Arvin Industries, Inc.

Harris Corporation

Boyd L Stratton

William F Herzog

William E Nichols

Vincent D Kasprzak

Philip M Crosno

Touraj Boussina

The adaptive comb filtering system presented herein is used to separate the luminance and chrominance components of a composite video signal. This video signal is comprised of a plurality of successive horizontal scan lines. The video signal is separated into a middle (M) scan line component and vertically adjacent top (T) and bottom (B) scan line components. These video signal components are employed to provide as a chrominance output signal either a combed chroma signal derived from the top, middle and bottom components, or an uncombed chroma signal derived from only one of the components. The selection of the combed chroma signal or the uncombed chroma signal is determined by a transistion detector which compares a vertical transition with a horizontal transistion and selects one of the signals as the chrominance output signal in dependance upon the comparison.

Adaptive comb filtering system for processing video signals

A noise adjusted recursive filtering apparatus is presented for use in processing video signals having picture portions and predetermined nonpicture portions. A noise detector responds to video signals during a nonpicture portion for providing a noise signal having a magnitude representative of the average noise level on the video signal. A recursive filter is provided for filtering the video signal and this filter includes a delay for delaying the input video signal together with circuitry for determining the difference between a present input video signal and a delayed video signal. The difference signal as well as the noise level signal are employed for purposes of providing a correction signal which is added to the input signal to provide an output video signal. The correction signal is a nonlinearly related percentage of the difference signal and varies as a function of the difference signal and the noise level signal.

Noise adjusted recursive filter

A sync detector is provided for recovering or extracting a sync signal from a video signal. The circuitry includes a slice level comparator for comparing the video signal against a slice level signal for providing a sync signal in dependence upon the comparison. The slice level signal is adjusted as a function of noise measured during a nonpicture portion of the video signal.

Sync detector having noise adjusted slice level

A video signal clamping arrangement is provided for periodically clamping a predetermined nonpicture portion of a video signal, having picture portion and predetermined nonpicture portions, to a desired reference level with a clamp time duration varying as a function of noise on the video signal. A noise detector is employed for providing a noise level signal representative of the average noise level on the video signal during a predetermined nonpicture portion thereof. A controllable switch is employed for purposes of completing a clamping circuit for clamping the video signal to a desired signal level. A clamp pulse timing circuit responds to the noise level signal for providing a switch control signal for controlling the switch on time duration as a function of the magnitude of the noise level signal.

Video signal clamping with clamp pulse width variation with noise

A video recorder and playback system for storing video information consisting of video frames successively presented at a standard frame rate, each frame having first and second interlaced video fields, and for playing back the video information in a desired sequence to produce a video output signal, providing either slow motion or normal motion effects when viewed on a monitor, includes a frame recorder. The frame recorder has a rotatable recording medium, first and second transducer means for recording and playing back video frames in recording tracks on the recording medium, and means for rotating the medium at the standard frame rate such that a video frame is recorded in each of the recording tracks. A field store is responsive to the recorder for storing a field of video information replayed from the recorder. A switch is connected to a field store and to the recorder for providing at the switch output video information from the field store or the recorder in response to a delay field signal. The switch changes switching state and the transducer means are stepped to provide at the switch output replayed video information in the same sequence in which it was recorded or, alternatively, in a sequence different from that in which it was recorded, with the sequence of fields within the frames properly ordered for interlace. The video recorder system also includes a circuit providing a cue display signal on a video monitor which is indicative of the progression of the transducer means to successive tracks during both recording and playback.

