Patents by Inventor Zhi Zhou

Zhi Zhou 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: 8295626
    Abstract: A method and a system for adaptively (dynamically) reducing quantization layer reduction for removing quantization artifacts in quantized video signals is provided. Adaptively reducing quantization layer reduction involves detecting if a selected pixel in a quantized image belongs to a ramp area in each of multiple pre-defined directions, dynamically selecting a quantization level for each of the pre-defined directions based on the corresponding detection results, and refining the pixel based on the selected quantization levels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2012
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Zhi Zhou, Yeong-Taeg Kim
  • Patent number: 8295551
    Abstract: A system and method which determines an adaptive vertical search range used to provide motion estimation in digital video content are disclosed. In some embodiments, a fixed-size vertical search range for the motion estimation is defined and utilized. A reference frame and target frame are stored in memory, and a block in the reference frame is selected for consideration. An offset value is determined which is indicative of a directional shift of the fixed-size vertical search range and the vertical search range is shifted based on the offset value. A motion vector is then estimated using the shifted vertical search range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2012
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Surapong Lertrattanapanich, Yeong-Taeg Kim, Zhi Zhou
  • Patent number: 8289444
    Abstract: A system and method for video frame interpolation are disclosed. In one embodiment, the method comprises receiving first motion estimation data representing estimated motion of blocks between a first frame and a second frame, receiving second motion estimation data representing estimated motion of blocks between the second frame and a third frame, determining whether an area in an interpolated frame between the first and second frame is an occlusion area based at least in part on the first and second motion estimation data, and estimating characteristics of pixels of the area based in part on the determination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Zhi Zhou, Yeong-taeg Kim
  • Patent number: 8275209
    Abstract: In certain embodiments, overlap operators are applied during encoding and/or decoding of digital media, where the overlap operators have reduced DC gain mismatch and/or DC leakage between interior overlap operators and overlap operators at the edge and/or corner. In other embodiments, information indicating a selected tile boundary option for overlap processing can be encoded and/or decoded. The selected tile boundary option indicates one of a hard tile boundary option and a soft tile boundary option for processing with overlap operators. Overlap transform processing can then be applied based at least in part on the selected tile boundary option.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2012
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Daniel Schonberg, Shankar L. Regunathan, Shijun Sun, Gary J. Sullivan, Zhi Zhou, Sridhar Srinivasan
  • Patent number: 8269885
    Abstract: A system and method for determining a pixel characteristic of pixels in interpolated frames. Preceding and successive frames are evaluated to determine if there is a frame-wide change occurring to the pixels. To the extent there is a frame-wide change, the pixel characteristic in interpolated frames is accommodated by the frame-wide change. In one implementation, frame-wide changes in luminance, such as fade in and fade out, are detected and the pixel characteristic of pixels in the interpolated frame is determined based at least in part on fallback techniques rather than motion compensation interpolation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2012
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Zhi Zhou, Yeongtaeg Kim
  • Publication number: 20120230411
    Abstract: Three block concepts are introduced in HEVC: coding unit (CU), prediction unit (PU), and transform unit (TU). The overall coding structure is characterized by the various sizes of CU, PU and TU in a recursive fashion. For transform processing in current HEVC, a hierarchy RQT (Residual Quad Tree) is used and the TU size is related to the CU size, but independent of the PU size. This results in high encoding complexity and also causes increased processing time to process the syntax of residual quad tree. Accordingly a modified transform unit partition with reduced complexity is disclosed. According to an embodiment, the TU size may be restricted to the minimum of PU width and height, except for a 2N×2N coding unit with the 2N×2N partition type. In another embodiment, the maximum TU size equals to maximum of PU width and height, and the minimum TU size equals to minimum of the PU width and height, except for a 2N×2N coding unit with the 2N×2N partition type.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 9, 2011
    Publication date: September 13, 2012
    Inventors: Shan Liu, Zhi Zhou, Shaw-Min Lei
