Fujifilm Corporation

Teac Corporation

Fuji Photo Film Company, Limited

Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.

Leybold Aktiengesellschaft

Takashi Miyamoto

Mitsuru Kano

Mika Gamo

Thomas Krug

Noboru Sasaki

Mamoru Sekiguchi

Klemens Ruebsam

Andreas Meier

Gerhard Steiniger

Arito Asai

Yoshiko Shiimori

Toshiaki Yoshihara

Helmut Grimm

Kiyoshi Shidara

Ryukichi Matsuo

Shino Ogasawara

Hiroyuki Yasujima

Tomohisa Inaba

Tadashi Yamaguchi

When a blank DVD-RW disk is loaded into an optical disk drive, a host computer issues a FORMAT command to the disk drive. The optical disk drive having received the command performs quick formatting pursuant to a standard. Subsequently, the host computer issues a WRITE command to the optical disk drive in an idle time thereof, thereby instructing recording of dummy data. Consequently, an advantage analogous to that yielded as a result of background formatting of a DVD+RW disk is yielded, and the entirety of the DVD-RW disk can be formatted readily.

Data recording apparatus

A digital watermarking apparatus for embedding a data in an index color image data, wherein the data is configured by an arrangement of a first data and a second data, and the apparatus has: an allocating unit for allocating the data to values of positions of a color lookup table included in the index color image data; and an adjusting unit for adjusting a value of the color lookup table to which the first data is allocated, to an odd number, and adjusting a value of the color lookup table to which the second data is allocated, to an even number.

Digital watermarking apparatus and computer-readable medium

E-mail transmitted from a sender terminal together with an attached image file is received by a mail server. The latter inserts a tag in the header of the image file that has been attached to the e-mail. The tag includes the name and telephone number, etc., of the sender, which have been stored in a database that archives personal information. The image file in which the sender name, etc., has been inserted is attached to the e-mail in place of the image file that was attached to the received e-mail, and this e-mail is then transmitted to the terminal of a receiving party.

E-mail server

In an optical disc device, the recording laser light power from a semiconductor laser is adjusted to a desired power. A front monitor PD is provided near the semiconductor laser LD of an optical pickup, and the recording layer light power is detected. A system controllerstores in memory an approximating equation for a correction coefficient for the recording power based on the detection signal characteristic when the recording laser light is a multi-pulse signal, uses the approximating equation to compute the correction coefficient for the desired recording power, corrects the detected signal level from the front monitor PD, and executes feedback control of the laser power emitted from the LD.

Semiconductor laser driving device and optical disc device

A personal computer loads image data with tag information, which includes position coordinates of an image capture position and a camera azimuth, from an electronic camera. A thumbnail image, which is a reduced image of the loaded image, is rotated in a camera azimuth direction and composited to a position, which corresponds to the position coordinates, on an electronic map. A composite electronic map, which is composited with the thumbnail image, is displayed in a monitor of the personal computer.

Image reproducing method and image reproducing apparatus

An optical disk drive for driving an out-of-specification disk such as a CCCD. When the out-of-specification disk, such as a CCCD (Copy-Controlled CD), is loaded in the optical disk drive, a system controller of the optical disk drive reads TOC data in a first session and TOC data in a second session. When a contradiction exists between the TOC data in the second session and the TOC data in the first session, the system controller deems the disk to be not a within-specification disk but an out-of-specification disk, thereby diminishing the number of retry operations for reading data or a retry time, and reading data by means of generating a synchronization bit SYNC through use of an internal counter.

Optical disk drive for driving copy-controlled CD

An optical disk drive which increases a read rate when a read command from a host system is input. Data read from the optical disk drive are buffered in cache memory, and requested data are subsequently transferred to a host system. The cache memory is divided into cache A and cache B. Directory data are chiefly buffered in the cache A, and file data are chiefly buffered in the cache B. A cache hit rate achieved when the directory data and the file data are alternately read is improved.

Optical disk drive

An optical disk apparatus which varies a rotational speed of an optical disk through use of a sound volume controller. A controller of the optical disk apparatus causes a sound volume controller to act as a rotational speed controller upon receipt of a READ command from a host apparatus. The controller detects a set position of the sound volume controller on the basis of a signal output from the same and controls a spindle motor in accordance with a detected position, thereby changing a rotational speed of said optical disk. When wind sound or the like, of the optical disk is obtrusive for the user, the user can diminish noise by means of decreasing the rotational speed through actuation of the sound volume controller.

