Patents Assigned to STMicroelectronics (Research& Development)
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Patent number: 8000051Abstract: A method for recovering a position and clock period from an input bi-phase encoded digital signal such as an SPDIF signal counts the intervals between phase changes of the input digital signal to derive the longest interval between the phase changes. The longest interval indicates the position and period length of a preamble portion of sub-frames of the signal and is stored, and a signal indicating the position of the longest interval between phase changes and an indication of the clock period of the input digital signal is provided.Type: GrantFiled: October 16, 2009Date of Patent: August 16, 2011Assignee: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) LimitedInventor: Alan Lloyd
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Publication number: 20110169739Abstract: An assembly is adapted for being employed in an optical navigation device, such as that used on a computer or mobile communications device. The assembly includes a housing device and an optical device, wherein the housing device includes a receiving section for receiving the optical device. The receiving section has a first and a second opening. The housing device has first and second vertical registration features for aligning the optical device with the housing device. The first and second vertical registration features are spatially associated with the first and second opening respectively.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 10, 2011Publication date: July 14, 2011Applicant: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) LimitedInventors: Mathieu REIGNEAU, Colin CAMPBELL
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Publication number: 20110169738Abstract: An imaging device may have illumination paths directed to an imaging area to thereby illuminate the whole of the imaging surface. The imaging area may be adapted to generate frustrated total internal reflection of the illumination from the imaging surface, in the presence of an element in contact with some or all of the imaging surface.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 10, 2011Publication date: July 14, 2011Applicant: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) LimitedInventor: Mathieu REIGNEAU
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Publication number: 20110169971Abstract: The imaging device has an imaging surface and a sensor, wherein the imaging surface is illuminated and reflects at least some of the illumination to the sensor to detect an image. The imaging device has a width and an optical path passing therethrough, wherein the optical path exhibits distortion as a result of the width of the device and the nature of the optical path. The imaging device includes an optical element which in use compensates for the distortion by generating a magnification profile across a tangential plane of the device at the sensor.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 16, 2010Publication date: July 14, 2011Applicant: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) LimitedInventor: Mathieu REIGNEAU
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Patent number: 7978425Abstract: A lens barrel is mated with a lens mount through use of a screw thread whereby relative rotation adjusts lens focus. The lens barrel and lens mount are additionally provided with an interengaging formation that is interposed between an optical axis of the lens barrel and the screw thread. This formation provides a cylindrical sliding contact which isolates any particles produced by operation of the screw thread from reaching the optical components at or near the optical axis.Type: GrantFiled: August 14, 2008Date of Patent: July 12, 2011Assignee: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) LtdInventor: Eric Christison
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Publication number: 20110163736Abstract: This invention relates to a method of receiving a first potentially unreliable clock signal having a first frequency; receiving a second reliable clock signal having a second frequency; wherein the first frequency and the second frequency have an expected relationship; determining whether the first potentially unreliable clock signal has changed with respect to the second reliable clock signal by: determining an actual relationship between the first potentially unreliable frequency and the second reliable frequency; and generating an alarm signal if the actual relationship is different to the expected relationship.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 5, 2011Publication date: July 7, 2011Applicant: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) LimitedInventor: Mark Trimmer
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Publication number: 20110157418Abstract: An array of image sensors are connected in a daisy chained arrangement. The sensors in the array are addressed on the basis of the number of pixels each of them processes.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 23, 2010Publication date: June 30, 2011Applicant: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) LimitedInventors: Jeffrey RAYNOR, Patrick Baxter
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Publication number: 20110148760Abstract: An input device may include an image sensor having an imaging surface comprising an array of pixels, and an optical waveguide layer carried by the imaging surface and having an exposed user surface and a first refractive index associated therewith. The input device may also include a substrate between the optical waveguide layer and the image sensor and having a second refractive index associated therewith that is lower than first refractive index. A collimation layer may be between the image sensor and the substrate. A light source may be configured to transmit light into the optical waveguide so that the light therein undergoes a total internal reflection. The optical waveguide may be being adjacent the imaging surface so that an object brought into contact with the exposed user surface disturbs the total internal reflection results in an image pattern on the imaging surface.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 20, 2010Publication date: June 23, 2011Applicant: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) LimitedInventor: Mathieu Reigneau
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Publication number: 20110141078Abstract: Ambient light is detected by a photodiode circuit by measuring the time taken for a digital output of the photodiode circuit to change state in response to exposure of a photodiode of the photodiode circuit to that ambient light. A nominal time for state change is calculated based on photodiode circuit characteristics. Furthermore, an effective time for the photodiode circuit digital output to change state is determined in a calibration mode where the photodiode has been disconnected and a reference current is applied to the circuit. An illumination value of the detected ambient light is then calculated as a function of: the measured time, the effective time and the nominal time.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 17, 2010Publication date: June 16, 2011Applicants: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) Limite, STMicroelectronics SAS (Moroc), STMicroelectronics (Grenoble 2) SASInventors: Jeffrey Raynor, Abdelouahid Zakriti, Stephane Vivien, Pascal Mellot
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Publication number: 20110140613Abstract: An ambient light sensor integrated in a compact fluorescent lamp that, in turn, may include a controller and a radiation source. The ambient light sensor may include a radiation receiver to receive and filter incident radiation to obtain a value of the level of infrared radiation, and an electronic module to determine if the value is above a reference threshold value to enable the controller to switch the state of the radiation source.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 15, 2010Publication date: June 16, 2011Applicant: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) LimitedInventor: Jeffrey M. Raynor
