Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan

Daiso Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Seiji Nakamura

Noboru Katta

Susumu Ibaraki

Hiroki Murakami

Tatsuya Adachi

Kazuya Iwata

Isao Kato

Tetsushi Kasahara

Keiichi Mori

Katsuhito Miura

Toshihide Akiyama

Hiroshi Takeno

Manabu Inoue

Toshiyuki Honda

Masayuki Toyama

Naoki Ejima

Hirokazu So

Mitsuhiko Otani

Haruka Takano

Masahiko Nishimoto

Masato Suto

Masamichi Komada

Yoshihisa Inagaki

Yasumi Shimizu

Shouhei Matsui

Shigekazu Kogita

Shuhei Sasakura

Hiroki Higobashi

Masanori Yanagida

Mayu Nishikawa

Koji Niiyama

Hirokazu Sou

Yoshihiko Wada

Toru Yamada

Koji Aoki

A drive controller in a distance-measuring imaging device generates an exposure control signal having first to third exposure control pulses based on output timings of corresponding ones of emission control pulses. The difference between output starting time of the third exposure control pulse and output starting time of one of the emission control pulses is greater than the difference between output starting time of the second exposure control pulse and output starting time of one of the emission control pulses. The difference between output starting time of the second exposure control pulse and output starting time of one of the emission control pulses is greater than the difference between output starting of the first exposure control pulse and output starting time of one of the emission control pulses. The imager outputs first to third exposure signals indicating amounts of charge generated through exposure by the first to third control pulses.

Distance-measuring imaging device

A distance measurement device includes: an emission and exposure controller which controls emission timing and an emission period of irradiation light for an emitter and controls exposure timing and an exposure period of reflected light for a solid-state image sensor; and a data processor which includes a calculator that calculates distance data and light intensity data based on signals of pixels outputted by a light receiver. The emission and exposure controller controls the exposure timing to perform exposure to reflected light from a first distance and not to perform exposure to reflected light from a second distance longer than the first distance in a distance measurement range. The data processor includes a determination unit which determines reliability of the distance data in accordance with a signal amount of the light intensity data for each of the pixels.

Distance measurement device and reliability determination method

A distance-measuring imaging device includes: a controller which repeatedly performs outputting of an emission signal instructing light emission and outputting of an exposure signal instructing exposure; a light source unit which performs light emission a plurality of times in accordance with the emission signal repeatedly outputted by the controller; and an imaging unit which includes a solid-state imaging element for performing exposure a plurality of times in accordance with the exposure signal repeatedly outputted by the controller and which generates an imaging signal through the exposure performed the plurality of times.

Distance-measuring imaging device and solid-state imaging element

In a distance measuring device that measures a distance to an object using a round-trip time of light, a solid-state image sensor includes a plurality of pixel groups capable of being exposed independently, and causes each of the plurality of pixel groups to receive, at a different exposure time, reflected light from the object that is originally pulsed radiation light from a light emitter. A light emission and exposure controller cyclically and intermittently exposes each of the plurality of pixel groups of the solid-state image sensor at the different exposure time to obtain pixel signals of types corresponding to a time difference between the reflected light and the radiation light, and a signal processor obtains information about the distance to the object according to pixel signals of adjacent pixels exposed at different exposure times for each of the plurality of pixel groups.

Distance measuring device

A distance measuring apparatus includes a light source, a light source controller, a light receiver including pixels arranged two-dimensionally, an exposure controller, and a signal processor. The light receiver outputs, to the signal processor, a signal corresponding to the amount of electric charge accumulated in the accumulator. The signal processor determines that the interference is present when at least one of (i) a ratio between signal levels of the same pixel included in the pixels, the signal levels representing respective amounts of electric charge in respective exposure periods and (ii) a ratio between signal levels of the first and second pixels exceeds a predetermined threshold with respect to a determination criterion that is based on a difference between a period in which a read gate of the first pixel is open and a period in which a read gate of the second pixel is open.

Distance measuring apparatus

A nonvolatile memory device () includes a plurality of physical blocks, each of which is provide with a nonvolatile memory (), a logic/physical address conversion table, a temporary block and a temporary table. The nonvolatile memory () includes a plurality of pages which are predetermined writing units, respectively. The logical-physical address conversion table () stores correspondence information between logic addresses and physical addresses of data to be stored in the physical blocks. The temporary block is a physical block to store data that are smaller in size than those of the page. The temporary table () stores correspondence information between logic addresses and physical addresses with respect to data to be stored in the temporary block.

Nonvolatile memory device including a logical-to-physical logig-to-physical address conversion table, a temporary block and a temporary table

Data is written in data areas () and information for correcting an error of the data and status information indicating that the data has been written are written in redundant areas () sequentially from the first page of a physical block (). In the step of creating information to be written in the physical block (), the redundant areas () of the pages are subjected to a binary search to temporarily identify a last valid page. Further, the contents of every area (the data areas and the redundant areas) of the temporarily identified last valid page and a page adjacent to the temporarily identified last valid page are checked to finally identify the last valid page and make a judgment as to whether or not an error page resulting from power-down exists.

