Patents Examined by Ali Zamani
  • Patent number: 6295046
    Abstract: A shift register unit has stages. In each stage, a clamping transistor and the control electrode of an output transistor are connected to the output electrode of an input transistor to which an output one stage behind is input. A pull-down resistor is connected to the output electrode of the output transistor. A capacitor is inserted between the control electrode and output electrode of the output transistor. A clock signal is input to the output transistor, and a signal obtained by inverting a clock signal two stages forward is input to the clamping transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2001
    Assignees: LG Philips LCD Co., Ltd., Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Hebiguchi
  • Patent number: 6281865
    Abstract: A driving circuit of a liquid crystal display device including a first insulating substrate on which a plurality of signal lines and a plurality of scan lines are disposed, and pixel transistors made of thin film transistors are disposed in matrix at intersection points of those lines; a second insulating substrate opposite to the first insulating substrate; and a liquid crystal held between the first and second insulating substrates, in which the driving circuit is disposed on the first insulating substrate; each of clock lines or base portions of the clock lines for supplying clock signals to the driving circuit is made of a two-layer structure of the same wiring material as a gate electrode of the thin film transistor and the same wiring material as a source electrode or drain electrode of the thin film transistor; and a wiring line crossing the clock lines or the base portions of the clock lines is made of a wiring line in the same layer as a black matrix covering the pixel transistors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2001
    Assignees: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd., Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Jun Koyama, Yukio Tanaka, Yasushi Kubota, Tamotsu Sakai
  • Patent number: 6275206
    Abstract: A method is disclosed having the step of loading a register with a set of color pixel component values. The method also includes circularly shifting the register a predetermined number of times before outputting each value in the register to create a cell of color pixel component values suitable for display in a liquid crystal display. An apparatus for performing the method is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2001
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Ping-Sing Tsai, Tinku Acharya
  • Patent number: 6271821
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display (LCD) interface for communicating a video signal to an LCD comprises a video input device for separating the video signal into a synchronizing signal and R (Red), G (Green) and B (Blue) video signals having a resolution of m rows by n columns, a controller for generating a first clock frequency, a second clock frequency and a third clock frequency being half the second clock frequency based on the synchronizing signal, an R signal converter for dividing the frequency of the R video signal by four according to the first clock frequency to sequentially generate two adjacent pixel column data simultaneously starting both from the first pixel row and the ((m/2)+1)st pixel row respectively to the (m/2)th pixel row and mth pixel row according to the second clock frequency fo so that the four pixel data arranged in the adjacent pixel columns are simultaneously generated, a G signal converter for dividing the frequency of the G video signal by four according to the first clock frequency
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2001
    Assignee: SamSung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jun-Ho Sung, Seong-Eun Chung
  • Patent number: 6271812
    Abstract: An Electroluminescent display device is designed not to display residual images due to electric charges stored in electroluminescent pixels or to make them invisible, when the device is turned on again. The stored charges are eliminated at the time a normal display on the panel is turned off at an end of an operation, by scanning pixels at least one time while giving a non-activating data voltage thereto. Alternatively, upon turning on the panel, pixels which were activated in a previous use are all lit at least one time, thereby making the residual images invisible. Thus, the residual images stored in a previous operation are not shown or made invisible when the electroluminescent display device is turned on next time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2001
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Masahiko Osada, Ken Nishioka, Hiroyuki Kishita, Hideki Saito, Toshinori Ninoyu
  • Patent number: 6268848
    Abstract: An automatic sampling control system for digital monitors. A clock generation circuit generates a sampling clock. A phase controller modifies the phase of the sampling clock by a phase amount. An ADC samples a frame of an analog display signal to generate digital samples. A value which is a function of the samples is generated. The function generally generates a larger value with correspondingly large sample values. The phase amount is modified for successive image frames until a maximum function value is generated. When successive image frames do not change substantially in image content, the phase amount represents the optimal phase change for the sampling clock. If the image content is changing substantially, the phase adjustment may be disabled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2001
    Assignee: Genesis Microchip Corp.
