Patents by Inventor Donald Henry Willis

Donald Henry Willis 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: 9299284
    Abstract: In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a system and method for dark noise reduction in pulse width modulated (PWM) displays. The system includes means for determining bright corrected pixel values for dark portions of an image corresponding to a first subframe and means for determining dark corrected pixel values for dark image portions of an image corresponding to a second sub frame of the image frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2016
    Assignee: THOMSON LICENSING
    Inventor: Donald Henry Willis
  • Patent number: 9214192
    Abstract: A video processing system adaptively generates and processes volume/file structure and navigation data of different data format and converts data between different formats for decoding, recording and other applications. The system processes the volume/file structure and navigation data in distinct modes including (a) pre-processing, (b) contemporaneous and (c) post-processing modes. In addition, the system provides navigation information supporting navigation through different images of one or more video programs by parsing encoded packetized data representative of a sequence of individual images to determine parameters to support navigation through the sequence of individual images. The determined parameters are formatted into a predetermined data structure and incorporated into a pre-formed navigation data field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2015
    Assignee: THOMSON LICENSING
    Inventors: Shu Lin, Donald Henry Willis, Mark Alan Schultz
  • Patent number: 8705947
    Abstract: A method (200) and system (100) for performing a trick mode on a video signal. The method includes the steps of receiving (210) a trick mode command, in response to the trick mode command, repeating (212) a picture in the video signal to form a trick mode video signal in which the picture contains a display indicator; setting (214) the display indicator of the picture being repeated to a predetermined value; and setting (216) the display indicators of subsequent repeated pictures of the picture being repeated to the predetermined value. In one arrangement, the trick mode can be a freeze trick mode, and the picture to be repeated can be a bidirectional predictive picture. In addition, the display indicator can be a temporal reference field having an integer value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2014
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventors: Shu Lin, Donald Henry Willis
  • Publication number: 20110080960
    Abstract: In embodiments of the present principles, the transmission bit rate of a video stream including anti-camcorder measures can be reduced while maintaining anti-camcorder effects and video quality. In one embodiment, a segmentor is included to segment a portion of a frame, such as a pixel, into most significant bits and least significant bits. A representative LSB can be generated and employed for concatenation with each MSB value of a sample set of portions of frames. Use of the representative LSB values in lieu of LSB values of the sample set enables an efficient transmission bit rate, as the representative LSB value can have less bits than the LSB of an original portion and can be reused with a plurality of MSB values of a sample set of portions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2008
    Publication date: April 7, 2011
    Inventor: Donald Henry Willis
  • Publication number: 20110064218
    Abstract: A digital cinema anti-piracy system includes a modulator configured to convert an input signal to a desired disruptive frequency and to analyze a brightness, B, of each input pixel in an input frame of the signal, the modulator for determining at least the amount of brightness Bj of each pixel to be displayed in each frame j of a set of N frames, wherein the average of all the brightness values Bj in the N set of frames is substantially equal to B, and N is substantially equal to the number of frames output for each input frame. A brightness of a pixel in a second region Bf(j) can be displayed ‘out of phase’ with the brightness Bj to create a disruptive effect which is distinguishable from the first flicker effect.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 15, 2008
    Publication date: March 17, 2011
    Inventor: Donald Henry Willis
  • Patent number: 7787746
    Abstract: The invention concerns a method (200) and system (100) performing a trick mode on a video signal containing a plurality of original pictures. The method includes the steps of selectively skipping (214) at least one of the original pictures to convert the video signal to a trick mode video signal in response to a trick mode command and selectively inserting (224) at least one dummy bidirectional predictive picture in the trick mode video signal using field-based prediction. The method can also include the steps of monitoring (220) the trick mode video signal in which the step of selectively inserting at least one dummy bidirectional predictive picture in the trick mode video signal can be done if the bit rate of the trick mode video signal exceeds a predetermined threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2010
