Patents Examined by John A. Miller
  • Patent number: 7006161
    Abstract: A circuit configuration applicable to systems such as consumer electronics devices enables communication between components such as integrated circuits connected to the bus. According to an embodiment, the RUN power supplies are turned to an OFF state in response to a fault condition. An interface circuit associated with an integrated circuit coupled to the bus controls the loading on the bus caused by the interface circuit and the integrated circuit such that communication between devices on the bus can continue. Therefore, even when a fault condition results in the loss of the RUN power supplies, a command can be transmitted over the bus from a first integrated circuit in a powered state to a second integrated circuit in the powered state while a third integrated circuit connected to the bus is in an unpowered state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2006
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventor: William John Testin
  • Patent number: 7006162
    Abstract: An analogue single conversion tuner comprises a plurality of channels (1, 2, 3) for covering the whole of a desired reception bandwidth. Each tuner comprises an image reject mixer (18) connected to the tuner input (4) by a single tracking filter (16), for example of the single-tuned type.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2006
    Assignee: Zarlink Semiconductor Limited
    Inventors: Nicholas Paul Cowley, Arshad Madni
  • Patent number: 7006164
    Abstract: An automobile audio-visual theater system comprising a digital monitor, one or more audio-video media players; a line connecting the video signal of the one or more audio-video media players to the digital monitor; a line connecting the audio signal of the one or more audio-video players to an audio signal splitter having multiple line out signals; and a connection from a line out signal of the audio signal splitter to an automobile's audio system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2006
    Inventor: Roger C. Morris
  • Patent number: 7002638
    Abstract: In a method of automatic gain control for both TV and FM radio signals, the TV and FM radio signals are controllably amplified (AGC-AMP) to obtain amplifier output signals, the amplifier output signals are tuner processed (F, MIX, IF-AMP) to obtain tuner output signals, the tuner output signals are applied as control signals (T-AGC) to the controllable amplifier (AGC-AMP), a bandwidth of a thus formed AGC loop being wide enough for a TV channel, and the tuner output signals are narrow-band filtered (CF) to obtain narrow-band filtered signals having a bandwidth substantially corresponding to a bandwidth of an FM radio channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2006
    Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
    Inventors: Alan Chin Leong Yeo, Kam Choon Kwong, Mieu Ngan Pang, Hwee Bun Tan
  • Patent number: 7002635
    Abstract: In the case of picture insertions, such as picture-in-picture, for example, fluctuations in the line duration are manifested in position displacements relative to the desired position of the inserted pictures. In order to prevent position displacements in the horizontal direction, it is provided that the insertion position is corrected in a manner dependent on a determined line duration. The method according to the invention is suitable in particular for picture-in-picture insertions in television receivers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2006
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Maik Brett, Matthias Burkert, Dirk Wendel
  • Patent number: 7002633
    Abstract: A main control device, to which instructions for image recording from a dynamic-image terminal are transmitted, gives instructions for accumulation processing of dynamic-image information to a dynamic-image information processing device to transmit instructions for regeneration processing of dynamic-image information to the device dynamic image information processing by instructions for regeneration from a dynamic-image terminal, and to transmit to an accumulation control device instructions for transmitting regenerated dynamic-image information. The dynamic-image information processing device affixes synchronous information to accumulated dynamic-image information transmitted from the dynamic-image terminal by instructions for transmitting accumulated dynamic-image information to transmit it to the accumulation control device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2006
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Yuuichi Hayakawa
  • Patent number: 7002639
    Abstract: A dual digital television tuner includes first and second direct conversion circuits, each having a pair of mixers and a local oscillator, in which a digital television signal is input to the pair of mixers, which directly output baseband signals. The first direct conversion circuit may have a frequency divider or a multiplier. Each of the pair of mixers, the local oscillator, the frequency divider, and the multiplier is constituted by a balanced circuit. An oscillation signal of the local oscillator in the first direct conversion circuit is input to the pair of mixers of the first direct conversion circuit through the frequency divider or the multiplier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2006
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Satoshi Kawai
  • Patent number: 6995804
    Abstract: An apparatus for separating color and luminance signals from a composite video signal in consideration of the existence and degree of a motion of the video image. The apparatus includes an output section, a first filter, a second filter, a third filter, a motion detector, a motion estimator, a color selector and a luminance selector. The color and luminance selectors select and output the color and the luminance signal from the output signals of the filters in accordance with the existence and degree of the motion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2006
