Other

Agilent Technologies, Inc.

Hewlett-packard Company

Avago Technologies Ecbu IP (singapore) Pte. Ltd.

Ev IP LP

Aptina Imaging Corporation

Mark Alan Anderson

Brian James Misek

Allen C Norskog

Derek L Knee

Mark E Wanger

Thomas M Walley

Michael John Brosnan

Charles E Moore

Donald P Satchell, Jr

Rajeev Badyal

Robert W Balliett

Robert Elsheimer

Jeffery M Davis

Zachary Dietz

Paul E Link

A quick release electric throttle assembly connected to a supplemental electric propulsion system, wherein the propulsion system may be moved from one vehicle to another, and the throttle must be correspondingly moved among the vehicles as well is disclosed. The quick release interface may incorporate a disengaging and disengageable electric connection to permit electrical wiring to be quickly plugged and unplugged from the hand actuated accessory. The throttle may be further be configured as a low profile throttle, such as having a flat surface with at least one button by which the throttle may be actuated. The throttle may be secured and released from the control surface of a vehicle by wrapping the laminar flexible sheet at a desired position and wrapping a Velcro like strap over one another about the manual control surface.

Methods and apparatus for utilizing electrically powered vehicles

Methods and apparatus may augment the utility of an electrically powered vehicle. A first electric motor (or) may be provided with a first effective gear ratio, a second electric motor (or) may be provided with a second effective gear ratio, and additional electric motors may be provided additional effective gear ratios. An electrically powered vehicle may be differentially powered by said electric motors at said different effective gear ratios. A transdisciplinary electrical diagnostic processor () may process electrically recondite operation parameters of one or more electrical components to provide transdisciplinary diagnostic output to a user. A standardized modular interface () supported on a trailer chassis () may be configured to accept multipurposed modular interchangeable trailer tops () at an interchange position () of said trailer chassis (). A hand actuated accessory mount may be provided with a quick release interface ().

An optical-signal receiver comprises an optical sensor operable to receive an optical signal from an optical-signal emitter communicatively coupled to an electronic system and a processor operable to implement a performance characteristic value specified by the optical signal.

Programmable optical mouse

An imaging apparatus including a photo sensor array having an array of sensors is disclosed, each sensor having an active area and a support hardware area adjoining the active area. In the prior art, the support hardware area of each sensor adjoins the active area of the sensor in the same direction. In the present invention, a sensor array has an array of sensors where, for each sensor, the support hardware area adjoins the active area of the sensor in a direction that is radially away from center of the sensor array whereby at least one freed area is defined within the sensor array. One or more reference detectors can be fabricated in the freed areas. This design allows the imaging apparatus to gather better image statistics, overcome shortcomings of the prior art design, or both.

Photo-array layout for monitoring image statistics

A method and system of imaging an object. First, movement information of the object is determined by using a navigation sensor array and a navigation engine. Based on the movement information, an imaging sensor strobe signal is selectively asserted to control an imaging sensor array. In response to an asserted imaging sensor strobe signal, the imaging sensor array captures sub-images of the object. The imaging sensor array has a plurality of pixels for imaging a portion of the object at one time. The plurality of sub-images are captured successively by the imaging sensor array as the object moves with respect to the imaging sensor array. Then, a composite image of the object is generated based on the captured sub-images.

Fingerprint imager

An electronic image stabilization system includes an image sensor including an array of photo sensors. Each of the photo sensors accumulates charge responsive to light incident upon the sensor. A motion sensor develops a movement signal responsive to movement of the image stabilization system. A control circuit is coupled to the image sensor and the motion sensor and shifts the charge accumulated in each photo sensor in the array to an adjacent photo sensor responsive to the movement signal.

System and method of electronic image shifting for image stabilization

An apparatus for controlling the position of a screen pointer for an electronic device having a display screen includes a light source for illuminating an imaging surface, thereby generating reflected images. The apparatus includes a single chip for receiving the reflected images, generating digital representations of the reflected images, and generating a first set of movement data based on the digital representations of the reflected images. The first set of movement data is indicative of relative motion between the chip and the imaging surface. The single chip includes a serial interface for outputting motion data in a serial format based on the movement data.

One chip USB optical mouse sensor solution

An apparatus for controlling the position of a screen pointer for an electronic device having a display screen includes a light source for illuminating an imaging surface, thereby generating reflected images. The apparatus includes a motion transducer. A lens receives the reflected images and directs the reflected images onto the motion transducer. The motion transducer includes an electronic shutter for controlling the amount of time that light is collected for image frames. The motion transducer is configured to generate digital representations of the reflected images. The motion transducer is configured to generate movement data based on the digital representations of the reflected images. The movement data is indicative of relative motion between the imaging surface and the motion transducer. A controller coupled to the light source turns the light source on only during the time that light is being collected for an image frame.

