Patents by Inventor Ian Johnson

Ian Johnson 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: 7590190
    Abstract: A system and method for controlling the gain in the forward signal path of a digital predistortion linearizer is disclosed. The loop gain of the predistortion system is driven to unity, where a separately controlled constant-gain observation path allows accurate gain control of the forward path. This is divided into digital gain from the predistortion function and analog gain from a Voltage Variable Attenuator (VVA) in the transmitter. The invention balances the distribution between these two domains in order to maximize dynamic range and minimize noise in the forward signal path. In order to distribute the forward path gain accurately, the characteristic of the VVA must be well known. Since these devices tend to be non-linear, with variable characteristic over temperature and batch, the invention compensates for this non-linear behavior by tracking the varying transfer characteristic of the VVA, giving a predictable local characteristic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2009
    Assignee: Powerwave Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Christian G. Luke, Ian Johnson, Mark Cope, Adrian Mansell, Steven Andrew Wood
  • Publication number: 20090191968
    Abstract: A system for allowing a player to invoke magic or other special powers in a video game is provided. To activate the magic, the player moves a motion detecting controller in accordance with one or more provided instructions. The outcome of the activation of the magic can be determinate on, for example, speed, accuracy, etc. Controllers in one or both hands may be used, and the instructions can be as simple as single direction gestures and as complex as multi-directional symbols which must be traced in the air. A sequence of any type of instructions may also be provided to instruct the activation of the magic.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 25, 2008
    Publication date: July 30, 2009
    Inventors: Ian JOHNSON, Dominic JACKSON, Nouman HANIF
  • Publication number: 20080272463
    Abstract: A process and apparatus for growing a group (III) metal nitride film by remote plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition are described. The process comprises heating an object selected from the group consisting of a substrate and a substrate comprising a buffer layer in a growth chamber to a temperature in the range of from about 400° C. to o about 750° C., producing active neutral nitrogen species in a nitrogen plasma remotely located from the growth chamber and transferring the active neutral nitrogen species to the growth chamber. A reaction mixture is formed in the growth chamber, the reaction mixture containing a species of a group (III) metal that is capable of reacting with the nitrogen species so as to form a group (III) metal nitride film and a film of group (III) s metal nitride is formed on the heated object under conditions whereby the film is suitable for device purposes. Also described is a group (III) metal nitride film which exhibits an oxygen concentration below 1.6 atomic %.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2005
    Publication date: November 6, 2008
    Inventors: Kenneth Scott Alexander Butcher, Marie-Pierre Francoise Wintrebert ep Fouquet, Patrick Po-Tsang Chen, John Leo Paul Ten Have, David Ian Johnson
  • Publication number: 20070239584
    Abstract: Selling exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) shares by an investment company receiving a pre-determined group of financial assets from an authorized participant in exchange for a number of ETF shares, the number of ETF shares corresponding to the group of financial assets, and the investment company purchasing a number of shares of an underlying fund, the number of shares corresponding to the group of financial assets. Redeeming ETF shares with an investment company holding a number of shares of an underlying fund by receiving ETF shares from an authorized participant, and redeeming the number of shares of the underlying fund for a first group of financial assets; obtaining a second group of financial assets; and transferring the second group of financial assets to the authorized participant.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 7, 2006
    Publication date: October 11, 2007
    Inventors: Stuart Fross, Ian Johnson
  • Patent number: 7239671
    Abstract: A system and method for rapidly correcting the time difference between two signals is disclosed. In particular, a system and method for very rapidly correcting timing errors to the very high degree of accuracy required for digital predistortion adaptation is disclosed. The method is a signal processing technique, which can be performed in either hardware or software, which employs a correlation computation. The correlation results are processed in a manner that enables very rapid and accurate estimation of the time difference between the two signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2007
