Patent Grant
8313380
This application is also related to co-pending application Ser. No. 11/418,988, to Xiao Dong Mao, entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR ADJUSTING A LISTENING AREA FOR CAPTURING SOUNDS”, filed on May 4, 2006, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. This application is also related to co-pending application Ser. No. 11/418,989, to Xiao Dong Mao, entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR CAPTURING AN AUDIO SIGNAL BASED ON VISUAL IMAGE”, filed on May 4, 2006, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. This application is also related to co-pending application Ser. No. 11/429,047, to Xiao Dong Mao, entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR CAPTURING AN AUDIO SIGNAL BASED ON A LOCATION OF THE SIGNAL”, filed on May 4, 2006, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. This application is also related to co-pending application Ser. No. 11/429,133, to Richard Marks et al., entitled “SELECTIVE SOUND SOURCE LISTENING IN CONJUNCTION WITH COMPUTER INTERACTIVE PROCESSING”, filed on May 4, 2006, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. This application is also related to co-pending application Ser. No. 11/429,414, to Richard Marks et al., entitled “Computer Image and Audio Processing of Intensity and Input Devices for Interfacing With A Computer Program”, filed on May 4, 2006, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
This application is also related to co-pending application Ser. No. 11/382,031, entitled “MULTI-INPUT GAME CONTROL MIXER”, filed on the same day as this application, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
This application is also related to co-pending application Ser. No. 11/382,032, entitled “SYSTEM FOR TRACKING USER MANIPULATIONS WITHIN AN ENVIRONMENT”, filed on the same day as this application, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
This application is also related to co-pending application Ser. No. 11/382,033, entitled “SYSTEM, METHOD, AND APPARATUS FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL INPUT CONTROL”, filed on the same day as this application, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
This application is also related to co-pending application Ser. No. 11/382,035, entitled “INERTIALLY TRACKABLE HAND-HELD CONTROLLER”, filed on the same day as this application, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
This application is also related to co-pending application Ser. No. 11/382,036, entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR APPLYING GEARING EFFECTS TO VISUAL TRACKING”, filed on the same day as this application, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
This application is also related to co-pending application Ser. No. 11/382,041, entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR APPLYING GEARING EFFECTS TO INERTIAL TRACKING”, filed on the same day as this application, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
This application is also related to co-pending application Ser. No. 11/382,038, entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR APPLYING GEARING EFFECTS TO ACOUSTICAL TRACKING”, filed on the same day as this application, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
This application is also related to co-pending application Ser. No. 11/382,040, entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR APPLYING GEARING EFFECTS TO MULTI-CHANNEL MIXED INPUT”, filed on the same day as this application, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
This application is also related to co-pending application Ser. No. 11/382,034, entitled “SCHEME FOR DETECTING AND TRACKING USER MANIPULATION OF A GAME CONTROLLER BODY”, filed on the same day as this application, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
This application is also related to co-pending application Ser. No. 11/382,043, entitled “DETECTABLE AND TRACKABLE HAND-HELD CONTROLLER”, filed on May 7, 2006, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
This application is also related to co-pending application Ser. No. 11/382,039, entitled “METHOD FOR MAPPING MOVEMENTS OF A HAND-HELD CONTROLLER TO GAME COMMANDS”, filed on May 7, 2006, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
This application is also related to co-pending application Ser. No. 29/259,349, entitled “CONTROLLER WITH INFRARED PORT”, filed on the same day as this application, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
This application is also related to co-pending application Ser. No. 29/259,350, entitled “CONTROLLER WITH TRACKING SENSORS”, filed on the same day as this application, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
This application is also related to co-pending application Ser. No. 60/798,031, entitled “DYNAMIC TARGET INTERFACE”, filed on the same day as this application, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
This application is also related to co-pending application Ser. No. 29/259,348, entitled “TRACKED CONTROLLER DEVICE”, filed on the same day as this application, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer entertainment systems, and more specifically to a user's manipulation of a controller for such computer entertainment systems.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Computer entertainment systems typically include a hand-held controller, game controller, or other controller. A user or player uses the controller to send commands or other instructions to the entertainment system to control a video game or other simulation being played. For example, the controller may be provided with a manipulator which is operated by the user, such as a joy stick. The manipulated variable of the joy stick is converted from an analog value into a digital value, which is sent to the game machine main frame. The controller may also be provided with buttons that can be operated by the user.
It is with respect to these and other background information factors that the present invention has evolved.
One embodiment provides a method for use in providing input to a system, comprising the steps of: determining position information for a controller for the system; comparing the determined position information for the controller with predetermined position information associated with commands; and providing a command to the system if the determined position information matches predetermined position information for the command.
Another embodiment provides a system for use in providing input to a system, comprising: means for determining position information for a controller for the system; means for comparing the determined position information for the controller with predetermined position information associated with commands; and means for providing a command to the system if the determined position information matches predetermined position information for the command.
Another embodiment provides a computer program product comprising a medium for embodying a computer program for input to a computer and a computer program embodied in the medium for causing the computer to perform steps of: determining position information for a controller for a system; comparing the determined position information for the controller with predetermined position information associated with commands; and providing a command to the system if the determined position information matches predetermined position information for the command.
A better understanding of the features and advantages of various embodiments of the present invention will be obtained by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings which set forth an illustrative embodiment in which principles of embodiments of the invention are utilized.
The above and other aspects, features and advantages of embodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from the following more particular description thereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings wherein:
The user or player of a video game typically holds the game controller with one or both hands in order to operate the buttons, joy stick, etc., located on the controller. Often times while playing the game the user will also move the entire controller itself around in the air as he or she simultaneously operates the buttons, joy stick, etc. Some users tend to get excited while playing the game and attempt to control actions or aspects of the game by moving the entire controller itself around in the air.
Various embodiments of the methods, apparatus, schemes and systems described herein provide for the detection, capture and tracking of the movements, motions and/or manipulations of the entire controller body itself by the user. The detected movements, motions and/or manipulations of the entire controller body by the user may be used as additional commands to control various aspects of the game or other simulation being played.
Detecting and tracking a user's manipulations of a game controller body may be implemented in different ways. For example, in some embodiments a camera peripheral can be used with the computer entertainment system to detect motions of the hand-held controller body and transfer them into actions in a game. The camera can be used to detect many different types of motions of the controller, such as for example up and down movements, twisting movements, side to side movements, jerking movements, wand-like motions, plunging motions, etc. Such motions may correspond to various commands such that the motions are transferred into actions in a game.
Detecting and tracking the user's manipulations of a game controller body can be used to implement many different types of games, simulations, etc., that allow the user to, for example, engage in a sword or lightsaber fight, use a wand to trace the shape of items, engage in many different types of sporting events, engage in on-screen fights or other encounters, etc.
Referring to
A camera or other video image capturing device 112 is positioned so that the controller 110 is within the camera's field of view 114. As illustrated, the camera 110 may be placed on the video display 104, but it should be well understood that the camera may be located elsewhere. By way of example, the camera 112 may comprise a camera peripheral device such as the commercially available EyeToy™ product. But it should be well understood that any type or brand of camera may be used, such as for example a web-cam camera, add-on USB camera, infrared (IR) capability camera, fast frame capture rate camera, etc.
During operation, the user 108 physically moves the controller 110 itself. That is, the user 108 physically moves the entire controller 110 around in the air. For example, the controller 110 may be moved in any direction by the user 108, such as up, down, to one side, to the other side, twisted, rolled, shaken, jerked, plunged, etc. These movements of the controller 110 itself may be detected and captured by the camera 112 by way of tracking through image analysis in a manner described below.
In general, the detected and captured movements of the controller 110 are used to generate position and orientation data for the controller 110. Because this data is gathered on an image frame-by-frame basis, the data can be used to calculate many physical aspects of the movement of the controller 110, such as for example its acceleration and velocity along any axis, its tilt, pitch, yaw, roll, as well as any telemetry points of the controller 110.
The ability to detect and track the movements of the controller 110 makes it possible to determine whether any predefined movements of the controller 110 are performed. That is, certain movement patterns or gestures of the controller 110 may be predefined and used as input commands for the game or other simulation. For example, a plunging downward gesture of the controller 110 may be defined as one command, a twisting gesture of the controller 110 may be defined as another command, a shaking gesture of the controller 110 may be defined as another command, and so on. In this way the manner in which the user 108 physically moves the controller 110 itself is used as another input for controlling the game, which provides a more stimulating and entertaining experience for the user. Examples of how movements of the controller 110 can be mapped to input commands for the game will be discussed below.
Referring to
The body 111 may have a forward section to be oriented towards a screen when a progress of a game controlled in accordance with the game controller is displayed upon the screen. At least one input device may be assembled with the body 111 with the input device manipulable by a user to register an input from the user.
One or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs) may be disposed on the body that are arranged in a geometric shape. Or, another type of photonically detectable (“PD”) element may be assembled with the body 111. A position of the photonically detectable element may be within an image being recorded by an image capture device when the forward section is oriented at least generally towards the screen. The positions of the PD element at different points in time may be quantifiable at quantify movement of the body 111 in space.
In this embodiment, the controller 110 includes four light-emitting diodes (LEDs) 122, 124, 126, 128. As illustrated, the four LEDs 122, 124, 126, 128 may be arranged in a substantially square or rectangular pattern and located on the bridge of the controller 110 between the R1 and L1 buttons. Thus, in this embodiment the geometric shape comprises a substantially square or rectangular pattern. The square or rectangular pattern formed by the four LEDs 122, 124, 126, 128 will be referred to herein as the “bounding box” formed by the LEDs.
It should be well understood that the geometric shape may comprise many different shapes. For example, the geometric shape may comprise any linear or two-dimensional pattern. Although a linear array of LEDs is preferred, the LEDs may alternatively, be arranged in a rectangular pattern or an arcuate pattern to facilitate determination of an image plane of the LED array when analyzing an image of the LED pattern obtained by an image capture camera.
While the illustrated embodiment of the controller utilizes four LEDs, it should be well understood that other embodiments may utilize more than four LEDs or less than four LEDs. For example, three LEDs will work, and two LEDs will also work to provide tracking information. Even one LED can provide position information. Furthermore, the LEDs may be located on a different part of the controller 110.
The four LEDs 122, 124, 126, 128 produce four points or dots that are perceived by camera 112 (
Namely, as the user 108 twists and rotates the controller body 110 the projection of the four dots are cast on the image plane of the camera 112's outputs. Image analysis is used to track the user's manipulations of the controller and to determine controller position and orientation. Thus, the four LEDs 122, 124, 126, 128 produce information regarding the body's movement. The positions of one or two controllers can be determined, or the relative movements of two controllers can be tracked.
