Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Kenji Nishimura

Tamotsu Yamamoto

Hitoshi Araki

Keiichi Senda

Yasuchika Kudo

Masato Yuda

Kenji Yasufuku

Yoshiyuki Mochizuki

Toshiya Naka

Akio Nishimura

Tadashi Kobayashi

Shigeo Asahara

Yoshimori Nakase

Kazutaka Nishio

Kazu Segawa

Yutaka Nakamura

Hiroyuki Yamada

Yoshiharu Abe

Makoto Hirai

Masaki Nakase

Yoshiteru Mori

Yusho Nakase

Tatsuya Tsuda

Yoshiteru Kawasaki

Yorihiko Wakayama

Makoto Yamakura

Hironari Taniguchi

Akira Uesaki

Kiyoshi Maenobu

Minobu Abe

Jiro Minehisa

Masatoshi Enomoto

Akira Yawata

Kouji Sakai

Kazu Horiuchi

An input apparatus includes a case, an operation body stored rotatably in the case, a magnetic body fixed to the operation body, a magnet provided around the operation body, a magnetic detection element for detecting a magnetic flux from the magnetic body, and a frame for retaining the case. The magnetic detection element faces the operation body with a predetermined space therebetween. The frame includes depression sections for causing the magnetic detection element to elastically contact the lower surface of the case. This input apparatus can accurately detect a rotation angle.

Input apparatus

A plasma display driving method capable of displaying a vigorous image having enhanced maximum luminance and contrast. For this purpose, one field is divided into a plurality of sub-fields each including a sustain period. In the sustain period, the number of sustain pulses obtained by multiplying a proportionality factor by a brightness weight set for each of the sub-fields are applied to display electrode pairs to generate sustaining discharge in discharge cells having generated addressing discharge therein. Thus, the total number of the sustain pulses in one field period can be changed. When a predetermined image meeting predetermined conditions is displayed, the total number of the sustain pulses in one field period is made larger than those in the case where the other normal images are displayed.

Plasma display panel driving method and plasma display device

A plurality of vertical bends are provided in a terminal projecting from a switch contact outwardly of a case. With this structure, when the terminal is soldered to a land on a wiring board, a plurality of solder layers are formed between the plurality of bends and the land. The plurality of solder layers can enhance the terminal strength, thereby preventing the switch from coming or floating off from the wiring board. Thus, a switch capable of ensuring reliable operation can be provided.

Switch

A spring member is provided in a switch having a lever to receive a pushing force from outside, by bringing an arch-part formed at the left end of the spring member into resilient contact with the bottom surface of the lever, in addition to the movable contact, the spring member also can return the lever. In the case of developing a compact and low-profile switch, the returning force of the lever can be increased to perform electrical connection or disconnection reliably.

Spring-biased switch for an electronic device

An IC memory card () has a mode change switch () for switching operation modes of a semiconductor component in the vicinity of an end side opposite the external connection terminals (to). A controller LSI () detects the status of the mode change switch () and switches operation modes according to the detected status.

IC card

A switch device includes a wiring board having a cutout provided therein, a land provided on an upper surface of the wiring board around the cutout, and a switch. The switch includes a lever, a switch contact activated upon the lever being moved in a predetermined direction, a case including a step portion protruding from a surface thereof and positioned in the cutout of the wiring board, and a terminal protruding from the case and mounted on the land of the wiring board. The switch device securely holds the switch on the wiring board with a simple structure, and allows the switch to be activated reliably.

Switch device

A curved surface image processing apparatusaccording to the present invention that can render an object at higher speed and in higher quality by performing image processing using NURBS data includes: a data input unitfor receiving NURBS data; a coordinate transformation unitfor performing coordinate transformation on NURBS data; an animation control unitfor controlling animation data of each frame to be rendered; a data transformation unitfor transforming NURBS data into rational Bezier data; a patch division unitfor subdividing a rational Bezier surface patch; a normal determination unitfor calculating normals of control points of a divided surface patch; a perspective transformation unitfor performing perspective transformation on a divided surface patch; and a rendering unitfor rendering a surface patch.

