38th week of 2012 patent applcation highlights part 34 |
Patent application number | Title | Published |
20120237034 | WIRELESS MESH NETWORK WITH SECURE AUTOMATIC KEY LOADS TO WIRELESS DEVICES - A wireless mesh network provides secure communication by encrypting data using one or more encryption keys. A configuration device in communication with a security manager of the network provides a temporary secure communication path between the security manager and a new field device to be added to the mesh network. Cryptographic material and other configuration data can then be transferred between the security manager of the network and the new field device securely via the configuration device. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237035 | KEY SCHEDULING DEVICE AND KEY SCHEDULING METHOD - According to one embodiment, in a key scheduling device, a non-linear transformation unit non-linearly transforms at least one of partial keys resulting from dividing an expanded key. A first linear transformation unit includes first and second circuits. The second circuit linearly transforms the partial key by directly using a transformation result from the non-linear transformation unit. A first storage stores the partial key linearly transformed by the first linear transformation unit. A second linear transformation unit linearly transforms, inversely to the first linear transformation unit, each of partial keys other than the partial key linearly transformed by the second circuit out of the partial keys stored in the first storage, and outputs inversely transformed partial keys. A second storage stores one of inputs to the second circuit. An outputting unit connects the respective inversely transformed partial keys and the input stored in the second storage to be output as a second key. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237036 | COMMUNICATING SCRAMBLING SEED INFORMATION - A method of communicating scrambling seed information includes obtaining raw data to be transmitted using a processor, and generating scrambled data from the raw data according to a scrambling seed. A scrambled data packet structure is configured by combining a preamble portion, a synch portion, and a header portion to the scrambled data, wherein the header portion includes a scrambler field value including a plurality of bits (M). The scrambled data packet structure is transmitted to a receiver. The receiver receives the header portion including the scrambler field value. The receiver maps the scrambler field value to a scrambling seed, and decodes the scrambled data using the scrambling seed. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237037 | N Surround - Techniques are provided to use near-field speakers to add depth information that may be missing, incomplete, or imperceptible in far-field sound waves from far-field speakers, and to remove the multi-channel cross talk and reflected sound waves that otherwise may be inherent in a listening space with the far-field speakers alone. In some possible embodiments, a calibration tone may be monitored at each of a listener's ears. The calibration tone may be emitted by two or more far-field speakers. One or more audio portions from two or more near-field speakers may be outputted based on results of monitoring the calibration tone. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237038 | AUDIO MIXER - Six input channels, to which are allocated 5.1-channel surround signals from a plurality of input sources, are grouped into a surround channel group, and these six input channels are connected to corresponding ones of six surround buses in a one-to-one relationship. Thus, merely grouping the input channels into a surround channel group allows the signals of the individual input channels (5.1-channel surround signals) to be taken out via a plurality of output destinations (5.1-channel speakers) corresponding to the surround buses. Once an instruction is given for changing a value of a parameter, the parameter is controlled in a ganged fashion in all of the input channels of the surround channel group except for an LFE input channel of the surround channel group. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237039 | AUDIO DECODER AND DECODING METHOD USING EFFICIENT DOWNMIXING - A method, an apparatus, a computer readable storage medium configured with instructions for carrying out a method, and logic encoded in one or more computer-readable tangible medium to carry out actions. The method is to decode audio data that includes N.n channels to M.m decoded audio channels, including unpacking metadata and unpacking and decoding frequency domain exponent and mantissa data; determining transform coefficients from the unpacked and decoded frequency domain exponent and mantissa data; inverse transforming the frequency domain data; and in the case M2012-09-20 | |
20120237040 | System and Method for Automated Audio Mix Equalization and Mix Visualization - Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for automatically analyzing, modifying, and mixing a plurality of audio signals. The modification of the audio signals takes place to avoid spectral collisions which occur when more than one signal simultaneously occupies one or more of the same frequency bands. The modifications mask out some signals to allow others to exist unaffected. Also disclosed herein is a method for displaying the identified spectral collisions superimposed on graphical waveform representations of the analyzed signals. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237041 | Method And An Apparatus For Deriving Information From An Audio Track And Determining Similarity Between Audio Tracks - A method of deriving information from an audio track, or a part thereof, wherein onsets or intensity/amplitude variations are detected as well as at which frequencies (timbral frequencies) or in which frequency bands these occur. Especially interesting is the frequency of such onsets. In this manner, the frequency of beats of a low frequency drum may be separated from that of onsets of a higher frequency drum or guitar of other instrument, and these frequencies provide important information about the track, such as genre, beat, etc. Naturally, parameters may be provided relating to the individual frequencies (frequency of onsets and frequency/tone of the sound of the onsets), or a fit thereto may be used to reduce the number of parameters. It is noted that the frequencies in which the onsets are determined may be tones or half tones in the relevant scale. As onsets of instruments normally are whole multiples of a basic frequency or beat, it has been found advantageous to represent the individual frequencies on a logarithmic scale so that such multiples of frequencies are equidistant and so that transposing to higher or lower beats is very easy. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237042 | SIGNAL CLUSTERING APPARATUS - In an example signal clustering apparatus, a feature of a signal is divided into segments. A first feature vector of each segment is calculated, the first feature vector having has a plurality of elements corresponding to each reference model. A value of an element attenuates when a feature of the segment shifts from a center of a distribution of the reference model corresponding to the element. A similarity between two reference models is calculated. A second feature vector of each segment is calculated, the second feature vector having a plurality of elements corresponding to each reference model. A value of an element is a weighted sum and segments of second feature vectors of which the plurality of elements are similar values are clustered to one class. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237043 | Surface Texture Recording With Microphone - An apparatus including a microphone; and a profilometer system including the microphone. The profilometer system is configured to use vibrations received at the microphone to create a Surface Texture File (STF). | 2012-09-20 |
20120237044 | Electronic Device and Audio Accessory Having a Plurality of Passive Switches for Controlling the Audio Device - According to some aspects, a system for controlling an electronic device including an audio accessory coupled to the electronic device. The audio accessory has at least one speaker adapted to provide audio output and a plurality of resistive switches. The electronic device has a bias voltage source adapted to provide power to the resistive switches via a bias resistor and a ground connection, and a measurement module. The measurement module is adapted to monitor a bias point to determine which of the at least one switch has been engaged based on effect of the resistive switches on the ground offset voltage after compensating for a ground offset voltage caused by the audio output. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237045 | AUDIO POWER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - An audio power management system manages operation of audio devices in an audio system. The audio power management system includes a parameter computer, a threshold comparator and a limiter. Audio signals generated with the audio system may be provided to the audio power management system. Based on a measured actual parameter of the audio signal, such as a real-time actual voltage and/or a real-time actual current, the parameter computer can derive estimated operational characteristics of audio devices, such as a loudspeaker included in the audio system. The threshold comparator may use the estimated operational characteristics to develop a threshold and manage operation of one of more devices in the audio system by monitoring the measured actual parameter, and selectively directing the limiter to adjust the audio signal, or another device in the audio system to protect or optimize performance. