermined portion of a semiconductor substrate where a passive element is formed. Then, a thermal oxidation treatment is performed to let an oxide film grow from an inside surface of each groove so as to fill an inside space of the groove with a thermal oxide film thus grown and turn an entire portion intervening between adjacent grooves into a thermal oxide layer. Each groove has a width of 1 &mgr;m or less, and a width of a semiconductor material intervening between two adjacent grooves is 81.8% or more with respect to the groove width.

Abstract: The conventional bit rate reducing techniques have a problem that the reproduced speech quality is lowered. The present invention provides a speech coding method, a speech decoding method, a speech coder, and a speech decoder that can reduce information allocated to algebraic codebook information while suppressing degradation of the reproduced speech quality as much as possible, thereby to improve the transmission efficiency.

Abstract: A plurality of grooves, each having a depth of 10 &mgr;m or more and arranged adjacent to each other, are formed at a predetermined portion of a semiconductor substrate where a passive element is formed. Then, a thermal oxidation treatment is performed to let an oxide film grow from an inside surface of each groove so as to fill an inside space of the groove with a thermal oxide film thus grown and turn an entire portion intervening between adjacent grooves into a thermal oxide layer. Each groove has a width of 1 &mgr;m or less, and a width of a semiconductor material intervening between two adjacent grooves is 81.8% or more with respect to the groove width.