Other

Benson

Redlake Imaging Corporation

Galen Collins

Michael Frank Deering

Gus F Carroll

The present invention includes a unique irrigation sprinkler system with a unique sprinkler head design; a unique method of defining the planted area to be served by the sprinkler head; a unique method for determining when that planted area needs to be watered; a unique way of providing even coverage throughout the planted area when being watered; the ability to use one sprinkler head to individually water multiple, non-overlapping planted areas; a unique way of addressing multiple sprinkler heads in the same sprinkler system; and a unique method for remotely determining the integrity of the sprinkler system.

Accurate horticultural sprinkler system and sprinkler head

Many improvements for a high speed camera including being able to process image data from a CCD array at one-quarter the pixel rate at which that image is provided by the CCD array; automatically demultiplexing color information in the digital domain; a high frequency, temperature compensated phase shift clock circuit to individually adjust the phase of the clock signal to each A/D converter; high frequency, high power analog, bipolar clock drivers to drive the horizontal functions of the CCD array since the necessary speed and power is not available in the horizontal driver section of commercially available CCD drivers; a technique to minimize the smearing of partial values of previous pixels into later pixels since the CCD array is being clocked faster than the internal time constant of the output stage of the CCD array; determination of, and compensation for, the dark reference (i.e., black level) offset of the pixel data streams from the CCD array; and subtracting the dark reference offset from the data pixel signal stream from the CCD array to stabilize the operating point of the output amplifier following the CCD array.

High speed, increased bandwidth camera

An electronic format converter that can convert a high resolution computer graphics CRT signal to a quasi-television compatible proprietary signal. This subsequently can be recorded to a standard television video cassette recorder (VCR) or transmitted over a standard TV channel and re-converted back to HI-RES computer video with the same device upon playback of the VCR or receipt of the signal from the standard TV channel.

High resolution recording and transmission technique for computer video

A compact bearing ball, or rail, gun to magnetically accelerate ferro-magnetic BBs is disclosed. The gun comprises a main board containing a channel sized to allow smooth passage of a BB, a straight portion of that channel forming a barrel terminating at an edge of the main board. A plurality of wire coils are disposed perpendicular to the axis of the barrel collinear with that axis. Driver circuitry for inducing in the plurality of wire coils is provided to ensure a synchronized generation of magnetic fields in individual ones of the wire coils to accelerate ferro-magnetic BBs disposed within the channel of the main board through the channel and out of the barrel. In a preferred embodiment, the channel has a loading segment substantially perpendicular to the barrel for aligning ferro-magnetic BBs prior to acceleration through the barrel, along with a magnet at the intersection of the loading segment and the barrel for positioning a BB co-centric with the axis of said barrel prior to acceleration.

Compact personal rail gun

Digital flash synchronization for instantaneously re-phasing an asynchronous clock signal with a second signal from a desired source is disclosed. Included is a delay line with a multiplicity of equally spaced taps for presenting a multiplicity of clock signals at different phases. A first register is included to receive the second signal as a trigger and to store a snap-shot of the clock signals from the taps of the delay line and the undelayed clock signal in response to the second signal. A look-up table is used to identify the phase of the clock to be selected that agrees most closely with the second signal from the snap-shot of signals stored in the first register. Next, a multiplexer is used to select the preliminary re-phased clock signal from the clock signal and each of the signals at the taps of the delay line in response to the identified phase from the look-up table. A delay is then provided to delay the second signal by the propagation delay of the look-up table and the multiplexer. This delay is followed by a second register that receives the delayed second signal and produces the delayed second signal in response to the preliminary re-phased clock signal. The delayed second signal from the second register and the preliminary re-phased clock signal from the multiplexer are applied to an OR gate to produce the final re-phased clock signal. Modifications of the basic embodiment are provided to handle a range of clock frequencies and to minimize the size of the delay line and the look-up table.

Flash synchronized gated sample clock generator

A color image processing system is described which provides more realistic hard copy color images from composite video system input signals than previously available. The image processing system includes a synchronization separator 20 which operates to separate the synchronization pulses from the analog video information supplied to it. The analog video information is then converted to digital form by an analog-to-digital converter. The converter operates under control of a time base generator 100, including a programmable delay line 300, which receives synchronization pulses from the synchronization separator, and following a programmable time delay supplies a control pulse to the converter to cause it to sample the analog waveform and convert it to digital format. Once the signal is digitized, it is converted from an additive color system to a subtractive one end enhanced before being supplied to the color plotter 8.

Color image processing system for converting analog video-to-digital data

An image processing system includes a synchronization separator 20 which operates to separate the synchronization pulses from the analog video information supplied. The separator includes an amplifier with a pair of input terminals. The video is coupled to one of the input terminals and a feedback loop coupled between an output terminal and the other input terminal. In this manner the negative synchronization pulses may be amplified while the positive video signals are limited. The extracted sync signal is used to control an analog-to-digital converter 70. The analog video information is then converted to digital form by an analog-to-digital converter. The converter operates under control of a time base generator 100, including a programmable delay line 300, which receives synchronization pulses from the synchronization separator, and following a programmable time delay supplies a control pulse to the converter to cause it to sample the analog waveform and convert it to digital format.

Composite video synchronization pulse separator for color image processor

A color image processing system is described which provides more realistic hard copy color images from composite video system input signals than previously available. The analog video information is converted to digital form by an analog-to-digital converter. The converter operates under control of a time base generator (100). The time base generator (100) provides more accurate control over the converter than the system clock signal. The generator (100) receives pulses from the synchronization separator, and following a programmable time delay supplies a control pulse to the converter to cause it to sample the analog waveform and convert it to digital format. The generator (100) employs a delay line (300) to detect the fraction of a system clock period between the sync pulse and the next clock pulse. The specified number of clock pulses are allowed to elapse. Then the delay line (300) is used to provide the necessary further delay. Once digitized, the video signal is converted from an additive color system to a subtractive one and enhanced before being supplied to a color plotter (8).

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Galen Collins