The bounding boxes 202 and 204 formed by the four LEDs 122, 124, 126, 128 are captured in the image plane of the camera 112.
Referring to
The method 300 begins in step 302 in which a projection of a geometric shape established on the controller is received on an image plane of a camera. This step may be performed as has already been described above.
In step 304 the movements and deformities in the projection of the geometric shape are analyzed. Namely, the four dots of the bounding box are tracked and analyzed. Field and frame analysis is performed on the image plane of the camera output to analyze the manipulation of the four reference points to determine position orientation, tilt, yaw, roll, etc. of the controller. In addition, acceleration of the controller can be tracked in any direction. Analysis of the frames of the image can give the acceleration along any axis. Telemetry points of the controller can also be computed. It can also be determined whether or not the controller is in a resting position or resting state, such as for example when the controller is in a neutral or steady state near the user's waist.
As the controller rolls the image translates in the plane. Changes in the width of the rectangle of the bounding box indicate the controller is rolling. As the yaw of the controller is adjusted, the width of the rectangle changes. Yaw maps to the width of the rectangle. Tilt of the controller influences the height of the rectangle.
For example, the bounding box 202 (
It is difficult to know which side of the “ground plane” the controller is positioned on because the image plane only sees a deformed rectangle. For example, this issue can occur if someone walks in front of and occludes the camera during a time when the user manipulates the controller and moves the controller to an equal distance on the other side of an axis horizon line. This may cause the bounding box to look the same in the image plane. This can also happen if the controller travels outside of the viewing region of the image capture device.
As such, a determination may need to be made as to whether the deformation is caused by positive or negative tilt or roll (positive and negative being related to up/down and left/right movements away from the steady state origin position). This can be solved by reading other telemetry from the controller or by strobing or modulating the LEDs to enable the video analyzer system to discriminate individual corners of the bounding box rectangle for tracking purposes. The LEDs may be strobed or modulated as an aid for discerning the different corners of the bounding box. Or, each LED may have its own frequency as an aid for discerning the different corners of the bounding box. By identifying each specific corner of a bounding region, i.e. each LED, it can be determined which side of a horizontal line the controller is on at any point in time. In this way problems associated with the controller passing through the camera plane can be handled.
Tracking the movements and rotations of the bounding box on the screen is based on a frame-by-frame analysis. The camera's output creates the frames of image data. The projection of the bounding box is captured in software. The movements of the controller across the frames is based on the translation of the box.
The use of a high frame rate provides the ability to accurately track acceleration and changes in acceleration of the movement of the controller. That is, by projecting the image on the plane at high rates, the delta movements of the controller can be tracked. This provides the ability to plot the acceleration, the points where the acceleration peaks out, the points where gravity zeros out, and the points of inflection. The points of inflection are the transition points where the controller stops and changes direction. All of this analysis is performed by analyzing the frames of the image and determining the position and deformation of the bounding box. By way of example, frame rates of 120 frames per second or higher may be used, but it should well understood that any frame rate may be used.
As will be discussed below, the history of previous frames may be mapped. This allows the previous telemetry of the controller to be looked at for determining certain parameters such as, for example, in tracking acceleration, velocity, and stopping points.
In step 306 (
The image analyzer monitors the bounding box formed by the reference LEDs as captured in the image plane of the camera. The image analyzer analyzes the position, rotation, horizontal and vertical deformation of the bounding box to determine the physical user manipulation of the controller, its position, roll, tilt and yaw coordinates. At the end of the image analysis the data may be output in the form of an output ID or the like. Such output IDs from the image analysis may include data such as the x, y, z coordinates, acceleration and velocity along any axis, that the controller is in a resting position or state, etc. Thus, at the end of image analysis the image analyzer can indicate where the controller is and whether a command is issued. And the image analyzer may be pinged at any instant of time and it may provide position, orientation, last command, etc.
By way of example, the image analyzer may provide, but shall not be limited to providing the following outputs:
CONTROLLER POSITION (X, Y, Z coordinates);
CONTROLLER ORIENTATION alpha, beta, gamma (radians);
CONTROLLER X-AXIS VELOCITY;
CONTROLLER Y-AXIS VELOCITY;
CONTROLLER Z-AXIS VELOCITY;
CONTROLLER X-AXIS ACCELERATION;
CONTROLLER Y-AXIS ACCELERATION;
CONTROLLER Z-AXIS ACCELERATION;
RESTING POSITION OF STEADY STATE Y/N (at waist as described, but may be defined as any position);
TIME SINCE LAST STEADY STATE;
LAST GESTURE RECOGNIZED;
TIME LAST GESTURE RECOGNIZED; and
INTERRUPT ZERO-ACCELERATION POINT REACHED.
Each of these outputs may be generated by analyzing the movements and deformations of the bounding box as described above. These outputs may be further processed in order to track the movement of the controller. Such tracking will allow certain movements of the controller to be recognized, which can then be used to trigger certain commands as described below. It should be well understood that many other outputs may be used in addition to or in replacement of the above-listed outputs.
Additional inputs to the image analyzer may optionally be provided. Such optional inputs may include but shall not be limited the following:
SET NOISE LEVEL (X,Y or Z AXIS) (this is a reference tolerance when analyzing jitter of hands in the game);
SET SAMPLING RATE (how often frames of the camera are being taken in and analyzed);
SET GEARING; and
SET MAPPING CHAIN.
As mentioned above, the ability to detect and track the movements of the controller 110 makes it possible to determine whether any predefined movements of the controller 110 are performed. That is, certain movement patterns or gestures of the controller 110 may be mapped to input commands for the game or other simulation.
Referring to
In step 324, the determined position information for the controller is compared with predetermined position information associated with commands. That is, any number of different movements, gestures or manipulations of the controller may be mapped to various commands. This allows different movements, gestures or manipulations of the controller to be mapped into game models. For example, moving the controller up may be mapped to one command, moving the controller down may be mapped to another command, and moving the controller in any other direction may be mapped to other commands.
Similarly, shaking the controller once may be mapped to one command, shaking the controller twice may be mapped to another command, and similarly, shaking the controller three, four, five, etc., times may be mapped to other commands. That is, various gestures may be established based on shaking the controller a certain number of times. Still other gestures may be established based on shaking the controller up and down vigorously a certain number of times. Other movements of the controller such as twisting, rolling, etc., may be mapped to still other commands.
Thus, various different trajectories of the game controller may be mapped onto gestures, which trigger commands in the game. Each command is mapped to a predetermined movement of the controller. Such predetermined movements of the controller will have associated predetermined position information. In this embodiment the determined position information for the controller is compared with the predetermined position information to see if a command should be triggered.
By way of example, such mapping of gestures to game commands may be implemented as follows. The outputs of the image analyzer may be used to determine position and orientation information for the controller. The image analyzer may output various different IDs that are indicative of position and orientation of the controller. For example, one ID may be output for a steady state determination, another ID may be output to indicate shaking of the controller, and various other IDs may be output to indicate other orientations. Thus, the use of such IDs may be used to output whether the controller is in steady state or is moving. If the controller is in steady state, an ID may indicate how long the controller has been in steady state.
The determined position and orientation information for the controller may then be compared with predetermined position information associated with input commands for the game. If the determined position information matches the predetermined position information for a command, then the command is provided to the entertainment system. Again, various gestures such as pushing the controller up or down, twisting in a circle, right or left, twisting while pulling it up or down, rolling right or left, etc., may all be mapped to various commands.
When a new command or gesture is recognized the image analyzer may trigger an interrupt. The triggering of such an interrupt may be used as part of the process of providing the command to the entertainment system. The system may optionally be configured so that zero acceleration points in the axes, stop points, and/or other events also trigger interrupts.
In comparing the determined position and orientation information with the predetermined position information associated with input commands to see if there is a match, it may often be the case that there is not an exact match. This is because with movement of the controller in free-space it may be difficult to precisely recreate a predefined movement. Therefore, the predetermined position information associated with input commands may be defined in terms of ranges, tolerances, and/or thresholds that are considered to be close enough to the predetermined position information such as to activate the command. That is, commands may be defined in terms of the thresholds or ranges. Thus, in determining whether or not any commands or gestures have been identified, the system may check to see if the determined position and orientation information falls within a range of a gesture. Thus, the defined commands may have thresholds that can be looked at in determining whether or not to invoke the command.
Furthermore, in comparing the determined position and orientation information with the predetermined position information associated with input commands to see if there is a match, histories of previous frames may be saved or mapped. For example, the frame buffer may be monitored or the system may otherwise keep running records of the history of the previous frames. The previous frames may be looked at to determine if any commands are met. The mapping of frame histories may allow the telemetry of the controller at a specific time to be determined to provide the position orientation in determining if a command is met.
Finally, in step 326 if the determined position information for the controller matches predetermined position information for a command, the command is provided to the system. Such command may be used to cause an event to occur or not occur in a video game or other simulation.
In other embodiments, the movements of a game controller may mapped to game commands, such as for example in video game. With such a method, which may be used in video games or other simulations, position information for a controller that is being manipulated by a user is received. The position information is analyzed to determine whether a predetermined movement of the controller associated with a command has been performed. This analysis may be performed as described above. If the predetermined movement of the controller associated with a command has been performed, then the command is executed by the game. The execution of the command may cause a visual effect or the like to occur on the video display that the game is being displayed on.
While the discussion herein is directed to the use of LEDs on the controller for a game or other entertainment system, it should be well understood that the teachings provided herein may be applied to detect and track the movements of controllers for other types of systems, devices, consumer electronics, etc. That is, the LEDs of the game controller described above can be used to perform remote control functions for consumer electronics devises or any device. LEDs may be used on the controllers for many other types of systems and devices in order to detect and track the controllers so that such movements may be mapped to commands for those systems and device. Examples of such other types of systems and devices may include, but are not limited to, televisions, stereos, telephones, computers, home or office networks, hand-held computing or communication device, etc.
Furthermore, the teachings described herein may be applied to universal remote controls that have the ability to control several or many different devices. That is, such universal remote controls may include LEDs as described herein such that movements of the universal remote control body may be used as input commands for several or many different devices or systems.
Moreover, a game controller may have a universal remote function. For example, such may comprise a body having a forward section to be oriented towards a screen when a progress of a game controlled in accordance with the game controller is displayed upon the screen. At least one input device may be assembled with the body with the input device manipulable by a user to register an input from the user. A signal encoder may be included. An infrared signal transmitter operable to transmit an infrared signal over the air using a signal generated by the signal encoder may be included. The signal encoder may be programmable to encode the signal with a selected one of a plurality of signaling codes for reception by an electronic device having an infrared receiver and a signal decoder operable with the selected one signaling code.
