Patents Examined by Michael H. Lee
  • Patent number: 6791626
    Abstract: An input switching circuit for a television tuner includes first and second switching circuits provided between first and second input terminals to which a television signal and an FM broadcasting signal are input and an output terminal. The second switching circuit passes the FM broadcasting signal when receiving the FM broadcasting signal while blocking the FM broadcasting signal when receiving the television signal between the second input terminal and the output terminal. The second switching circuit includes first two diodes connected in series with each other between the second input terminal and the output terminal, which are turned off when receiving the television signal and turned on when receiving the FM broadcasting signal; and a second diode connected between the node between the first two diodes and the ground, which is turned on when receiving the television signal and turned off when receiving the FM broadcasting signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2004
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masaki Yamamoto, Toshiro Furuta
  • Patent number: 6791621
    Abstract: A line doubling processing system has an input signal switching output section for receiving sequential input fields and for outputting, based on the sequential input fields, a plurality of fields obtained from the same image, and a line doubling device for generating one line-doubled field using the plurality of fields that are output from the input signal switching output section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Muzaffar Husain Bin Fakhruddin, Seiko Imai, Toshio Sarugaku
  • Patent number: 6788352
    Abstract: A television based on an operating system, including: a first memory storing a boot loader program, the boot loader program performing a hardware basic test and a booting; a television signal generating portion outputting a television broadcast; a second memory storing a MPEG control program and preset channel information, the MPEG control program driving the television signal processing portion to output a video signal corresponding to a received television broadcast corresponding to the stored preset channel information; and a central processing unit executing the boot loader program, executing the MPEG control program after the hardware basic test of the boot loader program and loading the operating system onto a random access memory after the MPEG control program drives the television signal processing portion to output the video signal corresponding to the received television broadcast corresponding to the stored preset channel information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2004
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Jae-Ik Kim
  • Patent number: 6788351
    Abstract: A fly-back pulse width adjustment circuit and a method for adjusting the width of a fly-back pulse which are applied to a video signal processing unit realized as one chip are provided. The fly-back pulse width adjustment circuit is built into a video signal processing unit including a video amplifier, an on screen display unit, and a horizontal/vertical synchronous signal processing unit within the video signal processing unit realized as one chip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2004
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Jae-hoon Lee
  • Patent number: 6788350
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for effectively implementing a unified clock-recovery system includes an analog frontend module that is configured to generate an analog-source timing reference signal that is based upon analog-source data. Similarly, a digital frontend module may extract a digital-source timing reference signal based upon digital-source data. A switch module may then select between the analog-source timing reference signal and the digital-source timing reference signal to thereby provide a selected input timing reference signal to a unified backend clock recovery module. The backend clock recovery module may then compare the selected input timing reference signal with an output timing reference signal in order to generate a timing error for advantageously adjusting a local clock to thereby compensate for the foregoing timing error.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2004
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc.
    Inventor: Klaus Zimmermann
  • Patent number: 6788348
    Abstract: Transforming digital images including luminance data relating to points with first coordinates and chrominance data relating to points with second coordinates is performed. More particularly, the transforming is performed where one of the luminance data and the chrominance data is more numerous than the other. This is done by processing the least numerous data by filtering to obtain least numerous data relating to points with identical coordinates to those of the most numerous data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2004
    Assignee: ST Microelectronics SA
    Inventors: Emmanuel Chiaruzzi, Franck Seigneret
  • Patent number: 6784923
    Abstract: The present invention provides for inductive pick-up devices employing a diversity and adaptive antenna arrangement. By utilizing diversity and adaptive antennas, the pick-up can be installed by a consumer without use of a computer monitor or other device to determine alignment. In addition, the arrangement increases the level of signal available to a data decoding system. In combining the two types of pick-ups and using the best features of both, we additionally gain performance on synchronizing frame rate and picking up data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2004
    Assignee: Agere Systems Inc.
