Patents Examined by Anand Bhatnagar
  • Patent number: 9779318
    Abstract: Some aspects of the invention relate to a mobile apparatus including an image sensor configured to convert an optical image into an electrical signal. The optical image includes an image of a vehicle license plate. The mobile apparatus includes a license plate detector configured to process the electrical signal to recover information from the vehicle license plate image. The mobile apparatus includes an interface configured to transmit the vehicle license plate information to a remote apparatus and receive verification of vehicle ownership in response to the transmission.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
    Assignee: Blinker, Inc.
    Inventors: Anthony Russell Wilbert, Hans Brandon Wach, David Ching-Chien Chung
  • Patent number: 9770199
    Abstract: A fingerprint identification method capable of simultaneously identifying fingerprint image and oxygen saturation is provided. The method may include allowing for a finger to be placed on a light reception surface of a photoelectron sensor module, enabling emission of an invisible light and a visible light, receiving light intensity signals corresponding to the invisible light penetrated into the finger and then reflected by the finger and the visible light reflected from the finger using the photoelectron sensor module, converting the light intensity signals to photocurrent signals by the photoelectron sensor module, converting the photocurrent signals to a corresponding first digital signal and a second digital signal by an analog/digital converting module, and outputting a fingerprint image corresponding to the first digital signal and a finger oxygen saturation image corresponding to the second digital signal by the processor module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: Gingy Technology Inc.
    Inventors: Chun-Lang Hung, Jen-Chieh Wu
  • Patent number: 9773184
    Abstract: Some aspects of the invention relate to a mobile apparatus including an image sensor configured to convert an optical image into an electrical signal. The optical image includes an image of a vehicle license plate. The mobile apparatus includes a license plate detector configured to process the electrical signal to recover information from the vehicle license plate image. The mobile apparatus includes an interface configured to transmit the vehicle license plate information to a remote apparatus and receive a broadcast radio service offer corresponding to the vehicle license plate image in response to the transmission.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: Blinker, Inc.
    Inventors: Anthony Russell Wilbert, Hans Brandon Wach, David Ching-Chien Chung
  • Patent number: 9773307
    Abstract: The present invention provides quantification and imaging methods and a system of the echo-texture feature, comprising: obtaining an ultrasonic image; calculating all the pixel values in a selected ROI of the ultrasonic image to obtain a regional standard deviation; excluding pixels with a pixel value smaller than a multiple of the regional standard deviation in the selected ROI; counting a set of pixels centered around a Nth pixel to gather a Nth local mean, a Nth local variance and a Nth local coefficient of variance corresponding the set of pixel values, wherein N is from 1 to the number of the pixels remaining in the selected ROI; and obtaining an echo-texture index according to the local means, the local variances, or the local coefficient of variances. The imaging of echo texture which shows the echo texture distribution of the selected ROI with a color scale changing continuously from red to blue is also included. A parameter is provided to adjust the visualization enhancement of the echo texture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: AMCAD BIOMED CORPORATION
    Inventors: King-Jen Chang, Argon Chen, Chiung-Nein Chen, Kuen Yuan Chen, Yu-Hsin Wang, Kuo-Chen Huang
  • Patent number: 9767359
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for recognizing a specific object inside an image in an electronic device are provided. The method includes displaying at least one image; detecting at least one gesture; selecting a recognition function related to at least one object existing in the at least one image according to the detected at least one gesture; and recognizing the at least one object using the selected recognition function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd
    Inventors: Dong-Il Son, Cheol-Ho Cheong
  • Patent number: 9766335
    Abstract: A position detection apparatus includes: an imaging portion that captures an image of a detection area for detecting indication positions of indicators; and an indicator detecting portion that detects the indication positions of the indicators based on operation image data captured by the imaging portion when indication operations by the indicators are performed in the detection area and background image data captured by the imaging portion when the indication operations by the indicators are not performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hallvard Naess, Hieu Nguyen, Shinji Kubota
  • Patent number: 9760776
    Abstract: Some aspects of the invention relate to a mobile apparatus including an image sensor configured to convert an optical image into an electrical signal. The optical image includes an image of a vehicle license plate. The mobile apparatus includes a license plate detector configured to process the electrical signal to recover information from the vehicle license plate image. The mobile apparatus includes an interface configured to transmit the vehicle license plate information to a remote apparatus and receive a vehicle history report corresponding to the vehicle license plate image in response to the transmission.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2017
    Assignee: Blinker, Inc.
