During Both Vertical And Horizontal Blanking Patents (Class 348/477)
  • Patent number: 8970783
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus obtains information of an effective pixel of an image pickup element and information of a pixel on the periphery thereof, sets a position where image data of the peripheral pixel is multiplexed in accordance with a transmission method, generates a data stream by multiplexing image data of the effective pixel and the image data of the peripheral pixel in accordance with the set multiplexing position and the transmission method, and multiplexes information on the set multiplexing position and information on the peripheral pixel area to the data stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yasushi Kachi
  • Patent number: 8917354
    Abstract: A method for detecting motion in video fields of video data, comprises the steps of: calculating texture information for a pixel in the video fields; determining a threshold value as a function of the calculated texture information; calculating a differential value for the pixel; and detecting motion in the video fields as a function of the determined threshold value and the calculated differential value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2014
    Assignee: Amlogic Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Dongjian Wang, Xin Hu, Xuyun Chen
  • Patent number: 8830402
    Abstract: An image processing circuit and a method thereof are provided herein. The image processing circuit has a first scaling circuit, one or more line buffers, a first sharpness circuit, a second scaling circuit, and a second sharpness circuit. The first scaling circuit enlarges an input image along a first direction to generate a first enlarged image. The one or more line buffers temporarily store the pixel values of a plurality of pixel rows of the first enlarged image. The first sharpness circuit vertically sharpens the first enlarged image to generate a first sharpened image. The second scaling circuit enlarges the first sharpened image along a second direction to generate a second enlarged image. The second sharpness circuit horizontally sharpens the second enlarged image to generate a second sharpened image. Accordingly, it is possible to use the one or more line buffers having shorter data lengths to perform the vertical sharpening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Novatek Microelectronics Corp.
    Inventors: Teng-Yi Lin, Wei-Fu Chen, Wei-Jen Lo
  • Patent number: 8766814
    Abstract: A motorman's cab display system includes a motorman's cab display apparatus that can automatically adjust display luminance of a display device without using an illuminance sensor. The motorman's cab display apparatus determines, based on location information of a train transmitted from a train information control system, whether the train is traveling in a tunnel, sets, when determining that the train is traveling in the tunnel, as the luminance of a display screen, luminance for inside of tunnel set in advance, and sets, when determining that the train is traveling outside the tunnel, as luminance of the display screen, luminance information for outside of tunnel set in advance. A display control method for motorman's cab display apparatuses includes: calculating a traveling location of the train; and adjusting the luminance of the display screen according to the luminance information output from a luminance determining unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2014
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Norishige Emoto, Kengo Kobatake
  • Patent number: 8595762
    Abstract: In an interactive broadcasting system, television programming may be broadcast with interleaved web content information. The progress in broadcasting the web content information over one or more transports and over one or more channels within those transports, may be monitored to provide a time based indication of what content has been broadcast. In one embodiment, markers may be inserted into the data transmission flow and a method may be utilized to associate a handle with a particular marker. A method may be called which obtains the handle and another method may be utilized to invoke the handle to obtain current information about broadcast transmissions. This information may be used within a broadcast encoder or may be provided to a content provider, for example, through a log-in server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2013
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventor: Ramanathan Ramanathan
  • Patent number: 8576336
    Abstract: A video formatter reformats progressive video using a film-based video film rate and a display refresh rate to determine a frame OFF period for a progressive video sequence. The video formatter inserts at least one black frame into the progressive video sequence to approximate the frame OFF period. Typically, the film rate is 24 frames per second (industry standard) and, thus, the display refresh rate can be a multiple of the frame rate (e.g., 96 Hz, 120 Hz, 240 Hz, etc.). Progressive video replicates a single frame of a film several times (“a progressive video sequence”) depending on a display's refresh rate. The black frame(s) is/are substituted at the end of this sequence instead of displaying the same image throughout for a single film frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2013
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventor: Ronald Douglas Johnson
  • Patent number: 8570443
    Abstract: An image processing circuit and a method thereof are provided herein. The image processing circuit has a first scaling circuit, a plurality of line buffers, a first sharpness circuit, a second scaling circuit, and a second sharpness circuit. The first scaling circuit enlarges an input image along a first direction to generate a first enlarged image. The line buffers temporarily store the pixel values of a plurality of pixel rows of the first enlarged image. The first sharpness circuit vertically sharpens the first enlarged image to generate a first sharpened image. The second scaling circuit enlarges the first sharpened image along a second direction to generate a second enlarged image. The second sharpness circuit horizontally sharpens the second enlarged image to generate a second sharpened image. Accordingly, it is possible to use the line buffers having shorter data lengths to perform the vertical sharpening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2013
    Assignee: Novatek Microelectronics Corp.
