Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Frederick A. Wein
  • Patent number: 6002212
    Abstract: A radiation emitting device, such as an LED, is optimally driven in dependence on the value of a carrier frequency of a signal to be transmitted. The current provided to the radiation emitting element is controlled responsive to the carrier frequency. When using an LED, the current value is increased with decreasing duration of current flow. The apparatus is usable for remote controls suitable for controlling two or more devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 14, 1999
    Assignee: Thomson Multimedia S.A.
    Inventors: Dominique Gagnot, Marc Amstoutz, Eric Diehl
  • Patent number: 6002225
    Abstract: A method of breaking a motor includes the step of applying a pulse width modulated signal to the winding of the motor. A switching voltage is used to intermittently reverse the poles of the motor for selected time periods. The time periods are separated by pauses the duration of which is dependent upon the breaking force needed to stop the motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 14, 1999
    Assignee: Deutsche Thomson-Brandt GmbH
    Inventors: Gunter Gleim, Hermann Link, Michael Bildl, Friedrich Heizmann
  • Patent number: 5995154
    Abstract: A process for converting interlaced frames into progressive frames comprising a change of frame frequency by interpolation and motion compensation, wherein when a motion vector associated with a pixel to be interpolated is non-zero or when the motion vector is zero but the confidence accorded to this vector is less than a given threshold, the interpolation of the pixel of a frame situated temporally between two input frames is carried out by a median filtering pertaining to the values obtained by a first motion compensated linear temporal filter, a second motion compensated linear filter, and a motion compensated median temporal filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 30, 1999
    Assignee: Thomson multimedia S.A.
    Inventor: Catherine Heimburger
  • Patent number: 5990993
    Abstract: A display device having a backlighting system supplying collimated light, a transmissive electro-optical modulator of the liquid crystal display type and a means for distributing the light angularly. The distance between the means for distributing the light angularly and the display is chosen so as to obtain a spatial filtration effect. A layer of colored filters is positioned between the display and the means for distributing the light angularly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 23, 1999
    Assignee: Thomson multimedia S.A.
    Inventor: Gunther Haas
  • Patent number: 5987141
    Abstract: A stereophonic audio processing system having left and right stereophonic sound channels with respective loudspeakers therefor is presented. The system is provided with spatial expansion of the stereophonic sound so that a first pair of spaced-apart loudspeakers will acoustically appear to be spaced further apart then they actually are. The audio system is provided with provisions for connecting a second pair of loudspeakers which can be spatially located at a distance between the loudspeakers which is larger than the first pair of loudspeakers. The audio system is provided with apparatus for providing stereo sound without spatial expansion when such secondary loudspeakers are used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 16, 1999
    Assignee: Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc.
    Inventor: Alan Anderson Hoover
  • Patent number: 5986585
    Abstract: A device for converting a mechanical deflection into a corresponding electrical variable which can be used to produce deflection. A cost-effective, energy-saving and good-resolution position measuring device, indicating transmitter or desired position value transmitter. One end of a pair of sliding contacts is driven by electrical drive signals over at least two contact surfaces, the other end of the pair of sliding contacts is displaced over conductor tracks led in parallel, as a result of which drive signals are transmitted via the contacted conductor tracks as evaluation signals. The device is usable in open-loop and closed-loop control technology, for example cursor control on a screen via an infrared remote control transmitter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 16, 1999
    Assignee: Deutsche Thomson-Brandt GmbH
    Inventor: Olaf Pusch
  • Patent number: 5982417
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a device for displaying a sequence of 3D images on the basis of a first sequence of source images corresponding to the left eye and of a second sequence of source images corresponding to the right eye of an observer, said source images being conveyed respectively by a video signal S.sub.1 and by a video signal S.sub.2 of respective luminous intensities E.sub.1 and E.sub.2. The device includes a first means of calculation (6) intended to generate from said video signals S.sub.1 and S.sub.2 a luminous signal S having an overall luminous intensity E calculated as a function of the luminous intensities E.sub.1 and E.sub.2, said means of calculation (6) co-operating with a second means of calculation (8) in such a way as to split, for each pixel, the overall luminous energy E in proportion to the luminous intensities E.sub.1 and E.sub.2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 9, 1999
    Assignee: Deutsche Thomson-Brandt GmbH
    Inventor: Laurent Blonde
  • Patent number: 5983088
