Patents by Inventor Bryan Thomas Blackford

Bryan Thomas Blackford 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: 10642873
    Abstract: Technologies are described herein for providing dynamic natural language interactions between a user and a computing device. In one aspect, a computing device managing a conversation with a user is enhanced with the identification and management of one or more topics. Using techniques described herein, the computing device can focus on one or more topics, shift between topics and/or introduce new topics. Techniques disclosed herein may also manage and process interruptions that may be introduced during a conversation. Dynamic access of contextual information may assist in the generation of contextually-relevant statements, and the contextual information may be used to balance priorities between various topics. Each topic may also have an associated decay rate so that the lifespan of individual topics may track realistic scenarios. In addition, the priorities of individual topics may be dynamically adjusted so topics may track events created by a user and a computing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Bryan Thomas Blackford, Gerald S. Edsall, Joshua A. McCoy, Stéphane Morichére-Matte, Michael John Rayner, Matthew James Searcy, Noah Glenn Wardrip-Fruin
  • Publication number: 20160085854
    Abstract: Technologies are described herein for providing dynamic natural language interactions between a user and a computing device. In one aspect, a computing device managing a conversation with a user is enhanced with the identification and management of one or more topics. Using techniques described herein, the computing device can focus on one or more topics, shift between topics and/or introduce new topics. Techniques disclosed herein may also manage and process interruptions that may be introduced during a conversation. Dynamic access of contextual information may assist in the generation of contextually-relevant statements, and the contextual information may be used to balance priorities between various topics. Each topic may also have an associated decay rate so that the lifespan of individual topics may track realistic scenarios. In addition, the priorities of individual topics may be dynamically adjusted so topics may track events created by a user and a computing device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 19, 2014
    Publication date: March 24, 2016
    Applicant: The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: Bryan Thomas Blackford, Gerald S. Edsall, Joshua A. McCoy, Stéphane Morichère-Matte, Michael John Rayner, Matthew James Searcy, Noah Glenn Wardrip-Fruin