Patents by Inventor Gary William Hughes

Gary William Hughes 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: 6472653
    Abstract: A novel method and apparatus is disclosed that is able to extend the intra-scene dynamic range of Time Delay and Integrate Charge-Coupled Device imagers. In accordance with the principles of the invention, the charge collected and accumulated over a plurality of photosensitive devices is limited by adjusting the barrier levels at which collected accumulated charge is removed from the photosensitive devices. By limiting the amount of accumulated charge that is collected, images of high intensity are prevented from overflowing or saturating the photosensitive devices. Thus, information that is included in the brighter levels of the image is not lost because of clipping the photosensitive device to prevent saturation. In one embodiment of the invention, the blooming barrier levels are adjusted in a step-wise linear manner to allow a known amount of charge to be retained during the initial collection phase while allowing progressively greater amounts of charge to be retained as the collection phase proceeds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2002
    Assignee: Sarnoff Corporation
    Inventors: Peter Alan Levine, Nathaniel Joseph McCaffrey, Gary William Hughes, Kantilal Patel