  • Patent number: 8258248
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to cationic terpolymers, methods to make them, and the use of compositions containing said terpolymers in personal care compositions. The polymers are useful in personal care applications. The cationic terpolymers of this present invention provide the extra conditioning benefits required in a personal care product. These cationic terpolymers also contribute useful conditioning properties to hair-care and skin-care products.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2012
    Assignee: BASF SE
    Inventors: John Jennings, Xian-Zhi Zhou
  • Patent number: 8232236
    Abstract: The claims encompass hard surface cleaner and hard surface treatment compositions containing particular ampholytic polymers which impart not only good residual cleaning properties but in particular give fast drying properties to the cleaning compositions. The polymers are for example terpolymers formed from diallydialkyammonium chloride, anionic monomers and N,N di-C1-C8 alkyl(meth)acrylamides.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2012
    Assignee: BASF SE
    Inventors: Bingham S. Jaynes, Ashish Taneja, Xian-Zhi Zhou, Joseph A. Lupia
  • Patent number: 8221508
    Abstract: Polymeric dye comprising oligo and polypeptides selected from natural or synthetic aminoacids bearing at least one covalently bounded cationic dye. Very good dyeing results on human hair are obtained with these dyes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2012
    Assignee: BASF SE
    Inventors: Sophie Marquais-Bienewald, Christian Cremer, Olof Wallquist, Xian-Zhi Zhou, Barbara Wagner
  • Publication number: 20120112738
    Abstract: Systems and methods for detecting scour. Some embodiments provide systems which include a sensor and a signal generator with a combined density equal to or greater than that of water. Optionally, the sensor can be a magnet, magnetic resonator, or accelerometer. In some embodiments, the sensor is adapted to be placed in regions potentially subject to scour and to sense a scour-related condition. The signal generator generates a wireless signal conveying data regarding the as-sensed scour-related. In some embodiments the sensor is the signal generator while a receiver of the wireless signal can include an antenna, a magnetometer, or an ultrasonic sensor. In some embodiments, the housing is conic and the magnetic object is offset from the center of gravity of the coupled sensor, signal generator and housing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 10, 2011
    Publication date: May 10, 2012
    Applicant: THE CURATORS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MO
    Inventors: Genda Chen, David Pommerenke, Zhi Zhou, Ying Huang
  • Patent number: 8154151
    Abstract: An apparatus, system, and method, the apparatus includes an intelligent energy transfer system including a configurable switching system electrically coupleable to a vehicle. The vehicle includes one of an electric vehicle and a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. The configurable switching system is configured to convey a first direct current (DC) energy from a first energy source to an energy storage system of the vehicle, receive a first alternating current (AC) energy conveyed to the vehicle, convey a second DC energy from the vehicle to a first DC powered load, and convey a second AC energy from the vehicle to a first AC powered load. Each of the first energy source, the first AC powered load, and the first DC powered load are located remotely from the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2012
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Robert Dean King, Zhi Zhou
  • Patent number: 8148318
    Abstract: The present invention relates to home or fabric care compositions comprising certain dye-polymer complexes. Additionally, methods for coloration of home or fabric care compositions using said dye-polymer complexes are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2012
    Assignee: BASF SE
    Inventors: Zhiqiang Song, Bingham Scott Jaynes, Joseph Anthony Lupia, Xian-Zhi Zhou
  • Patent number: 8147814
    Abstract: The present invention relates to personal care compositions comprising certain dye-polymer complexes. Additionally, methods for coloration of personal care compositions using said dye-polymer complexes are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2012
    Assignee: BASF SE
    Inventors: Zhiqiang Song, Bingham Scott Jaynes, Joseph Anthony Lupia, Xian-Zhi Zhou
  • Patent number: 8144247
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides systems and methods for detecting and interpolating still pixels. In certain embodiments, the systems and methods establish a still pixel level for each still pixel, and using that still pixel level, provide an interpolation procedure for determining the pixel value of a selected pixel at a frame a distance ? from frame F(t?1). Disclosed embodiments are capable of providing motion compensated interpolation results for a wide variety of circumstances, including cases where the endpoints of the motion vector of a selected pixel to be interpolated vary between substantially still and not still, as well as cases where mixtures of temporal and motion compensation interpolations are necessary. Still pixel candidates may be refined in a process where pixels that may be properly handled by standard motion compensation interpolation techniques are eliminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2012
