Patents by Inventor Marko Mlinar

Marko Mlinar 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: 12164057
    Abstract: A radar detection method with receive antenna calibration includes: forming a detection matrix from signals detected by an arrangement of receive antennas in response to chirps transmitted by an arrangement of transmit antennas, the detection matrix having multiple rows corresponding to the chirps, multiple columns corresponding to a sample of the signals, and multiple planes corresponding the receive antennas; deriving a range matrix by performing a frequency transform on a portion of each row of the detection matrix; deriving a velocity matrix by performing a frequency transform on a portion of each column of the range matrix; deriving a direction-of-arrival matrix by performing a frequency transform on a portion of one or more layers of the velocity matrix; analyzing the direction-of-arrival matrix to determine a current peak width; and adjusting, based on the current peak width, phase shifts associated with one or more antennas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: Ay Dee Kay LLC
    Inventors: Danny Elad, Marko Mlinar, Simon Srot, Dan Corcos
  • Publication number: 20240397225
    Abstract: An image sensor may perform hybrid pixel binning. In pixel binning, pixel values from multiple pixels are combined into a single representative binning value. In a hybrid pixel binning scheme, different pixel groups may be binned in different ways in a single image sensor. When the range of values in a pixel group is low (indicating a flat surface), a mean or median binning scheme may be used. When the range of values in a pixel group is high (indicating an edge), a spatial weighting binning scheme may be used. When a pixel group has an intermediate range, a blend of the median/mean and spatial weighting may be used to avoid undesired blinking in the binning output. The hybrid binning scheme may reduce noise while still preserving high-frequency detail.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 22, 2023
    Publication date: November 28, 2024
    Applicant: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventors: Kai Yau MOK, Marko MLINAR
  • Patent number: 11943477
    Abstract: Various embodiments of the present technology may comprise methods and apparatus for successive intra block prediction. Methods and apparatus for successive intra block prediction may comprise a matching decoder to generate data that replicates the internal state and/or the decompressed data at the decoder. The apparatus may further comprise a prediction module that utilizes the replicated data to make predictions. The apparatus may then utilize the predicted data and the original, input source data to determine a difference value and encode the difference value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventor: Marko Mlinar
  • Publication number: 20230314615
    Abstract: A time-of-flight (TOF) sensing system may include an illumination module and a sensor module. The sensor module may include an array of sensor pixels, each sensor pixel configured to perform multiple measurements to generate corresponding pixel data for a TOF sensing operation. Signal processing circuitry may generate phase data based on the pixel data. Phase denoise circuitry in the signal processing circuitry may perform different types of filtering operations on the phase data such as perform two bilateral filters of varying strengths. The lower-fidelity denoised phase data may be used for depth disambiguation, while the higher-fidelity denoised phase data may be used for depth calculation. If desired, the phase denoise circuitry may perform averaging operations for one or both of these filtering operations using a Cartesian coordinate representation and efficiently using piecewise linear trigonometric approximations.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 15, 2022
    Publication date: October 5, 2023
    Applicant: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventor: Marko MLINAR
  • Patent number: 11709226
    Abstract: A radar antenna calibration method includes: forming a detection matrix from signals detected by an arrangement of receive antennas in response to chirps transmitted by an arrangement of transmit antennas, the detection matrix having multiple rows corresponding to the chirps, multiple columns corresponding to a signal sample, and multiple planes corresponding the receive antennas; deriving a range matrix by performing a frequency transform on a portion of each row of the detection matrix; extracting a slice of the range matrix, with different rows of the slice being associated with different chirps and with different receive antennas; deriving a velocity matrix from the extracted slice by performing a frequency transform on a portion of each column of the extracted slice; analyzing the velocity matrix to determine a current peak width; and adjusting, based on the current peak width, phase shifts associated with one or more of the receive antennas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: Ay Dee Kay LLC
    Inventors: Danny Elad, Marko Mlinar, Simon Srot, Dan Corcos
  • Publication number: 20230014653
    Abstract: A radar antenna calibration method includes: forming a detection matrix from signals detected by an arrangement of receive antennas in response to chirps transmitted by an arrangement of transmit antennas, the detection matrix having multiple rows corresponding to the chirps, multiple columns corresponding to a signal sample, and multiple planes corresponding the receive antennas; deriving a range matrix by performing a frequency transform on a portion of each row of the detection matrix; extracting a slice of the range matrix, with different rows of the slice being associated with different chirps and with different receive antennas; deriving a velocity matrix from the extracted slice by performing a frequency transform on a portion of each column of the extracted slice; analyzing the velocity matrix to determine a current peak width; and adjusting, based on the current peak width, phase shifts associated with one or more of the receive antennas.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 2, 2022
    Publication date: January 19, 2023
    Applicant: AyDeeKay LLC dba Indie Semiconductor
    Inventors: Danny Elad, Marko Mlinar, Simon Srot, Dan Corcos
  • Patent number: 11372083
