Patents Examined by Vincent E. Kovalick
  • Patent number: 6608608
    Abstract: A light source of a liquid crystal panel employed in a head up display for a vehicle has an embedded filament for emitting a light with high luminance and another embedded filament for emitting a light with low luminance. The embedded filament for emitting a light with low luminance is used for a first luminance range. On the other hand, the embedded filament for emitting a light with high luminance is used for a second luminance range. In addition, both the elements may be used at the same time for emitting a light with maximum luminance of the first range and the second range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2003
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventor: Naohito Kanamori
  • Patent number: 6600474
    Abstract: A visual display is provided comprising a plurality of pixels each of which comprises: a surface having an area less than one square millimiter comprising first and second regions having surface finishes; and a thin planar panel having first and second sides having surface finishes, wherein the panel is rotatably coupled to the surface so as to rotate between a first and a second position about an axis parallel to the surface; wherein the panel in the first position is positioned over the first region with its second side facing the first region and wherein in the second position the panel is positioned over the second region with its first side facing the second region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2003
    Assignee: Flixel Ltd.
    Inventors: Amichai Heines, Adiel Karty
  • Patent number: 6597336
    Abstract: Writing of a second field is started at a time point when writing of a first field has been completed, while information written in the first field is held. Writing of a first field of the next frame is started at a time point when the writing of the second field has been completed, while information written in the second field is held. This driving method can attain high vertical resolution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2003
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiharu Hirakata, Satoshi Teramoto, Jun Koyama, Shunpei Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 6597347
    Abstract: Disclosed is a multiple coordinate controller device having a three-dimensional body with a first surface portion and a second surface portion where the second surface portion is not coplanar with the first surface. A first transducer with a first sensing surface is coupled to the first surface portion of the body and capable of detecting both positions and a range of pressure forces at positions on the first sensing surface. The first transducer is further capable of providing a first range of z coordinates at a detected x,y coordinate in response to the range of pressure forces on said first sensing surface. A second transducer having a second sensing surface is coupled to the second surface portion of the body and capable of detecting both positions and a range of pressure forces at the positions on the second sensing surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2003
    Assignee: ITU Research Inc.
    Inventor: Taizo Yasutake
  • Patent number: 6577302
    Abstract: A display device has current-addressed pixels, with the currents being supplied by driver circuitry which comprises a transistor (10) for applying a charging voltage to a switched capacitor arrangement (Ci, S1, S2) arranged to selectively charge and discharge the capacitor (Ci) at a predetermined rate to a charging voltage. A transistor control voltage (Vref) is applied to a control terminal of the transistor which is adjusted depending on the transistor threshold voltage to ensure that the capacitor (Ci) is charged to the charging voltage irrespectively of the value of the threshold voltage. This enables an accurately controllable current to be provided which is used to drive the current-addressed pixels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2003
    Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
    Inventors: Iain M. Hunter, Neil C. Bird
  • Patent number: 6573884
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a fuel dispenser which is located in a fueling environment that includes a convenience store or a quick serve restaurant. The fueling dispenser includes a display providing menu options and input devices for a user to select various goods and services available at the location. The display includes a first display having user selectable options and input devices positioned on the fueling dispenser. The display further includes a second display having user selectable options within a handicapped accessible range to provide access for disabled users. Upon receipt of a signal indicating a handicapped user, the second display is provided to allow access for handicapped users to insure they can adequately input their selections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2003
    Assignee: Gilbarco Inc.
