Patents Examined by Lawrence Galka
  • Patent number: 10092845
    Abstract: Detecting lag switch cheating in a gaming network is disclosed. Data packets are received from a client. The data packets have tracking data including at least one of a sequence number and a time stamp. The tracking data is monitored to determine that a cheat-detection event has occurred.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA LLC
    Inventors: Vinod Tandon, Jake Devore
  • Patent number: 10092832
    Abstract: An example game controller has a memory storing first and second operation times at which the operations onto the first and second operation members have been performed, and a first control circuit. The first control circuit transmits to a main body apparatus, a connection signal. The main body apparatus has a second control circuit. The second control circuit performs processing for establishing connection with the game controller in response to the connection signal, and transmits to the game controller, a request signal when the processing for establishing connection is completed. The first control circuit transmits the information on the operation time stored in the memory to the main body apparatus in response to the request signal. The second control circuit determines whether or not the operations satisfy a predetermined condition based on the operation time, and registers a first operation scheme when a result of determination is affirmative.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: NINTENDO CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Toshiki Oizumi, Shumpei Yasuda
  • Patent number: 10086267
    Abstract: Technologies are described for configuring user input using physical gestures. For example, a user can be prompted to perform a physical gesture to assign to a software application command (e.g., an action within a video game or a command in another type of application). In response, a physical gesture can be received from the user via a physical gesture input device. The received physical gesture can then be associated with the software application command so that when the user performs the physical gesture the software application command can be initiated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventor: Ken Huagang Chang
  • Patent number: 10086253
    Abstract: The method makes it possible to measure a speed of a competitor, such as a skier or snowboarder, on a ski or snowboard course, by means of a measurement system with a transponder module worn by the competitor. The method includes the step of activating the transponder module which includes a measurement unit with at least one measurement sensor, as soon as the race starts, a step of measuring the speed of the competitor via the measurement unit during the race along the course, and a step of transmitting the competitor's speed measurement to at least one base station of a decoder device of the measurement system for a timing device in order to display the speed of the competitor in real time or continuously on at least one screen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: Swiss Timing Ltd
    Inventors: Fabien Masse, Reto Galli
  • Patent number: 10076698
    Abstract: Methods and systems for use in automating or assisting umpiring of a baseball or softball game are described herein. A location of a strike zone is determined based on video images of a batter standing next to home plate captured by a camera. Locations of a ball traveling towards the batter, and locations of the bat being held by the batter, are autonomously tracked using computer vision based on video images captured by at least two cameras having different positions. Additionally, there are autonomous determinations of whether a location of the ball intersects with the strike zone, and whether the batter made a genuine attempt to swing the bat at the ball, and based one at least one of these determinations, there is an autonomous determination of whether a “strike” or a “ball” occurred. Additionally, an indication of whether a “strike” or a “ball” occurred is autonomously output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2018
    Assignee: SPORTSMEDIA TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Josh D. Spivak, Graham W. Goldbeck, Ryan A. Zander, Ted C. Chen, Robert C. Amyx, James G. Painter
  • Patent number: 10076707
    Abstract: A game system including a server device connected to a network and one or more terminal devices operated by users and executing a video game that a player character plays a quest in a game space which has a quest data storing unit which stores quest data, a playing status storing unit which stores playing status of the quest, a quest control unit which permits the start of the quest and a hint control unit which notifies the information for the starting conditions. The playing status storing unit acquires the playing status from the quest control unit and updates the playing status, and the hint control unit determines the information for the starting conditions based on the playing status.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2018
    Assignee: CAPCOM CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kento Kinoshita, Seiji Hamajima, Akira Tamura
  • Patent number: 10065115
    Abstract: A method for generating an instant virtual reenactment of an occurring event and an electronic device for generating an instant virtual reenactment of an occurring event comprising a processing unit, a thereto connected storage unit, at least one remote control, and a network communication device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Mobile Communications Inc.
    Inventor: Eskil Ahlin
  • Patent number: 10065108
    Abstract: A motion of a first unit is detected based on an output from a first acceleration sensor provided in a first unit of a controller, and a motion of a second unit is detected based on an output from a second acceleration sensor provided in a second unit separate from the first unit. A game control is performed using the detected motions. Thus, with a game apparatus using a plurality of acceleration sensors or a plurality of sensors capable of detecting a motion a dynamic play is made possible with a high degree of freedom of motion and an intuitive motion input is realized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: NINTENDO CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Koizumi, Takeshi Hayakawa, Norihiro Aoyagi, Seiki Ishihara
  • Patent number: 10060697
    Abstract: A protective device includes a grip having a non-slip surface, a stake projecting from said grip and terminating in a blunt point, point; and a flexible loop projecting from said grip, which is sufficiently long that a user can loop it over a finger to attach the device to the user's hand, and such that it all user's repositioning of the device in a user's palm, whereby the device can be generally concealed within a user's palm, but shifted within his or her palm such that said point of said stake is exposed and can be directed against an attacker to inflict pain and discourage further advances.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Inventor: Daniel F. Boelens
  • Patent number: 10043348
    Abstract: An electronic gaming machine includes a display for displaying a first game and an electronic game controller for controlling the display of game symbols on the display. The appearance of one or more special symbols in the first game results in the award of one or more tokens to a player, the tokens being associated with at least one token value. The electronic game controller determines an accumulated token value from the token values of the tokens awarded to the player. In response to the occurrence of a trigger event, a second game is displayed, where a multiplier is applied to increase the value of any prizes awarded in the second game, the value of the multiplier being associated with the accumulated token value. A gaming method is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: Ainsworth Game Technology Limited
    Inventor: Jason Meyer
  • Patent number: 10037652
    Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus includes a gaming device and an electronic device interface. The gaming device includes a housing having an least one outer surface. The electronic device interface is removeably-secured to the at least one outer surface of the housing. The electronic device interface includes connection hardware directly connected to the external power source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignee: Greektown Casino LLC
    Inventors: Brian Eby, Hugh Flack, Anthony Williams, Adam Suliman
  • Patent number: 10029179
    Abstract: Methods and systems for providing user control of objects or vehicles simulated in a simulated environment or virtual world are described herein. The user control may include various types of touch controls that may be used by a player to move the object or vehicle in a direction and/or at a velocity. The user, in some embodiments, may be able to select which type of touch control is used in the user interface. In some arrangements, the touch control may include a touch zone arrangement that can be changed based on a condition of the virtual world or a player interaction with a user interface. Additionally, in some embodiments, the user control may include one or more controls for removing one or more statuses that may be received by the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: Wargaming.net Limited
    Inventors: Alexey Alexeev, Stepan Drozd
  • Patent number: 10019721
    Abstract: The invention relates to a system and method for analysing an activity session. Data from a monitoring device worn by a user of the system for example is received over a period of time or distance and a classification system of the invention is utilized in real time or post session to determine the activities performed by the user during the session. The data collected relates to multiple parameters monitored during the activity session. The classification system defines an activity using a set of threshold criteria for a combination of parameters and therefore identifies a particular activity performed during the activity session when a combination of monitored parameters satisfies the threshold criteria for a particular activity. Determining the activities performed in this way allows for more useful interpretation of the data which in turn leads to more effective coaching advice and feedback for the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2018
    Assignee: Performance Lab Technologies Limited
    Inventors: Jonathan Edward Bell Ackland, Kerri Anne McMaster
  • Patent number: 10013856
    Abstract: A gaming machine for providing multiple games to a player with the same reel is described herein. The gaming machine displays a first game that includes a first portion of a reel in a first display area and concurrently displays a second game that includes a second portion of the reel being displayed in a second display area. The gaming machine randomly generates an outcome of the first game and spins and stops the at least one reel to display the first game outcome in the first display area and awards the player an award as a function of the first game outcome.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2018
    Assignee: KONAMI GAMING, INC.
    Inventor: Satoshi Suda
  • Patent number: 10004997
    Abstract: A vehicle toy that can work with common construction blocks provides connector surfaces covering the top and bottom of the toy housing for full integration into construction projects. Interface and control with the vehicle are provided by mesh wireless connectivity to a cell phone or the like greatly simplifying its construction. Mesh interconnections between vehicles and controllers allow greater interaction of the devices including allowing one device to be nominated as a referee permitting automatically refereed interactive contests.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2018
    Assignee: Meeper Technology, LLC
    Inventors: Elizabeth Eversoll, James Brandon
  • Patent number: 9997017
    Abstract: A gaming machine system and method for retrofitting the gaming machines to track activity of users. The gaming machine system includes gaming machines in communication with a server with a database. The gaming machines each include a cash ticket reader and a cash ticket printer. The gaming machines retrofitted with software that adapts the cash ticket reader and the cash ticket printer to additionally read and print tracking tickets. The cash tickets include a cash value and the tracking tickets include a code representative of a user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignee: Novomatic AG
    Inventor: Roman Czubak
  • Patent number: 9978202
    Abstract: A wagering gaming apparatus is provided, comprising a 3-dimensional (3D) display device configured to create for a player a visual illusion of a 3D scene for a wagering game, the 3D scene having perceived depth in a z-direction perpendicular to a physical screen having width in an x-direction and height in a y-direction; one or more sensor devices configured to sense a physical location of one or more anatomical features of the player; at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions. The processor-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform various adjustments regarding the 3D scene based on the sensed physical location of an anatomical feature of the player.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: IGT CANADA SOLUTIONS ULC
    Inventors: Stefan Keilwert, Franz Pierer, Sven Aurich
  • Patent number: 9978287
    Abstract: Certain embodiments relate to systems and methods for improving tennis stroke recognition that includes: outputting on an output device a video or animation of an opponent player executing a tennis stroke, a layout of the near court, and one or more tennis stroke indicators corresponding to different tennis strokes; detecting a first user gesture or voice utterance adjacent to the output device to select one of the tennis stroke indicators a user believes is executed by the opponent player; detecting a second user gesture adjacent to the output device identifying a location in the layout of the near court the user expects the ball to hit; and updating the output device to display an actual type of tennis stroke executed by the opponent player and an actual location in the layout of the near court the ball hits as a result of the actual tennis stroke executed by the opponent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Inventor: Peter Fadde
  • Patent number: 9965921
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer programs are presented for providing play areas to communities of players in an online game. One method includes an operation for identifying attributes of players in the online game. A characteristic that is common to a subset of players is determined in the online game, where the characteristic is based on the attributes of players in the online game. The method further includes an operation for creating a playing area in the online game, such that the subset of players are allowed to play in the playing area, but other players in the online game, that are outside the subset of players, are disallowed from playing in the playing area. The subset of players is then enabled to play in the playing area with other players from the subset of players.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignee: Zynga Inc.
    Inventors: Justin Wickett, Timothy Wickland, Shawn Carnes
  • Patent number: 9937415
    Abstract: Described are techniques and systems for providing a virtual controller user interface. The virtual controller user interface of a source media device accepts user input and provides control data based on that input to a target media device. The target media device may process the control data, injecting input events into an operating system of the target media device. An application executing on the target media device may use these inputs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Jason David Makuch, Pavan Kumar Surishetty, Kimberly Nicole Hunter, Xin Wang