Patents Examined by William L. Boddie
  • Patent number: 8982035
    Abstract: A method of driving a light source including a light source module which provides a liquid crystal display panel with light and is driven through a dimming method according to a plurality of driving blocks, the method including; calculating gradation data of an image block of the liquid crystal display panel from an external image signal by dividing the image block into a plurality of sub-blocks, determining a duty ratio of a driving signal which drives an individual driving block of the plurality of driving blocks, the individual driving block corresponding to the image block based on the gradation data, and driving the individual driving block in accordance with the duty ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: Samsung Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Young-Jun Seo, Gi-Cherl Kim, Se-Ki Park, Dong-Min Yeo
  • Patent number: 8907885
    Abstract: A backlight control apparatus is provided. The apparatus controls a backlight module of a liquid crystal display for displaying three-dimensional stereo images. The apparatus includes an image update progress detector and a backlight control signal generator. The image update progress detector detects an update progress of an image signal to generate an update progress signal. The backlight control signal generator generates a plurality of backlight control signals according to the update progress signal to respectively control backlight turn on/off time points of a plurality of backlight areas of the backlight module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2014
    Assignee: MStar Semiconductor, Inc.
    Inventors: Yen-Ting Chen, Yi-Chun Weng
  • Patent number: 8487915
    Abstract: A mobile device providing a mobile processing function such as a mobile telephone and/or a personal digital assistant. The mobile device includes a mobile device body, a processing system within the body, the processing system programmed to be part of providing the mobile processing function, a projector coupled to the body to project an image onto a substantially planar surface when the mobile device body is on the surface at a predetermined angle relative to the surface, and a pen-location transcription system coupled to the processing system to record the positions of a writing implement at a plurality of instants of time by transmitting energy between the writing implement and a device mechanically coupled to the mobile device body. In one version, the device mechanically coupled to the mobile device body is a sensor array including at least two sensors of the transmitted energy. The writing implement includes a transmitter of the transmitted energy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2013
    Assignee: Luidia Inc.
    Inventors: Ari Birger, Philip A. Weaver
  • Patent number: 8482494
    Abstract: A display drive apparatus performs a display drive of a display panel on the basis of display data and comprises a selection drive section for applying a selection signal to each of display pixels arranged in each row of the display panel, a data drive section for generating a drive signal based on the display data, and a power source drive section for setting at least a row as a writing region and at least a region as a designated region separated from the writing region by the number of one or more rows and sequentially moving correspondingly to moving of the writing region, and the power source drive section supplies a power source voltage for operating each display pixel to make each display pixel corresponding to the row of the writing region and each display pixel corresponding to the row of the designated region perform non-display operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2013
    Assignee: Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Tsuyoshi Ozaki
  • Patent number: 8477081
    Abstract: A display has a louver shade having at least two louver segments, a display segment mounted on each louver segment, each display segment being a part of a larger display, drive electronics electrically coupled to each display segment to provide image data to display elements in the display segment, and a control circuit to provide the image data to the drive electronics, the control circuit arranged to provide display data when the louver segments are in a closed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2013
    Assignee: Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated
    Inventor: Jurgen H. Daniel
  • Patent number: 8466885
    Abstract: A touch screen which uses light sources at one or more edges of the screen which directs light across the surface of the screen and at least two cameras having electronic outputs located at the periphery of the screen to receive light from said light sources. A processor receives the outputs of said cameras and employs triangulation techniques to determine the location of an object proximate to said screen. Detecting the presence of an object includes detecting at the cameras the presence or absence of direct light due to the object, using a screen surface as a mirror and detecting at the cameras the presence or absence of reflected light due to an object. The light sources may be modulated to provide a frequency band in the output of the cameras.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2013
    Assignee: Next Holdings Limited
    Inventor: John Newton
  • Patent number: 8462106