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yeong-Taeg Kim, Zhi Zhou
  • Publication number: 20120056874
    Abstract: A method of operation of a display system includes: receiving a current input image with current input pixels; identifying an input object, having input object pixels, based on differences in characteristics of the current input pixels; calculating an object pixel depth for the input object pixels from an image depth map of the current input image based on a weighted average of depth candidates; and generating a processed image, having a perceived depth, from the current input image with the image depth map and the object pixel depth for displaying on a device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 14, 2011
    Publication date: March 8, 2012
    Applicant: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yoon Kyung Kim, Zhi Zhou, Yeong-Taeg Kim
  • Publication number: 20120044997
    Abstract: A method of processing video data includes: receiving a first video frame with first blocks of pixels associated with a known motion vector and a second video frame with second blocks of pixels, the second blocks corresponding to the first blocks, and uncovered blocks adjacent to the first frame boundary not corresponding to the first blocks in the first video frame; determining a first block for each line segment in the second video frame corresponding to a block in the first video frame, wherein the first block has the known motion vector from the first video frame; and assigning a motion vector for at least one of the line segments in the second video frame to the uncovered blocks in the line segment of the second video frame between first block and the first frame boundary.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2011
    Publication date: February 23, 2012
    Applicant: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Zhi Zhou, Yeong-Taeg Kim
  • Patent number: 8107537
    Abstract: A one-pass picture-layer rate control (RC) method and system for controlling a video encoder: The bit allocation and determination of quantization parameter (QP) in this rate control method and system are based on a Rate-Quantization (R-Q) scale model. The R-Q model is a linear one, wherein the number of bits per picture is in reverse ratio of quantization scale for that picture. A conversion of exponential-based QP to linear-scaled QP is taken in the calculation of complexity model and determination of QP. The conversion is integer-based and is consistent with the quantization array defined in the H.264 standard.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2012
    Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America, Inc.
    Inventors: Zhi Zhou, Shijun Sun
  • Patent number: 8090210
    Abstract: An image processing system implements recursive 3D super precision for processing smoothly changing video image areas by performing temporal noise reduction and then 2D super precision. The temporal noise reduction is applied to two frames, one being the current input low precision frame, and the other being the previous higher precision frame from memory. The 2D super precision is applied to the noise reduced frame to output a high precision frame which is also saved into memory for processing the next incoming frame. The input frame has a limited bit depth while the output image has an increased bit depth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2012
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Zhi Zhou, Yeong-Taeg Kim, Ning Xu
  • Patent number: 8077257
    Abstract: System and methods for the detection of progressive pulldown in a video sequence are provided. The method comprises calculating a difference between temporally adjacent frames in the video sequence, generating a pattern based upon these differences, and comparing the generated pattern against patterns understood for known progressive film modes in order to determine if the video sequence comprises a known progressive film mode. In one embodiment, the pattern may be adjusted to account for uncertainty in assigning values to the pattern, reducing the likelihood of false detections. In another advantage, confidence metrics are built into the method in order to further reduce the incidence of false detections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2011
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Zhi Zhou, Yeong-Taeg Kim
  • Patent number: 8068543
    Abstract: A method and system for determining a measure of reliability of a computed motion estimate based on the histogram of the error block obtained based on the computed motion estimate taking into account some aspects of the image content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2011
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mahesh Chappalli, Yeong-Taeg Kim, Zhi Zhou