Patents Represented by Law Firm Robin, Blecker, Daley and Driscoll
  • Sound processing device
    Patent number: 5550925
    Abstract: A sound processing device for processing sound is arranged to control an attenuation characteristic for attenuating the low-frequency signal of an input audio signal according to the level thereof, whereby it is possible to suppress a noise component contained in sound without substantial impairment in auditory sound quality.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 1991
    Date of Patent: August 27, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Taizou Hori, Hideaki Fujimoto, Hirokazu Mogi, Yasumasa Ono
  • Clamping circuit
    Patent number: 5548331
    Abstract: A clamping circuit for applying clamping to a signal having a plurality of components includes a frequency divider which frequency-divides a main clock signal of the clamping circuit by an even number when the plurality of components of the signal are odd in number and another frequency divider which frequency-divides the main clock signal of the clamping circuit by an odd number when the plurality of components of the signal are even in number. Manual adjustment of an optical black correction is provided which permits verification of an accurate optical black correction by monitoring color difference vectors on a vector scope.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 1993
    Date of Patent: August 20, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Norihiro Kawahara, Yasuyuki Tanaka
  • Video camera having viewfinder rotatably mounted on camera body
    Patent number: 5548334
    Abstract: In a video camera, an outward protruding part is provided on a camera body which contains a converter for converting an object image into a video signal; a rotary unit having a viewfinder which is capable of displaying an image related to the video signal is provided with a connecting part which is of a shape corresponding to the protruding part; and the connecting part is turnable relative to the protruding part. The camera is thus arranged to be adequately operable under any shooting condition, to permit effective utilization of spaces available within the camera body, to reduce a load on the connecting part and to permit reduction in weight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 20, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Ichiyoshi
  • Camera
    Patent number: 5548369
    Abstract: A camera system permitting mounting of an optical accessory in addition to a camera body and an interchangeable lens comprises: a diaphragm disposed within the interchangeable lens; a detecting part for detecting aperture information on a stopped down aperture obtained when the aperture of the diaphragm is stopped down; and a correction part which is arranged to correct the aperture information obtained by the detecting part when the optical accessory is mounted and to supply the corrected aperture information to the camera body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 1991
    Date of Patent: August 20, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Ryunosuke Iijima
  • System and method for making connection acceptance/rejection decisions in a communication system
    Patent number: 5548581
    Abstract: A communication system in which connection acceptance/rejection decisions with respect to an aggregating network coupling traffic from a traffic source to an outgoing communication link are reached based on parameters which include a parameter indicative of the burstiness of the traffic from the traffic source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 20, 1996
    Assignee: BellSouth Corporation
    Inventor: Brad A. Makrucki
  • Exposure control device
    Patent number: 5548371
    Abstract: An exposure control device which permits exposure control either in an automatic mode or in a manual mode is arranged to smoothly perform the exposure control by holding exposure control information obtained immediately before change-over of the exposure control mode from one mode over to the other; and is provided with a correction circuit for uniformalizing an iris driving characteristic for the whole iris driving range by correcting the non-linearity of the characteristic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 20, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hideo Kawahara, Hideyuki Arai
  • Image signal processing apparatus using simplified D/A conversion
    Patent number: 5546133
    Abstract: An image signal processing apparatus is arranged to convert input analog color-difference signals into digital color-difference signals, form a digital chrominance signal by using the digital color-difference signals, multiplex the formed digital chrominance signal onto the digital color-difference signals, convert the formed digital signal into an analog signal, and separate the analog signal into color-difference signals and a chrominance signal. With this arrangement, it is possible to simplify the arrangement of the apparatus and reduce the size, weight and cost thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 13, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshihiro Honma
  • Zoom lens barrel in which a moving stroke of the front lens group is long
    Patent number: 5546234
