Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080281996 | Latency Insensitive FIFO Signaling Protocol - Data from a source domain operating at a first data rate is transferred to a FIFO in another domain operating at a different data rate. The FIFO buffers data before transfer to a sink for further processing or storage. A source side counter tracks space available in the FIFO. In disclosed examples, the initial counter value corresponds to FIFO depth. The counter decrements in response to a data ready signal from the source domain, without delay. The counter increments in response to signaling from the sink domain of a read of data off the FIFO. Hence, incrementing is subject to the signaling latency between domains. The source may send one more beat of data when the counter indicates the FIFO is full. The last beat of data is continuously sent from the source until it is indicated that a FIFO position became available; effectively providing one more FIFO position. | 11-13-2008 |
20100146315 | Software Selectable Adjustment of SIMD Parallelism - Selective power control of one or more processing elements matches a degree of parallelism to requirements of a task performed in a highly parallel programmable data processor. For example, when program operations require less than the full width of the data path, a software instruction of the program sets a mode of operation requiring a subset of the parallel processing capacity. At least one parallel processing element, that is not needed, can be shut down to conserve power. At a later time, when the added capacity is needed, execution of another software instruction sets the mode of operation to that of the wider data path, typically the full width, and the mode change reactivates the previously shut-down processing element. | 06-10-2010 |
20110137970 | MODE-BASED MULTIPLY-ADD RECODING FOR DENORMAL OPERANDS - In a denormal support mode, the normalization circuit of a floating-point adder is used to normalize or denormalized the output of a floating-point multiplier. Each floating-point multiply instruction is speculatively converted to a multiply-add instruction, with the addend forced to zero. This preserves the value of the product, while normalizing or denormalizing the product using the floating-point adder's normalization circuit. When the operands to the multiply operation are available, they are inspected. If the operands will not generate an unnormal intermediate product or a denormal final product, the add operation is suppressed, such as by operand-forwarding. Additionally, each non-fused floating-point multiply-add instruction is replaced with a multiply-add instruction having a zero addend, and a floating-point add instruction having the addend of the original multiply-add instruction is inserted into the instruction stream. Upon inspection of the operands, if an unnormal intermediate result or a denormal final result will not occur, the addend may be restored to the multiply-add instruction and the add instruction converted to a NOP. | 06-09-2011 |
20120110037 | Methods and Apparatus for a Read, Merge and Write Register File - Processor systems utilize register files coupled to a processor's memory system and execution units and process various data types that are mixed with single instruction multiple data (SIMD) instructions to improve processor performance. To reduce processor pipeline stalls waiting for dependency operands to be generated and written back to the register file, a method of read, merge, and write is used. An operand partitioned into two or more portions is read from a register file. A value from an execution unit is merged in place of one portion of the two or more portions of the operand to create a merged operand. The merged operand is operated on to generate a merged operand result, and the value is written to the register file. | 05-03-2012 |
20120117358 | Software Selectable Adjustment of SIMD Parallelism - Selective power control of one or more processing elements matches a degree of parallelism to requirements of a task performed in a highly parallel programmable data processor. For example, when program operations require less than the full width of the data path, a software instruction of the program sets a mode of operation requiring a subset of the parallel processing capacity. At least one parallel processing element, that is not needed, can be shut down to conserve power. At a later time, when the added capacity is needed, execution of another software instruction sets the mode of operation to that of the wider data path, typically the full width, and the mode change reactivates the previously shut-down processing element. | 05-10-2012 |
20120204004 | Processor with a Hybrid Instruction Queue - A queuing apparatus having a hierarchy of queues, in one of a number of aspects, is configured to control backpressure between processors in a multiprocessor system. A fetch queue is coupled to an instruction cache and configured to store first instructions for a first processor and second instructions for a second processor in an order fetched from the instruction cache. An in-order queue is coupled to the fetch queue and configured to store the second instructions accepted from the fetch queue in response to a write indication. An out-of-order queue is coupled to the fetch queue and to the in-order queue and configured to store the second instructions accepted from the fetch queue in response to an indication that space is available in the out-of-order queue, wherein the second instructions may be accessed out-of-order with respect to other second instructions executing on different execution pipelines. | 08-09-2012 |
20120204005 | Processor with a Coprocessor having Early Access to Not-Yet Issued Instructions - Apparatus and methods provide early access of instructions. A fetch queue is coupled to an instruction cache and configured to store a mix of processor instructions for a first processor and coprocessor instructions for a second processor. A coprocessor instruction selector is coupled to the fetch queue and configured to copy coprocessor instructions from the fetch queue. A queue is coupled to the coprocessor instruction selector and from which coprocessor instructions are accessed for execution before the coprocessor instruction is issued to the first processor. Execution of the copied coprocessor instruction is started in the coprocessor before the coprocessor instruction is issued to a processor. The execution of the copied coprocessor instruction is completed based on information received from the processor after the coprocessor instruction has been issued to the processor. | 08-09-2012 |