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventors: Shu Lin, Donald Henry Willis
  • Patent number: 7756393
    Abstract: A method of performing a trick mode on a video signal includes the steps of receiving a trick mode command and repeating a picture in the video signal to form a trick mode video signal in response to the trick mode command. If the picture being repeated is a bi-directional predictive picture, then the method can limit the repeating step to a predetermined number of times.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2010
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventors: Shu Lin, Donald Henry Willis
  • Patent number: 7756394
    Abstract: A method for providing improved trick mode performance in a DVD having a plurality of video object units where each of the VOBUs contains a navigation pack. The method involves storing on the DVD within each navigation pack certain supplemental disc search information. The SDSI can include one or more of the following: a picture structure of the VOBU; a number of fields to be displayed from each picture in a normal play mode; and a number of groups of pictures contained in said VOBU.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2010
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventors: Donald Henry Willis, Mark Alan Schultz, Jianlei James Xie
  • Patent number: 7728907
    Abstract: A method (300) of converting interlaced Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) video signals to progressive video signals can include receiving an interlaced video signal representing a luma component specifying luma lines and a chroma component specifying chroma lines (310) wherein the chroma component can specify approximately one-half the number of lines of the luma component. The interlaced video signal can be decoded and the number of the chroma lines can be increased to approximately the same as the number of the luma lines (320). The number of chroma lines of the interlaced video signal then can be decreased (340), to substantially reverse the previous increase. The interlaced video signal then can be deinterlaced to produce a progressive video signal (350), which can be processed further (360) as needed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2010
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventor: Donald Henry Willis
  • Patent number: 7728950
    Abstract: A method for presenting video content including displaying the video content at an enhanced frame rate selectively modified to interfere with a recording of the video content by a camcorder. For example, the video content can be displayed at a frame rate of 54 pictures per second or a frame rate of 66 pictures per second. For implementation of the enhanced frame rate, a first picture can be displayed within the video content a first number of times and at least a second picture can be displayed a different number of times.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2010
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventor: Donald Henry Willis
  • Patent number: 7643724
    Abstract: The invention concerns a method and system for performing a trick mode on a video signal containing a plurality of original pictures. The method includes the steps of selectively skipping at least one of the original pictures to convert the video signal to a trick mode video signal in response to a trick mode command and selectively inserting at least one dummy predictive picture in the trick mode video signal using field-based prediction. The method can also include the steps of monitoring the trick mode video signal in which the step of selectively inserting at least one dummy predictive picture in the trick mode video signal can be done if the bit rate of the trick mode video signal exceeds a predetermined threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2010
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventors: Shu Lin, Donald Henry Willis
  • Patent number: 7596301
    Abstract: The invention concerns a method and system for performing a trick mode in response to a trick mode command. The method 200 can include the steps of modifying a field display order indicator of at least one intra picture having at least a first field and a second field in a video signal containing intra pictures to enable the second field of the at least one intra picture to be displayed before the first field of the at least one intra picture and decoding the at least one modified intra picture. In one arrangement, the decoding step can be performed with a remote decoder, and the video signal can include non-intra pictures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2009
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing, S.A.