    Inventor: Alexander Julian Eglit
  • Patent number: 6266049
    Abstract: A one-chip microcomputer system of the present invention, includes: a display driving circuit for driving a display device, a scanning circuit for outputting a key scanning signal to scan a keyboard switch; a common pert used for scanning the keyboard switch, and driving the display device; and a controller for controlling parallel processing of scanning the keyboard switch and driving the display device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2001
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shizuo Nakai
  • Patent number: 6256013
    Abstract: A case top for the housing of a mouse-type computer pointing device is made of a single piece of plastic. The case top includes securing arms which engage securing hooks extending from a case bottom of the housing, allowing the case top to be releasably fastened to the case bottom with a single screw. The case top includes two user actuable buttons attached to a main body by two spring arms, all formed as a single one-piece case top. The two buttons actuate an integrated switch package having two momentary switches within the package. The integrated switch package consists of two pieces: a switch case and a switch spring. The switch package is mounted on a printed circuit board. The switch case engages the case bottom to help secure both the switch package and the printed circuit board. User actuation of the switch package causes the switch spring to flex and make momentary electrical contact with contacts on the printed circuit board.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2001
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventor: Kabir Siddiqui
  • Patent number: 6239786
    Abstract: A pointing stick for controlling the positioning, movement and operation of a cursor on the display screen. Specifically, there is a pointing stick that both directs a cursor and acts as the activation button for selecting items on the display screen by tapping on the pointing stick instead of clicking on a mouse button. Uniquely, the device is made of a shaft (12) having a longitudinal length oriented along a first axis (39) and having a top surface that is perpendicular to the first axis, there is a vertical force sensor (59, or 71), mounted on the top surface of the shaft, for sensing a vertical oriented force applied to the shaft along the first axis. Cap (24), has a cavity (81) with a top surface (79) therein, where the top surface of the shaft is positioned within the cavity and spaced from and juxtaposed to the top surface of the cavity. In one embodiment the vertical sensor includes first and second electrically conductive pads that are electrically isolated from each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2001
    Assignee: CTS Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen W. Burry, Nelson T. Clark, Ronald J. Dedert, Mark Grube, Timothy L. Hartigan, David L. Poole, Dennis Raesner, Lewis L. Seffernick, Ronald Stuckey, Eric B. Taylor, Robert M. VandenBoom
  • Patent number: 6236386
    Abstract: In a liquid crystal display apparatus, sampling of an A-D converter for the purpose of capturing data from a touch panel is performed at a rate that is unrelated to the AC signal applied to the LCD, and data from the touch panel is captured in a regular manner in accordance with the sampling rate of the A-D converter. An added circuit detects the transformation points of the LCD AC signal and, based on a transformation point detection signal that is output by this circuit, data of the touch panel data sampled by the A-D converter that is affected by LCD noise is discarded, so that only data not affected by LCD noise is sent to a main memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2001
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Mitsuhiro Watanabe
  • Patent number: 6225976
    Abstract: A hand-held remote computer input peripheral is operable to be held by a human operator with one hand while both hands harmoniously manipulate a touch pad, function keys, and a click button provided with the input peripheral. The touch pad is positioned in a housing to be held by one hand while comfortably being addressed by the other hand, either with a finger or stylus, for controlling typical computer mouse functions and/or entering graphic images. The fingers of the hand holding the input peripheral rest naturally on the function keys and the click button such that keys and button can be activated simultaneously, or in conjunction with, activities of the hand manipulating the touch pad. The input peripheral is advantageously used in electronic meeting room applications having a computer and communication peripherals such as electronic white boards, presentation projectors, and video conferencing systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2001
    Assignee: Interlink Electronics, Inc.
    Inventors: William Allen Yates, Michael R. Smither, Jack A. Segal, Steven B. Branton, James D. Tickle, John K. Martinelli
  • Patent number: 6222527
    Abstract: A key structure comprises base plate, elastic member, frame and cap wherein the conductive membrane thereof is single-film structure, the contact of the conductive membrane corresponding to each key is of meshed-hook shape (), a venting aperture is provided at the center of the contact. A transparent and insulating layer is arranged upon the conductive membrane to prevent the short circuit of the circuit in the conductive membrane. An opening is provided at the transparent and insulating layer and corresponding to the conductive membrane. Both ends of the elastic member are attached to the cap and the transparent and insulating layer by adhesive. A conductive bump with a conductive layer is provided on the elastic member such that the conductive bump of the elastic member is connected to the contact of the conductive membrane and a closed loop is formed within the key when the cap is pressed down, whereby the signal generated by key stroking action is transmitted to the computer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2001
    Assignee: Silitek Corporation
    Inventor: Gino Hu
  • Patent number: 6219016
    Abstract: Liquid crystal displays include power supply control circuits and methods that are responsive to a single DC input supply voltage, to generate operating voltages for the gate driver, the data driver and the timing converter of the liquid crystal display from the single DC input supply voltage. Preferably, the data driver supply voltage and the gate driver supply voltage are generated prior to generating the gray scale voltage and the gate ON and OFF voltages. Also preferably, the timing converter supply voltage is generated prior to generating the gray voltage and the gate ON and OFF voltages. Accordingly, a single external power supply voltage may be used to generate the requisite supply and operational voltages for the components of the liquid crystal display. Moreover, the sequence of energizing the various components of the liquid crystal display may be automatically controlled, so that improper operation and/or failure of the liquid crystal display can be reduced and preferably prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2001