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237046 | INTERCOM HEADSET CONNECTION AND DISCONNECTION RESPONSES - A headset is able to be coupled via a cable to an intercom system, is able to be wirelessly coupled to a wireless device via a wireless transceiver of the headset, and is able to be connected to a wired device via another cable. A controller of the headset separately monitors the microphone conductors and audio conductors by which the headset may be coupled to the intercom system to detect whether or not one or both of a communications microphone and an acoustic driver of the headset are coupled to the intercom system, and monitors the operating state of the wireless transceiver to detect whether or not the wireless transceiver is inactive, on standby or in use; and selectively couples a system ground conductor to one of the microphone conductors, and selectively provides a local microphone bias voltage in response to what is observed through such monitoring. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237047 | NONLINEAR REFERENCE SIGNAL PROCESSING FOR ECHO SUPPRESSION - An echo suppression system and method, and a computer-readable storage medium that is configured with instructions that when executed carry out echo suppression. Each of the system and the method includes the elements of a linear echo suppressor having a reference signal path, with a nonlinearity introduced in the reference signal path to introduce energy in spectral bands. Unlike an echo canceller, the echo suppression system and method are relatively robust to errors in the introduced nonlinearity. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237048 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ECHO SUPPRESSION - An input signal from the input source is received. An attenuation of an echo canceller filter is calculated using at least the input signal. A spectral component of a frequency band of an echo suppressor is adjusted to perform enhanced suppression using the calculated attenuation. A comfort noise factor is calculated using at least the input signal and the calculated attenuation. The comfort noise to the output of the echo suppressor is adjusted to obtain a modified input signal. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237049 | WIDE AREA NOISE CANCELLATION SYSTEM AND METHOD - An open air, wide area noise cancellation system and method provides improved identification and characterization of noise sources then generating noise cancelling sound waves. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237050 | SOUND PICKUP DEVICE - A sound pickup device comprises a microphone, a connection terminal, and a controller. The microphone is configured to picks up sound and produces audio data. The connection terminal is configured to be connected a headphone. The controller is configured to receive a change of instructions regarding the input sensitivity of the microphone in response to the headphone being connected to the connection terminal. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237051 | EARPHONE SYSTEM FOR MOBILE DEVICES - An earphone system for a mobile device is provided. The earphone system includes an earphone interface with a plurality of contacts for accepting an earphone jack corresponding to 3- or 4-pole earphones, a controller with a plurality of ports for communicating with the earphones that are connected to the earphone interface via the earphone jack, and an earphone compatible circuit. The earphone compatible circuit controls the connection states between the contacts of the earphone interface and the ports of the controller, according to the type of earphone jack inserted into the earphone interface. The earphone compatible circuit connects corresponding contacts of the earphone jack to ports of the controller. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237052 | DUAL MODE ELECTRONIC HEADSET WITH LOCAL AND REMOTE FOCUSED MICROPHONES - An electronic headset for a user, the headset including a housing; a first microphone to receive a first audio input provided by the user; a second microphone to receive a second audio input provided by one or more audio sources other than the user; a controller converting the first audio input into a first electronic signal when the controller operates in a first operational mode and converting the second audio input into a second electronic signal when the controller operates in a second operational mode; a first output system active in the first operational mode to communicate the first electronic signal to a second electronic device; a second output system active in the second operational mode and including a sound generator to convert the second electronic signal into an audio signal; and a mode control for setting the controller into one of the operational modes. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237053 | Multi-Protocol Wireless Audio Client Device - A wireless audio client device such as a headset worn by a user allows the user to talk with multiple other devices using different communication protocols. In one approach, the wireless audio client device is a slave device which pairs with multiple master devices such as a game console and cell phone. The wireless audio client device uses a common set of peripherals such as a speaker, microphone, RF antenna, battery, status lights and control buttons. Processing circuitry is provided in one or more chips, to handle the different communication protocols. The wireless audio client device can automatically interrupt a game chat to allow the user to accept an incoming phone call, or can prompt the user to accept the call. Or, the wireless audio client device can play audio from the cell phone while the game chat continues. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237054 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REPRODUCING MULTI-CHANNEL SOUND USING CABLE/WIRELESS DEVICE - A multi-channel music reproducing apparatus and method using a wired and/or wireless communication system are provided. The method includes confirming neighboring devices capable of wired and/or wireless communication; allocating audio channel information to confirmed neighboring devices; encoding the channel information and reproduction synchronization information as index information; transmitting the index information together with a music data file; receiving the encoded index information and music data; decoding the allocated channel information and the synchronization information; and outputting music data corresponding to the allocated channel. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237055 | METHOD FOR DUBBING MICROPHONE SIGNALS OF A SOUND RECORDING HAVING A PLURALITY OF MICROPHONES - In order to compensate tonal changes arising from a multi-path propagation of sound portions during the mixing of multi microphone audio recordings as far as possible it is suggested to form spectral values of respectively overlapping time frames of samples of each a first microphone signal ( | 2012-09-20 |
20120237056 | AUTOMATED NOISE REDUCTION CIRCUIT - An automated noise reduction circuit is configured to find an audio output with the lowest voltage level associated with undesirable noise. The circuit may include a plurality of audio input ports, ground isolation devices, electronic switches and a microprocessor. The microprocessor may be configured to toggle the ground isolation devices on and off, sample voltage at an output of the ground loop isolation transformers when the ground isolation devices are on and off, and switch the ground isolation devices to a position that produces a lowest voltage output based on a comparison of sampled voltage that is analyzed by a set of algorithms programmed into the microprocessor and that has been sampled from the output of the ground isolation devices for each of the multiple input ports. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237057 | AUDIO DRIVER CIRCUIT - An audio driver circuit includes a comparison circuit, a power distributing circuit, and an audio output circuit. The comparison circuit at least includes a comparator included a non-inverting input, an inverting input, and an output. The non-inverting input is electrically connected to a drive power supply. The inverting input is electrically connected to a reference power supply. The output of the comparator is electrically connected to an input of the power distributing circuit. The audio driver circuit further includes a mute control circuit. An output of the power distributing circuit is electrically connected to the mute control circuit. An input of the audio output unit is also electrically connected to the mute control circuit. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237058 | Apparatus - An apparatus comprises a substantially horn shaped structure configured to amplify sound from a speaker of a device wherein the apparatus comprises packaging of the device. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237059 | ELECTRONIC APPARATUS - According to one embodiment, an electronic apparatus includes a terminal, an amplifier, a speaker, a power supply circuit, a first switch and a first controller. The terminal configured to input an audio signal from an external device. The amplifier configured to amplify the audio signal which is input from the terminal. The speaker configured to output sound corresponding to the audio signal which is amplified by the amplifier. The power supply circuit connected to the amplifier. The first controller configured to control the power supply circuit in order to supply the power to the amplifier, when the electronic apparatus is in a non-operative state and the first switch is turned on. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237060 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OUTPUTTING AUDIO SIGNAL - An apparatus for outputting audio signals. The apparatus for outputting audio signals includes a pulse density modulation (PDM) unit for PDM modulating an input audio signal to output a modulated audio signal, a driving signal generator for generating at least one driving signal to control switching amplification operations based on the modulated audio signal, and a power switching amplifier having at least one switch that is turned on or turned off in response to the driving signal and performs the switching amplification operations for using the at least one switch to output an amplified audio signal that corresponds to the modulated audio signal, wherein the at least one switch includes at least one from among a gallium nitride (GaN) transistor, gallium arsenide (GaAs) transistor, and a silicon carbide (SiC) transistor. