Patents Assigned to Thomas Licensing
  • Patent number: 9152235
    Abstract: A new user interface and display system for a video display device with a touch screen makes it possible to peek at, that is view briefly, a selected video content while watching other content. During a video peek, video from a second video source will be seen to partially displace and temporarily replace a portion of a video presently being viewed. Selection of the other video sources can be controlled, for example, by swiping with one, two, three or four finger tips and by swiping inwardly from any one of the four edges of a video display. Moreover, the video presently being viewed can be interchanged with the video being peeked at.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2015
    Assignee: Thomas Licensing
    Inventor: Matthew Jacob Wardenaar
  • Patent number: 8878631
    Abstract: The invention relates to a selective active low-pass filter and to a method for improving the selectivity of such a filter. The method includes centering, in the center of a network, the resonant element whose frequency is closest to the cutoff frequency of the filter and in inserting in series with this element a negative resistance of higher value than the parasitic resistance of the filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 4, 2014
    Assignee: Thomas Licensing
    Inventors: Dominique Lo Hine Tong, François Baron, Raafat Lababidi, Ali Louzir
  • Publication number: 20140125585
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for operating a computer device with user's eye movement. The method comprises the steps of detecting the user's eye movement, analyzing the user's eye movement to specify an eye movement pattern in the detected user's eye movement and a time period for completing the eye movement pattern, determining a command associated with a combination of the eye movement pattern and the time period and operating the device according to the command.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2011
    Publication date: May 8, 2014
    Applicant: Thomas Licensing
    Inventors: Wenjuan Song, Jianping Song, Lin Du
  • Patent number: 8113659
    Abstract: A method for identifying film includes locating a visual identifier proximally to perforations on a film length. Preferably, the visual identifier is located between perforations on the film proximal to an edge distal from a soundtrack on the film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2012
    Assignee: Thomas Licensing
    Inventor: Robert Arthur Olson
  • Patent number: 8009730
    Abstract: Constant-bitrate rate control is very useful for real-time video transmission. However, it is difficult to realize a good CBR rate control in an MPEG4-AVC video codec. According to the invention, an adapted ?-domain rate control processing for real-time rate control is applied, whereby ? is the percentage of zero amplitude transform coefficients following quantization. A couple of tables are used for mapping between the quantization parameters and ?. A detailed analysis at transform level is carried out in order to get the slope of the relationship between the bitrate and ?. The slope of the linear model is constrained by a look-ahead procedure with respect to the neighbor frames or blocks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2011
    Assignee: Thomas Licensing
    Inventors: Li Hua Zhu, Philippe Guillotel, Charles Wang
  • Patent number: 7983129
    Abstract: The optical storage medium comprises a substrate layer, and a data layer disposed on the substrate layer, the data layer comprising data being arranged in tracks as marks and spaces. A protection code is coded in one of the tracks or a part of a track which code comprises marks of a first size and marks of a smaller, second size. The marks of the second size have in particular a width being smaller than the width of the marks of the first size. To obtain the protection code, a method is used comprising the steps of reading a track or a part of a track with a first laser power for obtaining a first data signal, reading the same track or the same part of a track in another step with a second laser power being different from the first laser power for obtaining a second data signal, and calculating the protection code by taking into account the first and the second data signals. The protection code may be calculated for example by a microprocessor of a respective data reading apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2011
    Assignee: Thomas Licensing
    Inventors: Gael Pilard, Frank Pizygodda, Christophe Fery
  • Patent number: 7924236
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a portable compact antenna formed from a first dipole type element operating in a first frequency band and comprising a first and at least one second conductive arm, differentially supplied, the first arm or cold arm forming at least one cover for an electronic card and the second arm or hot arm being constituted by a U-shaped conductive element realized on an insulating substrate. Further, a radiating element with bends is realized between the branches of the U-shaped element and is dimensioned to operate in a second frequency band.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2011
    Assignee: Thomas Licensing
    Inventors: Jean-Francois Pintos, Philippe Minard, Ali Louzir
