Abstract: An information processing device and method, and a recording medium for enabling several users to participate as respective avatars in a virtual space constructed on a network and to have conversations with other users. The data regarding the feeling expressions of an avatar, which correspond to a user's conditions, are managed. Then, the image displays of the avatar are controlled based on the storage of data on the image displays.

Abstract: Disclosed is a virtual-space providing apparatus, which is connected to a user terminal via a network, and which provides the user terminal with various kinds of services through a three-dimensional virtual space created in the network, the virtual-space providing apparatus includes a virtual room providing server for imitating a real room of a user using the user terminal, and for providing the virtual room, which can be browsed using the user terminal connected via the network, on the three-dimensional virtual space; virtual store providing server for providing the user terminal connected via the network with the virtual store, the virtual store selling virtual commodities imitating real commodities, on the three-dimensional virtual space; and a benefit-information transmitting medium, wherein, when the user purchases a virtual commodity in the virtual store provided by the virtual store providing server using the user terminal, benefit information showing benefit of purchasing the virtual commodity is tran

Abstract: In a plasma etching apparatus, a process gas is supplied into a process chamber and converted into plasma by means of RF discharge, and a semiconductor wafer placed on a lower electrode is etched by the plasma. An RF power supply mechanism is connected to the lower electrode for applying thereto a superposed RF power for forming an RF electric field in the process chamber. The RF power supply mechanism has first and second RF power supplies for respectively oscillating a low frequency RF component and a high frequency RF component having a higher frequency than the low frequency RF component. The high frequency RF component from the second frequency RF component supply has its wave form modulated by a modulator on the basis of the wave form of the low frequency RF component from the first frequency RF power supply. Thereafter, the modulated high frequency RF component and the low frequency RF component are superposed upon each other.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image recording apparatus and an excess liquid developer removing device used in the apparatus. In the image recording apparatus, the recording medium wound around the rotary drum is developed by liquid developer supplied from a developing device. A dish provided on the developing device is displaced in the vicinity of the recording medium wound around the rotary drum by being declined in a predetermined angle to prevent the bubbles from generating. The excess liquid developer attached on the recording medium is removed by the air from a nozzle of a blower. The nozzle is displaced by a nozzle displacing device in the vicinity of a developing electrode for supplying the liquid developer only in the midst of developing to prevent the nozzle from being chocked up with toner contained in the liquid developer.

Abstract: An electrostatic latent image developing method and an apparatus used in the latent image developing method are disclosed. In a first image developing method, a bias supply voltage provided to a developing dish is gradually increased during a developing process so as to prevent a decrease in an effective bias voltage applied to the developing dish caused by the attachment of the toner to the developing dish. Further, in a second developing method, the electrostatic latent image is formed on a photosensitive member by scanning a laser beam on a preliminarily charged photosensitive member in a lateral scanning direction, the thus formed latent image is developed by absorbing a toner in a liquid developer in a developing dish, wherein a cleaning pattern image having a large toner absorbability for absorbing the toner attached to a surface of the developing dish is provided on the photosensitive member by the laser beam before and/or after the latent image is formed on the photosensitive member.

Abstract: A fixing heater comprises a substrate having an insulative property and a heat generating member with electrical resistance printed on a surface of the substrate. The heat generating member is a film-like shape having a direction and a pair of edge portions opposing one another, wherein one of the edge portions is trimmed in the direction. The heat generating member has a heat generating portion having opposing one and another edge portions, wherein one of the edge portions is trimmed in the direction throughout the heat generating portion. The heat generating portion is trimmed so as to provide the trimmed edge having partially different width along the direction.

Abstract: An insulating element includes an insertion portion extending from a first surface of a circuit board when the insulating element is inserted into a through hole formed in the circuit board. The insertion portion has a first height measured from the first surface. The first height is greater than heights of leads of components arranged at sides of the insulating element. A holding portion of the insulating element is connected to the insertion portion. The holding portion has a second height measured from a second surface of the circuit board, and has a second height greater than heights of the components arranged at the sides of the insulating element.