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237061 | PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING A MEMBRANE MICROELECTROMECHANICAL DEVICE, AND MEMBRANE MICROELECTROMECHANICAL DEVICE - Disclosed herein is a microelectromechanical device and a process for manufacturing same. One or more embodiments may include forming a semiconductor structural layer separated from a substrate by a dielectric layer, and opening a plurality of trenches through the structural layer exposing a portion of the dielectric layer. A sacrificial portion of the dielectric layer is selectively removed through the plurality of trenches in membrane regions so as to free a corresponding portion of the structural layer to form a membrane. To close the trenches, the wafer is brought to an annealing temperature for a time interval in such a way as to cause migration of the atoms of the membrane so as to reach a minimum energy configuration. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237062 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CALCULATING DRIVING COEFFICIENTS FOR LOUDSPEAKERS OF A LOUDSPEAKER ARRANGEMENT FOR AN AUDIO SIGNAL ASSOCIATED WITH A VIRTUAL SOURCE - An apparatus for calculating driving coefficients for loudspeakers of a loudspeaker arrangement for an audio signal associated with a virtual source includes a multi-channel renderer. The multi-channel renderer calculates driving coefficients for loudspeakers of the loudspeaker arrangement based on a first calculation rule, if a position of the virtual source is located outside the loudspeaker transition zone. Further, the multi-channel renderer calculates driving coefficients for loudspeakers of the loudspeaker arrangement based on a second calculation rule, if a position of the virtual source is located within the loudspeaker transition zone. A border of the loudspeaker transition zone includes a minimal distance to a loudspeaker of the loudspeaker arrangement depending on a distance between the loudspeaker and a loudspeaker adjacent to this loudspeaker. Further, the loudspeaker arrangement includes at least two pairs of adjacent loudspeakers with different distances between the loudspeakers of the respective pair of loudspeakers. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237063 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CALCULATING DRIVING COEFFICIENTS FOR LOUDSPEAKERS OF A LOUDSPEAKER ARRANGEMENT AND APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING DRIVE SIGNALS FOR LOUDSPEAKERS OF A LOUDSPEAKER ARRANGEMENT BASED ON AN AUDIO SIGNAL ASSOCIATED WITH A VIRTUAL SOURCE - An apparatus for calculating driving coefficients for loudspeakers of a loudspeaker arrangement for an audio signal associated with a virtual source is described. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237064 | Apparatus and Method For The Adjustment of A Hearing Instrument - The patient is presented with an audio sound. The patient is also presented with a visual representation of the sound at a visual display. A response to the audio sound and the visual representation is received from the patient via a first interface and the response indicates a perception of sound from the patient. Based upon the response from the patient, a first adjustment to the base setting parameters of the hearing instrument is performed that is effective to adjust the sound. The audio sound is re-presented to the patient with the adjusted sound. Subsequently, fine-tuning commands are received from the patient via a second interface that fine-tuning commands are effective to make a fine-tuning adjustment to the hearing instrument. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237065 | BALL AND SOCKET CONNECTION WITH AN ACOUSTIC SEAL AND MOUNTING INTERFACE FOR A HEARING ASSISTANCE DEVICE - Disclosed herein, among other things, are apparatus and methods to provide improved connections for components of hearing assistance devices. Various embodiments include an apparatus including a receiver case configured to house a hearing assistance device receiver, the receiver case including a spherical receiver spout having an opening. The apparatus also includes a receptacle housing having a spherical socket adapted to mate with the spherical receiver spout to form a ball and socket connection. An insert within the spherical socket is configured to establish a retained interference fit with the opening of the receiver spout when the connection is formed so as to create an acoustic seal therebetween. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237066 | HEARING AID HAVING A BEHIND THE EAR COMPONENT - A hearing aid is provided having a behind the ear component comprising a casing adapted to cover, accommodate or protect electronics components of the hearing aid. Further the hearing aid has at least one through going opening in the casing element and electronic switching elements placed at the through going opening. According to the invention a plate element is provided, which is mountable in the through going opening and adapted to form, when mounted herein, a surface flush with the casing. This plate element which covers the switches is used when the switches has been disabled such as is often the case with hearing aids for small children. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237067 | BONE CONDUCTION DEVICE INCLUDING A BALANCED ELECTROMAGNETIC ACTUATOR HAVING RADIAL AND AXIAL AIR GAPS - A bone conduction device configured to couple to an abutment of an anchor system anchored to a recipient's skull. The bone conduction device includes a vibrating electromagnetic actuator configured to vibrate in response to sound signals received by the bone conduction device, and a coupling apparatus configured to attach the bone conduction device to the abutment so as to impart to the recipient's skull vibrations generated by the vibrating electromagnetic actuator. The vibrating electromagnetic actuator includes a bobbin assembly and a counterweight assembly. Two axial air gaps are located between the bobbin assembly and the counterweight assembly and two radial air gaps are located between the bobbin assembly and the counterweight assembly. No substantial amount of the dynamic magnetic flux passes through the radial air gaps. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237068 | Soft Concha Ring Behind-The-Ear Hearing Aid - A hearing aid has hearing aid electronics including the microphone, battery and amplifier in a behind-the-ear housing, with a flexible tube extending from the behind-the-ear housing to a concha-based suspension structure. The concha-based suspension portion is flexible and bears off a tragus contact area, an antitragus contact area and an antihelix contact area. Based on forces generated from these concha bowl contact areas, the tube is suspended in a centered position within the ear canal in an unoccluded fashion making little or no contact with the wall of the ear canal. An annulus of the suspension portion provides an open concha skin surface, which can naturally reflect sound down the generally open ear canal. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237069 | ELECTROSTATIC LOUDSPEAKER CAPABLE OF DISPERSING SOUND BOTH HORIZONTALLY AND VERTICALLY - An electrostatic loudspeaker (ESL) assembly providing curvature in two directions for improved dispersion of sound waves. The ESL comprises at least one stator panel, a flexible diaphragm and a spacer that impedes contact between the stator panel and the diaphragm. The stator is formed from a material that comprises an array of apertures. Furthermore, the material can be annealed. The material temper, along with the aperture geometry and patter, affect the stretchability of the material. The two-axis curved structure enables a compact form of ESL to be realized, including bookshelf type loudspeakers whereas all known commercial units are comparable in height to that of a human listener. The individual curved ESL panels can also be readily combined to create larger transducer assemblies including omni-directional units. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237070 | Passive Directional Acoustic Radiating - An acoustic apparatus, including an acoustic driver, acoustically coupled to a pipe to radiate acoustic energy into the pipe. The pipe includes an elongated opening along at least a portion of the length of the pipe through which acoustic energy is radiated to the environment. The radiating is characterized by a volume velocity. The pipe and the opening are configured so that the volume velocity is substantially constant along the length of the pipe. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237071 | SHIELDED MICROPHONE FOR MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE - A shielded microphone, and method for shielding a microphone, are provided for use in a communications device having a circuit board and a microphone. The microphone is provided in an electromagnetic shield and a resilient separator is provided over the shield. The device housing is stacked over the separator and shield, while the latter are stacked over the circuit board so that the separator and shield, with microphone there under, are sandwiched between the housing and the circuit board. By this sandwiching the separator is loaded onto the shield to drive the shield directly against the circuit board to make an electrical ground connection therewith, the microphone also being electrically connected to the printed circuit board. The resilience of the separator accommodates the variation in the stacking of the components. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237072 | UNIDIRECTIVE CONDENSER MICROPHONE UNIT AND CONDENSER MICROPHONE - A unidirective condenser microphone unit includes a diaphragm; a fixed electrode facing the diaphragm with a gap and defining a capacitor together with the diaphragm; an insulating spacer disposed adjacent to the rear surface of the fixed electrode and supporting the fixed electrode; an acoustic resistor disposed in an air chamber defined by the front surface of the insulating spacer and the fixed electrode; a unit case, a front acoustic terminal; and a rear acoustic terminal. The insulating spacer has a protrusion projecting toward the fixed electrode with a gap, and the protrusion is fixed to the surface of the fixed electrode with fixing material. