Patents Examined by Jefferey Harold
  • Patent number: 9838639
    Abstract: A transmission apparatus includes: a video-signal transmission section transmitting a video signal to an external apparatus by a differential signal through a plurality of channels through a transmission line; and an information transmission section transmitting image-quality adjustment information corresponding to the video signal transmitted by the video-signal transmission section to the external apparatus through a communication path formed by a pair of differential transmission lines included in the transmission line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2017
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Yukihiro Sasazaki
  • Patent number: 9707890
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an automobile camera module by which an estimated traveling trace can be grasped to prevent fender-bender (minor collision) with a parked vehicle to reduce inconvenience and time loss caused by a parking failure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: LG INNOTEK CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Sangyong Lee
  • Patent number: 9686535
    Abstract: A method of displaying a three-dimensional (“3D”) image, the method includes determining a shutter electrode of an unit part included in a shutter panel as a left-eye electrode and a right-eye electrode, the unit part including ‘n’ shutter electrodes (herein, n is a natural number), selectively driving the left-eye electrode and the right-eye electrode as an opening part based on an image displayed on a display panel to transmit light through the opening part, and providing light transmitted through the opening part with an observer's two eyes through a lens plate, the lens plate including a plurality of lenses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: Samsung Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Goro Hamagishi, Ryota Odake, Seung-Jun Yu, Sang-Min Jeon
  • Patent number: 9665776
    Abstract: A 2D occupancy system for determining a position of a user (e.g. a human, an object or an animal) in an environment includes a host device and a plurality of motion detection devices. The host device and the plurality of motion detection devices are connected through a network. Each motion detection device has a viewing angle and the viewing angle of any motion detection device overlaps with the viewing angle of at least one other motion detection device. The host device comprises an input port for receiving motion information from the plurality of motion detection devices, and a processing unit for determining the position of the user in the environment from the motion information from particular motion detection devices at a same time-stamp.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: VITO NV
    Inventors: Richard Kleihorst, Bart Michiels
  • Patent number: 9648282
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for monitoring transmissions of media content (such as audio and audiovisual content) in order to obtain independent and objective data regarding the use of specific media content recordings or works within the transmissions. Processing and reporting of such data is provided in various ways to serve a variety of business needs. Methods for employing content identification technology to efficiently and automatically obtain reliable, accurate, and precise monitoring data are also disclosed. Various information products and services based on such monitoring systems are proposed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignee: Verance Corporation
    Inventors: Rade Petrovic, Babak Tehranchi, Kanaan Jemili, Joseph M. Winograd, Dean Angelico
  • Patent number: 9641785
    Abstract: A controlling device is automatically configured to issue a communication directly to a first controllable appliance to control a functional operation of the first controllable appliance in the event that the first controllable appliance is determined to be unresponsive to a command communication transmitted to the first controllable appliance via a digital communications link or to issue a communication to a second controllable appliance to control the functional operation of the first controllable appliance via a digital communications link in the event that first controllable appliance is determined to be responsive to a command communication transmitted to the first controllable appliance via a digital communications link.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignee: Universal Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Brian Barnett, Arsham Hatambeiki, Rex Xu, Jesus Perez
  • Patent number: 9635440
    Abstract: A multi-device system includes at least one media server system, a primary viewing device including a display screen, and a secondary device including a haptic output device. The at least one media server system includes a source of audio-video content and haptic content and is configured to transfer the audio-video content and the haptic content. The haptic content is associated with the audio-video content. The primary viewing device is configured to output the audio-video content received from the at least one media server system. The secondary device is configured to output the haptic content received from the at least one media server system as a haptic effect via the haptic output device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: Immersion Corporation
    Inventor: Robert Lacroix
  • Patent number: 9635425
