Author: claimsbot

1. A method of equalizing the pixels in an array of pixels that include semiconductor devices that age differently under different ambient and stress conditions, said method comprising
extracting at least one pixel parameter from said array;
creating a stress pattern for said array, based on the extracted pixel parameter;
stressing said pixels in accordance with said stress pattern;
extracting said pixel parameter from the stressed pixels;
determining whether the pixel parameter extracted from the stressed pixels is within a preselected range and, when the answer is negative:
creating a second stress pattern for said array, based on the pixel parameter extracted from the stressed pixels;
stressing said pixels in accordance with said second stress pattern;
extracting said pixel parameter from the stressed pixels; and
determining whether the pixel parameter extracted from the stressed pixels is within said preselected range.
2. The method of claim 1 in which, when said answer is positive, said array of pixels is returned to normal operation.
3. A method of equalizing the pixels in an array of pixels that include semiconductor devices that age differently under different ambient and stress conditions, said method comprising
creating a stress history of said pixels during a usage cycle;
extracting at least one pixel parameter from said array after the usage cycle;
creating a stress pattern for said array, based on the extracted pixel parameter and;
stressing said pixels in accordance with said stress pattern;
extracting said pixel parameter from the stressed pixels;
determining whether the pixel parameter extracted from the stressed pixels is within a preselected range and, when the answer is negative:
creating a second stress pattern for said array, based on the pixel parameter extracted from the stressed pixels;
stressing said pixels in accordance with said second stress pattern;
extracting said pixel parameter from the stressed pixels; and
determining whether the pixel parameter extracted from the stressed pixels is within said preselected range.
4. The method of claim 3 in which, when said answer is positive, said array of pixels is returned to normal operation.

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. A differential gear for a multi-axle wheeled vehicle with drive to all axles, comprising
a differential housing (24; DH) which is associated with each wheel pair of the vehicle and is coaxially connected to a respective crown wheel (14; CW) via a connection,
a plurality of differential gears (48, 56: DG), which are rotatably supported in the differential housing (24; DH) and which mesh with a respective drive shaft gear (46, 54; LDSG, RDSG) for a left or a right drive shaft for the wheel pair, the axes of rotation of the drive shaft gears coinciding with the axis of rotation of the crown wheel (14), and
a first, releasable lock (42, 44; C1) between the crown wheel (14) and the one drive shaft,
characterized in that the connection between the crown wheel (14; CW) and the differential housing (24; DH) forms a second, releasable lock (66, 68; C2), and that the differential housing (24; DH) can be connected to a fixed vehicle part (26; FVP) by way of a third releasable lock (74, 76; C3), the second and third locks being designed to be opened and locked alternately with one another.
2. The differential gear as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the second, releasable lock (66; 68) comprises a clutch ring (70), which is connected so that it is rotationally locked and axially displaceable to the differential housing (24), the clutch ring (70) by way of one end side (66) forming a clutch half that can be rotationally locked to the crown wheel (14).
3. The differential gear as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the clutch ring (70), via its other side (68) also forms a clutch half that can be releasably connected to a fixed housing part (26) of the differential gear.
4. The differential gear as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the clutch ring (70) is connected so that it is axially displaceable to the differential housing (24) via a splined connection (72, 73).
5. The differential gear as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that both end sides of the clutch ring (70) are designed with a dog clutch configuration (68, 76) for alternate interaction with a corresponding dog clutch configuration (66) on a first clutch half (64) rotationally locked to the crown wheel (14) and with a corresponding dog clutch configuration (74) on a clutch half connected to the fixed housing part (26).
6. The differential gear as claimed in claim 3, characterized by an operating element (78, 82, 84, 86, 88) for selective axial displacement of the clutch ring (70) engaging and disengaging with the first clutch half (64) rotationally locked to the crown wheel (14).
7. The differential gear as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the operating element (78, 82, 84, 86, 88) is designed to produce a selective axial displacement of the clutch ring (70) for alternate locking engagement with the crown wheel (14) and the fixed housing part (26).
