Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Sony Corporation

Navitime Japan Co., Ltd.

Kenichi Aihara

Kyohji Hattori

Yuki Nakamura

Katsuyuki Yamada

Eiji Noda

Hiroko Iwasaki

Fumiya Ohmi

Yoshio Chiba

Taku Kihara

Yoshihiko Hotta

Tetsuo Watanabe

Yukio Ide

Akihiko Okamoto

Naoshi Mishima

Michihisa Takahashi

Takashi Asaida

Shin Kikuchi

Fumihiko Sudo

Keisuke Onishi

Ippei Ogawa

An example navigation system enables searching for an optimum route through a one-time route searching process where several destination or departure locations exist. The navigation system includes a point of interest (POI) attribute information database for accumulating POI attribute information, a network data edit unit and a virtual node setup unit. The navigation system determines whether there is a plurality of POIs in a certain departure location and/or a destination location by making reference to relevant data in the POI attribute information database. If there are several POIs, the virtual node setup unit sets up a virtual node connected to each node of the plurality of POIs through links having identical link cost. The network data edit unit then adds the virtual node to the searching network data, and a route search unit functions to search for routes using the searching network data containing the added virtual node.

Navigation system, route search server, route search method and route search program

A method and apparatus for initializing optical recording media is provided that detects the intensity of a reflective light off of an optical recording media and analyzes the initializing condition based on the detected intensity during an initializing process. The light is radiated on a rotating phase-change optical recording medium. The light may be moved in a radial direction of the optical recording medium. The detected intensity of the reflected light may be used to identify crystallized portions and amorphous portions of the optical media. The initialization process can be adaptively controlled to ensure proper initialization. If desired, re-initialization can be limited to those areas detected to be outside of the predetermined parameters.

Method and apparatus for initializing optical recording media

A method of initializing a phase-change optical information recording medium is provided, using an optical system incorporating a semiconductor laser device. The laser device is characterized by a specified spatial power distribution. In a spatial distribution of the laser power focused on the recording medium, in the direction perpendicular to guide tracks the laser device preferably has less average smaller in both end regions of the spatial distribution, which have each 10% of the width at half maximum of the distribution, than the average in the center region of the full width at half maximum of the distribution.

Initialization of phase-change optical recording medium

An optical information memory medium, including, in the stated order a substrate, an optical information memory layer which is capable of memorizing information therein, and a reversible display recording layer which is capable of rewritably recording therein, in a visibly recognizable form, at least part of an information corresponding to the information memorized in the optical information memory layer, and a display recording method using the optical information memory medium are disclosed.

Optical information memory medium and display recording method using the same

A method and apparatus for initializing optical recording media is provided that detects the intensity of a reflective light off of an optical recording media and analyzes the initializing condition based on the detected intensity during an initializing process. The light is radiated on a rotating phase-change optical recording medium. The light maybe moved in a radial direction of the optical recording medium. The detected intensity of the reflected light may be used to identify crystallized portions and amorphous portions of the optical media. The initialization process can be adaptively controlled to ensure proper initialization. If desired, re-initialization can be limited to those areas detected to be outside of the predetermined parameters.

Both a low-linear-velocity recording and a high-linear-velocity recording can be effectively performed by an optical recording method for recording information on a phase-change optical recording medium which is recordable at a low linear velocity and a high linear velocity greater than the low linear velocity. A ratio (Pel/Pwl) of an erasing power Pel to a recording power Pwl in the low-linear-velocity recording and a ratio (Peh/Pwh) of an erasing power Peh to a recording power Pwh in the high-linear-velocity recording are determined so that the ratio (Pel/Pwl) and the ratio (Peh/Pwh) satisfy the relationship &lcub;(Pel/Pwl)<(Peh/Pwh)&rcub;.

Optical recording method for a rewritable phase-change optical recording medium

An optical data storage medium includes a substrate, an optical data storage layer overlaid on the substrate and a reversible image recording layer overlaid on the optical data storage layer, in which information is recorded in the reversible image recording layer so as to be visible. The reversible image recording layer, which includes a matrix resin and a low-molecular-weight organic substance dispersed in the matrix resin, may preferably be thermosensitive and change its transparency or color tone in response to heat.

Optical data storage medium capable of reversibly displaying information

A digital power fluctuation detecting apparatus detects fluctuations in a power supply signal and includes a data storage device, coupled to the power supply signal, that stores predetermined digital data signals but modifies at least one stored signal if the power supply signal fluctuates; a data monitoring device that monitors the stored signals; and a power fluctuation detector that determines if the stored signals differ from the predetermined digital data signals.

Video camera power failure detection circuit

An optical recording medium capable of recording and erasing information, includes a first dielectric layer, a recording layer, a second dielectric layer, a light reflection and heat dissipation layer, and an overcoat layer which are successively overlaid on a substrate, the recording layer including a phase-change recording material which includes as constituent elements Ag, In, Sb, Te, and N and/or O with the respective atomic % thereof being .alpha., .beta., .gamma., .delta. and .epsilon. (the total atomic % of N and/or O), which are in the relationship of: 0&lt;.alpha..ltoreq.6, 3.ltoreq..beta..ltoreq.15, 50.ltoreq..gamma..ltoreq.65, 20.ltoreq..delta..ltoreq.35, 0.ltoreq..epsilon..ltoreq.5, provided that .alpha.+.beta.+.gamma.+.delta.+.epsilon.=100, and (2) having a recrystallization upper-limit linear speed in a range of 2.5 to 5.0 m/s. A recording method and a reproduction method, using this optical recording medium, are proposed.

Optical recording medium and recording and reproducing method using the

A method and apparatus for diagnosing or detecting failures or faults in or between circuits such as signal processing circuits of a video camera system. Predetermined test pattern data may be generated on a first or transmitting side (circuit) and discrimination pattern data having substantially the same data pattern as the test pattern data may be generated on a second or receiving side (circuit) in synchronism with the test pattern data. The test pattern data and the discrimination pattern data may be compared. A failure or faulty spot in or between circuits may be determined in accordance with the results of such comparison.

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Tokyo, Japan

Kenichi Aihara