Patents Examined by Ayman Abaza
  • Patent number: 10034005
    Abstract: A system and method for facilitating inhibiting banding in video data, in part by anticipating when banding may occur given certain encoder parameters. An example method includes receiving an input stream of video data; extracting feature information characterizing the stream of video data; using a feed-forward neural network to process the feature information to estimate when a particular block of the stream of video data will exhibit an artifact when encoded using certain Quantization Parameters (QPs); incorporating the indication into metadata associated with the stream of video data; and transferring the stream of video data and metadata to a video encoder. In a more specific embodiment, the feature information includes color information and texture information, and the neural network includes a feed-forward neural network that includes a classifier with a sigmoid activation function, and which has been trained using a cross-entropy cost function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Xun Xu, Peng Ye
  • Patent number: 10019793
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, A test system includes: a moving unit configured to move a test object, the test object including a first surface, a mark being printed on the first surface; a first imaging device configured to photograph the first surface of test object to obtain a first image; a cutter configured to scratch the first surface; a first unit configured to attach a tape to the first surface; a second unit configured to detach the tape from the first surface; a second imaging device configured to photograph the first surface after detaching the tape to obtain a second image; and a controller configured to compare the first image and the second image to output a comparison result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2018
    Assignee: TOSHIBA MEMORY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Iizuka, Kohei Noma
  • Patent number: 10003804
    Abstract: The quantization unit calculates the number of bits of location information determined based on the location of a coefficient level to be significant first in order of transmission and included in the image block, calculates the number of value information bits of a coefficient level to be significant, and sets a coefficient level to be significant in which the number of location information bits and the number of value information bits meet a predetermined condition to 0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2018
    Assignee: NEC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kenta Tokumitsu, Keiichi Chono
  • Patent number: 9986232
    Abstract: A method for distance calibration of machine vision optical targets and associated observing imaging sensors using separation distances between discrete surface measurement points. First, a spatial position for each surface point is established from a series of observations by the associated observing imaging sensor of the optical targets mounted to a calibration fixture. Second, measures of a linear separation distance between particular pairs of surface points are identified independently from the machine vision observations. All resulting spatial positions and measurements are conveyed to a processing system configured with a set of software instructions for carrying out distance calibration calculations to establish a set of refined distance calibration parameters associated with each combination of optical target and observing imaging sensor. During subsequent use of the machine vision vehicle service system, the parameters are retrieved and utilized to improve vehicle measurement precision.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Assignee: Hunter Engineering Company
    Inventor: Mark S. Shylanski
  • Patent number: 9942468
    Abstract: Technologies are generally described for automatically optimizing an efficiency of camera placement, numbers, and resolution in multi-camera monitoring and surveillance applications. In some examples, a fraction of a total area may be monitored at a higher resolution than the rest. Employing techniques such as combinatorial state Viterbi technique or combinatorial state trellis technique, a minimum number of cameras that provide the coverage at the needed resolution may be selected. Similarly, a number of points may be covered with at least a predefined number of cameras. For example, a subject of interest may be tracked in a public area, where specific camera(s) may be used to image the subject's face at a higher resolution than the background.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: McMaster University
    Inventors: Shahram Shirani, Shadrokh Samavi, Sayedmohammadreza Soroushmehr, Hamed Sadeghi
  • Patent number: 9919723
    Abstract: An aerial system and method use a distance sensor to measure spatial distances between the distance sensor and plural vehicles in a vehicle system formed from the vehicles operably coupled with each other during relative movement between the distance sensor and the vehicle system. The spatial distances measured by the distance sensor are used to determine a size parameter of the vehicle system based on the spatial distances that are measured.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Aadeesh Shivkant Bhagwatkar, Sharon DSouza, Krishna Chaitanya Narra, Brad Thomas Costa, Seneca Snyder, Jerry Duncan, Mark Bradshaw Kraeling, Michael Scott Miner, Shannon Joseph Clouse, Anwarul Azam, Matthew Lawrence Blair, Nidhi Naithani, Dattaraj Jagdish Rao, Anju Bind, Sreyashi Dey Chaki, Scott Daniel Nelson, Nikhil Uday Naphade, Wing Yeung Chung, Daniel Malachi Ballesty, Glenn Robert Shaffer, Jeffrey James Kisak, Dale Martin DiDomenico
  • Patent number: 9880254
