Abstract: There is provided a motor having a rotor in which a rotor magnet is fixed on the outer peripheral surface of a rotor body. The motor is configured so that the support shaft portion is formed of a material having a self-lubricating property, and a first sliding surface (33c) of the support shaft portion is supported rotatably. Also, the motor is configured so as to have a metallic motor casing (10), a rotor (30) provided in the motor casing (10) to drive a motor shaft (31) projecting from the motor casing (10) through a shaft hole (14) in an end wall portion (11b), a stator (20) provided around the rotor (30) in the motor casing (10) to rotationally drive the rotor (30), a cover member (40) provided to close the other end opening (12) of the motor casing (10), and a connector body (50) integrally formed of a resin so as to seal the other end opening (12) of the motor casing (10) from the outside of the cover member (40).

Abstract: A method for improving quality of an image includes storing feature quantity candidates each having a luminance component for improving of quality of a first image, dividing the first image into blocks with an overlapping region formed between adjacent first and second blocks, assigning first and second feature quantity candidates selected from the feature quantity candidates of the storage to the first and second blocks, respectively, calculating an energy expressing each similarity between first and second luminance patterns of the first and second feature quantity candidates in the overlapping region, selecting one first feature quantity and one second feature quantity from the first and second feature quantity candidates, using the energy, and improving qualities of the first and second blocks using the first and second feature quantities to generate a second image.

Abstract: A method includes inputting to-be-processed data including a set of first-N-dimensional-coordinate values in an N-dimensional space and first-sampling values, inputting search-pattern data including a set of second-N-dimensional-coordinate values in the N-dimensional space and second-sampling values, setting a set of virtual-corresponding points designated by third-N-dimensional-coordinate values, acquiring input patterns each including third-sampling values within a first range with reference to a corresponding virtual-corresponding point, acquiring search patterns each including fourth-sampling-values within a second range with reference to a corresponding second-N-dimensional-coordinate value of the second-N-dimensional-coordinate values in correspondence with each of the second-N-dimensional-coordinate values, detecting, from the search pattern data, an estimated pattern including one search pattern and having smaller differences with respect to the input patterns than other search patterns, setting sampl

Abstract: An apparatus includes unit acquiring a target image as a target of resolution conversion, unit acquiring an additional image from the image source, unit estimating a corresponding point in the target image using corresponding point estimation methods, the corresponding point being associated with at least one pixel in the additional image to obtain corresponding points in the target image, unit setting a pixel value of each pixel included in the additional image as a sampling value for the corresponding point when each pixel is set as a target pixel, to obtain sampling values for pixels included in the additional image, and unit generating an image of a first resolution into which a second resolution of the target image is converted, using pixel values and positions of pixels included in the target image, and the sampling values and positions of the corresponding points.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a first receiving unit configured to receive a plurality of frames of an image containing pixel values, a first setting unit configured to set one of the frames as a reference frame, a second setting unit configured to set, of the frames received by the first receiving unit, one frame other than the reference frame as an other frame, a first storage unit configured to store at least one subpixel shift value that is a preset fractional value, and an estimation unit configured to estimate a fractional part of a position of a corresponding point corresponding to a pixel of the other frame to readily select a value closer to the subpixel shift value.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus calculates estimated pixel values of respective pixels of a provisional high-resolution image by interpolation on basis of pixel values in a reference frame, segmentalizes interior of the reference frame into an edge region, a texture region or a flat region and other on basis of pixel values of respective pixels, sets the respective pixels in the reference frame as target pixels one by one in sequence, calculates corresponding positions on the provisional high-resolution image, of the respective target pixels in fractional pixel accuracy on basis of information on the segmented regions including the target values, modifies the estimated pixel values so that difference from the pixel values of the target pixels to provisionally estimated pixel values obtained from the estimated pixel values of the provisional high-resolution image for pixels around the corresponding positions of the target pixels, becomes smaller, and obtains modified pixel values.

Abstract: In the case where metadata refers to relevant content on a network, since the relevant content on the network can not be necessarily permanently held, it is desirable that a time limit for making reference can be set. Besides, in order to provide relevant content which can be referred to only in a limited period for promoting sales, or in order to provide relevant content which can be referred to only in a limited period such as, for example, Christmas Day every year for raising the entertainingness of the metadata, it is desirable that a reference time limit of the relevant content can be set. Then, in order to set an effective time limit of an access unit, a flag to specify the effective time limit and the effective time limit are described in each access unit.

Abstract: There is provided a structure of metadata which can express an object of a complicated shape. There are added vcr_shape_num indicating the number of sub-planar areas constituting an object area, vcr_rule_code indicating that an integration system to integrate the sub-planar areas and to determine a final object area is written, vcr_rule_length to indicate the length of data of the integration system, and data vcr_rule to indicate the integration system, and thereafter, vcr_subregion_data of data of each sub-planar area appearing in vcr_rule is described continuously by the number indicated by vcr_shape_num.

Abstract: A resolution enhancement apparatus includes unit to acquire a first image, unit to perform edge emphasis on the first image to obtain a second image, unit to detect, using one of the first image and the second image, points corresponding to image regions at a precision of a sub-pixel unit as a unit smaller than an interval between neighboring pixels, unit to set each of second values of the second image as a sampling value of a luminance value at each point when one of the second pixels is used as a pixel of interest, unit to enlarge the first image into a high-resolution image including a larger number of third pixels than the first image, and unit to execute value conversion which adds or subtracts third values in the high-resolution image in a direction to reduce errors between the luminance values sampled at the points and the sampling values.

