Abstract: A picture synthesizing apparatus, and method for synthesizing a moving picture of a person’s face having mouth-shape variations from a train of input characters, wherein the method steps comprise developing from the train of input character a train of phonemes, utilizing a speech synthesis technique outputting, for each phoneme, a corresponding vocal sound feature including articulation mode and its duration of each corresponding phoneme of the train of phonemes. Determining for each phoneme a mouth-shape feature corresponding to each phoneme on the basis of the corresponding vocal sound feature, the mouth-shape feature including the degree of opening of the mouth, the degree of roundness of the lips, the height of the lower jaw in a raised and a lowered position, and the degree to which the tongue is seen.

Abstract: A speech synthesis system comprises an input terminal for accepting text code, accent code, and phrase code.

Abstract: A speech synthesizer that synthesizes speech by actuating a voice source and a filter which processes output of the voice source according to speech parameters in each successive short interval of time according to feature vectors which include formant frequencies, formant bandwidth, speech rate and so on. Each feature vector, or speech parameter is defined by two target points (r.sub.1, r.sub.2), and a value at each target point together with a connection curve between target points. A speech rate is defined by a speech rate curve which defines elongation or shortening of the speech rate, by start point (d.sub.1) of elongation (or shorteninng), end point (d.sub.2), and elongation ratio between d.sub.1 and d.sub.2. The ratios between the relative time of each speech parameter and absolute time are preliminarily calculated according to the speech rate table in each predetermined short interval.

Abstract: A method of stably effecting a rolling of a steel strip with deformed section by use of a continuous hot strip mill, said method comprising the steps of:providing an excess metal portion along each of opposite sides of a meterial to be rolled for simultaneously obtaining one or a plurality of deformed section portions; andproviding, on a roll for effecting said rolling and at a position corresponding to each of the excess metal portions, a hold portion constituted by a tilted surface placed in a contact-and-rolling relation to each of said excess metal portions so that a self-aligning function occurs in a rolled material itself.

Abstract: In a magnetic recording medium comprising a base and a magnetic coating layer formed thereon which consists of ferromagnetic particles dispersed in a binder, the magnetic layer contains from 3 to 15 percent by weight, on the basis of the magnetic powder weight, of abrasive particles having a Mohs hardness of 6 or upward, in such a manner that the average number of the abrasive particles per unit area of the magnetic layer surface is at least 0.25 per square micron. The magnetic powder is a magnetic metal powder based on iron, and the abrasive particles are angular rather than granular in shape.