    Inventor: Robert A. Kinzie
  • Patent number: 6573880
    Abstract: A system for displaying information which comprises a substrate and a conformable display media and control logic associated with the substrate. The display media has an input for receiving display information and the control logic provides display information to the display media through the display media input. The system may also contain other elements which interact with the control logic and the display media such as sensors, speakers, buttons, lights and a interface for communicating with the control circuitry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2003
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Helen Davis Simoni, Bryan T. Preas
  • Patent number: 6573879
    Abstract: A plasma-addressed liquid crystal display device capable of high-speed drive and improved viewing characteristic is composed of a liquid crystal cell structure and plasma cell structure stacked with each other. The liquid crystal cell structure is formed by sandwiching a liquid crystal having a spontaneous polarization between a first transparent substrate having therein transparent electrode stripes and an alignment film covering the electrode stripes, and a dielectric sheet having thereon an alignment film. The plasma cell structure is formed of a second transparent substrate having thereon cathode stripes and anode stripes disposed alternately with a spacing therebetween, stacked via stripe-shaped partitions disposed along the anode stripes onto the dielectric sheet so as to form plasma channels between the partitions filled with an ionizable gas sealed up therein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2003
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Osamu Taniguchi, Akira Tsuboyama
  • Patent number: 6570103
    Abstract: A coordinate input apparatus includes light sources, a reflecting member, light receiving members, a signal analyzing mechanism, and a coordinate determining mechanism. Each light source is fixed around a perimeter of a predefined input region at a fixing position different from others and is configured to emit light extending in a deltaic form centered at the fixing position and approximately in parallel to the input region. The reflecting member is fixed around the perimeter of the input region and is configured to recursively reflect the light so that the light returns towards the light sources. The light receiving members are fixed around the perimeter of the input region and are configured to receive the light recursively reflected from the reflecting member and to convert the light into an electric signal. The signal analyzing mechanism analyzes the electric signal to detect a position of an obstacle when the obstacle is placed in the input region and blocks the light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2003
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuhiko Saka, Kenichi Takekawa
  • Patent number: 6563481
    Abstract: An active matrix liquid crystal display device includes a pair of substrates that seal a liquid crystal, thin film transistors, display pixel electrodes, m/s (s and m are natural numbers that render m/s a natural number) drain bus lines, s×n gate bus lines, and a controller. The thin film transistors are arranged on one of said substrates to form a matrix of n rows×m columns. The display pixel electrodes are connected to source electrodes of said thin film transistors in one-to-one correspondence. The drain bus lines are connected to drain electrodes of the matrix-type thin film transistors in s-to-1 correspondence. The gate bus lines are connected to gate electrodes of the thin film transistors on each row in one-to-one correspondence. The controller selects n gate bus lines in each of s frames starting from an (s×t(t is an arbitrary positive integer)+1)th frame and ended with an (s×t+s)th frame to perform one-screen display with the s frames.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2003
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Makoto Watanabe, Takahiko Watanabe
  • Patent number: 6559838
    Abstract: A power management system includes a detector (1) for generating a transition number (NI) indicating the number of transitions in a video signal (VI) during a selected period in time of the video information (VI). This is repeated in successive periods in time wherein video information (VI) is written to the same area of the display screen (6). In this way, a sequence of transition numbers (NI) occurs representing the number of transitions in the video signal (VI) for the same area of the display screen (6) in successive periods of time. A comparator (3) compares the transition numbers (NI), and a controller (4) activates a power down mode of the monitor when at least two of said transition numbers (NI) is substantially equal, which indicates that the video signal (VI) in the selected area has the same number of transitions in the different time periods, and thus, it is likely that the video signal (VI) did not change.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2003
    Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
    Inventors: Giovanni Lonoce, Alberto Ramolfo, Augusto Palmero
  • Patent number: 6559834
    Abstract: A touch panel is constructed of a top sheet member having a resistive membrane on its inner surface and a base sheet member having a resistive membrane on its inner surface, the top and base sheet members facing each other with dot spacers being located in between. The top sheet member is formed by laminating a bulge-resistant film, a polarizing plate, a quarter wavelength plate, and a light isotropic film in this order from above. A PET film which is not heat-treated so as to have a higher thermal contraction rate than the other members of the top sheet member underneath such as the polarizing plate, is used as the bulge-resistant film. Since the bulge-resistant film contracts more than the polarizing plate under a high ambient temperature, after the ambient temperature returns to normal, the bulge-resistant film does not become slack against the polarizing plate. Accordingly, the top sheet member can be kept from bulging outward.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2003
    Assignees: Gunze Limited, Sumitomo Chemical Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yukio Murakami, Shunsuke Hirano, Keiichi Minakuchi
  • Patent number: 6552735
    Abstract: A method of compensating for differential aging of independent emitters in a display is disclosed. According to the method, an image on the display is periodically sampled to determine how often each independent emitter is used. A history is compiled of the use of each independent emitter for a predetermined time. The amount of luminance decay that each independent emitter has experienced over the predetermined time is estimated. The maximum luminance of each independent emitter is adjusted so that the maximum luminances of all of the independent emitters is substantially the same as the maximum luminance of the independent emitter that has experienced the most decay.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc.