Abstract: A heater that has a plate shaped substrate with two holes penetrating through the substrate. Both holes are at one end of the substrate. The heater has a heating film mounted on the surface of the substrate for generating heat. The film is made of electrically conductive material and formed into a stripe shape having a first end and a second end. The first end is located near the hole. The heater also has an end film coated on the surface of the heating film around the hole and electrically connected with the heating film for supplying electric power to the heating film. The end film has higher electrical conductivity than the heating film. The substrate has means provided at the hole for supplying the electric power to the end film. The hole enables high reliability in electrical connection between the outer terminal and the heater because of the hole and the electric power supply means at the hole.

Abstract: A drive spindle abutment plate 14 centrally mounted on the inner wall of a protective envelope enclosing a floppy disc is formed by a surface layer 15 of macromolecular polyethylene or the like and an interposed base layer 16 of relatively hard material such as polyethylene terephthalate. Indentation by the end of the spindle during use is thus minimized to preserve the necessary gap between the envelope and the disc core 6, thereby preventing the core from scratching against the envelope and disturbing the disc rotation.

Abstract: A digital signal recording and reproducing apparatus comprises rotary magnetic heads for recording and reproducing digital signals on and from a magnetic tape, where the digital signals include a digitally modulated information signal and a specific signal which is in a frequency region different from that of the digitally modulated information signal, a circuit for frequency-selecting the specific signal from the reproduced digital signals, a circuit for measuring a period of the specific signal which is frequency-selected, a circuit for calculating a rate of change of a transmission rate of the reproduced digital signals from the measured period of the specific signal and for detecting a relative linear velocity between the rotary magnetic head and the magnetic tape.

Abstract: This invention relates to a digital audio tape recorder using a rotary magnetic head. On the tape which has been recorded using R-DAT, signals forming to the industry standards are recorded at a standard tape speed. The tape is caused to run at a speed faster than the standard tape speed and the recording signal is subjected to high speed reproducing while maintaining the rotational frequency of the head at a rotational speed at the time of recording.

Abstract: A tape speed control system for a magnetic tape recorder allows a magnetic tape to be fed at any desired speed in a fast feed mode operation. In a fast feed mode operation, rotation periods of take-up and supply reels are detected and one of them is weighted relative to the other. The sum of the weighted and non-weighted periods is compared with a predetermined reference period and the resulting difference signal is used to control drive motors associated with the respective reels, thereby causing the tape to run at a desired speed regardless of the roll radius thereof built up on the take-up reel.

Abstract: A pulse generator associated with a pickup arm drive motor produces a pulse train signal as the pickup arm moves inward and outward with respect to the turntable, and the number of the pulses is counted to detect the position of the pickup arm. In order to remove undesirable influence due to overshoot of the pickup arm caused by inertia of the pickup drive system, the number of the pulses is continuously counted by a counter within a microcomputer for a predetermined period of time after deenergization of the pickup arm drive motor so that the number of the pulses indicates the actual position of the pickup arm. In one embodiment, each pulse is detected by recognizing the rising edge when the pickup arm is moved in one direction, and each pulse is detected by recognizing the falling edge when the pickup arm is moved in the other direction.

Abstract: An automatic record disc playing apparatus comprises a tone arm having a connection part onto which a normal head shell having a plurality of terminals for transmitting signals which are picked up by a pickup cartridge and a head shell for automatic music piece selection play are selectively mounted, a circuit for producing a play mode changeover signal according to whether the normal head shell or the head shell for automatic music piece selection play is mounted onto the tone arm, and a circuit for urging the tone arm to perform an automatic music piece selection play operation and a normal play operation according to the play mode changeover signal produced by the circuit for producing the play mode changeover signal. The head shell for automatic music piece selection play has a detection part for detecting the sound groove portions, and the land portions between adjacent music pieces.

