Patents by Inventor Kazuhiro Ohara

Kazuhiro Ohara 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: 6828961
    Abstract: A display system (200) in which light from source (202) is focused onto a spinning color wheel (204). The spinning color wheel (204) spins at a constant rate and creates of beam of light that changes from one primary color to the next in rapid sequence. The primary colored beam of light impinges a spatial light modulator (206), which is often a DMD or LCD. A controller (208) receives an input video signal and determines the native frame rate of the image source. The controller (208) sends image data to the spatial light modulator (206) in synchronization with the color wheel (204)—image data representing the red portions of the image is sent during the period in which the red color filter is passing through the beam of light—at the native frame rate of the image source. The modulated light is focused onto an image plane (210) by projection lens (212) to form an image. The eye of the viewer integrates the sequential primary color images giving the perception of a single full-color image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2004
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Keith H. Elliott, Kazuhiro Ohara, William B. Werner, Adam J. Kunzman
  • Publication number: 20040239819
    Abstract: An imaging system 10 includes an image source providing an image having a resolution of X by Y pixels. The system also includes a digital mirror device 16 that includes an array of mirror elements. Each mirror element includes an edge that is not parallel to an edge of a neighboring mirror element. The array 16 includes fewer than X*Y mirror elements.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2003
    Publication date: December 2, 2004
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Ohara, Terry A. Bartlett
  • Patent number: 6621529
    Abstract: A display system 100 in which light from source (102) is focused onto a spinning color wheel (104). The spinning color wheel (104) creates of beam of light that changes from one primary color to the next in rapid sequence. The primary colored beam of light impinges a spatial light modulator (106), in this case a DMD. A controller (108) receives an input video signal and sends image data to the spatial light modulator (106) in synchronization with the color wheel (104)—image data representing the red portions of the image is sent during the period in which the red color filter is passing through the beam of light. The modulated red beam of light is focused onto an image plane (110) by projection lens (112) to form a red image. The process repeats as the green and blue filters pass through the path of the light beam. The eye of the viewer integrates the three primary color images giving the perception of a single full-color image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2003
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Ohara, Adam J. Kunzman
  • Publication number: 20030099114
    Abstract: A disk box with a flashing circuit comprises a box seat, a positioning disk, and an upper cover. A circuit board with light emitting diodes and batteries are installed at a bottom side of the box seat. A lateral side and a flat portion at an end of a positioning disk are adhered with drawings. Thereby, by above structure, the positioning disk may cover the box seat, and then the upper cover covers the positioning disk so as to be formed as a disk box. Thereby, as the user presses the push button so that power of the battery flows to the circuit board to conduct the light emitting diodes, a flash effect will present to inform the user to keep attention.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2001
    Publication date: May 29, 2003
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Ohara
  • Patent number: 6529211
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for selectively scaling portions of image data based on the intensity levels of historical image data. The selective scaling, or level expansion, provides improved images by increasing or decreasing the intensity of a portion of image pixels. Black level expansion reduces the intensity of dark pixels and is appropriate when a relatively large number of the image pixels have a high intensity level. White level expansion increases the intensity of bright pixels and is appropriate when a relatively large number of image pixels have a low intensity level. Level expansion is implemented by using histogram comparators 402 to compare the intensity of each pixel with a threshold, typically on a frame-by-frame basis. When an adequate number of pixels in each frame meet the threshold criteria, the level expansion is increased. Field accumulator 404 is used to determine whether and by how much the image data is scaled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2003
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Ohara, William J. Sexton, Akira Takeda, Gary Sextro
  • Patent number: 6452972
    Abstract: A method of measuring the motion in video image data for a pixel uses both field-difference and frame-difference motion values to generate a motion value having increased accuracy. Image data (806) from the same pixel in a prior row of the same field (906) is compared to image data (808) from the same pixel in the prior row of the prior frame (908), and the absolute value of the difference is compared to the absolute value of the difference in image data (802) from the same pixel in a following row of the same field (902) and image data (804) from the same pixel in the following line of the prior frame (904). The minimum of these two values is the minimum frame-difference motion value which is input into a logical mixer. Also input into the logical mixer is the minimum field-difference motion value which may be determined by comparing data (802, 806) from the same pixel of an adjacent line of the same field (902, 906) with image data (810) from the same pixel of the same line of the prior field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2002
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Ohara
  • Publication number: 20020101432