    Abstract: A tuner includes a conversion (or heterodyning) stage, including a local oscillator and a mixer, for converting an RF signal corresponding to a selected channel to an IF signal. The local oscillator has only one tunable oscillating portion for generating a signal, and a frequency converter, such as a controllable frequency divider, for converting the frequency of the signal generated by said oscillating portion, so that the receiver is able to tune through the UHF and VHF bands. The operation of the requency converter is responsive to a digital controller, such as a microprocessor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 9, 1999
    Assignee: RCA Thomson Licensing Corporation
    Inventor: Felix Aschwanden
  • Patent number: 5978883
    Abstract: A process for interleaving blocks of P packets each including L binary words, the interleaving being carried out by writing the data to an interleaving memory in a given order and by reading them back in an order corresponding to the interleaving. After having read, at a given address, a data item corresponding to a block b-1, a data item corresponding to the block b is written at the same address.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 2, 1999
    Assignee: Thomson Multimedia SA
    Inventor: Charaf Hanna
  • Patent number: 5973584
    Abstract: There is disclosed a high voltage transformer for a television receiver, comprising a coil former in which there are situated auxiliary windings, a primary winding over the auxiliary windings, and a high voltage winding over the primary winding. A first sleeve forms a flat base for the primary winding, and is arranged on the auxiliary windings. The primary winding is wound from a plurality of layers of solid wire, each layer disposed directly over the other, and a further sleeve made of a dielectric inserted between two of the plurality of layers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1999
    Assignee: Deutsche Thomson-Brandt GmbH
    Inventor: Walter Goseberg
  • Patent number: 5973940
    Abstract: The switched-mode power supply comprises a secondary winding and four diodes for producing two rectified voltages of the same polarity, one of which can be regulated. A connection of the unregulated voltage has connected to it a variable Zener diode as an error amplifier for transmitting a regulating signal to the primary side. The driver stage provides a pulse-width-modulated square-wave signal for driving the switching transistor which is arranged at a high potential between the operating voltage on the input side and a first connection of the primary winding. The second connection of the primary winding is connected with a Zener diode and provides a stabilized voltage for the driver stage. Arranged between the driver stage and the control electrode of the switching transistor there is a differentiating element which produces positive and negative switching voltages for controlling the switching transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1999
    Assignee: Deutsche Thomson-Brandt GmbH
    Inventors: Markus Rehm, Thomas Riesle, Gerard Rilly, Jose I. Rodriguez-Duran
  • Patent number: 5970071
    Abstract: The disclosure concerns a procedure for insertion of samples representing digital data from a first source having a first bit rate in a digitized signal from a second source having a second bit rate, wherein the second bit rate is greater than the first bit rate, and each data of the first source is associated with at least one sample of a series of samples at the second bit rate, the samples being presented to a polyphase filter for which a set of coefficients is associated with a specific phase error previously introduced by said associations, the filtered samples being included in the digitized signal. The invention also includes a device that implements the above insertion procedure. The invention is applicable notably in the field of insertion of Teletext data into a digitized video signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1999
    Assignee: Thomson multimedia S.A.
    Inventor: Thomas Le Garrec
  • Patent number: 5956262
    Abstract: A digital sample filtering device comprising storage device including ROM and RAM memory for storing in an interlaced manner, coefficients of at least two filters along with for each coefficient, data indicating to which of the filters the each coefficient belongs; a multiplier for multiplying at least one of the coefficients by a sample and an accumulator for adding the partial sums of the multiplication results for each of the filters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 21, 1999
    Assignee: Thomson multimedia S.A.
    Inventors: Martial Comminges, Francis Dell'ova, Frederic Paillardet
  • Patent number: 5953145
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an arrangement for a multiple light path, which may be used for a wireless optical audio and/or video communication system.Known systems use a direct wireless infrared connection. It has been found that such a connection is not reliable enough. It is the object of this invention to realise a reliable infrared connection between different devices. This is realised by a two path connection. A first path is realised by a wireless connection and a second path is realised by a transmission at least partially through an optical fiber. Furthermore this invention presents a special lens and a special photo light emitting diode for the realisation of the two path infrared connection.The invention can used e.g. for the connection between a television set and a video cassette recorder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 14, 1999
    Assignee: Thomson Consumer Electronics S.A.