8. The differential gear as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the operating element comprises an annular sleeve (78) which surrounds the clutch ring (70) and is provided with driver elements (82) designed for axial lateral displacement of the clutch ring (70) from an engagement position with the crown wheel (14) to an alternative engagement position with the fixed housing (26), and vice-versa.
9. The differential gear as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that the driver elements comprise slide elements (82), which adjoin a radially projecting rib (80) on the clutch ring (70).
10. The differential gear as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that at least three pin-groove mechanisms (84, 86) are evenly spaced in the circumferential direction between the operating sleeve (78) and the surrounding fixed outer housing (26).
11. The differential gear as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that the pins (86) are guide pins anchored in a fixed part (26) of the differential gear and are designed to engage in slanting guide grooves (84) in the operating sleeve (78).
12. The differential gear as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that at least one tangentially acting drive device (88) is designed to rotate the operating sleeve (78) in the circumferential direction whilst allowing a limited axial movement thereof together with the clutch ring (70) by way of the driver elements (82) and the pin-groove mechanisms (84, 86).
13. The differential gear as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the first releasable lock (42, 44) between the crown wheel (14) and the one drive shaft. comprises a clutch plate (40), which is supported so that it is rotationally locked and axially displaceable on an output shaft (34) in the differential gear, and is designed to be capable of engagement with a second clutch half associated with the crown wheel (14).
14. The differential gear as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that an axially acting drive device is designed to displace the clutch plate (40) supported on the output shaft (34) into and out of an engagement position with the second clutch half associated with the crown wheel (14).
15. The differential gear as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that the first clutch half (64) of the crown wheel (14) is arranged in an outer peripheral part of one side of the crown wheel, whilst the second clutch half thereof is arranged on a radially inner hub part of the other side of the crown wheel.
16. The differential gear as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the differential gears (48, 56) are supported with their axes of rotation parallel to one another and with the output shafts (34, 50) carrying the drive shaft gears (46, 54) for connection to a left or right drive shaft of the vehicle, the differential gears (48, 56) intermeshing in pairs with one another in an axially overlapping relationship at circumferentially separated points around the output shafts (34, 50).
17. The differential gear as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the differential gears (DG) are supported with their axes of rotation at right angles to the output shafts (LDS, RDS) carrying the drive shaft gears (LDSG, RDSG) for a left and right drive shaft of the vehicle, each differential gear (DG) meshing with both of the drive shaft gears (LSDG, RSDG) at circumferentially separated points around the output shafts (LDS, RDS).
18. The differential gear as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the third releasable lock (74, 76; C3) is designed to be kept in the locked position whilst the first lock (42, 44; C1) is in a locked position and the second lock (66, 68, C2) is in the open position, in order to permit rotation of the left and right drive shafts in opposite directions of rotation.
19. A differential gear for a multi-axle, wheeled vehicle with drive to all axles, comprising;
a planetary gear train (DPED) which is associated with each wheel pair of the vehicle and which is coaxially connected to a respective crown wheel (CW) via a connection,
said planetary gear train having a plurality of differential gears in the form of pairs of intermeshing planet wheels (PW1, PW2) at circumferentially separated points and rotatably supported in a planet carrier (PC), in which the one planet wheel (PW1) in each pair also meshes with a surrounding annular wheel (AW) and the other planet wheel (PW2) also meshes with a sun gear (LDSG), the sun gear (LDSG) being designed to be connected to the one drive shaft (LDS) of each wheel pair, whilst the planet carrier (PC) is designed to be connected to the other drive shaft (RDS) of the wheel pair,
and a first, releasable lock (C1) between the crown wheel (CW) and the. one drive shaft (LDS),
characterized in that the crown wheel (CW) can be connected to the surrounding annular wheel (AW) via a second, releasable lock (C2), and that the annular wheel (AW) can be connected to a fixed vehicle part (FVP) via a third, releasable lock (C3), the second and third locks (C2, C3) being designed to be opened and locked alternately with one another.
