Patents Examined by Catherine Toppin
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Patent number: 6661454Abstract: A digital camera having a plurality of adjustable memory card fullness icons to visually indicate the amount of memory space that is available for storage in a plurality of corresponding removable memory cards insertable into the digital camera is disclosed. The digital camera includes an arrangement for capturing and digitizing image data, a display, and a processor for constructing the memory card fullness icon on the display. Each memory card fullness icon includes an inner portion that can be adjusted to graphically display the relative amount of memory space that is available for storage in its corresponding removable memory card. The digital camera further includes circuitry for transferring the digitized image data into a selected removable memory card.Type: GrantFiled: June 14, 1999Date of Patent: December 9, 2003Assignee: Eastman Kodak CompanyInventors: Hyejung Hwang, Michael Venturino, George E. Lathrop, Kenneth A. Parulski
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Patent number: 6628339Abstract: In a digital camera having an image sensor and a lens defining an optical axis for focusing an image upon a focal plane, an image sensor mount includes the digital camera having a housing for mounting the lens and defining a first opening through which an image can be focused by the lens and transmitted along the optical axis, and an image sensor assembly including the image sensor attached to an image sensor mounting plate.Type: GrantFiled: June 14, 1999Date of Patent: September 30, 2003Assignee: Eastman Kodak CompanyInventors: Albert Ferland, Stephen R. Cosgrove, William F. Giroux
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Patent number: 6611289Abstract: An improved digital camera that produces digital images of high qualities without using expensive image sensors and optics is disclosed. The disclosed digital cameras use multiple image sensors with multiple lenses. One of the multiple image sensors is made to be responsive to all intensity information in visible color spectrum and a (gray intensity) image resulting from the sensor is used to compensate lost information in images from other image sensors responsive to certain colors. A final color image is obtained by a digital image processing circuitry that performs pixel registration process with reference to the gray intensity image so that a true color image with true resolution is obtained therefrom.Type: GrantFiled: January 15, 1999Date of Patent: August 26, 2003Inventors: Yanbin Yu, Zhongxuan Zhang
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Patent number: 6603507Abstract: A method for controlling a light source in a night vision system is provided. The method first computes a pulse width Tp=2(d−d1)/c, where c is the light speed, according to parameters of a desired observing distance d and a shortest distance d1 of the back-scattering light that enters the light sensor, such as a low-light-level camera. According to the definition of duty cycle D, it is determined by D=(1−d1/d)/(2−d1/d). According to the parameters of the desired observing distance and the pulse width, control signals are generated by a pulse signal controller to control a pulsed active-light illuminator with proper emitting period and a gated light sensor with proper gated-on period.Type: GrantFiled: June 9, 1999Date of Patent: August 5, 2003Assignee: Chung-Shan Institute of Science and TechnologyInventors: Shiaw-Shiang Jiang, Chunn-Yenn Lin, Guang-Hann Liou
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Patent number: 6590614Abstract: The invention provides an electronic camera which is excellent in portability and capable of sensing an image in portrait angle by holding a lower portion of the camera as well as of providing users with a drivability and an operational feeling equivalent to those of a silver halide film camera. The electronic camera comprises: image sensing means for photo-electrically transforming a subject image which is sensed through an optical system; a memory cartridge 4 for recording image data which is produced from the image sensing means as an image picture; and a battery 3 for supplying electric powers to built-in electronic components and various circuits, wherein: the battery 3 and the memory cartridge 4 are disposed, respective width directions being aligned in a depth direction of a main body 1 of the camera while respective thickness directions being aligned in a height direction of the main body of the camera.Type: GrantFiled: January 15, 1999Date of Patent: July 8, 2003Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Tetsuya Nishio, Tatsuo Konno
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Patent number: 6587143Abstract: A correlated double sampler (CDS) circuit having a ping/pong architecture which employs only a single amplifier, and a CCD image sensor output processing circuit including such a CDS circuit and preferably also an analog-to-digital converter for processing the output of the CDS circuit and a black level correction feedback loop. In one cycle of operation (during processing of the raw output of a CCD sensor), the CDS circuit receives a first set of control signals followed by a second set of control signals, its output signal in response to the first set is indicative of the value of one pixel of a sensed image, and its output signal in response to the second set is indicative of the value of the next pixel of the image. Preferably, each set of control signals consists of a clamp signal, a sample signal, and a hold signal.Type: GrantFiled: January 19, 1999Date of Patent: July 1, 2003Assignee: National Semiconductor CorporationInventor: David M. Boisvert
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Patent number: 6545716Abstract: A video camera apparatus comprises a camera body and camera components, including a lens operative to view an exterior of the camera body, enclosed in an interior of the camera body. Connectors lead from the camera components to the exterior of the camera body. A solid filler material substantially covers the camera components and secures the camera components in a fixed location with respect to the camera body. The filler material has sufficient insulating properties to prevent generation of a current through the filler material by voltages normally encountered on exposed portions of the camera components. The filler material is injected into the camera body in a fluid state, and then hardens to a solid state.Type: GrantFiled: September 13, 2001Date of Patent: April 8, 2003Inventors: Tracey Gardiner, Blaine Linn
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Patent number: 6542189Abstract: A system and method for performing frequency compensation in a video digital cameral utilizing a time-indexed multiple sampling technique is presented. The frequency compensation removes distortion from the digital image signal captured by the video digital camera as compared with a human-perceived image signal.Type: GrantFiled: November 8, 2001Date of Patent: April 1, 2003Assignee: Pixim, Inc.Inventor: Hui Tian
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Patent number: 6542193Abstract: In a TV camera main body, a still-image-luminous-flux-decomposing prism is disposed adjacent to a color-decomposing prism of a TV-image-capturing system, whereby still images whose aberration is favorably corrected as with TV images are obtained in a simple and compact configuration. A mechanical shutter is disposed in an optical path of the still-image-capturing system, so as to prevent image blurring and smear from occurring due to temporal shifts between field images. A four-block color-decomposing prism 11A, in which each glass prism has a form identical to a color-decomposing prism of a dual green type, is constituted by a still-image-capturing prism 2d, and a TV-image-capturing three-color-decomposing prism system comprising a prism for blue 2a, a prism for red 2b, and a prism for green 2c. A mechanical shutter 34 is disposed between the light exit end face 7d of the still-image-capturing prism 2d and its cover glass 6d.Type: GrantFiled: January 15, 1999Date of Patent: April 1, 2003Assignee: Fuji Photo Optical Co., Ltd.Inventors: Kazuo Yoshikawa, Takami Hasegawa