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Publication number: 20110141020Abstract: A pointing device includes a light source which is detected to determine the motion of the pointing device. The pointing device further includes a sensor which is adapted to detect light from the light source in one type of operation to thereby determine the motion and which is adapted to detect ambient light in a second type of operation.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 7, 2010Publication date: June 16, 2011Applicant: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) LimitedInventor: Jeffrey M. RAYNOR
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Publication number: 20110141021Abstract: A handheld optical navigation device may include a first radiation source configured to produce a first beam of radiation onto a surface below the device, a first sensor configured to receive a first image based upon reflected radiation from the surface below the device, and to identify movement of the device based upon the first image for providing a first control action, and a second sensor configured to receive a second image based upon reflected radiation from an object different from the surface below the device, and to identify movement of the object based upon the second image for providing a second control action.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 14, 2010Publication date: June 16, 2011Applicant: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) LimitedInventor: Jeffrey M. RAYNOR
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Publication number: 20110141487Abstract: An optical navigation device includes a navigation radiation source capable of producing a beam of radiation, and an optical element. The optical navigation device is for identifying movement of an object to thereby enable a control action to be carried out. A sensor is for receiving an image based upon reflected radiation from the navigation radiation source, and at least one illumination radiation source is for illuminating the optical navigation device. The device is operable, in recurrent cycles of at least reset, expose, and readout phases, to activate the at least one illumination radiation source during the reset phase. The reset phase may have the longest duration of the phases.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 9, 2010Publication date: June 16, 2011Applicant: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) LimitedInventor: Jeffrey M. RAYNOR
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Patent number: 7961969Abstract: PSF coding has become well known in recent years. Although it enables significant increases in the depth of field, defocus introduces artifacts in images that are a major detraction from the final image quality. A method is described that enables the deduction or defocus and consequently the removal of these artifacts. The principle of the disclosed techniques involves iteratively adjusting the restoration algorithm according to a chosen image metric and choosing the defocus parameter that yields the image the lowest level of artifact.Type: GrantFiled: November 20, 2007Date of Patent: June 14, 2011Assignee: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) LtdInventors: Ewan Findlay, Andrew Harvey, Bertrand Lucotte, Gonzalo Muyo
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Publication number: 20110134079Abstract: A radiation source emits radiation, with respect to a touch sensitive surface, which is detected by a corresponding sensor. By sensing radiation levels in a sensing plane substantially parallel with said surface, a determination is made as to an instance of at least one touch of the surface by a touching object. Furthermore, the sensed radiation levels are processed to determine a relative pressure applied to the surface by the at least one touch based upon a parameter related to an approaching speed of the touching object.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 30, 2010Publication date: June 9, 2011Applicant: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) LimitedInventor: Laurence Stark
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Publication number: 20110135218Abstract: An image processor includes a readout arranged to read out an M-bit image data word from an image sensor pixel array and an adder arranged to add a noise contribution to the image data word to obtain a dithered M-bit word. A dither processor is arranged to derive correction data having a word size of M+1 bits from a combination of a plurality of M-bit reference words. The noise contribution are derived from said correction data, wherein different correction data are derived for different groups of pixels, each different group of pixels is associated with a specific pixel value DC shift.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 30, 2010Publication date: June 9, 2011Applicant: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) LimitedInventor: John Kevin Moore
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Publication number: 20110138124Abstract: A cache, including a cache memory, is configurable to operate in a cache mode and a trace mode. When the cache is operating in the cache mode, the cache memory stores a copy of a portion of data that is stored in another memory external to the cache, and a received data access request is processed by retrieving a copy of a portion of data identified in the received data access request from the cache memory (if the cache memory stores a copy of the portion of data), or by forwarding the data access request to a data access request processing means external to the cache (if the cache memory does not store a copy of the portion of data). When the cache is operating in the trace mode, data access requests received by the cache are monitored and information relating to a received data access request is captured and stored in the cache memory.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 24, 2010Publication date: June 9, 2011Applicant: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) LimitedInventors: Mark Hill, John Mark Beaumont
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Publication number: 20110134033Abstract: A mobile communications device includes a radiofrequency antenna, a navigation pad and a signal processor. The radiofrequency antenna, navigation pad, and signal processor cooperate to encode and transmit motion signals from the navigation pad to a computer so that the mobile communications device functions as a pointing device therefore.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 9, 2010Publication date: June 9, 2011Applicant: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) LimitedInventor: Jeffrey RAYNOR
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Publication number: 20110128419Abstract: A method and system is for limiting the x-droop effect in the digital image captured with solid state image sensors with a correction mechanism which instead of using only correction values from the same column to which the correction is applied, also takes the neighboring pixels into account to provide an averaged value to aid in the reduction of temporal and fixed noise contributions associated with the readout of a single pixel.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 1, 2010Publication date: June 2, 2011Applicant: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) LimitedInventor: John Kevin MOORE
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Publication number: 20110128420Abstract: Repeated Fixed Pattern Noise (FPN) in solid state image sensors for a digitally encoded image captured with a sensor is corrected by exploits the periodicity of FPN pattern. In this way FPN is compensated by using a repeating pattern that is associated with repeating blocks of layout.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 12, 2010Publication date: June 2, 2011Applicant: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) LimitedInventor: John Kevin Moore