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237073 | PACKAGES AND METHODS FOR PACKAGING MEMS MICROPHONE DEVICES - Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphone devices and methods for packaging the same include a package substrate having an acoustic pathway therethrough that opens to an interior of the device. A MEMS microphone die having an integrated filter and a movable membrane is positioned within the interior of the device. The package substrate includes a conductive layer facing the interior of the device, and a package filter formed from the conductive layer is provided along the acoustic pathway, resulting in increased packaged MEMS microphone device yield. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237074 | SEAMLESS EARBUD STRUCTURES AND METHODS FOR MAKING THE SAME - Seamless earbud structures and methods for making the same are disclosed. Seamless earbud structures can be constructed using an insert molding construction method, which overmolds a cosmetic material over two sub-enclosures that are mated together. The two sub-enclosures form a housing that can encompass a driver assembly (e.g., woofer and tweeter), a conductor bundle, and provide one or acoustic volumes. The housing has a non-occluding member and a neck member, and has a seamless or nearly seamless construction. The cosmetic material is insert molded around the housing to provide a smooth and seamless surface disposed around the periphery of the housing. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237075 | AUDIO APPARATUS - Audio apparatus comprising a housing and a piezoelectric transducer ( | 2012-09-20 |
20120237076 | SPEAKER DIAPHRAGM, AND SPEAKER AND HANDHELD TERMINAL DEVICE USING SAID SPEAKER DIAPHRAGM - A speaker diaphragm includes a body vibrating to generate a sound, an edge fusion-bonded to an outer circumference portion of the body, a projection provided on an upper surface of the edge, and a gasket provided on a lower surface of the edge. The edge is made of material different from that of the body. The projection is made of material identical to that of the edge. The gasket is made of material identical to that of the body. A speaker including the diaphragm has waterproof property by itself. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237077 | Opposing Dual-Vented Woofer System - Described is a vented speaker driver assembly utilizing a speaker driver having a pole piece that defines therein a vent that is not covered by a dust cap. The frame of the speaker driver is configured to be mounted to a structure's surface such that the pole piece of the driver is located within the structure's interior space. The vented speaker driver is configured to be utilized in a back-to-back vented driver assembly wherein the sound of more than one speaker driver is achieved in a footprint of only one driver and with minimized generation of physical vibrations from the assembly. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237078 | Watermarking and Fingerprinting Digital Content Using Alternative Blocks to Embed Information - A method of embedding information in digital content representing media streams. The method includes (1) selecting a set of locations within that digital content reprensenting the media stream to embed information, (2) selecting a set of possible alterations to make at those locations, and (3) making a subset of the possible alterations. The set of locations and possible alterations is herein sometimes called a “watermark.” The subset of actual alterations that are made is herein sometimes called a “fingerprint.” The method determines a set of locations at which there are alternative versions of digital content representing the same media stream, such as one being the original and one being an alternative version of the same digital content, herein sometimes called the “original movie” and the “alt-movie,” or herein sometimes called the “original block” and the “alt-block” for a particular block in the digital content representing the media stream. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237079 | INVISIBLE INFORMATION EMBEDDING APPARATUS, INVISIBLE INFORMATION DETECTING APPARATUS, INVISIBLE INFORMATION EMBEDDING METHOD, INVISIBLE INFORMATION DETECTING METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM - An invisible information embedding apparatus for embedding invisible information at a position in an obtained image includes an image analysis unit configured to obtain object information and positional information of an object included in the image, an embedding target image determining unit configured to determine whether the image is an embedding target based on the object information obtained by the image analysis unit, and an image synthesizing unit configured to combine the image with the invisible information based on the determination result of the embedding target image determining unit. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237080 | METHOD FOR DETECTION OF MOVING OBJECT OF APPROXIMATELY KNOWN SIZE IN CONDITIONS OF LOW SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO - The invention provides a method for detection of a moving object when signal-to-noise ratio is low. A field of view is presented as a regularly updated frame of data points. A state of the object is defined by an “azimuth—speed” pair (i.e., a hypothesis). On each update, a detection system performs two steps. At the first step, the brightness of data points of a new frame is replaced by the average brightness of points surrounding this point. At the second step, the brightness of data points of this frame is being accumulated separately for each hypothesis. On each update, one of hypotheses produces the accumulated frame with the brightest point. This hypothesis is considered the best; its frame is displayed on a screen. The object is detected when the best hypothesis stabilizes in a sequence of updates and the movement of the brightest point becomes consistent with this hypothesis. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237081 | ANOMALOUS PATTERN DISCOVERY - A trajectory of movement of an object is tracked in a video data image field that is partitioned into a plurality of different grids. Global image features from video data relative to the trajectory are extracted and compared to a learned trajectory model to generate a global anomaly detection confidence decision value as a function of fitting to the learned trajectory model. Local image features are also extracted for each of the image field grids that include object trajectory, which are compared to learned feature models for the grids to generate local anomaly detection confidence decisions for each grid as a function of fitting to the learned feature models for the grids. The global anomaly detection confidence decision value and the local anomaly detection confidence decision values for the grids are into a fused anomaly decision with respect to the tracked object. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237082 | VIDEO BASED MATCHING AND TRACKING - An analytical device is disclosed that analyzes whether a first image is similar to (or the same as) as a second image. The analytical device analyzes the first image by combining at least a part (or all) of the first image with at least a part (or all) of the second image, and by analyzing at least a part (or all) of the combined image. Part or all of the combination may be analyzed with respect to the abstraction of the first image and/or the abstraction of the second image. The abstraction may be based on a Bag of Features (BoF) description, based on a histogram of intensity values, or based on other types of abstraction methodologies. The analysis may involve comparing one or more aspects of the combination (such as the entropy or randomness of the combination) with the one or more aspects of the abstracted first image and/or abstracted second image. Based on the comparison, the analytical device may determine whether the first image is similar to or the same as the second image. The analytical device may work with a variety of images in a variety of applications including a video tracking system, a biometric analytic system, or a database image analytical system. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237083 | AUTOMATIC OBSTACLE LOCATION MAPPING - A method of automatic obstacle location mapping comprises receiving an indication of a feature to be identified in a defined area. An instance of the feature is found within an image. A report is then generated conveying the location of said feature. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237084 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING THE EXISTENCE AND POSITION OF TEXT IN VISUAL MEDIA CONTENT AND FOR DETERMINING A SUBJECT'S INTERACTIONS WITH THE TEXT - A reading meter system and method is provided for identifying the existence and position of text in visual media content (e.g., a document to be displayed (or being displayed) on a computer monitor or other display device) and determining if a subject has interacted with the text and/or the level of the subject's interaction with the text (e.g., whether the subject looked at the text, whether the subject read the text, whether the subject comprehended the text, whether the subject perceived and made sense of the text, and/or other levels of the subject's interaction with the text). The determination may, for example, be based on data generated from an eye tracking device. The reading meter system may be used alone and/or in connection with an emotional response tool (e.g., a software-based tool for determining the subject's emotional response to the text and/or other elements of the visual media content on which the text appears). If used together, the reading meter system and emotional response tool advantageously may both receive, and perform processing on, eye date generated from a common eye tracking device. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237085 | METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE POSE OF A CAMERA AND FOR RECOGNIZING AN OBJECT OF A REAL ENVIRONMENT - A method for determining the pose of a camera ( | 2012-09-20 |
