Patents by Inventor Charles Dunlop MacFarlane

Charles Dunlop MacFarlane 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: 9294662
    Abstract: Aspects of depth map generation and post capture focusing and re-focusing are described. According to one embodiment, a depth map is generated. The depth map may include a mapping among relative depth values in a field of view of an image based on a difference between pixels of a first image and pixels of a second image. An edge map may also be generated by identifying edges in at least one of the first image or the second image. Using the depth map and the edge map, the relative depth values in the depth map may be smoothed using the edge map. In this manner, certain discontinuities in depth values may be smoothed within edge-bounded regions defined by the edge map. The depth map may be used for focusing and re-focusing, for example, or for object extraction, scene understanding, or gesture recognition, among other imaging processes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2016
    Assignee: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventors: Gary Lee Vondran, Jr., Charles Dunlop Macfarlane
  • Publication number: 20150104074
    Abstract: Aspects of depth map generation and post capture focusing and re-focusing are described. According to one embodiment, a depth map is generated. The depth map may include a mapping among relative depth values in a field of view of an image based on a difference between pixels of a first image and pixels of a second image. An edge map may also be generated by identifying edges in at least one of the first image or the second image. Using the depth map and the edge map, the relative depth values in the depth map may be smoothed using the edge map. In this manner, certain discontinuities in depth values may be smoothed within edge-bounded regions defined by the edge map. The depth map may be used for focusing and re-focusing, for example, or for object extraction, scene understanding, or gesture recognition, among other imaging processes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 29, 2013
    Publication date: April 16, 2015
    Applicant: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventors: Gary Lee Vondran, JR., Charles Dunlop Macfarlane
  • Publication number: 20150103200
    Abstract: Aspects of calibration of sensors are described. In one embodiment, a characteristic associated with a first or a second sensor is identified. The characteristic may be identified before or after assembly of a device including the first and second sensors. In turn, an operating characteristic of at least one of the first sensor or the second sensor may be adjusted based on the identified characteristic. Further, a first image may be captured with the first sensor and a second image may be captured with the second sensor. An attribute of the second image, for example, may be adjusted to substantially address any difference between the attribute of the second image and a corresponding attribute of the first image using the characteristic for calibration. The adjustments described herein may assist various processing techniques which operate on pairs of images, for example, particularly when a heterogeneous mix of sensors is used.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 29, 2013
    Publication date: April 16, 2015
    Applicant: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventors: Gary Lee Vondran, JR., Charles Dunlop Macfarlane
  • Patent number: 6154871
    Abstract: The invention provides a decoder of symbols of received data, the data being encoded according to a convolutional encoding scheme and transmitted through a communications channel. The data is punctuated according to a puncturing matrix, and has a plurality of state values which describe a sequence of state transitions. The decoder has a generation unit that accepts the received data for calculating metrics of the transitions thereof. A selector responsive to the generation unit selects a path of transitions corresponding to the path produced by a transmitter of the data stream. A traceback unit maintains historical information representative of sequential decision operations of the selector. A counter is provided for counting illegal state transitions of the path selected by the selector, and a control unit, responsive to the counter, determines a puncture rate and adjusts a puncture phase of the received data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2000
    Assignee: Discovision Associates
    Inventors: Anthony Peter John Claydon, Richard John Gammack, William Philip Robbins, Charles Dunlop MacFarlane, Thomas Foxcroft, Andrew Peter Kuligowski, Richard James Thomas
  • Patent number: 5742622
    Abstract: The invention provides a decoder of symbols of received data, the data being encoded according to a convolutional encoding scheme and transmitted through a communications channel. The data is punctuated according to a puncturing matrix, and has a plurality of state values which describe a sequence of state transitions. The decoder has a generation unit that accepts the received data for calculating metrics of the transitions thereof. A selector responsive to the generation unit selects a path of transitions corresponding to the path produced by a transmitter of the data stream. A traceback unit maintains historical information representative of sequential decision operations of the selector. A counter is provided for counting illegal state transitions of the path selected by the selector, and a control unit, responsive to the counter, determines a puncture rate and adjusts a puncture phase of the received data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 21, 1998
    Assignee: Discovision Associates
    Inventors: Anthony Peter John Claydon, Richard John Gammack, William Philip Robbins, Charles Dunlop MacFarlane, Thomas Foxcroft, Andrew Peter Kuligowski, Richard James Thomas