Patents by Inventor Chris J. Goebel

Chris J. Goebel 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: 5695400
    Abstract: A method of managing user inputs and displaying outputs in a multi-player game that is played on a plurality of terminals on a network in a manner that compensates for differences in network latency among different terminals. The method includes: (a) transmitting a representation of a game challenge such as a trivia question to the terminals via the network; (b) receiving a game response signal such as a "buzz-in" from two or more of the terminals; (c) assigning each responding terminal a priority rank according to a characteristic of their respective game response signal, e.g., elapsed time since receipt of the game challenge; (d) determining which responding terminal has the highest rank; and (e) sending signals to the responding terminals assigning them respective degrees of control of the game, e.g., the right to take a turn, in accordance with their respective ranks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 9, 1997
    Assignee: Boxer Jam Productions
    Inventors: W. Temple W. Fennell, Jr., Todd Hodes, Scott Witherell, Chris J. Goebel, Rajesh P. Thakkar, Thomas Schwenk