    Abstract: A control device is used to select a portion on a first display, the control device having a second display, the first display displaying images frame by frame generated from first image data including at least one frame; determine a first portion in a frame in the first image data corresponding to the selected portion on the first display; generate second image data from the first image data corresponding to the first portion in a frame in the first image data; and provide the second image data to the control device for display as a second image on the second display, while leaving intact the image displayed on the first display. The generated second image data may be the first image data corresponding to the first portion in a frame in the first image data magnified by a magnification factor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventor: Ronald Douglas Johnson
  • Patent number: 9628705
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a car navigation device is provided. The device comprises: at least one wide-angle camera; a video correction unit for acquiring video data from the wide-angle lens and correcting the video data; a video merging unit for acquiring corrected video data from video correction unit and merging the corrected video data; an image recognition unit for acquiring video from the video merging unit and performing image recognition to the video; and a driving assistant unit for acquiring data from the image recognition unit and assisting driving in accordance with the recognized content. The navigation device provided by various embodiments in accordance with the present invention can correct and recognize the images taken by fisheye lens in real-time so as to assist the driver for driving or drive the car automatically without a human being.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2017
    Assignee: NVIDIA CORPORATION
    Inventor: Wenjie Zheng
  • Patent number: 9596429
    Abstract: Media content presentation systems and methods are operable to present a media content event comprising a video portion and an associated audio portion to a user. An exemplary embodiment compares a detected level of background noise with a first background noise level threshold; increases output volume of the presented audio portion of the media content event when the level of background noise exceeds the first background noise level threshold; determines text when the level of background noise exceeds a second background noise level threshold; determines sentences from the determined text; and presents on a display the beginning portion of a current sentence in the dialog of the text when the increasing level of background noise exceeds a maximum background noise level threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2017
    Assignee: EchoStar Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventor: Carlos Garcia Navarro
  • Patent number: 9578322
    Abstract: Presented is a system and method for testing a digital video distribution environment. A digital video signal generator transmits a reference video bit stream to a distribution path. A digital video signal analyzer receives a test video bit stream from the distribution path. The digital video signal analyzer generates a diagnostic video bit stream as a function of the reference video bit stream and the test video bit stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Assignee: Crestron Electronics
    Inventor: Adolfo Velasco
  • Patent number: 9549144
    Abstract: System, methods, apparatus, and computer-readable media to facilitate expansion of media device interface capabilities are provided. A state change with respect to one or more media devices may be detected. The state change may correspond to a second media device being communicatively coupled to, or communicatively decoupled from, a first media device. Consequent to the detecting, a set of interface ports, which are configured to interface with multimedia devices, may be determined. Configuration information may be generated based at least in part on the set of interface ports. The configuration information may be transferred to a sink device to indicate interface options based at least in part on the set of interface ports. Content may be transferred to the sink device based at least in part on audio and/or visual data via at least one interface port of the set of interface ports.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2017
    Assignee: ECHOSTAR UK HOLDINGS LIMITED
    Inventor: Geoffrey Thompson
  • Patent number: 9538056
    Abstract: This disclosure provides systems, devices, and methods for capturing and measuring surface topography. This disclosure provides a high resolution retrographic sensor comprising a volume of elastomer and a thin, opaque reflective membrane. The reflective membrane is arranged to conform to a specimen that contacts it. The disclosure provides a high resolution visualization system comprising the retrographic sensor and an illumination source. Also provided are high resolution measurement systems comprising the retrographic sensor, an illumination source, an imaging device, and a processing component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignee: MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
    Inventors: Edward H. Adelson, Micah K. Johnson
  • Patent number: 9538159
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for capturing a color image and a depth image are utilized as a source of obtaining a three-dimensional (3D) image. The apparatus for capturing the color image and the depth image may include a filtering unit to employ a frame having a polarity which includes an external frame to support a plurality of filters which filter at least one of a visible ray and an infrared (IR) ray from a ray input via a lens, a driving unit to move the filtering unit by pushing or pulling the external frame based on a polarity of an applied signal, and a control unit to control a voltage to be applied to the driving unit based on a distance between the filtering unit and the driving unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: ByongMin Kang
