Patents by Inventor Michael David McCormick

Michael David McCormick has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9907135
    Abstract: For controlling a level of luminance produced by a color light-emitting diode (LED) array, a method includes: for a predetermined flux bit-slice period, activating a color enable signal to select a primary color LED and to select a predetermined light flux magnitude set-point; selectively charging an energy storage device and discharging the energy storage device through the selected primary color LED to generate a light flux output during the flux bit-slice period; adjusting a rate of selectively charging the energy storage device to maintain a magnitude of the light flux output at the predetermined light flux magnitude set-point during the flux bit-slice period; and adjusting the predetermined light flux magnitude set-point over the life of the selected LED as the selected LED ages as a function of an anode-to-cathode voltage drop across the selected LED for a given magnitude of current flowing through the selected LED.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Jeffrey Scott Farris, Michael David McCormick, Jason Ryan Thompson
  • Publication number: 20170135164
    Abstract: For controlling a level of luminance produced by a color light-emitting diode (LED) array, a method includes: for a predetermined flux bit-slice period, activating a color enable signal to select a primary color LED and to select a predetermined light flux magnitude set-point; selectively charging an energy storage device and discharging the energy storage device through the selected primary color LED to generate a light flux output during the flux bit-slice period; adjusting a rate of selectively charging the energy storage device to maintain a magnitude of the light flux output at the predetermined light flux magnitude set-point during the flux bit-slice period; and adjusting the predetermined light flux magnitude set-point over the life of the selected LED as the selected LED ages as a function of an anode-to-cathode voltage drop across the selected LED for a given magnitude of current flowing through the selected LED.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 20, 2017
    Publication date: May 11, 2017
    Inventors: Jeffrey Scott Farris, Michael David McCormick, Jason Ryan Thompson
  • Patent number: 9554435
    Abstract: Light flux levels sensed from a color LED array control both current availability to the array and disable/re-enable a current bypass switch to shunt stored-energy current to or away from a selected LED. In continuous mode, a single flux pulse is created for the duration of a pre-established period. Feedback from the flux sensor pulses current to an energy storage device to maintain the light flux at a predetermined set-point. A particular dimming level is achieved by establishing both the pulse period and the flux magnitude. In discontinuous mode, one or more short flux pulses are created. Both the turn-on and the turn-off time of each flux pulse is controlled by alternately removing and then re-establishing a current shunt from the energy storage device to ground. Flux pulse magnitude is controlled by recognizing when the flux pulse has reached a predetermined set-point and re-establishing the current shunt to abruptly turn off current to the selected LED.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2017
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Jeffrey Scott Farris, Michael David McCormick, Jason Ryan Thompson
  • Publication number: 20140085731
    Abstract: Light flux levels sensed from a color LED array control both current availability to the array and disable/re-enable a current bypass switch to shunt stored-energy current to or away from a selected LED. In continuous mode, a single flux pulse is created for the duration of a pre-established period. Feedback from the flux sensor pulses current to an energy storage device to maintain the light flux at a predetermined set-point. A particular dimming level is achieved by establishing both the pulse period and the flux magnitude. In discontinuous mode, one or more short flux pulses are created. Both the turn-on and the turn-off time of each flux pulse is controlled by alternately removing and then re-establishing a current shunt from the energy storage device to ground. Flux pulse magnitude is controlled by recognizing when the flux pulse has reached a predetermined set-point and re-establishing the current shunt to abruptly turn off current to the selected LED.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 18, 2013
    Publication date: March 27, 2014
    Inventors: Jeffrey Scott Farris, Michael David McCormick, Jason Ryan Thompson
  • Patent number: 8237779
    Abstract: Video signals in a video stream are encoded by inserting reference signals in the video stream such that the encoded video stream carry both reference signals and video signals being coded. In the decoding stage, reference images generated from the reference signals are detected and used for identifying the encoded video signals based upon the profiles of the detected reference images. An imaging architecture capable of using the coding scheme comprises a shutter that can be implemented as a dual-processor configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Stephen W. Marshall, Michael David McCormick, Henry William Neal, Stanford Porter Hudson