Patents Issued in March 31, 2015
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Patent number: 8995696Abstract: A speaker includes a housing and four substantially similar electro-acoustic drivers secured inside the housing. The drivers are driven by substantially the same audio signal and are arranged such that the net mechanical vibrational force between the drivers and the housing is substantially zero. Four substantially similar passive radiators are secured inside the housing and driven by acoustic energy from the four drivers. The passive radiators are arranged such that the net mechanical vibrational force between the passive radiators and the housing is substantially zero.Type: GrantFiled: August 31, 2012Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Bose CorporationInventors: Roman N. Litovsky, Jason D. Silver, Darius Mobed
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Patent number: 8995697Abstract: A forward focused bipolar loudspeaker system includes a front-facing driver array and a rear facing driver array with substantially identical front-facing and rear-facing midrange or mid-bass drivers voiced and driven so that the measured SPL curves of each of the arrays, when measured individually, are tonally balanced. The front array and rear array have substantially identical on-axis and off axis frequency response and the rear array's output power (SPL) is reduced by, preferably, about 6 dB with respect to the output power produced by the front-facing array, while retaining a flat tonal balance for both the front and rear speakers, to produce a sound power ratio of about 2:1 as measured by comparing the front and back SPL levels of the speakers. This bipolar speaker system and method for voicing was discovered to provide greater clarity and improved localization while retaining the spacious envelopment of the bipolar sound field.Type: GrantFiled: June 16, 2011Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Definitive Technology, LLCInventors: Timothy Gladwin, Jason B. Cochrane
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Patent number: 8995698Abstract: Described herein are an apparatus and method for displaying the signal processing effects of a hearing upon speech. Such visual speech mapping may include displaying text corresponding to words spoken to a patient wearing a hearing aid as derived from an input signal derived from the hearing aid. The text is displayed with indicia representing the effects of the signal processing function performed by the hearing aid upon individual letters or groups of letters.Type: GrantFiled: July 27, 2012Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Starkey Laboratories, Inc.Inventor: Joshua Elliot Bartunek
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Patent number: 8995699Abstract: The invention regards a communication device which is adapted for placement in a users ear. The communication device comprises a shell part enclosing an input transducer for receiving an input signal, a signal processing device and an output N transducer for providing a signal perceivable as sound, a battery located at a surface part of the shell which is facing away from the head of the user, a transmission and reception circuit for transmission and/or reception of electromagnetic energy. According to the invention an antenna for radiating and/or receiving electromagnetic energy is provided such that it has a first surface turned towards the surroundings and a second surface located in close proximity of the battery.Type: GrantFiled: December 11, 2013Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Oticon A/SInventors: Kare T. Christensen, Ove Knudsen
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Patent number: 8995700Abstract: An acoustic transducer may comprise a sound source, a throat connected to the sound source, and a horn connected to the throat. The horn may be arranged on a wall, wherein the throat is designed such that a path of the sound from the sound source to an interface between the throat and the horn is shorter in a region close to the wall than at a region that is remote from the wall.Type: GrantFiled: August 21, 2013Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: d&b audiotechnik GmbHInventor: Frank Bothe
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Patent number: 8995701Abstract: An electroacoustic transducer includes a diaphragm, an electroacoustic transducer unit having the diaphragm, and an air chamber having the diaphragm of the electroacoustic transducer unit and having a variable volume in response to vibration of the diaphragm. The air chamber has a sound pressure detector detecting a sound pressure in the air chamber and a volume adjuster driven by the output signals from the sound pressure detector, changing the volume of the air chamber in response to the output signals, and controlling the acoustic impedance of the air chamber. A control system from the sound pressure detector to the volume adjuster configures a feedback control system increasing the volume of the air chamber with an increase in the sound pressure in the air chamber.Type: GrantFiled: July 27, 2011Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Audio-TechnicaInventor: Hiroshi Akino
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Patent number: 8995702Abstract: A speaker apparatus includes: a diaphragm vibrating to output sounds and being formed in an annular shape having a center hole in the middle thereof; a driving section causing the diaphragm to vibrate; a light emitting member emitting light; and a heat controlling member radiating heat generated when the light emitting member emits light or conducting the heat to a heat radiating section, wherein at least a part of the heat controlling member is provided on an axis including the center axis of the diaphragm, and the light emitting member is disposed on an end face of the heat controlling member.Type: GrantFiled: February 21, 2012Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Sony CorporationInventors: Nobukazu Suzuki, Yoshio Ohashi, Teppei Yokota