    Abstract: Systems and methods control resizing a presentation of an image on a flexible display. A user flexes a flexible display in a particular manner to control magnification or size reduction of the image presented on the display. The amount of magnification or size reduction of the image presented on a flexible display increases along with the absolute magnitude of flexible display flexing. The flexible display can be double flexed within a defined time to indicate that another action is to be taken, such as fitting the presently displayed document to the width of the flexible display or fitting the entire document to the flexible display. The direction of flexing, such as flexing in a concave or a convex direction, is a flexing characteristic that causes other desired actions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2013
    Assignee: Research In Motion Limited
    Inventors: Alek Tziortzis, Bashar Jano, Alexander Hirsch
  • Patent number: 8462081
    Abstract: A screen includes a first set of louver members at least partially disposed in the screen and located proximate to a first side of the screen, and a second set of louver members at least partially disposed in the screen and located proximate to a second side of the screen. An observer on either side of the screen sees an image produced by light directed to that observer by that set of louvers on the same side of the screen as the observer. Objects on the other side of the screen from the observer are visible to the observer between the louvers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2013
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Huei Pei Kuo, Laurence M. Hubby, Jr., Steven L. Naberhuis, Henryk Birecki
  • Patent number: 8451233
    Abstract: A sensor pixel and a touch panel using the same are provided herein, wherein the touch panel has m scan lines and n readout lines. The sensor pixel includes a sensing capacitor, a readout transistor, a reset transistor, a base transistor, and a photo transistor. The photo transistor included in the sensor pixel produces a photo leakage current when it is exposed to a light. The light obstruction characteristic of the photo transistor is utilized to detect the locations of the touched sensor pixels. By proper timing control, the present invention not only can be applied to the multi-finger detection, but also is easy to be implemented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2013
    Assignee: Himax Technologies Limited
    Inventor: Kai-Lan Chuang
  • Patent number: 8446360
    Abstract: The disclosure addresses a force sensor that is scalable in size and adaptable to a variety of form factors, including those suitable for use in an input device for a computer or other processing system, and in some cases including those of the configuration normally referred to as a computer mouse. The force sensor will include at least two structural members that are cooperatively attached one another as to be displaced from one another in response to a force acting upon one of the structural members. In some examples, the engagement between the two structural members will be specifically configured to allow such displacement in response to forces acting laterally on the force sensor. The force sensor will also include one or more sensing mechanisms to provide a measurement of the sensed deflection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2013
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Lawrence Jared Baskett, David Thomas Amm
  • Patent number: 8441423
    Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a display device in which problems such as an increase of power consumption and increase of a load of when light is emitted are reduced by using a method for realizing pseudo impulsive driving by inserting an dark image, and a driving method thereof. A display device which displays a gray scale by dividing one frame period into a plurality of subframe periods, where one frame period is divided into at least a first subframe period and a second subframe period; and when luminance in the first subframe period to display the maximum gray scale is Lmax1 and luminance in the second subframe period to display the maximum gray scale is Lmax2, (1/2) Lmax2<Lmax1<(9/10) Lmax2 is satisfied in the one frame period, is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2013
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasunori Yoshida, Hajime Kimura
  • Patent number: 8432382
    Abstract: An electronic module includes an EL section; a first substrate on which the EL section is formed; a second substrate attached to the first substrate; an integrated circuit chip mounted on the second substrate; a plurality of first power supply interconnects formed on the first substrate, extending through a pair of regions located on both sides of the EL section; and a plurality of second power supply interconnects formed on the second substrate, extending through a pair of regions located on both sides of the integrated circuit chip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2013
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Takaaki Hayashi
  • Patent number: 8427466
    Abstract: An image processing circuit turns off the writing unit of the controller of the DRAM when the previous frame is identical to the current frame. In this way, the writing unit of the controller of the DRAM does not write the current frame into the DRAM, thereby reducing power consumption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2013