    Abstract: A radar antenna calibration method includes: forming a detection matrix from signals detected by an arrangement of receive antennas in response to chirps transmitted by an arrangement of transmit antennas, the detection matrix having multiple rows corresponding to the chirps, multiple columns corresponding to a signal sample, and multiple planes corresponding the receive antennas; deriving a range matrix by performing a frequency transform on a portion of each row of the detection matrix; extracting a slice of the range matrix, with different rows of the slice being associated with different chirps and with different receive antennas; deriving a velocity matrix from the extracted slice by performing a frequency transform on a portion of each column of the extracted slice; analyzing the velocity matrix to determine a current peak width; and adjusting, based on the current peak width, phase shifts associated with one or more of the receive antennas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: Ay Dee Kay LLC
    Inventors: Danny Elad, Marko Mlinar, Simon Srot, Dan Corcos
  • Publication number: 20210181304
    Abstract: A radar antenna calibration method includes: forming a detection matrix from signals detected by an arrangement of receive antennas in response to chirps transmitted by an arrangement of transmit antennas, the detection matrix having multiple rows corresponding to the chirps, multiple columns corresponding to a signal sample, and multiple planes corresponding the receive antennas; deriving a range matrix by performing a frequency transform on a portion of each row of the detection matrix; extracting a slice of the range matrix, with different rows of the slice being associated with different chirps and with different receive antennas; deriving a velocity matrix from the extracted slice by performing a frequency transform on a portion of each column of the extracted slice; analyzing the velocity matrix to determine a current peak width; and adjusting, based on the current peak width, phase shifts associated with one or more of the receive antennas.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2019
    Publication date: June 17, 2021
    Applicant: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventors: Danny ELAD, Marko MLINAR, Simon SROT, Dan CORCOS
  • Publication number: 20210181303
    Abstract: A radar detection method with receive antenna calibration includes: forming a detection matrix from signals detected by an arrangement of receive antennas in response to chirps transmitted by an arrangement of transmit antennas, the detection matrix having multiple rows corresponding to the chirps, multiple columns corresponding to a sample of the signals, and multiple planes corresponding the receive antennas; deriving a range matrix by performing a frequency transform on a portion of each row of the detection matrix; deriving a velocity matrix by performing a frequency transform on a portion of each column of the range matrix; deriving a direction-of-arrival matrix by performing a frequency transform on a portion of one or more layers of the velocity matrix; analyzing the direction-of-arrival matrix to determine a current peak width; and adjusting, based on the current peak width, phase shifts associated with one or more antennas.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2019
    Publication date: June 17, 2021
    Applicant: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventors: Danny ELAD, Marko MLINAR, Simon SROT, Dan CORCOS
  • Publication number: 20210072372
    Abstract: Radar front end devices are provided with data processing and communication architectures that support a daisy-chain configuration. In an illustrative radar system embodiment, each front end device in a set of multiple front end devices includes: processing logic and interface logic. The processing logic is configurable to derive range and velocity data from radar return data. The interface logic is configurable to combine the range and velocity data from the processing logic with range and velocity data from any upstream front end devices in said set and to send the combined range and velocity data to a downstream destination.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2019
    Publication date: March 11, 2021
    Applicant: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventor: Marko MLINAR
  • Patent number: 10931902
    Abstract: An image sensor may include a non-rectilinear image pixel array, which may produce non-rectilinear image data. The image sensor may include a resampling circuit to convert the non-rectilinear image data into rectilinear image data that is optimized for displaying an image to a user. This image data may be corrected using defect correction circuitry, resilience filtering circuitry, and aberration correction circuitry in the image sensor, and demosaicking circuitry and color correction circuitry in an image signal processor that is coupled to the image sensor. Alternatively, the non-rectilinear image data may be sent to the image signal processor without converting it to rectilinear image data. For example, machine vision applications may use and interpret non-rectilinear image data directly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventor: Marko Mlinar
  • Publication number: 20210029380
    Abstract: Various embodiments of the present technology may comprise methods and apparatus for successive intra block prediction. Methods and apparatus for successive intra block prediction may comprise a matching decoder to generate data that replicates the internal state and/or the decompressed data at the decoder. The apparatus may further comprise a prediction module that utilizes the replicated data to make predictions. The apparatus may then utilize the predicted data and the original, input source data to determine a difference value and encode the difference value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 9, 2020
    Publication date: January 28, 2021
    Applicant: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventor: Marko MLINAR
  • Patent number: 10841617