    Assignee: Powerwave Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Steven A. Wood, Ian Johnson, Christian G. Luke, Adrian Mansell, Mark Cope
  • Patent number: 7197087
    Abstract: A system and method for compensating for the time delay between the in-phase I and the quadrature Q paths of a digitally modulated transmitter incorporating an analog quadrature modulator is disclosed. The time delay between the in-phase I and the quadrature Q paths is computed and used to calibrate a set of interpolation filters in the forward path that compensate for this delay, reducing the frequency dependent degradation in performance of the analog quadrature modulator. The disclosed system and method provides improved compensation of gain, phase and DC offsets in the analog quadrature modulator over a broader bandwidth. Fractional delay interpolation filters may be used to estimate the delay between the in-phase and quadrature paths. This eliminates the need for a factory calibration procedure, speeding up manufacture and reducing costs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2007
    Assignee: Powerwave Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Christian G. Luke, Ian Johnson, Steven Andrew Wood
  • Publication number: 20060200337
    Abstract: The present invention provides a lexicon development tool which allows an author to first define templates which define morphological properties of a class of words and then assign words in an input word list to correct templates. The present invention can be used to automatically match a template to an input word or the words can be matched to templates manually. In addition, the present invention can provide a wide variety of different processing components to sort or otherwise process an input word list and to test and export a lexicon, once it has been authored. The tool can provide an authoring environment to describe the lexical data of a wide variety of languages.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 4, 2005
    Publication date: September 7, 2006
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Domenic Cipollone, Ian Johnson, Bradley Music, Mari Broman Olsen, Rene Valdes
  • Publication number: 20060200336
    Abstract: The present invention provides a lexicon development tool which allows an author to first define templates which define morphological properties of a class of words and then assign words in an input word list to correct templates. The present invention can be used to automatically match a template to an input word or the words can be matched to templates manually. In addition, the present invention can provide a wide variety of different processing components to sort or otherwise process an input word list and to test and export a lexicon, once it has been authored. The tool can provide an authoring environment to describe the lexical data of a wide variety of languages.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 4, 2005
    Publication date: September 7, 2006
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Domenic Cipollone, Ian Johnson, Bradley Music, Mari Broman Olsen, Rene Valdes
  • Publication number: 20060200338
    Abstract: The present invention provides a lexicon development tool which allows an author to first define templates which define morphological properties of a class of words and then assign words in an input word list to correct templates. The present invention can be used to automatically match a template to an input word or the words can be matched to templates manually. In addition, the present invention can provide a wide variety of different processing components to sort or otherwise process an input word list and to test and export a lexicon, once it has been authored. The tool can provide an authoring environment to describe the lexical data of a wide variety of languages.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 4, 2005
    Publication date: September 7, 2006
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Domenic Cipollone, Ian Johnson, Bradley Music, Mari Broman Olsen, Rene Valdes
  • Publication number: 20060187907
    Abstract: A method and apparatus (1) is disclosed for switching data packets. A data packet is received from an input interface device (7) at one of a plurality of initial input ports (6). The data packet is divided into plural smaller data fragments. Each data fragment is passed to a respective one of a plurality of slices of an input port (3) of a core switch (2). The data fragments are switched using the core switch (2) so as to pass each data fragment to a selected respective one of a plurality of slices of an output port (3) of the core switch (2). The data fragments are then passed to a selected one of a plurality of ultimate output ports (5?). The data fragments are assembled to reform the data packet, and the reformed data packet is transmitted to an output interface device (7) connected to said selected one of a plurality of ultimate output ports (5?).
