Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Jay H. Maioli
  • Patent number: 6789260
    Abstract: A system having a simple structure and highly precise data reproduction in which a disk tray is attached to a tray ascending/descending unit driven to be ascended or descended within a mechanical deck such that it can be loaded or unloaded in a horizontal direction, and one motor-type loading drive mechanism installed in the tray ascending/descending unit performs a pulling-in drive of the disk tray, a descending drive of the tray ascending/descending unit, a ascending drive of the tray ascending/descending unit and a pulling-out drive of the disk tray, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Tetsuhiro Shiomi
  • Patent number: 6788747
    Abstract: A receiver equipped with first and second mixer circuits for performing frequency conversion of a received signal into two intermediate-frequency signals, phases of which are orthogonal to each other, by means of two local oscillation signals, and a plurality of filter circuits for taking the intermediate-frequency signals out of the output signals of the first and the second mixer circuits. The receiver is further equipped with a demodulation circuit for taking a signal indicating broadcast contents of an analog broadcast or a digital broadcast out of the intermediate-frequency signals taken out by the filter circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Taiwa Okanobu
  • Patent number: 6788938
    Abstract: In order to define and validate a station in a same network easily by specifying a unique network ID in a wireless network system, by using the validation information including the unique network ID in the wireless network system, it is designed to execute, as required, a process of subscribing and connecting to an existing wireless network system in the own station, a process of building up a new wireless network system starting from the own station, a process of transmitting validation information to other station in non-registered state of network ID, as the own station subscribed to the existing wireless network system working as the control station, and a process of removing the station subscribed to the existing wireless network system from the network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Shigeru Sugaya, Yasunori Maeshima, Hidemasa Yoshida
  • Patent number: 6784936
    Abstract: An image-pickup display apparatus including a camera unit with: an image-pickup optical system; an image-pickup device having a light intercepting surface at a position of image formation by the image-pickup optical system, a signal processing circuit for generating a picture signal based on an image-pickup signal output by the image-pickup device, and a controller for correcting exposure by controlling the image-pickup device and the signal processing circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Shinya Fukushima, Takehiko Ueno
  • Patent number: 6785192
    Abstract: A reproduction apparatus and a reproduction method by which an error of time information that arises from interruption of power supplied to a timer that manages the term of term-managed contents data is minimized to allow accurate term management of the contents data. The timer produces time information when power is supplied to the timer from a cell, but the timer stops operating when no power is supplied thereto. The time information produced by the timer is stored into a memory, and the memory holds the stored time information when no power is supplied to the timer. When power from the cell is restored to the timer, the timer is set accordingly to the time information stored in the memory, so that the timer may thereafter produce correct time information thereby allowing term management of the term-managed contents data to be performed accurately.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshitaka Ukita, Kenji Irie
  • Patent number: 6785406
    Abstract: An iris authentication apparatus performs authentication based on data generated from a human iris in which camera section and a signal processing section detect an iris state in the form of data. By using a database section, an iris data processing section detects whether the iris state is in a living body state. When the iris data processing section has detected that the iris state is in a living body state, it is judged that the detected data is effective. In this manner, the iris authentication apparatus can reliably prevent a third person from being authenticated by pretending to be a registered person by forging an iris pattern that is a non-living-body iris.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Mikio Kamada
  • Patent number: 6778774
    Abstract: A photographic and video image system for transforming an image on a frame of a photographic film includes a structure in the overall form of a photographic printer having an image transformation element that transforms an optical image from the film into a video signal, a frame position indicator, which can be a hole or an optical or magnetic signal, is recorded on the film along with aspect information relating to the size of the frame exposed on the film. The frame position indicator and aspect information are detected and used to control a film feeding operation and the optical image to video signal transformation operation. The user of the system can record order information on the film that is used to specify the aspect of the resultant photographic print, as well as the quantity of prints to be made. Such order information can be superimposed as a menu on a displayed video signal at the time the video signal is reviewed prior to producing a photographic print.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Takahiko Saito, Akira Nakanishi, Shunzi Obayashi, Hideki Toshikage
  • Patent number: 6775464
    Abstract: A playback device 10 generates a PN code with a start timing based on a video sync signal, and generates a PN inverse code which has a reverse polarity to that of the PN code with a timing based on the video sync signal. An anti-duplication control signal is spectrally spread using this PN code, superimposed on the video signal and supplied to a recording device. A PN inverse code which is the same as the PN inverse code used in the playback device is also generated in the recording device based on the video sync signal, and reverse spectral spread is performed using this PN inverse code.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Akira Ogino, Takehiro Sugita, Takashi Usui
  • Patent number: 6775753
    Abstract: The storage and reproducing apparatus includes a signal processing block, a memory, a reproduction block, an operation block, and a control block. The signal processing block converts a sound signal entered, into a digital signal. The memory stores a digital signal outputted form the signal processing block and a management data of the digital data. The reproduction block at least converts a digital signal read out from the memory, into a hearable sound for reproduction output. The operation block is provided on an apparatus main body and includes a rotary operation block provided on the apparatus main body in such a manner that the rotary operation block can be rotated around a rotation center and shifted along plane which almost orthogonally intersects the rotation center. The control block, according to an input from the operation block, writes a digital signal and a management data into the memory and reads out a digital signal and a management data stored in the memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Kenichi Iida
  • Patent number: 6775136
    Abstract: An apparatus which includes a heat generating element in a housing and performs audio reproduction includes a cooling apparatus which discharges heat generated by the heat generating element to the outside of the housing efficiently and quietly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Toshimasa Tozune, Shigekazu Takashima, Takahiro Akabori