Moreover, battery operated toys (including toys molded into a form and style of a branded game) can be formed having LEDs and form a tracked user manipulated body in the sensed environment.
In some embodiments the image analyzer can recognize a user or process audio authenticated gestures, etc. A user may be identified by an analyzer in the system through a gesture and a gesture may be specific to a user. Gestures may be recorded by users and stored in models. The recordation process may optionally store audio generated during recordation of a gesture. The sensed environment may be sampled into a multi-channel analyzer and processed. The processor may reference gesture models to determine and authenticate user identity or objects based on voice or acoustic patterns and to a high degree of accuracy and performance.
According to embodiments of the present invention, the methods and techniques described herein may be implemented as part of a signal processing apparatus 400, as depicted in
Specifically, the memory 402 may include signal data 406. The memory 402 may also contain calibration data 408, e.g., data representing one or more inverse eigenmatrices C−1 for one or more corresponding pre-calibrated listening zones obtained from calibration of a microphone array 422. By way of example the memory 402 may contain eigenmatrices for eighteen 20 degree sectors that encompass a microphone array 422.
The apparatus 400 may also include well-known support functions 410, such as input/output (I/O) elements 411, power supplies (P/S) 412, a clock (CLK) 413 and cache 414. The apparatus 400 may optionally include a mass storage device 415 such as a disk drive, CD-ROM drive, tape drive, or the like to store programs and/or data. The controller may also optionally include a display unit 416 and user interface unit 418 to facilitate interaction between the controller 400 and a user. The display unit 416 may be in the form of a cathode ray tube (CRT) or flat panel screen that displays text, numerals, graphical symbols or images. The user interface 418 may include a keyboard, mouse, joystick, light pen or other device. In addition, the user interface 418 may include a microphone, video camera or other signal transducing device to provide for direct capture of a signal to be analyzed. The processor 401, memory 402 and other components of the system 400 may exchange signals (e.g., code instructions and data) with each other via a system bus 420 as shown in
The microphone array 422 may be coupled to the apparatus 400 through the I/O functions 411. The microphone array may include between about 2 and about 8 microphones, preferably about 4 microphones with neighboring microphones separated by a distance of less than about 4 centimeters, preferably between about 1 centimeter and about 2 centimeters. Preferably, the microphones in the array 422 are omni-directional microphones. An optional image capture unit 423 (e.g., a digital camera) may be coupled to the apparatus 400 through the I/O functions 411. One or more pointing actuators 425 that are mechanically coupled to the camera may exchange signals with the processor 401 via the I/O functions 411.
As used herein, the term I/O generally refers to any program, operation or device that transfers data to or from the system 400 and to or from a peripheral device. Every data transfer may be regarded as an output from one device and an input into another. Peripheral devices include input-only devices, such as keyboards and mouses, output-only devices, such as printers as well as devices such as a writable CD-ROM that can act as both an input and an output device. The term “peripheral device” includes external devices, such as a mouse, keyboard, printer, monitor, microphone, game controller, camera, external Zip drive or scanner as well as internal devices, such as a CD-ROM drive, CD-R drive or internal modem or other peripheral such as a flash memory reader/writer, hard drive.
In certain embodiments of the invention, the apparatus 400 may be a video game unit, which may include a joystick controller 430 coupled to the processor via the I/O functions 411 either through wires (e.g., a USB cable) or wirelessly. The joystick controller 430 may have analog joystick controls 431 and conventional buttons 433 that provide control signals commonly used during playing of video games. Such video games may be implemented as processor readable data and/or instructions which may be stored in the memory 402 or other processor readable medium such as one associated with the mass storage device 415.
The joystick controls 431 may generally be configured so that moving a control stick left or right signals movement along the X axis, and moving it forward (up) or back (down) signals movement along the Y axis. In joysticks that are configured for three-dimensional movement, twisting the stick left (counter-clockwise) or right (clockwise) may signal movement along the Z axis. These three axis—X Y and Z—are often referred to as roll, pitch, and yaw, respectively, particularly in relation to an aircraft.
In addition to conventional features, the joystick controller 430 may include one or more inertial sensors 432, which may provide position and/or orientation information to the processor 401 via an inertial signal. Orientation information may include angular information such as a tilt, roll or yaw of the joystick controller 430. By way of example, the inertial sensors 432 may include any number and/or combination of accelerometers, gyroscopes or tilt sensors. In a preferred embodiment, the inertial sensors 432 include tilt sensors adapted to sense orientation of the joystick controller with respect to tilt and roll axes, a first accelerometer adapted to sense acceleration along a yaw axis and a second accelerometer adapted to sense angular acceleration with respect to the yaw axis. An accelerometer may be implemented, e.g., as a MEMS device including a mass mounted by one or more springs with sensors for sensing displacement of the mass relative to one or more directions. Signals from the sensors that are dependent on the displacement of the mass may be used to determine an acceleration of the joystick controller 430. Such techniques may be implemented by program code instructions 404 which may be stored in the memory 402 and executed by the processor 401.
By way of example an accelerometer suitable as the inertial sensor 432 may be a simple mass elastically coupled at three or four points to a frame, e.g., by springs. Pitch and roll axes lie in a plane that intersects the frame, which is mounted to the joystick controller 430. As the frame (and the joystick controller 430) rotates about pitch and roll axes the mass will displace under the influence of gravity and the springs will elongate or compress in a way that depends on the angle of pitch and/or roll. The displacement and of the mass can be sensed and converted to a signal that is dependent on the amount of pitch and/or roll. Angular acceleration about the yaw axis or linear acceleration along the yaw axis may also produce characteristic patterns of compression and/or elongation of the springs or motion of the mass that can be sensed and converted to signals that are dependent on the amount of angular or linear acceleration. Such an accelerometer device can measure tilt, roll angular acceleration about the yaw axis and linear acceleration along the yaw axis by tracking movement of the mass or compression and expansion forces of the springs. There are a number of different ways to track the position of the mass and/or the forces exerted on it, including resistive strain gauge material, photonic sensors, magnetic sensors, hall-effect devices, piezoelectric devices, capacitive sensors, and the like.
In addition, the joystick controller 430 may include one or more light sources 434, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs). The light sources 434 may be used to distinguish one controller from the other. For example one or more LEDs can accomplish this by flashing or holding an LED pattern code. By way of example, 5 LEDs can be provided on the joystick controller 430 in a linear or two-dimensional pattern. Although a linear array of LEDs is preferred, the LEDs may alternatively, be arranged in a rectangular pattern or an arcuate pattern to facilitate determination of an image plane of the LED array when analyzing an image of the LED pattern obtained by the image capture unit 423. Furthermore, the LED pattern codes may also be used to determine the positioning of the joystick controller 430 during game play. For instance, the LEDs can assist in identifying tilt, yaw and roll of the controllers. This detection pattern can assist in providing a better user/feel in games, such as aircraft flying games, etc. The image capture unit 423 may capture images containing the joystick controller 430 and light sources 434. Analysis of such images can determine the location and/or orientation of the joystick controller. Such analysis may be implemented by program code instructions 404 stored in the memory 402 and executed by the processor 401. To facilitate capture of images of the light sources 434 by the image capture unit 423, the light sources 434 may be placed on two or more different sides of the joystick controller 430, e.g., on the front and on the back (as shown in phantom). Such placement allows the image capture unit 423 to obtain images of the light sources 434 for different orientations of the joystick controller 430 depending on how the joystick controller 430 is held by a user.
In addition the light sources 434 may provide telemetry signals to the processor 401, e.g., in pulse code, amplitude modulation or frequency modulation format. Such telemetry signals may indicate which joystick buttons are being pressed and/or how hard such buttons are being pressed. Telemetry signals may be encoded into the optical signal, e.g., by pulse coding, pulse width modulation, frequency modulation or light intensity (amplitude) modulation. The processor 401 may decode the telemetry signal from the optical signal and execute a game command in response to the decoded telemetry signal. Telemetry signals may be decoded from analysis of images of the joystick controller 430 obtained by the image capture unit 423. Alternatively, the apparatus 401 may include a separate optical sensor dedicated to receiving telemetry signals from the lights sources 434. The use of LEDs in conjunction with determining an intensity amount in interfacing with a computer program is described, e.g., in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/429,414, to Richard L. Marks et al., entitled “USE OF COMPUTER IMAGE AND AUDIO PROCESSING IN DETERMINING AN INTENSITY AMOUNT WHEN INTERFACING WITH A COMPUTER PROGRAM”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In addition, analysis of images containing the light sources 434 may be used for both telemetry and determining the position and/or orientation of the joystick controller 430. Such techniques may be implemented by program code instructions 404 which may be stored in the memory 402 and executed by the processor 401.
The processor 401 may use the inertial signals from the inertial sensor 432 in conjunction with optical signals from light sources 434 detected by the image capture unit 423 and/or sound source location and characterization information from acoustic signals detected by the microphone array 422 to deduce information on the location and/or orientation of the joystick controller 430 and/or its user. For example, “acoustic radar” sound source location and characterization may be used in conjunction with the microphone array 422 to track a moving voice while motion of the joystick controller is independently tracked (through the inertial sensor 432 and or light sources 434). Any number of different combinations of different modes of providing control signals to the processor 401 may be used in conjunction with embodiments of the present invention. Such techniques may be implemented by program code instructions 404 which may be stored in the memory 402 and executed by the processor 401.
Signals from the inertial sensor 432 may provide part of a tracking information input and signals generated from the image capture unit 423 from tracking the one or more light sources 434 may provide another part of the tracking information input. By way of example, and without limitation, such “mixed mode” signals may be used in a football type video game in which a Quarterback pitches the ball to the right after a head fake head movement to the left. Specifically, a game player holding the controller 430 may turn his head to the left and make a sound while making a pitch movement swinging the controller out to the right like it was the football. The microphone array 420 in conjunction with “acoustic radar” program code can track the user's voice. The image capture unit 423 can track the motion of the user's head or track other commands that do not require sound or use of the controller. The sensor 432 may track the motion of the joystick controller (representing the football). The image capture unit 423 may also track the light sources 434 on the controller 430. The user may release of the “ball” upon reaching a certain amount and/or direction of acceleration of the joystick controller 430 or upon a key command triggered by pressing a button on the joystick controller 430.