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2004
    Publication date: August 24, 2006
    Applicant: Xyratex Technology Limited
    Inventors: Robert Kinsman, Ian McCarthy, Ian Johnson
  • Publication number: 20060100955
    Abstract: An accounting system allows posting transactions to a general ledger of an Exchange Traded Fund. The accounting system includes a computer-assisted process that nets subscription and redemption orders that occurred over a particular time (e.g., one day) and records a transfer of securities into or out of the fund based on the net of the subscription and redemption orders.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 21, 2005
    Publication date: May 11, 2006
    Inventors: Ronald Baldassini, Paul Murphy, Kirk Cleathero, Ian Johnson, Chip Russo, Timothy Hanifin, Gail Knudsen, James Boucher
  • Publication number: 20060098758
    Abstract: A system and method for controlling the gain in the forward signal path of a digital predistortion linearizer is disclosed. The loop gain of the predistortion system is driven to unity, where a separately controlled constant-gain observation path allows accurate gain control of the forward path. This is divided into digital gain from the predistortion function and analog gain from a Voltage Variable Attenuator (VVA) in the transmitter. The invention balances the distribution between these two domains in order to maximize dynamic range and minimize noise in the forward signal path. In order to distribute the forward path gain accurately, the characteristic of the VVA must be well known. Since these devices tend to be non-linear, with variable characteristic over temperature and batch, the invention compensates for this non-linear behavior by tracking the varying transfer characteristic of the VVA, giving a predictable local characteristic.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2005
    Publication date: May 11, 2006
    Inventors: Christian Luke, Ian Johnson, Mark Cope, Adrian Mansell, Steven Wood
  • Publication number: 20060058239
    Abstract: The invention relates to the treatment of neurological disorders with the Insulin-like Growth Factor I (IGF-I) isoform known as mechano growth factor (MGF).
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 19, 2005
    Publication date: March 16, 2006
    Inventors: Ian Johnson, Geoffrey Goldspink
  • Publication number: 20060008030
    Abstract: A system and method for compensating for the time delay between the in-phase I and the quadrature Q paths of a digitally modulated transmitter incorporating an analog quadrature modulator is disclosed. The time delay between the in-phase I and the quadrature Q paths is computed and used to calibrate a set of interpolation filters in the forward path that compensate for this delay, reducing the frequency dependent degradation in performance of the analog quadrature modulator. The disclosed system and method provides improved compensation of gain, phase and DC offsets in the analog quadrature modulator over a broader bandwidth. Fractional delay interpolation filters may be used to estimate the delay between the in-phase and quadrature paths. This eliminates the need for a factory calibration procedure, speeding up manufacture and reducing costs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 6, 2005
    Publication date: January 12, 2006
    Inventors: Christian Luke, Ian Johnson, Steven Wood
  • Publication number: 20060008026
    Abstract: A system and method for rapidly correcting the time difference between two signals is disclosed. In particular, a system and method for very rapidly correcting timing errors to the very high degree of accuracy required for digital predistortion adaptation is disclosed. The method is a signal processing technique, which can be performed in either hardware or software, which employs a correlation computation. The correlation results are processed in a manner that enables very rapid and accurate estimation of the time difference between the two signals.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 6, 2005
    Publication date: January 12, 2006
    Inventors: Steven Wood, Ian Johnson, Christian Luke, Adrian Mansell, Mark Cope
  • Patent number: 6975599
    Abstract: A method of communication between computing entities in a local area network operating an CSMA protocol in an environment where reflections of omni-directional transmissions from a plurality of objects cause multi-path fading includes data packets being transmitted having a header at a first, lower data rate, followed by transmission of payload data at a second, higher data rate. Where the packets are not confirmed to be received, the packet is retransmitted a predetermined number of times before the transmitting entity reduces the payload data rate of the packet and retransmits the packet. If the retransmitted lower payload data rate packet is not confirmed to be received within the predetermined number of transmissions at the lower rate, the packet is dropped.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2005
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Ian Johnson, Zhimin Shao, Michael Lawton
  • Tap
    Patent number: 6802341
    Abstract: A tap (4) including a tap body (6) within which is located a valve (14), an operating handle (12) mounted on the body and coupled to the valve, a security button (42) which is interlocked with the handle and/or valve, the arrangement being such that the valve can only be opened after activation of the security button.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2004
    Assignee: Australian Dynamic Products PTY Ltd.
    Inventors: Mark Ian Johnson, Alfred Blochlinger, Brian Charles Hamann, Hugh Yean Fung
  • Patent number: D560724
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2008
    Assignee: Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd.
    Inventor: Ian Johnson
  • Patent number: D560725
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2008
    Assignee: Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd.
    Inventor: Ian Johnson
  • Patent number: D592888
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2009
    Assignee: Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd.
    Inventor: Ian Johnson