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Patent number: 8995703Abstract: A magnetic motor system for driving a loudspeaker voice coil. The system has first and second parts that define a volume for receiving a voice coil. The first and second parts each have a respective permanent magnet with first and second sidewalls that extend in a direction away from the volume. The first sidewall slopes in a direction towards the second sidewall as the sidewalls extend away from the volume. The first and second parts further have respective guide members for channelling lines of magnetic flux in a return path between the permanent magnets.Type: GrantFiled: April 5, 2012Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: PSS Belgium N.V.Inventor: Onur Ilkorur
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Patent number: 8995704Abstract: A micro-speaker includes a frame, a diaphragm mounted on the frame, a magnetic system received in the frame and defining a magnetic gap, a voice coil driving the diaphragm and suspended in the magnetic gap, and a suspension having a body portion and at least a pair of connecting portion extending from the body portion and mounted on the frame. The body portion of the suspension connects with the voice coil and far away from the diaphragm for cooperating with the diaphragm to fix the coil firmly, thereby ensuring the vibrating of the diaphragm is stable and balanced.Type: GrantFiled: July 13, 2012Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignees: AAC Acoustic Technologies (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., AAC Technologies Holdings, Inc.Inventors: Xing-zhi Huang, Li-zhu Xi, Xiong Zhang
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Patent number: 8995705Abstract: A multi-layer armature for a moving armature receiver. The armature includes a first armature layer and a displacement region. The first armature layer includes a first surface and a second armature layer having a second surface positioned adjacent to the first surface. The displacement region provides relative displacement between the armature layers.Type: GrantFiled: December 14, 2011Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Sonion Nederland B.V.Inventors: Sietse Jacob van Reeuwijk, Theodorus Geradus Maria Brouwer, Adrianus Maria Lafort, Mikhail Joerjevitsj Korneev
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Patent number: 8995706Abstract: A method and system of detecting colluders conducting a collusion attack including a minority-type collusion attack on a digital product includes the generation of codewords used as watermarks in the digital product. The inner code of the codewords is generated using permutations of rows in a Hadamard matrix and concatenating them together. A typical outer code of the codeword is the Reed Solomon code. An adaptive detector is able to accurately detect one of three or more colluders of a minority-type attack. Prior art schemes using an error correcting code-based watermarking mechanism with an inner code fail to detect colluders with a minority-type collusion attack which includes three colluders.Type: GrantFiled: September 26, 2008Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Thomson LicensingInventors: Wan-Yi Lin, Shan He, Jeffrey Adam Bloom
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Patent number: 8995707Abstract: Among other things, a method is disclosed comprising: receiving image data representing an image; processing the data to generate orientation information; processing the data using the orientation information to measure a quantity called local phase in a direction perpendicular to the orientation of a putative vessel; using the phase measurements from three collinear image locations or from two locations to detect the centerline of a symmetric image structure, such as a blood vessel, and to locate a center-point defined by the intersection of the centerline with the line created by the measurement locations.Type: GrantFiled: January 21, 2011Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: UCL Business PLCInventors: Jeffrey Ng Sing Kwong, Alistair Richard Fielder, Clare Margaret Wilson
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Patent number: 8995708Abstract: An apparatus and method for video fingerprinting are provided. The method includes, for each frame of a video sequence including a plurality of frames, removing a portion of the frame, dividing a remaining portion of the frame into blocks, dividing each block into sub-blocks, computing a block level feature as a mean of pixels in each sub-block within the block, concatenating all block level features in the frame, and concatenating features of all frames in the video sequence.Type: GrantFiled: September 6, 2012Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.Inventors: Felix C. Fernandes, Karthikeyan S. Vadivel, Zhan Ma, Wang Lin Lai, Ankur Saxena
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Patent number: 8995709Abstract: A method is provided for calculating a weight ratio by quality grade using a grain appearance quality grade discrimination device. The method involves the steps of imaging a plurality of grains; discriminating the quality grade of the grains on the basis of data of the imaged grains; tallying, by quality grade, the number of pixels in said data of the imaged grains with regards to the grains whose quality grade has been discriminated; multiplying the number of pixels tallied by quality grade by a weight conversion coefficient per pixel predetermined by quality grade, and thereby converting said number of pixels into a weight by quality grade; and calculating the weight ratio by quality grade of the grains on the basis of the weight by quality grade.Type: GrantFiled: May 10, 2011Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Satake CorporationInventors: Hiroki Ishizuki, Takayuki Emori, Yoshihisa Nakata