Slow motion color video recording and playback system

Video recording and playback editing system with displayed cue signals

A magnetic recorder of the flexible disc type has an improved recording device comprising a pair of thin flexible recording discs having oppositely facing magnetizable surfaces and a flexible backing disc between the recording discs extending behind essentially their entire surface. A hub connects all three of said discs and forms the sole connection therebetween. The hub includes a central aperture and a drive aperture outwardly of the central aperture, the drive aperture including a surface extending along a chord of the hub to provide with the central aperture a unique two point attachment defining the center of rotation of the discs. A cassette surrounds the discs, protecting and supporting them, and including top and bottom walls spaced apart sufficiently to avoid substantial contact with the recording discs when the hub is rotated at recording speed. The top and bottom walls having openings sufficiently larger than and aligned with the hub to afford drive access to the hub and to allow the hub and discs to comply to a center of rotation established by the structure of the hub. The top and bottom walls having elongated transducer access ports extending on a radius of the discs and aligned with each other whereby air flowing outwardly in the cassette during rotation of the discs will tend to exit equally at both the top and bottom of the cassette to minimize disturbance of the plane assumed by the rotating discs.

Magnetic disc recorder and cassette

A disc recorder has a rotating flexible recording disc and a transducer which is radially movable with respect to the disc. The transducer defines a gap which extends radially of the disc and is positioned for most efficient operation with the disc in closely coupled relation to the transducer on both sides of the gap. A transducer transport includes a guide member extending transversely of the axis of rotation of the flexible disc and defining a guide surface. The transducer is mounted on a carriage which moves along the guide member in contact with the guide surface such that the transducer is moved radially with respect to the rotating disc. A slot in the guide member permits the guide surface to be distorted such that the transducer carriage is tilted as it is moved along the guide surface, thereby maintaining the desired closely coupled relation between the transducer and the disc.

Flexible disc recorder with skewed transducer transport

A disc recorder has a rotating recording disc and a transducer assembly, including a transducer, which cooperates with the disc. A carriage is provided for mounting the transducer assembly. An idler pulley and a drive pulley, one of the pullies being inward from the periphery of the disc and the other pulley being positioned outward of the disc from the first pulley cooperate with a carriage belt arrangement which is attached to the carriage and to the drive pulley and which extends around the idler pulley. The carriage belt arrangement includes first and second carriage belts which are each attached at one end to the carriage and at their other ends to the drive pulley. Additionally a third carriage belt is attached to the carriage and extends in the opposite direction from the first and second belts and is attached to the drive pulley intermediate the first and second carriage belts.

Stepper for slow motion disc recorder

A disc recorder includes a rotating recording disc and a transducer carriage which is transversely movable with respect to the axis of rotation of the rotating disc. The transducer carriage includes a mounting surface which is substantially perpendicular to the rotating disc and substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the carriage. A transducer holding plate is positioned adjacent and parallel to the mounting surface and a parallel motion linkage attaches the holding plate to the carriage. The linkage confines the motion of the transducer holding plate in a plane parallel to the mounting surface to motion which is substantially perpendicular to the rotating disc. A spring is provided biasing the holding plate against the mounting surface and biasing the holding plate toward the rotating disc. The transducer is positioned on the holding plate such that it coacts with the rotating disc. Friction reducing pads may be positioned between the mounting surface and the transducer holding plate.

Recorder transducer mounting arrangement having a transducer holding

A disc recorder includes a rotating disc and a transducer for coacting with the disc. A guide member has a guide surface extending transversely of the rotating disc and including a groove extending parallel to the disc. A carriage means for mounting the transducer is positioned generally parallel to and movable along the guide surface. A friction reducing pad is mounted on the carriage means and is movable along the guide surface. Friction reducing cylindrical bearing means are also mounted on the carriage means in spaced relation to the pad and are movable in the groove. A locating member having a locating surface is positioned substantially parallel to the guide surface. A loading means is mounted on the carriage means and engages the locating surface to bias the carriage means toward the guide surface such that the bearing pad engages the guide surface and the cylindrical bearing means engage the groove. Means are provided for moving the carriage means along the guide surface, the carriage means being confined to move only in a direction substantially parallel to the plane of the rotating disc.

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Woodside, CA, United States of America

Boyd L Stratton