In certain embodiments of the present invention, an inertial signal, e.g., from an accelerometer or gyroscope may be used to determine a location of the joystick controller 430. Specifically, an acceleration signal from an accelerometer may be integrated once with respect to time to determine a change in velocity and the velocity may be integrated with respect to time to determine a change in position. If values of the initial position and velocity at some time are known then the absolute position may be determined using these values and the changes in velocity and position. Although position determination using an inertial sensor may be made more quickly than using the image capture unit 423 and light sources 434 the inertial sensor 432 may be subject to a type of error known as “drift” in which errors that accumulate over time can lead to a discrepancy D between the position of the joystick 430 calculated from the inertial signal (shown in phantom) and the actual position of the joystick controller 430. Embodiments of the present invention allow a number of ways to deal with such errors.
For example, the drift may be cancelled out manually by re-setting the initial position of the joystick controller 430 to be equal to the current calculated position. A user may use one or more of the buttons on the joystick controller 430 to trigger a command to re-set the initial position. Alternatively, image-based drift may be implemented by re-setting the current position to a position determined from an image obtained from the image capture unit 423 as a reference. Such image-based drift compensation may be implemented manually, e.g., when the user triggers one or more of the buttons on the joystick controller 430. Alternatively, image-based drift compensation may be implemented automatically, e.g., at regular intervals of time or in response to game play. Such techniques may be implemented by program code instructions 404 which may be stored in the memory 402 and executed by the processor 401.
In certain embodiments it may be desirable to compensate for spurious data in the inertial sensor signal. For example the signal from the inertial sensor 432 may be oversampled and a sliding average may be computed from the oversampled signal to remove spurious data from the inertial sensor signal. In some situations it may be desirable to oversample the signal and reject a high and/or low value from some subset of data points and compute the sliding average from the remaining data points. Furthermore, other data sampling and manipulation techniques may be used to adjust the signal from the inertial sensor to remove or reduce the significance of spurious data. The choice of technique may depend on the nature of the signal, computations to be performed with the signal, the nature of game play or some combination of two or more of these. Such techniques may be implemented by program code instructions 404 which may be stored in the memory 402 and executed by the processor 401.
The processor 401 may perform digital signal processing on signal data 406 in response to the data 406 and program code instructions of a program 404 stored and retrieved by the memory 402 and executed by the processor module 401. Code portions of the program 404 may conform to any one of a number of different programming languages such as Assembly, C++, JAVA or a number of other languages. The processor module 401 forms a general-purpose computer that becomes a specific purpose computer when executing programs such as the program code 404. Although the program code 404 is described herein as being implemented in software and executed upon a general purpose computer, those skilled in the art will realize that the method of task management could alternatively be implemented using hardware such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or other hardware circuitry. As such, it should be understood that embodiments of the invention can be implemented, in whole or in part, in software, hardware or some combination of both.
In one embodiment, among others, the program code 404 may include a set of processor readable instructions that implement any one or more of the methods and techniques described herein or some combination of two or more of such methods and techniques. For example, the program code 404 may be configured to implement the image analyzer function described herein. Or alternatively, the image analyzer function described herein may be implemented in hardware.
In the illustrated embodiment the image analyzer function described above is illustrated as the image analyzer 450. The image analyzer 450 may receive its input from a camera, such as for example the image capture unit 423 or the camera 112 (
The image analyzer 450 may optionally be included in the apparatus 400 or the entertainment system or console 102, or the image analyzer 450 may be located separately from these devices and systems. And again, it should be well understood that the image analyzer 450 may be implemented, in whole or in part, in software, hardware or some combination of both. In the scenario where the image analyzer 450 is implemented in software, then the block 450 represents the image analyzer function implemented in software.
The program code 404 may generally include one or more instructions that direct the one or more processors to select a pre-calibrated listening zone at runtime and filter out sounds originating from sources outside the pre-calibrated listening zone. The pre-calibrated listening zones may include a listening zone that corresponds to a volume of focus or field of view of the image capture unit 423.
The program code may include one or more instructions which, when executed, cause the apparatus 400 to select a pre-calibrated listening sector that contains a source of sound. Such instructions may cause the apparatus to determine whether a source of sound lies within an initial sector or on a particular side of the initial sector. If the source of sound does not lie within the default sector, the instructions may, when executed, select a different sector on the particular side of the default sector. The different sector may be characterized by an attenuation of the input signals that is closest to an optimum value. These instructions may, when executed, calculate an attenuation of input signals from the microphone array 422 and the attenuation to an optimum value. The instructions may, when executed, cause the apparatus 400 to determine a value of an attenuation of the input signals for one or more sectors and select a sector for which the attenuation is closest to an optimum value.
The program code 404 may optionally include one or more instructions that direct the one or more processors to produce a discrete time domain input signal xm(t) from the microphones M0 . . . MM, determine a listening sector, and use the listening sector in a semi-blind source separation to select the finite impulse response filter coefficients to separate out different sound sources from input signal xm(t). The program 404 may also include instructions to apply one or more fractional delays to selected input signals xm(t) other than an input signal x0(t) from a reference microphone M0. Each fractional delay may be selected to optimize a signal to noise ratio of a discrete time domain output signal y(t) from the microphone array. The fractional delays may be selected to such that a signal from the reference microphone M0 is first in time relative to signals from the other microphone(s) of the array. The program 404 may also include instructions to introduce a fractional time delay Δ into an output signal y(t) of the microphone array so that: y(t+Δ)=x(t+Δ)*b0+x(t−1+Δ)*b1+x(t−2+Δ)*b2+ . . . +x(t−N+Δ)bN, where Δ is between zero and ±1.
The program code 404 may optionally include processor executable instructions including one or more instructions which, when executed cause the image capture unit 423 to monitor a field of view in front of the image capture unit 423, identify one or more of the light sources 434 within the field of view, detect a change in light emitted from the light source(s) 434; and in response to detecting the change, triggering an input command to the processor 401. The use of LEDs in conjunction with an image capture device to trigger actions in a game controller is described e.g., in commonly-owned, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/759,782 to Richard L. Marks, filed Jan. 16, 2004 and entitled: METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LIGHT INPUT DEVICE, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The program code 404 may optionally include processor executable instructions including one or more instructions which, when executed, use signals from the inertial sensor and signals generated from the image capture unit from tracking the one or more light sources as inputs to a game system, e.g., as described above. The program code 404 may optionally include processor executable instructions including one or more instructions which, when executed compensate for drift in the inertial sensor 432.
In addition, the program code 404 may optionally include processor executable instructions including one or more instructions which, when executed adjust the gearing and mapping of controller manipulations to game a environment. Such a feature allows a user to change the “gearing” of manipulations of the joystick controller 430 to game state. For example, a 45 degree rotation of the joystick controller 430 may be geared to a 45 degree rotation of a game object. However this 1:1 gearing ratio may be modified so that an X degree rotation (or tilt or yaw or “manipulation”) of the controller translates to a Y rotation (or tilt or yaw or “manipulation”) of the game object. Gearing may be 1:1 ratio, 1:2 ratio, 1:X ratio or X:Y ratio, where X and Y can take on arbitrary values. Additionally, mapping of input channel to game control may also be modified over time or instantly. Modifications may comprise changing gesture trajectory models, modifying the location, scale, threshold of gestures, etc. Such mapping may be programmed, random, tiered, staggered, etc., to provide a user with a dynamic range of manipulatives. Modification of the mapping, gearing or ratios can be adjusted by the program code 404 according to game play, game state, through a user modifier button (key pad, etc.) located on the joystick controller 430, or broadly in response to the input channel. The input channel may include, but may not be limited to elements of user audio, audio generated by controller, tracking audio generated by the controller, controller button state, video camera output, controller telemetry data, including accelerometer data, tilt, yaw, roll, position, acceleration and any other data from sensors capable of tracking a user or the user manipulation of an object.
In certain embodiments the program code 404 may change the mapping or gearing over time from one scheme or ratio to another scheme, respectively, in a predetermined time-dependent manner. Gearing and mapping changes can be applied to a game environment in various ways. In one example, a video game character may be controlled under one gearing scheme when the character is healthy and as the character's health deteriorates the system may gear the controller commands so the user is forced to exacerbate the movements of the controller to gesture commands to the character. A video game character who becomes disoriented may force a change of mapping of the input channel as users, for example, may be required to adjust input to regain control of the character under a new mapping. Mapping schemes that modify the translation of the input channel to game commands may also change during gameplay. This translation may occur in various ways in response to game state or in response to modifier commands issued under one or more elements of the input channel. Gearing and mapping may also be configured to influence the configuration and/or processing of one or more elements of the input channel.
In addition, a speaker 436 may be mounted to the joystick controller 430. In “acoustic radar” embodiments wherein the program code 404 locates and characterizes sounds detected with the microphone array 422, the speaker 436 may provide an audio signal that can be detected by the microphone array 422 and used by the program code 404 to track the position of the joystick controller 430. The speaker 436 may also be used to provide an additional “input channel” from the joystick controller 430 to the processor 401. Audio signals from the speaker 436 may be periodically pulsed to provide a beacon for the acoustic radar to track location. The audio signals (pulsed or otherwise) may be audible or ultrasonic. The acoustic radar may track the user manipulation of the joystick controller 430 and where such manipulation tracking may include information about the position and orientation (e.g., pitch, roll or yaw angle) of the joystick controller 430. The pulses may be triggered at an appropriate duty cycle as one skilled in the art is capable of applying. Pulses may be initiated based on a control signal arbitrated from the system. The apparatus 400 (through the program code 404) may coordinate the dispatch of control signals amongst two or more joystick controllers 430 coupled to the processor 401 to assure that multiple controllers can be tracked.
By way of example, embodiments of the present invention may be implemented on parallel processing systems. Such parallel processing systems typically include two or more processor elements that are configured to execute parts of a program in parallel using separate processors. By way of example, and without limitation,
The main memory 502 typically includes both general-purpose and nonvolatile storage, as well as special-purpose hardware registers or arrays used for functions such as system configuration, data-transfer synchronization, memory-mapped I/O, and I/O subsystems. In embodiments of the present invention, a signal processing program 503 may be resident in main memory 502. The signal processing program 503 may run on the PPE. The program 503 may be divided up into multiple signal processing tasks that can be executed on the SPEs and/or PPE.
By way of example, the PPE 504 may be a 64-bit PowerPC Processor Unit (PPU) with associated caches L1 and L2. The PPE 504 is a general-purpose processing unit, which can access system management resources (such as the memory-protection tables, for example). Hardware resources may be mapped explicitly to a real address space as seen by the PPE. Therefore, the PPE can address any of these resources directly by using an appropriate effective address value. A primary function of the PPE 504 is the management and allocation of tasks for the SPEs 506 in the cell processor 500.