Memory controller for identifying the last valid page/segment in a physical block of a flash memory

A heating cooking device includes a top plate, a heating unit, a touch key including a first electrode and a second electrode, an input unit for applying an alternating current (AC) voltage to the second electrode and for outputting a voltage changing according to a change of the AC voltage when the first electrode is pushed, a detector for outputting a first signal if the voltage output from the input unit changes from the reference value to the first value, an operation judging unit for outputting a second signal according to a rate of change of the voltage output from the input unit, and a controller operable to perform control of the heating unit based on the first and second signals. The controller is operable to perform control of energization of the heating unit if the controller does not receive the second signal after receiving the first signal, and not to perform the control of the energization of the heating unit if the controller receives the second signal after receiving the first signal.

Cooking device

An electronic apparatus that transmits error information about setting of a block size to a host device includes an interface section that transmits and receives a command, a response and data to and from the host device. When the data is a predetermined length or more, the interface section executes multi-block transmission. Moreover, the electronic apparatus includes a data buffer, and a storage section that stores information about a block size. When the interface section receives a block size setting command transmitted from the host device and the block size is larger than a capacity of the data buffer, it transmits a response including error information about incapability of accepting the block size at the time which has a predetermined relation to the block size setting command.

Electronic apparatus, control method thereof, host device, and control method thereof

A functional module card and a host apparatus according to the present invention can constitute the digital broadcasting receiver apparatus. The functional module card includes a card controller and a tuner section. The tuner section inputs a digital broadcasting signal, generates a transport stream (referred to as a TS hereinafter) and a TS clock for transferring the TS, and directly transfers the TS and the TS clock to a decoder and descrambler of the host apparatus via a bus according to the TS clock. A data transfer method for transferring data between the card controller and the host controller of the host apparatus is a master-slave data transfer method in which the host controller operates as a master apparatus.

Functional module card for transferring digital broadcasting signal using a clock generated based on a synchronous signal extracted from a received data signal

An electronic apparatus includes a controller having an interface part communicating with an external host apparatus and a status register group, and having a plurality of functional units communicating with the host apparatus via the interface part, respectively. The status register group includes operable status registers corresponding to the functional units respectively and indicating whether or not the corresponding functional units are in an operable state, and processing status registers corresponding to the functional units respectively and indicating whether or not the corresponding functional units are in a Function-Being-Processed State. When a command received from the host apparatus is provided for any one of the functional units, the controller transfers the command to the functional unit. In the case of a read command for the status register group, the controller transmits a status of the status register group to the host apparatus as a response.

Electronic device having plurality of functional units and controller for controlling registers according to status of functional units

An integrated circuit (IC) card capable of a high-speed data transmission to/from a data transmission apparatus having low processing capability. A controlling section generates a data packet by adding management information including information regarding a data length of the data packet, and divides the data packet to generate data blocks. The data length of the data block is designated from the data transmission apparatus. When the data blocks which compose the single data packet are sent to the transmission apparatus a communicating section sends an interrupt signal to the data transmission apparatus if the data block including the management information is to be sent, and does not send the interrupt signal to the data transmission apparatus if a data block not including the management information is to be sent.

Integrated circuit (IC) card, data transmission apparatus, data transmission method and computer program of data transmission method

A small-sized and low-cost transmission apparatus and a transmission method (having a high responsivity) capable of transmitting an interrupt signal with a small number of input/output terminals (without a dedicated line for interrupt signals) are provided. A first transmission apparatus of the present invention comprises a central processing unit for carrying out an interrupt process in response to an interrupt signal; an input/output section having at least one data line for transmitting data signals between a second transmission apparatus and the first transmission apparatus and for transmitting an interrupt signal from the second transmission apparatus to the first transmission apparatus; and an interrupt signal detecting section for detecting an interrupt signal from among signals transmitted from the second transmission apparatus via the data line.

Transmission apparatus and transmission method

An electronic apparatus reads a digital data stream including a video signal and/or an audio signal outputted from an external apparatus according to a transmission clock different from a clock for the data stream, and outputs the video signal and/or audio signal without causing any discontinuity. The electronic apparatus includes a sample rate converter that rate-converts a predetermined volume of the audio signal in synchronization with a constant sampling clock, and changes a number of samples to be outputted, based on a data volume of an audio signal outputted by the electronic apparatus and a data volume of an audio signal transmitted from the external apparatus or transmittable from the external apparatus to the electronic apparatus.

Electronic apparatus and control method thereof using sample rate converter

To provide a method for controlling a transmission system with quick response in which plural electronic devices are connected to one host apparatus through a common data line. The method for controlling the transmission system of the present invention comprises: a step of transmitting a command signal for releasing the data line and suspending the processing through a command signal line to the electronic device occupying the data line in the state where one of the plural electronic devices is executing the processing that occupies the data line so as to make the electronic device release the data line and suspend the processing and to perform data transmission between the host apparatus and the other one of the electronic devices; and a step of resuming the suspended processing after the data transmission between the host apparatus and the other electronic device.

System for suspending processing by a first electronic device on a data line to allow a second electronic device to use the data line, with subsequent resumption of the processing of the first electronic device

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Seiji Nakamura