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Patent number: 8995710Abstract: An information processing apparatus that calculates information on a position and an orientation of an image capture device relative to an object captured by the image capture device, holds three-dimensional information including a plurality of line segments that constitute the object, acquires an image of the object captured by the image capture device, detects an image feature indicating a line segment from the acquired image, calculates a position and orientation of the image capture device based on correspondence between the image feature indicating the detected line segment and the held line segment, and determines, for each of the held line segments, whether to use the line segment for the calculation of the position and orientation thereafter, based on at least one of a result of detection of the image feature, and information acquired in the calculation of the position and orientation.Type: GrantFiled: April 30, 2013Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Daisuke Kotake, Shinji Uchiyama
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Patent number: 8995711Abstract: Systems and methods are described for imperceptibly embedding information by identifying locations that can be imperceptibly modified, where the imperceptible modification by replacing original content using replacement content derived from elsewhere in the compressed bitstream to remove at least a portion of the original content, generating at least one piece of replacement data for each identified location, where overwriting a portion of the compressed bitstream with replacement data prevents a decoder from decoding original content due to decoding replacement content derived from elsewhere in the compressed bitstream, selecting pieces of replacement data using an embedding device, where overwriting portions of the compressed bitstream using pieces of replacement data encodes payload information in accordance with a predetermined coding scheme, and embedding the payload information in the compressed bitstream by using the embedding device to overwrite at least a portion of the compressed bitstream with theType: GrantFiled: August 16, 2013Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Verimatrix, Inc.Inventor: Niels J. Thorwirth
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Patent number: 8995712Abstract: A method for automatically detecting and tracking multiple targets in a multi-camera surveillance zone and system thereof. In each camera view of the system only a simple object detection algorithm is needed. The detection results from multiple cameras are fused into a posterior distribution, named TDP, based on the Bayesian rule. This TDP distribution represents a likelihood of presence of some moving targets on the ground plane. To properly handle the tracking of multiple moving targets with time, a sample-based framework which combines Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC), Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC), and Mean-Shift Clustering, is provided. The detection and tracking accuracy is evaluated by both synthesized videos and real videos. The experimental results show that this method and system can accurately track a varying number of targets.Type: GrantFiled: June 10, 2009Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: National Chiao Tung UniversityInventors: Ching-Chun Huang, Sheng-Jyh Wang
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Patent number: 8995713Abstract: In one embodiment, one or more computing devices receive an identifying feature of a target entity, the identifying feature requiring that the target entity to be in a line of sight of a camera for the camera to recognize the identifying feature; locate the target entity using the camera based on the identifying feature; and track the target entity using the camera based on the identifying feature.Type: GrantFiled: April 25, 2011Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Fujitsu LimitedInventors: Linh Hankins, Hideaki Tanioka, Matthew Depetro
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Patent number: 8995714Abstract: Score determination means 62 determines a score, which indicates how accurately points in real space in respective images respectively acquired by a plurality of image acquisition means represent a target object, for each combination of image acquisition means and point in real space. View status determination means 63 determines the status of view to each point in real space from each image acquisition means by using non-target object presence information indicating to image acquisition means where a non-target object that conceals a target object is present, and determines probability density functions of a score corresponding to the result of the view status determination. Existence probability calculation means 64 determines an existence probability of a target object being present at a point in real space by using probability density functions for each combination of the image acquisition means and point in real space.Type: GrantFiled: March 4, 2010Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: NEC CorporationInventor: Hiroo Ikeda
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Patent number: 8995715Abstract: A template matching module is configured to program a processor to apply multiple differently-tuned object detection classifier sets in parallel to a digital image to determine one or more of an object type, configuration, orientation, pose or illumination condition, and to dynamically switch between object detection templates to match a determined object type, configuration, orientation, pose, blur, exposure and/or directional illumination condition.Type: GrantFiled: October 26, 2011Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: FotoNation LimitedInventors: Bogdan Sultana, Stefan Petrescu, Radu Nicolau, Vlad Ionut Ursachi, Petronel Bigioi, Corneliu Zaharia, Peter Corcoran, Szabolcs Fulop, Mihnea Gangea
