Patents Examined by Lindsay Uhl
  • Patent number: 10114207
    Abstract: A three-dimensional information obtaining apparatus includes an illumination optical system that illuminates a sample with a light sheet, an imaging device that has a two-dimensional imaging element and that captures an image of the sample illuminated by the illumination optical system, an observation optical system that forms, on the two-dimensional imaging element, a plurality of optical images of the sample observed from a plurality of different directions, and an arithmetic device that calculates three-dimensional information of the sample from a plurality of pieces of image data of the sample. A thickness D of the light sheet satisfies D?8·PP/?/NA when PP>?·?/(4·NA) is satisfied, where PP is a pixel pitch of the two-dimensional imaging element, ? is a wavelength of observation light, ? is a magnification of the plurality of optical images, and NA is a numerical aperture on an object side of the observation optical system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2018
    Assignee: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hiroshi Ishiwata
  • Patent number: 10109063
    Abstract: An imaging system is configured to identify an object represented by a plurality of preliminary images. The preliminary images are each associated with a different camera imaging channel, and include different image information. An object distance is determined based on the difference in preliminary image information. An object shift is determined based on the object distance and a pre-determined relationship between object shift and object distance. The object shift is applied to the portions of one or more preliminary images representing the object to form shifted preliminary images, and the shifted preliminary images are combined to form a final image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2018
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Ziv Attar, Andrey Tovchigrechko
  • Patent number: 10096113
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method for designing an electro-optical imaging system for estimating the distance of a source includes use of an optical subsystem, a detector subsystem and a digital image processing subsystem. The method includes the modelling of the propagation of radiation from its source through the optical subsystem, the detector subsystem and the digital image processing subsystem; the modelling being based on a spatial model of the source; the method including a joint step of simultaneously designing the optical subsystem and the digital image processing subsystem, the designing step being based at least on one performance metric depending on a comparison between the local estimation of the distance from the source and the actual distance from the source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: OFFICE NATIONAL D'ETUDES ET DE RECHERCHES AEROSPATIALES (ONERA)
    Inventors: Pauline Trouve, Frederic Champagnat, Guy Le Besnerais, Guillaume Druart
  • Patent number: 10097851
    Abstract: Perceptual statistics are used to compute importance maps that indicate which regions of a video frame are important to the human visual system. Importance maps may be generated from encoders that produce motion vectors and employ motion estimation for inter-prediction. The temporal contrast sensitivity function (TCSF) may be computed from the encoder's motion vectors. Quality metrics may be used to construct a true motion vector map (TMVM), which refines the TCSF. Spatial complexity maps (SCMs) can be calculated from simple metrics (e.g. block variance, block luminance, SSIM, and edge detection). Importance maps with TCSF, TMVM, and SCM may be used to modify the standard rate-distortion optimization criterion for selecting the optimum encoding solution. Importance maps may modify encoder quantization. The spatial information for the importance maps may be provided by a lookup table based on block variance, where negative and positive spatial QP offsets for block variances are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: Euclid Discoveries, LLC
    Inventors: Nigel Lee, Sangseok Park, Myo Tun, Dane P. Kottke, Jeyun Lee, Christopher Weed
  • Patent number: 10094650
    Abstract: Methods for dimensioning a 3D item are described. A FOV is mapped over three spatial dimensions, each of the three spatial dimensions oriented orthogonally in relation to each of the others and graduated according to a linear scale. The 3D item is scanned relative to the mapped FOV. Each of the 2D surfaces of the scanned 3D item is identified. A dimension is measured for each of the identified 2D surfaces of the scanned 3D item. A perspective-correct representation of the measured dimension is rendered, in real time or near real time, with respect to the measuring the dimension step, onto each of the identified 2D surfaces of the scanned 3D item.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: Hand Held Products, Inc.
    Inventor: Erik Todeschini
  • Patent number: 10091507
    Abstract: Perceptual statistics may be used to compute importance maps that indicate which regions of a video frame are important to the human visual system. Importance maps may be applied to the video encoding process to enhance the quality of encoded bitstreams. The temporal contrast sensitivity function (TCSF) may be computed from the encoder's motion vectors. Motion vector quality metrics may be used to construct a true motion vector map (TMVM) that can be used to refine the TCSF. Spatial complexity maps (SCMs) can be calculated from metrics such as block variance, block luminance, SSIM, and edge strength, and the SCMs can be combined with the TCSF to obtain a unified importance map. Importance maps may be used to improve encoding by modifying the criterion for selecting optimum encoding solutions or by modifying the quantization for each target block to be encoded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: Euclid Discoveries, LLC
    Inventors: Nigel Lee, Sangseok Park, Myo Tun, Dane P. Kottke, Jeyun Lee, Christopher Weed
  • Patent number: 10060721
    Abstract: Methods for dimensioning a 3D item are described. A FOV is mapped over three spatial dimensions, each of the three spatial dimensions oriented orthogonally in relation to each of the others and graduated according to a linear scale. The 3D item is scanned relative to the mapped FOV. Each of the 2D surfaces of the scanned 3D item is identified. A dimension is measured for each of the identified 2D surfaces of the scanned 3D item. A perspective-correct representation of the measured dimension is rendered, in real time or near real time, with respect to the measuring the dimension step, onto each of the identified 2D surfaces of the scanned 3D item.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: Hand Held Products, Inc.