  • Patent number: 9531992
    Abstract: A television (10) in accordance with an aspect of the present invention includes a display size calculating unit (135) and a video processing circuit (107) in order to adjust a display size of a main image and a display size of a sub-image so that the main image and the sub-image are displayed in different regions on an LCD (110). The display size calculating unit (135) adjusts, based on aspect ratios of the main image and the sub-image, a location at which the main image is displayed on the LCD (110) and a location at which the sub-image is displayed on the LCD (110).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2016
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kenji Ishizaki
  • Patent number: 9516256
    Abstract: Many advanced signal receiving devices include more than one tuner. An apparatus is described that includes a first circuit operating as a first portion of a signal attenuator, a second circuit operating as a second portion of the signal attenuator and outputting a first differential output signal, and a third circuit also operating as the second portion of the signal attenuator and outputting a second differential output signal. A method is described including receiving a signal, splitting the received signal to produce a first output signal and a second output signal, the splitting being performed using a differential signal format and further being performed using only at least one of a resistor, capacitor, and inductor, and outputting the first output signal in a differential signal format and the second output signal in a differential signal format.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2016
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventor: David Glen White
  • Patent number: 9516224
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a car navigation device is provided. The device comprises: at least one wide-angle camera; a video correction unit for acquiring video data from the wide-angle lens and correcting the video data; a video merging unit for acquiring corrected video data from video correction unit and merging the corrected video data; an image recognition unit for acquiring video from the video merging unit and performing image recognition to the video; and a driving assistant unit for acquiring data from the image recognition unit and assisting driving in accordance with the recognized content. The navigation device provided by various embodiments in accordance with the present invention can correct and recognize the images taken by fisheye lens in real-time so as to assist the driver for driving or drive the car automatically without a human being.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2016
    Assignee: NVIDIA CORPORATION
    Inventor: Wenjie Zheng
  • Patent number: 9496922
    Abstract: In one aspect, a first device includes a display, at least one computer readable storage medium bearing instructions executable by a processor, and at least one processor configured for accessing the computer readable storage medium to execute the instructions. The instructions configure the processor to acquire data pertaining to first content presented on a second device, determine information pertaining to the first content based on the data, identify second content related to but different from the first content at least in part based on the information, and present a user interface (UI) on the display manipulable to issue a command to at least one of the first and second devices to present the second content responsive to the identification of the second content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2016
    Assignee: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventor: Brant Candelore
  • Patent number: 9489055
    Abstract: A control panel comprising a plurality of hard key buttons which are arranged in different groups is suggested. A first group of buttons is assigned to select predefined scene settings. A second group of buttons is assigned to select signals for a currently broadcasted scene. A third group of buttons is assigned to select signals for a next scene which is selectable by operating a button of the first group. The hardware control panel provides an operating interface that matches with the workflow of TV productions. It enables context related direct access to all functionalities which are needed during the TV show. However, it does not provide access to those functionalities which are not needed in a specific scene. Hence, it significantly reduces or even prevents malfunctions during a TV production.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignee: Scalable Video Systems GMBH
    Inventors: Alfred Krug, Sven Papke
  • Patent number: 9485501
    Abstract: A system and method for measuring and quantifying image retention in a display device. The method involves displaying a test pattern (206, 306, 406, 606, 706) having at least one dark feature (210, 310, 410, 610) and at least one light feature (208, 308, 408, 608). The method further involves the displaying an analysis pattern (202, 302, 402, 602) having at one gradient feature (204, 304, 404, 604a-c) with a plurality of regions of different levels. The levels of the gradient feature may then be matched up with the levels displayed in the regions formerly displaying the dark feature (210, 310, 410, 610) and/or the light feature (208, 308, 408, 608). Thus, image retention may be determined by visual inspection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2016
    Assignee: Barco N.V.
    Inventors: Lode René Eleonora De Paepe, Goert F. M. Carrein