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Patent number: 8995716Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for retrieving images based on a seasonal time period. In one aspect, a method includes receiving a query including image data defining an image depicting a subject. A location at which the image was captured by an image capturing device is determined. One or more additional images of the subject that were captured by an image capturing device at the identified location are identified. At least a portion of the additional images are provided in response to receiving the query.Type: GrantFiled: July 12, 2012Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Google Inc.Inventors: Asaf Zomet, Gal Chechik
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Patent number: 8995717Abstract: A computer implemented method for deriving an attribute entity network (AEN) from video data is disclosed, comprising the steps of: extracting at least two entities from the video data; tracking the trajectories of the at least two entities to form at least two tracks; deriving at least one association between at least two entities by detecting at least one event involving the at least two entities, said detecting of at least one event being based on detecting at least one spatio-temporal motion correlation between the at least two entities; and constructing the AEN by creating a graph wherein the at least two objects form at least two nodes and the at least one association forms a link between the at least two nodes.Type: GrantFiled: August 29, 2012Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: SRI InternationalInventors: Hui Cheng, Jiangjian Xiao, Harpreet Sawhney
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Patent number: 8995718Abstract: A method for low complexity change detection in a sequence of images using configurable block sizes is disclosed. In one embodiment, a first change detection map is generated by performing change detection based on configurable block sizes between a current image and one of an estimated first background image and a previous image. The first change detection map classifies each block as changed or unchanged. The selection between the previous image and the estimated background image for use in change detection is done using a confidence estimate, which is updated both at the low level and at the end of a high-level change analysis. In another embodiment, an estimated second background image is used in addition to the estimate first background image to help quickly adapt when a stationary object starts moving or when a scene object becomes stationary.Type: GrantFiled: October 11, 2012Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Ittiam Systems (P) Ltd.Inventors: Sriram Sethuraman, Santhoshkumar Chilkundasrinivasamurthy
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Patent number: 8995719Abstract: Techniques for improved image disparity estimation are described. In one embodiment, for example, an apparatus may comprise a processor circuit and an imaging management module, and the imaging management module may be operable by the processor circuit to determine a measured horizontal disparity factor and a measured vertical disparity factor for a rectified image array, determine a composite horizontal disparity factor for the rectified image array based on the measured horizontal disparity factor and an implied horizontal disparity factor, and determine a composite vertical disparity factor for the rectified image array based on the measured vertical disparity factor and an implied vertical disparity factor. Other embodiments are described and claimed.Type: GrantFiled: December 10, 2012Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Intel CorporationInventors: Tao Ma, Yi Wu, Oscar Nestares, Kalpana Seshadrinathan, Wei Sun
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Patent number: 8995720Abstract: A non-transitory information storage medium stores a program for causing a computer to execute processing including obtaining a search region for a search of the outside of one object and selecting any object in the search region as a search result from among a plurality of other objects.Type: GrantFiled: December 13, 2012Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.Inventors: Hajime Sugiyama, Naofumi Ito
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Patent number: 8995721Abstract: Methods and apparatus are disclosed related to classifying illuminated objects. A computing device can receive a sequence of images including first and second images. The first image can be of an environment of a vehicle taken at a first time. The second image can be of the environment of the vehicle taken at a second time. The vehicle can include a light source that illuminates a portion of the environment. The first and second times can differ. The computing device can detect an object having a first size and a first brightness in the first image. The computing device can detect the object having a second size and a second brightness in the second image. The computing device can classify the object based on a brightness difference between the first brightness and second brightness and a size difference between the first size and second size.Type: GrantFiled: February 4, 2013Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Google Inc.Inventors: Nathaniel Fairfield, Dave Ferguson