    Abstract: A zoom lens barrel is provided in which the amount of forward movement made by a focus lens is altered in accordance with a change in a focal length caused by a zooming operation. The zoom lens barrel includes a moving mechanism for rotating a cam member around an optical axis and for moving this cam member in the direction of the optical axis in response to the zooming operation; a first cam for moving a zoom lens in the direction of the optical axis on the basis of the rotation around the optical axis and the movement in the direction of the optical axis; and a second cam for moving the focus lens, which focus lens is used for zooming and focusing, in the direction of the optical axis. The first and second cams are provided for the cam member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 13, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Haruhiko Yamanouchi
  • Lens barrier mechanism of optical apparatus
    Patent number: 5543881
    Abstract: An optical apparatus having a lens barrier mechanism includes a first barrier member which is rotatable and a second barrier member which is movable up and down. The lens barrier mechanism changes the state of an aperture from a covered state over to an open state and vice versa by causing the first barrier member to rotate and the second barrier member to move upward and downward.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 6, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kenji Ito
  • Radiotelephone communications system with direct access to interoffice telephone trunk circuits and interface therefor
    Patent number: 5544227
    Abstract: An interface circuit for use with a radiotelephone communications system in which the interface circuit is adapted to interface a trunk circuit serving a telephone switching system with a radiotelephone of the system using the trunk circuit supervision and signaling so that the switching system and trunk circuit have direct access to the radiotelephone system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 6, 1996
    Assignee: BellSouth Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen M. Blust, Edward I. Comer, Jere T. Sandidge
  • Focus adjusting device wherein effective focal length is derived by detecting low frequency changes in image signals
    Patent number: 5543839
    Abstract: A focus adjusting device having an added capability of discriminating effective focal length information by using an image signal produced from an image pickup element is provided with an automatic focus adjusting circuit for moving a lens to the in-focus position on the basis of a high-frequency component in the image signal, and a circuit for discriminating effective focal length information of the lens from the degree of change of a low-frequency component in the image signal, wherein the gain of the automatic focus adjusting circuit is controlled in accordance with the discriminated focal length information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 6, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hirofumi Suda, Masamichi Toyama, Akihiro Fujiwara, Kunihiko Yamada, Katsuji Yoshimura
  • Tape loading device having an urging element for urging a tape tension detecting arm after a predetermined rotation of a driving member
    Patent number: 5543980
    Abstract: A tape loading device for use in a recording or reproducing apparatus has a first turning member having a tape guide which is kept in contact with a tape during running thereof and being turnable according to the tension of the tape, a second turning member for causing the first turning member to turn by its turning operation and loading the tape guide into a predetermined position, and a driving part for turning the second turning member. An urging member having two end portions is provided on the second turning member with the two end portions supported individually. The urging member is arranged so that only when the first turning member is located within a predetermined turning range, one of the two end portions is brought into engagement with an engagement part fixed to the driving part so that the urging member can generate an urging force for the first turning member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 6, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Keiichi Fukuzawa
  • Electrolytic hydrogen storage and generation
    Patent number: 5540831
    Abstract: Hydrogen storage and generation is accomplished using an electrolytic cell which employs an inert gas electrode, a rechargeable battery electrode having an active material which stores hydrogen or is close to the potential of hydrogen, and a sealed housing which houses the electrodes, a separator and an aqueous electrolyte and has a port for extracting hydrogen generated in the cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 30, 1996
    Inventor: Martin Klein
  • Digital data processing system with facility for changing individual bits
    Patent number: 5542063
    Abstract: A system for changing bits of a byte unit individually comprises a data processing unit including specifying circuitry for specifying bit selection information indicative of a predetermined bit in the byte unit, new-data generating circuitry for outputting new data for the predetermined bit, bit changing circuitry including a plurality of data holding circuits respectively for holding individual bits of the byte, gate circuitry receiving, as inputs, the new data and all bits of the byte and, as an enabling input, the bit selection information and transmitting the new data selectively to one of the data holding circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 1993
    Date of Patent: July 30, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Mikio Kittaka
  • Image pickup device
    Patent number: 5541655
