Abstract: An IDE interface unit (11) reads out a value of an ATA register in a DVD drive (1) repeatedly and sends the value to a host network interface device (4a). The host network interface device (4a) retains the register value in a shadow register (23). An IDE interface unit (21) sends a value of the shadow register (23) to a DVD decoder (2) (host) upon receiving a reading out signal of a register value in the ATA register (31). Thus, since a register reading out controlling signal is not sent via networks, there is no transmission delay that effects to the network.

Abstract: In a display system, a projector 1 is mounted inside a vehicle A, and emits a light beam generated based on an image signal toward an opening G formed at a portion near a rear end of the vehicle A. An exterior screen 32 is extendable toward the opening G and is made of a material having low stiffness. While being extended toward the opening G, the exterior screen 32 displays an image by allowing the light L beam emitted by the projector 1 to pass therethrough. A screen housing unit 31 is mounted on or near one of a rear hatch B and a back door B of the vehicle A for accommodating the exterior screen 32.

Abstract: There is provided a metal/ceramic bonding substrate capable of preventing the reverse thereof from greatly warping so as to be concave even if it is heated for soldering. In the metal/ceramic bonding substrate, a metal circuit plate 12 is bonded to one side of a ceramic substrate 10, and a heat sink plate (metal base plate) 14 is bonded to the other side thereof. On the heat sink plate 14, a work-hardened layer 16 is formed by shot peening. On the metal circuit plate 12 of the metal/ceramic bonding substrate, semiconductor chips (Si chips) 18 are soldered (solder layer 20). Then, a power module is produced by a predetermined process. On the reverse (the side of the work-hardened layer 16) of thepowermodule, a radiating fin 26 is mounted via a thermal grease 24 by means of screws 22 or the like.

Abstract: An on-vehicle image display apparatus comprises: plural cameras; display image creating means for compositing and cutting out a group of images taken by the respective cameras; and image display means; wherein the display image creating means cuts out images which compensate for blind spots of the respective cameras in imaging positions one another, from the plural images of the plural cameras, and composite the cut-out images.

Abstract: An in-vehicle hands-free apparatus 10 includes: a communication unit 15 which is connected with a mobile phone 30; a storage unit 17 for storing a voice of a party on the other end of a call; a situation analysis unit 12 for analyzing surrounding situations of a car based on information outputted from a group of sensors 20 for detecting the surrounding situations; an action determination unit 13 for determining, based on the result of the analysis of the situation analysis unit 12, to continue or hold the call between a driver and the party, or cancel the hold; a playback control unit 14 for playing back the voice of the party stored in the storage unit 17 according to a control signal outputted based on the determination of the action determination unit 13 to cancel the hold; and a voice output unit 16 for outputting the voice played back by the playback control unit 14 for the driver.

Abstract: There is provided a transmission system which realizes more flexible resource allocation. A resource management means 12, upon receipt of a resource allocation request including a minimum bandwidth and a maximum bandwidth, reduces allocated resources stored in an allocated-resource request table 13 to the corresponding minimum bandwidths. As such, the request is accepted with higher probability. When releasing an allocated resource, the resource management means 12 increases the allocated-resources of the allocated-resource requests to bandwidths within a range of the corresponding maximum bandwidths. Accordingly, the resources are utilized more effectively. When releasing the resource, the resource management means 12 notifies, by broadcast, all the communication apparatuses that free resources are increased. Thus, for the communication apparatus whose request has been rejected, the resource is allocatable.

Abstract: A transmitting system which comprises a transmission line, a transmitting apparatus connected to the transmission line, and a receiving apparatus connected to the transmission line, and transmits data between the transmitting apparatus and the receiving apparatus, wherein the transmitting apparatus comprises packet compressing means which receives input data comprising plural packets having identifiers as an input, identifies packets to be discarded and effective packets according to the identifiers, and outputs compression information indicating the number of continuously discarded packets and the effective packets to the transmission line, and the receiving apparatus comprises packet restoring means which receives the compression information and the effective packets which have been output from the transmitting apparatus, generates ineffective, packets which are as many as the discarded packets, and outputs the ineffective packets and the effective packets.

Abstract: The present invention provide a transmission system comprising a transmission apparatus for transmitting audio data of multi channels and auxiliary data required for playback of the audio data, and a receiving apparatus for receiving the audio data and the auxiliary data which are transmitted by the transmission apparatus. A multiplexer of the transmission apparatus creates block data that is composed of 8 frames, and first 1 byte of each frame is allocated to a header having Sync, OE and the like, the second byte is allocated to the auxiliary data including AUX data and copyright protect information, and remaining bytes are used to transmit the audio data. An encryptor carries out an encryption process for the second and later bytes of each frame, and a communication means outputs encrypted data.

Abstract: A data control method includes the steps of: A) at least one of the following steps: A-1) embedding prohibition information in data, wherein copying of the data is to be prohibited; and A-2) embedding the prohibition information and N pieces of permission information in the data (N is a natural number), wherein the copying of the data is to be permitted N times; and B) detecting the prohibition and/or permission information prior to the copying of the data. In the case where the permission information is detected from the data prior to the copying of the data, at least one of the N pieces of permission information in the data is invalidated, and then the copying of the data is permitted. In the case where the permission information is not detected from the data, and the prohibition information is detected from the data prior to the copying of the data, the copying of the data is prohibited.

Abstract: A disc playback system comprising a disc drive for reading a coded signal recorded on a disc type recording medium, and transmitting the coded signal through a synchronous channel of a digital bus, and plural display units each receiving the coded signal from the digital bus, and decoding and displaying the coded signal, wherein each of the plural display units outputs disc control information including a read command for controlling the disc drive so as to read the coded signal from the disc type recording medium, and one of the plural display units receives the disc control information from the other display units, and the display unit receives, at least as for the read command, the read commands from all of the other display units which are operating and, thereafter, outputs one read command to the disc drive. Therefore, all of the display units performing display operations can display the same picture at the same time.