20120237086 | MOVING BODY POSITIONING DEVICE - Provided is a moving body positioning device serving as an essential element for monitoring and tracing a moving body, which moving body positioning device uses an external monitoring camera. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237087 | IMAGE QUALITY DEFECT DETECTION VIA SENSOR CHARACTERIZATION AND HALFTONE DOT CLASSIFICATION - What is disclosed is a system and method for image quality (IQ) defect detection via classification of halftone dots present on customer prints. In one embodiment, spatially-varying thresholds are applied on the sensed image in order to classify the halftone dots for IQ defect detection. The resolving power of the sensor is characterized and the sensor responses to patches printed with the print device are characterized. A de-blurring filter is designed which is appropriate for compensating the characterized resolving power of the sensor. Image enhancement is applied to the image using the de-blurring filter. Halftone dots present on the prints are classified by analyzing the enhanced image with the results of the sensor response characterization. Once classified, single separation halftone dot images can be more readily analyzed for defects. The present method allows sensor resolution as low as the size of the halftone dots of the printer under test. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237088 | DIGITAL MAP EDITING PROCESS USING ACTIVE CONTOUR MANIPULATION - A method for realigning network elements in a digital map based on a new data set using active contour manipulation techniques. The active contour optimization process is controlled so that certain desirable features in the original shape of the active contour(s) are not distorted. In the case of network features which may be represented by two or more open active contours, the active contours are coupled prior to optimizing so that the original desirable shape, e.g., the parallel spacing of lanes in a dual carriageway road, may be maintained during the optimization process. In the case of certain closed active contours, for example roundabout geometries, a single closed active contour may be coupled to itself by linking its control points one-to-another and maintaining a proportional direction and distance movement during the optimizing process. As a result, data base networks can be assessed and aligned with less difficulty and geometric distortion. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237089 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD - Provided is an image processing apparatus including a segmentation unit configured to segment image data into a plurality of segments to create a plurality of segmented image data, a detection unit configured to execute face detection processing for detecting a face area from image data before being segmented and each of the plurality of segmented image data, a recognition unit configured to execute recognition processing for determining whether the face detected by the detection unit is a face of a registered person, in each of the plurality of segmented image data, and a control unit configured to control whether to cause the recognition unit to execute the recognition processing as to each of the plurality of segmented image data depending on a result of the face detection in the image data before being segmented. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237090 | MUSIC RECOMMENDATION SYSTEM, INFORMATION PROCESSING DEVICE, AND INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD - A photograph classification unit classifies the photographs for each scene in a music-feature information determination unit. A photograph feature acquisition unit identifies a feature of the photograph based on additional information of the photograph and a result of face recognition of the image. A tempo determination unit determines a tempo of music based on a time zone of image capturing, a range of the number of people captured in a photograph, the degree of smile, activities, etc. A melody determination unit determines information that confines a title, a feature value, a genre, etc., based on an event, a time zone, and a season at the time of image capturing, a city and a country in which the image capturing has occurred, etc. Based on the determined feature of the music, a music data output unit extracts and then presents matching music. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237091 | FAKE-FINGER DETERMINATION DEVICE - Fingerprint images that are required for fake-finger determination can be acquired with a single input operation, and the user-friendliness and the determination accuracy of a fake-finger are improved. This device has moving means for moving a sensor surface, on which a finger as a determination object is placed, relatively to the finger, sensing means for acquiring fingerprint images of the finger before and after the sensor surface is moved, derivation means for obtaining a deformation level of the fingerprint before and after the sensor surface is moved based on two types of fingerprint images obtained by the sensing means, storage means for storing a deformation threshold related to the deformation level of the fingerprint to determine whether the finger on the sensor surface is a real finger or a fake-finger, and determination means for determining whether the finger placed on the sensor surface is a real finger or a fake-finger based on comparison results of the deformation level of the fingerprint obtained by the derivation means and the deformation threshold. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237092 | FINGER GUIDE DEVICE - A finger guide device that positions a finger (or minutiae containing digit) of a human subject on a fingerprint sensor in a manner optimal for the data capture operation of authentication or identification of said subject wherein a relevant portion of the finger is in alignment with a sensor or scanner. The finger guide device may also be used for enrollment of the initial fingerprint data into the system. The device may contain an outer surface ridge which feels somewhat uncomfortable due to application of a high pressure per square inch on small areas of the finger when the finger is incorrectly positioned to encourage correct placement of the finger. The finger guide device may have a curved inside surface to contour to a wide variety of fingertip shapes and sizes, wherein the sides and front have shorter radii of curvature than the rearward portion of the finger guide device. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237093 | TWO-DIMENSIONAL CARDIAC MAPPING - A method consisting of formulating a one-to-one correspondence between locations on a three-dimensional surface of a body cavity and coordinates in a two-dimensional coordinate frame representative of the locations. The method also includes recording respective time-varying electrical potentials at the locations. The method further includes displaying a map of the two-dimensional coordinate frame, and presenting respective graphic representations of the time-varying electrical potentials at positions in the map corresponding to the coordinates of the locations. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237094 | NETWORK CONSTRUCTION APPARATUS, METHOD AND PROGRAM - A likelihood of a cross segment is calculated based on a cross segment characteristic condition defining a characteristic that a portion corresponding to an intermingled portion of a structure is present as a cross segment, and that at least two pairs of segments connectable in a straight line are present in the neighborhood of the cross segment. A likelihood of a straight line representing a probability that each segment is connected, in a straight line, to another segment is calculated based on a straight line connection condition defining a characteristic that each segment is connected, in a straight line, to another segment in the neighborhood thereof. A strength of connection between the segments is set based on the likelihood of a cross segment and the likelihood of a straight line, and plural network structures are constructed by connecting the segments based on the strength of connection. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237095 | ROBUST SPARSE IMAGE MATCHING FOR ROBOTIC SURGERY - Systems, methods, and devices are used to match images. Points of interest from a first image are identified for matching to a second image. In response to the identified points of interest, regions and features can be identified and used to match the points of interest to a corresponding second image or second series of images. Regions can be used to match the points of interest when regions of the first image are matched to the second image with high confidence scores, for example above a threshold. Features of the first image can be matched to the second image, and these matched features may be used to match the points of interest to the second image, for example when the confidence scores for the regions are below the threshold value. Constraint can be used to evaluate the matched points of interest, for example by excluding bad points. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237096 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF DISEASE USING RETINAL IMAGE CONTENT AND AN ARCHIVE OF DIAGNOSED HUMAN PATIENT DATA - A method for diagnosing diseases having retinal manifestations including retinal pathologies includes the steps of providing a CBIR system including an archive of stored digital retinal photography images and diagnosed patient data corresponding to the retinal photography images, the stored images each indexed in a CBIR database using a plurality of feature vectors, the feature vectors corresponding to distinct descriptive characteristics of the stored images. A query image of the retina of a patient is obtained. Using image processing, regions or structures in the query image are identified. The regions or structures are then described using the plurality of feature vectors. At least one relevant stored image from the archive based on similarity to the regions or structures is retrieved, and an eye disease or a disease having retinal manifestations in the patient is diagnosed based on the diagnosed patient data associated with the relevant stored image(s). | 2012-09-20 |
