Patents by Inventor Colin L. Acton

Colin L. Acton 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: 6628301
    Abstract: An extensible framework for tuning to programming sources includes tune request objects and tuning space objects that are used to maintain and pass information regarding how to tune to a particular program. The extensible framework can be easily modified by creating, deleting, or modifying tune request objects and tuning space objects without requiring changes on the part of applications interacting with the framework.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2003
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Colin L. Acton, Terje K. Backman, Jay Alan Borseth, David A. Goll, Sean C. McDowell, Thaddeus C. Pritchett
  • Patent number: 6209040
    Abstract: A method and system for interfacing to type libraries are provided. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention defines an interface to a type library. The interface has a plurality of interface methods through which type information can be stored in and retrieved from the type library. A plurality of implementations of the defined interface are provided. A computer program is compiled using the defined interfaces to access the type information. When the compiled computer program is executed, it accesses the type information using one of the plurality of implementations. In a preferred embodiment, a type library contains type information to allow a compiler to bind to an instance of type at compile type (early binding).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 1992
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2001
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Colin L. Acton, Ilan G. Caron, Alan W. Carter, Tom Corbett, Michael J. Woolf