Samsung Patents Music Player That Lets You Create Own Riffs

Samsung Patents Music Player That Lets You Create Own RiffsPatents tend to be collected by companies in order to build up their “war chest”, so to speak, as you can never quite tell just when you might have to call upon those patents to help you win a lawsuit sometime down the road. Well, Samsung has recently applied for a rather snazzy patent that depicts a portable music player (does anyone make these dedicated devices any more with the advent of multi-tasking smartphones?) which will feature keys as well as motion detectors that enable it to work as a “musical instrument” of sorts.

In a nutshell, whenever you are tuning in to your favorite tunes, you can also opt to play alongside by pressing the keys located on the side of the device, similar to how you were fingering a guitar’s fretboard. This allows you to change position on the “guitar neck” simply by moving the player back and forth, while there is also a motion detector on the side that is capable of sensing your fingers. Of course, something like this will remain on paper until Samsung decides to actually roll out a physical device capable of such feats. Will that happen anytime soon? Not too likely in our books.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Urbanears Slussen Introduced, R300 Noise-Cancelling Headphones From Ferrari by Logic3,

Samsung receives patent for music player that lets you add your own riffs

Samsung receives patent for music player that lets you add your own riffs

Though patents often never amount to anything, we sincerely hope this wacky one from Samsung does. It’s an approved idea for a portable music player that also contains keys and motion detectors to let it function as a “musical instrument,” too. While listening to that epic jam, you could play along by pressing keys on the side of the device as if you were fingering a guitar’s fretboard. You’d be able to change position on the “guitar neck” by moving the player back and forth, and a motion detector on the side would sense the fingers on your other hand as you strum chords or pluck out a solo. Your GarageBand-style noodling, along with the original music would all blare through a speaker and amp combo on the device, to the amusement / horror of your friends. That’s assuming Samsung ever builds one, of course — but if not, our John Q. Engadget will be the first name on a petition to get it to market.

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Source: USPTO

LG Display drops injunction request on Galaxy Note 10.1, seeks ‘alternative solution’ with Samsung

LG Display drops injunction request on Galaxy Note 101, seeks 'alternative solution'

A patent struggle between LG Display and Samsung Display kicked off late last year when the latter filed a lawsuit claiming its counterpart had stolen technology secrets tied to the production of OLED screens. In turn, LG threatened its own injunctions and the fight was on but now it may be moving towards a resolution. After rumors indicated the two were trying to talk it out a few days ago Samsung Display dropped its injunction request, and now LG has responded in kind. After dropping its request for an injunction preventing the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10.1 in South Korea, LG Display says it is seeking a resolution “through an amicable negotiation” — you can read the official statement in full after the break. With any luck, these two will have hugged it out by the time their latest round of devices are ready to ship, and we can enjoy our HDTVs, phones and tablets in peace.

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LG Display [NYSE: LPL, KRX: 034220], a leading innovator of display technology, announced today that it has withdrawn its request for a preliminary injunction in connection to Galaxy Note 10.1 against Samsung Electronics and Samsung Display from the Seoul Central District Court of Korea.

LG Display seeks to stop the consuming dispute with Samsung and to continue its promotion of fair competition. Based on the firm belief that a patent should be fairly assessed as a product of innovation, LG Display seeks an alternative solution through an amicable negotiation with Samsung to clarify the respective rights and duties of each party and analyze the proper value of the patents.

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BlackBerry granted gesture recognition patent for touch-free image manipulation

BlackBerry granted gesture recognition patent for touchfree image manipulation

If BlackBerry lives to see 2014 (and beyond), it could end up delighting smartphone users with some neat gesture recognition tech. In a recently surfaced patent filing, the company formerly known as RIM outlines a method for selecting onscreen images using hand or finger movements above a display. By synthesizing a combo of images — one taken with IR, the other without — the software would be able to determine the intended area of selection. And just in case there was any doubt this feature would be headed to smartphones and tablets, the docs go on to specify its use within “a mobile communications device, comprising: a digital camera… [and] a cellular subsystem.” So there you have it — you’ll either potentially see this hands-off editing tool pop up in future BB devices or BB simply stands to make a some nice coin in licensing fees.

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Source: USPTO

Allegations of 3G patent infringement leaves HTC devices stuck in German customs

HTC is currently fighting a patent infringement battle in a courtroom in Mannheim, Germany. On Friday the legal team for HTC told the judge presiding over the court that some of its shipments into Germany were being held by customs officers at Frankfurt-Hahn airport. HTC says that the shipments were held by customs officer after a company called IPCom applied for the border seizure of HTC 3G-compatible devices.