Abstract: An image enlarging apparatus includes: a luminance data calculation unit configured to set a reference frame from a video image, and to calculate first luminance data for a high resolution video image; a position calculation unit configured to set target pixels in at least one of frames included in the video image except the reference frame, and to calculate corresponding positions to the target pixels in the reference frame with decimal accuracy; a correction amount calculation unit configured to parallelly calculate correction amounts of the first luminance data for the corresponding positions based on the first luminance data, third luminance data of the target pixels, and the corresponding positions; an addition unit configured to calculate sum of correction amounts from the correction amounts; and a luminance data correction unit configured to correct the first luminance data based on the sum of the correction amounts.

Abstract: An object extraction method comprising the steps of comparing each portion of first image data obtained by capturing an extraction object with another portion of the first image data or second image data, thereby generating shape data as an image representing a provisional region of the extraction object in the first image data, and matching a contour of the shape data to a contour of the extraction object by using the first image data and the provisionally generated shape data.

Abstract: An object extraction method comprising the steps of comparing each portion of first image data obtained by capturing an extraction object with another portion of the first image data or second image data, thereby generating shape data as an image representing a provisional region of the extraction object in the first image data, and matching a contour of the shape data to a contour of the extraction object by using the first image data and the provisionally generated shape data.

Abstract: An image analysis method for analyzing the motion of an object by using the time-series image data. The method comprises inputting time-series image data, generating time-series object image data by extracting an object region from the time-series image data, and analyzing the motion of the object from the time-series object image data.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a stepping motor capable of reducing the number of components and the number of assembling steps, and its manufacturing method. In order to achieve the object, a stepping motor according to the present invention is constructed to include a bobbin which integrally holds a yoke and a connector housing which is disposed at one end portion in an axial direction of the bobbin and integrally holds a pin for connecting a coil wound around the bobbin to an external conductor, and to integrally form the bobbin and the connector housing of a resin.

Abstract: A super-resolution device and method for setting at least one of a plurality of pixels included in image data as target pixels, the image data including pixels arranged in a screen and pixel values representing brightness, an area including the target pixel and peripheral pixels as a target area, and an area for searching pixel value change patterns in the target pixel area; calculating a difference between a first change pattern and second change pattern; comparing a difference between the first and second change patterns; calculating a pixel value of a super-resolution image having a number of pixels larger than a number of pixels included in the image data on the basis of a decimal-accuracy-vector, an extrapolated vector, and pixel values obtained from the image data.

Abstract: A structure of metadata relevant to a moving image, in which metadata editing is easily performed, comprising a stream data structure including one or more access units each capable of being independently processed; each of said access units has: first data for a reference time point within an access unit time for describing the metadata so as to cause the access unit time to correspond to a moving image time; an object area data describing a spatio-temporal region in the moving image; and second data for specifying a display method relevant to the spatio-temporal region and/or a processing when the spatio-temporal region is designated. The moving image time is to be made to correspond to the access unit time on basis of the reference time point in the first data, so that a period during which at least said second data may be called is specified.

Abstract: A scroll position estimation apparatus includes a unit acquiring a complex document including main data and sub-data items, the main data being for determining a layout of presentation of the complex document, a unit visualizing the main data, a unit presenting the visualized main data, a unit acquiring scroll positions indicating display areas of the presented main data, a unit storing pairs of the scroll positions and times of acquiring the scroll positions, a unit estimating a future scroll position based on the scroll positions and the times, a unit computing priority levels of the sub-data items based on the estimated scroll position, the priority levels being used to determine order of visualization, a unit sequentially visualizing the sub-data items in accordance with the computed priority levels of the sub-data items, and a unit presenting the visualized sub-data items.

Abstract: A stepping motor which is capable of obtaining desired driving torque without sacrificing magnetic properties of a magnet with respect to a stator, reducing inertia mass of a rotor by decreasing a use amount of a magnet material, and thereby, can enhance driving performance including control responsiveness is provided.

Abstract: A video object clipping method includes storing, in a storage unit, original images each including a video object to be clipped and reference alpha images representing objects prepared, determining a criteria original image and a criteria reference alpha image from the original images and the reference alpha images, determining a deformation parameter by deforming the criteria reference alpha image to correspond to the criteria original image, and deforming remaining ones of the reference alpha images according to the determined deformation parameter to generate output alpha images corresponding to the original images.

Abstract: An encoding apparatus includes an encoder for encoding an alpha-map signal for discriminating a background from an object of an input picture in motion compensation prediction (MV)+transform encoding which uses MV in a domain of each of N×N transform coefficients (n), a transform circuit for transforming Pf into n in accordance with the alpha-map signal, an inverse transform circuit for reconstructing Pf by inversely transforming n in accordance with the alpha-map signal, a selector for obtaining a motion compensation prediction value (p) in the mth layer (m=2 to M) by switching p in the mth layer and p in the (m?1)th layer for each n, the selector selecting p in the mth layer for n by which a quantized output (Q) in the (m?1)th layer is 0 and selecting p in the (m?1)th layer for n by which Q=1 or more, an adder for calculating a difference df between a prediction error signal in the mth layer and a dequantized output in the (m?1)th layer, and an encoder for encoding and outputting the quantized signal of df.