1. A stencil printer for printing viscous material on a substrate, the stencil printer comprising:
a frame;
a stencil coupled to the frame;
a substrate support coupled to the frame to support a substrate in a print position;
a print head, coupled to the frame, to deposit and print viscous material over the stencil, the print head comprising
a squeegee assembly comprising at least one squeegee blade and a squeegee blade movement mechanism configured to move the at least one squeegee blade from a raised position in which the at least one squeegee blade is spaced from stencil and a lowered position in which the at least one squeegee blade engages and applies a force on the stencil, and
a device to detect a first reference point associated with a first force of the at least one squeegee blade against the stencil and a second reference point associated with a second force of the at least one squeegee blade against the stencil when moving the at least one squeegee blade to the lowered position; and
a controller coupled to at least the print head, the controller being configured to control the operation of the stencil printer, the controller further being configured to (a) determine a calibrated position for each of the first and second force values and (b) calculate and apply a desired print force based upon the calibrated positions of first and second force values and actual positions of the first and second force values as detected by the device with the at least one squeegee blade in place.
2. The stencil printer of claim 1, wherein the squeegee blade movement mechanism comprises a first movable member coupled to the frame of the stencil printer and a second movable member coupled to the first movable member and to the at least one squeegee blade.
3. The stencil printer of claim 2, wherein the squeegee blade movement mechanism further comprises a lead screw housed by the frame of the stencil printer and a lead nut secured to the first movable member and threadably engaged with the lead screw to move the first and second movable members so as to move the at least one squeegee blade between the raised and lowered positions.
4. The stencil printer of claim 3, wherein the squeegee blade movement mechanism further comprises a compression spring disposed around the lead screw to provide a resistance force between the first movable member and the second movable member, the arrangement being such that when moving the at least one squeegee blade to the lowered position against the stencil, the second movable member moves toward the first movable member against the resistance of the compression spring.
5. The stencil printer of claim 4, wherein the second movable member includes a squeegee blade holder to secure the at least one squeegee blade to the second movable member.
6. The stencil printer of claim 4, wherein the device comprises a flag secured to one of the first movable member and the second movable member and a sensor secured to the other of the first movable member and the second movable member, the sensor being configured to detect at least two features of the flag when moving the at least one squeegee blade to a position of an applied force from the lowered position.
7. The stencil printer of claim 6, wherein the first and second reference points are associated with the at least two features of the flag.
8. The stencil printer of claim 7, further comprising a gauge, which replaces the at least one squeegee blade, to measure the force of the gauge against the stencil.
9. The stencil printer of claim 8, wherein the gauge is configured to measure a simulated force of the at least one squeegee blade against the stencil when the first reference point of the flag is detected by the sensor and when the second reference point of the flag is detected by the sensor.
10. A stencil printer for printing viscous material on a substrate, the stencil printer comprising:
a frame;
a stencil coupled to the frame;
a substrate support coupled to the frame to support a substrate in a print position;
a print head, coupled to the frame, to deposit and print viscous material over the stencil, the print head comprising
at least one squeegee blade,
a first movable member coupled to the frame of the stencil printer,
a second movable member coupled to the first movable member and to the at least one squeegee blade, the first and second movable members being configured to move the at least one squeegee blade from a raised position in which the at least one squeegee blade is spaced from stencil and a lowered position in which the at least one squeegee blade engages and applies a force on the stencil,
a flag secured to one of the first movable member and the second movable member, and
a sensor secured to the other of the first movable member and the second movable member, the sensor being configured to detect the flag when moving the at least one squeegee blade, the flag and sensor being configured to detect a first reference point associated with a first force of the at least one squeegee blade against the stencil and a second reference point associated with a second force of the at least one squeegee blade against the stencil when moving the at least one squeegee blade to the lowered position; and
a controller coupled to at least the print head, the controller being configured to control the operation of the stencil printer, the controller further being configured to (a) determine a calibrated position for each of the first and second force values and (b) calculate and apply a desired print force based upon the calibrated positions of first and second force values and actual positions of the first and second force values as detected by the flag and sensor with the at least one squeegee blade in place.
