Patents Examined by Jean Lesperance
  • Patent number: 7239310
    Abstract: In a notebook type personal computer, the operation mode of this personal computer is switched into a low power consumption mode even while a screen saver function is actuated. A display apparatus used in such a notebook type personal computer is arranged by a display screen for displaying thereon image data sent from a main apparatus; memory means for storing thereinto screen protecting image data; and display control means for displaying the screen protecting image data stored in the memory means on the display screen under such a condition that the main apparatus is not actually operated for a predetermined time period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2007
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventor: Nobuharu Iinuma
  • Patent number: 7236157
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing low-cost, realistic force feedback including an improved actuator. The invention provides force sensations to a user and includes an interface device coupled to a host computer and allowing a user to interact with a host application program. A user object, such as a joystick, is moveable by a user in at least one rotary degree of freedom. A sensor reports a locative signal to the host computer to indicate a position of the user object. An actuator outputs forces on the user object in response to signals from the host computer and program. The actuator includes a housing, a set of grounded magnets provided on opposing surfaces of the housing and creating a magnetic field, and a rotor coupled to the user object positioned between the magnets. The rotor rotates about an axis of rotation and includes a shaft and teeth spaced around the shaft. An electric current flows through one or more coils on the teeth to cause the rotor to rotate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2007
    Assignee: Immersion Corporation
    Inventors: Bruce M. Schena, Louis B. Rosenberg
  • Patent number: 7236145
    Abstract: A CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display device, and method, having a FBT (Fly Back Transformer) with a conductive coil, and a step-up circuit supplying a predetermined power to the FBT The CRT includes a high voltage sensor sensing a voltage applied to the step-up circuit and a controller receiving the voltage outputted from the FBT and controlling an input voltage of the step-up circuit to be dropped when the received voltage from the FBT is higher than a predetermined dangerous voltage. With this configuration, the present invention provides the CRT display device that decreases an input voltage of a step-up circuit to operate normally and to prevent elements of the step-up circuit from being destroyed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2007
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hyung-suk Park
  • Patent number: 7233322
    Abstract: To reduce degradation of image quality when constructing anode line drive circuits in a display panel drive circuit from a plurality of IC chips. Dummy drive output and proper drive output of an adjoining IC chip are switched in predetermined cycles and supplied to an anode line. This makes it possible to reduce variation in adjacent output currents among IC chips. Thus, it is possible to reduce luminance differences in display areas caused by differences in current driving capacity among IC chips and reduce degradation of image quality when an anode line drive circuit is constructed from a plurality of IC chips.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: Asahi Kasei Microsystems Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Satoshi Takehara, Yoshirou Yamaha
  • Patent number: 7233320
    Abstract: A method and system for enabling user interaction with computer software running in a computer system. A user is provided with an interface surface containing information relating to the computer software and including coded data indicative of an identity of the interface surface and of at least one reference point of the interface surface. The user places a sensing device into an operative position relative to the interface surface. In this operative position, the sensing device senses indicating data indicative of: the identity of the interface surface; and a position of the sensing device relative to the interface surface, using at least some of the coded data. The computer system receives the indicating data from the sensing device, and uses the indicating data to identify at least one interactive element relating to the computer software. The computer software is then operated in accordance with instructions associated with the at least one interactive element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd
    Inventors: Paul Lapstun, Kia Silverbrook
  • Patent number: 7233309
    Abstract: A panel may be arranged to display image data, and a backlight may be arranged to illuminate a back of the panel. A timing generator may be arranged to control the refresh rate of the panel, and a modulator may be arranged to control the backlight based on an associated modulation frequency. A coordinator may be arranged to synchronize between the refresh rate and the modulation frequency when the refresh rate or the modulation frequency is changed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Paul S. Diefenbaugh, David Wyatt
  • Patent number: 7230591
    Abstract: A circuit for driving an organic light emitting element by alternating current in an active matrix organic light emitting display is provided. A circuit of a pixel provided with a switching TFT and a current controlling TFT further is provided with an element that has a rectifying characteristic. The switching TFT charges a capacitor in accordance with a data signal and the current controlling TFT controls light emission of an organic light emitting element in accordance with voltage supplied from the capacitor. Reverse bias is readily applied to the organic light emitting element by applying voltage to the element that has a rectifying characteristic in the forward direction from an alternating current source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2007
