Patents Represented by Attorney James B. Hayes
  • Patent number: 5790197
    Abstract: A multimode scan converter includes a delay element for delaying one horizontal line of video signal and selectively redisplaying that line. A multiplexer is arranged to selectively provide either luminance signal or chrominance signal to the delay element. Output signal from the delay element and output signal from the multiplexer are coupled to a proportioning circuit which sums the two signals in complementary proportions (e.g. K and 1-K). A second multiplexer, which provides up-converted output luminance signal, is arranged to selectively pass the luminance signal or signal from the proportioning circuit. A third multiplexer, which provides up-converted output chrominance signal, is arranged to selectively pass the chrominance signal or signal from the proportioning circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 4, 1998
    Assignee: Thomson Consumer Electronics,. Inc.
    Inventor: Barth Alan Canfield
  • Patent number: 5784277
    Abstract: A packet encoder includes various sources of data, a state machine and additional circuitry. The state machine provides an S-bit output signal. N of the output bits of the state machine, (N<S), are coupled to directly control a multiplexer without an intervening state decoder. The multiplexer combines data from the various sources into a packet signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 1996
    Date of Patent: July 21, 1998
    Assignee: RCA Thomson Licensing Corporation
    Inventor: Thomas John Meyer
  • Patent number: 5774512
    Abstract: A higher order phase loop filter includes an integrator consisting of an adder (25) and a delay element (31) arranged in a feedback loop between the output port of such adder and one of its input ports. Signal to be filtered is applied to a second input port of the adder. A detector (30) is coupled to the output of the adder to detect limiting values, which, when detected, conditions the detector to reset the current value in the delay element of the integrator to a fixed value such as zero. Resetting the delay element momentarily lowers the order of the filter and speeds system response time in the presence of noise.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1998
    Assignee: RCA Thomson Licensing Corporation
    Inventor: Bhavesh Bhalchandra Bhatt
  • Patent number: 5600625
    Abstract: A turntable for disc-shaped records includes a disc-centering hub for engaging a centering aperture in the disc-shaped record. A bushing is coaxial with the disc-centering hub and connects the turntable to a driving mechanism. A circular part connects the bushing to an annular outer bearing surface. The annular outer bearing surface has a step portion forming a shoulder normal to the bearing surface and imbedded in the edge of the circular part. The shoulder rises above the circular part to support the disc-shaped records above the circular part by the hub and the bearing surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 1995
    Date of Patent: February 4, 1997
    Assignee: Deutsche Thomson-Brandt GmbH
    Inventor: Manfred Kammerer
  • Patent number: 5541763
    Abstract: In optical playback appliances, such as CD-players, the objective lens sits on a lens-holder that is mounted so as to swivel around an axis and that carries at least one coil. The axis of rotation of the lens-holder is secured to a housing. To allow the lens-holder (LH) to move easily, without being hampered by wires, in the optical scanning device, essentially composed of the lens-holder (LH) and the housing (G), the current required for the coils (S1, S2) flows through respective elastic, electroconductive fastening elements (FO, FU) to both ends (SO, SU) of the axis (N), and from said ends (SO, SU), electrically isolated from each other, to the coils (S1, S2), via respective strip conductors (LPO, LBU) on the lens-holder (LH). This optical scanning device with a lens-holder is useful in CD-players, video disk players, DRAW-disk players and in magneto-optical recorders and players.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 1994
    Date of Patent: July 30, 1996
    Assignee: Deutsche Thomson-Brandt GmbH
    Inventors: Tsuneo Suzuki, Raimund Rosler, Stefanie Koser, Gunter Hauser, Olaf Laser, Peter Looser, Shunichi Maruyama
  • Patent number: 5502708
    Abstract: In a combined optical and magneto-optical recorder, data stored in pits and a magnetic layer may be simultaneously detected with an optical scanning device. Reflected light is divided by a polarizer and directed to one of two photodetectors depending on the polarization of the reflected light. A magneto-optic recorded data signal (containing cross-talk) is detected by differencing the signals provided by the two photodetectors. Reflected light is also directed through a .lambda./4 polarizer and a second beam divider to third and fourth photodetectors depending upon the polarization of the light passing the .lambda./4 polarizer. A second difference signal, which essentially conforms to the cross-talk, is generated from the differences of signals provided by the third and fourth photodetectors. The two difference signals are combined to produce a cross-talk free magneto-optic recorded data signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 26, 1996
    Assignee: Deutsche Thomson-Brandt GmbH
    Inventor: Yasuaki Morimoto
  • Patent number: 5483690
