Patents Examined by Lucila X. Bautista
  • Patent number: 7159181
    Abstract: A wheelchair assembly comprises a wheelchair. A plurality of modules is provided on the wheelchair. An input device is provided on the wheelchair. A controller includes a display having a displayed menu. The controller is responsive to the input device for selectively changing the displayed menu and for selectively causing the controller to operate the plurality of modules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2007
    Assignee: Sunrise Medical HHG Inc.
    Inventors: Wayne T. Mansell, Mark E. Greig, Peter J. Tasker
  • Patent number: 7159178
    Abstract: A browser-enabled system of software and services that focuses on connecting people across spatial, temporal, and organizational barriers to achieve specific objectives. The system includes a client server system that provides a virtual meeting place for a learning community and a structure through which that community can achieve its goals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2007
    Assignee: Communispace Corp.
    Inventors: Eric E. Vogt, Julie Wittes Schlack, Linda Koretsky, Paul Morrison, David Savage, Lauren Kelleher
  • Patent number: 7155677
    Abstract: A method for supplying hierarchical supplementary information related to printed books in a portal can include several steps. The method can include the steps of first establishing a portal of supplementary information related to printed books. Second, a plurality of different printed books can be distributed to a user base. Third, each different printed book can be associated with a common uniform address. Fourth, a kiosk can be provided for interacting with the portal. Fifth, a user-specified common address can be received from a user in the user base through the kiosk, the user-specified address corresponding to the printed books. Sixth, upon receiving the user-specified common address, a first hypermedia document corresponding to the user-specified common address can be displayed through the kiosk in the portal. The seventh step can include identifying in the first hypermedia document corresponding to the user-specified common address a user class associated with the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2006
    Inventors: Diane Kessenich, Brett Clark
  • Patent number: 7155674
    Abstract: A television system allows viewers to access a number of different groups of television content, or “service aggregates.” A portal interface for each group provides a direct means for the viewer to navigate between members of a service aggregate, without necessarily having to accesses a global program guide for the television system. The groups of television content can be formed from various criteria including forming the groups based on business rules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2006
    Assignee: Seachange International, Inc.
    Inventors: George Edward Breen, Stephen Jay Kraiman
  • Patent number: 7152209
    Abstract: A user interface (UI) for adaptive video fast forward provides a novel fully adaptive content-based UI for allowing user interaction with an image sequence or video relative to a user identified query sample. This query sample is drawn either from an image sequence being searched or from another image sequence entirely. The user interaction offered by the UI includes providing a user with computationally efficient searching, browsing and retrieval of one or more objects, frames or sequences of interest in video or image sequences, as well as automatic content-based variable-speed playback based on a computed similarity to the query sample. In addition, the UI also provides the capability to search for image frames or sequences that are dissimilar to the query sample, thereby allowing the user to quickly locate unusual or different activity within an image sequence.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2006
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Nebojsa Jojic, Nemanja Petrovic
  • Patent number: 7146570
    Abstract: The social communicative activity is getting involved with internet technology more frequently. People are chatting, playing games and working over the internet. In order to introduce persons being part of one communicative environment to each other a method of exchanging messages is provided that displays a first graphical representation of a first person; displays a second graphical representation of a second person (408); presents a first introduction message (402) to the first person; the message introducing the second person to the first person; and presents a second introduction message to the second person; the message introducing the first person to the second person.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2006
    Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
    Inventors: Li-Fen Yeh, Tzu-Hong Wang
  • Patent number: 7143363
    Abstract: A method for displaying marine vessel information automatically selects a chosen visual display based on the magnitudes of one or more vessel-related parameters, such as engine speed, gear selector position, or vessel velocity. Based on the selected marine vessel operating condition, the chosen visual display is selected and the contents of that chosen visual display are presented on an information display device, such as a liquid crystal display or other type of monitor. As the marine vessel changes its operating condition, the process is repeated so that the marine vessel operator always is presented with the most appropriate screen images relating to the marine vessel at its current operating condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2006
    Assignee: Brunswick Corporation
    Inventors: Phillip K. Gaynor, Kurt D. Willows
  • Patent number: 7143353
    Abstract: A method, apparatus and systems for bookmarking an area of interest of stored video content is provided. As a viewer is watching a video and finds an area of interest, they can bookmark the particular segment of the video and then return to that segment with relative simplicity. This can be accomplished by pressing a button, clicking with a mouse or otherwise sending a signal to a device for marking a particular location of the video that is of interest. Frame identifiers can also be used to select a desired video from an index and to then retrieve the video from a medium containing multiple videos.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2006
    Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics, N.V.