Although only a single PPE is shown in
Each SPE 506 is includes a synergistic processor unit (SPU) and its own local storage area LS. The local storage LS may include one or more separate areas of memory storage, each one associated with a specific SPU. Each SPU may be configured to only execute instructions (including data load and data store operations) from within its own associated local storage domain. In such a configuration, data transfers between the local storage LS and elsewhere in a system 500 may be performed by issuing direct memory access (DMA) commands from the memory flow controller (MFC) to transfer data to or from the local storage domain (of the individual SPE). The SPUs are less complex computational units than the PPE 504 in that they do not perform any system management functions. The SPU generally have a single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) capability and typically process data and initiate any required data transfers (subject to access properties set up by the PPE) in order to perform their allocated tasks. The purpose of the SPU is to enable applications that require a higher computational unit density and can effectively use the provided instruction set. A significant number of SPEs in a system managed by the PPE 504 allow for cost-effective processing over a wide range of applications.
Each SPE 506 may include a dedicated memory flow controller (MFC) that includes an associated memory management unit that can hold and process memory-protection and access-permission information. The MFC provides the primary method for data transfer, protection, and synchronization between main storage of the cell processor and the local storage of an SPE. An MFC command describes the transfer to be performed. Commands for transferring data are sometimes referred to as MFC direct memory access (DMA) commands (or MFC DMA commands).
Each MFC may support multiple DMA transfers at the same time and can maintain and process multiple MFC commands. Each MFC DMA data transfer command request may involve both a local storage address (LSA) and an effective address (EA). The local storage address may directly address only the local storage area of its associated SPE. The effective address may have a more general application, e.g., it may be able to reference main storage, including all the SPE local storage areas, if they are aliased into the real address space.
To facilitate communication between the SPEs 506 and/or between the SPEs 506 and the PPE 504, the SPEs 506 and PPE 504 may include signal notification registers that are tied to signaling events. The PPE 504 and SPEs 506 may be coupled by a star topology in which the PPE 504 acts as a router to transmit messages to the SPEs 506. Alternatively, each SPE 506 and the PPE 504 may have a one-way signal notification register referred to as a mailbox. The mailbox can be used by an SPE 506 to host operating system (OS) synchronization.
The cell processor 500 may include an input/output (I/O) function 508 through which the cell processor 500 may interface with peripheral devices, such as a microphone array 512 and optional image capture unit 513. In addition an Element Interconnect Bus 510 may connect the various components listed above. Each SPE and the PPE can access the bus 510 through a bus interface units BIU. The cell processor 500 may also includes two controllers typically found in a processor: a Memory Interface Controller MIC that controls the flow of data between the bus 510 and the main memory 502, and a Bus Interface Controller BIC, which controls the flow of data between the I/O 508 and the bus 510. Although the requirements for the MIC, BIC, BIUs and bus 510 may vary widely for different implementations, those of skill in the art will be familiar their functions and circuits for implementing them.
The cell processor 500 may also include an internal interrupt controller IIC. The IIC component manages the priority of the interrupts presented to the PPE. The IIC allows interrupts from the other components the cell processor 500 to be handled without using a main system interrupt controller. The IIC may be regarded as a second level controller. The main system interrupt controller may handle interrupts originating external to the cell processor.
In embodiments of the present invention, certain computations, such as fractional delays, may be performed in parallel using the PPE 504 and/or one or more of the SPE 506. Each fractional delay calculation may be run as one or more separate tasks that different SPE 506 may take as they become available.
While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims.
This application is a continuation in part (CIP) of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/207,677, entitled, “MAN-MACHINE INTERFACE USING A DEFORMABLE DEVICE”, filed on Jul. 27, 2002; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/650,409, entitled, “AUDIO INPUT SYSTEM”, filed on Aug. 27, 2003; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/663,236, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ADJUSTING A VIEW OF A SCENE BEING DISPLAYED ACCORDING TO TRACKED HEAD MOTION”, filed on Sep. 15, 2003; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/759,782, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LIGHT INPUT DEVICE”, filed on Jan. 16, 2004; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/820,469, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS TO DETECT AND REMOVE AUDIO DISTURBANCES”, filed on Apr. 7, 2004; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/301,673, entitled “METHOD FOR USING RELATIVE HEAD AND HAND POSITIONS TO ENABLE A POINTING INTERFACE VIA CAMERA TRACKING”, filed on Dec. 12, 2005; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/381,729, to Xiao Dong Mao, entitled ULTRA SMALL MICROPHONE ARRAY, filed on May 4, 2006, application Ser. No. 11/381,728, to Xiao Dong Mao, entitled ECHO AND NOISE CANCELLATION, filed on May 4, 2006, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/381,725, to Xiao Dong Mao, entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR TARGETED SOUND DETECTION”, filed on May 4, 2006, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/381,727, to Xiao Dong Mao, entitled “NOISE REMOVAL FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICE WITH FAR FIELD MICROPHONE ON CONSOLE”, filed on May 4, 2006, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/381,724, to Xiao Dong Mao, entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR TARGETED SOUND DETECTION AND CHARACTERIZATION”, filed on May 4, 2006, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/381,721, to Xiao Dong Mao, entitled “SELECTIVE SOUND SOURCE LISTENING IN CONJUNCTION WITH COMPUTER INTERACTIVE PROCESSING”, filed on May 4, 2006, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/718,145, entitled “AUDIO, VIDEO, SIMULATION, AND USER INTERFACE PARADIGMS”, filed Sep. 15, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3270564 | Evans | Sep 1966 | A |
| 3561272 | Davis | Feb 1971 | A |
| 3943277 | Everly et al. | Mar 1976 | A |
| 4263504 | Thomas | Apr 1981 | A |
| 4274631 | Hayazaki | Jun 1981 | A |
| 4313227 | Eder | Jan 1982 | A |
| 4363484 | Breslow et al. | Dec 1982 | A |
| 4469330 | Asher | Sep 1984 | A |
| 4558864 | Medwedeff | Dec 1985 | A |
| 4565999 | King et al. | Jan 1986 | A |
| 4683891 | Cornellier et al. | Aug 1987 | A |
| 4718663 | Shepherd | Jan 1988 | A |
| 4739128 | Grisham | Apr 1988 | A |
| 4787051 | Olson | Nov 1988 | A |
| 4796019 | Auerbach | Jan 1989 | A |
| 4802227 | Elko et al. | Jan 1989 | A |
| 4823001 | Kobayashi et al. | Apr 1989 | A |
| 4843568 | Krueger et al. | Jun 1989 | A |
| 4963858 | Chien | Oct 1990 | A |
| 4977404 | Durst et al. | Dec 1990 | A |
| 5034986 | Karmann et al. | Jul 1991 | A |
| 5046739 | Reichow | Sep 1991 | A |
| 5055840 | Bartlett | Oct 1991 | A |
| 5111401 | Everett et al. | May 1992 | A |
| 5128671 | Thomas, Jr. | Jul 1992 | A |
| 5144594 | Gilchrist | Sep 1992 | A |
