Abstract: Waste toner is fused and kneaded with modified polyphenylene ether so as to be used as a molding material. The waste toner preferably includes a toner ingredient including styrene-acrylic resins. With this arrangement, it is possible to inexpensively manufacture a molding product which has excellent physical properties such as tensile strength, flexural rigidity, and flexural strength and is usable for various purposes.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a decoding apparatus and method, a program storage medium, and a program, which allow high-performance decoding of a modulation code encoded in accordance with a variable-length table. A 17PP-SISO decoder 181 performs SISO decoding on a signal supplied from a PR-SISO decoder 81 by using a Viterbi decoding algorithm or a BCJR decoding algorithm in accordance with a trellis represented by paths corresponding, in a one-to-one fashion, to overall transitions in an entire encoding process in accordance with an encoding table 201 of a 17PP code. A resultant SISO-decoded signal is supplied to a turbo decoder 84 via a deinterleaver 83. The turbo decoder 84 performs turbo decoding on the signal output from the 17PP-SISO decoder 181. The present invention can be applied to a recording/reproducing apparatus for recording/reproducing a signal on/from a storage medium such as a high-density optical disk.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a decoding method and a decoding apparatus in which, while the circuit scale is suppressed, the operating frequency can be suppressed within a sufficiently feasible range, and control of memory access can be performed easily, and to a program therefor. By using a transformation check matrix obtained by performing one of or both a row permutation and a column permutation on an original check matrix of LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) codes, the LDPC codes are decoded. In this case, by using, as a formation matrix, a P×P unit matrix, a quasi-unit matrix in which one or more is, which are elements of the unit matrix, are substituted with 0, a shift matrix in which the unit matrix or the quasi-unit matrix is cyclically shifted, a sum matrix, which is the sum of two or more of the unit matrix, the quasi-unit matrix, and the shift matrix, and a P×P 0-matrix, the transformation check matrix is represented by a combination of a plurality of the formation matrices.

Abstract: The present invention is particularly applied to serial concatenated coding and serial concatenated trellis coded modulation. In second encoding 107, which is inner coding, a sequence that is not encoded or that is encoded so as to produce a finite impulse response and a sequence that is encoded so as to produce an infinite impulse response are output. In interleaving 106 before the second encoding 107, the sequences are permuted so as not to be mixed with each other.

Abstract: A process for purifying N2-(1(S)-ethoxycarbonyl-3-phenylpropyl)-N6-trifluoroacetyl-L-lysine which comprises subjecting N2-(1(S)-ethoxycarbonyl-3-phenylpropyl)-N6-trifluoroacetyl-L-lysine contaminated with impurities to crystallization from a solvent comprising a water-soluble non-protic organic solvent, thereby removing the impurities into the mother liquor and giving crystals of N2-(1(S)-ethoxycarbonyl-3-phenylpropyl)-N6-trifluoroacetyl-L-lysine, according to which N2-(1(S)-ethoxycarbonyl-3-phenylpropyl)-N6-trifluoroacetyl-L-lysine having a high quality can be obtained in a high yield and a high productivity and which is suitable for practice on an industrial scale.

Abstract: Waste toner is fused and kneaded with modified polyphenylene ether so as to be used as a molding material. The waste toner preferably includes a toner ingredient including styrene-acrylic resins. With this arrangement, it is possible to inexpensively manufacture a molding product which has excellent physical properties such as tensile strength, flexural rigidity, and flexural strength and is usable for various purposes.

Abstract: A data processing terminal of the present invention is configured to perform transfer to a position where, among data provided by a data provider, a tag representative of control information buried in the data exists. The terminal includes a data acquirer for acquiring the data from the data provider via a communication network, a tag analyzer for analyzing tags included in the data acquired by the data acquirer, a display device for displaying the data on the basis of the result of analysis output from the tag analyzer, and a tag searcher for searching the data for a desired tag input from the outside. The display device displays part of the data corresponding to the tag searched for by the tag searcher.

Abstract: In automated design, a useful insertion of a delay buffer or an increase in the delay time of the critical path could not been prevented. When inserting a logic element between two certain points on the circuit, substitution of other paths passing through the relevant insertion position is considered and the insertion position of the logic element is determined finally.

Abstract: In the audio signal reproducing apparatus, information on the transfer characteristics representative of the transfer characteristics from virtual sound sources to both ears of a listener in at least a first quadrant of the rotational angular position of the head M of the listener is stored in storing unit 22. The transfer characteristics in rotational angular position of the head M represented by detection outputs from detecting unit 5L, 5R and 13 for detecting the rotational angle position depending upon the movement of the head of the listener are formed based upon the transfer characteristics information of at least the first quadrant stored in the storing unit and left and right channel audio signals are processed by audio signal processing unit 23 for achieving a proper binaural reproduction relative to the virtual sound sources.

