Patents Examined by Jeffrey Chow
  • Patent number: 9041744
    Abstract: A tiled-map display control with a predictive caching technique that minimizes user wait time and provides at least the illusion of continuous panning, even while map tile images are being loaded. Important components of the tiled map display are its definition and cached use of map tiles, as well as the way that the map tiles are put together on a small screen. Easy, seamless, wait-free and convenient viewing of a map for a user of a wireless device provides information, e.g., mapped traffic conditions. The disclosed embodiments are techniques that have been reduced to practice in both a BREW platform, and then in a J2ME platform, and deployed for operation in major carrier wireless networks. The invention has particular applicability for use in wireless devices with typically smaller display screens requiring the need for panning, and limited bandwidth capabilities of the supporting wireless network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2015
    Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Bob Barcklay, Ritesh Bansal
  • Patent number: 9013495
    Abstract: A rendering apparatus and method are provided. The rendering method includes: reading a block, corresponding to a fragment, from among compressed blocks stored in a depth buffer, by considering frequency information corresponding to the fragment and prepared in advance; and performing a depth test for the fragment by considering the restored block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignees: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Yonsei University Industry Foundation
    Inventors: Sang-oak Woo, Seok-yoon Jung, Kwon-taek Kwon, Tack-don Han, Woo-chan Park, Woo-nam Chung, Jin-hong Park, Jeong-soo Park
  • Patent number: 9013480
    Abstract: Methods and systems for generating surface data from polygonal data are disclosed. The methods and systems receive polygonal data which describe discrete points on an object. The methods and systems analyze and use the data to calculate and define a continuous BREP object which accurately represents the original polygonal object. In some embodiments, the BREP object is modified and certain details of the modification operations are recorded. The polygonal data may be edited and a new BREP object created based on the edited polygonal data. The new BREP object may be automatically modified by automatically reperforming the recorded modification operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignee: IntegrityWare, Inc.
    Inventor: Gary Arnold Crocker
  • Patent number: 9007388
    Abstract: Surfaces without a global surface coordinate system are divided into surface regions having local surface coordinate systems to enable the caching of surface attribute values. A surface attribute value for a surface region may include contributions from two or more adjacent surfaces. Sample points may be arranged at the corners, rather than centers, of surface regions and include prefiltered values based on two or more surfaces. A renderer may sample the surface attribute function using these prefiltered values without accessing any adjacent surfaces, even if the renderer's filter crosses a surface boundary. A multiresolution cache stores surface attribute values at different resolution levels for surface regions of one or more surfaces, which may be discontiguous. Two or more resolution levels may have the same number of sample points but have values based on filters with different areas and spatial frequency limits. Resolution levels may be selected based on geodesic distance on a surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: Pixar
    Inventors: Robert L. Cook, Peter-Pike Sloan, Manuel Kraemer, Pitchaya Sitthi-Amorn
  • Patent number: 9001126
    Abstract: A method of displaying text on a path includes creating a mapping between distances along the path and points on a line based on changes in direction of the path, composing glyphs on the line, having a total line length defined in accordance with the mapping, to form a composed line, associating the glyphs with the path in accordance with the mapping and the composed line, and outputting the association of the glyphs with the path for display of the glyphs along the path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated
    Inventor: Andrei Burago
  • Patent number: 8963801
    Abstract: Control of multiple display screens associated with a computer, wherein the auxiliary screen display content that depends on conditions of the computer. During some times the auxiliary screen displays content associated with the presently executing program, and during other times the auxiliary screen displays history information. The rules can be automatically changed or manually changed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Inventor: Scott C. Harris
  • Patent number: 8947453
    Abstract: Aspects of the present invention are related to systems and methods for correcting artifacts in a camera-captured image of a document or image of an object exhibiting document-like content. A mobile device may capture an image and send the image to a cloud computing system for processing. According to a first aspect of the present invention, the mobile device may provide real-time feedback cues to assist in the capture of an image. The mobile device may detect a region-of-interest in the captured image, and a user may refine or confirm the detected region-of-interest. The captured image, information identifying the region-of-interest and a metadata tag, referred to as a region-of-interest modification tag, indicating whether, or not, the region-of-interest was refined by a user may be sent to the cloud.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America, Inc.
