Patents Examined by Nelson D Runkle, III
  • Patent number: 8581861
    Abstract: A pointer detection apparatus includes a conductor pattern with first conductors disposed in a first direction and second conductors disposed in a second direction that crosses the first direction, and a code string signal production circuit for producing signals based on orthogonal code strings with phases different from each other and supplying the produced signals to the first conductors. The apparatus also includes a signal detection circuit connected to the second conductors for detecting a signal corresponding to a variation of electrostatic capacitance between the conductor pattern and a pointer, an analog to digital conversion (ADC) circuit for converting the signal output from the signal detection circuit into a digital signal comprising a word string of multiple bits, and a correlation detection circuit for determining correlation values between the code strings and the word string.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2013
    Assignee: Wacom Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuo Oda, Yoshihisa Sugiyama, Sadao Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 8558805
    Abstract: A touch screen panel includes a transparent substrate, connecting patterns on the transparent substrate, the connecting patterns including a plurality of first connecting patterns arranged in a first direction and a plurality of second connecting patterns arranged in a second direction, sensing cells including a plurality of first sensing cells connected in the first direction by the first connecting patterns and a plurality of second sensing cells connected in the second direction by the second connecting patterns, and conductive dummy patterns between adjacent sensing cells, the conductive dummy patterns and sensing cells being positioned at different height levels relative to the transparent substrate, and the conductive dummy patterns including prominences projected toward the sensing cells and partially overlapping the sensing cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2013
    Assignee: Samsung Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Keun-Soo Lee, Jeong-Yeol Lee
  • Patent number: 8542167
    Abstract: A display apparatus has several light emitting elements and several lenses. The light emitting elements generate light of a first and second part of a frame respectively during a first and second period. The lenses pass through by the light from the light emitting elements, and operate to form images of the first and second part of the frame at a first and second location during the first and second period, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2013
    Assignee: Himax Technologies Limited
    Inventors: Yu-Wen Chiou, Biing-Seng Wu, Lin-Kai Bu
  • Patent number: 8525761
    Abstract: A display device and a method of driving the same are provided. The display device includes a scan driver that generates a plurality of scanning signals, a data driver that generates a data voltage, and a plurality of pixels that receive the data voltage according to the scanning signal and that display luminance corresponding to the data voltage. Each pixel receives its own data voltage and a data voltage of other pixels while displaying a black color when its own scanning signal is in a first state, and stops reception of the data voltage and displays luminance corresponding to its own data voltage when its own scanning signal is in a second state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2013
    Assignee: Samsung Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Si-Duk Sung, Byung-Sik Koh, Young-Il Kim, Kyong-Tae Park
  • Patent number: 8508487
    Abstract: An information processing apparatus including an operation input unit including an operation surface having virtual buttons variably set thereto is disclosed. The apparatus includes a position detection unit detecting whether a user touches the operation surface of the operation input unit, and a position at which the user touches the operation surface thereof, and a pressure detection unit detecting pressure applied by the user touching the operation surface thereof. The apparatus further includes a virtual button control unit interpreting, when the position detection unit has detected the position at which the user touches the operation surface thereof, a virtual button corresponding to the detected position as a selected virtual button, and correcting, when the pressure detected is equal to or greater than a first threshold value, a layout of the virtual buttons such that a size of the selected virtual button is enlarged according to intensity of the detected pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Carsten Schwesig, Tobias Daniel Rydenhag
  • Patent number: 8497840
    Abstract: A computer peripheral that may operate as a hand-held scanner and, in some embodiments, also as a conventional computer mouse. The components incorporated in the device to support scanning may be compact and may be positioned to allow flexibility in shaping a housing of the device. As a result, the device may be ergonomically shaped to facilitate hand-held use as either a scanner or a mouse. Controls, for mouse or scanner operation, may be readily incorporated into the device. The components may also be low cost. Such a low cost, compact design may be achieved through an appropriate selection of curved reflective surfaces in optical paths through the housing. The curved reflective surface may selectively focus or spread light traveling along an optical path, reducing or eliminating the need for lenses and may enable light emitting elements and an image array to be mounted on the same printed circuit board.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2013
    Assignee: Dacuda AG
    Inventors: Martin Georg Zahnert, Erik Fonseka, Alexander Ilic
  • Patent number: 8497889