Optical disk apparatus having variable reproduction speed function

A terminal distinction circuit distinguishes the terminal type. When the terminal is a PC, moving image data is sent directly from a moving image buffer memory to a transmission image memory. The transmission image memory sends moving image data together with a synchronization signal to the terminal via a broadband modem. When the terminal is a cellular phone or a PDA, an animation generating circuit reads images of every three picture frames from moving image data having thirty picture frames per second. The animation generating circuit scales down an image of each picture frame according to the display capability of the terminal, and then subtracts the number of color. Image data of ten picture frames is converted into one animation GIF file. The animation GIF file is sent to viewer's terminal via the broadband modem.

Web camera and method for sending moving image

The present invention provides a position data notification system and a position data notification method whereby, in consonance with the will of a transient person, the current position of the pertinent person can be reported. The system of the invention includes a position search server, which is requested for position search request from a communication terminal, receives position data from another communication terminal, and creates a map on which the position of an individual user is indicated. This system also includes a group/user management DB for managing a user or a group that consists of a predetermined number of users. This system can be applied to notify current position information of a user carrying a device, which is not pre-registered for utilizing this system.

Position data notification system and method using email communications

An image file transmitted from a cellular telephone and a user ID indicative of the owner of the image file are associated with each other. To accomplish this, a database server is accessed by the cellular telephone and a connection is established to a Web page for registering image data, whereupon a unique ID is generated by the database server. An HTML file in which the generated unique ID is included as a mail address is generated and transmitted to the cellular telephone. E-mail to which image data has been attached is transmitted to a mail server at a destination specified by the mail address. The mail server detects the unique ID from the mail address. The user ID is found from the unique ID, and the user ID and image data are transmitted in associated form from the mail server to the database server. Image data in association with the user ID can be stored in a database by the database server.

Data registration system

An image sharing server and a printer for carrying out a printing service in association with the image sharing server are prepared and planners are invited to develop planned pages on the image sharing server. Contribution of images from general users is accepted through registered planned pages, and a service for offering contributed images for pay (ordered printing, downloading, etc.) is developed. A manager of the image sharing server performs centralized management including carrying out services and collecting charges for the services. Instances of use of each service is totalized with respect to each planned page and with respect to each contributor, and portions of a profit made by offering the service are respectively returned to the corresponding planner and contributor. Each planner and each contributor are periodically notified of the totalization results. Thus, a system is provided in which each service planner can easily develop its original planned page without holding a individual data base server and a Web server of its own, and portions of a profit made by offering planned pages are respectively returned to the planner and contributors. Also, the manager of operations for the services in this system prepares a portal site server, a gallery provision server, a photograph storage server and a printing service provider on the Internet and invites contents providers to utilize the system. The printing service provider collects orders accepted through planned pages from users, performs printing according to the orders, and delivers finished prints to the users. In this system, a portal site service, a gallery provision service, a photograph storage service and page making GUI components provision service are offered to assist opening of a gallery page. Thus, finely divided functions and services for exhibiting contents such as photographs on the network are provided, thereby enabling each contents holder to easily develop a galley site.

System and method for offering information service, method of assisting information release service, and information sharing server

The amount of data in an image file transmitted to a cellular telephone is reduced. To achieve this, the colors of pixels constituting an image represented by image data are specified by a color palette table. Color palettes representing colors that do not appear in the image are deleted from the color palette table. Since the amount of data in the color palette table contained in the image file is reduced, so is the amount of image data in the image file.

Image data transmitting apparatus and method of controlling same

A method of recording and/or reproducing information onto/from an information storage medium includes the step of detecting a time interval between a received command and a subsequent command. The method further includes the step of controlling recording and/or reproducing-speed of information on the basis of the detected time interval between the received command and the subsequent command.

Method of recording and/or reproducing information onto/from an information storage medium and an information-recording and/or information-reproducing device

Even if element data that is necessary for storage in a database has not all been entered within a record, registration of data in the database is allowed. To accomplish this, requisite input items, quasi-requisite input items and optional input items are defined in a database table. If, in regard to a requisite input item, the corresponding element data has not been entered, storage in the database is not allowed. With regard to a quasi-requisite input item, storage in the database is allowed even if the corresponding element data has not been entered. If element data is not entered for a requisite input item even upon passage of a certain period of time, access to the database is inhibited.

Growing community of inventors

Saitama, Japan

Takashi Miyamoto