    Abstract: A radio broadcast receiver for receiving digitally coded sound broadcasting data (DAB) includes a bit error rate measuring device. A control device controls the reproduction of the sound broadcasting data, wherein a reception quality threshold value is defined in the control device and, upon the measured reception quality falling below the threshold value, the control device alters the reception quality and/or the reproduction signals in a perceptible manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 9, 1996
    Assignee: Deutsche Thomson-Brandt GmbH
    Inventor: Ernst F. Schroder
  • Patent number: 5177611
    Abstract: High definition or enhanced television signals include supplementary information which is double-sideband modulated in quadrature with the picture carrier, and passed through an inverse Nyquist filter before being combined with a conventional vestigial sideband modulated main video signal. A receiver which recovers both the main video signal and the supplementary information processes the received video signal through an IF filter having a vestigial sideband frequency response characteristic. Two synchronous detectors recover in-phase and quadrature phase signal components from the filtered television signals, these recovered signals each include quadrature crosstalk distortion components from the other signal. The crosstalk from the supplementary signal into the main signal is canceled by filtering the recovered quadrature signal and adding the result to the recovered in-phase signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 5, 1993
    Assignee: RCA Licensing Corporation
    Inventors: James J. Gibson, Krishnamurthy Jonnalagadda
  • Patent number: 5075774
    Abstract: High definition or enhanced television signals include supplementary information which is double-sideband modulated in quadrature with the picture carrier, and passed through an inverse Nyquist filter before being combined with a conventional vestigial sideband modulated main video signal. A receiver which recovers both the main video signal and the supplementary information processes the received video signal through an IF filter having a vestigial sideband frequency response characteristic. Two synchronous detectors recover in-phase and quadrature phase signal components from the filtered television signals, these recovered signals each include quadrature crosstalk distortion components from the other signal. The crosstalk from the supplementary signal into the main signal is canceled by filtering the recovered quadrature signal and adding the result to the recovered in-phase signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 1990
    Date of Patent: December 24, 1991
    Assignee: RCA Licensing Corporation
    Inventors: James J. Gibson, Krishnamurthy Jonnalagadda
  • Patent number: 5065242
    Abstract: Deghosting apparatus for eliminating multipath signal components in a received transmitted television signal incorporates a training signal which is a finite duration sequence of repetitions of a 2.sup.n -1 psuedorandom sequence. The 2.sup.n -1 pseudorandom sequences are mapped into 2.sup.r sample intervals at either the transmitter or the receiver to facilitate fast Fourier transform processing. Power spectra of the received and mapped training signal and a stored version of the training signal are deconvolved with the deconvolution coefficients produced in logarithmic form. The logarithms are inverse Fourier transformed to produce delay coefficients related to the time of occurrence of the multipath signals, which coefficients are utilized to program variable delay circuitry in an adaptive filter to cancel the multipath components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 1990
    Date of Patent: November 12, 1991
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Charles B. Dieterich, Arthur L. Greenberg
  • Patent number: 5063446
    Abstract: Apparatus for converting a signal having a substantially continuous frequency spectrum to a signal having its energy concentrated at multiples of the line frequency of a video signal, includes circuitry for apportioning the signal into two intermediate signals including, in part, mutually exclusive portions of the original signal and inverting the polarity of portions of the signal. The two intermediate signals are thereafter used to quadrature phase modulate a carrier of multiple line frequency to generate a signal for combining with a video signal for transmission.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 1989
    Date of Patent: November 5, 1991
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: James J. Gibson
  • Patent number: 5046164
    Abstract: An interstitial line generator for an interlaced scan to non-interlaced scan video signal converter includes circuitry for examining a plurality of lines spatially and temporally disposed about an interstitial line location and excludes signals having amplitudes representing the relative extrema of the plurality of lines. The remaining signals are combined in predetermined proportions to generate the interstitial line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 1989
    Date of Patent: September 3, 1991
    Assignee: RCA Licensing Corporation
    Inventor: Robert N. Hurst, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5030922
