Patents by Inventor Benjamin Lee Shepherd

Benjamin Lee Shepherd has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10885091
    Abstract: Approaches provide for a voice communications device to control, refine, or otherwise manage the playback of media content in response to instructions, such as spoken instructions. For example, the voice communications device receives input data associated with a command, such as a request to begin media playback. Accounts corresponding to users associated with the command are identified and one or more refinements extracted from the input data are used to filter content, such as from respective content catalogs or via trained models associated with the users. Determined content is generated that includes content from each of the content catalogs or trained models associated with the users. Thereafter, the voice communications device can initiate media playback.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2021
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Jane Meng, Toby Ray Latin-Stoermer, Jason Christopher Hall, Kintan Dilipkumar Brahmbhatt, Daniel Paul Ryan, Benjamin Lee Shepherd, Daren Gill, Brandon Scott Durham
  • Patent number: 10056078
    Abstract: Speech-controlled searching and browsing for content using speech-controlled devices, or other input-limited devices, is described. A user may audibly indicate to a speech-controlled device whether the user wants to search or browse for content, along with a topic of the content/results to be retrieved. A server, located remotely from the speech-controlled device determines an appropriate endpoint device for displaying results of the requested search or browse. The server also determines an appropriate content source for the requested content, and sends a request for the content to the content source. The server receives search or browse results from the content source and forwards them to the determined endpoint device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: Amazon Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Benjamin Lee Shepherd, Joe Virgil Fernandez, Vijayabaskar Gangadaran, Mallory Ann McManamon, Peter Van Tuyl Bentley, Shailesh Srivastava
  • Patent number: 9977584
    Abstract: A computing device can periodically acquire a current track time for a media content item being played. The device can periodically compare the current track time with a respective start time and a respective end time for each line (or segment) in a plurality of lines of text (or segments of text) associated with the media content item. If the device determines that the current track time is between start and end times for a given line of text, then the device can display the given line of text. A user of the device can scroll through the lines of text associated with the media content item. If the user selects a particular line of text, the device can identify a start time for the selected line of text. The device can then play the media content item at the identified start time of the selected line of text.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: AMAZON TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventors: Toby Ray Latin-Stoermer, Jonathan Beech, Hari Gangadharan, Gabriela Ahern, Brandon Scott Durham, Darren Levi Malek, Ralph Cameron Harvey, Benjamin Lee Shepherd, Jason Christopher Hall, Andrew Powell McGoogan, Robert Richard Morse
  • Patent number: 9299331
    Abstract: Techniques are described for automatically selecting musical content for playback based on an initial “seed” of music selected by a user in a way that seamlessly extends the user's listening experience. The initially selected seed music might be, for example, an album or a playlist. Music that follows the seed music is algorithmically selected to match the music selected by the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2016
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brandon Scott Durham, Sarvesh Chandra Regmi, Vladimir Lazebny, Joshua Fredrick Lutes, Darren Levi Malek, Haowei Lu, Christopher Woolf Phillips, Kintan Dilipkumar Brahmbhatt, Toby Ray Latin-Stoermer, Gabriela Ahern, William Jarred Leslie, Xinjie Di, Benjamin Lee Shepherd
  • Publication number: 20160011761
    Abstract: A computing device can periodically acquire a current track time for a media content item being played. The device can periodically compare the current track time with a respective start time and a respective end time for each line (or segment) in a plurality of lines of text (or segments of text) associated with the media content item. If the device determines that the current track time is between start and end times for a given line of text, then the device can display the given line of text. A user of the device can scroll through the lines of text associated with the media content item. If the user selects a particular line of text, the device can identify a start time for the selected line of text. The device can then play the media content item at the identified start time of the selected line of text.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 21, 2015
    Publication date: January 14, 2016
    Inventors: TOBY RAY LATIN-STOERMER, JONATHAN BEECH, HARI GANGADHARAN, GABRIELA AHERN, BRANDON SCOTT DURHAM, DARREN LEVI MALEK, RALPH CAMERON HARVEY, BENJAMIN LEE SHEPHERD, JASON CHRISTOPHER HALL, ANDREW POWELL MCGOOGAN, ROBERT RICHARD MORSE
  • Patent number: 9176658
    Abstract: A computing device can periodically acquire a current track time for a media content item being played. The device can periodically compare the current track time with a respective start time and a respective end time for each line (or segment) in a plurality of lines of text (or segments of text) associated with the media content item. If the device determines that the current track time is between start and end times for a given line of text, then the device can display the given line of text. A user of the device can scroll through the lines of text associated with the media content item. If the user selects a particular line of text, the device can identify a start time for the selected line of text. The device can then play the media content item at the identified start time of the selected line of text.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Toby Ray Latin-Stoermer, Jonathan Beech, Hari Gangadharan, Gabriela Ahern, Brandon Scott Durham, Darren Levi Malek, Ralph Cameron Harvey, Benjamin Lee Shepherd, Jason Christopher Hall, Andrew Powell McGoogan, Robert Richard Morse