Patent 6972774

Prior art

Earlier patents, publications, and products that may anticipate or render the claims unpatentable.

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Prior art

Earlier patents, publications, and products that may anticipate or render the claims unpatentable.

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The most relevant prior art documents cited in US patent 6972774 are listed below, along with their publication/filing dates, brief descriptions, and the claims they potentially anticipate. Prior art is information that has been made available to the public before the filing date of a patent application, used to determine if an invention is novel and non-obvious.

Cited Prior Art for US6972774:

  1. US4602286A

    • Full Citation: US4602286A - Video processing for composite images.
    • Publication Date: 1986-07-22 (Filing date: 1982-01-15)
    • Brief Description: This patent describes a video processing system for producing composite images by manipulating video signals. It involves techniques for combining and arranging various video elements to create a unified display.
    • Potentially Anticipates Claims: This patent potentially anticipates aspects of Claims 1 and 5, particularly regarding the concept of generating a composite image from multiple units. The general idea of processing and composing images could be considered.

  2. US5381518A

    • Full Citation: US5381518A - Method and apparatus for imaging volume data using voxel values.
    • Publication Date: 1995-01-10 (Filing date: 1986-04-14)
    • Brief Description: This patent focuses on imaging volume data using voxel values, which relates to displaying three-dimensional images constructed from discrete volumetric elements.
    • Potentially Anticipates Claims: While not directly about 2D image composition, the underlying principles of arranging and rendering discrete data units to form a larger image could be argued to anticipate, at a high level, aspects of Claim 1, which discusses generating a composite image from unit images.

  3. US5627651A

    • Full Citation: US5627651A - Modifying print information based on feature detection.
    • Publication Date: 1997-05-06 (Filing date: 1991-02-22)
    • Brief Description: This patent describes a method for modifying print information by detecting features within an image. This could involve adjusting how an image is prepared for printing based on its content.
    • Potentially Anticipates Claims: This might relate to the processing of individual images before insertion, potentially touching on the "modifies the original image so as to adapt itself to the block dimensions" aspect mentioned in the detailed description of US6972774 (S39 in FIG. 11), thereby potentially anticipating elements of Claim 1, 5, and 14 concerning image adjustment and processing within a display system.

  4. US5636334A

    • Full Citation: US5636334A - Three-dimensional image creation devices.
    • Publication Date: 1997-06-03 (Filing date: 1994-01-28)
    • Brief Description: This patent concerns devices and methods for creating three-dimensional images.
    • Potentially Anticipates Claims: Similar to US5381518A, this could broadly touch upon the concept of combining distinct elements to form a larger visual representation, potentially anticipating parts of Claim 1 and 5 in a general sense, although the focus on 3D is a distinguishing factor.

  5. US5732230A

    • Full Citation: US5732230A - Computer user interface for manipulating image fragments using drag, drop and merge operations.
    • Publication Date: 1998-03-24 (Filing date: 1995-05-19)
    • Brief Description: This patent describes a user interface that allows manipulation of image fragments through drag, drop, and merge operations. This directly addresses user interaction for image composition.
    • Potentially Anticipates Claims: This patent is highly relevant as it explicitly describes "drag, drop and merge operations" for image fragments. This directly anticipates elements of Claims 3, 4, and 8, which discuss inserting images into unit areas by drag-and-drop, and the general concept of manipulating images within a composite area.

  6. US5819103A

    • Full Citation: US5819103A - Information recording/reproducing apparatus and method.
    • Publication Date: 1998-10-06 (Filing date: 1993-09-21)
    • Brief Description: This patent relates to an apparatus and method for recording and reproducing information, likely including image data.
    • Potentially Anticipates Claims: This could be broadly relevant to the storage aspects of US6972774, particularly the "unit storage areas for storing processing target images" in Claim 1 and the storage of the composite area in Claim 10.

  7. US5861888A

    • Full Citation: US5861888A - Method and a system for the nonlinear storage of a texture map within a linear memory device.
    • Publication Date: 1999-01-19 (Filing date: 1996-11-27)
    • Brief Description: This patent describes a method and system for storing texture maps in a nonlinear fashion within a linear memory device, relevant to graphics rendering and image data management.
    • Potentially Anticipates Claims: This relates to memory management for image data, which could be relevant to the "plurality of vacant unit storage areas" in Claim 1 and the discussion of image memory areas in US6972774, potentially anticipating Claim 1 and 2 in terms of storage and varying capacities.

  8. US5977965A

    • Full Citation: US5977965A - Automatic frame accumulator.
    • Publication Date: 1999-11-02 (Filing date: 1997-09-29)
    • Brief Description: This patent describes an automatic frame accumulator, likely used in video or image processing to collect and combine frames.
    • Potentially Anticipates Claims: This could be relevant to the idea of aggregating multiple images, thus potentially anticipating the "aggregation of unit areas" in Claims 3, 4, and 5, and the overall concept of creating a composite image.

  9. US5979424A

    • Full Citation: US5979424A - Toy gun for firing balloons.
    • Publication Date: 1999-11-09 (Filing date: 1998-06-22)
    • Brief Description: This patent describes a toy gun for firing balloons.
    • Potentially Anticipates Claims: This patent appears to be unrelated to image processing and is unlikely to anticipate any claims of US6972774.

  10. US5982350A

    • Full Citation: US5982350A - Compositer interface for arranging the components of special effects for a motion picture production.
    • Publication Date: 1999-11-09 (Filing date: 1991-10-07)
    • Brief Description: This patent details a compositer interface for arranging components of special effects in motion picture production, involving the combination and manipulation of various visual elements.
    • Potentially Anticipates Claims: This is highly relevant to the concept of composing images. It potentially anticipates Claims 1, 3, 4, and 5 by describing a system for arranging and combining visual components into a composite output, especially considering the "composite area" and "inserting a processing target image" aspects.

  11. US6031542A

    • Full Citation: US6031542A - Image processing method and arrangement for the display of reflective objects.
    • Publication Date: 2000-02-29 (Filing date: 1996-02-12)
    • Brief Description: This patent describes an image processing method and arrangement for displaying reflective objects, which involves specific rendering techniques.
    • Potentially Anticipates Claims: This could be broadly related to image processing and display, potentially touching upon the "displaying a composite area on a display" in Claims 3 and 4, and the general image processing aspects of Claim 1 and 5.

  12. US6137498A

    • Full Citation: US6137498A - Digital composition of a mosaic image.
    • Publication Date: 2000-10-24 (Filing date: 1997-01-02)
    • Brief Description: This patent details the digital composition of mosaic images, which inherently involves arranging and combining multiple smaller images into a larger composite.
    • Potentially Anticipates Claims: This patent is highly relevant, directly describing the "composition of a mosaic image." This strongly anticipates Claims 1, 3, 4, and 5, as it deals with the core concept of inserting multiple images into an arrangement to form a composite image.

  13. US6266068B1

    • Full Citation: US6266068B1 - Multi-layer image-based rendering for video synthesis.
    • Publication Date: 2001-07-24 (Filing date: 1998-03-13)
    • Brief Description: This patent describes multi-layer image-based rendering for video synthesis, indicating the combination of different image layers to create a synthetic video.
    • Potentially Anticipates Claims: This prior art is relevant to the general concept of combining images, particularly the "generating a composite image from the unit images" in Claim 1 and the "aggregating the matrix of the plurality of blocks, whether filled with an image or vacant into a combined image" in Claim 5.

Generated 5/29/2026, 6:02:33 PM