20. A drivetrain in a multi-axle, wheeled vehicle with drive to all axles for allowing simultaneous rotation of the left and right drive shafts (20a-d, 22a-d; LDS, RDS) of the vehicle in opposite directions of rotation, comprising: cardan shaft sections (18b-d) associated with vehicle wheel pairs, and a pinion (12b-d; CBP), which is associated with each cardan shaft section and which meshes with a crown wheel (14b-d; CW) of a respective differential gear (16b-d), in which each differential gear comprises:
a) a differential housing (24a-d; DH) which is coaxially connected to a respective crown wheel (14a-d; CW) via a connection,
b) a plurality of differential gears (48, 56; DC), which are rotatably supported in the differential housing (24; DH) and which mesh with a respective drive shaft gear (46, 54; LDSG, RDSG) for a left or a right drive shaft of each wheel pair, the axes of rotation of the drive shaft gears being coaxial with the axis of rotation of the crown wheel (14a-d; CW), and
c) first releasable lock (42, 44; C1) between the respective crown wheel and the one drive shaft,
characterized in that the connection between each crown wheel (14a-d; CW) and its associated differential housing (24a-d; DH) forms a second, releasable lock (66, 68; C2), and that the differential housing can be connected to a fixed vehicle part (26; FVP) by way of a third releasable lock (74, 76; C3), the second and third locks being designed to be opened and locked alternately with one another, and the third lock (74,76; C3) being designed to be locked simultaneously with the first lock (42, 44; C1).

What is claimed is:

1. A plasma display module comprises:
a plasma display panel;
driving circuits which drive said plasma display panel; and
a power circuit into which an external alternating current is inputted from outward, said power circuit supplying driving voltages to said driving circuits, and outputting an external source voltage to be used by an external power circuit and a control voltage for controlling operations of an interface board to which source voltages of said interface board are supplied from said external power circuit, and operations of said power circuit being controlled with control signals output by said interface board.
2. A plasma display module according to claim 1, wherein said control signals output by said interface board contain first and second control signals, and said power circuit outputs said control voltage to said interface board when said external alternating current is inputted to said power circuit, outputs said external power voltage to said external power circuit when said first control signal is inputted to said power circuit, and outputs said driving voltages to said driving circuits when said second control signal is inputted to said power circuit.
3. A plasma display module according to claim 1, wherein said driving voltages contain a plurality of voltages having different values, and said power circuit starts up a lowest-value voltage of said plurality of voltages earlier than a highest-value voltage of said plurality of voltages.
4. A plasma display module according to claim 1, wherein said driving voltages contain a plurality of voltages having different values, and said power circuit shuts down a highest-value voltage of said plurality of voltages earlier than a lowest-value voltage of said plurality of voltages.
5. A plasma display module according to claim 1, wherein said driving voltages contain a plurality of voltages having different values, and said power circuit starts up a lowest-value voltage of said plurality of voltages earlier than a highest-value voltage of said plurality of voltages and shuts down said highest-value voltage earlier than said lowest-value voltage.
6. A plasma display module according to claim 2, wherein said driving voltages contain a plurality of voltages having different values, and said power circuit starts up a lowest-value voltage of said plurality of voltages earlier than a highest-value voltage of said plurality of voltages.
7. A plasma display module according to claim 2, wherein said driving voltages contain a plurality of voltages having different values, and said power circuit shuts down a highest-value voltage of said plurality of voltages earlier than a lowest-value voltage of said plurality of voltages.
8. A plasma display module according to claim 2, wherein said driving voltages contain a plurality of voltages having different values, and said power circuit starts up a lowest-value voltage of said plurality of voltages earlier than a highest-value voltage of said plurality of voltages and shuts down said highest-value voltage earlier than said lowest-value voltage.

