Patents by Inventor Tony K. Mak

Tony K. Mak 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: 8116959
    Abstract: A system and method of vehicular wireless communication over a Dedicated Short Range Communication service band is provided. The system includes a vehicle having a navigation means, a processor, and a communication means for transmitting a message via a wireless communications link. The system includes a control channel for communication a safety communication and a service channel for communicating a non-safety communication. The control channel is subdivided into a contention-free period having a safety exchange interval of time for transmitting a safety communication and a contention period having a non-safety service interval of time for transmitting a non-safety communication. The system further includes an access point in communication with the vehicle via the communications link within region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2012
    Assignees: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., University of California, Berkeley
    Inventors: Kenneth P. Laberteaux, Tony K. Mak, Raja Sengupta
  • Patent number: 7983841
    Abstract: A system and method of vehicular wireless communication over a Dedicated Short Range Communication service band is provided. The system includes a vehicle having a navigation means, a processor, and a communication means for transmitting a message via a wireless communications link. The system includes a control channel for communicating a safety message and a service channel for communicating a non-safety message. The control channel is subdivided into a contention-free period having a safety exchange interval and a contention period having a non-safety service interval. The system further includes a dedicated group manager that partitions the vehicles into groups.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2011
    Assignees: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., University of California, Berkeley
    Inventors: Kenneth P. Laberteaux, Tony K. Mak, Raja Sengupta
  • Patent number: 7970540
    Abstract: A system and method of vehicular wireless communication over a Dedicated Short Range Communication service band. The system and method include a vehicle having a navigation system, a processor, and a communication system for transmitting a message via a wireless communications link. The system and method also include a control channel for communicating a safety communication and a service channel for communicating a non-safety communication.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2011
    Assignees: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: Kenneth P. Laberteaux, Tony K. Mak, Raja Sengupta
  • Publication number: 20110153885
    Abstract: The smart portable device such as a smart phone is equipped with powerful CPU, touch screen, USB socket, etc. The software application running on the smart portable device can convert the user commands received on the graphical user interface (GUI) into remote control codes and communicate the remote control codes as data packets through peripheral bus interface, such as USB, to a plug-in peripheral device. The plug-in peripheral device receives the data packets and drives the IR transmitter using information in the data packets received. The remote control codes in the form of modulated IR signals arrive at the electronic appliances such as TV, VCR, Hi-Fi systems, robots, etc. that can decode remote control codes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2009
    Publication date: June 23, 2011
    Inventors: Tony K. Mak, Hei Tao Fung
  • Publication number: 20110144778
    Abstract: A smart audio plug-in comprises an electrical audio signal receiver, a processor of protocol data units carried in the electrical signal, and an infrared signal transmitter. The remote control codes control the electronic appliances such as TV, VCR, Hi-Fi systems, robots, etc. that can decode remote control codes. The smart audio plug-in can be inserted into the audio jack of a smart portable device. The smart portable device such as a smart phone is equipped with powerful CPU, touch screen, networking interface, audio jack, etc. The software application running on the smart portable device can convert the user commands received on the graphical user interface (GUI) into remote control code and transmit unmodulated, or modulated electrical signals such as amplitude modulated, frequency modulated or phase modulated signals that encode the remote control codes through the audio jack to the smart audio plug-in.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2009
    Publication date: June 16, 2011
    Inventors: Hei Tao Fung, Tony K. Mak
  • Publication number: 20110117850
    Abstract: An apparatus comprises a radio frequency (RF) unit, an Infrared (IR) signal unit, and a processing unit that decodes the codes received from the RF unit and feeds them into the IR signal unit. The codes control the home electronic appliances such as TV, VCR, Hi-Fi systems, etc. that can decode IR remote control codes. A smart portable device such as a smart phone is equipped with powerful CPU, touch screen, networking interface, etc. The software application running on the smart portable device can convert the user commands received on the graphical user interface (GUI) into messages that contain the IR remote control codes and communicate the messages over the RF network to the apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 18, 2009
    Publication date: May 19, 2011
    Inventors: Hei Tao Fung, Tony K. Mak