    Inventors: Anthony Russell Wilbert, Hans Brandon Wach, David Ching-Chien Chung
  • Patent number: 9754171
    Abstract: Some aspects of the invention relate to a mobile apparatus including an image sensor configured to convert an optical image into an electrical signal. The optical image includes an image of a vehicle license plate. The mobile apparatus includes a license plate detector configured to process the electrical signal to recover information from the vehicle license plate image. The mobile apparatus includes an interface configured to transmit the vehicle license plate information to a remote apparatus, receive vehicle configuration information for a vehicle corresponding to the vehicle license plate in response to the transmission, and receive user input to post the vehicle configuration information to an external website.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: Blinker, Inc.
    Inventors: Anthony Russell Wilbert, Hans Brandon Wach, David Ching-Chien Chung
  • Patent number: 9754237
    Abstract: A system and method that computes a quality score for an index image is disclosed. The method includes receiving an index image, computing a blurriness score of the index image based on variance associated with the index image, computing an image resolution score of the index image based on an area of the index image and a threshold area, computing a feature spread score for the index image using a first plurality of features associated with the index image, computing a feature uniqueness score for the index image using a description associated with each of a second plurality of features and determining a quality score for the index image using the blurriness score, the image resolution score, the feature spread score, and the feature uniqueness score.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: Ricoh Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Srikrishna Bhat, Sri Kaushik Pavani, Anshul Garg
  • Patent number: 9754382
    Abstract: A system is disclosed for auditing waste retrieved by a service vehicle. The system may have an optical sensor mountable onboard the service vehicle and configured to capture image data associated with the waste as the waste falls into the service vehicle during completion of a waste service activity. The system may also have at least one controller in communication with the optical sensor and being configured to generate at least one of an alert and a recommendation regarding a mix of the waste based on the image data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: Rubicon Global Holdings, LLC
    Inventor: Philip Rodoni
  • Patent number: 9747511
    Abstract: An image recognition device includes an edge direction evaluation unit configured to evaluate a direction of an edge at each coordinate by assigning points to the coordinate when a deviation amount between a direction of an outline of an abundance ratio higher than a predetermined abundance ratio threshold value among directions of an outline of a character available for the vehicle number plate and the direction of the edge at each coordinate of the image is less than a predetermined deviation amount threshold value and a vehicle number plate region extraction unit configured to extract a region of the vehicle number plate from the image based on a distribution of the points assigned by the edge direction evaluation unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Yohei Kojima, Kiichi Sugimoto, Takuma Okazaki, Kenta Nakao
  • Patent number: 9747683
    Abstract: A monitoring system for determining component wear is provided. The monitoring system includes a memory device configured to store a reference model of a component and a component wear monitoring (CWM) device configured to receive a component image of a first component being inspected, detect a plurality of manmade structural features in the received component image, adjust the component image to mask out at least some of the plurality of manmade structural features from the received component image, compare the adjusted component image with the reference model to determine one or more potential defect areas in the first component, analyze each of the one or more defect areas to determine a state of the potential defect areas, and output the state of the one or more potential defect areas to a user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Arun Karthi Subramaniyan, Khan Mohamed Khirullah Genghis Khan, Clifford Bueno, Ali Can, Adrian Gabriel Loghin, Jie Yu
  • Patent number: 9741113
    Abstract: An image processing device includes: an acquisition unit configured to acquire image data generated by an imaging element where each of narrow band filters constituting a predetermined array pattern is disposed at a position corresponding to any one of a plurality of pixels; a determination unit configured to determine whether or not a light amount of the invisible light range under an environment at the time when the imaging element generates the image data is larger than a threshold value; and a generation unit configured to generate vital information of a subject based on the determination result of the determination unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Sunao Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 9734578