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hyong-Gon Lee
  • Patent number: 6204832
    Abstract: A point source array generates an array of output beams defining a plurality of image pixels. A microlens array receives the output beams and direct them toward desired pixel locations. Either one or both of the point source array and microlens array are scanned over time to form an image of pixels. An image is composed of an array of image portions. Each image portion includes a plurality of pixels. For each image portion, there is a corresponding point source of light and a corresponding microlens. The corresponding point source and microlens scan light within the area of the image portion to generate all of the pixels for such image portion. The microlens array is an integral array. Each lens moves together with each image portion being scanned concurrently by the microlens array an point source array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2001
    Assignee: University of Washington
    Inventors: Charles D. Melville, Michael Tidwell, Richard S. Johnston
  • Patent number: 6181323
    Abstract: A multidirectional controller includes: a substrate having a first end portion and a second end portion, which sways via a supporting point provided at the first end portion; an electronic part provided at the second end portion, which includes a control portion which is manipulated in a predetermined direction in which the electronic part causes the substrate to sway when the electronic part is manipulated; a supporting member for supporting the substrate; and a switch provided so as to be switched in response to the sway of the substrate, when the electronic part is manipulated in the predetermined direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2001
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideki Shigemoto, Hiroshi Matsui, Yukihiro Ishihara
  • Patent number: 6118432
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a multifunctional (control, typing and editing) device for interactive computing, such as Web and Web TV computing. It consists of a frame, two removable letter keypads, and different sizes of hand extensions that can be attached to the sides of the frame. The frame consists of two rectangles of different sizes that are permanently attached to one another. The lower rectangle is narrower and thinner than the upper rectangle. On the upper, wider and thicker, rectangle are permanently positioned some function and control keys to be accessed primarily by the thumbs. The lower rectangle contains two square compartments into which can be placed the removable letter keypads. The keypads contain active keys on one side and the images of the active keys on the other side. Depending on how the keypads are positioned into the compartments the active keys can be accessed either from the front or from the back of the device, thus allowing for two completely different ways of typing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2000
    Inventors: Radoslav P. Kotorov, Leslie Johnson
  • Patent number: 6100860
    Abstract: An image display device having a plurality of pixcels with uniform light intensity comprises an organic EL element (3), a bias FET (2) for emit current control of said EL element, a capacitor (4) coupled with a gate electrode of said bias FET (2) for holding a signal, and a select FET (1) for selectively writing a signal to said capacitor (4), wherein the value S of said bias FET (2) is larger than that of said select FET (1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2000
    Assignees: TDK Corporation, Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ichiro Takayama, Kazushi Sugiura, Yukio Yamauchi, Naoya Sakamoto, Mitsufumi Codama, Michio Arai
  • Patent number: 6097696
    Abstract: A wavelength-switching, mesh-based restoration method among a network of optical cross-connects (OXCs) is disclosed. The method is defined as "quasi-centralized" in that the network is first partitioned into a plurality of subnetworks, then a single "restoration controller" is defined for each separate subnetwork. The subnetwork partitioning is defined as being either "minimally overlapping", meaning that the OXCs are "clustered" in their network topology, with only a few links required to join the various, autonomous subnetworks, or "highly overlapping", meaning that the OXCs are defined as being included in more than one subnetwork. Each subnetwork restoration controller (SRC) includes a network graph and is therefore responsible for providing restoration around faults recognized in its own subnetwork.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2000
    Assignee: AT&T Corp.
    Inventor: Robert Duncan Doverspike
  • Patent number: 6072807
    Abstract: A technique for searching for signals to assign to the fingers of a rake receiver is disclosed. In particular, some embodiments of the present invention identify signals with some PN sequence offsets as more likely to have signals appear at them than other offsets, and monitor the more promising offsets more closely than the less promising offsets, thus enabling signals to be more quickly discovered and assigned to a finger. One embodiment of the present invention comprises: assigning a signal to a finger of a rake receiver; de-assigning the signal from the finger; searching for the signal with the finger after the signal has been de-assigned from the finger; and re-assigning the signal to the finger, if a measure of signal quality of the signal crosses a threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2000
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Douglas Streeter Daudelin
  • Patent number: 6028851
    Abstract: A system for inhibiting the transmission of an access request message from a mobile station when either the system is incapable of granting access at the class of service desired by the mobile or access by the mobile at that class of service would increase the interference level of the target base station or a neighboring base station past its interference capacity. In one embodiment, each base station broadcasts a maximum data rate access parameter and any mobile receiving that parameter and seeking access at a greater data rate refrains from transmitting an access request message. In another embodiment, each mobile calculates from its path loss to the base station the power level it must transmit in order to gain access as well as the effect of that transmission on the interference level of both the target base station and neighboring base stations. If transmission at the required power level would increase the interference level of any base station past its maximum capacity, the transmission is inhibited.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2000
    Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (publ)
    Inventors: Anders H.ang.kan Persson, Per Hans ke Willars, Robert Alexandersson