Patents Examined by Stephen R Koziol
  • Patent number: 9251618
    Abstract: The movement of skin on an animated target, such as a character or other object, is simulated via a simulation software application. The software application creates a finite element model (FEM) comprising a plurality of finite elements based on an animated target. The software application attaches a first constraint force to a node associated with a first finite element in the plurality of finite elements. The software application attaches a second constraint force to the node. The software application detects a movement of the first finite element that results in a corresponding movement of the node. The software application determines a new position for the node based on the movement of at least one of the first finite element, the first constraint force, and the second constraint force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2016
    Assignee: PIXAR
    Inventors: Ryan Kautzman, Jiayi Chong, Patrick Coleman
  • Patent number: 9245339
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method for determining a subject's fitment for a garment, has the steps of receiving a body type, receiving a body stance, receiving two or more photos of the subject comprising at least a side view photo and a front or rear view photo, determining the scale of each of the two or more photos, determining certain measurements from the two or more photos using the scale, and calculating further measurements from the determined measurements. The method may have the further steps of receiving one or more measurements comprising at least a height from the subject, and using the one or more measurements from the subject to determine a scale of each of the two or more photos. Alternatively, the scale of each of the two or more photos may be determined by a depth-sensing camera.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Inventor: George Haddad
  • Patent number: 9245172
    Abstract: An authentication apparatus includes a feature acquiring unit that acquires a feature of an authentication target; an extracting unit that extracts one or more registered persons having features similar to the acquired feature; a determining unit that determines whether any registered person having a feature similar to the feature of at least one extracted registered person exits in the registered persons; a first identifying unit that, if the determination is negative, identifies the registered person having the feature having a highest degree of similarity with the acquired feature as the authentication target; a specific information accepting unit that accepts information specific to the authentication target; and a second identifying unit that, if the determination is affirmative and the accepted specific information coincides with the information specific to any extracted registered person, identifies the registered person having the coinciding specific information as the authentication target.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tomitsugu Koseki, Yuichi Kawata, Nobuaki Suzuki, Hideki Yamasaki, Yoshifumi Bando, Kensuke Okamoto
  • Patent number: 9245353
    Abstract: An encoder generating encoded data. The encoder comprising an analysis unit for analysing portions of data to be encoded, and for directing the portions to one or more encoding units, the encoding units are operable to encode the data portions to generate encoded data. The one or more encoding units are operable to employ mutually different encoding algorithms when encoding the one or more portions. At least one encoding unit of the one or more encoding units is operable to compute data values present in each portion received thereat, to sub-divide the data values into at least two sets, to compute at least one aggregate value for a given set derived from the data values present in the given set. A corresponding decoder for decoding data generated by the encoder executes an inverse of encoding steps employed in the encoder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: Gurulogic Microsystems Oy
    Inventors: Ossi Kalevo, Tuomas Kärkkäinen
  • Patent number: 9239384
    Abstract: The various technologies presented herein relate to identifying manmade and/or natural features in a radar image. Two radar images (e.g., single polarization SAR images) can be captured for a common scene. The first image is captured at a first instance and the second image is captured at a second instance, whereby the duration between the captures are of sufficient time such that temporal decorrelation occurs for natural surfaces in the scene, and only manmade surfaces, e.g., a road, produce correlated pixels. A LCCD image comprising the correlated and decorrelated pixels can be generated from the two radar images. A median image can be generated from a plurality of radar images, whereby any features in the median image can be identified. A superpixel operation can be performed on the LCCD image and the median image, thereby enabling a feature(s) in the LCCD image to be classified.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2016
    Assignee: Sandia Corporation
    Inventors: James G. Chow, Mark W. Koch
  • Patent number: 9240041
    Abstract: A defect inspection device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a light source, a detector that receives light from an illuminated region of a sample, a stage that changes a relative position between light from the light source and the sample in order to sequentially inspect a plurality of unit inspection regions, a comparator that compares a detection signal output from the detector with a threshold according to scanning in the stage, a mask position setting unit that sets a common position of the plurality of unit inspection regions as a mask position in order to mask the common position when the plurality of unit inspection regions are sequentially inspected, and a defect detection unit that detects a defect based on a comparison result in the comparison unit in another region than the mask position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2016
