Patents Represented by Law Firm Robin, Blecker, Daley and Driscoll
  • Patent number: 5751220
    Abstract: Operation of a plurality of electronic devices is synchronized. The plurality of devices include a master unit and a plurality of other units, and the master unit transmits a synchronizing signal to at least one of the other units at predetermined intervals. Each of at least two of the other units detects whether a synchronizing signal is received at the respective unit within a predetermined period of time. If not, the respective unit changes from a slave mode of operation to a master mode of operation. Contention between the two or more potential back-up master units is resolved based on priority in a daisy-chain arrangement or by providing different time-out watch-dog periods for the potential back-up devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 12, 1998
    Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics Corporation
    Inventor: Touraj Ghaffari
  • Patent number: 5751504
    Abstract: A digital signal recording apparatus is arranged to be capable of permitting long-time recording on one and the same recording medium without impairing the quality of audio signals at all. 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: April 29, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 12, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Mitsugu Tanaka
  • Patent number: 5751354
    Abstract: A digital electronic camera has a first stroke switch and a second stroke switch. When the first stroke switch is pressed, adjustment of focus, coarse adjustment of exposure and detection of light-source flicker are detected using a signal from an image sensing device such as a CCD. When the second stroke switch is pressed, main exposure is performed in accordance with the conditions that have been set. Thus, adjustment of focus and exposure can be performed by relying solely upon the image sensing device and without using various sensors. Moreover, processing is completed in a short period of time by the second stroke switch, which is pressed following the first stroke switch. As a result, focus and exposure adjustments can be carried out in a short period of time using solely an image sensing device without relying upon a rangefinder sensor and photometric sensor, and release time lag can be reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 12, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masao Suzuki, Saburo Nakazato
  • Patent number: 5749015
    Abstract: A light-quantity control device having a light-quantity control member which moves to change an aperture opening amount. A drive source swings the light-quantity control member in one direction and a spring having a coil part urges the light-quantity control member against the swinging direction of the drive source. A base member having an aperture fixedly supports the drive source and swingably supports the light-quantity control member. The base member has a shaft for carrying the coil part of the spring. The shaft is formed at a position outside the supporting position of the drive source on the base member relative to the center of the aperture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 5, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Denshi Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Osamu Sato, Koichi Shimada
  • Patent number: 5747944
    Abstract: In a flash device of the kind having a coil connected to a flash lamp and arrange to bring about a flat emission by the action of the coil, a switching circuit is arranged to short-circuit the coil after flashing emission is started, so that a good flash terminating characteristic for normal flashing emission can be obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 5, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshihito Harada
  • Patent number: 5749014
    Abstract: A shutter device comprises a shutter blade which operates according to an exposure operation, a first blade driving spring for giving an urging force working in a predetermined direction to the shutter blade substantially over an entire operating range of the shutter blade, a second blade driving spring for giving the shutter blade an urging force working in the same direction as the first blade driving spring, and a charging mechanism for charging the first blade driving spring and the second blade driving spring. Since the charging mechanism includes a first charging member which travels to charge the first blade driving spring and a second charging member which travels to charge the second blade driving spring, the timings of charging the respective springs and the torques required to charge the respective springs can be optimally set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 5, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Denshi Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Fumio Shimada
  • Patent number: 5748086
    Abstract: A signal received in an electronic article surveillance system is comb-filtered to remove interference. A second comb-filtering function is provided to detect occasions when the first comb-filtering generates ringing artifacts in response to impulsive noise. Alarm indications are inhibited at times when the artifacts due to impulsive noise are detected. Bandwidths of the filtering functions are adjustable in response to operator input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 5, 1998
    Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Dale R. Bettine, Thomas J. Frederick
  • Patent number: 5742856
    Abstract: A camera of the kind having a magnetic head for magnetically recording data in a track part of each frame portion of a film is arranged such that, in re-recording information in the track part having a previous record of data, a predetermined signal for erasing information is supplied to the head during a period other than a period during which a data signal is supplied to the head, so that new data can be recorded by completely erasing, without fail, the previous record of data in carrying out the re-recording.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 21, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Izukawa
  • Patent number: 5739854
    Abstract: A video camera apparatus to which a lens unit is detachably mounted includes a camera unit having an exposure control circuit for producing an exposure control signal from an image pickup signal and transmitting it to an utilization device, a lens unit used as the utilization device and having an iris control circuit for producing an iris control signal based on the exposure control signal provided by the exposure control circuit and a signal indicative of diaphragm condition of an iris, and a data communication channel for communicating a plurality of signals including the exposure control signal in a given cycle between the camera unit and the lens unit. The iris control circuit is so arranged as to control the iris by use of the iris control signal obtained by dividing the exposure control signal transmitted from the camera unit into a given number of times within a one communication duration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 14, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshikazu Nishikawa
  • Patent number: 5739971
    Abstract: A head-position controlling device includes a head moving mechanism for causing a head to move with respect to a recording track on a recording medium; a detecting circuit for detecting an amplitude of a reproduced signal which is reproduced from the recording track on the recording medium by the head; and a controlling circuit for controlling the head moving mechanism on the basis of an output of the detecting circuit. If so that if the amplitude of the reproduced signal is greater than a predetermined level, the head is made to move in units of a first moving amount to detect a position where the amplitude of the reproduced signal is a maximum, and if the amplitude of the reproduced signal is less than the predetermined level, the head is made to move in units of a second moving amount greater than the first moving amount. If the amplitude of the reproduced signal becomes greater than the predetermined level, the moving amount of the head is switched to the first moving amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 14, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hideaki Yamaki, Tomotaka Muramoto
