Patents Examined by Jason Whipkey
  • Patent number: 7911532
    Abstract: The notebook computer includes a base and an upper cover. The base has a keyboard. The upper cover includes a screen, an image pickup device and a close-up lens. The upper cover is rotatable with respect to the base such that the image pickup device is able to capture an image of a document on a working plane. After the document image is obtained by the image pickup device, a built-in image processing program performs correction on the document image so as to obtain a corrected document image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2011
    Assignee: Primax Electronics Ltd.
    Inventors: Tung-Hsuan Pai, Wen-Lung Chou, Meng-Tsung Su
  • Patent number: 7903171
    Abstract: A notebook information processor includes an image photographing unit, a display, a keyboard, a storage unit, and a control unit, wherein the control unit includes, a live view displaying unit that displays a live view obtained by photographing at least a portion of the keyboard within a photographing area of the image photographing unit on the display, a still image obtaining unit that obtains a still image from the live view displayed on the display by the live view displaying unit, when receiving a photographing start signal to start photographing the still image of a document put on the keyboard, and an image processing unit that performs projective transformation on the still image obtained by the still image obtaining unit so as to obtain an image photographed from a front direction, executes image processing so as to perform cropping to clip the document, and stores a transformed image of the document after the image processing in the storage unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2011
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventors: Masanari Takabatake, Nobuhisa Yamazaki, Satoshi Miyamoto, Jiyun Du
  • Patent number: 7898585
    Abstract: A flat display for use in mobile terminals includes both a display function and a camera function, and the components for each of the functions are disposed on a common transparent substrate. The display function includes a plurality of display pixels, and each display pixel has an associated switching element. The camera function also includes an array of sensing pixels, each sensing pixel having a photo element for controlling the pixel. The camera function may be disposed in a display or a non-display portion of the substrate. By locating the display function and the camera function on a common substrate, image processing time is decreased and the image quality is improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2011
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventor: Myeongjin Nam
  • Patent number: 7893975
    Abstract: An automated RAW image processing method and system are disclosed. A RAW image and metadata related to the RAW image are obtained from a digital camera or other source. The RAW image and the related metadata are automatically processed using an Operating System service of a processing device to produce a resulting image in an absolute color space. When automatically processing, a predetermined tone reproduction curve is applied to the interpolate RAW image to produce the resulting image. The predetermined tone reproduction curve is derived from a plurality of reference images and is selected based on the metadata associated with the RAW image. The resulting image is then made available to an application program executing on the processing device through an application program interface with the Operating System service.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Mark Zimmer, David Hayward, Gabriel G. Marcu
  • Patent number: 7893969
    Abstract: When detecting an objective body from a taken image, a scene of the image is determined, and a parameter to be used in detecting the objective body is controlled according to result of determination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2011
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventor: Masahiko Sugimoto
  • Patent number: 7889264
    Abstract: A superresolution electro-optic imaging system operates in a manner that takes into account the different subsystems. For example, rather than designing the optical subsystem to be diffraction-limited, the optical subsystem can be designed in a manner that is better suited for subsequent superresolution processing and/or that reduces aliasing effects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2011
    Assignee: Ricoh Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: M. Dirk Robinson
  • Patent number: 7884866
    Abstract: First YUV data produced from a pixel output in which one RAW-RGB data is read out from an SDRAM and is compensated in a dynamic range expansion compensating section of a YUV converting section and second YUV data produced from a pixel output which is equal to or more than a predetermined saturation level without performing a compensation process in the dynamic range expansion compensating section are loaded in a YUV compositing section, and then third YUV data is produced by compositing brightness data taken out from the first YUV data and color difference data taken out from the second YUV data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2011
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Manabu Yamada, Kenji Shiraishi
  • Patent number: 7880800
    Abstract: An auto focus system is provided in which a focus movement speed and a cut off frequency of a filter for detecting a contrast from a video signal in AF of a contrast detecting system can be manually set in AF, so that an optimum AF can be achieved under various photographing conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2011
    Assignee: FujiFilm Corporation
    Inventors: Tadashi Sasaki, Atsushi Kanayama
  • Patent number: 7876365
    Abstract: An imaging apparatus that images a photographic subject using an imaging device includes: a signal processing means for performing signal processing on an image signal of the photographic subject imaged by the imaging device and generating an exposure control signal; a photoelectric conversion device that detects an amount of light indicating the brightness under an environment where the brightness changes periodically; and a timing generating means for receiving the exposure control signal from the signal processing means when the amount of light detected by the photoelectric conversion device reaches a predetermined value set beforehand and generating a timing signal for start of exposure and then supplying the timing signal to the imaging device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Tomoko Kuno, Kazuhiko Nishiwaki, Katsuya Kosuga
  • Patent number: 7872683
    Abstract: At least one object of the present invention is to provide a lens barrel, including: a fixed frame (21) having a fixed cylinder (21); a telescopic cylinder (22, 23, 24, etc.) configured to be accommodated within the fixed cylinder (21); a plurality of lens groups (11, 12) configured to be retained in the telescopic cylinder; a lens driving device (51, 52, etc.) configured to drive the plurality of lens groups along a optical axis of the telescopic cylinder between a collapsed position and an extended position; and two retractable lens groups (13, 14) configured to be retracted into the telescopic cylinder when the telescopic cylinder is in the extended position and configured to be retracted out of the telescopic cylinder when the telescopic cylinder is in the collapsed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2011
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Tetsuya Iwasaki