    Assignee: Lasertec Corporation
    Inventors: Tomoya Tamura, Hiroyuki Miyamoto
  • Patent number: 9235925
    Abstract: Virtual surface techniques are described. These techniques support the use of initialization and batching of updates, use of updates and lookaside lists, use of gutters, blending and BLT operations, use of surface optimization techniques such as push down as well as enumeration and clumping, mesh usage, and use of occlusion management techniques.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Reiner Fink, Leonardo E. Blanco, Cenk Ergan, Joshua Warren Priestley, Silvana Patricia Moncayo
  • Patent number: 9230296
    Abstract: A method of controlling micromirrors of reset groups of a spatial light modulator (SLM) digital micromirror array is disclosed. In a first reset operation, the positions of a first subgroup of micromirrors of a reset group are set based on a first portion of a first bitplane and the positions of a second subgroup of micromirrors of the same reset group are set based on a first portion of a second bitplane. Then, in a second reset operation, the positions of the first subgroup are set based on a second portion of the second bitplane and the positions of the second subgroup are set based on a second portion of a first bitplane. In one example, subsets of alternating rows of micromirrors of the same reset group are successively set according to alternating data corresponding to different ones of first and second bitplanes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Todd Alan Clatanoff, Philip Scott King, Jeffrey Mathew Kempf
  • Patent number: 9230295
    Abstract: A system, method, and computer program product are provided for remote rendering of computer graphics. The system includes a graphics application program resident at a remote server. The graphics application is invoked by a user or process located at a client. The invoked graphics application proceeds to issue graphics instructions. The graphics instructions are received by a remote rendering control system. Given that the client and server differ with respect to graphics context and image processing capability, the remote rendering control system modifies the graphics instructions in order to accommodate these differences. The modified graphics instructions are sent to graphics rendering resources, which produce one or more rendered images. Data representing the rendered images is written to one or more frame buffers. The remote rendering control system then reads this image data from the frame buffers. The image data is transmitted to the client for display or processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: SILICON GRAPHICS INTERNATIONAL CORP.
    Inventor: Phillip C. Keslin
  • Patent number: 9230517
    Abstract: Virtual surface techniques are described. These techniques support the use of initialization and batching of updates, use of updates and lookaside lists, use of gutters, blending and BLT operations, use of surface optimization techniques such as push down as well as enumeration and clumping, mesh usage, and use of occlusion management techniques.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
    Inventors: Reiner Fink, Leonardo E. Blanco, Cenk Ergan, Joshua Warren Priestley, Silvana Patricia Moncayo
  • Patent number: 9230170
    Abstract: A plant species identification apparatus for identifying plant species is disclosed. A reference data storage part stores reference spectral data which indicate a reflectance spectral feature classified by area segments including a sunlit portion and a shaded portion in addition to the plant species. A data input part acquires hyperspectral data to be a target. A determination part specifies the reflectance spectral feature of a pixel for each of pixels of the hyperspectral data from the reference data storage part and to determine the plant species of the pixels based on a classification of the reference spectral data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: FUJITSU LIMITED
    Inventors: Yasuo Naganuma, Katsuji Ebisu
  • Patent number: 9230262
    Abstract: Unevenly spaced data records are received over time. A smoothed graphical visualization has a plurality of discrete rings to allow for detection of periodical patterns in the data records, where the discrete rings correspond to plural time periods and contain pixels representing values of an attribute of the data records. Visual indicators are assigned to the corresponding pixels, where a first of a visual indicators for a first time interval that is missing a data record is based on aggregating values of the attribute of neighboring data records, and where a second of the visual indicators for a second time interval having multiple data records is based on aggregating values of the attribute of the multiple data records.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Ming C. Hao, Soma Sundaram Santhiveeran, Sebastian Mittelstädt, Umeshwar Dayal, Daniel Keim
  • Patent number: 9229650
    Abstract: A graphics processing method for three-dimensional images, applied to a first buffer for storing right-view contents and a second buffer for storing left-view contents, includes the following steps: sending drawing commands respectively related to the right-view contents and the left-view contents to a drawing engine; when a current Vsync status indicates that a display engine is not operating within a right Vsync period of a right-view frame, the drawing engine drawing the right-view contents stored in first buffer; when current Vsync status indicates that the display engine is not operating within a left Vsync period of a left-view frame, the drawing engine drawing the left-view contents stored in second buffer; during the right Vsync period of the right-view frame, the display engine displaying right-view contents stored in first buffer; and during the left Vsync period of the left-view frame, the display engine displaying left-view contents stored in second buffer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: MEDIATEK INC.