11. The stencil printer of claim 10, wherein the print head further comprises a lead screw housed by the frame of the stencil printer and a lead nut secured to the first movable member and threadably engaged with the lead screw to move the first and second movable members so as to move the at least one squeegee blade between the raised and lowered positions.
12. The stencil printer of claim 11, wherein the print head further comprises a compression spring disposed around the lead screw to provide a resistance force between the first movable member and the second movable member.
13. The stencil printer of claim 12, wherein the second movable member includes a squeegee blade holder to secure the at least one squeegee blade to the second movable member.
14. The stencil printer of claim 12, wherein the device comprises a flag secured to the second movable member and a sensor secured to the first movable member, the sensor being configured to detect at least two features of the flag when moving the second movable member toward the first movable member.
15. The stencil printer of claim 14, wherein the first and second reference points are associated with the at least two features of the flag.
16. The stencil printer of claim 15, further comprising a gauge, which replaces the at least one squeegee blade, to measure the force of the gauge against the stencil.
17. The stencil printer of claim 16, wherein the gauge is configured to measure a simulated force of the at least one squeegee blade against the stencil when the first reference point of the flag is detected by the sensor and when the second reference point of the flag is detected by the sensor.
18. A print head to deposit and print viscous material over the stencil, the print head comprising:
a frame;
at least one squeegee blade;
a first movable member coupled to the frame;
a second movable member coupled to the first movable member and to the at least one squeegee blade, the first and second movable members being configured to move the at least one squeegee blade from a raised position in which the at least one squeegee blade is spaced from stencil and a lowered position in which the at least one squeegee blade engages and applies a force on the stencil;
a flag secured to one of the first movable member and the second movable member;
a sensor secured to the other of the first movable member and the second movable member, the sensor being configured to detect the flag when moving the at least one squeegee blade, the flag and sensor being configured to detect a first reference point associated with a first force of the at least one squeegee blade against the stencil and a second reference point associated with a second force of the at least one squeegee blade against the stencil when moving the at least one squeegee blade to the lowered position; and
a controller coupled to the print head, the controller being configured to (a) determine a calibrated position for each of the first and second force values and (b) calculate and apply a desired print force based upon the calibrated positions of first and second force values and actual positions of the first and second force values as detected by the flag and sensor with the at least one squeegee blade in place.
19. The print head of claim 18, wherein the print head further comprises a lead screw housed by the frame of the stencil printer and a lead nut secured to the first movable member and threadably engaged with the lead screw to move the first and second movable members so as to move the at least one squeegee blade between the raised and lowered positions.
20. The print head of claim 19, wherein the print head further comprises a compression spring disposed around the lead screw to provide a resistance force between the first movable member and the second movable member.
21. The print head of claim 20, wherein the second movable member includes a squeegee blade holder to secure the at least one squeegee blade to the second movable member.
22. The print head of claim 20, wherein the device comprises a flag secured to the second movable member and a sensor secured to the first movable member, the sensor being configured to detect the flag when moving the at least one squeegee blade to the lowered position.
23. The print head of claim 22, wherein the first and second reference points are associated with at least two features of the flag.
24. The print head of claim 23, further comprising a gauge, which replaces the at least one squeegee blade, to measure the force of the gauge against the stencil.
25. The print head of claim 24, wherein the gauge is configured to measure a simulated force of the at least one squeegee blade against the stencil when the first reference point of the flag is detected by the sensor and when the second reference point of the flag is detected by the sensor.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An automated video editing system for real-time generation of game show output video streams, comprising steps for:
predefining a set of possible scenes for a game show;
receiving one or more real-time input video streams of one or more game show participants;
providing one or more video clips of a game show host;
determining a subset of one or more scenes from the set of possible scenes that are appropriate for a current stage of the game show;
partitioning one or more of the input video streams into one or more possible candidate shots corresponding to the subset of appropriate scenes;
evaluating the possible candidate shots to identify a current best scene from the subset of appropriate scenes;
constructing the current best scene from any one or more of the corresponding possible candidate shots and the video clips of the game show host; and
outputting the constructed current best scene for real-time playback of a current scene of the game show output video stream.
2. The automated video editing system of claim 1 wherein the video clips of the game show host are pre-recorded scripted scenes of the game show host.
3. The automated video editing system of claim 1 wherein the video clips of the game show host are real-time videos of the game show host.