    Inventor: Brian P. Dehmlow
  • Patent number: 6552701
    Abstract: First and second gradation bit groups are obtained by dividing m (4≦m<n) gradation bits from the most significant bit into two halves so as to make weights thereof half where n is a total number of gradation bits. Then, a plurality of sub-fields in the first and second gradation bit groups is arranged to be equal to each other. Subsequently, at least part of sub-fields of (n−m) non-divided gradation bits among the n gradation bits are arranged in between the first and second gradation bit groups. A time interval between the first and second gradation bit groups is thereby determined to be h/2±h/14 (msec), where h (msec) is time of one field of a video signal to be displayed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Akira Tanaka
  • Patent number: 6535187
    Abstract: Light is shined on an addressable spatial light modulator, and the light is also integrated. The data displayed on the spatial light modulator is changed when the integrated light reaches a predetermined value. The light may impinge on the spatial light modulator through a color wheel, which may be rotated faster than the frame repetition rate of video information that is being displayed. Alternatively, the light may be generated by different-colored lamps. The intensity of the light may be controlled in accordance with the bit rank or significance of the bits that are being displayed by the spatial light modulator. Several techniques for achieving different intensity levels are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2003
    Inventor: Lawson A. Wood
  • Patent number: 6531997
    Abstract: Novel addressing schemes for controlling bistable electronically addressable displays include the use of addressing signals with additional signals having opposite polarity and equal integrated signal strength, and addressing schemes that minimize the number of state changes that a display element undergoes. In one embodiment, pre-pulses are employed to apply a pre-stress to an display element that is equal and opposite to the electrical stress applied in addressing the element. In another embodiment, the addressing signal is followed by a post-stressing pulse. Methods for minimizing the number of display elements that must change state to change the image displayed include the determination of a set of elements that must be deactivated and a set of elements that must be activated to change the image depicted by a display. Alternatively, only the elements forming one image are deactivated before the elements forming a different image are activated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2003
    Assignee: E Ink Corporation
    Inventors: Holly G Gates, Barrett Comiskey, Peter T. Kazlas, Jonathan D. Albert, Paul S Drzaic
  • Patent number: 6529202
    Abstract: A method of determining image representative colors for an image comprising a plurality of image elements having color information associated therewith. Initially, the image elements are grouped into a plurality of image element groups on the basis of their colors. An initial representative color is then generated for each of the image element groups, the initial representative colors subsequently being clustered together into color clusters in a color space. Finally, an image representative color is determined based on each respective color cluster. Also shown is a method of using one or more of the image representative colors as a basis for providing one or more aesthetic color suggestions for a given image. A set of color selection rules is provided, and an aesthetic color suggested on the basis thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2003
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Jing Wu
  • Patent number: 6529205
    Abstract: An image data display apparatus includes a terminal display unit, an NTSC display unit, and a frame memory having a first port and a second port, for storing an image data. A display timing control unit generates a terminal display timing signal and an NTSC display timing signal. A frame memory control unit generates a first read control signal in response to the terminal display timing signal such that the image data is read out from the first port of the frame memory, and a second read control signal in response to the NTSC display timing signal such that at least a part of the image data is read out from the second port of the frame memory. A first converting unit converts the image data read out from the first port of the frame memory into a terminal display signal such that the read out image data is displayed on the terminal display unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2003
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Kenichi Hosoya
  • Patent number: 6522312
    Abstract: There is disclosed a mixed reality presentation apparatus which generates and displays a three-dimensional virtual image on a see-through display device so as to allow a plurality of players to play a multi-player game in a mixed reality environment. The apparatus has a CCD camera for detecting the mallet positions of the plurality of players, and a sensor for detecting the view point position of each player in the environment of the multi-player game. The apparatus generates a three-dimensional virtual image that represents a game result of the multi-player game that has progressed in accordance with changes in mallet position detected by the CCD camera and is viewed from the view point position of each player detected by the sensor, and outputs the generated image to the corresponding see-through display device. The apparatus determines the motion of each player by detecting infrared rays output from the corresponding mallet on the basis of an image captured by the CCD camera.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 1998
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2003
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshikazu Ohshima, Kiyohide Sato, Hiroyuki Yamamoto, Masakazu Fujiki, Naosato Taniguchi, Akihiro Katayama
  • Patent number: 6518941
    Abstract: In a display device in accordance with the present invention, each pixel includes a plurality of luminescent elements having different luminous intensities to represent gray scales by controlling the turning ON/OFF of the luminescent elements. A digital signal is transmitted to each pixel to carry out control by thin film transistors connected in series with the luminescent elements. The luminous intensities of the luminescent elements are the geometric progressions of a common ratio of 2. The ON resistance of the thin film transistors is set to be lower than the ON resistance of the luminescent elements, while the OFF resistance of the thin film transistors is set to be higher than the OFF resistance of the luminescent elements. These features have reduced the nonuniformity in the luminous intensities of the luminescent elements caused by the nonuniformity in the conductance of the transistors, thus achieving improved image quality.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2003
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Mutsumi Kimura