20120204008 | Processor with a Hybrid Instruction Queue with Instruction Elaboration Between Sections - Methods and apparatus for processing instructions by elaboration of instructions prior to issuing the instructions for execution are described. An instruction is received at a hybrid instruction queue comprised of a first queue and a second queue. When the second queue has available space, the instruction is elaborated to expand one or more bit fields to reduce decoding complexity when the elaborated instruction is issued, wherein the elaborated instruction is stored in the second queue. When the second queue does not have available space, the instruction is stored in an unelaborated form in a first queue. The first queue is configured as an exemplary in-order queue and the second queue is configured as an exemplary out-of-order queue. | 08-09-2012 |
20130173886 | Processor with Hazard Tracking Employing Register Range Compares - Systems and methods for tracking data hazards in a processor. The processor comprises a pipelined architecture configured to execute a first instruction and a second instruction, wherein the second instruction is older than the first instruction. At least one of the first and second instructions comprises at least one operand expressed as a range of registers. Hazard detection logic is configured to compare the first instruction and the second instruction to determine if there is a data hazard, prior to expanding the second instruction. | 07-04-2013 |
20130218938 | FLOATING-POINT ADDER WITH OPERAND SHIFTING BASED ON A PREDICTED EXPONENT DIFFERENCE - Provided are a floating-point adder and methods for implementing a floating-point adder with operand shifting based on a predicted exponent difference when performing an effective subtraction on normal or subnormal numbers. In an aspect, two least significant bits (LSBs) of a first floating-point operand's exponent are compared with two LSBs of a second floating-point operand's exponent to estimate a difference between the two exponents. A first shift of up to one of the first and the second operands is performed, based on the estimated difference. A prospective result is then produced by subtracting the first operand and the second operand. Contemporaneously, one of the first operand's exponent and the second operand's exponent is subtracted from the other of the first operand's exponent and the second operand's exponent to determine if the exponents actually differ by one or less. If the first operand's exponent and the second operand's exponent differ by one or less, the prospective result is provided as the raw difference of the operands. | 08-22-2013 |
20140281405 | OPTIMIZING PERFORMANCE FOR CONTEXT-DEPENDENT INSTRUCTIONS - A processor includes a queue for storing instructions processed within the context of a current value of a register field, where for some embodiments the instruction is undefined or defined, depending upon the register field at time of processing. After a write instruction (an instruction that writes to the register field) executes, the queue is searched for any entries that contain instructions that depend upon the executed write instruction. Each such entry stores the value of the register field at the time the instruction in the entry was processed. If such an entry is found in the queue and its stored value of the register field does not match the value that the write instruction wrote to the register field, then the processor flushes the pipeline and restarts at a state so as to correctly execute the instruction. | 09-18-2014 |
20150019843 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SELECTIVE RENAMING IN A MICROPROCESSOR - A method and apparatus for allowing an out-of-order processor to reuse an in-use physical register is disclosed herein. The method and apparatus uses identifiers, such as tokens and/or other identifiers in a rename map table (RMT) and a physical register file (PRF), to indicate whether an instruction result is allowed or disallowed to be written into a physical register. | 01-15-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100095334 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PURCHASING UPGRADED MEDIA FEATURES FOR PROGRAMMING TRANSMISSIONS - The present invention provides an improved method and apparatus for purchasing media features for programming transmissions. A selection is sent to a server system to buy an upgraded media feature for a programming transmission. The server system automatically coordinates purchasing the media feature from a programming transmission source and providing the media feature from the programming transmission source. In one embodiment, an entertainment system includes a user interface from which a viewer selects an upgraded media feature for a programming transmission, wherein the programming transmission with the upgraded media feature is provided to the entertainment system. | 04-15-2010 |
20100223645 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHANNEL SURFING THROUGH MULTIPLE SOURCES BASED ON USER-DEFINABLE PREFERENCES - A method and apparatus for channel surfing through multiple sources based on user-definable preferences includes accessing a user-definable preferences list that identifies a plurality of channels from a plurality of different sources. One of the plurality of identified channels is selected for provision to a user. | 09-02-2010 |
20130133003 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SELECTING A VERSION OF AN ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM BASED ON USER PREFERENCES - A method and apparatus for selecting a version of an entertainment program based on user preference includes receiving entertainment programming input, identifying multiple available versions of an entertainment program, identifying, for each of the multiple versions, a set of descriptive information regarding the respective version, accessing user preferences, and selecting one of the multiple versions for display based on a comparison of the descriptive information to the user preferences. | 05-23-2013 |
