Seiko Instruments Inc

Nippon Steel Welding Products and Engineering Co., Ltd.

Osamu Hattori

Kazufumi Tabata

Nobuo Araki

Kiyomi Yokoi

Tadami Ashidate

Norihiro Okamoto

Yoshitomo Nakagawa

Mitsuyoshi Sato

Sumio Sasaki

Anton Yasaka

Kennosuke Fujieda

In an image compression method, there is provided at least one display image comprising pixels each including color attribute data separated into upper bits and lower bits. The lower bits of the color attribute data for each pixel of the display image are eliminated. The upper bits of the color attribute data are extracted for each pixel of the display image. The upper bits of the color attribute data for each pixel of the display image are combined together to thereby compress the display image.

Method of image data compression and data transfer system using this method

A data transfer system has one or more mobile stations each wearable by a living being for transmitting signals containing physiological information of the living being in response to a start command, and a base station for transmitting the start command to instruct the mobile stations to transmit the signals and thereafter receiving the signals containing the physiological information from the mobile stations. Thus, the mobile stations consume a small amount of power because they only transmit information when requested to do so. A remote computer is connected to the base station for determining a status of the living beings by receiving the physiological information from the base station and analyzing the physiological information.

Data transfer system

A reduced power-consumption meter reading system has a clock for counting elapsed time and days and outputting a first output signal for a predetermined time during a month, a first power supply activated by the first signal of the clock, and an image-processing unit driven by the first power supply for acquiring an image of a display portion of the meter. The image processing unit is driven only during the duration of the first output signal. In one embodiment, the clock outputs a second output signal for a second predetermined time during a month, and a second power supply is activated by the second output signal of the clock and drives a radio communication unit to transmit the image acquired by the image-processing unit to another radio communication unit.

Meter reading system

A data communication system has a first communication equipment having a first transmitter, a first receiver, and a first controller. A second communication equipment has a second transmitter, a second receiver, and a second controller. The first transmitter transmits a first signal to the second receiver. The first receiver receives a second signal transmitted from the second transmitter. The second signal indicates whether or not the second receiver received the first signal or indicates a condition in which the second receiver received the first signal. The first controller controls the first transmitter to reduce its transmitting power either until when the second signal indicates that the condition of the reception of the first signal received by the second communication equipment is poor or until when the first receiver does not receive any signal from the second transmitter. The second controller generates the second signal in accordance with the first signal.

Data communication system

A coil of a tube is formed. The coil is vibrated while a threadlike piece is passed in through the inlet end of the tube so that a given point of the tube reciprocates along a helical path. Provision is made to ensure that inlet end of the tube does not cause a portion of the threadlike piece upstream of and close to that inlet end to move diametrically while being fed into the tube. Provision is also made to form a coil of the threadlike piece, from which the threadlike piece is pull out along the axis of the coil and fed to the inlet end of the tube by a conveying force resulting from the vibration of the coil of the tube. A feeder to supply the threadlike piece into the tube may be provided between the inlet end of the tube and a coil feeding device.

Method and apparatus for passing threadlike pieces through tubular

A coil of a tube is formed. The coil is vibrated while a threadlike piece is passed in through the inlet end of the tube so that a given point of the tube reciprocates along a helical path. Provision is made to ensure that inlet end of the tube does not cause a portion of the threadlike piece upstream of and close to that inlet end to move diametrically while being fed into the tube. Provision is also made to form a coil of the treadlike piece, from which the threadlike piece is pulled out along the axis of the coil and fed to the inlet end of the tube by a conveying force resulting from the vibration of the coil of the tube. A feeder to supply the threadlike piece into the tube may be provided between the inlet end of the tube and a coil feeding device.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for repairing a pattern film of a photomask, reticle, X-ray mask, semiconductor, etc. In the apparatus, a focused ion beam is applied to an excess portion of a pattern film which is formed on a substrate. The excess portion of the pattern film is removed by means of ion sputtering. For repairing an excess portion of the pattern film, an etching gas is provided to a position that is being irradiated with the scanning focused ion beam thereby increasing the reliability of repairing and carrying out repair of the excess portion of the pattern film with good quality. Further, the removal speed of the excess portion film is improved.

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Chiba, Japan

Osamu Hattori