    Inventor: Erik Todeschini
  • Patent number: 10051274
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus that calculates information according to a motion of a frame of a moving image based on a motion vector detected in the frame decides the representative motion vector of each of a plurality of regions in the frame based on the detected motion vector, and calculates the information according to the motion of the frame based on, out of the motion vectors in each of the plurality of regions, a motion vector whose difference from the representative motion vector of each region is smaller than a predetermined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2018
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masaaki Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 9998615
    Abstract: A wearable helmet system with integrated peripherals may be provided. In some embodiments, the integrated peripherals may be provided without a helmet, but configured to be adapted into a helmet to form a helmet system consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. The helmet system may comprise a helmet adapted for sports play. The helmet may be integrated with a plurality of peripheral devices such as, for example, but not limited to, at least one camera configured to capture video data, at least one microphone configured to capture audio data, a communications module, a power module, and a processing module. The processing module is configured to control an operation of the integrated peripheral devices based on, for example, but not limited to, instructions received via the communications module and a location of the helmet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignee: FIELDCAST LLC
    Inventors: Saeed Z Anwar, Tenzing P. Tshering
  • Patent number: 9990726
    Abstract: A method of determining a position and orientation of a device is provided. The position and orientation of the device is determined based on multiple degrees of freedom (DoF) and the device is associated with a capturing device for capturing at least one image is provided. The method includes: capturing at least one image of a real object with the capturing device, and providing a coordinate system in relation to the object; providing an estimation of intrinsic parameters of the capturing device; providing pose data to compute first and second DoFs in the coordinate system, with each DoF having a confidence degree; determining an initial pose of the device; performing a pose estimation process, and calculating in the pose estimation process an estimation of the DoFs having a second confidence degree; and determining a position and orientation of the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Marion Langer, Peter Meier, Selim BenHimane
  • Patent number: 9992499
    Abstract: Systems and methods are presented for minimizing the suddenness and immediacy of changes to the video quality perceived by users due to bandwidth fluctuations and transitions between different bitrate streams. A method may include identifying an upcoming bitrate change in a bitstream and a nearest scene cut boundary from sync frame scene cut tags included in the bitstream. The method may include calculating whether waiting until the identified nearest scene cut boundary before changing the bitrate will cause the buffer to drop below a threshold. When the buffer is calculated to not drop below the threshold, the method may postpone the upcoming bitrate change until the identified nearest scene cut boundary.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Yeping Su, Hao Pan, James O. Normile, Hsi-Jung Wu
  • Patent number: 9979961
    Abstract: The invention relates to an image processing device and an image processing method capable of collectively encoding a color image and a depth image of different resolutions. The image processing device comprising an image frame converting unit that converts the resolution of the depth image to the same resolution as that of the color image. An additional information generating unit that generates additional information including information to specify the color image, or information to specify the depth image, image frame conversion information indicating an area of a black image included in the depth image, the resolution of which is converted, and resolution information to distinguish whether the resolutions of the color image and the depth image are different from each other. This technology may be applied to the image processing device of images of multiple viewpoints.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshitomo Takahashi, Shinobu Hattori
  • Patent number: 9973701
    Abstract: There is provided a monitoring system capable of facilitating checking of an installation status of a sensor body, and also capable of reducing personal identification of a worker even in the case of displaying a camera image with the worker appearing therein. The monitoring system is configured of: an intrusion detecting section for detecting an intruding object in a monitoring area, to generate a stop signal for stopping an operation of an external device; a camera for photographing the monitoring area; a detail check image generating section for generating a detail check image for display based on a camera image photographed by the camera; a privacy image generating section for generating a privacy image with lower picture quality than picture quality of the detail check image based on the camera image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2018
    Assignee: Keyence Corporation
    Inventors: Kentaro Yamazaki, Tsuyoshi Tagashira
  • Patent number: 9955166
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for processing a video signal and a video decoder, wherein an offset parameter of a reference block is acquired, an offset parameter of a current block is acquired by using the offset parameter of the reference block, an adaptive parameter is applied to the current block by using the offset parameter of the current block, and the reference block is a block in a different view point from the current block. According to the present invention, an accurate adaptive parameter can be applied to the current block by using an offset parameter of a reference view point in consideration of a difference between view points when obtaining the offset parameter of the current block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Taesup Kim, Jin Heo, Jiwook Jung, Sehoon Yea
