Patents by Inventor Robert Hardacker

Robert Hardacker 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).

  • Publication number: 20100289666
    Abstract: First, a user may select an illumination color for a bezel framing a display of an electronics device. Second, the illumination of a digital picture frame may be established based on sensed motion nearby and/or ambient light. Third, the color of a user interface presented on a display can be established to match the color of the room in which the display is disposed, as indicated by colorimetry from a camera.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 20, 2009
    Publication date: November 18, 2010
    Inventors: ROBERT HARDACKER, Steven Friedlander, Rafael Calderon, Steven Richman
  • Publication number: 20100289957
    Abstract: A processor, such as a TV processor, determines which one of at least two audio-video components is sending signals to a TV for display. Based on the determining act, the processor establishes a color of a bezel of the TV.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 20, 2009
    Publication date: November 18, 2010
    Inventors: Robert Hardacker, Rafael Calderon, Steven Richman
  • Patent number: 7817035
    Abstract: A system and method for effectively determining a current physical location of a remote control device includes a television device that is configured to receive television control information over an RC-TV communications link. The remote control device transmits the device control information over the RC-device communications link for controlling various functions of the television device. In situations in which the current physical location of the remote control device is unknown, a system user may initiate a location search procedure with a search trigger event to locate the remote control device. The remote control device then generates one or more location indicators in response to the search trigger event to thereby facilitate determining the current physical location of the remote control device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2010
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Hardacker, Thomas Dawson
  • Publication number: 20100253572
    Abstract: Antenna arrays are calibrated by providing one or more test signals from the antenna array to be calibrated to a receiving sensor while varying ambient operating conditions over some predetermined range of ambient operating conditions. The signal properties of these test signals may be measured by the receiving sensor or associated spectrum analyzer, and the ambient operating conditions under which the test signals are provided may be similarly measured. Thereafter, signal offsets for each of the antenna array's elements may be determined as a function of the measured ambient operating condition. Calibration information corresponding to these signal offsets may then be stored in a memory of the antenna array for use during operation of the antenna array. This calibration information may be in the form of a lookup table or a curve-fitting equation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 1, 2009
    Publication date: October 7, 2010
    Applicants: SONY CORPORATION, SONY ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Robert Hardacker, Bob Unger
  • Publication number: 20100245668
    Abstract: A computer dock communicates with a TV over a HDMI link and a USB and/or Ethernet link. The dock can include a keyboard and mouse and the user can select whether the keyboard/mouse signals are sent to the computer or the TV. The input devices of the computer in the dock and/or the input devices of the dock can be used to provide navigation input to the TV to navigate around user interfaces such as a cross-media bar (XMB).
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2009
    Publication date: September 30, 2010
    Inventors: Robert Hardacker, Christopher Jensen Read, Robert Allan Unger
  • Publication number: 20100245667
    Abstract: A TV includes a TV processor and a TV display and a PC includes a PC processor but no PC monitor. A HDMI link is established between the processors for conveying multimedia content from the PC to the TV for display thereof on the TV display. Also, a link such as a USB link is established between the processors for exchanging control signals therebetween.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2009
    Publication date: September 30, 2010
    Inventors: Robert HARDACKER, Christopher Jensen READ, Robert Allan UNGER
  • Publication number: 20100226466
    Abstract: A quantized channel rate and corresponding rate multiplier is determined on a transmitter-side of a communication system based on a measured minimum required bandwidth. In certain embodiments, the quantized data rate may be an integer multiple of the system's reference clock. The determined rate multiplier is then transmitted to the receiver-side at a default data rate prior to or near the beginning of a data transmission session, such as upon initialization. Prior to transmission, the data stream may be padded with some determined amount of null data such that the actual transmitted data rate is approximately equal to the quantized channel rate, and the receiver-side can readily recover the data clock using its known reference clock and the previously-provided rate multiplier.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2009
    Publication date: September 9, 2010
    Applicants: SONY CORPORATION, SONY ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Robert Hardacker, Robert A. Unger
  • Publication number: 20100202046
    Abstract: Various ways are provided to visually distinguish one pair of TV 3D glasses from another in a home, including numbering the glasses, providing a white space on each pair of glasses that can be marked, color coding the glasses, and providing a visually unique band for each pair of glasses that can be engaged with the stem of the glasses.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 10, 2009
    Publication date: August 12, 2010
    Inventor: Robert Hardacker
  • Publication number: 20100194981
    Abstract: A mobile telephone docking station that makes use of a TV as a display and that allows use of a standard keyboard and mouse to have a faster, more comfortable means to control the phone. Access to all of the cell phone's functions is allowed through the docking station/TV.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 3, 2009
    Publication date: August 5, 2010
    Inventors: ROBERT HARDACKER, CHRISTOPHER JENSEN READ, ROBERT ALLAN UNGER
  • Publication number: 20100186057
    Abstract: A web-based subscription service PVR system. An Internet server maintains, for each subscriber, the subscriber's aggregated content including digital rights management (DRM) rules for each piece of content as defined by the content provider. Pointers to requested content are provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 22, 2009
    Publication date: July 22, 2010
    Inventors: Robert Hardacker, Robert Allan Unger
  • Publication number: 20100178883