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a medical image analyzer includes a retriever, a first artery transition information unit, a vessel pixel selector, a blood vessel transition information unit, an image association unit, and a second artery transition information unit. The retriever retrieves a plurality of time-series images. The first artery transition information unit obtains first artery transition information. The vessel pixel selector selects vessel pixels. The blood vessel transition information unit obtains blood vessel transition information. The image association unit obtains a correspondence relationship between one and another of the time-series images. The second artery transition information unit obtains second artery transition information based on time information, the first artery transition information, and the blood vessel transition information, and the correspondence relationship.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation
    Inventors: Shigeharu Ohyu, Yasuko Fujisawa
  • Patent number: 9734380
    Abstract: A finger biometric sensor may include a lower conductive layer, an upper conductive layer, and a spacer between the lower and upper conductive layers to define an air gap therebetween. The finger biometric sensor may also include a finger biometric sensing integrated circuit (IC) above the upper conductive layer and capable of deflecting the upper conductive layer toward the lower conductive layer to change a capacitance thereof based upon pressure applied to the finger biometric sensing IC. A pressure sensing circuit may be coupled to the lower and upper conductive layers to sense the change in capacitance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventor: Dale R. Setlak
  • Patent number: 9727947
    Abstract: In one example, luminance information related to a digital raw image frame captured via a color filter array is obtained. Chrominance information related to the digital raw image frame is obtained. The obtained luminance information and chrominance information are downscaled to a target resolution, such that one of pixel data of the captured digital raw image frame and the obtained chrominance information has been demosaiced before the downscaling. The downscaled chrominance information is reverse-demosaiced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventor: Samu Koskinen
  • Patent number: 9716871
    Abstract: An encoder may include a luma transform, a transformer, and a chroma transform. The luma transform may determine a linear luminance value based upon a plurality of primary color values of a pixel. The transformer may generate a transformed luminance value based upon the linear luminance value and a plurality of transformed color values based upon corresponding more than one of the primary color values of the pixel. The chroma transform may determine a plurality of chroma values based upon corresponding plurality of transformed color values and the transformed luminance value of the pixel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jiefu Zhai, Yeping Su, Hsi-Jung Wu, Chris Y. Chung, Xiaosong Zhou, Ke Zhang
  • Patent number: 9704035
    Abstract: An apparatus and a method for optical coherence tomography (OCT) of an eye are provided. The apparatus comprises a camera system, an OCT image-acquisition unit, and a control unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2017
    Assignee: Novartis AG
    Inventor: Henning Wisweh
  • Patent number: 9704263
    Abstract: A method of detecting an edge of a geological characteristic in a borehole comprises, in respect of an image log of a length of a borehole, carrying out the steps of a gradient-based edge detection method, a phase congruence-based edge detection method or a combination of such methods as preliminary, pre-processing stages. Subsequent steps of the method may include operating a relatively computationally simple process to identify sinusoids among detected edge features; and a relatively computationally complex process for parameterizing the thus-identified sinusoids.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2017
    Assignee: Reeves Wireline Technologies Limited
    Inventors: Peter Adrian Spencer Elkington, Said Assous
  • Patent number: 9691148
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a medical imaging analyzer includes an imaging unit, a calculator, and an analyzer. The imaging unit divides an area including an object of a subject to be captured into a plurality of partial areas such that the partial areas overlap each other to form an overlapping area, and administers a contrast agent to each of the partial areas to capture a plurality of time-series images. The calculator calculates, based on the transition of the pixel value in one of the time-series images having the overlapping area, the transition of the pixel value in the other time-series image having the overlapping area. The analyzer analyzes the time-series images based on the transition of the pixel value in the one and the other of the time-series images to obtain the hemodynamics of the subject.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignees: TOSHIBA MEDICAL SYSTEMS CORPORATION, KOBE UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Yasuko Fujisawa, Naoki Sugihara, Shigeharu Ohyu, Yoshiharu Ohno