| 5195179 | Tokunaga | Mar 1993 | A |
| 5214615 | Bauer | May 1993 | A |
| 5227985 | DeMenthon | Jul 1993 | A |
| 5233544 | Kobayashi | Aug 1993 | A |
| 5260556 | Lake et al. | Nov 1993 | A |
| 5262777 | Low et al. | Nov 1993 | A |
| 5296871 | Paley | Mar 1994 | A |
| 5297061 | Dementhon et al. | Mar 1994 | A |
| D345994 | Shian | Apr 1994 | S |
| 5331583 | Hara et al. | Jul 1994 | A |
| 5335011 | Addeo et al. | Aug 1994 | A |
| 5388059 | DeMenthon | Feb 1995 | A |
| 5394168 | Smith, III et al. | Feb 1995 | A |
| 5404305 | Stiles, Jr. | Apr 1995 | A |
| 5412619 | Bauer | May 1995 | A |
| 5426450 | Drumm | Jun 1995 | A |
| 5435554 | Lipson | Jul 1995 | A |
| 5440326 | Quinn | Aug 1995 | A |
| 5453758 | Sato | Sep 1995 | A |
| 5454043 | Freeman | Sep 1995 | A |
| 5455685 | Mori | Oct 1995 | A |
| 5473701 | Cezanne et al. | Dec 1995 | A |
| 5485273 | Mark et al. | Jan 1996 | A |
| 5517333 | Tamura et al. | May 1996 | A |
| 5528265 | Harrison | Jun 1996 | A |
| 5534917 | MacDougall | Jul 1996 | A |
| 5543818 | Scott | Aug 1996 | A |
| 5551693 | Goto et al. | Sep 1996 | A |
| 5554033 | Bizzi et al. | Sep 1996 | A |
| 5554980 | Hashimoto et al. | Sep 1996 | A |
| 5557684 | Wang et al. | Sep 1996 | A |
| 5563988 | Maes et al. | Oct 1996 | A |
| 5568928 | Munson et al. | Oct 1996 | A |
| 5581276 | Cipolla et al. | Dec 1996 | A |
| 5583478 | Renzi | Dec 1996 | A |
| 5586231 | Florent et al. | Dec 1996 | A |
| 5611000 | Szeliski et al. | Mar 1997 | A |
| 5611731 | Bouton et al. | Mar 1997 | A |
| 5616078 | Oh | Apr 1997 | A |
| 5626140 | Feldman et al. | May 1997 | A |
| D380238 | Tyler | Jun 1997 | S |
| 5638228 | Thomas et al. | Jun 1997 | A |
| 5643087 | Marcus et al. | Jul 1997 | A |
| 5649021 | Matey et al. | Jul 1997 | A |
| 5659335 | Partridge | Aug 1997 | A |
| 5675825 | Dreyer et al. | Oct 1997 | A |
| 5675828 | Stoel et al. | Oct 1997 | A |
| 5677710 | Thompson-Rohrlich | Oct 1997 | A |
| 5703623 | Hall et al. | Dec 1997 | A |
| 5706364 | Kopec et al. | Jan 1998 | A |
| 5724106 | Autry et al. | Mar 1998 | A |
| 5768415 | Jagadish et al. | Jun 1998 | A |
| 5796354 | Cartabiano et al. | Aug 1998 | A |
| 5818424 | Korth | Oct 1998 | A |
| 5846086 | Bizzi et al. | Dec 1998 | A |
| 5850222 | Cone | Dec 1998 | A |
| 5850473 | Andersson | Dec 1998 | A |
| 5861910 | McGarry et al. | Jan 1999 | A |
| 5870100 | DeFreitas | Feb 1999 | A |
| 5883616 | Koizumi et al. | Mar 1999 | A |
| 5889505 | Toyama et al. | Mar 1999 | A |
| 5889672 | Schuler et al. | Mar 1999 | A |
| 5900863 | Numazaki | May 1999 | A |
| 5903257 | Nishiumi et al. | May 1999 | A |
| 5913727 | Ahdoot | Jun 1999 | A |
| 5914723 | Gajewska | Jun 1999 | A |
| 5917493 | Tan et al. | Jun 1999 | A |
| 5917936 | Katto | Jun 1999 | A |
| 5923306 | Smith et al. | Jul 1999 | A |
| 5923318 | Zhai et al. | Jul 1999 | A |
| 5929444 | Leichner | Jul 1999 | A |
| 5930383 | Netzer | Jul 1999 | A |
| 5930741 | Kramer | Jul 1999 | A |
| 5937081 | O'Brill et al. | Aug 1999 | A |
| 5959596 | McCarten et al. | Sep 1999 | A |
| 5963145 | Escobosa | Oct 1999 | A |
| 5963250 | Parker et al. | Oct 1999 | A |
| 5978722 | Takasuka et al. | Nov 1999 | A |
| 5991693 | Zalewski | Nov 1999 | A |
| 5993314 | Dannenberg et al. | Nov 1999 | A |
| 6009210 | Kang | Dec 1999 | A |
| 6014167 | Suito et al. | Jan 2000 | A |
| 6021219 | Andersson et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6022274 | Takeda et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6031545 | Ellenby et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6031934 | Ahmad et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6037942 | Millington | Mar 2000 | A |
| 6044181 | Szeliski et al. | Mar 2000 | A |
| 6049619 | Anandan et al. | Apr 2000 | A |
| 6055330 | Eleftheriadis et al. | Apr 2000 | A |
| 6056640 | Schaaij | May 2000 | A |
| 6057909 | Yahav et al. | May 2000 | A |
| 6061055 | Marks | May 2000 | A |
| 6067468 | Korenman et al. | May 2000 | A |
| 6069594 | Barnes et al. | May 2000 | A |
| 6072494 | Nguyen | Jun 2000 | A |
| 6075895 | Qiao et al. | Jun 2000 | A |
| 6078789 | Bodenmann et al. | Jun 2000 | A |
| 6091905 | Yahav et al. | Jul 2000 | A |
| 6094625 | Ralston | Jul 2000 | A |
| 6097369 | Wambach | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6100517 | Yahav et al. | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6100895 | Miura et al. | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6101289 | Kellner | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6102803 | Takeda et al. | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6115052 | Freeman et al. | Sep 2000 | A |
| 6134346 | Berman et al. | Oct 2000 | A |
| 6144367 | Berstis | Nov 2000 | A |
| 6146278 | Kobayashi | Nov 2000 | A |
| 6151009 | Kanade et al. | Nov 2000 | A |
| 6157368 | Faeger | Dec 2000 | A |
| 6160540 | Fishkin et al. | Dec 2000 | A |
| 6166744 | Jaszlics et al. | Dec 2000 | A |
| 6173059 | Huang et al. | Jan 2001 | B1 |
| 6175343 | Mitchell et al. | Jan 2001 | B1 |
| 6184863 | Sibert et al. | Feb 2001 | B1 |
| 6191773 | Maruno et al. | Feb 2001 | B1 |
| 6195104 | Lyons | Feb 2001 | B1 |
| 6203432 | Roberts et al. | Mar 2001 | B1 |
| 6215898 | Woodfill et al. | Apr 2001 | B1 |
| 6243054 | DeLuca | Jun 2001 | B1 |
| 6243074 | Fishkin et al. | Jun 2001 | B1 |
| 6243491 | Andersson | Jun 2001 | B1 |
| 6259431 | Futatsugi et al. | Jul 2001 | B1 |
| 6275213 | Tremblay et al. | Aug 2001 | B1 |
| 6281930 | Parker et al. | Aug 2001 | B1 |
| 6282362 | Murphy et al. | Aug 2001 | B1 |
| 6295064 | Yamaguchi | Sep 2001 | B1 |
| 6297838 | Chang et al. | Oct 2001 | B1 |
| 6304267 | Sata | Oct 2001 | B1 |
| 6307549 | King et al. | Oct 2001 | B1 |
| 6307568 | Rom | Oct 2001 | B1 |
| 6323839 | Fukuda et al. | Nov 2001 | B1 |
| 6323942 | Bamji | Nov 2001 | B1 |
| 6324296 | McSheery et al. | Nov 2001 | B1 |
| 6326901 | Gonzales | Dec 2001 | B1 |
| 6327073 | Yahav et al. | Dec 2001 | B1 |
| 6331911 | Manasseh et al. | Dec 2001 | B1 |
| 6338485 | Huettlinger | Jan 2002 | B1 |
| 6346929 | Fukushima et al. | Feb 2002 | B1 |
| 6351661 | Cosman | Feb 2002 | B1 |
| 6352516 | Pozos et al. | Mar 2002 | B1 |
| 6371849 | Togami | Apr 2002 | B1 |
| 6375572 | Masuyama | Apr 2002 | B1 |
| 6392644 | Miyata et al. | May 2002 | B1 |
| 6393142 | Swain et al. | May 2002 | B1 |
| 6394897 | Togami | May 2002 | B1 |
| 6400374 | Lanier | Jun 2002 | B2 |
| 6409602 | Wiltshire et al. | Jun 2002 | B1 |
| 6411392 | Bender et al. | Jun 2002 | B1 |
| 6411744 | Edwards | Jun 2002 | B1 |
| 6417836 | Kumar et al. | Jul 2002 | B1 |
| 6441745 | Gates | Aug 2002 | B1 |
| 6441825 | Peters | Aug 2002 | B1 |
| 6450820 | Palsson et al. | Sep 2002 | B1 |
| 6473516 | Kawaguchi et al. | Oct 2002 | B1 |
| 6489946 | Takeda et al. | Dec 2002 | B1 |
| 6489948 | Lau | Dec 2002 | B1 |
| 6498628 | Iwamura | Dec 2002 | B2 |
| 6498860 | Sasaki et al. | Dec 2002 | B1 |
| 6501258 | Levitt et al. | Dec 2002 | B1 |
| 6504535 | Edmark | Jan 2003 | B1 |
| 6513160 | Dureau | Jan 2003 | B2 |
| 6516466 | Jackson | Feb 2003 | B1 |
| 6519359 | Nafis et al. | Feb 2003 | B1 |
| 6533420 | Eichenlaub | Mar 2003 | B1 |
| 6542927 | Rhoads | Apr 2003 | B2 |
| 6544124 | Ireland et al. | Apr 2003 | B2 |
| 6545661 | Goschy et al. | Apr 2003 | B1 |
| 6545706 | Edwards et al. | Apr 2003 | B1 |
| 6546153 | Hoydal | Apr 2003 | B1 |
| 6556704 | Chen | Apr 2003 | B1 |
| 6559813 | DeLuca | May 2003 | B1 |
| 6567071 | Curran et al. | May 2003 | B1 |
| 6573883 | Bartlett | Jun 2003 | B1 |
| 6577748 | Chang | Jun 2003 | B2 |
| 6580414 | Wergen et al. | Jun 2003 | B1 |
| 6580415 | Kato et al. | Jun 2003 | B1 |
| 6587573 | Stam et al. | Jul 2003 | B1 |
| 6587835 | Treyz et al. | Jul 2003 | B1 |
| 6593956 | Potts et al. | Jul 2003 | B1 |
| 6595642 | Wirth | Jul 2003 | B2 |
| 6597342 | Haruta | Jul 2003 | B1 |
| 6611141 | Schulz et al. | Aug 2003 | B1 |
| 6621938 | Tanaka et al. | Sep 2003 | B1 |
| 6628265 | Hwang | Sep 2003 | B2 |
| 6661914 | Dufour | Dec 2003 | B2 |
| 6668244 | Rourke et al. | Dec 2003 | B1 |
| 6674415 | Nakamura et al. | Jan 2004 | B2 |
| 6676522 | Rowe et al. | Jan 2004 | B2 |
