Sample Project List. Consumer Electronics

Transcription

1 Sample Project List Consumer Electronics

2 Hardware Analysis Audio, gaming, graphics systems Cell phone camera Digital camera Digital camera Evaluate over 300 patents to identify those valuable for licensing against potential target companies Analyze a CMOS imager and produce claim charts. Analyze signals and data transferred between chips of the camera. Timing relationships of various signals as well as simplified block diagrams were required. Reviewed patents. Grouped them into applicable technology segments and provided a rating on use in industry and supportability. Selected patents then applied to product literature and standards. Performed circuit reverse engineering. Some claim elements required monitoring of electrical signals on the CMOS imager. Circuit reverse engineering was used to determine functionality of chips. Functional testing was done to confirm what control signals were sent and in which order. For generating block diagrams, electrical testing was done. For examining the timing of various signals, a logic analyzer was used. GPS systems Identify patents with licensing value and map against a product of a specific target company. Grouped patents into applicable technology segments and provided a rating on use in industry and supportability. Selected patents then applied to product literature and standards. Media players MP3 players Document evidence of use involving multiple patents against a target product. Find prior art for a patent relating to portable audio devices. Analysis techniques included: literature based investigation, xray and mechanical inspection, board level circuit reverse engineering, functional testing including GUI, file storage, power management, and, microprobing multichip devices. Prior art search performed by analyzing literature, patents, and products. Plasma display Investigate signal timing and pulse widths of various signals. Analyzed and documented signals used to create the image on the screen. The shape of the analog waveforms were analyzed in detail. 2

3 Software Analysis Audio compression Code Audio file analysis Download security DVD player DVD player Firmware analysis Analyze algorithm based on source code. Determine which flags were set for different encoding rates. Map patent to the dominant market technologies, and the companies that use them. Deliver claim charts against these targets. Determine how decoding of DVD data was done in a target system. Determine what code was executed during different events. Extract firmware code and determine when/where the code was used in the system. Inspection of available source code. Software was installed on a computer to analyze audio files and to also create test files. Grouped patents into technology categories and researched applicable markets and potential target companies within those markets. Recommended and procured target products. Applied the patents to product literature, specifications and the results of functional testing. Created a test DVD with specific and known data. The disc was analyzed and then compared to how the target system responded to the DVD data. A logic analyzer was used to capture addresses and data read from memory during specific events. The addresses were then sorted and compiled. Board reverse engineering was done to determine which chips were connected to the flash memory. A target chip was monitored doing start up to determine if code was loaded to this chip along with other chips. Game console Identify BitBLT synchronized with video. Data and code retrieval, observation of hardware. 3

4 Software Analysis Movie editor/viewer Deliver claim charts documenting methods for removing and inserting images into a movie stream. MPEG4 part 2 standard Create flowchart and provide comments of portions of the published software that are documented in the standard. Created custom video stream. Observed edit and play movie features using target product. Used screenshots of displayed and output video to support interpolated frames, and show where frames were removed. Performed software analysis of target routines and variables and created flowchart. Multimedia codecs Portable audio Smartphone touch pad operation Identify video MPEG2 program and transport stream software and hardware components. Determine if invention is used in target products. Provide claim chart documenting method implementing touch pad operation. Observation (software), Windows DirectX SDK was used. Literature was used to analyze target audio formats and map claim elements. Access smartphone processor through JTAG interface to extract code. Decompile code. Gain control of CPU to interactively analyze code in operation to find claim elements. 4

5 About Chipworks Chipworks is the recognized leader in reverse engineering and patent infringement analysis of semiconductors and electronic systems. The company s ability to analyze the circuitry and physical composition of these systems makes them a key partner in the success of the world s largest semiconductor and microelectronics companies. Intellectual property groups and their legal counsel trust Chipworks for success in patent licensing and litigation earning hundreds of millions of dollars in patent licenses, and saving as much in royalty payments. Research & Development and Product Management rely on Chipworks for success in new product design and launch, saving hundreds of millions of dollars in design, and earning even more through superior product design and faster launches. Contact Chipworks Chipworks 3685 Richmond Road, Suite 500 Ottawa, Ontario K2H 5B7 Canada T F info@chipworks.com Web site: 5