    Abstract: A display apparatus comprises a display unit and a controller. The display unit displays a first image and a second image. The controller controls the display unit. When the second image is displayed after an enlargement of a part of the first image is performed, the controller specifies a first position relationship between the first enlargement and the first image, and performs the enlargement of the second image on the basis of the first positional relationship.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2013
    Assignee: Pentax Ricoh Imaging Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Shigenori Fujio
  • Patent number: 8487892
    Abstract: A touch screen panel includes first and second substrates disposed to face each other, conductive sensing cells in a touch active area on a first surface of the first substrate that faces the second substrate, a black matrix in a non-touch active area on a first surface of the second substrate that faces the first substrate, the non-touch active area being positioned outside the touch active area, an adhesive layer between the first and second substrates, the adhesive layer joining the first and second substrates together, and an insulating layer in the touch active area on the first substrate, the insulating layer covering the conductive sensing cells and overlapping a concave portion formed on the first surface of the second substrate by the black matrix.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2013
    Assignee: Samsung Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Sung-Ku Kang, Hwan Hee Jeong
  • Patent number: 8477086
    Abstract: In an organic EL display, correction is made for a difference in screen luminance between the case of measuring characteristics of OLED elements, and the case of not measuring the characteristics of the OLED elements. A data line for feeding image data items, and a detection line for measuring the characteristics of the OLED elements are connected to respective pixels. Detection of the characteristics of the OLED elements is executed by utilizing a specified period of a frame period. Because an image-displaying period is limited in a frame where measurement of the characteristics of the OLED element 11 is executed, the luminance undergoes deterioration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2013
    Assignees: Hitachi Displays, Ltd., Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mitsuhide Miyamoto, Tohru Kohno, Masato Ishii, Naruhiko Kasai, Hajime Akimoto
  • Patent number: 8416221
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for selecting media files are provided. In the present invention, three keys are used for selecting a plurality of media files, wherein one of the keys is used for rotating and selecting a presently displayed media file, one of the keys is used for directly selecting the presently displayed media file, and another key is used for skipping the presently displayed media file. Complete select functions can be executed to a plurality of media files stored in any path by using foregoing three keys. The selected media files are stored in another path as being selected without spending time in actions such as moving, copying, and deleting, etc. Thus, the media file select operation is greatly simplified.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2013
    Assignee: Corel Corporation
    Inventors: Chien-Chuan Chang, Ming-Huang Lin
  • Patent number: 8411037
    Abstract: A keyboard key has a key portion that forms a cantilevered beam pivotable about an axis. A switch is disposed relative to the cantilevered beam, such that rotation of the cantilever beam about the axis causes depression of the switch. The switch is offset from an applied force-receiving portion of the key portion. A touch sensitive key also includes a touch sensor detecting contact with the key portion of the key. The invention can be extended such that the key portion is formed of transparent or semi-transparent material. The invention can also be extended to include touch sensitive areas on any portion of an upper case of the computer keyboard.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2013
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Glen C. Larsen, Daniel G. O'Neil, Scott M. Mail, David M. Lane
  • Patent number: 8395592
    Abstract: A sensing system is provided in the present application. The sensing system includes a plurality of input areas, by each of which an input is received and an input signal is generated; and a processing device electrically coupled with the each of the plurality of input areas and performing a validation criterion for determining a means processing the input signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2013
    Assignees: Apex Material Technology Corp., Salt International Corp.
    Inventors: Su-Hwa Chao, Shang-Li Lee, Wei-Jen Tai
  • Patent number: 8390572
    Abstract: A touch-sensitive display surface having touch-capacitive and vibration sensors. This surface allows the user to rest their fingers on the keys of an onscreen keyboard and type as they would on a regular keyboard. As the user places their fingers on the touch screen, the system relocates the onscreen keyboard to the location where the fingers are resting. The touch sensors report the signal strength level of each key touched to a processor, but no keystroke is issued by the processor until a corresponding “tap” (i.e., vibration) is detected. When a tap is detected, the processor references the status of the touch capacitance sensors before, during, and/or immediately after the moment in time the tap occurred. The size, position, and orientation of the onscreen keyboard keys are dynamically set as determined by the user initiating a home-row definition event by resting their fingers momentarily on a virtual home-row.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: Cleankeys Inc.