    Abstract: An apparatus for detecting presence of a blood sample is presented where the apparatus has a housing having an aperture that can receive a user's body part such that a camera in the housing can capture images of the user's body part. A processor, also in the housing, controls operation of the camera receive and determines from the captured images whether a predetermined quantity of blood is present on the surface of the user's body part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Frank Richter, Ross MacArthur
  • Patent number: 9857870
    Abstract: Provided is a gaze tracking apparatus for a user wearing a vision aid, the apparatus including a lighting element unit including a first infrared lighting element and a second infrared lighting element to radiate an infrared light to a user, an image acquirer to acquire an eye image of the user, the eye image including a first corneal reflection light, a second corneal reflection light, a first lens reflection light, and a second lens reflection light, and a processor to turn off the second infrared lighting element when interference occurs between the second lens reflection light and the first corneal reflection light in the acquired eye image, and to compute a gaze position of the user based on user calibration information, and coordinates of the first corneal reflection light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2018
    Assignees: ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, IUCF-HYU(INDUSTRY-UNIVERSITY COOPERATION FOUNDATION HANYANG UNIVERSITY)
    Inventors: Hee Kyung Lee, Whoi Yul Kim, Hoon Jo
  • Patent number: 9835839
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for transmitted light illumination for light microscopes having changing effective entrance pupil of an objective. The apparatus has a light source for emitting an illuminating light beam, wherein a beam path of the illuminating light between a diaphragm edge and a sample held by a holding device is free from adjustable beam focussing components. In order to adapt the beam path of the illuminating light to the effective entrance pupil of the objective, the diaphragm edge may be variably positioned in the direction of the optical axis, wherein a position of the diaphragm edge in the direction of the optical axis can be varied irrespectively of a position of the diaphragm edge transversely to the optical axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2017
    Assignee: CARL ZEISS MICROSCOPY GMBH
    Inventor: Detlef Hein
  • Patent number: 9832352
    Abstract: A system for motion control is presented. In one embodiment, a motion control 3D projection system includes a projector; and a projection surface coupled to a robotic arm, where the robotic arm moves the projection surface through a set of spatial coordinates, and a 3D projection from the projector is projected onto a set of coordinates of the projection surface and matches the 3D projection to the set of coordinates of the projection surface as the projection surface moves through the set of spatial coordinates. In additional embodiments, a master control system may integrate additional robotic arms and other devices to create a motion control scene with a master timeline.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2017
    Assignee: Autofuss
    Inventor: Jeff Linnell
  • Patent number: 9826247
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, an encoding device includes an index setting unit, an index reconfiguring unit, and an entropy encoding unit. The index setting unit sets an index and a weighting factor. The index represents information of a reference image. The index reconfiguring unit predicts a reference value of the weighting factor. The reference value indicates a factor to be set if a difference of pixel value between a reference image and a target image to be encoded is less than or equal to a specific value. The entropy encoding unit encodes a difference value between the weighting factor and the reference value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventors: Akiyuki Tanizawa, Takeshi Chujoh
  • Patent number: 9774773
    Abstract: The present invention provides a marking apparatus for a display panel and a marking method for a display panel. The marking device comprises an image acquiring module, a simulated marking module and a real marking module. A simulated marking line is drawn, by the simulated marking module, in an image acquired by the image acquiring module, of a region containing a position where a defect occurs on a display panel to be marked. The real marking module automatically draws a real marking line on the display panel to be marked according to the simulated marking line. Thus, a position where a defect occurs on a display panel to be marked is accurately marked, and it is convenient for an engineer to accurately locate and sample the defective position in the subsequent analysis process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignees: BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO., LTD., BEIJING BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Zijin Lin, Chaoyang Deng, Chao Tian
  • Patent number: 9747679
    Abstract: A method for measuring the deflection of a fuel element can for a fuel element of a boiling water reactor involves taking an image of the fuel element can with a camera and evaluating the image using photogrammetry. By means of the method, it is possible to determine the deflection of a fuel element can by taking a single image, even in the absence of external structural features recognizable in the image, and without knowledge of the relative position between the camera and the fuel element can.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: AREVA GMBH
    Inventor: Wolfgang Hummel
  • Patent number: 9719661