Abstract: A separation band detecting circuit is used in an automatic program selection record player which has a photodetector which moves together with a tone arm and comprises a light-emitting element for emitting light against the surface of the record and a photosensitive element for receiving the light reflected at the record surface and producing an output in accordance with the light quantity of the received reflected light. The detecting circuit comprises an operational amplifier supplied with the output of the photodetector to its one input terminal, and a time constant circuit connected to the other input terminal of said operational amplifier, for giving a threshold level with respect to the operational amplifier and giving a time constant with respect to the level fluctuation in the threshold value. The time constant circuit varies the threshold level with a time constant, according to an input signal level to the one input terminal of the operational amplifier.

Abstract: A record disc playing apparatus comprises an address signal generating unit for generating address signals corresponding to horizontal rotational angular positions of a tone arm, a device for generating a rotational angular velocity signal corresponding to the rotational angular velocity of the tone arm, a circuit for controlling the rotation of a motor for driving a turntable, a control device supplied with the address signals and having a memory device from which is from which read out information corresponding to the addresses indicated by the address signals, and an attenuation circuit supplied with the rotational angular velocity signal and operating with an attenuation quantity, with respect to the rotational angular velocity signal, which quantity is varied by a signal from the control device. The rotational angular velocity signal corresponds to the quantity of any eccentricity of the record disc. The control device producing as output signals based on the information thus read out.

Abstract: A moving-coil type stereo pickup cartridge comprises a vibration mechanism, including a stylus for tracing the groove of a sound track on a record disc, at least one coil plate provided in the vibration system and adapted to vibrate in response to vibrations of the stylus, and a structure for forming a magnetic field for the coil plate. The coil plate comprises a thin insulative substrate and a pair of left and right coils substantially symmetric with respect to a center line and formed by an electrically conductive thin film placed in a spirally wound pattern on at least one surface of the substrate. The magnetic field-forming construction comprises a permanent magnet and a pair of yokes adapted to clamp the permanent magnet. The pair of yokes have confronting surfaces for defining a gap in which the coil plate is interposed and a recessed substantially reverse V-shaped notch or cutout. The notch is defined by edge parts or facets.

Abstract: A pickup arm is equipped with a photo sensor assembly for detecting non-recorded portions on a disk. The sensor is located in such a position that horizontal distance between the stylus tip and the detecting point of the sensor measured in the direction of the radius of the turntable is substantially constant throughout the possible rotational angle of the arm. The rotational angle of the arm is measured and is modified by a given angle corresponding to the above mentioned distance. When this distance deviates from a standard value on replacement of the same with another, the variation may be readily corrected by manipulating a potentiometer. Prior to performing an automatic playback, the disk is scanned by the sensor and signals indicative of the arm angles corresponding to the non-recorded portions are stored.

Abstract: A tone arm control system includes first and second manually operated keys for providing input signals to a control circuit. The control circuit detects which one of the keys is operated and drives a vertical motor in the tone-arm upward direction and subsequently drives a horizontal motor in a tone-arm horizontal direction depending on which one of the keys is detected as being operated. The control circuit includes a counter which starts counting clock pulses to detect when a predetermined count is reached. During the predetermined count period the horizontal motor is energized at a low voltage to move the tone arm at a relatively low speed. When the clock count exceeds the predetermined value the speed of the tone arm is increased to allow it to speedily approach a desired position located relatively remote from the tone arm.

Abstract: A record disc playing apparatus comprises a horizontal drive motor for imparting a horizontal rotational force to a tone arm an address signal generating device for generating an address signal corresponding to a horizontal rotational angle position of the tone arm and a control device including a memory device for storing the magnitude of an inside force to be produced on the tone arm in correspondence with the horizontal rotational angle position of the tone arm. The address signal generating device supplies the generated address signal to the control device. The control device reads out the magnitude of the inside force from the memory device corresponding to the supplied address signal, produces a signal for cancelling the inside force at the rotational angle position of the tone arm corresponding to the read out magnitude of the inside force and supplies the same to the horizontal drive motor.