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Patent number: 8995722Abstract: The disclosure provides a filtering engine for selecting sparse filter components used to detect a material of interest (or specific target) in a hyperspectral imaging scene and applying the sparse filter to a plurality of pixels in the scene. The filtering engine transforms a spectral reference representing the material of interest to principal components space using the eigenvectors of the scene. It then ranks sparse filter components based on each transformed component of the spectral reference. The filtering engine selects sparse filter components based on their ranks. The filtering engine performs the subset selection quickly because the computations are minimized; it processes only the spectral reference vector and covariance matrix of the scene to do the subset selection rather than process a plurality of pixels in the scene, as is typically done. The spectral filter scores for the plurality of pixels are calculated efficiently using the sparse filter.Type: GrantFiled: August 5, 2013Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Raytheon CompanyInventors: Bradley A. Flanders, Ian S. Robinson, Anthony M. Sommese
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Patent number: 8995723Abstract: A computerized system mountable on a moving vehicle. The computerized system includes a camera. The camera captures in real time image frames of the environment in the field of view of the camera and transfers the image frames to an image processor. The image processor is programmed for performing traffic sign recognition and for performing another driver assistance function. Information is exchanged between the traffic sign recognition and the other driver assistance function.Type: GrantFiled: September 19, 2011Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Mobileye Vision Technologies Ltd.Inventors: Gideon P. Stein, Ori Shachar, Yoav Taieb, Uri Wolfovitz
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Patent number: 8995724Abstract: The present invention provides systems and methods to automatically analyze Landsat satellite data of forests. The present invention can easily be used to monitor any type of forest disturbance such as from selective logging, agriculture, cattle ranching, natural hazards (fire, wind events, storms), etc. The present invention provides a large-scale, high-resolution, automated remote sensing analysis of such disturbances.Type: GrantFiled: March 13, 2013Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: The Carnegie Institution of WashingtonInventor: Gregory P. Asner
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Patent number: 8995725Abstract: A comprehensive system to enhance the aesthetic quality of the photographs captured by mobile consumers provides on-site composition and aesthetics feedback through retrieved examples. Composition feedback is qualitative in nature and responds by retrieving highly aesthetic exemplar images from the corpus which are similar in content and composition to the snapshot. Color combination feedback provides confidence on the snapshot to contain good color combinations. Overall aesthetics feedback predicts the aesthetic ratings for both color and monochromatic images. An algorithm is used to provide ratings for color images, while new features and a new model are developed to treat monochromatic images. This system was designed keeping the next generation photography needs in mind and is the first of its kind. The feedback rendered is guiding and intuitive in nature. It is computed in situ while requiring minimal input from the user.Type: GrantFiled: June 18, 2014Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: The Penn State Research FoundationInventors: Jia Li, Lei Yao, James Z. Wang
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Patent number: 8995726Abstract: A biometric authentication system includes: an image acquisition unit for acquiring an image of a living body; a light source with a predetermined wavelength band; an authentication information storage unit for, if light is emitted by the light source, setting a predetermined distance for a first distance to a first image acquired by the image acquisition unit in a depth direction so that quality of the first image is improved, extracting a first feature to be used to perform biometric authentication from the first image whose quality has been improved, and storing authentication information regarding the first feature; a feature extraction unit for, if light is emitted by the light source when performing authentication, setting the predetermined distance for a second distance to a second image acquired by the image acquisition unit in the depth direction so that quality of the second image is improved, and extracting a second feature for biometric authentication from the second image whose quality has been iType: GrantFiled: April 3, 2008Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventor: Kazuhiko Amano
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Patent number: 8995727Abstract: A mechanism is provided for identifying one or more eligible image candidates. Responsive to a determination that the storage of a recently captured image raising an allocated captured images memory space in a storage to a point that storage of a next captured image would raise the allocated captured images memory space in the storage above the predetermined threshold, a criteria group in a set of criteria groups is identified to utilize for identification of one or more images candidates from a set of stored images in the storage. The one or more images candidates from the set of stored images in the storage are identified utilizing one or more image identification criteria in the criteria group. The one or more image candidates are then presented to a user.Type: GrantFiled: August 14, 2012Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Deepak R. Ghuge, Dilipkumar S. Jha, Sandeep R. Patil, Eda Sasikanth