  • Patent number: 6774322
    Abstract: A switch device in which two operators are aligned with another operator in between, and a switch device having a dial section (a middle operator) of a jog dial and operation buttons (outer operators) of two operation button switches placed closely to one anther with the dial section in between, and an operation plane of the operation button is formed on a slanted plane that becomes higher the further it is from the jog dial section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Yusuke Morinishi, Hirohito Suzuki, Tomonori Hasegawa
  • Patent number: 6771569
    Abstract: A recording medium on which a plurality of programs are collected in a plurality of groups and supervised in this grouped state, wherein when an editing command such as dividing, linking, and erasing the predetermined programs or groups recorded on the recording medium is executed, management data is edited to perform the editing command. The invention provides a solution to meet this request by a recording medium, an editing method and an editing apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Osamu Nagata, Yuji Arataki, Hirokazu Imazeki
  • Patent number: 6772063
    Abstract: A navigation device including a registration unit for registering an index designated by a user's operation and data of a spot coordinate in association with each other, and a display for displaying a plurality of registered indexes as a list, the display displaying, together with the list, a digital map of a spot coordinate corresponding to an active index selected from the list of indexes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2004
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Koji Ihara, Atsushi Kuribayashi, Tatsuya Yamamoto, Hitomi Sahara, Takeshi Tsukada, Yoshinori Watanabe
  • Patent number: 6771976
    Abstract: A radiocommunication apparatus, a radiocommunication system, and a radiocommunication method adapted to a radio network system for attaining synchronism of a reception signal, which contains a plurality of synchronism attainment signals representing the same pattern of bits, relative to a reference signal, in which the autocorrelation function of the reception signal and the cross-correlation function thereof are detected, and the synchronism attainment signals contained in the reception signal are detected based on the detected autocorrelation function and cross-correlation function. Consequently, a receiving side can reliably detect the synchronism attainment signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Akihiro Koyama
  • Patent number: 6772101
    Abstract: Angle data ranging from 0° to 360° obtained by performing polar conversion with respect to a periodic signal are input to a low pass filter having: a phase accumulator for outputting smoothed angle data; a phase comparator for obtaining a phase error between the angle data and the smoothed angle data; a first amplifier for amplifying the phase error; a second amplifier for further amplifying the phase error; an integrator for integrating the phase error PE amplified by the second amplifier to obtain a velocity error; and an adder for adding the phase error amplified by the first amplifier and the velocity error to determine a control voltage. The phase accumulator controls the frequency of the smoothed angle data so that the phase error is zero based on the control voltage to remove a high frequency component in the angle data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Precision Technology Inc.
    Inventors: Masato Tanaka, Shigeru Ishimoto, Toyohiko Matsuda, Katsumi Kitamura
  • Patent number: 6771955
    Abstract: An information signal processing function of a telephone communication terminal can be limited taking regulations applied to the other party or an input of the other party into consideration. A base station that repeats a radio wave of a call originating portable telephone terminal transmits a country code thereof to a telephone terminal. Based on a region identification code such as a state code (international number) or a country code included in information received upon origination of the call, the called terminal refers to a status table in a ROM thereof to specify presence or absence of limitations to recording of conversation during communication applied to a state or a region in which the call originating terminal is used. In accordance with the specified limitation contents, use of the conversation recording function during communication is controlled such that a warning sound generator transmits warning sound or a voice decoding section disables recording of the conversation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Shigeru Imura, Masaru Sanpei
  • Patent number: 6772065
    Abstract: A GPS receiver that is capable of acquiring a GPS signal from a plurality of GPS satellites efficiently and at a high speed, and that is capable of performing a positioning calculation with a high degree of accuracy. The FFT processing result of the addition result from the PN code, stored in the memory, is multiplied by the FFT processing result of the IF data (the received data), stored in the memory, and by inverse-diffusing this result, a correlative value is obtained. By repeating this process while changing the combination of the PN codes to be added, and the synchronization acquisition processing, by a plurality of PN codes, is performed quickly with only a small amount of processing based on these results.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Jason Sanmiya, Masayuki Takada, Katsuyuki Tanaka, Manabu Nitta, Hideki Awata, Koichiro Teranishi
  • Patent number: 6771887
    Abstract: A recording/reproducing apparatus has a control unit in which a position to pause and a time to pause are set for data which has been recorded on a recording medium and is continuous with respect to time, and when a current position reaches the set pause position during the reproduction of the data, the reproduction of the data is paused for the set pause period of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Atsuko Okawa, Shinjiro Akiha, Fumihiko Kato
  • Patent number: 6768637
    Abstract: An information processing unit and batteries which can be carried with ease even if the batteries have been attached. Includes a main body division for executing given information processing; a first battery division which is attached to the first surface on the rear side of the main body division and is standing out from a second surface adjoining the first surface of the main body division; and a second battery division which is held onto an edge portion on the side of the first battery division which the edge portion stands out from the second surface, such that it can rotate freely in a direction to approach the main body division and also in the reverse direction to depart from the main body division, and one surface of the second battery hits the second surface when rotated in the direction to approach the main body division.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Ryoji Amemiya
  • Patent number: 6768911
    Abstract: A communication terminal device is miniaturized in a shape handy to carry while maintaining the necessary operability. The terminal device is constituted by a first box for voice communication and a second box linked with the first box via short-distance radio link for data input and data display. The first box is provided with minimum functions necessary for the voice communication so as to be small, whereas the second box can be provided with a keyboard high in operability and a relatively large display means so that display and input for data communication can be made conveniently.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Ichiro Hino, Katsumi Koshimura