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HTC describes IPCom as a patent monetization entity. HTC’s legal team also pointed out that the same company had failed to have HTC devices seized by police last year at the CeBIT trade show in Hanover, Germany. HTC’s legal team points out these two incidences as examples of IPCom’s attempts to force HTC to accept patent licensing terms.

IPCom acquired portfolio of wireless patents from Robert Bosch GmbH, a company that previously built wireless phones and exited the phone market a decade ago. Most of the patents purchased in that deal were declared essential to cellular telecommunications standards, specifically 3G communications. IPCom continues to maintain that HTC had been unwilling to negotiate for licensing terms.

Interestingly, ITCom has been embroiled in a similar lawsuit with Nokia and has yet to successfully enforce an injunction on any products. Foss Patents reports that dozens of the patents IPCom holds have been ruled invalid as granted meaning that they had to be narrowed through amendments. IPCom has also sued German retailers for continuing to sell HTC devices despite it having sent out cease-and-desist orders to the retailers.

[via Foss Patents]


Allegations of 3G patent infringement leaves HTC devices stuck in German customs is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Sony EyePad Patent Filed

Sony EyePad Patent FiledLove ‘em or hate ‘em, patents have proved to be a powerful bargaining chip among companies in recent times, and the more patents a company owns, the better. Sony was seen to have filed for a patent recently for what they described as an “Input device, system and method,” which is otherwise known as the “EyePad”. Yes sir, what sounds pretty ordinary in its description actually has far more than meets the eye, where the flat device that resembles a tablet is said to come with six-axis motion sensors, joystick controls, and illuminated edges which “provide a similar functionality to that of the illuminated ball of the Playstation Move.”

Hmmm, deciphering that would mean it ought to function as a physical surface with touch sensor capability in addition to featuring a motion tracking device to work alongside the EyeToy. Not only that, the patent application also comes with its fair share of references to a pair of stereoscopic cameras “of a type typically found in mobile phones and other compact devices”, where these are located at each end of the touch surface so that one can use the EyePad to create “depth maps”. Will this arrive as a peripheral for the PS3, or perhaps the much anticipated PS4? Time will tell.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Angry Birds Cartoon Series Coming In Spring, Says Rovio , Wedding Entertainment System – wedding invitation like a boss!,

Sony patent application reveals multi-sensor control surface called EyePad, of all things

Sony patent app shows an imaginative multisensor control surface, less imaginative 'EyePad' name

Patents, we love ’em. When else do we get to peek directly into the idea-pantry of big companies like Sony. On the shelf today is this application for an “Input device, system and method,” which as mundane as that sounds, actually appears quite the contrary. The flat, tablet-like illustration is described as having six-axis motion sensors, joystick controls, and illuminated edges that “provide a similar functionality to that of the illuminated ball of the Playstation move.” So, this would work not only as a physical surface (it has touch sensors too), but also as a motion tracking device in conjunction with the EyeToy. That’s not all, though, as there are plenty of references to a pair of stereoscopic cameras “of a type typically found in mobile phones and other compact devices” at each end of the touch surface — allowing it to create depth maps. The result described in the application is an area above the “EyePad” where objects can be recognized, and perhaps incorporated into a game. We’re not making that leap, either, as it’s Sony itself which refers to existing controllers of “systems or entertainment devices such as the PlayStation 3.” Of course it would be a leap to connect it to, say, a forthcoming announcement. While this all sounds really exciting, we can’t help feeling like we’ve heard that product name somewhere before..?

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Via: SlashGear

Source: EPO

Google countersues BT amid “patent troll enabler” claims

Google has sued BT, alleging the UK telecoms company has infringed on four of its patents, with cases filed in both the UK and US amid accusations that BT has been “arming patent trolls” to take on Android. The litigation follows BT’s own lawsuit against Google back in December 2011, the BBC reports, where the comms provider claimed Google Maps, Google+, and other products all infringed on as many as six BT patents.

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The returning salvo concerns four patents around how files are transferred within a network, how internet telephones connect, and how VoIP is prioritized, FOSS Patents reports, and originally came from IBM and Fujitsu before Google acquired them. “BT has brought several meritless patent claims against Google and our customers” the search giant said in a statement, CNET reports, “and they’ve also been arming patent trolls.”