    Abstract: In apparatus including a number of functional elements coupled to a common supply bus, certain of the elements may draw time varying supply current related to signal being processed. Supply current compensation circuitry responsive to signal processed by such elements is included to draw equal and opposite time varying supply current to maintain the total supply current constant and thereby to limit localized supply potentials variation. Exemplary compensation circuitry for an amplifier includes a transistor coupled between the supply busses and controlled by signal potential from the amplifier to draw supply current proportional to the signal applied to the amplifier, which supply current is opposite in phase to supply current drawn by the amplifier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 1990
    Date of Patent: July 9, 1991
    Assignee: Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark F. Rumreich, David L. Albean
  • Patent number: 5029003
    Abstract: A system for transmitting digital sound signals in a standard broadcast video signal includes apparatus for removing video signals from a portion of the vestigial sideband of the broadcast video signal and inserting coded digital sound signals therein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1989
    Date of Patent: July 2, 1991
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Krishnamurthy Jonnalagadda
  • Patent number: 5027017
    Abstract: A clamp circuit includes a coupling capacitor connected between signal input and signal output terminals. A constant current sink and a controlled current source are connected to the output terminal. A comparator, coupled to the output terminal via a lowpass filter, generates signals for conditioning the controlled current source to source current whenever the output terminal exhibits a potential which differs from a predetermined reference in a predetermined polarity sense.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 1990
    Date of Patent: June 25, 1991
    Assignee: RCA Licensing Corporation
    Inventor: Russell T. Fling
  • Patent number: 5027201
    Abstract: A detector for detecting motion in an image represented by a video signal includes delay elements for providing lines of signal from five consecutive fields. Sums of signals from first and second fields are subtracted from sums of signals from third and fourth fields to generate first motion indicators. Differences of signals from the first and second fields are subtracted from differences of signals from the third and fourth fields to generate second motion indicators. Differences of signals from the first and fifth fields are generated to form third motion indicators. The first, second and third motion indicators are compared and the largest is provided as a motion signal which is subsequently limited, spread and scaled. Signals used in forming the motion indicators are selected to substantially reject any adverse influence of the chrominance subcarrier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1989
    Date of Patent: June 25, 1991
    Assignee: RCA Licensing Corporation
    Inventor: Francis S. Bernard
  • Patent number: 5025496
    Abstract: In a video signal processing system apparatus for differentiating between video field types includes circuitry for measuring an interval between a vertical signal component and a predetermined transition of a horizontal signal component. Measured values from successive fields are compared to provide a signal related to the respective field type, e.g., odd/even.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 1990
    Date of Patent: June 18, 1991
    Assignee: RCA Licensing Corporation
    Inventor: Barth A. Canfield
  • Patent number: 5025406
    Abstract: Apparatus in a receiver for adaptively adjusting the receiver response to changing signal conditions includes a shift register for serially loading signal and having parallel output taps for providing a plurality of signal samples in parallel. Matrix circuitry, coupled to the output taps, is arranged to provide the signal samples in a predetermined order to facilitate forming sums of products of such signal samples.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 1989
    Date of Patent: June 18, 1991
    Assignee: Deutsche Thomson-Braudt GmbH
    Inventors: Otto Klank, Dieter Rottmann
  • Patent number: 5021872
    Abstract: Apparatus for generating a signal having a predetermined frequency relationship with a subcarrier includes a counter for counting cycles of said subcarrier. Count values from the counter are coupled as address values to a memory circuit. The memory circuit is preprogrammed to provide a signal having the desired frequency responsive to successive address values applied by the counter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 1990
    Date of Patent: June 4, 1991
    Assignee: RCA Licensing Corporation
    Inventor: Shinichi Shiratsuchi
  • Patent number: 5018090
    Abstract: A sampled data interpolator includes a linear interpolator coupled in parallel with a nonlinear compensation signal path. The nonlinearly processed signals and the linearly interpolated signals are summed to produce interpolated samples. The nonlinear compensation signal path includes a finite impulse response filter having tap weights conforming to a sinc function, and a weighting circuit for scaling filtered samples by a normalized sinc function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 1990
    Date of Patent: May 21, 1991
    Assignee: RCA Licensing Corporation
    Inventor: Shinichi Shiratsuchi