20140040927 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ORDERING ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMS FROM DIFFERENT PROGRAMMING TRANSMISSION SOURCES - The present invention provides an improved method and apparatus for purchasing media features for programming transmissions. A selection is sent to a server system to buy an upgraded media feature for a programming transmission. The server system automatically coordinates purchasing the media feature from a programming transmission source and providing the media feature from the programming transmission source. In one embodiment, an entertainment system includes a user interface from which a viewer selects an upgraded media feature for a programming transmission, wherein the programming transmission with the upgraded media feature is provided to the entertainment system. | 02-06-2014 |
20140075480 | Method and Apparatus for Channel Surfing Through Multiple Sources Based on User-Definable Preferences - A method and apparatus for channel surfing through multiple sources based on user-definable preferences includes accessing a user-definable preferences list that identifies a plurality of channels from a plurality of different sources. One of the plurality of identified channels is selected for provision to a user. | 03-13-2014 |
20140137174 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PURCHASING UPGRADED MEDIA FEATURES FOR PROGRAMMING TRANSMISSIONS - The present invention provides an improved method and apparatus for purchasing media features for programming transmissions. A selection is sent to a server system to buy an upgraded media feature for a programming transmission. The server system automatically coordinates purchasing the media feature from a programming transmission source and providing the media feature from the programming transmission source. In one embodiment, an entertainment system includes a user interface from which a viewer selects an upgraded media feature for a programming transmission, wherein the programming transmission with the upgraded media feature is provided to the entertainment system. | 05-15-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20120236173 | DIGITAL CAMERA USER INTERFACE WHICH ADAPTS TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS - A digital camera having a user interface that automatically adapts to its environment, comprising: an image sensor for capturing a digital image; an optical system for forming an image of a scene onto the image sensor; one or more environmental sensors; a configurable user interface; a data processing system; a storage memory for storing captured images; and a program memory communicatively connected to the data processing system and storing instructions configured to cause the data processing system to implement a method for adaptively configuring the user interface. The stored instructions include: sensing one or more environmental attributes using the environmental sensors; automatically configuring at least one user control element of the user interface in response to the one or more sensed environmental attributes without any user intervention; capturing a digital image of a scene using the image sensor; and storing the captured digital image in the storage memory. | 09-20-2012 |
20120266066 | IMAGE DISPLAY DEVICE PROVIDING SUBJECT-DEPENDENT FEEDBACK - A digital image display device for displaying a collection of digital media assets, comprising: a display screen; a network connection; a user interface for receiving input from a user of the digital image display device; and a program memory. The program memory stores executable instructions for receiving a set of digital media assets and associated metadata using the network connection; displaying a digital media asset on the display screen; identifying a subject depicted in the displayed digital media asset; determining a particular set of feedback message choices responsive to the determined subject; displaying the particular set of feedback message choices on the display screen; receiving input via the user interface to select a particular feedback message choice; and using the network connection to provide the selected feedback message. | 10-18-2012 |
20120266077 | IMAGE DISPLAY DEVICE PROVIDING FEEDBACK MESSAGES - A digital image display device for displaying a collection of digital media assets, comprising: a display screen; a network connection; a user interface; and a program memory. The program memory stores executable instructions for receiving a set of digital media assets and associated metadata using the network connection, wherein each digital media asset is provided by a particular individual using a particular sharing method; displaying a digital media asset on the display screen; identifying a subject depicted in the displayed digital media asset; displaying a set of feedback message choices on the display screen; receiving input via the user interface to select a particular feedback message choice; and using the network connection to provide the selected feedback message to the particular individual who provided the digital media asset using the particular sharing method that was used to provide the displayed digital media asset. | 10-18-2012 |
20120266084 | IMAGE DISPLAY DEVICE PROVIDING INDIVIDUALIZED FEEDBACK - A digital image display device for displaying a collection of digital media assets, comprising: a display screen; a network connection; a user interface for receiving input from a user of the digital image display device; and a program memory. The program memory stores executable instructions for receiving a set of digital media assets and associated metadata using the network connection; displaying a digital media asset on the display screen; determining a particular individual who provided the displayed digital media asset; determining a particular set of feedback message choices responsive to the determined particular individual; displaying the particular set of feedback message choices on the display screen; receiving input via the user interface to select a particular feedback message choice; and using the network connection to provide the selected feedback message to the individual who provided the digital media asset. | 10-18-2012 |