4. The automated video editing system of claim 1 wherein constructing the best scene further includes one or more pre-recorded audience reaction video clips in the constructed best scene.
5. The automated video editing system of claim 1 wherein constructing the best scene further includes one or more real-time live audience reaction video streams in the constructed best scene.
6. The automated video editing system of claim 1 wherein types of possible candidate shots include any one or more of:
a close-up of any of the participants;
a close-up of the game show host;
a reaction-shot of any of the participants;
a reaction shot of the game show host;
a pan shot from any of the participants and host to any other of the participants and host; and
an inset shot, showing any one or more participants and the host in scaled insets overlaid on top of a larger shot of any one of the participants and the host.
7. The automated video editing system of claim 1 wherein the predefined set of possible scenes for the game show include any one or more of:
a new participant joining the game show;
a participant responding to a comment from another participant;
a participant responding to a comment from the game show host;
a participant about to beat another participants score;
a participant correctly answering a question;
a participant making a mistake; and
audience reactions to any possible scene.
8. The automated video editing system of claim 1 wherein constructing the current best scene further comprises segmenting portions of one or more video frames of the corresponding candidate shots and video clips and applying one or more of: digital video cropping, overlays, insets, digital zooms, and predefined backgrounds, to construct the current best scene for real-time playback.
9. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for implementing the automated video editing system of claim 1.
10. A method for generating an edited output video stream for real-time viewing by one or more participants in a television-style game show, comprising using a computing device to:
receive one or more input video streams of one or more game show participants;
receive one or more input video streams of a game show host;
locate each person in each input video stream by bounding unique regions in each video stream corresponding to one or more of the located people;
determine a subset of one or more scenes from a set of predefined scenes that are appropriate for a current stage of the game show;
partition one or more of the input video streams into one or more possible candidate shots corresponding to the subset of appropriate scenes, and relative to the bounded regions in each video stream;
evaluate the possible candidate shots to identify a current best scene from the subset of appropriate scenes; and
construct the current best scene from the corresponding possible candidate shots in real-time while providing the constructed scene as an output video stream for real-time playback and viewing.
11. The method of claim 10 further comprising providing the real-time playback of the constructed scene to a plurality of third party observers.
12. The method of claim 10 further comprising recording the real-time playback of each constructed scene for non-real-time playback of the television-style game show.
13. The method of claim 10 wherein identification of the current best scene further comprises evaluating a set of predefined cinematic rules with respect to the corresponding possible candidate shots.
14. The method of claim 10 wherein the cinematic rules define desired shot criteria including one or more of:
an approximate preferred frequency of particular shot types;
a limitation of shot type repetition; and
a preferred shot sequence.
15. The method of claim 10 wherein constructing the current best scene comprises mapping one or more of the corresponding possible candidate shots to the output video stream using any combination of shot translations, scales, warps, insets, overlays, and predefined backgrounds.
16. The method of claim 10 wherein constructing the current best scene further comprises mapping one or more text labels to one or more positions within the output video stream.
17. A computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions for automatically generating at least one output video stream for playback and viewing by participants in a real-time television-style game show, said computer executable instructions comprising:
examining one or more input video streams of participants in the game show to detect and bound faces of the participants in the input video streams;
identifying a set of possible candidate shots from each input video stream as a function of the bounded faces and a determination of whether any of the participants are speaking;
identify a set of set of possible scenes, which can be constructed from the possible candidate shots, that are appropriate for a current stage of the game show;
evaluating the set of possible scenes to identify a best current scene for the current stage of the game show as a function of a predefined set of cinematic rules; and
constructing the best scene, and providing simultaneous real-time playback of an output video stream of the constructed best scene, from the corresponding possible candidate shots.
18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein constructing the best scene further comprises including one or more shots of a game show host in the constructed best scene.
19. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein constructing the best scene further comprises including one or more shots of an audience reaction in the constructed best scene.
20. The computer-readable medium of claim 16 wherein constructing the best scene further includes segmenting portions of one or more frames of the corresponding possible candidate shots and applying one or more of: digital video cropping, overlays, insets, digital zooms, predefined backgrounds, scalings, translations, warps, and mapped text labels to construct the output video streams.