  • Patent number: 7868940
    Abstract: An image capture device according to the present invention includes: a display section to show a dialog box that allows the user of the device to edit character information, the dialog box including an entry option field where at least one character is proposed as an entry option and a selected character display field where characters that have been selected from those options are presented; a first operating interface that allows the user to move a first cursor, which is located in the entry option field, within the dialog box; and a second operating interface that allows the user to move a second cursor, which is located in the selected character display field, within the dialog box.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2011
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventor: Yoshiyasu Kado
  • Patent number: 7852387
    Abstract: In an image processing apparatus that performs image processing on an image supplied from an imaging apparatus that captured an original image and that performed gamma processing on the original image to generate the image to be supplied to the image processing apparatus, inverse gamma processing means performs inverse gamma processing on the image supplied from the imaging apparatus so that the image has characteristics the same as characteristics of the original image, which corresponds to the image before the image was subjected to the gamma processing in the imaging apparatus, and correction processing means performs correction processing on the image subjected to the inverse gamma processing using the inverse gamma processing means so that blur in the image is corrected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2010
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Toru Nishi, Kazuhiko Ueda, Mitsuyasu Asano, Takeshi Hiramatsu
  • Patent number: 7852398
    Abstract: An image-taking apparatus which achieves focusing in a reduced time with higher accuracy of an in-focus position search in a TV-AF method to minimize occurrence of unnatural focus changes. The apparatus includes an image-taking element, a first detector which outputs a focus evaluation value signal based on a predetermined frequency component of an output signal of the image-pickup element, a second detector which outputs a detection signal different from the focus evaluation value signal, and a controller which performs first processing of obtaining information for an in-focus position search of the focus lens based on the focus evaluation value signal. The controller performs second processing of obtaining information on an in-focus position based on the detection signal from the second detector, and performs third processing different depending on a comparison result between the information from the first processing and the information obtained from the second processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2010
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hitoshi Yasuda
  • Patent number: 7852400
    Abstract: An image pickup apparatus which is capable of preventing light diffraction from being caused by a density step or a thickness step of a filter, thereby preventing degradation of resolution during still image shooting, and securing the dynamic range of exposure control during both moving image shooting and still image shooting. In the image pickup apparatus, an image pickup element converts light incident thereon from a lens into an electric signal. A diaphragm mechanism changes the amount of light incident on the image pickup element. An ND filter covers an aperture of the diaphragm mechanism such that the aperture can be opened and closed, thereby adjusting the amount of light incident on the image pickup element after passing through the aperture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2010
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takeshi Ikeda
  • Patent number: 7852390
    Abstract: It is a principle object of the present invention to reduce a voltage drop of a common power supply wiring in a plurality of amplification circuits to suppress crosstalk generated in other signal output lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2010
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroki Hiyama, Akira Okita, Hideaki Takada
  • Patent number: 7847850
    Abstract: An apparatus designates a key for searching for an image, and acquires attribute information based on the designated key and image information on an image having the attribute information. The apparatus displays an amount of images classified into a group corresponding to the attribute information based on the acquired attribute information and the acquired image information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2010
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yousuke Takagi, Hiroaki Yoshino
  • Patent number: 7847842
    Abstract: The present invention relates to digital image sensors and in particular to contour filters (ZSB, 7) preventing green non-uniformity in the contour signal of the RGB Bayer image sensors. A set of rules is specified for designing the filter coefficients in the filter, whereby green non-uniformity is prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2010
    Assignee: IPG Electronics 503 Limited
    Inventor: Cornelis Antonie Maria Jaspers
  • Patent number: 7843506
    Abstract: An imaging device includes an imaging unit configured to execute processing to capture image data, a global positioning system (GPS) device configured to execute position calculation processing based on data received from a satellite, and a main controller configured to measure an imaging frequency of the imaging unit, to determine or update a control parameter as a condition for a transition of an operation state of the GPS device based on the measured imaging frequency, and to cause a transition of the operation state of the GPS device based on the determined or updated control parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2010
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Ichiro Ueno, Hitoshi Mitani, Baiping Liao
  • Patent number: 7839448
    Abstract: When the mode is set to a pan focus mode, the imaging apparatus according to the present invention displays types of a shooting scene in an image display section 15 (S1), judges whether or not the user has designated the shooting scene (S2), acquires two focus positions corresponding to the thus designated shooting scene when it judges that the shooting scene is designated, and moves the CCD 6 and the CCD 7 to the thus acquired two focus positions (S3). Next, the imaging apparatus synthesizes image data picked up by the CCD 6 and the CCD 7, displays the thus synthesized image data as through image (S4), and acquires two focus positions corresponding to the lens position of the zoom lens every time a zoom operation is performed, and moves the CCD 6 and the CCD 7 (S5 to S8).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2010
    Assignee: Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Masaru Onozawa
  • Patent number: 7834920
    Abstract: A method is for filtering data output from an array of pixels in an image sensor. The method may include filtering noise from variation in pixel response across the array. An electronic device may have a device for filtering data output from an array of pixels in an image sensor. The device may include a noise filter for removing variation in pixel response across the array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2010
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) Limited
    Inventor: Stewart Gresty Smith