    Abstract: A lighting lens for a biometric measurement device comprises a paraboloidal or ellipsoidal reflector with symmetry of revolution, and a dioptric surface that has two different refractive power values in two perpendicular directions, said two refractive power values being negative or zero. Such a lens can be produced in the form of a block of transparent material and be used in a biometric measurement device. In particular, it makes it possible to capture skin prints as an image with an exposure time that is short.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: Morpho
    Inventor: Joël-Yann Fourre
  • Patent number: 9674540
    Abstract: To decode encoded video using a computer with a central processing unit and a graphics processing unit as a coprocessor, parameters applied to blocks of intermediate image data are transferred from the central processing unit to the graphics processing unit. When the operation being performed applies to a small portion of the blocks of intermediate image data, then the central processing unit can transfer to the graphics processing unit the parameters for only those blocks to which the operation applies. In particular, the central processing unit can transfer a set of parameters for a limited number of blocks of intermediate image data, with an indication of the block to which each set of parameters applies, which both can improve speed of operation and can reduce power consumption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Matthew Wozniak, Yongjun Wu, Yuechuan Li, Shyam Sadhwani
  • Patent number: 9648324
    Abstract: An image coding method includes coding a motion vector difference indicating a difference between the motion vector and a predicted motion vector, wherein the coding includes: coding a first portion that is a part of a first component which is one of a horizontal component and a vertical component of the motion vector difference; coding a second portion that is a part of a second component which is different from the first component and is the other one of the horizontal component and the vertical component; coding a third portion that is a part of the first component and is different from the first portion; coding a fourth portion that is a part of the second component and is different from the second portion; and generating a code string which includes the first portion, the second portion, the third portion, and the fourth portion in the stated order.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignee: SUN PATENT TRUST
    Inventors: Hisao Sasai, Takahiro Nishi, Youji Shibahara, Toshiyasu Sugio, Kyoko Tanikawa, Toru Matsunobu
  • Patent number: 9621914
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, an encoding device includes a deriving unit and an encoding unit. The deriving unit is configured to derive a first reference value based on fixed point precision representing roughness of a weighting factor that is used for multiplying a reference image. The encoding unit is configured to encode a first difference value that is a difference value between the weighting factor and the first reference value and the fixed point precision. The weighting factor is included in a first range of predetermined bit precision having the first reference value at approximate center. The first difference value is in the predetermined range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Akiyuki Tanizawa, Takeshi Chujoh
  • Patent number: 9605941
    Abstract: A lens-free system for the three-dimensional imaging of objects contained within a sample places a sample holder between an image sensor and an illumination source, with the sample-sensor distance being much smaller than the sample-illumination source distance. Holographic images are taken at different angles as well as different lateral jogs within a single angle and are reconstructed into a three dimensional image of objects within the sample. The system may be a hand held, portable unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2017
    Assignee: THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
    Inventors: Aydogan Ozcan, Serhan O. Isikman, Waheb Bishara
  • Patent number: 9591272
    Abstract: Technologies are generally described for automatically optimizing an efficiency of camera placement, numbers, and resolution in multi-camera monitoring and surveillance applications. In some examples, a fraction of a total area may be monitored at a higher resolution than the rest. Employing techniques such as combinatorial state Viterbi technique or combinatorial state trellis technique, a minimum number of cameras that provide the coverage at the needed resolution may be selected. Similarly, a number of points may be covered with at least a predefined number of cameras. For example, a subject of interest may be tracked in a public area, where specific camera(s) may be used to image the subject's face at a higher resolution than the background.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2017
    Assignee: McMASTER UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Shahram Shirani, Shadrokh Samavi, Sayedmohammadreza Soroushmehr, Hamed Sadeghi
  • Patent number: 9532054
    Abstract: A method of de-blocking video data is disclosed. The video data encoding color channels in a 4:2:2 format is received. The video data is encoded in a quad-tree. A plurality of transform units is generated for one of the color channels, each of the transform units including at least one transform. A distance from an edge of one of the transform units to a boundary of a transform of the transform unit is determined. An edge flag for the transform unit is determined, the edge flag indicating the determined distance. De-blocking is applied to the transform units of the video data according to the determined edge flag.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Christopher James Rosewarne