  • Patent number: 5740486
    Abstract: A camera, an apparatus, or a device adapted for the camera or the apparatus, arranged to use an image recording medium cartridge, is provided with a cover for closing an opening part from which the cartridge is to be removed from the camera or the apparatus, a first part arranged to automatically return an image recording medium to the cartridge loaded on the camera or the apparatus, and a second part arranged to change at least between a first state in which no force is imparted to a member for moving the image recording medium and a second state in which a force is allowed to be imparted to the member for moving the image recording medium and to allow the image recording medium to be returned to the cartridge without using the first part when the second part is in the second state, the second part being changeable at least between the first state and the second state when the opening part is closed with the cover.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 14, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masakazu Taku
  • Patent number: 5739865
    Abstract: An image processing system comprising an input circuit arranged to input an image signal of a first frame frequency, and a reproducing circuit arranged to reproduce the image signal inputted by the input circuit at a second frame frequency corresponding to a first television system or at a third frame frequency corresponding to a second television system, the second frame frequency and the third frame frequency each being lower than the first frame frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 1995
    Date of Patent: April 14, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Koji Takahashi
  • Patent number: 5736026
    Abstract: Integrated ethanol manufacturing by fermentation of biomass, with an electrical fuel cell generator of electrical and heat energy, the cogeneration including use by the fuel cell of the alcohol, and of the carbon dioxide from the fermentation, which increases the generation of energy, and use by the alcohol manufacturing of the heat and electrical energy from the fuel cell, which increases the fuel manufacture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 7, 1998
    Assignee: Energy Research Corporation
    Inventors: Pinakin S. Patel, Jen Jung Fan
  • Patent number: 5737654
    Abstract: A camera or an apparatus for a camera, which is arranged to record photographed-frame information indicative of a photographed frame on photographed frames of a film on a frame-by-frame basis, comprises an indication device which gives a midroll interrupt indication for rewinding a film which is partway used into a film cartridge, a film transport device which rewinds the film which is partway used into the film cartridge in accordance with the midroll interrupt indication given by the indication device, and a determination device which determines whether the photographed-frame information is recorded on photographed frames of the film on a frame-by-frame basis, while the film transport device is rewinding the film into the film cartridge in accordance with the midroll interrupt indication given by the indication device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 7, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masaaki Ishihara
  • Patent number: 5737014
    Abstract: An electronic camera including an image pickup element, a solid state memory of relatively small capacity for storing at least one frame of a video signal produced by the image pickup element and a non-solid state memory of relatively large capacity for storing the video signal stored in the solid state memory, wherein these memories each are made releasably attached to the image pickup element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 1995
    Date of Patent: April 7, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akihiko Tojo, Takao Kinoshita, Takemi Tanno, Nobuo Tezuka, Shinji Sakai, Yasutomo Suzuki, Seiichi Ozaki
  • Patent number: 5737241
    Abstract: A user management interface for interaction, monitoring and control of an EAS system. A user accessible input is provided in the interface for actuation by a user. A generation assembly is responsive to the input and generates signals for interacting with the EAS system. A receiver at the interface receives signals from the EAS system and provides indications with respect thereto.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 1995
    Date of Patent: April 7, 1998
    Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: William R. Accolla, Harry Watkins, Mark Krom
  • Patent number: 5734424
    Abstract: An image pickup apparatus including: an image pickup device; a mode selection circuit for selecting a mode from a group consisting of a video camera mode and a still video camera mode; a first drive circuit for, when the video camera mode is selected by the mode selection circuit, driving the image pickup device to perform an interlace-scanning operation so as to read vertically-disposed two pixels while being mixed with each other; a second drive circuit for, when the still video camera mode is selected by the mode selection circuit, driving the image pickup device to perform an interlace-scanning operation so as to read each row; a memory for recording a first field signal and a second field signal of the image pickup device at the time of the operation performed by the second drive circuit; an addition circuit for adding the first field signal of the memory and the second field signal of the same to each other; and a signal processing circuit for performing a signal process so as to generate a luminance si
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 31, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takashi Sasaki
  • Patent number: 5734933
    Abstract: An image shake detecting device for detecting a shake of an image on an image sensing plane on the basis of a video signal output from an image sensor includes detection circuits arranged to detect image displacement in a plurality of areas set on the image sensing plane, and a control microcomputer which makes a discrimination, on the basis of information output from these detection circuits, between a movement of a camera and a solo movement of a photographed object. The device thus accurately makes compensation for an image shake by judging the state of the image on the basis of information output from these detection circuits. The image shake detecting device further includes a computing circuit arranged to compute a quantity of an image shake on the basis of a difference in detecting timing of a feature point of the image and a sensitivity control circuit arranged to change the detection sensitivity of the shake detection circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 31, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masayoshi Sekine, Toshiyuki Nakajima, Takashi Kai, Katsuji Yoshimura, Masamichi Toyama
  • Patent number: 5734328
    Abstract: A communication apparatus comprising: a spatial communication circuit having a transmission part and a reception part; and a detection part for detecting the separate positional state from a communication partner apparatus. The communication method by the spatial communication circuit is switched according to the detection result of the detection part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 31, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kenichi Shinbori
  • Patent number: 5732182
    Abstract: An information signal recording and/or reproducing apparatus is arranged to selectively input any one kind of information signal from among a plurality of kinds of information signals which are externally supplied and an information signal reproduced from a recording medium, and control the operation of recording the information signal, in accordance with the state of the input information signal. Accordingly, the apparatus is capable of accurately and stably recording and/or reproducing the information signal on the recording medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 24, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Michiharu Masuda, Kazuyuki Iwamoto