  • Publication number: 20110038597
    Abstract: A system for line production of a television show can include a newsroom computer system (NRCS 14) which includes a mark-up tool that allows a user to specify temporal metadata corresponding to temporal events contained within a content segment for repurposing content. Through the use of the mark-up tool, a journalist or web producer can use their existing NRCS, or the like, to specify the static, temporal and distribution metadata needed in the production process. Thus, in the event of a change during production, the NRCS can accurately and automatically repurpose the content using previously established temporal metadata.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 14, 2009
    Publication date: February 17, 2011
    Applicant: Thomas Licensing
    Inventors: Benjamin McCallister, Alex Holtz
  • Patent number: 7486316
    Abstract: An image pickup device has an image sensor generating an image signal, a pulse pattern generator generating a driving signal for the image sensor and an amplifier for amplifying the image signal with a given gain, which can be adjusted by the user. The power of the driving signal is controlled depending on the gain. For instance, the pulse height of the driving signal is set depending on the gain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2009
    Assignee: Thomas Licensing
    Inventors: Petrus Gijsbertus Maria Centen, Cornelis Johannes Maria Nelen
  • Publication number: 20090016439
    Abstract: The method wherein the field or frame mode is selected according to the following steps: determination of a motion vector associated with a co-located macroblock of a macroblock to be coded and finding in the next reference picture, a predefined macroblock to be coded, for the selection, in field or frame mode, scaling of the motion vector according to the temporal distances between the reference pictures corresponding to this motion vector and between the current picture, field or frame, according to a predefined mode and a reference picture chosen from among the reference pictures corresponding to this motion vector, determination of the temporal macroblock in the chosen reference picture, designated by the motion vector scale attributed to the macroblock to be coded, and its field or frame coding mode, selection of field or frame coding mode of the temporal macroblock for the coding of the current macroblock.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 31, 2007
    Publication date: January 15, 2009
    Applicant: Thomas Licensing
    Inventors: Dominique Thoreau, Franck Hiron, Yannick Olivier
  • Patent number: 7471988
    Abstract: A digital audio player and a method for processing encoded digital audio data, wherein the digital audio data is encoded using one of a plurality of encoding formats. The exemplary audio data player includes a hard disk or other data storage medium for storing data files, a microcontroller, buffer memory for anti-skip protection, and an audio decoder. The encoded audio data files and associated decoder files are downloaded from a personal computer or similar device to the audio data player hard drive. The player provides a menu-driven user interface for selection, sorting, and playback of stored audio data files. The audio decoder, generally a digital signal processor, provides various preset equalization modes. The preset modes are specific to audio genres such as jazz, pop, and rock.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2008
    Assignee: Thomas Licensing
    Inventors: Margaret Paige Smith, Lisa Renee Johnson, Sin Hui Cheah
  • Patent number: 7383018
    Abstract: A satellite television ground system, particularly for a make or break satellite television signal system, includes an outdoor unit and an indoor unit that are in communication with each other via a single coaxial cable and an optional separate single conductor for power. The satellite television ground system is operative to measure and reverse frequency conversion errors utilizing DSP techniques, allowing for more precise generation and transmission of uplink signals from the satellite television ground system. Control data for the system is sent via a low data rate connection on a power cable thereof, or by a narrowband signaling channel via a coax cable. The system also utilizes a single reference oscillator to drive the various frequency synthesizers and the like. The satellite television ground system utilizes related oscillators for the uplink and downlink sections. Carrier frequency offset in the downlink is measured in a carrier tracking loop part of a television signal demodulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2008
    Assignee: Thomas Licensing
    Inventors: Paul Gothard Knutson, Kumar Ramaswamy, Max Ward Muterspaugh
  • Patent number: 7339632