20120237097 | MOTION COMPENSATION WITH TISSUE DENSITY RETENTION - A method includes reconstructing the projection data based on a reconstruction algorithm that compensates for both motion and tissue density changes of the moving organ across different motion phases, thereby generating motion and density compensated image data. A data compensator includes a reconstructor that reconstructs motion compensated image data based on an reconstruction algorithm that compensates for tissue density changes in a moving object. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237098 | PARAMETRIC IMAGES BASED ON DYNAMIC BEHAVIOR OVER TIME - An embodiment for analyzing a body-part of a patient is proposed. A corresponding data-processing method includes the steps of providing a sequence of input images representing the body-part over an analysis period, each input image including a set of input values each one being indicative of a response to an interrogation signal of a corresponding location of the body-part at a corresponding acquisition instant included in the analysis period, associating an analysis function of time with each one of a set of selected locations, the analysis function modeling a trend of the input values of the selected location in the sequence of input images, and providing a reference function of time for the analysis functions; in an embodiment, the data-processing method further includes comparing the analysis function of each selected location with the reference function to determine a polarity trend representing a trend over the analysis period of a polarity of a divergence between the analysis function of the selected location and the reference function, and creating a parametric image including a parametric value for each selected location, the parametric value being indicative of the polarity trend of the selected location. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237099 | CT IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE AND CT IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD - A CT image processing device | 2012-09-20 |
20120237100 | METHOD FOR PROCESSING MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGES AND APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGES - In an embodiment, a method is disclosed which includes: carrying out interpolation by using a slice away from a slab boundary, and substituting a slice having slab boundary artifacts existing in the slab boundary, to obtain an interpolated image; carrying out Fourier transform on the interpolated image to generate first K-space data; carrying out Fourier transform on the original image to generate second K-space data; merging the first K-space data with the second K-space data, wherein the weight of the first K-space data is greater than that of the second K-space data in the middle of the K-space, and the weight of the second K-space data is greater than that of the first K-space data at the edge of the K-space; and carrying out inverse Fourier transform on the merged K-space data. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237101 | Method and System for Error Resilient Compression and Decompression of Computed Tomography Data - A method and system for transferring data from a rotating data source to a stationary target over a slip ring. The system includes a compressor on a rotor, a decompressor on a stationary platform, and respectively corresponding memory buffers. The data is optionally compressed in the event that the slip ring capacity is below the required rate. The compressor a predictor unit, an entropy encoder unit and an error protector unit. The predictor unit may use stored data as reference from a set of frames and locations within them. Encoding of locations may be carried out with a Golomb-Rice encoded integer, and entropy encoding of differences may involve Golomb-Rice encoding with parameter K varying for each group of data units. The error protector protects parameters inserted into data stream with an error protection code while most of the data can remain without protection. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237102 | System and Method for Improving Acquired Ultrasound-Image Review - A system for creating 3D ultrasound case volumes from 2D scans and aligning the ultrasound case volumes with a virtual representation of a body to create an adapted virtual body that is scaled and accurately reflects the morphology of a particular patient. The system improves a radiologist's or treating physician's ability to examine and interact with a patient's complete ultrasound case volume independent of the patient, the type of ultrasound machine used to acquire the original data, and the original scanning session. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237103 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DETECTING BRIGHT BRAIN REGIONS FROM COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IMAGES - A method and devices are disclosed to detect bright brain regions (BBRs) from clinical non-enhanced computed tomography images through large grayscale, large grayscale asymmetry with respect to the midsagittal plane (MSP), and large grayscale local contrast. An adaptive approach is disclosed to determine thresholds of the 3 features and adjust the window width for data conversion. The substantial grayscale variability of BBRs for a subject is addressed by finding the bright portion followed by recovering. Those BBR voxels symmetrical to the MSP are recovered, partial volume effects are compensated and the high grayscale regions which may not correspond to intracerebral hemorrhage are excluded. The disclosed method and system could be a useful tool to aid classifying stroke types, quantifying intracerebral hemorrhage and enhancing stroke therapy. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237104 | PARTICLE IMAGE VELOCIMETRY SUITABLE FOR X-RAY PROJECTION IMAGING - A 2D or 3D velocity field is reconstructed from a cross-correlation analysis of image pairs of a sample, without first reconstructing images of the sample spatial structure. The method can be implemented via computer tomographic X-ray particle image velocimetry, using multiple projection angles, with phase contrast images forming dynamic speckle patterns. Estimated cross-correlations may be generated via convolution of a measured autocorrelation function with a velocity probability density function, and the velocity coefficients iteratively optimised to minimise the error between the estimated cross-correlations and the measured cross-correlations. The method may be applied to measure blood flow, and the motion of tissue and organs such as heart and lungs. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237105 | ABLATION TREATMENT PLANNING AND DEVICE - An ablation treatment planning and, optionally, guiding method usable for e.g. tumour tissue ablation with a cryoablation needle which cools down an adjacent tumour tissue to thereby generate an ablation volume is proposed. In order to be able to plan an ablation treatment, a 3D image data set of a region of interest may be acquired by e.g. X-ray imaging using e.g. a C-arm system. Then, 3D model data of the ablation volume are introduced into the 3D image data set for example by tagging image pixels using a stencil buffer and possibly by culling specific inside areas and/or outside areas of the ablation volume. Finally, a 2D image to be visualized to a physician and comprising a projection of the region of interest and the ablation volume is drawn wherein an MPR (multi planar reformatting) plane in which the 2D image is drawn is used as a clipping plane. With such graphical approach, an ablation volume having any arbitrary shape such as for example an ellipsoid shape may be visualized within a 3D image space by drawing 2D images in any desired MPR plane such that also oblique orientations of the ablation volume can be represented. In a subsequent guiding procedure, an ablation needle may be guided to a location and in an orientation as previously planned. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237106 | Automatic image analysis and quantification for fluorescence in situ hybridization - An analysis system automatically analyzes and counts fluorescence signals present in biopsy tissue marked using Fluorescence in situ Hybridization (FISH). The user of the system specifies classes of a class network and process steps of a process hierarchy. Then pixel values in image slices of biopsy tissue are acquired in three dimensions. A computer-implemented network structure is generated by linking pixel values to objects of a data network according to the class network and process hierarchy. Objects associated with pixel values at different depths of the biopsy tissue are used to determine the number, volume and distance between cell components. In one application, fluorescence signals that mark Her2/neural genes and centromeres of chromosome seventeen are counted to diagnose breast cancer. Her2/neural genes that overlap one another or that are covered by centromeres can be accurately counted. Signal artifacts that do not mark genes can be identified by their excessive volume. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237107 | SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR DIGITAL EVALUATION OF CELLBLOCK PREPARATIONS - Digital evaluation of cellblock preparations to determine the type and extent of disease in order to identify the best approach for treatment without the need for additional testing or sampling. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237108 | OPHTHALMOLOGY INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME - There is provided an ophthalmology information processing apparatus that allows to easily grasp a change in each part in continuously captured ophthalmology images. The ophthalmology information processing apparatus reads out a plurality of continuous captured images stored in a storage unit. An image analysis unit aligns the captured images. The ophthalmology information processing apparatus calculates the variation and position information of the pixel information of each pixel between the captured images based on the alignment information. An image generation unit generates a three-dimensional image which is displayed on a display unit simultaneously with the captured images. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237109 | HISTOLOGY ANALYSIS - The invention relates to histology analyses, and in particular, to the assessment of pathological tissues to aid in the diagnosis of disease characterised by specific pathologies, for example cancer. The invention provides methods and apparatuses for analysing tissue samples, as well as computer-readable media programmed with software for carrying out these diagnostic methods. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237110 | IMAGE CREATION METHOD, SUBSTRATE INSPECTION METHOD, NON-TRANSITORY RECORDING MEDIUM HAVING PROGRAM RECORDED THEREON FOR EXECUTING IMAGE CREATION METHOD OR SUBSTRATE INSPECTION METHOD, AND SUBSTRATE INSPECTION APPARATUS - An image creation method of creating a filter image for removing a pseudo defect to inspect presence/absence of a defect on a substrate includes a filter image creation step of creating the filter image by replacing a picture element value of any one of picture elements located on a circumference of a circle about a center position of a registered image with a maximum value of picture element values of a plurality of picture elements selected from among the picture elements located on the circumference. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237111 | Performing Structure From Motion For Unordered Images Of A Scene With Multiple Object Instances - A technology is described for performing structure from motion for unordered images of a scene with multiple object instances. An example method can include obtaining a pairwise match graph using interest point detection for obtaining interest points in images of the scene to identify pairwise image matches using the interest points. Multiple metric two-view and three-view partial reconstructions can be estimated by performing independent structure from motion computation on a plurality of match-pairs and match-triplets selected from the pairwise match graph. Pairwise image matches can be classified into correct matches and erroneous matches using expectation maximization to generate geometrically consistent match labeling hypotheses and a scoring function to evaluate the match labeling hypotheses. A structure from motion computation can then be performed on the subset of match pairs which have been inferred as correct. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237112 | Structured Light for 3D Shape Reconstruction Subject to Global Illumination - Depth values in a scene are measured by projecting sets of patterns on the scene, wherein each set of patterns is structured with different spatial frequency using different encoding functions. Sets of images of the scene is acquired, wherein there is one image for each pattern in each set. Depth values are determining for each pixel at corresponding locations in the sets of images. The depth values of each pixel are analyzed, and the depth value is returned if the depth values at the corresponding locations are similar. Otherwise, the depth value is marked as having an error. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237113 | ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND METHOD FOR OUTPUTTING MEASUREMENT DATA - A method outputs measurement data automatically using an electronic device. The method obtains measurement data of feature elements from a two dimensional (2D) image of a measured object, determines a type of measurement applied to each feature element, obtains feature elements from planes of a three dimensional (3D) image of the measured object, and maps each of the obtained feature elements in the 3D image to the 2D image. The method further obtains sequential marked numbers from the 2D image, determines a feature element which is nearest to any marked number from the mapped feature elements, determines an output axis for each of the determined feature elements, and outputs measured results and measurement codes of the determined feature elements by reference to the measurement data, the type of measurement and the output axis of each determined feature element. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237114 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEATURE-BASED STEREO MATCHING - Disclosed are a method and apparatus for feature-based stereo matching. A method for stereo matching of a reference image and at least one comparative image captured by at least two cameras from different points of view using a computer device includes collecting the reference image and the at least one comparative image, extracting feature points from the reference image, tracking points corresponding to the feature points in the at least one comparative image using an optical flow technique, and generating a depth map according to correspondence-point tracking results. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237115 | Method for acquiring a 3D image dataset freed of traces of a metal object - An interpolation of data values is performed during the acquisition of a 3D image dataset which is free of traces of a metal object imaged in the underlying 2D image datasets. A target function is defined into which data values of the 3D image dataset that are dependent on said substitute data values are incorporated following preprocessing. The substitute data values are then varied iteratively until the value of the target function satisfies a predetermined criterion. Residual artifacts that still persist following the interpolation can thus be effectively reduced. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237116 | Identifying Text Pixels in Scanned Images - A processor and method make use of multiple weak classifiers to construct a single strong classifier to identify regions that contain text within an input image document. The weak classifiers are grouped by their computing cost from low to median to high, and each weak classifier is assigned a weight value based on its ability to accurately identify text regions. A level 1 classifier is constructed by selecting weak classifiers from the low group, a level 2 classifier is constructed by selecting weak classifiers from the low and median groups, and a level 3 classifier is constructed by selecting weak classifiers from the low, median and high groups. Regions that the level 1 classifier identifies as containing text are submitted to the level 2 classifier, and regions that the level 2 classifier identifies as containing text are submitted to the level 3 classifier. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237117 | OPTIMAL GRADIENT PURSUIT FOR IMAGE ALIGNMENT - A method for image alignment is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method includes acquiring a facial image of a person and using a discriminative face alignment model to fit a generic facial mesh to the facial image to facilitate locating of facial features. The discriminative face alignment model may include a generative shape model component and a discriminative appearance model component. Further, the discriminative appearance model component may have been trained to estimate a score function that minimizes the angle between a gradient direction and a vector pointing toward a ground-truth shape parameter. Additional methods, systems, and articles of manufacture are also disclosed. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237118 | IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, AND IMAGE PROCESSING PROGRAM - An image processing method is used to detect a letter by using a classifier generated through statistical learning of handling a sample image of a fixed size as supervised data, and includes the following steps. A conversion step acquires a converted image by geometrically converting a target image containing a letter to be detected such that the target image has a predetermined ratio defining an aspect ratio. A search step searches the converted image for one or more letter candidates each including a region of a possible letter by using the classifier. An integration step applies clustering to the letter candidates, integrating the letter candidates, and eliminates the letter candidate having low reliability A circumscribing step cuts a letter out of the letter candidate that has been integrated and has not been eliminated, and generates a rectangle circumscribing the letter. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237119 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SEARCHING DIGITAL IMAGES - A method and system for automatically analyzing and searching a database of digital content items includes a process for analyzing digital content items to identify portions capable of receiving text. In one implementation user input is received, where the user input helps construct a set of ordered values representing digital content item features desired by the user. The constructed set of ordered values is compared to sets of ordered values corresponding to digital content items in the database of digital content items, and digital content items are retrieved with sets of ordered values corresponding to the constructed set of ordered values. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237120 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONVERTING OVER-RANGE COLORS - A method includes dividing an input range of color values of a first color space into a plurality of sub-ranges, wherein at least one of the sub-ranges comprises an over-range color value. The method also includes determining for each sub-range a level of accuracy in converting color values within each sub-range. The method further includes determining a processing step to be applied to input color values in each sub-range based on the determined level of accuracy. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237121 | IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM FOR STORING IMAGE PROCESSING PROGRAM - An image processing device includes: a separating unit configured to separate colors of a plurality of pixels included in an input color image into a plurality of color groups on the basis of similarities between the colors of the pixels; and a conversion unit configured to generate a monochrome image by performing correction on each of the pixels of the color image on the basis of a grayscale representation assigned to each of plurality of the color groups. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237122 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, AND COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING DEVICE - An image processing apparatus includes a probability value calculator that calculates, based on color feature data of a pixel included in an image, respective probabilities that the pixel belongs to a specific area and a non-specific area; a weighted edge intensity calculator that calculates a weighted edge intensity between neighboring pixels based on pixel values and color feature data of the pixel included in the image and a neighboring pixel of the pixel; an energy function creator that uses the probabilities and the weighted edge intensity to create an energy function expressed by a result of an area determination of the pixel; and an area divider that divides the image into the plurality of areas based on the energy function. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237123 | IMAGE PROCESSOR AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD - An image processor having an image compression unit to generate first compressed image data by dividing input image data into blocks of M×M pixels with regard to at least luminance signals (Y) of the input image data, wavelet-converting the image data in units of blocks, and reducing the number of bits by quantization, a memory to store the first compressed image data, a coordinate calculator to calculate coordinates to deform images by coordinate conversion and output coordinate information, a compressed image deforming unit to generate compressed deformed image data by reading out the first compressed image data stored in the memory while conducting coordinate conversion based on the coordinate information from the coordinate calculator, and a first image decompression unit to decompress the compressed deformed image data to obtain decompressed image data. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237124 | IMAGE CHROMA NOISE REDUCTION IN THE BAYER DOMAIN - An embodiment relates to a method and an image processor for reducing chroma noise in digital-image data. An embodiment performs noise reduction in the color-filter-array domain prior to demosaicing in order to prevent spreading of noise in subsequent stages of the image-processing pipeline. Peaks in the CFA data are attenuated in order to prevent any undesired color cast. Specifically, any correction to a certain pixel is made in accordance with the amplitude of digital gains applied, as well as with the local luminance and the contribution of the current color channel to the local luminance. In this manner, corrections are restricted to image areas that are subject to high digital amplification, that are comparatively dark, and that are not dominated by the current color channel. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237125 | Isolating Background and Foreground Objects in Video - In accordance with some embodiments, background subtraction can be performed by iteratively computing a new expected background image from an old background image using a plurality of consecutive frames. The new expected background image may be computed to be closer to a current frame's pixel value. In some embodiments, a new expected background image may be based on user supplied values so that a user may determine how fast a background image changes. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237126 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING CHARACTERISTIC OF MOTION PICTURE - An apparatus and method for determining a characteristic of a motion picture. The method includes dividing the motion picture into video clips and video segments of each video clip, extracting video features from each segment, determining whether or not the respective video features have a targeted characteristic according to respective predetermined references using classifiers based on the respective features and generating determination result values, statistically combining the determination result values indicating whether or not the respective video features have the targeted characteristic according to the segments to generate first combination values, statistically combining the first combination values according to the video clips to generate second combination values, statistically combining all the second combination values to generate a final combination value, and finally determining whether or not the motion picture has the targeted characteristic using the final combination value according to a predefined final point of reference. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237127 | Grouping Variables for Fast Image Labeling - This application describes grouping variables together to minimize cost or time of performing computer vision analysis techniques on images. In one instance, the pixels of an image are represented by a lattice structure of nodes that are connected to each other by edges. The nodes are grouped or merged together based in part on the energy function associated with each edge that connects the nodes together. The energy function of the edge is based in part on the energy functions associated with each node. The energy functions of the node are based on the possible states in which the node may exist. The states of the node are representative of an object, image, or any other feature or classification that may be associated with the pixels in the image. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237128 | System and method for removing specularity from an image - In a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an automated, computerized method is provided for processing an image. According to a feature of the present invention, the method comprises the steps of providing an image file depicting an image, in a computer memory, processing the image to generate intrinsic images including a material image and an illumination image, and detecting and removing specularity as a function of the intrinsic images. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237129 | Methods and Apparatus for Providing a Scalable Identification of Digital Video Sequences - Scaleable video sequence processing with various filtering rules is applied to extract dominant features, and generate unique set of signatures based on video content. Video sequence structuring and subsequent video sequence characterization is performed by tracking statistical changes in the content of a succession of video frames and selecting suitable frames for further treatment by region based intra-frame segmentation and contour tracing and description. Compact representative signatures are generated on the video sequence structural level as well as on the selected video frame level, resulting in an efficient video database formation and search. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237130 | INTERACTIVE TONE MAPPING FOR HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE VIDEO - A user interactive video tone mapping method is provided that can be used for the tone reproduction of high dynamic range (HDR) content on low dynamic range (LDR) displays. The method comprises the steps of selecting a frame of a video sequence; providing a user interface for a user to manually apply scribble marks to the frame; manually applying N scribble marks to the frame, N being a whole number of value 1 or in greater; and tone mapping the video sequence responsive to the scribble marks. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237131 | INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS TO ACQUIRE CHARACTER INFORMATION - An information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes a area recognizing unit to recognize, with respect to areas specified in predetermined representations within image data, a first area specified in a first area specifying representation and a second area specified in a second area specifying representation different from the first area specifying representation, a position information acquiring unit to acquire position information of the first area, which is recognized by the area recognizing unit as the position information for specifying a character recognition target area within the image data and a name-of-item acquiring unit to acquire character information obtained by recognizing characters existing in the second area recognized by the area recognizing unit as a name of item with respect to the character recognition target area specified by the position information acquired by the position information acquiring unit. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237132 | IMAGE-ENCODING METHOD, IMAGE-ENCODING DEVICE, AND COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM STORING IMAGE-ENCODING PROGRAM - A method for encoding an image having a resolution that is not a multiple of a size of a block to be encoded, includes adding, by a processor, an extension image to the image to generate an image to be encoded, the extension image being an image to be added to the image and being an image in which a boundary pixel that is present at a boundary between the extension image and the image, and an adjacent pixel that is adjacent to the boundary pixel have a difference in pixel value therebetween that has an absolute value that is equal to or greater than a certain value; and disabling a deblocking filter process at the boundary between the extension image and the image in a locally decoded image that corresponds to the image to be encoded. | 2012-09-20 |
20120237133 | MOTION ESTIMATION DEVICE AND METHOD OF ESTIMATING MOTION THEREOF - A motion estimation device includes a memory to store a reference image, a bus connected to the memory; and a motion estimator to control a size of data of a reference image block depending on an available bandwidth of the bus when extracting at least one reference image block for motion estimation from the reference image through the bus. | 2012-09-20 |