    Inventors: Te-Chi Hsiao, Chin-Jung Yang
  • Patent number: 9229624
    Abstract: An embodiment of the invention provides a method for changing a coordinate of an icon according to a sensing signal. The method comprises: outputting the sensing signal via a sensor according to an interactive operation of a user; displaying a plurality of the icons of an operating system via a display device, wherein each icon corresponds to a data element; when receiving the sensing signal and a trigger signal by a processor, by the processor, acquiring the icons currently shown on the display device, generating an updated coordinate of each icon according to the sensing signal output by the sensor, changing the coordinates of the icons of the operating system, and displaying the icons on the display device according to the updated coordinates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: INSTITUTE FOR INFORMATION INDUSTRY
    Inventors: Shih-Yao Wei, Rong-Sheng Wang, Shih-Chun Chou
  • Patent number: 9230169
    Abstract: Utilities (e.g., systems, methods, etc.) for automatically generating high resolution population density estimation data sets through manipulation of low resolution population density estimation data sets with high resolution overhead imagery data (e.g., such as overhead imagery data acquired by satellites, aircrafts, etc. of celestial bodies). Stated differently, the present utilities make use of high resolution overhead imagery data to determine how to distribute the population density of a large, low resolution cell (e.g., 1000 m) among a plurality of smaller, high resolution cells (e.g., 100 m) within the larger cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: DIGITALGLOBE, INC.
    Inventor: Lionel Gueguen
  • Patent number: 9225968
    Abstract: An image producing program executed by a computer of an image producing apparatus producing images to be displayed on a planar-view display apparatus, causes the computer to function as: first image producing means producing a planar view image of a virtual space by a reference virtual camera for providing planar view of the virtual space; display control means displaying the planar view image on the display apparatus; second image producing means for, while the planar view image is displayed on the display apparatus, setting a stereoscopic view virtual camera based on setting of the reference virtual camera and taking an image of the virtual space with the stereoscopic view virtual camera, thereby producing a stereoscopic view image including a right eye image and a left eye image obtained based on at least two viewpoints; and stereoscopic view image storage control means storing the stereoscopic view image in a storage apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2015
    Assignee: Nintendo Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Goro Abe
  • Patent number: 9225988
    Abstract: An encoder system may include an analyzer that analyzes a current image area in an input video to select a transform. A selectable residue transformer, controlled by the analyzer, may perform the selectable transform on a residue image generated from the current image area and a predicted current image area, to generate a transformed residue image. An encoder may encode the transformed residue image to generate output data. The analyzer controls the encoder to encode information to identify the selectable transform and to indicate that the selectable transform for the current image area is different from a transform of a previous image area of the input video. A decoder system may include components appropriate for decoding the output data from the encoder system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2015
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Alexandros Tourapis
  • Patent number: 9225991
    Abstract: An encoder system may include an analyzer that analyzes a current image area in an input video to select a transform. A selectable residue transformer, controlled by the analyzer, may perform the selectable transform on a residue image generated from the current image area and a predicted current image area, to generate a transformed residue image. An encoder may encode the transformed residue image to generate output data. The analyzer controls the encoder to encode information to identify the selectable transform and to indicate that the selectable transform for the current image area is different from a transform of a previous image area of the input video. A decoder system may include components appropriate for decoding the output data from the encoder system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2015
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Alexandros Tourapis
  • Patent number: 9224218
    Abstract: Embodiments of a system and method for loading and rendering curved features in a map are described. Embodiments may include a map tool of a mapping or navigation application configured to generate a display for a map that includes one or more curved features (e.g., curved roads or curved polygons). The map tool may be executed in a client/server environment in which a server portion receives digitized map data in the form of polylines, detects a curved feature in the map data by fitting it to a parametric curve, and transmits data representing the parametric curve to a client device for subsequent rendering. The client device may render the curved feature using the received parametric curve data or, dependent on characteristics of the client device, extract data corresponding to points on the parametric curve to generate a triangle mesh for rendering the curved feature at a suitable resolution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2015
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Aroon Pahwa, Christopher Blumenberg, James A. Howard, Jeffrey P. Hultquist, Michael D. Schuster
  • Patent number: 9218701
    Abstract: Embodiment for detecting duplicate images include systems for determining that two or more of the images have similar key attributes such as attributes related to certain data in the images or image quality. Further, the embodiments include superimposing at least a portion of a first image of the two or more images over at least a portion of the second image of the two or more images, comparing the first image and second image; and determining whether the first image and the second image are identical.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2015
    Assignee: Bank of America Corporation
    Inventors: Kerry M. Cantley, John W. DeZervos, Erin Cassell, John J. Towey, Jr., Lori G. Noesges