    Inventor: Hirofumi Koyama
  • Patent number: 5952786
    Abstract: Circuitry to control a power supply of a degaussing coil of a cathode ray tube, said degaussing coil is coupled to a main voltage supply through a switching device the circuitry has inputs coupled to a direct source of current of a switched mode power supply, the switched mode power supply comprises a switched mode transformer with primary windings coupled to the main source of voltage, and secondary windings and the switched mode power supply is switched in a first range of frequencies when the power supply is in a "standby" mode and in a second range of frequencies when the power supply is in an "on" mode wherein said circuitry comprising a detecting circuit which detectes a change in the range of switching frequencies when the power supply is switched from standby to on, the detecting circuit having an input coupled to a direct current source being downstream of a primary winding of the switched mode transformer and an output coupled to an input of a control circuit of the switching device the control circ
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 14, 1999
    Assignee: Thomson multimedia S.A.
    Inventors: Seng Huat NG, Chun-Hsing Wu
  • Patent number: 5943307
    Abstract: A control unit sets a first reading speed and a second reading speed of the information stored on the information medium as a function of a predetermined occupancy of the buffer below its storage capacity. The drive motor, which produces the reading speed, is connected via a switch to the driver which drives it and, during a reduction of the reading speed to a predetermined value or until the occupancy of the buffer falls below a predetermined occupancy, the power supply to the drive motor which produces the reading speed, is reduced by means of the switch for the purpose of reducing the power consumption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 24, 1999
    Assignee: Deutsche Thomson-Brandt GmbH
    Inventors: Hirohito Takagi, Richard Rutschmann
  • Patent number: 5940449
    Abstract: In digital, magnetic and optical storage systems for audio/video/data, a Viterbi detector is extended by a control output, and a PLL is controlled by a variable delay line at the output or inside of the PLL.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 17, 1999
    Assignee: Deutsche Thomson-Brandt GmbH
    Inventors: Jurgen Kaaden, Dietmar Brauer, Gerhard Reiner
  • Patent number: 5940119
    Abstract: There is disclosed a communications terminal, including a video telephone, for transmitting and receiving video and audio. The terminal includes video recording apparatus and video reproduction apparatus with the video recording apparatus being switchable into an "off" mode by operation of a flap. In order to use the transmission capacity of the communications terminal even when the flap is closed, an image which already exists in a video memory is transmitted. A changeover is automatically made to the video memory by operation of the flap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 17, 1999
    Assignee: Deutsche Thomson-Brandt GmbH
    Inventors: Hans-Joachim Platte, Manfred Spruck
  • Patent number: 5929909
    Abstract: A videophone system having an electronically controlled shutter to vary the amount of light falling onto the target by a shutter, e.g., for a greater or lesser length of time during a short exposure time rather than b y means of a controlled mechanical aperture. Data reduction is used for the transmitted signal, a control circuit is used for the exposure time, and the mains power supply, which produces ambient light, are coupled by means of a PLL circuit so that the exposure time occurs at the same phase of the mains voltage. In this way, interference occurring when data reduction is used for the signal to be transmitted is avoided and macroblocks are not formed when no difference signal is present.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 1996
    Date of Patent: July 27, 1999
    Assignee: Deutsche Thomson-Brandt GmbH
    Inventors: Herbert Hoelzemann, Bernhard Seegert, Manfred Spruck
  • Patent number: 5915206
    Abstract: The purpose of this invention is a process for the detection of SCART type connections in a home systems network.This process includes the following steps:a) disactivate video sources connected to the network,b) put video receivers connected to the network on standby,c) send a video signal from a first video source,d) detect switched on video receivers,e) memorize the connection between the said first source and the said switched on video receivers, if any,f) disactivate the first said source, and put switched on video receivers on standby,g) repeat the process starting from step c, with each remaining source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 22, 1999
    Assignee: Thomson multimedia S.A.
    Inventors: Eric Diehl, Helmut Burklin, Rlad Kouba, Pascal Saucy