Patents by Inventor Thomas J. Leacock

Thomas J. Leacock 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: 20010030697
    Abstract: A system for detecting and measuring registration errors and chromatic aberration in color images derived from a color video camera includes an edge locator which finds edges in respective zones of the color images and stores sets of samples representing picture elements of each of at least two component color signals. A microprocessor processes the stored sample sets to identify a coarse displacement between corresponding samples of the two component color signals. The microprocessor then determines a fine displacement between the two color signals. The coarse displacement may be determined by performing a cross correlation on the two sample sets or by calculating respective sums of absolute difference between the two sample sets for different displacements between corresponding samples of the two samples sets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2001
    Publication date: October 18, 2001
    Inventors: Lee Robert Dischert, Robert J. Topper, Thomas J. Leacock
  • Patent number: 6097368
    Abstract: A digital display device, such as a plasma display or a digital micromirror device (DMD) based digital light projector, employs a minimum moving pixel distortion (MPD) set of codewords for reducing visually perceived artifacts viewed on a digital display device (PDP). The digital display device includes a minimum MPD mapping process, which maps by, for example, a ROM look-up table, corresponding present and previous pixel intensity values from first and second image frames into a preferred equalizing code value corresponding to the present pixel intensity value. An optimal set of equalizing codewords is determined by comparing objective measures of MPD error for each of a plurality of trial equalizing codewords and selecting the codeword having the smallest measure of MPD error. The optimal equalizing codewords are stored in a ROM lookup table which is addressed by the previous and current codewords.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2000
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Daniel Qiang Zhu, Thomas J. Leacock, James D. Noecker
  • Patent number: 5610604
    Abstract: An analog to digital converter which includes a resistive network for generating a number of first reference voltages related to each other by a first linear relationship and a number of second reference voltages related to each other by a second linear relationship, where the first linear relationship is different from the second linear relationship. Also included are first comparators which compare an analog signal to each one of the first reference voltages to produce specified first comparator signals where a respective comparator of the first comparators is provided for each of the first reference voltages. Second comparators are provided to compare the analog signal to each of the second reference voltages to produce second comparator signals where a respective comparator of the second comparators is provided for each one of the second reference voltages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 11, 1997
    Assignee: Panasonic Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas J. Leacock, Robert J. Topper
  • Patent number: 5418563
    Abstract: An apparatus is provided for processing the output signals of a charge transfer device having at least one row of photoelectric elements. The charge transfer device produces output signals with charge levels that are provided to a shift register having a plurality of elements. The successive charge levels from each photoelectric element are provided to respective shift register elements, and the charge levels are transferred within the shift register to a readout terminal. Some of the charge is retained by each element as the charge is transferred. The retained charge is added to the next charge transferred into the element. This adding of residual charges averages the charges transferred, producing undesirable noise. A sample and hold device removes sampling artifacts inherent in the signal provided by the CCD, to produce a signal representing successive image pixel values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 23, 1995
    Assignee: Panasonic Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Lee R. Dischert, Robert J. Topper, Thomas J. Leacock, Joseph F. Hacke
  • Patent number: 5398060
    Abstract: A noise suppression, signal recovery circuit for use with an array of charge coupled device having a plurality of phase readouts. The video information present in the multiple phases are combined into a single video output signal by using a minimal number of parts while providing for noise suppression designed to suppress typical noise present in charge coupled device arrays.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 1993
    Date of Patent: March 14, 1995
    Assignee: Panasonic Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas J. Leacock, Joseph F. Hacke
  • Patent number: 5353056
    Abstract: Apparatus and a method are described for modifying the magnification and registration factors of an image using digital signal processing and interpolation. The apparatus is used in a camera system which samples an image to generate sampled data signals. The sampled data signals are first interpolated across the either the rows or columns of the image and then across the columns or rows of the image to change the magnification and registration factors of the images represented by each of the sampled data signals to some common desired magnification and registration factors. The system electronically corrects for chromatic aberration and geometric distortion in the image caused by the lens system and skew among the images caused by misalignment of the respective color image sensors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 4, 1994
    Assignee: Panasonic Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Peter H. Westerink, Thomas J. Leacock
  • Patent number: 5274439
    Abstract: A color video signal processing system determines when one component color signal has been limited by clipping and limits the other component color signals to maintain accurate hue in the reproduced image. In one system, the other color signals are held at their values at the instant the one signal was detected as being clipped until the signal is no longer clipped. In another system, an attenuation function is applied to the unclipped color signals when any one color signal is detected as being clipped.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 1992
    Date of Patent: December 28, 1993
    Assignee: Panasonic Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Lee R. Dischert, Thomas J. Leacock