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kazutaka Inukai
  • Patent number: 7230608
    Abstract: An OLED display and touch screen system, including: a) a substrate; b) an OLED display area including an array of individually addressable OLEDs formed on the substrate; and c) a touch screen including at least one OLED light emitter formed on the substrate and a plurality of light sensors formed on the substrate across the display area from the light emitter, each of the light sensors having an elongated surface area with a first relatively short dimension and a second relatively long dimension and being positioned adjacent to an edge of the display area, with the relatively long dimension positioned substantially perpendicular to the adjacent edge of the display area, and optics located around the display area above the light emitter and the light sensors for directing light emitted from the light emitter across the display area to the surface area of the light sensors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2007
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventor: Ronald S. Cok
  • Patent number: 7227520
    Abstract: To improve luminance uniformity in a panel plane, for example, there is set an amplitude of a pixel driving voltage which is an anode current in the neighborhood of a threshold value of electron emission of one pixel and the amplitude is kept as a threshold value correction value for each pixel, and to correct the luminance variation in the high-luminance emission between the pixels, there is set an amplitude of a pixel driving voltage which is an anode current in the neighborhood of a maximum value of electron emission of one pixel and the amplitude is kept as a gain correction value for each pixel. In the configuration, when a video image is displayed, the input video signal is corrected using the threshold correction value and the gain correction value for each pixel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2007
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshimitsu Watanabe, Mitsuo Nakajima, Nobuaki Kabuto, Mutsumi Suzuki, Yoshihisa Ooishi, Junichi Ikoma
  • Patent number: 7224338
    Abstract: A signal processing circuit includes a digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion circuit having a D/A converter and a buffer for converting input digital grayscale data into an analog voltage and outputting the converted analog voltage, a first switch that changes its output mode so that a supplied voltage is output as a supply analog voltage, a second switch that outputs any of the converted analog voltage and the supply analog voltage as an analog voltage, and a detection circuit. The detection circuit determines whether or not the input digital grayscale data matches internal set data. When it is determined that the input digital grayscale data matches the set data, the detection circuit switches the first switch so that the supply analog voltage corresponding to the digital grayscale data is output, and also switches the second switch so that the supply analog voltage is output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2007
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yukimitsu Yamada
  • Patent number: 7224326
    Abstract: A virtual reality (VR) system includes an image playback system that sends images to an image viewing device, such as a pair of display glasses. Each image has a 360-degree field of view. An user views a portion of the images. The portion of the image viewed is determined by a directional sensor mounted to the display glasses. The images are advanced according to a speed sensor attached to a moving device, such as a stationary bicycle. The VR system simultaneously coordinates the portion of the images viewed by the user by coordinating signals from the directional sensor and the speed sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2007
    Assignee: Volo, LLC
    Inventor: Robert T. Sefton
  • Patent number: 7224333
    Abstract: In an active matrix EL display device, a drive mode is switched between constant voltage drive and constant current drive according to display contents. Whether an OLED is driven at constant current or driven at constant voltage is determined according to whether a driving TFT is driven in a saturation region or driven in a linear region. The separation between the saturation region and the linear region is determined according to a voltage applied to the gate of the TFT and a voltage applied to the OLED. By controlling those voltages, the constant voltage drive and the constant current drive can be separately used, thereby allowing a use in which respective advantages of the both drives are utilized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2007
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co. Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Mitsuaki Osame, Jun Koyama
  • Patent number: 7221362
    Abstract: The present invention provides a device and a method for displaying appropriately on the display area for each processing unit such as an application according to the applied equipment. The CPU 12 processes display area acquisition requests from a plurality of processing units R1-Rn according to a display management program. The display management program decides whether use of the display area is allowed to each processing unit, considering the relationship of the plurality of display areas requested from each processing unit R1-Rn. Each processing unit R1-Rn executes display processing for the display area for which use is allowed. In this way, whether use is allowed is notified from the display management program to each processing unit R1-Rn after each processing unit R1-Rn sends the display area acquisition request. As a consequence, display in a plurality of areas by each processing unit R1-Rn can be controlled appropriately.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takuya Sekiguchi, Taketo Yoshii, Kouichi Yasutake, Kazuo Okamura