Curved surface image processing apparatus and curved surface image processing method

A switch comprises a case having a stationary contact embedded in an inner bottom surface thereof, a lever housed inside the case such that the lever is swingable around one end thereof, and a movable contact having an arm portion and a contact point on a first end of the arm portion, the contact point being slidable on any of the inner bottom surface of the case and the stationary contact while maintaining flexible contact therewith in response to a swinging motion of the lever. The movable contact is also provided with a holding portion at a second end of the arm portion, and the holding portion is embedded in the lever by insert molding.

A switch including an insulative plastic case having a cavity formed therein, a metal cover joined to the case to cover over the cavity, and a switching contact section contained in the cavity. In this switch, a surface of the cover opposed to the case has an insulative film formed on at least a region of the surface facing to the cavity. The switch can prevent externally-originated static electricity from adversely affecting the switching contact section to protect a circuit section of a device connected to the switching contact section.

A switch includes a housing, an operating member placed in the housing, and contacting sections accommodated in the housing. The operating member has an operating section made of elastic material to be bowed in every direction and an operating unit coupled to the operating section. When greater force than necessary for changing a state of the contacting sections is applied to the operating section along an operating direction, or when force directed in a direction other than the operating direction is applied to the operating section, the operating section itself bows to absorb extra force.

Switch having resilient operating section

An in-vehicle information apparatus presents, to a user, information which includes a returning route. The apparatus includes: a home position holding unit for holding beforehand a position of the user's home; a home arrival time holding unit for holding beforehand the user's home arrival time; a present position obtainment unit for obtaining the user's present position; a present time obtainment unit for obtaining a present time; a route search unit for obtaining a returning route from the present position to the user's home position, a required time for the returning route, and a departure time to leave the present position so the user can get home by the home arrival time; and a presentation unit for comparing the obtained departure time and the present time, and presenting to the user the departure time and the returning route obtained by the route search unit, before the departure time is passed.

Information presentation apparatus and information presentation method

A polygon rendering device carries out a polygon division process for generating, based on polygon data which specifies a polygon to be rendered, a plurality of partial polygon data each specifying one piece of partial polygons which are obtained by dividing the polygon. Then, a rendering process is performed based on the generated partial polygon data so as to generate image data which represents an image of the polygon. Here, each of the partial polygons includes a plurality of triangles which respectively include a vertex of the polygon, and each of the triangles included in each of the partial polygons shares at least one edge with at least one other triangle included in the same partial polygon. In such a manner, the polygon rendering device can render polygons at high speeds.

Polygon rendering device

When a control lever is slid to move a driver housed in a quadrangular case in a given direction, the movement of the driver allows the driver to push one of resilient legs of movable contacts corresponding to the direction of movement. This movement resiliently slides the corresponding movable contact along an inner surface of the sidewall of the case and brings the movable contact into contact with a corresponding fixed contact. This structure can provide a multi-directional slide switch of low profile that has a small number of members and is easily assembled.

Multi-directional slide switch

In a map display device, a surface storing unit stores surface information which defines a curved surface having a form that depends on positions of portions of a map which are to be enlarged and/or contracted. A mapping unit maps the map onto the curved surface defined by the surface information. A projecting/displaying unit projects the mapped map onto a flat virtual screen, and displays the projected image. Here, by defining the curved surface so that each part of the curved surface forms an intended angle with a line of sight in the projection, the image is displayed with desired portions enlarged and/or contracted, while maintaining connections of roads. The same effect can also be achieved by projecting the map onto a virtual screen having the form of the curved surface.

Map display device, map display method, and computer program for use in map display device

A lever switch includes a case having a common contact and fixed contacts provided on inner wall opposite to each other. A movable contact made from elastic metal and shaped like the letter &ldquo;M&rdquo; has an intermediate section that comes into contact with the common contact. A first arm extends from each one of both ends of the intermediate section. Each one of the ends of the first arms forms a folding-back section, and a second arm is formed at the end of the folding-back section. A contact formed at the end of the second arm comes into contact with the inner wall of the case. Rotation of the lever slides a slider on the bottom plate of the case, and a pushing section provided at each one of both ends of the slider brings the contact into contact with the fixed contact or leaves the contact from the fixed contact.

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Osaka, Japan

Kenji Nishimura