    Inventors: Lawrence Shao-hsien Chen, Richard John Campbell, Ahmet Mufit Ferman
  • Patent number: 8941666
    Abstract: A system includes a computing device that includes a memory configured to store instructions. The computing device also includes a processor configured to execute the instructions to perform a method that includes representing animation states of a virtual character in editable graphical representations. Each animation state represents each individual action of the character for an instance in time. The method also includes storing data that represents one or more changes in the animation states of the virtual character from the editable graphical representations. A pose of the virtual character is reconstructable upon retrieval of the stored data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2015
    Assignee: Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd.
    Inventor: Lucas A. Kovar
  • Patent number: 8933941
    Abstract: A remote management controller may include a video redirection device and a processor. The video redirection device may be configured to: obtain a slice of video data output from a video graphics controller; calculate at least one value correlative to the slice of video data; and if the calculated value for any portion of the slice differs from a value for a previously obtained corresponding portion, update a table associated with an image related to a remote system with the calculated value, and process the portion of the slice to create a data portion of a network packet in a network buffer. The processor may be configured to: allocate the network buffer; and provide a header portion of the network packet to the network buffer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Theodore F. Emerson, Robert L. Noonan, David F. Heinrich, Don Dykes
  • Patent number: 8928664
    Abstract: A graph creation method includes setting on a plane a coordinate system in which three axis extend from an origin in a radial fashion, setting three evaluation results of three evaluation item for an evaluation object on each the three axis; determining a balance being one of center, circumcenter, incenter, orthocenter, and excenter of a polygon the vertices of which correspond to the three evaluation results set on the three axis; and creating on the coordinate system a graph in which the balance is set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventors: Yoshiya Hasegawa, Kouji Takahashi, Masamine Abe, Tomoyoshi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 8896601
    Abstract: A method for projecting geographic data (e.g., latitude and longitude coordinates) from a spherical surface onto a two-dimensional Cartesian space is provided. Such a capability can employ a coordinate testing and transformation method to map the projected geographic data within the two-dimensional Cartesian space so that distances measured on the spherical surface remain relatively consistent with distances measured in the two-dimensional Cartesian space. Further, this capability allows for the use of efficient search algorithms to find projected geographic points within a particular geographic search area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2014
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventor: Phil Norman
  • Patent number: 8890896
    Abstract: A computer-implemented augmented reality method includes obtaining an image acquired by a computing device running an augmented reality application, identifying image characterizing data in the obtained image, the data identifying characteristic points in the image, comparing the image characterizing data with image characterizing data for a plurality of geo-coded images stored by a computer server system, identifying locations of items in the obtained image using the comparison, and providing, for display on the computing device at the identified locations, data for textual or graphical annotations that correspond to each of the items in the obtained image, and formatted to be displayed with the obtained image or a subsequently acquired image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2014
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventor: Erick Tseng
  • Patent number: 8878878
    Abstract: Provided are a display apparatus and a control method thereof which supports image data at differing frame rates, such as 60 Hz and 120 Hz, input from an image supply source. The display apparatus includes a first scaler which processes input image data; a second scaler which processes input image data; a display unit which displays thereon the image data processed by the first and second scalers; and a controller which selectively controls based on a frame rate of the image data to process the image data by the first scaler only, or to divide and process the image data by both the first and second scalers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 4, 2014
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Young-kyan Yun
  • Patent number: 8878851
    Abstract: A method for streaming vector images to wireless devices, including receiving a request from a wireless device for a portion of a vector image and a target display width and height, the vector image including a plurality of vector primitives, determining which of the vector primitives are positioned so as to overlap the requested portion, clipping the overlapping vector primitives with the portion, and transmitting the clipped vector primitives that overlap the portion. A system and a computer readable storage medium are also described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 4, 2014