  • Patent number: 7221334
    Abstract: A driving apparatus of a plasma display panel includes an energy recovery circuit. The energy recovery circuit recovers charging/discharging energies of a panel capacitor to a power source supplying unit using a transformer according to charging/discharging operations of the panel capacitor. It includes a first controlling switch, a second controlling switch, and a transformer. The second controlling switch is connected between the panel capacitor and the power source supplying unit and switched according to an external control signal to control the energy recovery from the panel capacitor to the power source supplying unit. The first controlling switch is connected between the panel capacitor and the power source supplying unit and switched according to an external control signal to control the energy recovered in the power source supplying unit to be supplied to the panel capacitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2007
    Assignee: Samsung SDI Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jun-Young Lee, Byung-Nam An, Jun-Hyung Kim
  • Patent number: 7221339
    Abstract: A display apparatus, that includes current driving type luminescent elements, has a driving system that takes the conduction types of TFTs to control the emission of the luminescent elements into consideration. In order to reduce driving voltage and improve display quality simultaneously, the arrangement is provided such that if the second TFT which performs the “on-off” function of the current for the luminescent element is of an N channel type, the potential of the common power supply line (“com”) is lowered below the potential of the opposite electrode (“op”) of the luminescent element to obtain a higher gate voltage (“Vgcur”).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2007
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Tokuroh Ozawa, Mutsumi Kimura
  • Patent number: 7218300
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display including a liquid-crystal display unit having a matrix of multiple pixels. A field of a digital input video signal to be supplied to the liquid-crystal display unit is divided into a plurality of subfields. The voltage of the digital video signal is adjusted per subfield to compensate for change in gamma characteristics of the liquid-crystal display unit. Instead of the voltage, the period of at least one subfield of the video signal can be adjusted for compensating for change in the gamma characteristics of the liquid-crystal display unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2007
    Assignee: Victor Company of Japan, Ltd.
    Inventor: Shigeo Shimizu
  • Patent number: 7218298
    Abstract: This invention provides a light emitting device in which each pixel has three sub-pixels for emitting different colors, comprising a signal correction circuit for correcting gradation information of each signal depending on the light emitting index of each sub-pixels, characterized in that; the signal correction circuit has a means to calculate a signal having gradation information according to the following formulae; multiplying the gradation information of the signal input into the three sub-pixels by (1/?):(1/?):(1/?), when the ratio of the light emitting indexes of the three sub-pixels is ?:?:?.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2007
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yu Yamazaki, Aya Anzai, Mitsuaki Osame
  • Patent number: 7215319
    Abstract: A feature of the present invention includes a device having a display controller for controlling a display position of the pointer on the display screen, a displacement detector for detecting a displacement of the device itself, and a pointer mover for moving the pointer on the display screen based on the detected displacement of the device itself.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2007
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Noboru Kamijo, Tadanobu Inoue, Kohichiro Kishimoto
  • Patent number: 7212189
    Abstract: A pointing device some or all of whose elements are made from capacitive sensors. Such elements may include a rotary motion detector which includes a rotating member and a plurality of fixed capacitive detecting members; a rolling ball with patterned conductive surface and a plurality of fixed capacitive detecting members; capacitive touch sensors or capacitive switches to serve as mouse buttons; and a scrolling wheel, knob, or touch surface built from capacitive sensors. The pointing device further includes a capacitance measuring circuit and processor to measure variations of capacitance on the various capacitive elements and to determine the movement of and other activations of the mouse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2007
    Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
    Inventors: Scott J. Shaw, Shawn P. Day, Raymond A. Trent, Jr., David W. Gillespie, Andrew M. Errington
  • Patent number: 7212195
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a configuration utilizing a driven element that is driven by a current. Specifically, there is provided a pixel circuit having a driven element and a current-drive transistor for supplying a current for driving the driven element to a current injection terminal of the driven element, a voltage buffer, a current signal line for supplying a current signal to the pixel circuit, and a wiring for connecting an output of the voltage buffer and a gate electrode of the current drive transistor. The pixel circuit has a switch for controlling connection between the voltage buffer and the gate electrode of the current-drive transistor, and an input terminal of the voltage buffer is connected to the current signal line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2007
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Somei Kawasaki