20120287243 | STEREOSCOPIC CAMERA USING ANAGLYPHIC DISPLAY DURING CAPTURE - A digital camera for capturing stereoscopic images, comprising: an image sensor; an optical system; a user interface; a color image display; a data processing system; a buffer memory; a storage memory; and a program memory storing instructions configured to implement a method for capturing stereoscopic images. The method includes: capturing a first digital image of a scene in response to user activation of a user interface element; storing the first digital image; displaying a stream of stereoscopic preview images on the color image display, wherein the stereoscopic preview images are anaglyph stereoscopic images formed by combining the stored first digital image with a stream of evaluation digital images of the scene captured using the image sensor; capturing a second digital image of the scene in response to user activation of a user interface element; and storing a stereoscopic image based on the first digital image and the second digital image. | 11-15-2012 |
20120327252 | GUIDANCE FOR IMAGE CAPTURE AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS - A method for providing guidance to a user as to what images should be captured by the user as the user moves from location to location, comprising receiving a first captured digital image having pixel data captured of a scene at a first location, using a processor to analyze the pixel data of the first captured digital image and determining based on such analysis a second possible image capture location for the user, wherein the second possible image capture location is selected from a plurality of different possible locations, and transmitting guidance to the user over a communications network, the guidance including information concerning a next scene to be captured at the second location. | 12-27-2012 |
20120327257 | PHOTO PRODUCT USING IMAGES FROM DIFFERENT LOCATIONS - A method for providing a photo product, comprising receiving, over a wireless communications network, a plurality of captured images from a wireless capture device taken at different locations along a route, evaluating one or more images taken at different locations according to predetermined criteria and if an image meets such criteria selecting such image so that a predetermined number of images has been selected at least one of which relates to each location; and producing a photo product including the selected images positioned in the photo product in association with prestored information that relates to the respective scenes in the plurality of locations. | 12-27-2012 |
20120327265 | IMAGING DEVICE PROVIDING CAPTURE LOCATION GUIDANCE - An image capture device, comprising an image sensor, an image display, a data processing system; a storage memory and a program memory storing instructions configured to cause the data processing system to provide guidance for capturing images at a plurality of locations, by displaying guidance information for capturing a first digital image at a first location, using the image sensor to capture a first digital image, storing the first digital image in the storage memory, using the data processing system to analyze the pixel data of the first digital image and determining based on such analysis a second possible image capture location, wherein the second possible image capture location is selected from a plurality of different possible locations, displaying guidance information for a capturing a second scene at the second location, using the image sensor to capture a second digital image; and storing the second digital image in the storage memory. | 12-27-2012 |
20130027569 | CAMERA HAVING PROCESSING CUSTOMIZED FOR RECOGNIZED PERSONS - A digital camera system that implements a method for providing image processing customized according to an identified person. The method includes: capturing an input digital image of a scene; analyzing the input digital image using a person recognition algorithm to identify at least one particular person in the input digital image; retrieving image processing preferences associated with one of the identified particular persons; processing the input digital image to form a modified digital image according to the retrieved image processing preferences; and storing the modified digital image in a storage memory. | 01-31-2013 |
20130027571 | CAMERA HAVING PROCESSING CUSTOMIZED FOR IDENTIFIED PERSONS - A digital camera system that implements a method for providing image processing customized according to an identified person. The method includes: capturing an input digital image of a scene; identifying at least one particular person in the input digital image by analyzing signals received from an electronic device associated with the particular person; retrieving image processing preferences, wherein the retrieved image processing preferences are associated with one of the identified particular persons; processing the input digital image to form a modified digital image according to retrieved image processing preferences; and storing the modified digital image in a storage memory. | 01-31-2013 |
20130055079 | DISPLAY DEVICE PROVIDING INDIVIDUALIZED FEEDBACK - A digital image display device comprising: a display screen; a processor; a network connection for receiving digital media assets provided by a plurality of individuals; an image memory; a user interface for receiving input from a user of the digital image display device; and a program memory. The program memory stores instructions to execute the steps of: receiving a digital media asset; displaying the received digital media asset on the display screen; determining the individual who provided the displayed digital media asset; selecting a set of classified feedback message choices responsive to the determined individual; displaying the selected set of feedback message choices, receiving input from the user to select a particular feedback message choice; and providing an indication of the selected feedback message to the individual who provided the displayed digital media asset. | 02-28-2013 |