    Inventors: Teng-Yi Lin, Wei-Fu Chen, Wei-Jen Lo
  • Patent number: 8401461
    Abstract: In a wireless communication system including a source device for wirelessly transmitting a video signal, and a sink device for receiving the wirelessly transmitted video signal and displaying the received video signal on a display, the sink device reads out EDID information from a ROM and wirelessly transmits a wireless data signal including the EDID information to the source device. The source device wirelessly receives the wireless data signal including the EDID information and wirelessly transmitted from the sink device, and wirelessly transmits the video signal to the sink device based on the EDID information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Makoto Funabiki, Akihiro Tatsuta, Hiroshi Ohue
  • Patent number: 8351756
    Abstract: An up-converter (7) performs up-conversion on frame images in a video signal. A pseudo-noise generation circuit (9) generates a pseudo-noise signal, and an adder (10) composites the pseudo-noise signal with the up-converted video signal. As a result, noise having the same resolution as the up-converted frame images (1920 vertical pixels by 1080 horizontal lines) is distributed in the composited frame images, and each piece of noise has a characteristic approximating a characteristic (crest value, amount, or frequency) of noise included in the pre-conversion video signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2013
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventor: Tetsuya Itani
  • Patent number: 8032904
    Abstract: In an interactive broadcasting system, television programming may be broadcast with interleaved web content information. The progress in broadcasting the web content information over one or more transports and over one or more channels within those transports, may be monitored to provide a time based indication of what content has been broadcast. In one embodiment, markers may be inserted into the data transmission flow and a method may be utilized to associate a handle with a particular marker. A method may be called which obtains the handle and another method may be utilized to invoke the handle to obtain current information about broadcast transmissions. This information may be used within a broadcast encoder or may be provided to a content provider, for example, through a log-in server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2011
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventor: Ramanathan Ramanathan
  • Patent number: 7707600
    Abstract: In an interactive broadcasting system, television programming may be broadcast with interleaved web content information. The progress in broadcasting the web content information over one or more transports and over one or more channels within those transports, may be monitored to provide a time based indication of what content has been broadcast. In one embodiment, markers may be inserted into the data transmission flow and a method may be utilized to associate a handle with a particular marker. A method may be called which obtains the handle and another method may be utilized to invoke the handle to obtain current information about broadcast transmissions. This information may be used within a broadcast encoder or may be provided to a content provider, for example, through a log-in server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2010
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventor: Ramanathan Ramanathan
  • Patent number: 7623140
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, system and machine-readable medium for generating a composite output image based upon multiple input images. In one embodiment, a first display location on a display panel is located. A first function is performed to generate a first pixel of the output image for display at the first display location if a first image and a second image are both active at the first display location. A second function is performed to generate the first pixel of the output image if only the first image or only the second image is active at the first display location. In one embodiment, the first image is active at the first display location if the first display location is located within a first display area on the display panel where the first image is to be displayed, the second image is active at the first display location if the first display location is located within a second display area on the display panel where the second image is to be displayed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2009
    Assignee: Zoran Corporation
    Inventors: Gerard K. Yeh, C. Dardy Chang, Meng-Day (Mandel) Yu
  • Patent number: 7558326
    Abstract: A communication system including a transmitter, a receiver, and a TMDS-like link, in which video data and auxiliary data (typically including timing data associated with other auxiliary data) are transmitted from the transmitter to the receiver, or in which video data are transmitted over the link from the transmitter to the receiver, and auxiliary data (typically including timing data associated with other auxiliary data) are transmitted from the receiver to the transmitter. In typical embodiments the auxiliary data include one or more streams of audio data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2009
    Assignee: Silicon Image, Inc.
    Inventors: James D. Lyle, Gyudong Kim, Min-Kyu Kim, Ken-Sue Tan, Paul Daniel Wolf, William C. Altmann, Russel A. Martin
  • Patent number: 7295173
    Abstract: An image display method including dividing an original image for one frame period into a plurality of subfield images, arranging the subfield images in a direction of a time axis in an order of brightness of the subfield images, and displaying the arranged subfield images in the order of the brightness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2007
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Goh Itoh, Masahiro Baba, Kazuki Taira, Haruhiko Okumura
  • Patent number: 7106342
    Abstract: A method of controlling brightness of a user-selected area on a monitor screen is disclosed. First, a starting point of a topmost line of a displayed image is determined as a new reference point. Then a line pattern being included in one of image lines of the displayed image is detected. The pattern includes an indicator whose ends are horizontally aligned with vertical edges of the user-selected area. Next, horizontal distances of the vertical edges with respect to the reference point, and a highlight area is identified using the measured horizontal distances. Finally, a brightness gain of the identified highlight area is amplified.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2006
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Jong Kun Yoon, Byung Han Kim, Hong Ki Kim, Alexander Shafir
  • Patent number: 6907536
    Abstract: A design for reducing the power dissipation in an integrated circuit for an image pickup device. Placing a circuit block (2), such as for generating a driving signal to an image pickup apparatus, in a standby state within a vertical blanking period or horizontal blanking period reduces the power dissipation at the circuit block (2). Since the blanking period is short, it is necessary to rapidly restore normal operation from standby so as to ensure the standby time. A switch (6) is provided between a terminal of the circuit block (2) and a capacitor (4) that is provided for voltage regulation at the terminal. A controller (8) turns off the switch (6) and disconnects the capacitor (4) from the circuit block (2) in a period where the circuit block (2) is placed in a standby state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2005
