Patents by Inventor Benjamin A. Ward

Benjamin A. Ward has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5793435
    Abstract: A variable coefficient, non-separable spatio-temporal interpolation filter is used to deinterlace an interlaced video signal to produce a progressive video signal. The interlaced video signal is input to a video memory which in turn provides a reference and plurality of offset video signals representing the pixel being interpolated and spatially and temporally neighboring pixels. A coefficient index, transmitted with the interlaced video as an auxiliary signal, or derived from motion vectors transmitted with the interlaced video, or derived directly from the interlaced video signal, is applied to a coefficient memory to select a set of filter coefficients. The reference and offset video signals are weighted together with the filter coefficients in the spatio-temporal interpolation filter, such as a FIR filter, to produce an interpolated video signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 11, 1998
    Assignee: Tektronix, Inc.
    Inventors: Benjamin A. Ward, T. Naveen
  • Patent number: 5214784
    Abstract: A sequence of events detector provides a way to continuously monitor serial digital data and precisely define the behavior that it must exhibit in order to qualify as the sequence of events that the user wishes to detect. A plurality of evaluation windows each sequentially examine the behavior of one or more signals, comparing this behavior with predefined criteria. Each evaluation window is activated to begin its portion of the overall evaluation process by a match signal from the preceding window, indicating that its predefined criteria were met. In one version, a sequence starting circuit activates the first evaluation window in response to an external signal or the occurrence of a predefined condition, and a multiplexer trigger source circuit selects as the overall detector output the match signal output of the last evaluation window used to define the overall sequence of events. In another version, each evaluation window explicitly reports a failure if its predefined criteria are not met.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 1988
    Date of Patent: May 25, 1993
    Assignee: Tektronix, Inc.
    Inventors: Benjamin A. Ward, Michael C. Seckora
  • Patent number: 3930554
    Abstract: A power-assisted steering gear for a road vehicle and of the kind having a fluid-pressure actuated device which is controlled by a valve that is itself actuable in use by the driver of a vehicle in which the steering gear is mounted, the valve incorporating a pair of relatively movable valve members, wherein there are provided means responsive in use to vehicle road speed and means offering resistance to such relative movement of the valve members, with the road speed responsive means being operatively connected to the resistance offering means and being arranged so that in use as the vehicle road speed increases, or at a predetermined vehicle road speed the resistance offered by the resistance offering means to relative movement between the valve members is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 1973
    Date of Patent: January 6, 1976
    Assignee: Borman & Sons Limited
    Inventor: Benjamin Ward