    Inventors: Katherine Grace August, Robert Duchatellier, Norman R. Shaer, Theodore Sizer, II
  • Patent number: 6784921
    Abstract: A film mode detection method using a periodic pattern of a video sequence comprises the steps of: computing every absolute value of differences between every pair of corresponding pixels in two fields which are arranged within a predetermined distance on a time line; comparing a sum of the absolute value of differences between every corresponding pixels in two fields with the first predetermined threshold value M1 and limiting the sum to the first threshold value if the sum is greater than the first threshold value; filtering the video sequence and calculating a power of the filtered sum; and comparing the calculated power with the second predetermined threshold value M2 so as to determine the signal as a film mode if the power of the sum is greater than the second threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2004
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventor: Il Taek Lim
  • Patent number: 6784943
    Abstract: An auxiliary digital data extractor in a television receiver includes a source of a composite video signal. The composite video signal includes an auxiliary digital data component which is either a first frame code having a predetermined number of bits and auxiliary data in a first format, or a second frame code having the same number of bits and auxiliary data in a second format. A frame code detector is coupled to the composite video signal source. The frame code detector is responsive to one subset of the frame code bits to detect the first frame code and to a different subset of frame code bits to detect the second frame code. An auxiliary data utilization circuit is coupled to the composite video signal source and the frame code detector. The auxiliary data utilization circuit receives auxiliary data in the either first format when the first frame code is detected or the second format when the second frame code is detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2004
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing S.A.
    Inventor: Juri Tults
  • Patent number: 6784947
    Abstract: An image display apparatus which employs a cathode ray tube displays, when an image displayed on a screen of the cathode ray tube is to be corrected against an inclination caused by the terrestrial magnetism, a reference for correction is displayed on the screen of the cathode ray tube so that correction current appropriate for correction of the image against the inclination caused by the terrestrial magnetism can be obtained in a short time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Fumito Kuramochi, Etsuko Morota, Katsuyuki Kurita
  • Patent number: 6784944
    Abstract: A method and system of noise filtering is provided. The pixels of a first filter mask are separated into groups based on luminance . . . The sizes of each group is determined and a largest group is selected. The distance of each group of pixels from the largest group is also calculated. Pixels in groups that are small compared to the largest group and far from the largest group are tagged as noisy. After tagging the noisy pixels, additional filtering can be applied to the pixels of first filter mask without degradation from the tagged pixels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2004
    Assignee: SmartASIC, Inc.
    Inventors: Biao Zhang, Jin Ji
  • Patent number: 6784942
    Abstract: A system and method for generating an interpolated pixel at a vertical position in a field of a video frame. The method comprises the steps of receiving at least two pixels vertically adjacent the vertical position in the field and at least three pixels from at least one adjacent field, detecting a degree of motion in the vicinity of the interpolated pixel, providing weighting factors based on the degree of motion, and calculating the interpolated pixel based on a combination of weighted contributions from the at least two pixels and the at least three pixels. The weighted contributions are derived from a combination of the weighting factors and at least vertical-temporal and temporal interpolation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2004
    Assignee: Genesis Microchip, Inc.
    Inventors: Steve Selby, Daniel Stan
  • Patent number: 6781635
    Abstract: A display processing system 10 includes a portable phone 20, a conversion adaptor 40, a controller 50, and a television monitor 60. When the portable phone 20 is attached to the conversion adaptor 40 to be connected therewith and receives a display switching signal from the controller 50, the CPU 23 supplies image display data to a video memory 44 and supplies audio data to an audio buffer 46. Thereby, the television monitor 60 displays an image and a speaker of the television monitor 60 outputs audio. In this manner, it is possible to display, on a large screen of the television monitor 60, game images based on game data, and various kinds of characters and symbols such as news, weather report, fortune-telling, or the like, received from information providing servers by the portable terminal 20.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2004
    Assignee: Nintendo Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Genyo Takeda
  • Patent number: 6781639
    Abstract: Each horizontal deflection coil 2 comprises the smaller diameter flange 2A. A width “b” of the smaller diameter flange 2A in the horizontal direction of a screen of a color picture tube is more than twice a height “a” of the smaller diameter flange 2A in the vertical direction of the screen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2004
    Assignee: Victor Company of Japan, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takahiro Nozawa, Manabu Asayama
  • Patent number: 6781638
    Abstract: A system and method for using a remote control device to simulate a skip search operation on a consumer appliance playing a recorded media. In response to a sensed activation of a skip search button, the remote control transmits at least one recorded media shuttle command to the consumer appliance and, after waiting a period of time, transmits an additional command to the consumer appliance to cause the recorded media to resume playback at a standard speed. When the media shuttle command is a fast forward command, the simulated skip search is effective for forwarding past timed portions of the recorded media. When the media shuttle command is a rewind command, the simulated skip search is effective for replaying timed portions of the recorded media.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2004
    Assignee: Universal Electronics Inc.