System and method for reducing power consumption in an optical screen pointing device

An improved method and apparatus for controlling the shutter open time in an opto-electronic device is presented. A frame of pixel intensity data is collected and the average pixel intensity value is across said frame is calculated and compared to a first threshold. If the average pixel intensity is outside a first intensity range defined by said first threshold, the shutter open time is adjusted in a first direction. Otherwise, the peak pixel intensity value across the frame is found and compared to a second threshold. If the peak pixel intensity value is outside a second intensity range defined by said second threshold, the shutter open time is adjusted in said first direction. If the peak pixel intensity value is not outside a second intensity range, the peak pixel intensity value is compared to a third threshold. If the peak pixel intensity value is outside a third intensity range defined by the third threshold, the shutter open time is adjusted in a second direction.

Method and circuit for electronic shutter control

A mouse for navigating upon grainy surfaces is equipped with at least two optical navigation circuits having different views of the work surface and whose axes may be non-parallel. For each navigation circuit an indication of navigation impairment owing to grain is detected. A suitable algorithm chooses from among the various navigation circuits which one's output to use. The multiple optical navigation circuits can each be separate self-contained mechanisms on separate dies or they can be separate sections of a single integrated circuit. The various metrics used within a navigation circuit for spatial filter selection can be further used by the navigation circuit selection algorithm. Each optical navigation circuit can have its own light source, or they can share a common one. They may also share any imaging optics, although each navigation sensor sees a different image. If the optical navigation sensors have non-parallel axes, their indications of incremental movement are converted to a common framework within the mouse as an adjunct to the navigation selection algorithm.

Optical navigation upon grainy surfaces using multiple navigation sensors

A CMOS digital integrated circuit digitally captures an image, generates a result surface on which a minima resides, and compares the result surfaces. The correlation of the result surfaces represents a best fit image displacement between image frames.

CMOS digital optical navigation chip

A printing device includes a navigation unit for monitoring a cooperative navigation surface and provides data to a navigation engine for processing and generation of a positional signal representative of the position of a moving printer head.

Optical navigation system and method

The architecture of the inventive correlator is, in a preferred embodiment, an array of correlation cells each containing a delay pipe, a math unit and an accumulator. An array of these correlation cells are tiled together to allow simultaneous processing by all cells. The array is disposed so that each cell accumulates an output value in a result surface. There is no electrical limit to the number of correlation cells that may be tiled together. A preferred embodiment uses nine cells tiled together into a 3&times;3 correlation result surface. Other embodiments have been tested in accordance with the present invention having twenty-five cells tiled together into a 5&times;5 correlation result surface. A stream of compare pixel values is presented to the array wherein each compare pixel value is presented to each cell concurrently. A reference memory supplies the appropriate reference pixel values to the cells to enable all calculations for that compare pixel value to be done concurrently. The results of those calculations are summed in each cell's accumulator. The process is repeated for each compare pixel value in the stream. When all compare pixel values in the stream have been processed, the values in the accumulators are compared. Generally, the lowest value is accepted as the correlation value.

Low latency correlation

A CMOS digital integrated circuit (IC) chip on which an image is captured, digitized, and then processed on-chip in substantially the digital domain. A preferred embodiment comprises imaging circuitry including a photo cell array for capturing an image and generating a representative analog signal, conversion circuitry including an n-bit successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter for converting the analog signal to a corresponding digital signal, filter circuitry including a spatial filter for edge and contrast enhancement of the corresponding image, compression circuitry for reducing the digital signal storage needs, correlation circuitry for processing the digital signal to generate result surface on which a minima resides representing a best fit image displacement between the captured image and previous images, interpolation circuitry for mapping the result surface into x- and y-coordinates, and an interface with a device using the chip, such as a hand-held scanner. The filter circuitry, the compression circuitry, the correlation circuitry and the interpolation circuitry are all advantageously embodied in an on-chip digital signal processor (DSP). The DSP embodiment allows precise algorithmic processing of the digitized signal with almost infinite hold time, depending on storage capability. The corresponding mathematical computations are thus no longer subject to the vagaries of CMOS chip structure processing analog signals. As a result, precise and accurate navigation enables a predictable, reliable and manufacturable design. Parameters may also be programmed into the DSP's &ldquo;software,&rdquo; making the chip tunable, as well as flexible and adaptable for different applications.

Growing community of inventors

Fort Collins, CO, United States of America

Mark Alan Anderson