Hitachi, Ltd.

Other

Shigeyuki Ito

Yoshizumi Watatani

Yutaka Takami

Masayuki Ohki

Hitoaki Owashi

Masayuki Inoue

Atsuhiko Urushihara

Kazunori Hashimoto

Kenji Matsumoto

Hiroki Kitagawa

Masaru Ohki

Makoto Aikawa

Jun Furuya

Katsuo Mohri

Yuhei Abe

Takao Oosawa

Tetsuharu Inamitsu

Koichi Yoneta

Yoshiisa Inoue

Shoko Hatanaka

Atsuhiko Urushibara

Tomomi Haruna

A biometric authentication apparatus for identifying a subject person by using biometric information of a user has memories and a processing unit for performing biometric authentication. The memories and store a remaining trial number whose value is reduced each time biometric authentication fails. The processing unit generates a lower limit value smaller than the remaining trial number at the start of biometric authentication, performs biometric authentication until the reduced remaining trial number becomes equal to or smaller than the lower limit value, and generate alarm data for issuing alarm to the user when the reduced trial number becomes equal to or smaller than the lower limit value.

Biometric authentication apparatus, biometric authentication system, IC card and biometric authentication method

When a certificate is to be printed on a certificate form having a microchip built therein, an applicant for applying for the certificate sends microchip ID to a certificate issuer, and the certificate issuer stores certificate data in association with the microchip ID in an issue management database of the certificate issuer. When the certificate is to be verified, a certificate verifier sends the microchip ID built in the certificate to the certificate issuer, and in response to it, the certificate issuer sends the certificate data, which is registered in the certificate database in association with the microchip ID, to the certificate verifier. Certificate can be printed out by a print terminal at home or the like.

Certification method and device and certificate issuer system

Premium point services offered by different retailers require each user to possess a plurality of cards for dealing with different applications. An electronic pocketbook system made of a display device and an IC card is provided to store diverse kinds of application information such as amount information and point information into a single IC card. Portions of the application information to be displayed are stored in a predetermined format into a predetermined area inside the IC card. This allows the same program of the display device to display various kinds of application information successively using a common program, and without having to an application specific program.

IC card information display device and IC card for use therewith

A telephone for transferring electronic money between money cards has on the top thereof two card inlets of two internal card reader/writers, a display window, a ten-key set used to dial a telephone number or enter an amount of electronic money transaction, telephone function keys, and mode selection keys. It can be operated to transfer electronic money between two money cards inserted in the card inlets, or between a money card inserted in one of the card inlets and another money card linked through the telephone line, thereby enabling person-to-person, person-to-bank, and person-to-retailer transactions based on electronic money.

Telephone used for electronic money card transaction and method of operation of the same

An electronic wallet or terminal for a portable financial IC card having arrangements for versitle use by both visually-impaired and non-impaired persons. The electronic wallet or terminal is provided with a cabinet provided with a display, an IC card housing accommodating removable insertion of an IC card, and a privacy speaker and/or an earphone. Use of the privacy speaker or earphone accommodate visually impaired persons while affording financial confidentiality. Such terminal is programmed such that an appropriate language suited to an owner of the financial IC card or terminal is automatically determined (without user polling) from stored historical data such as a last financial transaction or personal data. The terminal is further provided with irregularities (e.g., ridges, depressions, protrusions, braille, etc) at appropriate locations on appropriate surfaces of a terminal and/or financial IC card for tactile determination via tactile feel (as opposed to visual determination) of both appropriate features and positioning of the terminal and whether or not an IC card is inserted in the terminal. The terminal also has a tapered, funnel-like guidance slot larger in dimensions than at least one of a thickness and width of an IC card, which is formed at an end of the terminal at the entrance to an IC card slot, such that the guidance slot accommodates easy/accurate insertion of the IC card into the terminal.

Terminal for portable IC card

In a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus in which a frequency-modulated video signal and a frequency-modulated audio signal are frequency-multiplexed and the frequency-multiplexed signal is recorded on video tracks of a magnetic tape, and the recorded signal is reproduced, a noise produced in the audio signal due to video track switching in the signal reproduction is eliminated by holding the audio signal for a period of noise duration.

Noise elimination circuit for reproduction of audio signals in a

A helical scanning type video tape recorder is provided with an audio signal recording/reproducing circuit in which the audio signal is submitted to frequency modulation, after which the modulated audio signal is recorded on a video track by a rotary video head while a video signal is also recorded on the same track. This provides very good quality of reproduction of the audio signal. In order to reduce crosstalk interference of audio signals between adjacent tracks, a dynamic range of the audio signal is compressed to have a predetermined characteristic in the recording process, and then expanded to compensate to the original dynamic range in the reproducing process.

Audio signal recording and reproducing circuit

A modulator-demodulator suited to record an audio signal in a recording medium in the form of a frequency-modulated signal and to demodulate the frequency-modulated signal is disclosed. It includes a voltage-controlled oscillator, a switching circuit for changing one of two input frequency-modulated signals toward a control input of the voltage-controlled oscillator, and a phase detector for detecting a difference in phase between the frequency-modulated signal reproduced from the recording medium and the output signal of the voltage-controlled oscillator. In a recording operation, an input audio signal is supplied to a control signal input terminal of the voltage-controlled oscillator through the switching circuit, and the VCO acts as a modulator for carrying out frequency modulation. In a reproducing operation, the output signal of the phase detector is supplied to the control signal input terminal of the VCO through the switching circuit to form a demodulator having a phase locked loop configuration, and the frequency-modulated signal reproduced from the recording medium is demodulated by the demodulator. A single VCO is used as the VCO for forming the modulator in the recording operation, and is used as the VCO for forming the demodulator having the phase locked loop configuration in the reproducing operation.

Modulator-demodulator for obtaining and demodulating frequency-modulated

A sound signal recording and reproducing device for use in a picture signal recording and reproducing apparatus comprises a first sound signal recording and reproducing system recording a sound signal in superposed relation with a picture signal on the same track on a magnetic tape by a rotary head, and a second sound signal recording and reproducing system capable of recording a sound signal independently of the picture signal by a stationary head in a direction parallel with the traveling direction of the magnetic tape.

Video and sound signal recording and reproducing device

In an apparatus for recording a frequency modulated audio signal and a frequency modulated video signal on the frequency multiplex basis onto the same recording track, a muting circuit is necessary so that the reproduced audio signal is not outputted when a dropout takes place and/or when the frequency modulated audio signal is missing on the track. The muting circuit is controlled not only by the output signal of a dropout detector, but by a signal obtained by integrating the dropout detection signal so that the audio output is blocked during a frequent occurrence of dropout. The muting circuit includes a previous value holding circuit serving to hold its output at an input level immediately before the control signal has been given, the previous value holding circuit being arranged in the reproduction audio signal processing system following a demodulator.

Growing community of inventors

Zushi, Japan

Shigeyuki Ito