    Inventors: Shu Lin, Donald Henry Willis
  • Patent number: 7549756
    Abstract: A projection system including an integrator with an output end having a matrix of output windows therein. A pattern of red, green and blue monochromatic filters are disposed on the output windows passing a matrix of red, green, and blue monochromatic pixels of light. An imager modulates the pixels of monochromatic light A light shift device shifts the matrix of monochromatic pixels of light to temporally form a pattern of overlying pixels of light of different colors, viewable as a color image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2009
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventors: Donald Henry Willis, Billy Wesley Beyers, Estill Thone Hall, Jr., Michael Scott Deiss
  • Patent number: 7535450
    Abstract: A circuit (10) for reducing errors due to adjacent pixel interdependence in a liquid crystal display includes a decomposer (12) for dividing an input signal into a plurality of signals having at least a high brightness signal and a low brightness signal, a delay match circuit (14) for the high brightness signal a split low pass filter arrangement (25) for the low brightness signal, and a combiner (24) for combining the delay matched high brightness signal and the filtered low brightness signal to provide an output, wherein the output signal has reduced sparkle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2009
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventor: Donald Henry Willis
  • Patent number: 7519266
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for eliminating picture artifacts in a video media system is provided wherein a video recorder, responsive to a trick mode command, iteratively transmits one or more frames in a video signal recorded under an interlaced scanning format for display on a display device. The video signal can include a predetermined number of replicate frames associated with the frames. Moreover, structure can be provided for selectively altering the video signal to indicate the video signal was recorded under a progressive scanning format thereby causing one or more pairs of the interlaced fields associated with the frames in the recorded video signal to be simultaneously displayed on the display device. Displaying interlaced fields simultaneously during trick mode playback eliminates an artifact known as the vibration effect. In one embodiment, the structure can alter the video signal by setting the value of one or more flags in the video signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2009
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventors: Donald Henry Willis, Shu Lin
  • Patent number: 7505517
    Abstract: The invention concerns a method and system for generating a dummy bidirectional predictive (dummy B) field picture. The method includes the steps of setting at least a portion of a first indicator of the dummy B field picture to indicate that no encoding of a residual signal will occur and setting at least a portion of a second indicator of the dummy B field picture to indicate that the dummy B field picture will be predicted from at least one field among a first field and a last field of a reference picture to control a vibration artifact. The dummy B field picture can be a forward or a backward predicted field picture, and the at least one field from which the dummy B field picture is predicted can be a first or last field of the reference picture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2009
    Assignee: Thomsong Licensing
    Inventors: Shu Lin, Donald Henry Willis
  • Patent number: 7495642
    Abstract: A field sequential pulse width modulated display system comprises a digital micromirror device (DMD) having a plurality of micromirrors that each selectively pivot to reflect light onto a screen to illuminate a corresponding pixel. A driver circuit controls the DMD responsive to sequences of pulse width segments formed by a processor. The processor actuates at least one pulse in a first pulse width segment for a given color to increase pixel brightness with a range lying between first and second pixel brightness values. To further increase pixel brightness, the processor actuates at least one pulse within additional pulse width segments associated with the same given color to increase pixel brightness above the second brightness boundary. The pulses within the additional segments are actuated unequally so that the additional pulse width segments closest in time to the first segment (i.e.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2009
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventor: Donald Henry Willis
  • Patent number: 7495640
    Abstract: An apparatus for reducing sparkle artifacts (10) in a liquid crystal imager includes a device (16) for gamma correcting a video drive signal for providing a gamma corrected video drive signal and a slew rate limiter (22) for slew rate limiting the gamma corrected video drive signal. The apparatus also includes a deinterlacer (12) and a color space converter (14) for color space converting a deinterlaced video drive signal, wherein the device for gamma correcting corrects the color space converted video drive signal. One or more of the video drive signals, for example R, G and B, is slew rate limited after gamma correction to limit the difference in brightness levels between adjacent pixels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2009
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventor: Donald Henry Willis
  • Patent number: 7411573
    Abstract: The invention concerns a method for reducing the effect of column memory. The method includes the steps of activating one of a plurality of row electrodes, selectively applying a video input signal to a plurality of column electrodes, and setting at least one of the plurality of column electrodes to a substantially constant voltage prior to activating a subsequent row electrode. In one arrangement, the substantially constant voltage can correlate to a flat field. The method can also include repeating the steps of activating one of the plurality of row electrodes step, selectively applying the video input signal step, and setting at least one of the plurality of column electrodes to the substantially constant voltage step in which the steps can be performed in a liquid crystal on silicon imager.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2008
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventor: Donald Henry Willis
  • Publication number: 20080122992
    Abstract: Within a sequential display system, an apparatus performs motion adaptive processing of a pixel signal that controls the illumination of a corresponding pixel. The apparatus determines from the pixel signal whether motion has occurred for at least a predetermined duration. If not, the apparatus processes the pixel signal to cause a substantially uniform distribution of illumination throughout the picture period for the associated pixel. Otherwise, if motion has occurred for more than the predetermined duration, the apparatus processes the pixel signal to cause a substantial confinement of illumination to a limited interval of the picture period.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 28, 2005
    Publication date: May 29, 2008
    Applicants: THOMSON LICENSING S.A., THOMSON LICENSING
    Inventor: Donald Henry Willis