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Patent number: 8995728Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods, systems, and computer readable media for locking a computing device. Periodic images are received from a camera on a computing device. Each of the images is compared to a stored image of a user. A determination is made that one of the images does not match the stored image, and the computing device is locked upon determining that one of the images does not match the stored image.Type: GrantFiled: July 7, 2014Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Google Inc.Inventor: Bryan Russell Yeung
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Patent number: 8995729Abstract: Systems, methods and computer-readable media that facilitate matching biometric data to entries in a gallery of biometric data. According to embodiments, a method is provided to match a query comprising biometric data to zero or more of the entries in the gallery. According to this method, a match query is received. The entries in the gallery of biometric data can then be filtered using features of the biometric data to produce a subset of entries that excludes unlikely matches to the query biometric data. A set of candidate entries can be created from the subset of entries where the candidate entries are high probability matches to the query biometric data above a certain pre-determined threshold.Type: GrantFiled: December 13, 2011Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: The MITRE CorporationInventors: Joseph P. Marques, Jeffrey Hoyt, Scott Bai
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Patent number: 8995730Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes: a data storage section configured to store image data as a density image containing a fingerprint or a palm print and ridge pattern direction distribution data which shows a direction distribution of a ridge pattern in a fingerprint or a palm print; a direction usage image enhancing section configured to execute ridge direction usage image enhancement processing on the density image based on the ridge pattern direction distribution data; and a direction extracting section configured to extract a first direction distribution of a first pattern which is contained in a ridge direction usage image enhanced image, from the ridge direction usage image enhanced image as a result of the ridge direction usage image enhancement processing to the density image. The direction usage image enhancing section executes first direction usage image enhancement processing on the density image based on first direction distribution data which shows a first direction distribution.Type: GrantFiled: December 21, 2010Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: NEC Solutions Innovators, Ltd.Inventors: Masanori Hara, Hiroaki Toyama
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Patent number: 8995731Abstract: The disclosure relates to image-based characterization of implanted medical leads used for electrical stimulation therapy. Characterization of implanted leads may include determination of lead configuration and lead orientation. The lead characterization techniques may make use of two-dimensional (2D) lead imaging in combination with known three-dimensional (3D) lead configuration data for various lead types. Lead characteristics determined from 2D lead imaging may be compared to lead dimensions calculated from known 3D lead characteristics to characterize implanted leads in terms of lead configuration and orientation. The lead characterization may be used to automatically determine or verify led configuration and orientation, and to aid in programming electrical stimulation therapy parameters.Type: GrantFiled: November 24, 2009Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.Inventor: Ajinkya M. Joglekar
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Patent number: 8995732Abstract: Method and system for managing multiple impressions of a patient's jaw for an orthodontic treatment is provided. The method includes scanning at least a first impression and a second impression of same jaw for the orthodontic treatment; determining if the first jaw impression and the second jaw impression have distortion in different areas; selecting the first jaw impression or the second jaw impression as a base impression; and replacing a distorted tooth data from the base impression with data for the same tooth from a non-base impression. The method also includes scanning at least a first jaw impression for the orthodontic treatment; scanning a bite impression for the orthodontic treatment; matching the scanned first jaw impression with the scanned bite impression; comparing bite information with a tooth occlusal surface; and determining if reconstruction is to be performed on the tooth occlusal surface.Type: GrantFiled: March 18, 2011Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.Inventors: Srinivas Kaza, Bob Grove
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Patent number: 8995733Abstract: A method for use in biology, histology, and pathology includes providing a digital first image of a first slice of an object having biological material; generating a digital second image of a second slice of the object; determining a region of interest in the second image based on a region of interest in the first image; determining a region of interest in the second slice based on the region of interest in the second image; and extracting material from the region of interest in the second slice.Type: GrantFiled: April 20, 2010Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.Inventors: Erik Martinus H. P. Van Dijk, Sjoerd Stallinga
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Patent number: 8995734Abstract: A method of processing image data including performing a first mapping, of a first image dataset to a first reference, performing a second mapping, of a second image dataset to a second reference, and using the first mapping and the second mapping to correlate at least one position in the first image dataset to at least one position in the second image dataset.Type: GrantFiled: January 10, 2012Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba Medical Systems CorporationInventors: Pavlos Papageorgiou, Ian Poole