| 6677967 | Sawano et al. | Jan 2004 | B2 |
| 6677987 | Girod | Jan 2004 | B1 |
| 6692359 | Williams et al. | Feb 2004 | B1 |
| 6699123 | Matsuura et al. | Mar 2004 | B2 |
| 6709108 | Levine et al. | Mar 2004 | B2 |
| 6712703 | Miyamoto et al. | Mar 2004 | B2 |
| 6720949 | Pryor et al. | Apr 2004 | B1 |
| 6727988 | Kim et al. | Apr 2004 | B2 |
| 6741741 | Farrell | May 2004 | B2 |
| 6746124 | Fischer et al. | Jun 2004 | B2 |
| 6747632 | Howard | Jun 2004 | B2 |
| 6749510 | Giobbi | Jun 2004 | B2 |
| 6751338 | Wallack | Jun 2004 | B1 |
| 6753849 | Curran et al. | Jun 2004 | B1 |
| 6766036 | Pryor | Jul 2004 | B1 |
| 6767282 | Matsuyama et al. | Jul 2004 | B2 |
| 6769769 | Podlleanu et al. | Aug 2004 | B2 |
| 6772057 | Breed et al. | Aug 2004 | B2 |
| 6774939 | Peng | Aug 2004 | B1 |
| 6785329 | Pan et al. | Aug 2004 | B1 |
| 6789967 | Forester | Sep 2004 | B1 |
| 6791531 | Johnston et al. | Sep 2004 | B1 |
| 6795068 | Marks | Sep 2004 | B1 |
| 6809776 | Simpson et al. | Oct 2004 | B1 |
| 6811491 | Levenberg et al. | Nov 2004 | B1 |
| 6819318 | Geng | Nov 2004 | B1 |
| 6846238 | Wells | Jan 2005 | B2 |
| 6847311 | Li | Jan 2005 | B2 |
| 6850221 | Tickle | Feb 2005 | B1 |
| 6863609 | Okuda et al. | Mar 2005 | B2 |
| 6870526 | Zngf et al. | Mar 2005 | B2 |
| 6873747 | Askary | Mar 2005 | B2 |
| 6881147 | Naghi et al. | Apr 2005 | B2 |
| 6884171 | Eck et al. | Apr 2005 | B2 |
| 6890262 | Oishi et al. | May 2005 | B2 |
| 6917688 | Yu et al. | Jul 2005 | B2 |
| 6919824 | Lee | Jul 2005 | B2 |
| 6924787 | Kramer et al. | Aug 2005 | B2 |
| 6928180 | Stam et al. | Aug 2005 | B2 |
| 6930725 | Hayashi | Aug 2005 | B1 |
| 6931125 | Smallwood | Aug 2005 | B2 |
| 6931596 | Gutta et al. | Aug 2005 | B2 |
| 6943776 | Ehrenburg | Sep 2005 | B2 |
| 6945653 | Kobori et al. | Sep 2005 | B2 |
| 6947576 | Stam et al. | Sep 2005 | B2 |
| 6951515 | Ohshima et al. | Oct 2005 | B2 |
| 6952198 | Hansen | Oct 2005 | B2 |
| 6965362 | Ishizuka | Nov 2005 | B1 |
| 6970183 | Monroe | Nov 2005 | B1 |
| 6990639 | Wilson | Jan 2006 | B2 |
| 7006009 | Newman | Feb 2006 | B2 |
| 7016411 | Azuma et al. | Mar 2006 | B2 |
| 7016532 | Boncyk et al. | Mar 2006 | B2 |
| 7023475 | Bean et al. | Apr 2006 | B2 |
| 7030856 | Dawson et al. | Apr 2006 | B2 |
| 7039199 | Rui | May 2006 | B2 |
| 7039253 | Matsuoka et al. | May 2006 | B2 |
| 7042440 | Pryor et al. | May 2006 | B2 |
| 7043056 | Edwards et al. | May 2006 | B2 |
| 7054452 | Ukita | May 2006 | B2 |
| 7059962 | Watashiba | Jun 2006 | B2 |
| 7061507 | Tuomi et al. | Jun 2006 | B1 |
| 7071914 | Marks | Jul 2006 | B1 |
| 7084887 | Sato et al. | Aug 2006 | B1 |
| 7090352 | Kobor et al. | Aug 2006 | B2 |
| 7098891 | Pryor | Aug 2006 | B1 |
| 7102615 | Marks | Sep 2006 | B2 |
| 7106366 | Parker et al. | Sep 2006 | B2 |
| 7113635 | Robert et al. | Sep 2006 | B2 |
| 7116330 | Marshall et al. | Oct 2006 | B2 |
| 7116342 | Dengler et al. | Oct 2006 | B2 |
| 7121946 | Paul et al. | Oct 2006 | B2 |
| 7139767 | Taylor et al. | Nov 2006 | B1 |
| 7148922 | Shimada | Dec 2006 | B2 |
| 7156311 | Attia et al. | Jan 2007 | B2 |
| 7158118 | Liberty | Jan 2007 | B2 |
| 7161634 | Long | Jan 2007 | B2 |
| 7164413 | Davis et al. | Jan 2007 | B2 |
| 7168042 | Braun et al. | Jan 2007 | B2 |
| 7174312 | Harper et al. | Feb 2007 | B2 |
| 7182691 | Schena | Feb 2007 | B1 |
| 7183929 | Antebi et al. | Feb 2007 | B1 |
| 7193607 | Moore et al. | Mar 2007 | B2 |
| 7212308 | Morgan | May 2007 | B2 |
| 7223173 | Masuyama et al. | May 2007 | B2 |
| 7224384 | Iddan et al. | May 2007 | B1 |
| 7227526 | Hildreth et al. | Jun 2007 | B2 |
| 7227976 | Jung et al. | Jun 2007 | B1 |
| 7233316 | Smith et al. | Jun 2007 | B2 |
| 7239301 | Liberty et al. | Jul 2007 | B2 |
| 7245273 | Eberl et al. | Jul 2007 | B2 |
| 7259375 | Tichit et al. | Aug 2007 | B2 |
| 7260221 | Atsmon | Aug 2007 | B1 |
| 7262760 | Liberty | Aug 2007 | B2 |
| 7263462 | Funge et al. | Aug 2007 | B2 |
| 7274305 | Luttrell | Sep 2007 | B1 |
| 7283679 | Okada et al. | Oct 2007 | B2 |
| 7296007 | Funge et al. | Nov 2007 | B1 |
| 7301530 | Lee et al. | Nov 2007 | B2 |
| 7301547 | Martins et al. | Nov 2007 | B2 |
| 7305114 | Wolff et al. | Dec 2007 | B2 |
| 7346387 | Wachter et al. | Mar 2008 | B1 |
| 7352358 | Zalewski et al. | Apr 2008 | B2 |
| 7352359 | Zalewski et al. | Apr 2008 | B2 |
| 7364297 | Goldfain et al. | Apr 2008 | B2 |
| 7379559 | Wallace et al. | May 2008 | B2 |
| 7391409 | Zalewski et al. | Jun 2008 | B2 |
| 7414611 | Liberty | Aug 2008 | B2 |
| 7432910 | Shahoian | Oct 2008 | B2 |
| 7436887 | Yeredor et al. | Oct 2008 | B2 |
| 7446650 | Scholfield et al. | Nov 2008 | B2 |
| 7489298 | Liberty et al. | Feb 2009 | B2 |
| 7489299 | Liberty et al. | Feb 2009 | B2 |
| 7545926 | Mao | Jun 2009 | B2 |
| 7555157 | Davidson et al. | Jun 2009 | B2 |
| 7558432 | Zaharia et al. | Jul 2009 | B2 |
| 7558698 | Funge et al. | Jul 2009 | B2 |
| 7565295 | Hernandez-Rebollar | Jul 2009 | B1 |
| 7613610 | Zimmerman et al. | Nov 2009 | B1 |
| 7623115 | Marks | Nov 2009 | B2 |
| 7627139 | Marks et al. | Dec 2009 | B2 |
| 7636645 | Yen et al. | Dec 2009 | B1 |
| 7636697 | Dobson et al. | Dec 2009 | B1 |
| 7636701 | Funge et al. | Dec 2009 | B2 |
| 7646372 | Marks et al. | Jan 2010 | B2 |
| 7665041 | Wilson et al. | Feb 2010 | B2 |
| 7697700 | Mao | Apr 2010 | B2 |
| 7721231 | Wilson | May 2010 | B2 |
| 7737944 | Harrison et al. | Jun 2010 | B2 |
| 7782297 | Zalewski et al. | Aug 2010 | B2 |
| 7826641 | Mandella et al. | Nov 2010 | B2 |
| 7843429 | Pryor | Nov 2010 | B2 |
| 7850526 | Zalewski et al. | Dec 2010 | B2 |
| 7918733 | Zalewski et al. | Apr 2011 | B2 |
| 20010011995 | Hinckley et al. | Aug 2001 | A1 |
| 20010024973 | Meredith | Sep 2001 | A1 |
| 20010056477 | McTernan et al. | Dec 2001 | A1 |
| 20020010655 | Kjallstrom | Jan 2002 | A1 |
| 20020022519 | Ogino | Feb 2002 | A1 |
| 20020023027 | Simonds | Feb 2002 | A1 |
| 20020024500 | Howard | Feb 2002 | A1 |
| 20020036617 | Pryor | Mar 2002 | A1 |
| 20020041327 | Hildreth et al. | Apr 2002 | A1 |
| 20020056114 | Fillebrown et al. | May 2002 | A1 |
| 20020071036 | Gonzales et al. | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020072414 | Stylinski et al. | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020075286 | Yonezawa et al. | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020083461 | Hutcheson et al. | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020085097 | Colmenarez et al. | Jul 2002 | A1 |
| 20020089412 | Heger et al. | Jul 2002 | A1 |
| 20020094189 | Navab et al. | Jul 2002 | A1 |
| 20020110273 | Dufour | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20020126899 | Farrell | Sep 2002 | A1 |
| 20020134151 | Naruoka et al. | Sep 2002 | A1 |
| 20020158873 | Williamson | Oct 2002 | A1 |
| 20020171622 | Shen et al. | Nov 2002 | A1 |
| 20020171625 | Rothchild | Nov 2002 | A1 |
| 20030014212 | Ralston et al. | Jan 2003 | A1 |
| 20030020718 | Marshall et al. | Jan 2003 | A1 |
| 20030022716 | Park et al. | Jan 2003 | A1 |
| 20030032466 | Watashiba | Feb 2003 | A1 |
| 20030032484 | Ohshima et al. | Feb 2003 | A1 |
| 20030034961 | Kao | Feb 2003 | A1 |
| 20030038778 | Noguera | Feb 2003 | A1 |
| 20030063065 | Lee et al. | Apr 2003 | A1 |
| 20030064712 | Gaston et al. | Apr 2003 | A1 |
| 20030073492 | Tosaki et al. | Apr 2003 | A1 |
| 20030092493 | Shimizu et al. | May 2003 | A1 |
| 20030093591 | Hohl | May 2003 | A1 |
| 20030096650 | Eguchi et al. | May 2003 | A1 |
| 20030100363 | Ali | May 2003 | A1 |
| 20030123705 | Stam et al. | Jul 2003 | A1 |
| 20030128187 | Strubbe | Jul 2003 | A1 |
| 20030160862 | Charlier et al. | Aug 2003 | A1 |
| 20030169233 | Hansen | Sep 2003 | A1 |
| 20030193572 | Wilson et al. | Oct 2003 | A1 |
| 20030232649 | Gizis et al. | Dec 2003 | A1 |
| 20040001082 | Said | Jan 2004 | A1 |
| 20040017355 | Shim | Jan 2004 | A1 |
| 20040023736 | Cardinale | Feb 2004 | A1 |
| 20040029640 | Masuyama et al. | Feb 2004 | A1 |
| 20040035925 | Wu et al. | Feb 2004 | A1 |
| 20040046736 | Pryor et al. | Mar 2004 | A1 |
| 20040047464 | Yu et al. | Mar 2004 | A1 |