    Inventors: Randal J. Marsden, Steve Hole
  • Patent number: 8384695
    Abstract: Provided are an automatic impedance adjuster and a control method thereof. The automatic impedance adjuster includes a specific channel for checking an operating environment. When an operation signal of the specific channel is detected or operation signals of all the channels are detected, the automatic impedance adjustment operation is performed to prevent malfunction of the impedance adjustment operation. In addition, malfunction of a touch sensor due to variation of the operating environment can be prevented to improve operating reliability of the touch sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2013
    Assignee: ATLAB Inc.
    Inventors: Bang-Won Lee, Byung-Joon Moon, Jae-Surk Hong
  • Patent number: 8325141
    Abstract: A touch sensitive surface having touch-capacitive and vibration sensors. This surface allows the user to rest their fingers on the keys and type as they would on a regular keyboard. As the user places their fingers on the keys, the touch capacitive sensors (one per key) report the signal strength level of each key touched to a processor, but no keystroke is issued by the processor until a corresponding “tap” (ie. vibration) is detected. When a tap is detected, the processor references the status of the touch capacitance sensors before, during, and/or immediately after the moment in time the tap occurred.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: Madentec Limited
    Inventor: Randal J. Marsden
  • Patent number: 8305325
    Abstract: A color display apparatus includes a display unit having electro-optical elements arranged in a row direction and a column direction, scanning lines provided in respective rows of the electro-optical elements to select respective rows, and data lines provided in respective columns and supplying data signals to electro-optical elements in the row which the scanning lines select, and conversion circuits each of which receives a digital video signal and converts the digital video signal to an analog video signal. In addition, a first dispersion circuit receives the analog video signals outputted from the conversion circuits and exchanges an arrangement of the analog video signals to output to bus lines, column drive circuits sample the analog video signals in the bus lines in a time sharing manner and generate and output the data signals, and a second dispersion circuit receives the data signals outputted from the column drive circuits and rearranges the data signals to output to the data lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2012
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Somei Kawasaki, Masami Iseki, Fujio Kawano
  • Patent number: 8305317
    Abstract: In a method for addressing an LCD display in color sequential mode, the color frames of a received video sequence are rearranged to form a display sequence applied to the LCD display. The arrangement of the color frames in the display sequence is such that the succession of the colors of the color frames and/or the duration of the color frames is random. Such a method may find application to direct view screens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2012
    Assignee: Thales
    Inventors: Maxime Vaillant, Patrick Rocca, Hugues Lebrun
  • Patent number: 8269800
    Abstract: With a source voltage of a transistor driving a light emitting element set to a fixed voltage, variations in an emission luminance due to variations in the threshold voltage of the transistor are corrected. The fixed voltage is set in accordance with a signal level of a drive pulse signal on-off controlling a transistor supplying power to the first transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Katsuhide Uchino, Tetsuro Yamamoto, Junichi Yamashita
  • Patent number: 8264463
    Abstract: An input device inputs information by a slide operation depending on an operation body. The device contains a housing having an operation surface, a detection unit that is provided in the housing and includes an electrostatic capacitance sheet member which detects a slide position of the operation body to output a position detection signal, and an operation unit that covers an entire surface of the detection unit and is slide-operated along the operation surface of the housing. The operation unit has a convex shape which becomes thicker along a sliding direction from one direction of the operation surface of the housing and also which becomes thinner toward the other direction of the operation surface thereof. The electrostatic capacitance sheet member includes a switch portion that is switched by a press-in operation of the operation body to the operation unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2012
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Mobile Communications Japan, Inc.
    Inventors: Kouichiro Takashima, Seiji Muramatsu, Tsutomu Takahashi, Shun Kayama, Yukiko Shimizu, Takashi Sawada, Satoshi Kushima, Shinji Kanada, Minoru Tomita
  • Patent number: 8248382
    Abstract: An input device includes a plurality of X scanning electrodes and a common detection electrode that forms capacitances together with the X scanning electrodes. A first driving signal is sequentially supplied to the X scanning electrodes, and a second driving signal is supplied to the X scanning electrodes other than the X scanning electrodes adjacent to the X scanning electrode supplied with the first driving signal. It is possible to detect two X scanning electrodes simultaneously approached by the fingers by detecting a current generated in the detection electrode when the first driving signal P and the second driving signal N are supplied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: ALPS Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Tetsuo Muranaka