Bizarre Patents
Smoking Cessation Lighter and Method
A lighter for tobacco products suppresses the urge to smoke by operant conditioning.
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8094818 | Method to synthesize video copy protection signals A method and apparatus for defeating copy protection signals in a video signal, and also for providing copy protection signals for a video signal, is disclosed. The defeat technique generally utilizes a particular pulse position shifting, modulation, etc., of AGC, n... | 01/10/2012 |
| 7706533 | Copy protection for video signal using narrowed horizontal synchronization signals Enhancements to a video anticopying process that causes an abnormally low amplitude video signal to be recorded on an illegal copy. The enhancements in one version introduce into the overscan portion of the television picture, just prior to the horizontal or vertica... | 04/27/2010 |
| 7620181 | Communications system with minimum error cryptographic resynchronization A synchronized communications system permits resynchronization in late-entry or fade-recovery conditions. A plurality of communications devices are operative for communicating in a synchronized, encrypted communications channel between each other. At least one of th... | 11/17/2009 |
| 7492896 | Copy protection for video signal using added negative amplitude pulse Enhancements to a video anticopying process that causes an abnormally low amplitude video signal to be recorded on an illegal copy. The enhancements in one version introduce into the overscan portion of the television picture, just prior to the horizontal or vertica... | 02/17/2009 |
| 7430585 | Secure processing unit systems and methods A hardware Secure Processing Unit (SPU) is described that can perform both security functions and other information appliance functions using the same set of hardware resources. Because the additional hardware required to support security functions is a relatively s... | 09/30/2008 |
| 7403619 | Interface module and decoder for host The present invention relates to an interface module for a host (2) such as a digital television decoder, permitting the processing of information coming from the host (2) in a conditioned manner subject to a conditional access system (11), comp... | 07/22/2008 |
| 7352864 | Display device A display device comprises a nonvolatile memory for storing an amount of adjustment obtained in a blanking adjustment most recently performed for a particular video signal, means for judging whether or not the particular video signal is inputted, means for masking a... | 04/01/2008 |
| 7340778 | Method and apparatus for ensuring the copy protection of digital data When digital data is to be copy protected at a processing station, for example, prior to its encoding and recording onto an optical disc, it is necessary to control a compliant encoder to utilise copy protection files to perform the copy protection routine. To ensur... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7239702 | Information recording/reproducing device Contents data that have been enciphered and transmitted are recorded as they are on a recording medium, and the contents key used to encipher these data is enciphered in a way used in this recording system and is recorded on the medium. Moreover, a step is taken to ... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7155016 | Communication device and method for using non-self-synchronizing scrambling in a communication system A communication device for use in a non-self synchronizing scrambling (NS3) communication system and a method for using NS3 in a communication system are disclosed. A digital data stream is scrambled by modifying the digital data stream based on a pseudo-noise seque... | 12/26/2006 |
| 7134134 | Electronic program guide hardware card An electronic program guide (EPG) hardware card is disclosed. The card is insertable into a television tuning device having EPG capability. A non-volatile memory, such as flash memory, is situated within a case of the hardware card, and has data stored thereon repre... | 11/07/2006 |
| 7110042 | Synchronization signal decoder and associated method The invention relates to a synchronization signal decoder and associated method for improving digital image display. A composite video stream includes a distortion compliant signal and a synchronization signal. A level shift circuit is adapted to shift a voltage lev... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7085380 | Method for modifying a copy protected video signal with a negative amplitude pulse An enhancement is provided for a copy protection method that discourages copying (e.g., by video taping) of video signals. The enhancement adds negative amplitude pulses to the video signal at a location in the horizontal blanking interval “back porch” after the... | 08/01/2006 |
| 7076538 | Method and system for disguising a computer system's identity on a network A method and system are disclosed for substituting an anonymous Universal Unique Identifier (UUID) for a computer system's real UUID in order to disguise an identity of the computer system to an application which is requesting a UUID for the client computer system. ... | 07/11/2006 |
| 7065211 | Signal reproducing/recording/transmitting method and apparatus and signal recording medium A video signal reproduction system for receiving a video signal transmitted via a satellite communication link at a receiving device. A copy permission indicator is inserted in the received video signal. The copy permission indicator is generated on the basis of cop... | 06/20/2006 |
| 7050830 | System with IC card deactivation The device, and a respective system, comprises a microcontroller for signal processing and an interface controller for communicating with an IC card, the interface controller being coupled between the microcontroller and the IC card. According to the invention, the ... | 05/23/2006 |
| 7042879 | Method and apparatus for transferring a communication session Session Inter-Device (SID) mobility networks (50, 100, 150) are described in which a seamless transfer of a communication session from a first device (56. 106, 116) to a second device (66, 116, 166) can be achieved without interrupting the activ... | 05/09/2006 |
| 7043019 | Copy protection for digital motion picture image data An apparatus and method for displaying a copy-deterrent pattern (104) within a digital motion picture in order to discourage recording of the motion picture using a video camera or other sampling recording device. A copy-deterrent pattern (104) could b... | 05/09/2006 |
| 7031685 | Receiver for regenerating a signal wave via digital signal processing Detection output from a detection circuit 17 is converted to digital detection data D1 and supplied to an AGC circuit AGCC and a noise clamping circuit NCC that are formed by digital circuits. In the AGC circuit AGCC, a digital low pass filter 19 | 04/18/2006 |
| 6980653 | Signal reproducing/recording/transmitting method and apparatus and signal record medium A system for providing a copy permission indicator in a video signal. The copy permission indicator is generated on the basis of copy management information that has been appended to the video signal and detected by the system. The indicator is in the form of a mult... | 12/27/2005 |