| 20040054512 | Kim et al. | Mar 2004 | A1 |
| 20040063480 | Wang | Apr 2004 | A1 |
| 20040063481 | Wang | Apr 2004 | A1 |
| 20040063502 | Hussaini et al. | Apr 2004 | A1 |
| 20040070564 | Dawson et al. | Apr 2004 | A1 |
| 20040070565 | Nayar et al. | Apr 2004 | A1 |
| 20040087366 | Shum et al. | May 2004 | A1 |
| 20040095327 | Lo | May 2004 | A1 |
| 20040104891 | Sacca et al. | Jun 2004 | A1 |
| 20040140955 | Metz | Jul 2004 | A1 |
| 20040150728 | Ogino | Aug 2004 | A1 |
| 20040155962 | Marks | Aug 2004 | A1 |
| 20040174473 | Cavanaugh et al. | Sep 2004 | A1 |
| 20040178576 | Hillis et al. | Sep 2004 | A1 |
| 20040180720 | Nashi et al. | Sep 2004 | A1 |
| 20040189720 | Wilson et al. | Sep 2004 | A1 |
| 20040204240 | Barney | Oct 2004 | A1 |
| 20040207597 | Marks | Oct 2004 | A1 |
| 20040212589 | Hall et al. | Oct 2004 | A1 |
| 20040213419 | Varma et al. | Oct 2004 | A1 |
| 20040222970 | Martinez et al. | Nov 2004 | A1 |
| 20040227725 | Calarco et al. | Nov 2004 | A1 |
| 20040239670 | Marks | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20040240542 | Yeredor et al. | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20040254017 | Cheng | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20040266528 | Wang | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20050026684 | Sumi et al. | Feb 2005 | A1 |
| 20050037844 | Shum et al. | Feb 2005 | A1 |
| 20050047611 | Mao | Mar 2005 | A1 |
| 20050059488 | Larsen | Mar 2005 | A1 |
| 20050064936 | Pryor | Mar 2005 | A1 |
| 20050075167 | Beaulieu et al. | Apr 2005 | A1 |
| 20050085298 | Woolston | Apr 2005 | A1 |
| 20050088369 | Yoshioka | Apr 2005 | A1 |
| 20050102374 | Moragne et al. | May 2005 | A1 |
| 20050105777 | Koslowski et al. | May 2005 | A1 |
| 20050117045 | Abdellatif et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
| 20050157204 | Marks | Jul 2005 | A1 |
| 20050162384 | Yokoyama | Jul 2005 | A1 |
| 20050162385 | Yokoyama | Jul 2005 | A1 |
| 20050174324 | Liberty et al. | Aug 2005 | A1 |
| 20050181878 | Danieli et al. | Aug 2005 | A1 |
| 20050198095 | Du et al. | Sep 2005 | A1 |
| 20050215320 | Koay et al. | Sep 2005 | A1 |
| 20050226431 | Mao | Oct 2005 | A1 |
| 20050239548 | Ueshima et al. | Oct 2005 | A1 |
| 20050282603 | Parrott et al. | Dec 2005 | A1 |
| 20060025229 | Mahajan et al. | Feb 2006 | A1 |
| 20060033713 | Pryor | Feb 2006 | A1 |
| 20060035710 | Festejo et al. | Feb 2006 | A1 |
| 20060038819 | Festejo et al. | Feb 2006 | A1 |
| 20060126900 | Mihara et al. | Jun 2006 | A1 |
| 20060139322 | Marks | Jun 2006 | A1 |
| 20060143571 | Chan | Jun 2006 | A1 |
| 20060166738 | Eyestone et al. | Jul 2006 | A1 |
| 20060183546 | Addington et al. | Aug 2006 | A1 |
| 20060204012 | Marks | Sep 2006 | A1 |
| 20060227211 | Kotake et al. | Oct 2006 | A1 |
| 20060233389 | Mao | Oct 2006 | A1 |
| 20060239471 | Mao | Oct 2006 | A1 |
| 20060252474 | Zalewski | Nov 2006 | A1 |
| 20060252475 | Zalewski | Nov 2006 | A1 |
| 20060252477 | Zalewski | Nov 2006 | A1 |
| 20060252541 | Zalewski | Nov 2006 | A1 |
| 20060252543 | Van Noland et al. | Nov 2006 | A1 |
| 20060256081 | Zalewski | Nov 2006 | A1 |
| 20060264258 | Zalewski | Nov 2006 | A1 |
| 20060264259 | Zalewski | Nov 2006 | A1 |
| 20060264260 | Zalewski | Nov 2006 | A1 |
| 20060269072 | Mao | Nov 2006 | A1 |
| 20060269073 | Mao | Nov 2006 | A1 |
| 20060274032 | Mao et al. | Dec 2006 | A1 |
| 20060274911 | Mao | Dec 2006 | A1 |
| 20060277571 | Marks | Dec 2006 | A1 |
| 20060280312 | Mao | Dec 2006 | A1 |
| 20060281550 | Schena | Dec 2006 | A1 |
| 20060282873 | Zalewski | Dec 2006 | A1 |
| 20060287084 | Mao | Dec 2006 | A1 |
| 20060287085 | Mao | Dec 2006 | A1 |
| 20060287087 | Zalewski | Dec 2006 | A1 |
| 20070015558 | Zalewski | Jan 2007 | A1 |
| 20070015559 | Zalewski | Jan 2007 | A1 |
| 20070021208 | Mao | Jan 2007 | A1 |
| 20070025562 | Zalewski | Feb 2007 | A1 |
| 20070060336 | Marks et al. | Mar 2007 | A1 |
| 20070061413 | Larsen | Mar 2007 | A1 |
| 20070066394 | Ikeda et al. | Mar 2007 | A1 |
| 20070072675 | Hammano et al. | Mar 2007 | A1 |
| 20070120834 | Boillot | May 2007 | A1 |
| 20070120996 | Boillot | May 2007 | A1 |
| 20070260340 | Mao et al. | Nov 2007 | A1 |
| 20070260517 | Zalewski et al. | Nov 2007 | A1 |
| 20070261077 | Zalewski et al. | Nov 2007 | A1 |
| 20070270215 | Miyamoto et al. | Nov 2007 | A1 |
| 20070270217 | Rabin | Nov 2007 | A1 |
| 20070293317 | Sato et al. | Dec 2007 | A1 |
| 20080056561 | Sawachi | Mar 2008 | A1 |
| 20080070684 | Haigh-Hutchinson | Mar 2008 | A1 |
| 20080091421 | Gustavsson | Apr 2008 | A1 |
| 20080208613 | Scibora | Aug 2008 | A1 |
| 20090010494 | Bechtel et al. | Jan 2009 | A1 |
| 20090016642 | Hart | Jan 2009 | A1 |
| 20090067291 | Atsmon et al. | Mar 2009 | A1 |
| 20090118012 | Sternberg | May 2009 | A1 |
| 20090221368 | Yen et al. | Sep 2009 | A1 |
| 20090221374 | Yen et al. | Sep 2009 | A1 |
| 20090288064 | Yen et al. | Nov 2009 | A1 |
| 20100004896 | Yen et al. | Jan 2010 | A1 |
| 20100137064 | Shum et al. | Jun 2010 | A1 |
| 20110074669 | Marks et al. | Mar 2011 | A1 |
| 20110077082 | Marks et al. | Mar 2011 | A1 |
| 20110118021 | Zalewski et al. | May 2011 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 0353200 | Jan 1990 | EP |
| 1098686 | May 1999 | EP |
| 1176559 | Jan 2002 | EP |
| 1402929 | Mar 2004 | EP |
| 1435258 | Sep 2004 | EP |
| 1553486 | Jul 2005 | EP |
| 1449358 | Feb 2011 | EP |
| 0750202 | May 1998 | FR |
| 2780176 | Jun 1998 | FR |
| 0867798 | Sep 1998 | FR |
| 0613294 | Oct 1998 | FR |
| 1074934 | Feb 2001 | FR |
| 1180384 | Feb 2002 | FR |
| 2814965 | Apr 2002 | FR |
| 1206950 | May 2002 | FR |
| 0652686 | Aug 2002 | FR |
| 1279425 | Jan 2003 | FR |
| 1306112 | May 2003 | FR |
| 0869458 | Jul 2003 | FR |
| 1335338 | Aug 2003 | FR |
| 1358918 | Nov 2003 | FR |
| 1411461 | Apr 2004 | FR |
| 2832892 | Apr 2004 | FR |
| 0835676 | Oct 2004 | FR |
| 0823683 | Jul 2005 | FR |
| 1489596 | Sep 2006 | FR |
| 1033882 | Sep 2009 | FR |
| 2206716 | Jan 1989 | GB |
| 2376397 | Dec 2002 | GB |
| 2388418 | Dec 2003 | GB |
| 1138949 | May 1989 | JP |
| 1284897 | Nov 1989 | JP |
| 6102980 | Dec 1994 | JP |
| 9128141 | May 1997 | JP |
| 9185456 | Jul 1997 | JP |
| 9-265346 | Oct 1997 | JP |
| 2000-123186 | Apr 2000 | JP |
| 2000172431 | Jun 2000 | JP |
| 2000-259340 | Sep 2000 | JP |
| 2000259856 | Sep 2000 | JP |
| 2000350859 | Dec 2000 | JP |
| 2001166676 | Jun 2001 | JP |
| 2002306846 | Oct 2002 | JP |
| 2002320773 | Nov 2002 | JP |
| 2002369969 | Dec 2002 | JP |
| 2003135851 | May 2003 | JP |
| 2004145448 | May 2004 | JP |
| 2005046422 | Feb 2005 | JP |
| 2011-045780 | Mar 2011 | JP |
| 8805942 | Aug 1988 | WO |
| 9848571 | Apr 1997 | WO |
| 9935633 | Jan 1999 | WO |
| 9926198 | May 1999 | WO |
| 9926198 | Oct 1999 | WO |
| 0118563 | Mar 2001 | WO |
| 0227456 | Feb 2002 | WO |
| 02052496 | Jul 2002 | WO |
| 03079179 | Sep 2003 | WO |
| 2004073814 | Sep 2004 | WO |
| 2004073815 | Sep 2004 | WO |
| 2005073838 | Aug 2005 | WO |
| 2005107911 | Nov 2005 | WO |
| 2005113086 | Dec 2005 | WO |
| 2006121896 | Nov 2006 | WO |
| 2007095082 | Aug 2007 | WO |
| 2008056180 | May 2008 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20060287086 A1 | Dec 2006 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60718145 | Sep 2005 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 11381729 | May 2006 | US |
| Child | 11382037 | US | |
| Parent | 11381728 | May 2006 | US |
| Child | 11381729 | US | |
| Parent | 11381727 | May 2006 | US |
| Child | 11381728 | US | |
| Parent | 11381725 | May 2006 | US |
| Child | 11381727 | US | |
| Parent | 11381724 | May 2006 | US |
| Child | 11381725 | US | |
| Parent | 11381721 | May 2006 | US |
| Child | 11381724 | US | |
| Parent | 11301673 | Dec 2005 | US |
| Child | 11381721 | US | |
| Parent | 10820469 | Apr 2004 | US |
| Child | 11301673 | US | |
| Parent | 10759782 | Jan 2004 | US |
| Child | 10820469 | US | |
| Parent | 10663236 | Sep 2003 | US |
| Child | 10759782 | US | |
| Parent | 10650409 | Aug 2003 | US |
| Child | 10663236 | US | |
| Parent | 10207677 | Jul 2002 | US |
| Child | 10650409 | US |
