Patents by Inventor Loren Carpenter
Loren Carpenter 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).
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Patent number: 8493383Abstract: Adaptive sampling alleviates aliasing by partitioning the field of view of an image sample point into depth regions. Portions of the scene are sampled within a depth region using sample rays. If a sample ray is not completely occluded in the depth region, corresponding sample rays are evaluated in adjacent depth regions. Sample rays can be recursively evaluated in further depth regions until all the subsamples intersect opaque objects or a depth limit or transparency threshold is reached. The value of an image sample point is the weighted combination of sample rays. The number of sample rays in each depth region may increase monotonically with distance along a line of sight from an image sample point for effects such as reflection, refraction, and illumination. The number of sample rays in each depth region may increase monotonically with distance from a focal plane for effects such as depth of field.Type: GrantFiled: December 10, 2009Date of Patent: July 23, 2013Assignee: PixarInventors: Robert L. Cook, Loren Carpenter
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Patent number: 8494178Abstract: Methods and techniques to implement a digital signal processor for avoidance of audio feedback are disclosed, in particular, audio signal processing systems that reduce the requirement for physical segregation of sound acquisition and diffusion zones. In a more general aspect, the components and techniques described herein provide a for a sound space and sound processing equipment such that sound travelling electronically in a loop through the sound processing equipment that is output into a physical sound diffusion zone, received at the input to the sound processing equipment, and then re-amplified, etc. is attenuated over that loop by frequency modification. The frequency modification is such that, at least for some signals, on each pass through the loop, the sound processing equipment will attenuate or amplify individual sub-bands of the frequency spectrum of the audio signal that is received at the input of the sound processing equipment.Type: GrantFiled: August 20, 2010Date of Patent: July 23, 2013Assignee: PixarInventors: Loren Carpenter, Lanny Smoot, Alex Stahl
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Patent number: 8416260Abstract: Small objects causing aliasing are enlarged so that they are likely to be sampled by image sampling points. The opacity of the enlarged object is reduced in proportion to the enlargement. To efficiently render partially transparent objects, such as enlarged objects, objects are sampled using sigma buffer samples instead of image sample points. For each sigma buffer sample, a corresponding portion of the object is set to either completely transparent or completely opaque. The proportion of transparent to opaque portions of the object matches or approximates the partial transparency of the object as a whole. The completely opaque portions of one or more objects are sampled with the corresponding sigma buffer samples. Aggregate values of the sigma buffer samples are determined and can be combined with the attribute values of other objects sampled with image sampling points associated with the same region as the set of sigma buffer samples.Type: GrantFiled: May 22, 2008Date of Patent: April 9, 2013Assignee: PixarInventors: Loren Carpenter, Dana Batali, Julian Fong
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Patent number: 8368700Abstract: A method for specifying an animatronics unit includes receiving a force-based software model for the animatronics unit, receiving a kinematics-based software model for the animatronics unit, receiving animation data for animating the kinematics-based software model, wherein the animation data comprises artistically determined motions for the kinematics-based software model by a user, determining a plurality of driving signals in response to the animation data, animating the force-based software model of the animatronics unit in response to the plurality of driving signals, displaying animation of the force-based software model determined in response to the plurality of driving signals, and determining a specification for construction of the animatronics unit in response to animation of the force-based software model.Type: GrantFiled: December 17, 2007Date of Patent: February 5, 2013Assignee: PixarInventors: David DiFrancesco, Loren Carpenter, Oren Jacob, Warren Trezevant, Akhil J. Madhani, Alexis P. Wieland
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Patent number: 8217949Abstract: A contribution of a geometric element's attribute to a value of the image sample is determined analytically for an analytic dimension of evaluation and using sampling for a discrete dimension of evaluation. Motion blur effects are rendered by analytically determining the proportions of shutter time during which image samples are exposed to objects. Space-time projections are determined by the geometry edges' positions at the beginning and the end of the shutter time, which define surfaces of space-time projections. The times that the sample ray of an image sample enter and leave the space-time projections specify the proportions of the image sample's shutter time during which scene geometry is exposed to image sample points. The attribute value of an image sample point is determined from values of all of the scene geometry visible to the image sample point during the shutter time, each weighted by the time that it is visible.Type: GrantFiled: April 2, 2009Date of Patent: July 10, 2012Assignee: PixarInventors: Loren Carpenter, Robert L. Cook
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Patent number: 6026180Abstract: The present invention is a method and apparatus for compressing and decompressing data. In particular, the present invention provides a method for compressing color video data for storage on a CD-ROM for later playback on a computer system. The present invention uses an asymmetrical compression-decompression scheme that provides color compression, temporal compression, and spatial compression. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the color compression is accomplished in three stages. In the first stage, the colors are sampled from the source data. This generates a histogram that contains the colors of the source material. Next, these colors are quantized into the target colors. In the third step of the color compression, the actual colors on the film are mapped to the quantized colors. The temporal compression step specifies a target display rate. Only those pixels that have changed significantly from frame to frame are updated.Type: GrantFiled: September 24, 1997Date of Patent: February 15, 2000Assignee: PixarInventors: Andreas Wittenstein, Loren Carpenter, Leo Hourvitz
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Patent number: 5734744Abstract: The present invention is a method and apparatus for compressing and decompressing data. In particular, the present invention provides a method for compressing color video data for storage on a CD-ROM for later playback on a computer system. The present invention uses an asymmetrical compression-decompression scheme that provides color compression, temporal compression, and spatial compression. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the color compression is accomplished in three stages. In the first stage, the colors are sampled from the source data. This generates a histogram that contains the colors of the source material. Next, these colors are quantized into the target colors. In the third step of the color compression, the actual colors on the film are mapped to the quantized colors. The temporal compression step specifies a target display rate. Only those pixels that have changed significantly from frame to frame are updated.Type: GrantFiled: June 7, 1995Date of Patent: March 31, 1998Assignee: PixarInventors: Andreas Wittenstein, Loren Carpenter, Leo Hourvitz