Alps Electric Co., Ltd.

Hiroaki Sasaki

Kazuo Hasegawa

Junichi Ouchi

Koji Nakase

Junichi Ohuchi

Yoshinori Miyahara

Junichi Ohouchi

Shuichi Kawabe

Makoto Sasaki

Ken Matsumoto

Takeshi Haruyama

Noboru Fukukawa

Yuji Ito

Kohji Nakase

Takanori Miura

Nozomi Kitagawa

Kazuo Hasagawa

Masanori Yata

In a force-feedback input device, when the cursor moves on a line parallel to a line between a center of a first button and a center of a second button, an area is determined between a first position, which corresponds to the center of the first button, and a second position, which corresponds to the center of the second button, such that the area extends a distance W on both sides of a mid-point between the first and second positions. In this area, the first and second external-force generation portions are controlled so that a scalar value |F| of an attractive force exerted on an operating portion is decreased according to the equation |F|=d/W&#xb7;|F| as the cursor moves closer to the mid-point, where d is a distance between the cursor and the mid-point.

Force-feedback input device

A bar code reading apparatus for detecting the space between characters (the character space) by counting the number, which is a fixed number in the bar code, of edges, or transition points, of the bars and spaces for each character code, and either inhibits the count value by its bar/space width counter for the space beyond the fixed number of bars/spaces for one character (i.e., the count value for the character space) from being supplied to its decoder portion, or supplies the decoder portion with a specific code which the decoder will neglect in decoding, whereby the character space is prevented from adversely affecting the bar code reading.

Bar code reading and decoding apparatus

There is disclosed a bar code reading device that can highly accurately read bar codes. Threshold values are established for correct identification of bar codes without being affected by blots on and unevenness of the bar code carrying surface and unstable maneuvering operations of the bar code reading device.

Code reading device

A bit image converter for composing a decoder for converting the value of counting clocks loaded in response to the width of bars or spaces for composing a bar code into character information of a code reader is composed of a module number calculator for calculating the magnification of the basic module from the number of the modules for composing one code unit (one character), a module number total comparator for comparing the total sum of the number of the calculated modules with a specified number n of the modules, a module number corrector for correcting, if the number of the calculated modules is less than the specified number n (n-1), it to the specified number n, and a bit image output unit. Thus, the code reader is adapted for a multilevel bar code system so composed that a result becomes correct information by correcting, if the number of modules for composing one character is less than a specified number n, it.

Code reader

The coordinate detecting device according to this invention processes a plurality of detected adjoining input values scanned from an optical inputting grid and creates a single average value from the plurality which single value it provides to a host computer. It also evaluates data received from said optical inputting grid and restarts the scanning of the optical inputting grid independent of processing through a host computer when no input value is detected. It also receives and stores each input value received from said optical inputting grid, but does not provide an output to a host computer as long as an input value is detected, when an input value is no longer detected the last input value stored is outputted to a host computer. It also receives and stores each input values received from said optical inputting grid and compares each new value with the previous value which has been stored and when a difference between the new and the previous signals is detected the previous value stored is outputted to a host computer. It also receives and evaluates each input value received from said optical inputting grid and compares each new value with one or more valid value ranges previously stored and when an input value is in the valid range a range identifying signal corresponding to the range in which the valid signal is detected is outputted to a host computer, but when the evaluation shows that the value is not in a valid value range scanning is restarted and no signal is output to the host computer. Each of these functions relieves the amount of processing that the host computer is required to perform and thereby frees it for other tasks.

Coordinate detecting device

A bar-code remote-control device includes a first key for inputting a detection instructing signal and a second key for inputting a transmission instructing signal. The device also includes a gate circuit which is opened after completion of a processing in a remote-control data transmission processing section to permit entrance of the detection instructing signal in a bar-code detection processing section and is closed upon completion of bar code detection processing in the bar-code detection processing section to prohibit entrance of the detection instructing signal in the detection processing section, so that no error occurs upon simultaneous operations against the first and second keys.

Bar-code remote-control device

A photoelectric touch panel comprising arrays of equally spaced light emitting elements and photosensitive elements disposed in a frame configuration on the circumference of a CRT display screen in which a matrix of infrared beams is formed in front of the screen. The photoelectric touch panel has a light shielding plate formed into a comblike shape disposed such that each comb tooth thereof is interposed between said photosensitive elements.