| 6973022 | Signal processor unit and digital information receiver with detachable card module An attribute reading portion (43) reads attribute information (53, 73, 93, 113) stored in a plurality of second units (5, 7, 9, 11). A connection order deciding portion (45) decides optimum order of a plurality of second units in a daisy-... | 12/06/2005 |
| 6968570 | Universal remote control system A remote control adapted for use with a releasable readable media storage device. A readable media storage device having data and target indicators. Electrical contacts provide releasable connection with the remote control. ... | 11/22/2005 |
| 6944771 | Method and apparatus for overcoming a watermark security system To overcome a watermark security system that is based on a limited set of possible watermark values, a collection of authentic watermarked material is created, and a substitution system provides material from this collection in lieu of the content material that the ... | 09/13/2005 |
| 6944876 | “V-chip” preset criteria Systems, methods and apparatus are provided for allowing a user to supervise personal exposure to a program exhibited by a consumer electronics device, such as a television system. The consumer electronics device includes “V-chip” circuitry that analyzes a signa... | 09/13/2005 |
| 6940561 | Automatic modulation and RF carrier level control of sync suppressed television signals The depth of modulation and the absolute RF carrier level of an amplitude-modulated video signal are automatically adjusted. For adjustment of the depth of modulation, a sync tip of the video signal is sampled, corrected and normalized to a reference level, e.g., a ... | 09/06/2005 |
| 6934522 | Automatic gain control apparatus In an automatic gain control amplifier, an RF automatic gain controller controls the gain of a radio frequency signal. A frequency converter frequency-converts the radio frequency signal into an intermediate frequency signal. An IF automatic gain controller controls... | 08/23/2005 |
| 6836549 | Method and apparatus for synthesizing and reducing the effects of video copy protection signals A method and apparatus for defeating copy protection signals in a video signal, and also for providing copy protection signals for a video signal, is disclosed. The defeat technique generally utilizes a particular pulse position shifting, modulation, etc., of AGC, n... | 12/28/2004 |
| 6731757 | Multichannel digital signal generation method and apparatus A method of and apparatus for digitally generating a broadband signal comprising a plurality of CW or quadrature modulated signals having incrementally related frequencies wherein said plurality of signals are centered about a center RF frequency is disclosed. The i... | 05/04/2004 |
| 6711261 | Enhancing concealment in the presence of fine mistuning for various TV scrambling techniques An improved method and apparatus for maintaining concealment for a scrambled signal when frequency pre-emphasis is used to defeat the scrambling. The pre-emphasis may be synthesized with high pass or peaking circuitry. More commonly however the pre-emphasis is avail... | 03/23/2004 |
| 6633982 | Method and process for managing ultra secure electronic distribution of digital movies to commercial exhibitors A method and system for managing electronic distribution of digital movies to commercial exhibitors at warp speed is made ultra secure by utilizing synchronized and concurrent digitally bifurcated data transmissions via both satellite up-links/downlinks a... | 10/14/2003 |
| 6618484 | Steganographic techniques for securely delivering electronic digital rights management control information over insecure communication channels Electronic steganographic techniques can be used to encode a rights management control signal onto an information signal carried over an insecure communications channel. Steganographic techniques ensure that the digital control information is substantiall... | 09/09/2003 |
| 6594361 | High speed signal processing smart card An access control system for signal processing applications includes an integrated circuit (IC) card, or "smart" card, that provides both security control and data descrambling functions. A security control processor in the smart card IC performs function... | 07/15/2003 |
| 6529600 | Method and device for preventing piracy of video material from theater screens A method and device for preventing video tape piracy of video material shown by an electronic projector by varying frequently the frame rate, line rate or pixel rate of the projector. In a preferred embodiment the frame rate is varied in accordance with a... | 03/04/2003 |
| 6501842 | Method and apparatus for modifying a video signal by back porch lowering Method and apparatus for modifying or reducing effects of signals added to a video signal to permit more unhampered copying and/or viewing thereof. In one version the method and apparatus replace or level shift portions of a video signal to overcome effec... | 12/31/2002 |
| 6477253 | Method and apparatus for television signal scrambling using vertical sync replacement A method and device for scrambling video signals for broadcast in a proprietary television system includes modifying the vertical or horizontal synchronization pulses of the video signal to prevent unauthorized viewers from properly displaying the program... | 11/05/2002 |
| 6459795 | Method and apparatus for enhancing the scrambling of a TV signal via erroneous clamp signals An improved television scrambling signal is achieved by adding erroneous clamp pulses into a television signal after the signal may have been previously scrambled, for example, by prior art position modulated horizontal sync pulses. Prior art scrambling s... | 10/01/2002 |
| 6449367 | Steganographic techniques for securely delivering electronic digital rights management control information over insecure communication channels Electronic steganographic techniques can be used to encode a rights management control signal onto an information signal carried over an insecure communications channel. Steganographic techniques ensure that the digital control information is substantiall... | 09/10/2002 |
| 6424716 | Method and apparatus for improved horizontal and vertical overlay signals for greater concealment in modern TV sets Video signals are scrambled by position modulating or switching between two types of modified horizontal sync pulses. These modified horizontal pulses are modulated or switched at a rate that causes a non-interlaced tearing pattern when viewed by an unaut... | 07/23/2002 |
| 6404889 | Protection of a component video signal A VGA (or other component video signal) output, e.g. from a computer or DVD player, is protected so it is viewable on a VGA monitor. However, if the component video signal is converted to composite video (e.g. television) the resulting television picture ... | 06/11/2002 |
| 6295360 | Method and apparatus to defeat composite video signal protection A VGA (or other component video signal) output, e.g. from a computer or DVD player, is subject to protection so it is viewable on a VGA monitor. If the component video signal is converted to composite video (e.g. television) the resulting television pictu... | 09/25/2001 |