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for selectively scaling portions of image data based on the intensity levels of historical image data. The selective scaling, or level expansion, provides improved images by increasing or decreasing the intensity of a portion of image pixels. Black level expansion reduces the intensity of dark pixels and is appropriate when a relatively large number of the image pixels have a high intensity level. White level expansion increases the intensity of bright pixels and is appropriate when a relatively large number of image pixels have a low intensity level. Level expansion is implemented by using histogram comparators 402 to compare the intensity of each pixel with a threshold, typically on a frame-by-frame basis. When an adequate number of pixels in each frame meet the threshold criteria, the level expansion is increased. Field accumulator 404 is used to determine whether and by how much the image data is scaled.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 1999
    Publication date: August 1, 2002
    Inventors: KAZUHIRO OHARA, WILLIAM J. SEXTON, AKIRA TAKEDA, GARY SEXTRO
  • Publication number: 20020054031
    Abstract: A display system (200) in which light from source (202) is focused onto a spinning color wheel (204). The spinning color wheel (204) spins at a constant rate and creates of beam of light that changes from one primary color to the next in rapid sequence. The primary colored beam of light impinges a spatial light modulator (206), which is often a DMD or LCD. A controller (208) receives an input video signal and determines the native frame rate of the image source. The controller (208) sends image data to the spatial light modulator (206) in synchronization with the color wheel (204)—image data representing the red portions of the image is sent during the period in which the red color filter is passing through the beam of light—at the native frame rate of the image source. The modulated light is focused onto an image plane (210) by projection lens (212) to form an image. The eye of the viewer integrates the sequential primary color images giving the perception of a single full-color image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 28, 2000
    Publication date: May 9, 2002
    Inventors: Keith H. Elliott, Kazuhiro Ohara, William B. Werner, Adam J. Kunzman
  • Publication number: 20020003512
    Abstract: A display system 100 in which light from source (102) is focused onto a spinning color wheel (104). The spinning color wheel (104) creates of beam of light that changes from one primary color to the next in rapid sequence. The primary colored beam of light impinges a spatial light modulator (106), in this case a DMD. A controller (108) receives an input video signal and sends image data to the spatial light modulator (106) in synchronization with the color wheel (104)—image data representing the red portions of the image is sent during the period in which the red color filter is passing through the beam of light. The modulated red beam of light is focused onto an image plane (110) by projection lens (112) to form a red image. The process repeats as the green and blue filters pass through the path of the light beam. The eye of the viewer integrates the three primary color images giving the perception of a single full-color image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2000
    Publication date: January 10, 2002
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Ohara, Adam J. Kunzman
  • Patent number: 6320620
    Abstract: A television system (10) with interlaced to progressive scan conversion. The system receives interlaced television signals then converts them to progressively scanned data using either field differencing, enhanced field differencing, frame differencing or other temporal processing depending upon which implementation is used. The implementations used depend upon which configuration of the system (10) was purchased, and can be changed with an upgrade to the more expensive implementations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2001
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Vishal Markandey, Todd A. Clatanoff, Kazuhiro Ohara, Akira Takeda
  • Patent number: 6104755
    Abstract: A method of measuring the motion in video image data for a pixel which uses both field-difference and frame-difference motion values to generate a motion value having increased accuracy. Image data (806) from the same pixel in a prior row of the same field (906) is compared to image data (808) from the same pixel in the prior row of the prior frame (908), and the absolute value of the difference is compared to the absolute value of the difference in image data (802) from the same pixel in a following row of the same field (902) and image data (804) from the same pixel in the following line of the prior frame (904). The minimum of these two values is the minimum frame-difference motion value which is input into a logical mixer. Also input into the logical mixer is the minimum field-difference motion value which may be determined by comparing data (802, 806) from the same pixel of an adjacent line of the same field (902, 906) with image data (810) from the same pixel of the same line of the prior field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2000
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Ohara
  • Patent number: 6100870
    Abstract: A method for operating a scan-line video processor that allows for vertical scaling with no additional memory in a display system and extracts more SVP instructions in vertical down scaling applications. The input and output sync periods of the SVP (16) are controlled such that the SVP (16) produces output lines of interpolated data that is a vertical scaling factor of the input lines. The data is then sent to a memory (24) to correct for centering and time base changes in the interpolated data. Finally, the data is sent to a display device, such as a CRT or a spatial light modulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2000
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Ohara
  • Patent number: 6047366
    Abstract: A single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) processor (10) that incorporates features for horizontal scaling of video data. The processor (10) has a data input register (11) that is operable to store input data word in sequential locations in the data input register (11) and transfer the input data words to an array of processing elements. The processor (10) also has an output data register (16) operable to receive data output words from the array of processing elements and to output said data output words from sequential locations of said output data array. An input skip signal input to the processor causes a sequential data write operation to skip a location of the input data register while an output skip signal to the processor causes a sequential data read operation to skip a location of the output data register.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2000