    Assignee: Synchronica plc
    Inventors: Andrew Opala, Rudy Ziegler
  • Patent number: 8872841
    Abstract: A method of producing a bit-map including rendering a bit-map of a first image using a first stochastic half-tone screen set, rendering a bit-map of a second image using a second stochastic half-tone screen set, wherein the first half-tone screen set and the second half-tone screen set have respectively associated stochastic half-tone screens, and wherein each half-tone screen of the second half-tone screen set is less than 100 percent correlated with, and not an inverse of, the associated half-tone screen of the first half-tone screen set; and merging the bit-map of the first image with the bit-map of the second image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2014
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventor: Meng Yao
  • Patent number: 8872833
    Abstract: The present invention systems and methods enable configuration of functional components in integrated circuits. A present invention system and method can flexibly change the operational characteristics of functional components in an integrated circuit die based upon a variety of factors, including if the die has a defective component. An indication of the defective functional component identification is received. A determination is made if the defective functional component is one of a plurality of similar functional components that can provide the same functionality. The other similar components can be examined to determine if they are parallel components to the defective functional component. The defective functional component is disabled if it is one of the plurality of similar functional components and another component can handle the workflow that would otherwise be assigned to the defective component. Workflow is diverted from the disabled component to other similar functional components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2014
    Assignee: Nvidia Corporation
    Inventors: James M. Van Dyke, John S. Montrym, Michael B. Nagy, Sean J. Treichler
  • Patent number: 8872847
    Abstract: The present invention pertains to geographical image processing of time-dependent imagery. Various assets acquired at different times are stored and processing according to acquisition date in order to generate one or more image tiles for a geographical region of interest. The different image tiles are sorted based on asset acquisition date. Multiple image tiles for the same region of interest may be available. In response to a user request for imagery as of a certain date, one or more image tiles associated with assets from prior to that date are used to generate a time-based geographical image for the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2014
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Reuel William Nash, Christopher S. Co, Andrew Kirmse
  • Patent number: 8866818
    Abstract: A renderable geometry the may be populated with shapes and data series. The geometry defines a set of dimensions to be applied to the shapes. The geometry further defines and enforces a construction of the shapes around the set of dimensions, and applies the data series to the plurality of shapes against at least one of the set of dimensions. The formulate of the geometry may be recursively performed. For instance, the geometry may be provided as a shape in a set of shapes provided to yet another geometry with another data series. The data series might be reversibly applied to one of the dimensions, allowing for complex geometries to be created with data represented in very flexibly ways.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Darryl E. Rubin, Vijay Mital, David G. Green, Brian C. Beckman
  • Patent number: 8866826
    Abstract: Parallel graphics-processing methods and mobile computing apparatus with parallel graphics-processing capabilities are disclosed. One exemplary embodiment of a mobile computing apparatus includes physical memory, at least two distinct graphics-processing devices, and a bus coupled to the physical memory and the at least two graphics-processing devices. A virtual graphics processing component enables each of at least two graphics-processing operations to be executed, in parallel, by a corresponding one of the at least two distinct graphics-processing devices, which operate in the same memory surface at the same time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: Qualcomm Innovation Center, Inc.
    Inventors: Gregory A. Reid, Hanyu Cui, Praveen V. Arkeri, Ashish Bijlani
  • Patent number: 8866844
    Abstract: In an image processing apparatus, a process display unit displays on the display a plurality of candidate image processes to be performed on the image data. The plurality of candidate image processes includes a sepia image process. A process receiving unit receives an instruction indicating the sepia image process selected from among the plurality of candidate image processes. A process storing unit stores the selected sepia image process. An image display unit displays a display image corresponding to the image data on the display. An image designating unit designates a display image. The image display unit displays a processed display image that represents a result of the selected sepia image process performed on the image data corresponding to the designated display image before performing the selected sepia image process on the image data corresponding to the designated display image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takahiko Watari, Tatsuya Sato