    Abstract: Various embodiments of the present technology may comprise methods and apparatus for successive intra block prediction. Methods and apparatus for successive intra block prediction may comprise a matching decoder to generate data that replicates the internal state and/or the decompressed data at the decoder. The apparatus may further comprise a prediction module that utilizes the replicated data to make predictions. The apparatus may then utilize the predicted data and the original, input source data to determine a difference value and encode the difference value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventor: Marko Mlinar
  • Patent number: 10841595
    Abstract: Various embodiments of the present technology may comprise methods and apparatus for transform coefficient encoding and decoding. Methods and apparatus for transform coefficient encoding and decoding may comprise an entropy encoder configured to encode each transform coefficient as a symbol, wherein the symbol comprises a context, a magnitude, and a mantissa. The context may be one of four contexts and the symbol may be encoded using a subset of Huffman codes, wherein the subset is determined based on the context.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventor: Marko Mlinar
  • Publication number: 20200292658
    Abstract: Various embodiments of the present technology may comprise methods and apparatus for data compression and transmission. Embodiments the present technology transmit relevant data sub-cubes and compress and transmit non-relevant data sub-cubes. Relevant data sub-cubes may be those sub-cubes that contain detected target data and sub-cubes that are directly adjacent to the detected target data. Data contained in the directly adjacent sub-cubes that are overlapping/shared are only transmitted once.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 23, 2019
    Publication date: September 17, 2020
    Applicant: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventors: Marko MLINAR, Simon SROT
  • Patent number: 10708524
    Abstract: Various embodiments of the present technology comprise a method and apparatus for high dynamic range imaging. According to various embodiments, the method and apparatus for high dynamic range imaging is configured to select the “best” signal for each pixel location to construct an HDR output. In one embodiment, the “best” signal is select among various pixel signals and the pixel signal selected as the “best” signal is based on the value of the pixel signals and identification of non-saturated. If only one pixel value for a particular pixel location is non-saturated, then the “best” signal is the non-saturated signal. If more than one pixel value is non-saturated, then the “best” signal is the pixel signal with the greatest value. If two more pixel values are non-saturated and both have equally great values, then the “best” signal is the pixel signal with the shortest integration time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventors: Marko Mlinar, Simon Srot
  • Publication number: 20200169739
    Abstract: Various embodiments of the present technology may comprise methods and apparatus for transform coefficient encoding and decoding. Methods and apparatus for transform coefficient encoding and decoding may comprise an entropy encoder configured to encode each transform coefficient as a symbol, wherein the symbol comprises a context, a magnitude, and a mantissa. The context may be one of four contexts and the symbol may be encoded using a subset of Huffman codes, wherein the subset is determined based on the context.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 27, 2018
    Publication date: May 28, 2020
    Applicant: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventor: Marko MLINAR
  • Publication number: 20200169756
    Abstract: Various embodiments of the present technology may comprise methods and apparatus for successive intra block prediction. Methods and apparatus for successive intra block prediction may comprise a matching decoder to generate data that replicates the internal state and/or the decompressed data at the decoder. The apparatus may further comprise a prediction module that utilizes the replicated data to make predictions. The apparatus may then utilize the predicted data and the original, input source data to determine a difference value and encode the difference value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 27, 2018
    Publication date: May 28, 2020
    Applicant: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventor: Marko MLINAR
  • Patent number: 10609361
    Abstract: An imaging system may include an image sensor, a lens, and layers with reflective properties, such as an infrared cut-off filter, between the lens and the image sensor. The lens may focus light from an object in a scene onto the image sensor. Some of the light directed onto the image sensor may form a first image on the image sensor. Other portions of the light directed onto the image sensor may reflect off of the image sensor and back towards the layers with reflective properties. These layers may reflect the light back onto the image sensor, forming a second image that is shifted relative to the first image. Depth mapping circuitry may compare the first and second images to determine the distance between the imaging system and the object in the scene.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2020
    Assignee: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventors: Marko Mlinar, Ulrich Boettiger
  • Publication number: 20200020730
    Abstract: An image sensor may include pixels having nested sub-pixels. A pixel with nested sub-pixels may include an inner sub-pixel that has either an elliptical or a rectangular light collecting area. The inner sub-pixel may be formed in a substrate and may be immediately surrounded by a sub-pixel group that includes one or more sub-pixels. The inner sub-pixel may have a light collecting area at a surface that is less sensitive than the light collecting area of the one or more outer sub-pixel groups. Microlenses may be formed over the nested sub-pixels, to direct light away from the inner sub-pixel group to the outer sub-pixel groups in nested sub-pixels. A color filter of a single color may be formed over the nested sub-pixels. Hybrid color filters having a single color filter region over the inner sub-pixel and a portion of the one or more outer sub-pixel groups may also be used.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 26, 2019
    Publication date: January 16, 2020
    Applicant: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventors: Marko MLINAR, Ulrich BOETTIGER, Richard MAURITZSON