    Assignee: Etron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Ming-Sung Huang, Wen-Min Lu
  • Patent number: 8421793
    Abstract: This present invention discloses a pixel array substrate including a substrate, a plurality of scan lines, a plurality of data lines, a plurality of active elements, a plurality of pixel electrodes, a plurality of first patterned floating lines, and a plurality of first patterned connecting wires. A plurality of pixel fields are formed by the cross scan lines and data lines, and each active element is electrically connected with the corresponding scan line, data line and pixel electrode. Each first patterned floating line is overlapped with some data lines. Each first patterned connecting wire is disposed across some scan lines, and disposed overlapped the first patterned floating lines disposed on the two sides of the scan line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2013
    Assignee: Au Optronics Corporation
    Inventors: Chien-Chou Chen, Chun-Chang Chiu
  • Patent number: 8405641
    Abstract: A stylus includes an expansible structure. A chamber is formed inside the expansible structure. The stylus further includes an inner body installed inside the chamber in a movable manner relative to a first direction for pressing the expansible structure when moving in the first direction so that the expansible structure expands in a second direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2013
    Assignee: Wistron Corporation
    Inventor: Tien-Chung Tseng
  • Patent number: 8405622
    Abstract: A touch screen may include pixel elements formed in a display substrate that are spaced from one another by an element spacing. A plurality of capacitance sense pads may be formed from a same conductive transparent layer in an array over the display substrate. Each sense pad may be separated from an adjacent sense pad by a pad spacing aligned within element spacing for a uniform light path for the pixel elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2013
    Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventor: Edward L. Grivna
  • Patent number: 8405588
    Abstract: The present invention provides a data accessing system and a data accessing method. The method comprises: separately storing a (N×M)-bit digital data in L banks of a data storage module; utilizing a register module of a data accessing interface module to transmit data of a bank for L times in sequence, and to receive and latch the digital data included by a bank from the data storage module when transmitting data each time, until the (N×M)-bit digital data is totally latched in the register module; and utilizing a multiplex output module of the data accessing interface module to continuously select a M-bit digital data from the (N×M)-bit digital data registered in the register module, and input the M-bit digital data to a data retrieving device via M data transmission lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2013
    Assignee: ILI Technology Corp.
    Inventors: Yung-Ho Huang, Yang-Chen Hsu
  • Patent number: 8350824
    Abstract: A capacitive touch system uses at least two touch integrated circuits to simultaneously scan a touch panel, each of the touch integrated circuits only for scanning a portion of the traces of the touch panel. Therefore, the capacitive touch system can maintain a good frame rate, even the touch panel is a large scale touch panel. Sensing methods are provided to determine a sensed value for a boundary trace which is the last one of the traces connected to a first touch integrated circuit and prior to the first one of the traces connected to a second touch integrated circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2013
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: Tse-Lun Hung, Jung-Shou Huang, Hsin-Shieh Tsai
  • Patent number: 7982724
    Abstract: The present invention provides a multiple region vibration-sensing touch sensor that incorporates at least two sets of vibration sensors on a single touch plate, each set of vibration sensors defining distinct touch regions. The vibration sensors detect vibrations indicative of a touch to the touch plate, and are configured to communicate signals representing the detected vibrations to controller electronics for determining information related to the touch input. Touches within each touch region can be distinguished.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2011
    Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company
    Inventor: Anthony L. Hill
  • Patent number: 7982702
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device, in which the liquid crystal molecules are aligned vertically when no voltage is applied, includes pixels each having plural sub-pixel electrodes, a data bus drive circuit for applying drive signals to the sub-pixel electrodes via a data bus line and a switching element, and alignment regulation structure for regulating the direction of alignment of liquid crystal molecules. The first and second sub-pixel electrodes have different areas. The data bus drive circuit applies a first drive signal, which causes luminance to change from minimum to maximum for an increase of input grayscale of image signal, to the first sub-pixel electrode, and a second drive signal, which causes the luminance to be lower than the first drive signal, to the second sub-pixel electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2011
    Assignees: Fujitsu Limited, AU Optronics Corporation
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Kamada, Arihiro Takeda