Abstract: An acoustic signal reproducing apparatus for supplying an acoustic signal to a headphone device, in which position-detecting reference signals from a reference signal source are sensed by a pair of signal sensors provided at two places over a listener's head. The turning angle and the relative distance of the head with respect to the reference signal source are calculated by processing units on the basis of these signal sensors and transmission characteristics with respect to an arbitrarily positioned imaginary sound source are found from the information concerning the relative distance and the turning angle, with the reference signal source as a reference position. Acoustic signals are processed by acoustic signal processing devices on the basis of the transmission characteristics to realize binaural reproduction with respect to the imaginary sound source.

Abstract: A stacked-part high-speed picking system for extracting a plurality of constitutive line segments from a two-dimensional image corresponding to stacked parts so as to recognize the parts on the basis of the constitutive line segments, thereby allowing parts to be picked up by a robot. The picking system has a first storage unit that stores a plurality of collative models. Each collative model is based upon data that specifies a configuration when a plurality of specific portions of the parts are disposed in one of a plurality of basic positions. The picking system also has a second storage unit that stores information relating to the robot so as to allow the robot to pick up specific portions of the parts. The picking system detects as one of the plurality of specific portions a portion of the two-dimensional image, which is recognized through a collation with the plurality of collative models, and determines a position of the detected specific portion.

Abstract: An earphone device includes an acoustic tube having an inner diameter substantially identical to that of the external auditory canal has an ear mounting portion at one end and an acoustic non-reflecting portion at the outer end. An earphone unit and an internal microphone unit are mounted on the periphery of the acoustic tube adjacent each other and communicate with the interior of the acoustic tube with their respective vibration plates facing inwardly of the tube. The phase of the signal representing the external noise in the acoustic tube picked up by the internal microphone unit is reversed and combined with the audio signal fed to the earphone unit.

Abstract: A hearing aid is disclosed in which the outside sound collected by a microphone is amplified and radiated from the earphone unit so as to be conducted to the user's external auditory meatus. The auditory tube is of an inside diameter approximately equal to that of the user's external auditory meatus and has one end arranged as a section for attachment to the user's auricle and the other end arranged as a reflectionless terminal. The earphone unit is mounted on the peripheral surface of the auditory tube with the sound radiating surface facing the inside of the tube.

Abstract: A sound reproducing apparatus is provided formed of an acoustic tube having first and second opposite ends, and having substantially a same inside diameter as that of an external acoustic meatus of the user who is wearing the sound reproducing apparatus. A loudspeaker unit is mounted to the acoustic tube intermediate the first and second ends such that a sound radiating surface thereof is directed to one side of the acoustic tube. The acoustic tube has at its first end an auricular attachment which is received at the external acoustic meatus. A second end is formed as a non-sound-reflecting end. The sound reproducing apparatus may also be adapted to have two loudspeaker units mounted to one or more acoustic tubes, respectively, and two auricular attachment sections may be provided, one for each ear. Left and right channel acoustical signals may be respectively input to the respective first and second loudspeaker units for stereo operation.

Abstract: A magnetoresistance effect type magnetic transducer head apparatus comprises a magnetoresistance effect sensing element, means for applying a high-frequency magnetic field to the sensing element, means for taking-out an output signal from the sensing element, a filter for taking-out the high-frequency component of the output, and another filter for rectifying the output and taking-out the low-frequency component. The magnetic head apparatus may be constructed as a digital circuit so that a multi-channel apparatus can be easily implemented.

Abstract: A magnetic head utilizing the magnetoresistance effect comprising a magnetoresistance effect element and a conductor for applying a bias magnetic field to the element by being supplied with a bias current. The conductor is further supplied with a decaying alternating current superimposed on the bias current in advance of the playback operation, so that the hysteresis effect of the magnetic circuit is cancelled and the invariable output characteristics of the magnetic head are obtained.

Abstract: A magnetic transducer head utilizing magnetoresistance effect having a circuit for applying a constant voltage to outer ends of at least one pair of magnetoresistance effect elements provided in series on a discontinuous portion other than a magnetic gap of a magnetic core forming a magnetic gap and a conductor arrangement for applying bias magnetic fields opposite in polarity to the magnetoresistance effect elements, respectively wherein an output is derived from a connected point between the pair of magnetoresistance effect elements.

Abstract: In an electronic timepiece motor, a one-piece stator of magnetic material having a hole therethrough bounded by a circumferential sidewall and defining a pair of stator portions connected by narrow bridges having small cross sections. The narrow bridges define a magnetic circuit of high magnetic resistance between the stator portions. A non-magnetic reinforcing ring is disposed within the hole through the one-piece stator and has an outer diameter effective to insure a snug fit of the reinforcing ring with the circumferential sidewall defining the hole through the stator. The reinforcing ring imparts stiffness to the one-piece stator to prevent deformation of the bridges and the hole. The reinforcing ring has a peripheral reinforcing flange extending outwardly and with the flange bearing against the one-piece stator adjacent the hole therethrough for imparting additional stiffness to the one-piece stator.