20130055088 | DISPLAY DEVICE PROVIDING FEEDBACK BASED ON IMAGE CLASSIFICATION - A digital image display device comprising: a display screen; a processor; a network connection for receiving digital media assets provided by a plurality of individuals; an image memory; a user interface for receiving input from a user of the digital image display device; and a program memory. The program memory stores instructions to execute the steps of: receiving a digital media asset; displaying the received digital media asset on the display screen; determining an asset classification for the displayed digital media asset; selecting a set of classified feedback message choices responsive to the determined asset classification; displaying the selected set of feedback message choices, receiving input from the user to select a particular feedback message choice; and providing an indication of the selected feedback message to the individual who provided the displayed digital media asset. | 02-28-2013 |
20130077931 | REMOTELY CONTROLLABLE DIGITAL VIDEO CAMERA SYSTEM - A digital video camera system comprising image capture and recording units. The image capture unit includes an image sensor for capturing a digital video signal, an optical system for forming an image of a scene onto the image sensor, a controllable tilting mechanism for adjusting a pointing direction of the optical system, and a first wireless communication system. The image recording unit includes a second wireless communication system, an image display, a user interface including an orientation sensor, and a program memory storing instructions to implement a method for capturing a digital video sequence in response to user activation of a user control. The method includes wirelessly receiving a digital video signal from the image capture unit, displaying the received digital video signal on the image display, and adjusting the pointing direction of the optical system in response to detecting a change in the orientation of the image recording unit. | 03-28-2013 |
20130077932 | DIGITAL VIDEO CAMERA SYSTEM HAVING TWO MICROPHONES - A digital video camera system comprising image capture and an image recording units. The image capture unit includes an image sensor for capturing a digital video signal, an optical system for forming an image of a scene onto the image sensor, a first microphone, and a first wireless communication system. The image recording unit includes a second wireless communication system, a second microphone, an image display, a user interface including user controls, and a program memory storing instructions to implement a method for capturing a digital video sequence in response to user activation of a user control. The method includes wirelessly receiving a digital video signal from the image capture unit, displaying the received digital video signal on the image display, recording an audio signal from the microphones, and storing the received digital video signal and the recorded audio signal. | 03-28-2013 |
20130191211 | CUSTOMIZING PRINTED PRODUCTS BASED ON TRAVEL PATHS - A method for providing customized printed products at a printing location, including storing a collection of prestored information associated with a plurality of different travel paths, receiving a digital message from a wireless device positioned at a first location, transmitting an offer to provide a printed product at the printing location; determining a travel path between the first capture location and the printing location, selecting particular prestored information responsive to the determined travel path; and providing a customized printed product at the printing location which includes the selected particular prestored information. | 07-25-2013 |
20130307997 | FORMING A MULTIMEDIA PRODUCT USING VIDEO CHAT - A method for forming a composite multimedia product pertaining to a digital image captured of a scene. The method includes sharing the digital image with a remote user, and facilitating a conversation with the remote user across a communication network. A portion of the conversation that is relevant to the shared digital image is automatically extracted and combined with the digital image to form the composite multimedia product. | 11-21-2013 |
20130322707 | PRODUCING PERSONALIZED TEAM PHOTO BOOKS - A method for use in producing a plurality of personalized photo books for members of a team, including storing a plurality of images including at least one group image of the team members and images including individual team members participating in different events, and using a processor to automatically recognize the team members in the plurality of stored images and select a subset of the plurality of stored images for particular members of the team including images associated with at least two different events. | 12-05-2013 |
20140132783 | IMAGING DEVICE PROVIDING CAPTURE LOCATION GUIDANCE - An image capture device, comprising an image sensor, an image display, a data processing system; a storage memory and a program memory storing instructions configured to cause the data processing system to provide guidance for capturing images at a plurality of locations, by displaying guidance information for capturing a first digital image at a first location, using the image sensor to capture a first digital image, storing the first digital image in the storage memory, using the data processing system to analyze the pixel data of the first digital image and determining based on such analysis a second possible image capture location, wherein the second possible image capture location is selected from a plurality of different possible locations, displaying guidance information for a capturing a second scene at the second location, using the image sensor to capture a second digital image; and storing the second digital image in the storage memory. | 05-15-2014 |
20140287779 | SYSTEM, METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PROVIDING PERSONALIZED MOBILE EXPERIENCES AT MULTIPLE LOCATIONS - Disclosed herein are, among other things, systems and methods for providing location-based digital stories to a user of processing a device system, such as a mobile device. In some embodiments, a user profile associated with the user and data indicating a plurality of location-specific digital stories related to a common theme at a plurality of locations may be stored. A processing device system may be configured to determine a current location of the mobile device and to provide a first or second digital story to the mobile device based on an analysis of the stored user profile and the current location. | 09-25-2014 |