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IPC Subclass
H04N

PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

Introduced: September 1968

Last revised: January 1985

Classification Context

Section:
ELECTRICITY
Class:
ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
Subclass:
PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

Description

H04N covers the transmission, reception, and processing of visual information in electronic communication systems. This includes television technology, video broadcasting, image transmission, and related signal processing methods. The classification encompasses analog and digital video systems, display technologies, video codecs, scanning standards, color reproduction, and synchronization mechanisms. Adjacent classes such as H04M (telephonic communication) and H04L (digital communication) are excluded, though H04N includes video telephony when the pictorial aspect is primary.

Additional Content

Glossary

CCD Charge-coupled device, that is, a device made up of semiconductors arranged in such a way that the electric charge output of one semiconductor charges an adjacent one. MPEG Motion Picture Experts Group; a family of standards used for coding audio-visual information in a digital compressed format. Picture signal generator Picture signal generators Circuits or arrangements receiving as input an image of a scene and delivering as output an electric signal that contains all the information required to reproduce the image of the scene. Picture reproducer Picture reproducers Circuits or arrangements receiving as input an electric signal characteristic of an image of a scene and producing as output a visual display of that image.

Application references

Instruments for performing medical examinations of the interior of cavities or tubes of the body combined with television appliances Arrangements of television sets in vehicles; Arrangements of controls thereof Mounting of cameras operative during drive of a vehicle; Arrangements of control thereof relative to the vehicle Arrangements of cameras in aircraft Controlling or regulating single-crystal growth by pulling from a melt, using television detectors Inspecting textile materials by television means Scanning a visible indication of a measured value and reproducing this indication at a remote place, e.g. on the screen of a cathode-ray tube Burglar, theft, or intruder alarms using television cameras Structural combination of reactor core or moderator structure with television camera

Related Keywords

COPYING by telegraphytransmitting IMAGE(S) by televisiontelevision RECEIVERSbroadcasting by televisionfacsimile transmissiontelevision in generaltelevision receivers or transmitterscopying- TELEGRAPHY [= facsimile transmission]TELEVISIONtelevision TRANSMITTERS

13 direct subcodes

Child Classifications

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  • H04N 101/00 Still video cameras

Top Applicants

Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class H04, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT

  1. QUALCOMM US 97,396
  2. HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY CN 96,502
  3. SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS COMPANY KR 86,981
  4. TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL) SE 55,869
  5. HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY 55,349
  6. LG ELECTRONICS KR 53,649
  7. CANON 33,341
  8. SONY CORPORATION JP 32,761
  9. ZTE CORPORATION CN 32,274
  10. GUANGDONG OPPO MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION 28,327