    Abstract: The return channel in a multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) communication system is used to provide signal information on an individual-channel basis. In one embodiment, in a controlled factory environment, this information may be used to incrementing up or down the variable gain amplifier and/or the power amplifier of a MIMO transmitter and/or receiver so as to generate a default signal power offset to be used during normal operation. Thereafter, such signal information may similarly be provided via the return channel and used to further adjust the transmit parameters to account for location-specific signal conditions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 9, 2009
    Publication date: July 15, 2010
    Applicants: SONY CORPORATION, SONY ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Robert Hardacker, James R. Milne, Robert A. Unger
  • Publication number: 20100159855
    Abstract: Techniques for sending and receiving signals include pre-distorting signals before transmission across a communication path. The signals are pre-distorted as a function of a distortion on the communication path. In one embodiments, transmitter a broadcasts to receiver b and there is also a transmitter b broadcasting to receiver a. This return channel enables both transmitters a and b to have a priori information regarding the transmission medium and path the signal takes. In this way, the nature of the distortion or interference is known to the transmitter, therefore, it pre-distorts the transmitted signal to compensate for the receiver exceeding its capabilities in recovering signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2008
    Publication date: June 24, 2010
    Applicants: SONY CORPORATION, INC., SONY ELECTRONICS
    Inventors: Robert Hardacker, Kenichi Kawasaki
  • Patent number: 7733287
    Abstract: A plurality of high-frequency beam-forming RF antenna arrays are used to enable parallel data transmission at multi-Gigabit per second data rates. In one embodiment, the 60 GHz band is used for parallel transmission of data from an antenna array printed on the substrate or packaging of an integrated circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2010
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc.
    Inventor: Robert Hardacker
  • Publication number: 20100134696
    Abstract: A transmit digital processing system for wireless transmission of HDMI and/or DVI data using an FPGA. The FPGA converts the data into two data streams and includes a front end component multiplexing video data with control data. A complementary receive FPGA is also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 3, 2010
    Publication date: June 3, 2010
    Inventors: Mark Champion, Robert Allan Unger, Robert Hardacker
  • Publication number: 20100127886
    Abstract: Control information is exchanged between a component and a remote control device or a server using RFID or using network discovery procedures. The control information if gathered by the server is provided to the remote. In this way, the need to manually program the remote with component code information is eliminated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2010
    Publication date: May 27, 2010
    Inventors: ROBERT HARDACKER, Ryuichi Iwamura, Peter Shintani, Edgar Allan Tu
  • Patent number: 7719438
    Abstract: Control information is exchanged between a component and a remote control device or a server using RFID or using network discovery procedures. The control information if gathered by the server is provided to the remote. In this way, the need to manually program the remote with component code information is eliminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Hardacker, Ryuichi Iwamura, Peter Shintani, Edgar Allan Tu
  • Publication number: 20100118209
    Abstract: A system and method for generating remote control signals to control a device while conserving power. The method includes receiving an input command for communication to the device to be controlled and determining a use context based on the input command. Based on the context determination, communication over an infrared transmitter and a radio frequency transmitter is adjusted for power savings where one transmitter is typically active. The input command may then be sent via the infrared transmitter or the radio frequency transmitter. At the completion of the usage mode, the operational states of the transmitters can be switched.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 11, 2008
    Publication date: May 13, 2010
    Applicants: SONY CORPORATION, SONY ELECTRONICS
    Inventor: Robert Hardacker
  • Publication number: 20100104009
    Abstract: In response to a channel change command in a home network, to reduce latency a real time network bandwidth determination is made and if the determination indicates that bandwidth is sufficient to support only I-frame transmission, then only I-frames are sent temporarily from the source to the sink. Otherwise, I and P frames only are sent and may he encoded at a faster than normal frame rate and displayed at a lower than normal frame rate. If the sink is not configured for non-standard groups of pictures (GOP) some of the P frames can be indicated to the sink as being B-frames.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2008
    Publication date: April 29, 2010
    Inventors: Robert Hardacker, Christopher Jensen Read
  • Publication number: 20100106482
    Abstract: Systems and methods to provide additional language support for televisions are described herein. In one embodiment, a video signal including a first data stream representing text in a first language is received. The first data stream is transmitted to a remote source for real time translation into a second data stream representing text in a second language. The second data stream is received and then, displayed. In another embodiment, an uncompressed stream is received from a set top box. The uncompressed stream includes a first closed caption data format, which is in a first language. The first closed caption data format is converted into a first closed caption data stream using optical character recognition. The first closed caption data stream which represents text in the first language, is sent to a remote source for translation into a second closed caption data stream which represents text in a second language. The second closed caption data stream is received and then, displayed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 23, 2008
    Publication date: April 29, 2010
    Applicants: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Hardacker, Steven Richman
  • Publication number: 20100082794
    Abstract: Intuitive visualization of a home network is provided by providing on screen images of devices in the network around an image of the TV, and by establishing sizes, motion, and other visualization features of the images to reflect selections, bandwidths, different sub-networks, etc.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 1, 2008
    Publication date: April 1, 2010
    Inventors: ROBERT HARDACKER, Christopher Jensen Read