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Sun Kyu Kwon, Yeong-Ho Ha
  • Patent number: 6996837
    Abstract: Terminal equipment has a master terminal (1) and a slave terminal (2), the master terminal (1) includes a first tuner (TA) receiving the cablecast signal for television programming delivered from the cable television station, and applying an image signal produced from the cablecast signal to a first television receiver (3); a second tuner (TB) receiving a cablecast signal, and applying an image signal produced from the cablecast signal; and a transmitter/receiver (RT) radio-transmitting the image signal output from the second tuner section, the slave terminal (2) includes a radio-receiving section for receiving the image signal transmitted from the transmitter/receiver (RT) of the master terminal (1), and applying the image signal, received by the radio-receiving section, to a second television receiver (5).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2006
    Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
    Inventors: Takeshi Miura, Nobuo Uee, Mitsuru Nishitsuka
  • Patent number: 6995802
    Abstract: An image binarization method having highest fidelity for multi-digitized luminance data, and a binary image creation method by which images can be obtained in real-time without post-processing. Thresholds in binarization are not fixed, but set in accordance with changes in luminance, thus allowing real time images to be obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2006
    Inventor: Keiichi Sugimoto
  • Patent number: 6992730
    Abstract: Process for mobile reception of television signals in which an output signal (SA) is derived from n different (S1 . . . S5) and is supplied to the reproduction part of the receiver, the n input signals (S1 . . . S5) being weighted, the output signal (SA) being formed by summing of the weighted input signals, and the quality of each of the n input signals (S1 . . . S5) being evaluated using at least one given criterion for determining the adaptively determined weighting factors, characterized in that the n input signals (S1 . . . S5) are time-synchronized before their evaluation, summing and weighting, and the horizontal and/or vertical video synchronization pulses contained in the input signals (S1 . . . S5) are used for control of time synchronization.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2006
    Assignee: Hirschmann Electronics GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Wolfgang Sautter, Achim Ratzel, Dieter Schenkyr
  • Patent number: 6993789
    Abstract: A system for providing a data broadcast service for digital television receivers. The system includes a data authoring system for creating a program description, a data service encoder for combining the description with other information and encoding it, and a multiplexer for using the encoded data service information into a transport data stream. A receiver at the client end receives the transport data stream and extracts the data and the audiovisual program and builds a summary for the viewer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2006
    Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America
    Inventors: Muhammed Ibrahim Sezan, Regis J. Crinon
  • Patent number: 6987541
    Abstract: A video signal processing circuit. includes: a bell table, a first switch, a carrier generating unit, a second switch and a calculation processing unit. The bell table inputs a color difference signal to output a modulation signal having an amplitude defined by the SECAM Standard of the color difference signal. The first switch selects one of the color difference signal and the modulation signal to output a first signal. The carrier generating unit inputs the color difference signal to generate a carrier signal having a frequency defined by the SECAM Standard of the color difference signal. The second switch selects one of the carrier signal and a carrier signal having frequency defined by the PAL Standard and/or the NTSC Standard to output a second signal. The calculation processing unit calculates the first and second signals to output a color difference modulation signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2006
    Assignee: NEC Electronics Corporation
    Inventor: Yoshikazu Komatsu
  • Patent number: 6987545
    Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus that facilitates compression of video data in a computer system by performing the time-consuming task of computing the difference between successive frames of video data. This frees the often-overburdened central processing unit from this time-consuming compression operation and can thereby improve the handling of video data. Thus, one embodiment of the present invention can be characterized as an apparatus for compressing video data. This apparatus includes a video input port, for receiving video data for a current video frame, and a video input buffer, for storing video data from the video input port. The apparatus additionally includes a previous frame buffer, for storing at least a portion of a previous video frame, as well as an operation unit, for performing an operation between video data from the video input buffer and video data from the previous frame buffer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2006
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Dean A. Klein
  • Patent number: 6985191