    Inventor: Patrick H. Hayes
  • Patent number: 6781636
    Abstract: A video apparatus includes a histogram modification means circuit for matching at least luminance signals (Y) for separate pixels to prescribed values. The histogram modification circuit has a first memory (3) with a first look-up table for correcting the video luminance signals (Y), and a second memory (4) with a second look-up table (4) for correcting the color-difference signals (U and V). The values within the second look-up table (4) are derived from the values in the first look-up table (3). Preferably, in order to obtain a distribution of a rounding-off error over a pixel's neighbor, each of the channels for the luminance (Y) and color-difference signals (U and V) includes a closed lsb (least significant bit) correction loop (14, 14′) with a quantizer (15, 15′) and a pixel memory (16, 16′), the input of the lsb correction loop being formed by the corrected luminance and corrected color-difference signals, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2004
    Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
    Inventor: Jeroen Hubert Christoffel Jacobus Stessen
  • Patent number: 6778222
    Abstract: A data broadcast apparatus repeatedly broadcasts broadcast data to a reception apparatus which stores the broadcast data into a memory and reproduces the broadcast data stored in the memory, according to a carousel method. An acquiring unit acquires a plurality of sets of broadcast data which each have a specified reproduction start time. A generating unit generates carousel data including the plurality of sets of broadcast data. A carousel data broadcasting unit repeatedly broadcasts the carousel data according to the carousel method, beginning at the earliest reproduction start time of the plurality of sets of broadcast data. An instruction broadcasting unit broadcasts, for each set of broadcast data, an instruction that indicates to the reception apparatus to start reproducing the set of broadcast data at a reproduction start time specified for the set of broadcast data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2004
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Junichi Hirai, Akihiro Tanaka
  • Patent number: 6778224
    Abstract: A method for placing overlay elements in images of a digital video so that desirable viewing areas of the images are not occluded by the overlay element, the method includes extracting frames from the video, each of the frames defining an image which may have one or more desirable viewing areas. For each frame, an area is selected in the image for placing an overlay element and the percentage the overlay element overlaps the desirable viewing areas is determined for the selected area. The overlay element is placed in the selected area if the percentage is below a maximum allowed predetermined percentage of overlapping. If it is not, one or more other areas in the image are selected and/or the size, shape, aspect ratio of the overlay element is changed until a position and/or size, shape, aspect ratio is found which minimizes occlusion of the desirable viewing areas in the image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2004
    Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
    Inventors: Serhan Dagtas, Mohamed Abdel-Mottaleb
  • Patent number: 6778221
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for converting between different video formats, which provide smooth video motion by eliminating unnatural effects which could be introduced in the process of video format conversion. A frame interpolator produces interpolated frames from a first video signal given in a first video format by using motion vectors of the first video signal. From the interpolated frames, a video signal generator produces a second video signal in a second video format that is incompatible with the first video format.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2004
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Nishioka, Yuji Mori, Mitsunori Ohno, Yuuji Takenaka
  • Patent number: 6774951
    Abstract: A printing apparatus for printing the content information contained in the digital broadcast received by an STB, in which flexible printing is achieved efficiently at a low cost. The digital broadcast is received by an STB 30 and demonstrated on a display device 31 as the contents information comprehended in the ddb is printed by a printer 32. The contents information comprehended in the digital broadcast is converted by a contents information conversion unit 68 into contents suited for printing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Toshio Narushima