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for processing video pictures for display on a display device having a plurality of luminous elements corresponding to the pixels of a picture wherein the time of a video frame or field is divided into a plurality of N sub-fields during which the luminous elements can be activated for light emission in small pulses corresponding to a sub-field code word of n bits used for coding the p possible video levels lighting a pixel, comprising the steps of: determining if pictures are static pictures or moving pictures, in case of static pictures, processing video pictures using a first sub-field encoding method adapted to pictures when no motion is detected, and in case of moving pictures, processing video pictures using a second encoding method reducing dynamic false contour effect adapted to pictures when motion is detected. The invention applies to plasma display panels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2008
    Assignee: Thomas Licensing
    Inventors: Sébastien Weitbruch, Cédric Thebault, Carlos Correa, Ingo Doser
  • Patent number: 7318099
    Abstract: An apparatus and a method for controlling distribution of digital content from an device attached to a network to another device outside the network. The device receives a digital signal containing content, the digital signal having an authorization field indicative of a first transport mode authorizing the content for distribution outside the network, and of a second transport mode wherein the content is not authorized for transmission outside the network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2008
    Assignee: Thomas Licensing
    Inventors: Thomas Anthony Stahl, David Jay Duffield, Eric Stephen Carlsgaard
  • Patent number: 7290142
    Abstract: A system and method for initializing a SNMP agent in SNMPv3 mode. In one aspect of the invention, a method is provided that allows an operator to securely enter the initial SNMPv3 privacy and authentication keys into a SNMPv3 device and cause the device to enter in SNMPv3 mode. The SNMP manager and SNMP agent both generate an associated random number and public value. The SNMP manager passes its public value to the SNMP agent in a configuration file, which causes a proprietary MIB element in the SNMPv3 device to be set with the public value of the SNMP manager. The SNMP manager reads the public value of the SNMP agent through a SNMP request using an initial valid user having access to the public value of the SNMP agent. The SNMP agent and SNMP manager each independently compute a shared secret using the Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2007
    Assignee: Thomas Licensing
    Inventor: William Henry Yost
  • Publication number: 20070195206
    Abstract: A projection display is provided having visible surfaces and concealed surfaces during normal operation. The projection display comprises a jack panel having one or more connectors for making electrical connections to the projection display, and the jack panel is accessible from at least one visible surface and at least one concealed surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 21, 2005
    Publication date: August 23, 2007
    Applicant: Thomas Licensing
    Inventors: Scott Duggan, Darin Ritter, Lawrence Coan
  • Patent number: 7254662
    Abstract: According to the IEEE1394 bus protocol, priority is given to isochronous data packets. Data transfer is done in transfer cycles under the control of a cycle master. It depends on the allocated bandwidth for isochronous data how much transport capacity is available in a transfer cycle. To managed the mixed data transfer in one cycle it is specified that the bus nodes not having isochronous data to transfer need to wait with their transmission requests until the end of the isochronous data transfers in the cycle indicated with a sub-action gap. The invention aims to improve the efficiency of data transport for the case that none of the bus nodes need to transfer isochronous data. The data link layer devices according to the invention includes means for checking whether isochronous data is to be transferred and if not they switch over to a no cycle master state, in which the local cycle synchronization events are ignored.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2007
    Assignee: Thomas Licensing
    Inventors: Timothy Heighway, Klaus Gaedke, Siegfried Schweidler
  • Patent number: 7194034
    Abstract: A method of detecting the reliability of a field of movement vectors of one image in a sequence of video images. The method includes a stage of calculating a stability parameter, Det_Stab(t), for the field. The parameter is based on a comparison (4), over two successive images, of the number of occurrences of the majority vectors of the movement-vectors fields of each of these images. A field is defined as stable if the variation in the number of occurrences lies within a predefined bracket. Reliability (7) is decided on the basis of this stability parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Assignee: Thomas Licensing
    Inventors: Gérard Briand, Juan Moronta, Alain Verdier
  • Patent number: 7109858
    Abstract: A remote device or module sends data to a base station when the change in data from the last transmission exceeds a predetermined threshold. The invention also allows for transmission at a minimal specific time interval. Additionally, the device allows for transmissions based on alarm or alerting conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2006
    Assignee: Thomas Licensing
    Inventors: William Phillip Dernier, Thomas Charles Clifford
  • Patent number: D528103
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2006
    Assignee: Thomas Licensing S.A.
    Inventors: John D. Mabry, Vincent D. Champetier