Photoelectric touch panel

A code reading apparatus of a bar code reader which has detecting means for outputting a reading signal responsive to the code displayed on a medium, edge detecting means for detecting the edge of the reading signal, counting means for starting counting each edge detected by the edge detecting means. Discriminating means outputs a reset signal to decoding means when the counted value started for counting by the counting means is a product or more of the quotient produced by dividing the allowable maximum width of the code by the allowable minimum width and the counted value counted between the edges immediately before by the counting means, when the quotient produced by dividing the counted value started for counting by the counting means by the counted value counted between the edges immediately before is a quotient or more produced by dividing the allowable maximum width of the code by the allowable minimum width. Thus, the apparatus can discriminate the start even if the starting margin before the code of the bar code is short.

Code reading apparatus

Disclosed is here a coordinate input apparatus in which light sources and light receiving elements opposing thereto with an input operation space therebetween are arranged in an X-axis direction and in an Y-axis direction. The light sources and said light receiving elements form a plurality of pairs and the light sources are sequentially driven to accomplish a scan operation. Coordinates corresponding to the light receiving element of which a light path is interrupted by a coordinate input scan in the input operation space are outputtted as detection signals and as coordinate input data of a position where the light path is interrupted. The apparatus includes a double-precision coordinate calculate unit for calculating, when light paths of two adjacent light receiving elements are simultaneously interrupted, coordinates of an intermediate point associated with coordinates corresponding to the two light receiving elements and a coordiante value correcting unit for achieving a parallax correction on the coordinates calculated by the double-precision calculate unit by use of a correction table.

Touch panel having parallax compensation and intermediate coordinate

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a remote control apparatus commonly usable to various devices, made in a smaller size and yet provided with no small area of the display portion for displaying operation status of the device. The invention provides a remote control apparatus using a touch panel, which is capable of sensing coordinates of a specified point for inputting the remote control command and also as a display of various images for inputting the operating command and of operation status of the remote controlled device. The invention also provides a remote control apparatus which puts a transmitting portion, receiving portion and image display control portion thereof in an enabled state for a predetermined period of time after the touch panel is pressed thereby to reduce power consumption.

Remote control apparatus

An optical coordinate system input device includes a plurality of light emitting elements aligned in X and Y directions and sequentially, selectively supplied with a drive current, and a plurality of light receptor elements opposed to the respective light emitting elements each receiving a light signal from opposed one of the light emitting elements. The device specifically includes an adjusting circuit to adjust the value of the drive current flowing in the light emitting elements.

Optical coordinate system input device

An optical coordinate system input device including multiple opposed pairs of light emitting elements and light receptor elements which are sequentially selectively activated via a switching circuit, a variable impedance circuit connected in series with the light receptor elements to form a voltage divider, and an impedance detection circuit for detecting a low impedance of the light receptor elements caused by ambient light, wherein a detection signal from the impedance detection circuit lowers the impedance of the variable impedance circuit to increase the sensitivity of the input device to small changes in impedance of said light receptor elements upon detection of a light signal, emitted by said light emitting elements, by said light receptor elements in presence of strong ambient light.

An optical position input device wherein an influence of disturbant light can be practically eliminated. The device includes a large number of light emitting elements and a large number of light receiving elements arranged in an opposing relationship along two sides and the other two sides, respectively, of directions of the X- and Y-axes. During driving scanning of the light emitting elements and the light receiving elements in the direction of the X-axis, a light reception signal developed in response to incident disturbant light from a selected one of the light receiving elements in the direction of the Y-axis is stored into a memory, and then the light reception signal is subsequently read out from the memory and is subtracted on a subtractor from a light reception signal developed from a light receiving element selected upon driving scanning for the direction of the Y-axis. The subtractor thus provides a position signal from which an influence of disturbant light has been eliminated assuredly. An influence of disturbant light is eliminated in a similar manner from a light reception signal developed from a light receiving element in the direction of the X-axis.

Optical position input device

A disc driving device having a housing in which are formed by cutting a pair of front bearing portions in the vicinity of a disc drive motor mounting hole and a pair of rear bearing portions at predetermined distances from the front bearing portions, characterized in that a cutting tool relief slot contiguous to the rear bearing portions and deeper than a cutting allowance for those rear bearing portions is provided in the housing so that a cutting tool can move efficiently along the relief slot when it is moved from one rear bearing portion to the other.

Disc driving device

An optical path blockage detecting device includes optical conductive members located between light emitting elements and light receptor elements and extending parallel to optical paths defined between the light emitting and receptor elements. Each optical conductive member is combined with a light absorbing member which absorbs undesired beams of light so as to improve the optical directivity of incident light and improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the device.

Growing community of inventors

Furukawa, Japan

Hiroaki Sasaki