    Inventors: Thomas McGee, Lalitha Agnihotri, Nevenka Dimitrova, Radu Jasinschi
  • Patent number: 7137075
    Abstract: A screen in which icons of a plurality of information items are arranged is displayed as a information selecting screen to display information selected from the screen by the user. In the operation, icons of information items of different kinds are horizontally displayed, and a degree of details of the information is changed in the vertical direction and a degree of recommendation of the information to the user is changed in a direction of depth. The user can easily select desired information from a large amount of various contents supplied and the information can be optimally displayed for the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2006
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeshi Hoshino, Satoko Kojima, Atsushi Ishibashi, Gen Nagai
  • Patent number: 7134091
    Abstract: The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for increasing the perceived quality of displayed images. This is achieved in a variety of ways including the use of a plurality of device specific display characteristics when preparing images for display. It is also achieved through the monitoring of display device and/or ambient light conditions, e.g., on a periodic basis, and using the obtained information when controlling display output. Another approach to improving the perceived quality of displayed images involves the use of information relating to a specific user's ability to perceive image characteristics such as color. By customizing display output to an individual user's own physical perception capabilities and/or viewing characteristics it is possible to enhance the image quality perceived by the individual viewer as compared to embodiments which do not take into consideration individual user characteristics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2006
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Bodin Dresevic, William Hill, Gregory Hitchcock, Leroy B. Keely, John C. Platt, J. Turner Whitted
  • Patent number: 7134079
    Abstract: An electronic presentation system and method provides multiple display screens for presentation materials as well as permits dynamic annotations to presentation materials that do not permanently alter the presentation materials. The presentation materials can easily be directed to any one of the display screens and any annotations can be saved for future use or simply deleted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2006
    Assignee: Learning Tree International
    Inventors: Christopher Robert Brown, John Michael Moriarty, Sean Dare Smith, Stuart M. Ackerman, Leslie E. Laine, William H. Adams
  • Patent number: 7131068
    Abstract: An electronic presentation system and method provides multiple display screens for presentation materials as well as permits dynamic annotations to presentation materials that do not permanently alter the presentation materials. The presentation materials can easily be directed to any one of the display screens and any annotations can be saved for future use or simply deleted. A single interface screen allows simple annotation of either the left or right screen images while a zoom feature allows slides to be presented in a variety of different ways.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2006
    Assignee: Learning Tree International
    Inventors: David Sheldon O'Neal, Sean Dare Smith, Stuart Ackerman
  • Patent number: 7111241
    Abstract: A method is provided for the visual display of states of network elements of a network to be monitored in a monitoring device, the incoming notifications of a network element being evaluated and, therefrom, the network element being allocated a current state from a population of possible states, the number of uncleared notifications or uncleared notifications having certain criteria of a network element being determined at respective certain time intervals and a current state trend being determined therefrom, all the network elements or selected network elements being displayed as pictorial objects on a display screen and each pictorial object displaying at least the actual state and the state trend of the relevant network element, and also a monitoring device and a program module therefor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2006
    Assignee: Alcatel
    Inventor: Martin Takats
  • Patent number: 7111248
    Abstract: An alphanumeric information entry process that includes provision and use of a personal context model that correlates various examples of user context against a unique personal language model for the user. The personal language model itself along with considerable correlation examples can be developed by statistical analysis of user documents and files including particularly email files (including address books). Such processing can be done locally or remotely. The personal context model is used to predict subsequent alphanumeric entries for a given user. In one embodiment predictions are presented one word at a time. Predictions can be automatically changed in one embodiment when the user fails to make any input for a predetermined period of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2006
    Assignee: Openwave Systems Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph Mulvey, Pierre Demartines
  • Patent number: 7107530
    Abstract: A method, system and program product for displaying a tooltip based on content within the tooltip is provided. Under the present invention, a feature (e.g., size, type, complexity, etc.) of the content within a tooltip is first determined. Based on the feature, a display time for the tooltip is calculated. The tooltip is then displayed for the duration of the calculated display time, after which time the tooltip is closed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2006
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jason Y. Blakely, Robert S. Sielken
  • Patent number: 7089500
    Abstract: A wizard user interface generates an interim system product during forward traversal of the wizard's pages and causes the generated interim system product to revert (i.e. be restored to a condition associated with a previous wizard page) during backward traversal of the wizard's pages. Advancing to a next page of the wizard causes a system product to be generated. The generated interim product is application dependent and may comprise one or more components, such as a generated electronic file or an amendment to an existing file for example, which are not merely by-products of the wizard mechanism. Backtracking to a previous wizard page causes the generated interim system product to revert. The wizard user interface allows observation of, and interaction with, the generated interim system product by the user prior to wizard completion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2006
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Jin Li
  • Patent number: 7086007
    Abstract: A method that incorporates a detailed, precise procedure of designing a user interface by utilizing agent behavioral models. This method applies quantitative and qualitative agent behavioral models derived through the Categorize Describe-Model (CDM) methodology to the iterative design stage of interface development. The method includes: (1) categorizing at least two users; (2) validating targeted user behaviors and preferences; (3) capturing emergent behaviors and preferences; (4) tracking design requirements and implementations; (5) accommodating diversity in performance and preference during interactive testing; and (6) customizing a user interface design to each of the at least two users.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2006
    Assignee: SBC Technology Resources, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert R. Bushey, Thomas Deelman, Jennifer M. Mauney