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tatsuya Takahashi, Seiji Takeuchi
  • Publication number: 20040070668
    Abstract: An electronic endoscope apparatus has a single coaxial cable which combines a power line and signal line installed between a scope and a processor unit. A waveform superimposing circuit of the scope superimposes a video signal on power transmitted through the coaxial cable and superimposes scope-side reference pulses on a blanking period of the first horizontal line signal in the first field of the video signal. On the other hand, the processor unit superimposes processor-side reference pulses on a blanking period of the first horizontal line in the second field of the video signal. Then, the scope and the processor unit perform video processing based on timing signals synchronized with the reference pulses. Alternatively, an electromagnetic coupler may be installed instead of the coaxial cable and the video signal and reference pulses may be superimposed on AC power supplied electromagnetically.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 15, 2003
    Publication date: April 15, 2004
    Applicant: Fuji Photo Optical Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kazunori Abe
  • Patent number: 6600515
    Abstract: A method of transmitting a leakage tagging signal includes inserting a tagging signal into a CATV television signal only during portions of the television signal in which control information is present. A method according to the present invention is a method of transmitting a tagging signal in a communication system, the communication system transmitting television signals comprising control information and program information. One step of the method includes generating a tagging signal that is detectable by corresponding leakage detecting equipment. The method also includes the step of identifying a portion of a television signal in which control information is present. Finally, the method of the present invention encompasses inserting the tagging signal into the television signal only during the portion of the television signal in which control information is present.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2003
    Assignee: Wavetek Corporation
    Inventors: Andrew E. Bowyer, Pingnan Shi
  • Patent number: 6437830
    Abstract: A communication data format conveys digital ancillary data in a vertical blanking interval of a video signal. The format employs a reference symbol including a plurality of digital pulses for indicating the start of the ancillary data and also includes a header byte following the reference symbol. The header byte contains an identifier identifying a destination service for a payload of the ancillary data or an address identifying a destination of the payload. The format also conveys multiple payload bytes, following the reference symbol in which individual bits have a period substantially comprising, a first integral multiple of a first clock period associated with a first data format, and a different second integral multiple of a second clock period associated with a second data format.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2002
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing S.A.
    Inventor: Karl Francis Horlander
  • Patent number: 6351289
    Abstract: An apparatus and method is provided for generating VBI data coding waveforms. The present invention utilizes a single look-up table that stores sampled values of sine waves in direct waveform synthesis for both color burst processing and VBI data coding processing. Furthermore, the present invention utilizes a 2T pulse as a signalling waveform in direct synthesis to overcome the problem of overlap for conventional unit pulse durations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 1998
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2002
    Assignee: Winbond Electronics Corp.
    Inventors: An-Tung Chen, Hsin-Mei Chen, Jong Ping Lee
  • Patent number: 6057874
    Abstract: A system for delivering selective VCR control codes to programmable settop terminals over a CATV communication system includes a headend for storing and transmitting VCR control code information to the settop terminals and a plurality of settop terminals for receiving the control codes. The CATV communication system delivers the VCR control codes to individual subscribers within the vertical blanking interval of one of the broadcast channels or over a control data channel. A set-up procedure is required for each VCR to determine the appropriate set of VCR control codes. Upon determining the specific type of VCR the subscriber has, the VCR control codes transmitted through the CATV system are stored in the settop terminal in non-volatile memory. Since the settop terminal only stores the VCR control codes for a single type of VCR, memory requirements are minimized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2000
    Assignee: General Instrument Corporation
    Inventor: Ted Richard Michaud
  • Patent number: 6055020
    Abstract: Therefore, the object of the invention is to utilize the unused channel capacity of the television channel even more optimally for additional signals. Both on the transmitting, as well as the receiving side, the clock pulses for video and audio data to be additionally transmitted are generated from the FBAS useful signal by counting, weighting and decision-making, both signals being separately digitized, buffered, and compressed before being superimposed upon on the useful video signal. Subsequent to the same clock pulse generation, the steps follow in the reverse order on the receiver side. The implementation can be carried out on the transmitter side using additional equipment, on the receiver side by computer software or additional devices installed in the conventional TV set. The application can be carried out for any additional video and sound signals. A preferred special application is a community picture broadcast similar to a slide presentation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2000
    Assignee: Deutsche Telekom AG
    Inventors: Rudolf Werner Lorenz, Adolf Finger, Hartmut Hiller, Oliver Gotting, Jens Schonthier, Frank Poegel
  • Patent number: 5838382
    Abstract: A hardware system is programmed with a vertical blanking interval (VBI) scan line run-in clock recovery function, preferably noise tolerant that optimizes the starting point for recovering the leading run-in clock of a VBI scan line by maintaining at least one average starting position for VBI scan lines, and using the at least one average starting position to establish the starting point. The at least one average starting position is updated continuously with the actual locations where first rising edges in the run-in clocks of various scan lines are found.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1998
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventor: Benjamin M. Cahill, III