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Patent number: 8995735Abstract: A tomographic system includes a gantry having an opening for receiving an object to be scanned, a radiation source, a detector positioned to receive radiation from the source that passes through the object, and a computer programmed to acquire a plurality of helical projection datasets of the object, reconstruct a first image using the acquired plurality of helical projection datasets and using a first reconstruction algorithm, reconstruct a second image using the acquired plurality of helical projection datasets and using a second reconstruction algorithm that is different from the first reconstruction algorithm, extract frequency components from each of the first and second images, sum the frequency components from each of the first and second images, and inverse transform the sum of the frequency components to generate a final image.Type: GrantFiled: May 23, 2012Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Guangzhi Cao, Jiang Hsieh, Brian Edward Nett
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Patent number: 8995736Abstract: A method, system, and computer-readable medium for detecting a disease of a prostate. Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can include receiving an image dataset acquired with at least one acquisition mode; segmenting a region of interest including the prostate from the dataset; applying conformal mapping to map the region of interest to a canonical shape; generating a 3D visualization of the prostate using the canonically mapped dataset; and applying computer aided detection (CAD) to the canonically mapped volume to detect a region of disease of the organ.Type: GrantFiled: January 24, 2011Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: The Research Foundation of the State University of New YorkInventors: Arie E. Kaufman, Joseph Marino
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Patent number: 8995737Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a planar image acquisition unit configured to acquire a planar image of a subject, a tomographic image acquisition unit configured to acquire a tomographic image indicating a polarization state of the subject based on beams of different polarizations obtained by splitting a beam into which a return beam from the subject irradiated with a measuring beam and a reference beam corresponding to the measuring beam have been combined, and a display control unit configured to cause, in a case where a designation unit designates a portion of the tomographic image indicating the polarization state displayed on a display unit, position information indicating a position corresponding to the portion designated by the designation unit to be displayed on the planar image displayed on the display unit.Type: GrantFiled: January 18, 2013Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Tomoyuki Makihira, Yoshihiko Iwase, Kazuhide Miyata, Makoto Sato, Hiroyuki Shinbata, Ritsuya Tomita, Daisuke Kibe
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Patent number: 8995738Abstract: A method for producing parametric maps using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system is provided. The MRI system is used to acquire k-space data from a field-of-view. A series of images is reconstructed from the acquired k-space data, and a confidence map is produced using the k-space data. The confidence map depicts regions in the field-of-view that are affected by error sources. A parametric map is produced using the reconstructed series of images and the produced confidence map. Values in the parametric map associated with regions in the field-of-view depicted in the confidence map as being affected by error sources are not computed, thereby reducing errors in the parametric map.Type: GrantFiled: February 18, 2013Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Wisconsin Alumni Research FoundationInventors: Diego Hernando, Scott B. Reeder
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Patent number: 8995739Abstract: Fatty tissue boundary depths and muscle tissue boundary depths are identified in an ultrasound image by first creating an average intensity histogram of the ultrasound image. The histogram has a plurality of peaks, but has the characteristic that one of its peaks corresponds to a fat boundary depth, and a second of its peaks corresponds to a muscle boundary depth. A first classifier based solely on the local-characteristics of individual peaks is used to identify a first fat tissue depth. A second classifier trained to find a muscle depth given a fat depth, receives the output from the first classifier and identifies an output muscle tissue depth relative to the first fat tissue depth. A third classifier trained to find a fat boundary depth given a muscle boundary depth, receives the output muscle tissue depth and outputs a second fat boundary depth.Type: GrantFiled: August 21, 2013Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Jing Xiao, Chenyu Wu
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Patent number: 8995740Abstract: Improved systems and methods for the analysis of digital images are provided. More particularly, the present disclosure provides for improved systems and methods for the analysis of digital images of biological tissue samples. Exemplary embodiments provide for: i) segmenting, ii) grouping, and iii) quantifying molecular protein profiles of individual cells in terms of sub cellular compartments (nuclei, membrane, and cytoplasm). The systems and methods of the present disclosure advantageously perform tissue segmentation at the sub-cellular level to facilitate analyzing, grouping and quantifying protein expression profiles of tissue in tissue sections globally and/or locally. Performing local-global tissue analysis and protein quantification advantageously enables correlation of spatial and molecular configuration of cells with molecular information of different types of cancer.Type: GrantFiled: April 17, 2013Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Alberto Santamaria-Pang, Jens Rittscher, Dirk Padfield, Ali Can, Zhengyu Pang, Musodiq Bello, Fiona Ginty, Christopher Sevinsky, Qing Li, Megan Rothney, Brion Sarachan