  • Patent number: 9948872
    Abstract: Various systems and methods are disclosed for monitoring and controlling using small infrared imaging modules to enhance occupant safety and energy efficiency of buildings and structures. In one example, thermal images captured by infrared imaging modules may be analyzed to detect presence of persons, identify and classify power-consuming objects, and monitor environmental conditions. Based on the processed thermal images, various power-consuming objects (e.g., an HVAC system, lighting, a water heater, and other appliances) may be controlled to increase energy efficiency. In another example, thermal images captured by infrared imaging modules may be analyzed to detect various hazardous conditions, such as a combustible gas leak, a CO gas leak, a water leak, fire, smoke, and, an electrical hotspot. If such hazardous conditions are detected, an appropriate warning may be generated and/or various objects may be controlled to remedy the conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2018
    Assignee: FLIR Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey D. Frank, Pierre Boulanger, Shawn Jepson, Patrick B. Richardson, Nile E. Fairfield, Nicholas Högasten, Theodore R. Hoelter, Katrin Strandemar
  • Patent number: 9936215
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and instrumentalities are disclosed for reference picture set mapping for scalable video coding. A device may receive an encoded scalable video stream comprising a base layer video stream and an enhancement layer video stream. The base layer video stream and the enhancement layer video streams may be encoded according to different video codecs. For example, the base layer video stream may be encoded according to H.264/AVC and the enhancement layer may be encoded according to HEVC. The enhancement layer video stream may include inter-layer prediction information. The inter-layer prediction information may include information relating to the base layer coding structure. The inter-layer prediction information may identify one or more reference pictures available in a base layer decoded picture buffer (DPB). A decoder may use the inter-layer prediction information to decode the enhancement layer video stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: VID SCALE, Inc.
    Inventors: Yong He, Yan Ye, Yuwen He
  • Patent number: 9924171
    Abstract: Techniques use multiple lower bit depth (e.g., 8 bits) codecs to provide higher bit depth (e.g., 12+ bits) high dynamic range images from an upstream device to a downstream device. Multiple layers comprising a base layer and one or more enhancement layers may be used to carry video signals comprising image data compressed by lower bit depth encoders to a downstream device, wherein the base layer cannot be decoded and viewed on its own. Lower bit depth input image data to base layer processing may be generated from higher bit depth high dynamic range input image data via advanced quantization to minimize the volume of image data to be carried by enhancement layer video signals. The image data in the enhancement layer video signals may comprise residual values, quantization parameters, and mapping parameters based in part on a prediction method corresponding to a specific method used in the advanced quantization.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation
    Inventors: Guan-Ming Su, Sheng Qu, Samir N. Hulyalkar, Tao Chen, Walter C. Gish, Hubert Koepfer
  • Patent number: 9912945
    Abstract: Computer processor hardware: parses a data stream into first portions of encoded data and second portions of encoded data; implements a first decoder to decode the first portions of encoded data into a first rendition of a signal; implements a second decoder to decode the second portions of encoded data into reconstruction data, the reconstruction data specifying how to modify the first rendition of the signal; and applies the reconstruction data to the first rendition of the signal to produce a second rendition of the signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: V-Nova International Limited
    Inventors: Luca Rossato, Guido Meardi
  • Patent number: 9900625
    Abstract: A method of efficient information coding is provided. The method may code a bin string for signaling prefix part of a binarized absolute value of a first vector component of a block vector difference (BVD) or a motion vector difference (MVD). The method may code a bin string for signaling a prefix part of a binarized absolute value of a second vector component of the BVD or the MVD. The method may also code a bin string for signaling a suffix part of a binarized absolute value and a sign of the first vector component. The method may further code a bin string for signaling a suffix part of a binarized absolute value and a sign of the second vector component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: MediaTek Inc.
    Inventors: Shih-Ta Hsiang, Tzu-Der Chuang
  • Patent number: 9876992
    Abstract: An imaging apparatus in an embodiment includes lens optical systems each including a lens whose surface closest to the target object is shaped to be convex toward the target object, imaging regions which respectively face the lens optical systems and output a photoelectrically converted signal corresponding to an amount of light transmitting the lens optical systems and received by the imaging regions, and a light-transmissive cover which covers an exposed portion of the lens of each of the lens optical systems and a portion between the lens of one of the lens optical systems and the lens of another one of the lens optical systems adjacent to the one of the lens optical systems, the cover having a curved portion which is convex toward the target object. The optical axes of the lens optical systems are parallel to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2018
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Norihiro Imamura, Tsuguhiro Korenaga, Kunio Nobori, Takeo Azuma, Kazufumi Mizusawa