Abstract: The present invention provides an apparatus and method for coding moving pictures, which reduces a delay time generated by buffering of a decoding apparatus in compressive coding of the moving pictures. In this invention, the target number of bits of one picture P as a target value of the number of generated bits per one picture is set as well as the upper limit number of bits uCg as an upper limit value of the number of generated bits of the picture is set. Then, when the cumulative number of generated bits Cg generated from the first macroblock to a macroblock which is being coded in the picture exceeds the upper limit number of bits uCg in the middle of the picture which is being coded, the coding of a macroblock is skipped to avoid underflow.

Abstract: A network system includes at least one transmitting apparatus connected to a network for outputting packets containing data to the network and at least one receiving apparatus connected to the network for receiving from the network the packets that have been output from the transmitting apparatuses, the transmitting apparatuses and the receiving apparatuses making up plural transmitting/receiving systems. The network system includes a data packet monitor for monitoring the packets transmitted through the network and detecting the amount of data in the packets to be used in a specified transmitting/receiving system; and band manager for determining a bandwidth on the network to be used by the specified transmitting/receiving system, based on the amount of data in the packets that is detected by the data packet monitor.

Abstract: There is provided a transmitter which is capable of compressing incoming image with a relatively small delay time and transmitting the compressed image data to a receiver. Image data TD contains at least i pixel values of pixels arranged in line along a single direction, each pixel value being expressed in n bits. A transmitter Tx for compressing such image data and transmitting the image data to a receiver Rx via a transmission path N comprises a blocking section 1, a data compression section 2, and a data sending section 3. The blocking section 1 takes every p pixel values among the i pixel values in the image data to form a data block, and sequentially outputs a plurality of said data blocks DB each including the p pixel values. The data compression section 2 reduces an amount of data from each data block DB outputted from the blocking section 1 and thereby outputs a compressed block CBr.

Abstract: A data control method includes the steps of: A) at least one of the following steps: A-1) embedding prohibition information in data, wherein copying of the data is to be prohibited; and A-2) embedding the prohibition information and N pieces of permission information in the data (N is a natural number), wherein the copying of the data is to be permitted N times; and B) detecting the prohibition and/or permission information prior to the copying of the data. In the case where the permission information is detected from the data prior to the copying of the data, at least one of the N pieces of permission information in the data is invalidated, and then the copying of the data is permitted. In the case where the permission information is not detected from the data, and the prohibition information is detected from the data prior to the copying of the data, the copying of the data is prohibited.

Abstract: A control device 3 determines whether an image generated by merging concurrently picked-up several images has consistent image quality on a display device 2. If determined No, image quality parameters set in each image pickup device 1 are so controlled as to make the image quality of the merged image consistent. Therefore, the merged image can assuredly have consistent image quality.

Abstract: The present invention provides an apparatus and method for coding moving pictures, which reduces a delay time generated by buffering of a decoding apparatus in compressive coding of the moving pictures. In this invention, the target number of bits of one picture P as a target value of the number of generated bits per one picture is set as well as the upper limit number of bits uCg as an upper limit value of the number of generated bits of the picture is set. Then, when the cumulative number of generated bits Cg generated from the first macroblock to a macroblock which is being coded in the picture exceeds the upper limit number of bits uCg in the middle of the picture which is being coded, the coding of a macroblock is skipped to avoid underflow.

Abstract: A scrambling apparatus has at least one of the following processing units: a signal inserting processor for inserting a dummy pattern indicating the quantization width in the compressed video data; a conversion processor for scrambling a signal specifying whether field or frame processing is used; a DCT coefficient conversion processor for scrambling a part of the code defining the DCT coefficient; an intra.sub.-- dc.sub.-- precision conversion processor for scrambling the intra.sub.-- dc.sub.-- precision signal; and an alternate.sub.-- scan conversion processor for scrambling the alternate .sub.-- scan signal. A descrambling apparatus reverses the conversion process on the video data scrambled by the scrambling apparatus to restore the video data to the original unscrambled state.

Abstract: A scrambling system includes a scrambling apparatus and a descrambling apparatus for scrambling and descrambling digital audio codes having plural sub-band units. Each sub-band unit includes at least a scale factor and a quantized sample data which is quantized after scaling with the scale factor. In the scrambling apparatus, a sample period during which the quantized sample data is present is detected, and only the quantized sample data is scrambled at the sample period. In particular, the quantized sample data and data other than the quantized sample data are separated, and the separated quantized sample data is applied to a scrambler, and the other data is applied to a delay circuit. The separated and scrambled quantized sample data and the delayed data are synthesized. The descrambling apparatus also detects a sample period during which the quantized sample data is present, and descrambles only the scrambled quantized sample data at the sample period.

Abstract: A scramble apparatus for scrambling data including a variable length code and a descramble apparatus is for descrambling a scrambled signal, and a scramble transmission apparatus comprising the scramble apparatus and the descramble apparatus. A specific code of data is converted into a readable code having a length equal to that of an original code.

Abstract: A scrambled transmission system for transmitting a digital data containing variable length coding conforming to a MPEG standard includes a scramble key generator for generating a scramble key at a timing of each GOP head. A GOP head detector detects each GOP head and causes the scramble key generator to refresh the scramble key. A seed generator generates a scramble seed based on said scramble key at a timing of each slice head. A slice head detector detects each slice head and causes the seed generator to refresh the scramble seed. A random number generator scrambles the digital data based on the scramble seed. A multiplexer embeds the scramble key in the extension.sub.-- and.sub.-- user.sub.-- data of the scrambled data.