    Abstract: An image pickup device comprises a photoelectric conversion device for converting an optical image focused on an image pickup area into an electrical signal, a monitor for displaying the optical image on a monitor image frame, a visual axis detection device for detecting the visual axis of the operator's eye on the monitor image frame, a discrimination circuit for discriminating whether the detected visual axis is present inside a predetermined area on the monitor image frame, a detection area setting circuit for setting a detection area for extracting predetermined control information in the image pickup area and a control circuit for controlling the detection area setting circuit based on the output of the discrimination circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 30, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kitahiro Kaneda
  • Audio signal recording apparatus
    Patent number: 5541739
    Abstract: A digital signal recording apparatus is arranged to be capable of permitting long-time recording on the same recording medium without impairing the quality of audio signals. The apparatus has a first mode in which a digital video signal supplied from a video input circuit and having the amount of information not compressed by a video compression circuit is recorded on the recording medium by a recording circuit while all of n channel digital audio signals supplied from an audio input circuit are recorded by the recording circuit; and a second mode in which the digital video signal having the amount of information compressed by the video compression circuit and only part of the n channel digital audio signals supplied from the audio input circuit are recorded by the recording circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 30, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Mitsugu Tanaka
  • Image processing apparatus
    Patent number: 5539470
    Abstract: There is provided an image processing apparatus which comprises an inputting part for inputting an image signal, an attenuating part for attenuating a predetermined frequency portion of the image signal inputted by the inputting part, and a controlling part for controlling an attenuation characteristic of the attenuating part for attenuating the predetermined frequency portion, in accordance with a compression ratio of the image signal inputted by the inputting part. There is also provided an image processing apparatus which comprises an inputting part for inputting an image signal, an enhancing part for enhancing a high frequency band of the image signal inputted by the inputting part, and a controlling part for controlling a high-frequency-band enhancement characteristic of the enhancing part in accordance with a compression ratio of the image signal inputted by the inputting part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 1994
    Date of Patent: July 23, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Fukuoka, Hiroyuki Takimoto, Taizo Hori, Takashi Kobayashi, Yoshihiro Nakatani, Jun Makino, Shinichi Koyama
  • Compact power detacher
    Patent number: 5535606
    Abstract: Apparatus for detaching an electronic surveillance tag from an article to which it is attached, the tag having a locking member therein and defining an exteriorly accessible passage to the locking member, comprises a motor, a probe rotatable by the motor for movement in the passage into and from unlocking relation with the locking member and drive controller for the motor. The drive controller includes circuitry for (1) establishing a time period for energization of the motor, (2) effecting first sense movement of the probe during a first portion of the time period, (3) discontinuing movement of the probe during a second portion of the time period, and (4) effecting second sense movement of the probe following expiration of the second portion during a third portion of the time period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 1994
    Date of Patent: July 16, 1996
    Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Thang T. Nguyen, Frank Drucker
  • Method and apparatus for detecting an EAS marker using a neural network processing device
    Patent number: 5537094
    Abstract: A signal received by an electronic article surveillance system is processed using a neural network processing algorithm to determine whether an electronic surveillance marker of a predetermined kind is present. The raw received signal is processed to generate a small number of parameter values to be provided as inputs for the neural network. The neural network processing distinguishes between two different types of surveillance marker.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 16, 1996
    Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Dale R. Bettine, Thomas J. Frederick
  • Head driving device having a plurality of pins arranged for engagement with lead screw
    Patent number: 5535076
    Abstract: A head driving device comprises a head arranged to record or reproduce information on or from a rotating disk-shaped recording medium, a head carriage arranged to carry the head and to be movable in a radial direction of the recording medium, a guide bar arranged to movably support the head carriage, a lead screw arranged to drive the head carriage, a motor arranged to drive and rotate the lead screw, and a plurality of lead pins fixed to the head carriage and arranged to engage a lead groove formed in the lead screw.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 1993
    Date of Patent: July 9, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Denshi Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Noriaki Kamioka, Akio Hoshi