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Ohara, Hiroshi Miyaguchi, Yuji Yaguchi
  • Patent number: 5920357
    Abstract: A digital color transient improvement (CTI) method and apparatus for enhancing the color sharpness of a chrominance signal by increasing the steepness of color edges without ringing. A median logic circuit (30) samples three signals A, B and C, and selects values from these three signals to provide an output signal that has steep color edges. One signal (A) is the non-processed input signal, a second signal (C) is a twice delayed input signal, and the third signal (B) is the derivative of the once delayed input signal. The present invention is ideally utilized by an SVP and requires a minimum number of instructions, but can also be implemented by a small number of gates on an ASIC or FPGA.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 6, 1999
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Ohara
  • Patent number: 5864367
    Abstract: An improved processing system (10) for video signal processing. The system uses only one newer version scan-line video processor (12) at nearly maximum efficiency, with a digital input that is at a common rate. The processor performs motion detection, motion adaptive scan conversion, horizontal and vertical scaling and applies sharpness control within a limited amount of instruction space, and applies these functions to four different video formats.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 1996
    Date of Patent: January 26, 1999
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Todd A. Clatanoff, Vishal Markandey, Kazuhiro Ohara
  • Patent number: 5762814
    Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus includes a plasma processing chamber having a stage for placing a substrate to be plasma processed, an exhaust port and a gas introduction nozzle for plasma processing coupled therewith, and a cavity resonator for closing the plasma processing chamber in vacuum manner and coupled through a microwave introducing window through which microwaves are introduced and having slots for radiating microwaves to the plasma processing chamber. Microwaves having increased intensity of an electromagnetic field is supplied to the processing chamber to produce plasma to effect processing of the substrate. An area in which diffusion of plasma is suppressed to reduce loss is formed only in the vicinity of an inner wall of the processing chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 1994
    Date of Patent: June 9, 1998
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Ohara, Toru Otsubo, Ichirou Sasaki
  • Patent number: 5694588
    Abstract: A synchronous vector processor (SVP) device (102) has a plurality of processing elements (150) which are comprised of an RF1 register (166), an ALU (164) and an RF0 (158). The processing elements are operable to be disposed between the data input register DIR (154) and the data output register (DOR) (168) to process data therebetween. Data is received in DIR (154), transferred to the processing elements (150), processed and then output to the DOR (168). A fast response clock operates the DIR (154) such that the jitter on the input signal is tracked. The Read clock on the DOR (168) is a stable clock. Data transferred between the DIR (154) and the DOR (168) is buffered in an elastic buffer to provide a time based compensation (TBC). To facilitate this, a buffer is implemented in either the RF1 (168) or the RF0 (158). A dual global rotation pointer is provided to generate two pointers that are asynchronous.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 2, 1997
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Ohara, Hiroshi Miyaguchi
  • Patent number: 5671298
    Abstract: An improved image scaling filter for a video display where a coefficient value for the closest input lines to a given output line that are less than two line lengths from the given output line are determined by cubic interpolation using the line distances. The input lines are multiplied by the coefficient for that line and the multiplied closest input line values are summed to determine the output line value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1994
    Date of Patent: September 23, 1997
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Vishal Markandey, Robert John Gove, Kazuhiro Ohara, Dennis J. Tobin
  • Patent number: 5671018
    Abstract: A motion adaptive method for vertically scaling an image. The image data is analyzed to obtain a motion magnitude value for each pixel (31). The pixel data is then processed with two scaling processes (35, 36), performed in parallel. One scaling process is better suited for low motion images and the other is better suited for high motion images. The motion magnitude value is used to select between or combine (38) the pixel data outputs of the two scaling processes (35, 36).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 23, 1997
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Ohara, Vishal Markandey, Robert J. Gove
  • Patent number: 5654769
    Abstract: An automatic color control and chroma killer circuit 3 and video processing system is provided that is capable of controlling an amplitude of a color signal and of performing a killer function with a simple construction without using a divider and/or vertical filter. The ACC/ACK device includes ACC and ACK circuitry which may be selectively enabled with operating signals to a selector 27. When the selector 27 enables amplitude detector 25, the amplitude detector 25 detects amplitude of the input color signal and a coefficient controller 26 compares it with a killer level. If the input color signal fails to meet the killer level then the coefficient controller 26 controls a coefficient generated by the coefficient generator 22 to perform a killer operation. The ACC operation and circuitry is thereby ACK controlled until an input color signal meets or exceeds the killer level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 5, 1997
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Ohara, Masafumi Yugami