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. A method comprising:
receiving, at a processor of a media device, an indication of interest in a garment depicted within media content sent to a video display, wherein the media content is television programming, a movie, or a combination thereof;
receiving body measurement input from a body measurement scanner;
determining, at the processor based on the media content, one or more garment identifiers associated with the garment in response to the indication of interest;
after determining the one or more garment identifiers, generating an image representation at the processor, wherein the image representation includes a garment overlay and a viewer representation, wherein the garment overlay at least partially covers the viewer representation, wherein the viewer representation is generated based on the body measurement input, wherein the garment overlay is based at least partially on the one or more garment identifiers and at least partially on the body measurement input, and wherein generating the image representation comprises:
searching a garment database using the one or more garment identifiers to identify a set of potential matches to the garment;
when the set of potential matches conforms to some but not all of the one or more garment identifiers, sending to the video display an indication that the potential matches have similarities to the garment;
prompting the viewer to select a match from the set of potential matches;
receiving a selection of a particular match; and
generating the image representation based at least in part on the particular match.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the searching is conducted without accessing any garment-related metatag information within the media content.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving a second indication of interest in a second garment depicted within media content sent to the video display;
searching the garment database to attempt to identify potential matches to the second garment; and
when no potential matches to the second garment are identified, indicating to the viewer that no potential matches to the second garment are available.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the searching is conducted based on garment-related metatag information within the media content.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the media device is a set-top box device, and wherein the media content is received at the set-top box device via a television network.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to searching the garment database, receiving an image that includes a depiction of the garment within the media content, wherein the one or more garment identifiers are determined based on the image.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the image is captured at a first device that is different from the media device, wherein the first device and the media device are associated with a common viewer account.
8. An apparatus comprising:
a processor, the processor configured to execute instructions to perform operations including:
receiving an indication of interest in a garment depicted by media content displayed at a video display, wherein the media content is television programming, a movie, a special program, or a combination thereof;
receiving body measurement input from a body measurement scanner;
determining, based on the media content, one or more garment identifiers associated with the garment in response to the indication of interest; and
after determining the one or more garment identifiers, generating an image representation including a garment overlay and a viewer representation, the garment overlay at least partially covering the viewer representation, wherein the viewer representation is generated based on the body measurement input, wherein the garment overlay is based at least partially on the one or more garment identifiers and at least partially on the body measurement input, and wherein generating the image representation comprises:
receiving an image that includes a depiction of the garment within the media content, wherein the one or more garment identifiers are determined based on the image, wherein the image is captured at a first device, wherein the image representation is generated at a second device, and wherein the first device and the second device are associated with a common viewer account;
searching a garment identifier database based upon the one or more garment identifiers to generate search results;
sending a display of the search results to the video display as potential matches to the garment; and
receiving a selection of a particular garment representation from the search results.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein at least one of the one or more garment identifiers includes an identifier of a manufacturer of the garment.
10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein at least one of the one or more garment identifiers includes at least one of a model identifier, a color identifier, a shape identifier, a pattern identifier, a print identifier, a cut identifier, and a garment designer identifier.
11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the viewer representation comprises a viewer avatar associated with the viewer, wherein the viewer avatar is generated with proportions based at least in part on the body measurement input.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the viewer avatar is customizable based upon viewer input.
13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the garment is not indicated within the media content as being for sale.
14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the indication of interest is received in response to viewer selection of a try-on button displayed on a display of a portable device.
15. A computer-readable storage device storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations including:
receiving an indication of interest in a garment depicted by media content displayed at a video display, wherein the media content is television programming, a movie, a special program, or a combination thereof;
receiving body measurement input from a body measurement scanner;
determining, based on the media content, one or more garment identifiers associated with the garment in response to the indication of interest; and
after determining the one or more garment identifiers, generating an image representation including a garment overlay and a viewer representation, the garment overlay at least partially covering the viewer representation, wherein the viewer representation is generated based on the body measurement input, wherein the garment overlay is based at least partially on the one or more garment identifiers and at least partially on the body measurement input, and wherein generating the image representation comprises:
searching a garment database using the one or more garment identifiers to identify a set of potential matches, wherein the searching is conducted without accessing garment-related metatag information within the media content;
prompting the viewer to select a match from the set of potential matches;
receiving a selection of a particular match; and
determining the image representation based at least in part on the particular match.
16. The computer-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein the operations further include searching a database for a garment representation associated with the one or more garment identifiers.
17. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein the database is searched based on at least one of a timestamp associated with the media content and an indication of a provider channel associated with the media content.