    Abstract: A computer comprises: a central processing unit (CPU) driving an operating system (OS); a television (TV) receiver part for receiving external television signals; a storage unit for storing the television signals therein; a reserve-recording set-up part for setting up reserve-recording conditions for the television signals; a record-controlling part for storing the television signals in the storage unit according to the set-up reserve-recording conditions; and a power control part for controlling power supply to allow switching between a normal mode and a power saving mode, and for switching from the power saving mode to the normal mode according to the set-up reserve-recording conditions when a time set-up for reserve-recording approaches, wherein the computer system supplies power to the central processing unit in the normal mode, whereas it does not supply power to the central processing unit in the power saving mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2006
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Seung-Beom Choi
  • Patent number: 6986159
    Abstract: The present invention relate to a digital broadcast system, and it is an object of the invention to record contents quickly in a broadcast system which implements interactivity by transmitting a set of data repeatedly, wherein a digital broadcast receiver separates a table corresponding to video images from streams in an arbitrary order and repeats the processing of memorizing the video image data to be identified in the order of obtaining the same by means of the table corresponding to the video images until all of the set of video images have been memorized. This allows for performing, in a short time, storage process of video image data broadcast for the purpose of efficient reproduction by a receiver having no storage function. Additionally, the data is available to viewers at any time after the completion of storage thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2006
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tatsuya Shimoji, Masahiro Oashi, Hiroyuki Waki, Junichi Hirai
  • Patent number: 6985192
    Abstract: In a receiver for processing a vestigial sideband modulated signal containing terrestrial broadcast high definition television information and a pilot component, and for which multipath interference can lead to significant attenuation within narrow bands of the received signal spectrum containing the pilot tone of an Advanced Television Systems Committee high definition television broadcast signal, it has been found desirable to amplify the input signal in order to achieve synchronization of the receiver's phase-locked loop to the received pilot tone. Once this initial acquisition has been established, the amplification applied to the received signal can be reduced to a level appropriate for remaining blocks in the demodulation chain without upsetting the pilot tone synchronization. Thus, according to the present invention, the gain applied to the received ATSC VSB signal is set higher during pilot tone acquisition than it is during the remaining stages of demodulation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2006
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventors: Aaron Reel Bouillet, John Sidney Stewart
  • Patent number: 6983483
    Abstract: In a television system in which at least program title information for programs which are to be transmitted in the future is transmitted in advance to form a channel guide listing, apparatus is provided for searching the listing for specific user-entered information, and upon successful conclusion to the search, the apparatus schedules the tuning of the desired program, or in the alternative, notifies the viewer of the availability of the program. In those instances where descriptive text accompanies the program listing, apparatus of the invention performs a search of the text for a particular text string which may relate to the title, the star, the director, or the context of the program, among other search criteria.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2006
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventors: Kenneth Wayne Maze, Jeffrey Philip Reavis, Robert Howard Miller, Sheila Renee Crosby, Keith Reynolds Wehmeyer, Hugh Boyd Morrison, Megan Louise Brown
  • Patent number: 6981273
    Abstract: A system for localizing an EPG program schedule, including an EPG service provider station including a database of channels and corresponding EPG program schedule information, a database manager identifying a plurality of channel line-ups potentially receivable at a viewing location, a transmitter, and a receiver, a multimedia viewer situated at the viewing location including an automatic channel line-up identifier identifying a first line-up of television channels receivable at the viewing location, a channel line-up processor at the viewing location calculating a channel line-up from among the plurality of channel line-ups that substantially matches the first line-up, a receiver receiving from the EPG service provider station the plurality of channel line-ups, and a transmitter transmitting to the EPG service provider station the identifier of the channel line-up calculated by the channel line-up processor, and a network connection linking the multimedia viewer to the EPG service provider, wherein the EPG s
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2005
    Assignee: Sonic Solutions
    Inventors: Patrick A. Domegan, William L. Marriott, Andrei Stebakov
  • Patent number: 6981275
    Abstract: A television receiver in which a summary of an electronic mail can be displayed along with a television picture. A central processing unit (CPU) receives an electronic mail by an electronic mail function via a modem 4 adapted for connection to an external mail server and extracts the summary of the electronic mail by a summary extraction function to write the electronic mail summary in a display memory 7. The CPU 1 causes the summary of the electronic mail to be superimposed on the television picture by a superimposing function of a television receiving unit 6 to display the electronic mail summary along with the television picture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2005
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Satoru Maeda, Nobutaka Tani