The patent troll reference is in connection to allegations that BT has been equipping front companies to sue multiple Android device manufacturers, including Google-owned Motorola Mobility, by selling them its patents. Google has previously claimed that BT has sold off that IP on the understanding that the new owners file suits against the company’s targets, with BT occasionally getting a slice of any royalties won.

BT, meanwhile, has declined to comment on the new Google suit, though had previously said that it was forced into court action “to recover the just compensation it is owed.” However, according to the BBC report, the telecoms firm had expected to be the target of a countersuit.

Mediation around the existing case will begin in July 2013 at a US court.


Google countersues BT amid “patent troll enabler” claims is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Sony PlayStation EyePad could bring 3D control to the PS4

Sony is experimenting with a tablet-style PlayStation controller, codenamed the EyePad, which would allow dynamic 3D motion control and virtual buttons for gaming and other purposes, according to a 2012 patent filing. The application, spotted by Gamechup, for “Input device, system and method,” describes a “panel, tablet or slab-like device” that would build upon the motion-tracking abilities of the PlayStation Move by creating a virtual interaction area above the slate – using a stereoscopic camera array – within which individual finger, hand, and object movements could be incorporated into gameplay.

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As Sony describes it, the EyePad would be a broad, flat, slimline tablet with illuminated edges. Those lights would be used in a similar way to the Move’s motion-tracking, with the EyeToy camera accessory currently used with the PlayStation 3 relying on the illumination to pinpoint the EyePad in 3D space. Various physical controls could be dotted around the periphery of the fascia, optionally flanking a central touchpad area.

However, actually making physical contact with the touchpad wouldn’t be necessary. Sony envisages a pair of cameras – similar to those you might find in a smartphone – looking out of the tablet, and by using stereoscopic 3D algorithms, capable of tracking the movement of an object or objects in the space above the EyePad.

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That movement could be of a finger, or of a whole hand, or indeed it could be of an object or shape that was held in the space above the EyePad and manipulated. Altogether, then, the peripheral would be able to funnel a vast quantity of data back to the PlayStation over Bluetooth: the absolute position of the EyePad itself in the room; the relative orientation of the EyePad in six axes, gathered from onboard motion sensors; the location of any contact points with the touchpad surface; the appearance/3D shape of objects in the space above the EyePad; and the status of any physical buttons or sticks scattered around the device.

As Sony suggests, the possibilities for utilizing all that data are near-endless. In the EyePets game, for instance, the EyePad could serve as a virtual grooming station: users could hold out the slate for their virtual pet to “jump up” and then, by miming stroking and brushing it, interact more naturally with the on-screen animal. A physical shape – perhaps a toy animal – could als be used to manipulate the on-screen representation; or, the EyePad could allow user avatars to be browsed through and viewed in 3D.

Another idea is a virtual fishtank, or a finger-controlled 3D roller-coaster, or indeed navigating through a point-and-click adventure game. A number of stereoscopic camera pairs, meanwhile, could gather stacked 3D data, allowing the EyePad to track different levels of objects and contact points.

Of course, just because Sony files a patent, it doesn’t mean that the company actually plans to develop the EyePad controller for commercial use. Still, with Microsoft having great success with Kinect – and supposedly planning to emphasize the motion-sensor even more with the Xbox 720 – while Nintendo continues to experiment with ambitious tablet-style motion controller, it wouldn’t surprise us to hear that Sony had similar 3D plans of its own for the upcoming PlayStation 4.

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[via Neogaf]


Sony PlayStation EyePad could bring 3D control to the PS4 is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Red sues Sony over patents, wants disputed F-series cameras ‘destroyed’

Red sues Sony over patents, wants offending Fseries cameras 'destroyed'

We reported that Sony was going “Red hunting” with it’s new F-series pro camcorders, but it looks like Red has flipped that scenario. It’s suing Sony for allegedly violating two of its patents — asking for an injunction to stop sales plus an award for damages, and even that that the F5, F55 and F65 models in question be “delivered up and destroyed.” The Hobbit camera-maker claims the video cams have “resulted in lost sales, reduced the business and profit of Red, and greatly injured the general reputation of Red.” The patents involve Red’s implementation of RAW video, but no details were given as to how it thinks those processes were infringed. Anyway, you can now add high-end video cameras to the growing playbill of patent follies.

[Thanks, Andrea!]

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Via: Sony Alpha Rumors

Source: Scribd.com