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Patent number: 8995741Abstract: Embodiments herein provide computer-implemented techniques for allowing a user computing device to extract financial card information using optical character recognition (“OCR”). Extracting financial card information may be improved by applying various classifiers and other transformations to the image data. For example, applying a linear classifier to the image to determine digit locations before applying the OCR algorithm allows the user computing device to use less processing capacity to extract accurate card data. The OCR application may train a classifier to use the wear patterns of a card to improve OCR algorithm performance. The OCR application may apply a linear classifier and then a nonlinear classifier to improve the performance and the accuracy of the OCR algorithm. The OCR application uses the known digit patterns used by typical credit and debit cards to improve the accuracy of the OCR algorithm.Type: GrantFiled: August 15, 2014Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Google Inc.Inventors: Sanjiv Kumar, Henry Allan Rowley, Xiaohang Wang, Jose Jeronimo Moreira Rodrigues
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Patent number: 8995742Abstract: Embodiments of systems and methods are disclosed for evaluating a superabrasive material by a three-dimensional model generated using a computed tomography scanner. The model is analyzed to identify a superabrasive matrix within the model and at least one performance characteristic of the superabrasive material is determined according to at least one property of the superabrasive matrix. Methods are also disclosed for characterizing crystal-to-crystal bonding regions and non-superabrasive material within an interstitial matrix of the superabrasive matrix.Type: GrantFiled: November 9, 2010Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: US Synthetic CorporationInventors: Craig H. Cooley, Debkumar Mukhopadhyay, Kenneth E. Bertagnolli
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Patent number: 8995743Abstract: A computer-implemented method is provided for finding a Ro image providing data corresponding to possible orthogonal distances to possible lines on a pallet in an image. The method comprises: acquiring a grey scale image including one or more pallets; determining, using a computer, a horizontal gradient image by convolving the grey scale image and a first convolution kernel; determining, using the computer, a vertical gradient image by convolving the grey scale image and a second convolution kernel; and determining, using the computer, respective pixel values of a first Ro image providing data corresponding to a possible orthogonal distance from an origin point of the grey scale image to one or more possible lines on one or more possible pallets in the grey scale image.Type: GrantFiled: October 16, 2012Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Crown Equipment CorporationInventors: Lee F. Holeva, Edwin R. Elston, Eric L. Jensen, Michael J. Seelinger
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Patent number: 8995744Abstract: Methods and apparatus provide for a Cart Inspector to create a suspicion level for a transaction when a video image of the transaction portrays an item(s) left in a shopping cart. Specifically, the Cart Inspector obtains video data associated with a time(s) of interest. The video data originates from a video camera that monitors a transaction area. The Cart Inspector analyzes the video data with respect to target image(s) associated with a transaction in the transaction area during the time(s) of interest. The Cart Inspector creates an indication of a suspicion level for the transaction based on analysis of the target image(s). Creation of a high suspicion level for the transaction indicates that the transaction's corresponding video images most likely portray occurrences where the purchase price of an item transported through the transaction area was not included in the total amount paid by the customer.Type: GrantFiled: April 29, 2013Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Stoplift, Inc.Inventors: Malay Kundu, Brian Frank O'Donnell, Matthew K. Farrow, Vikram Srinivasan, Joshua Migdal
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Patent number: 8995745Abstract: A device for imaging and processing a workpiece having nanometric features through the use of at least one charged particle beam, by both fully automated procedures and manual assistance procedures. The device includes a user interface, including a schedule input entry device and a human operator ready input that can be placed in a first state or a second state and a procedure scheduler, accepting a schedule of procedures, including fully automated procedures and manual assistance procedures, from the schedule input entry device. Additionally, a procedure sequencer that, when the human operator ready input is in the second state, sequences through fully automated procedures until the human operator ready input is placed into the first state, at which time the sequencer begins sequencing the manual assistance procedures, after reaching a safe termination point for the fully automated procedures being performed.Type: GrantFiled: July 31, 2012Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: FEI CompanyInventors: Richard J. Young, Ryan Tanner, Reinier Louis Warschauer