Patents by Inventor John Sampson

John Sampson 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).

  • Publication number: 20100023506
    Abstract: A method of gathering information relevant to the interests of a user includes receiving activity history associated with the user from a network data source, where the activity history includes a description of a user action initiated by the user, generating a first metadata item based upon the activity history; and storing the first metadata item as user profile information associated with the user in a user profile database. Generating the first metadata item may include extracting text from the activity history and generating the first metadata item based upon the text. The activity history may include a description of a user action.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 31, 2008
    Publication date: January 28, 2010
    Applicant: YAHOO! INC.
    Inventors: Saurabh Sahni, Ian Kennedy, Pankaj Kothari, Todd Sampson, Emanuel Miller, John Sampson, Chris Goffinet, Steve Ho, Raymund Ramos, Mani Kumar
  • Publication number: 20090037454
    Abstract: Rendering a contributor representation, such as an avatar, near content such as a comment, contributed to a web page such as a blog. The contributor representation is associated with a contributor identifier, such as an email address, and stored at a centralized registrar. The centralized registrar provides a content service with an initial script to include in the web page along with the contributor identifier. A requesting client runs the initial script, which requests an additional script from the centralized registrar. The additional script can track user actions and analyzes the DOM of the web page for an attribute associated with the contributor identifier and contributed content. Based on a location of the attribute in the DOM, the additional script also determines a location in the web page to insert the contributor representation. The additional script then requests and inserts the contributor representation to be rendered near the contributed content.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2007
    Publication date: February 5, 2009
    Applicant: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventors: Todd Sampson, John Sampson, Steve Ho, Eric Marcoullier, Neil Scott Rafer
  • Publication number: 20090004742
    Abstract: The requirement of T cell activation for efficient expression of genes after messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) transfection is leveraged to identify and enrich antigen-specific T cells responding to antigen-pulsed dendritic cells (DCs). RNA transfection of marker genes is used for the selection and enrichment of antigen-specific T cells for use in adoptive immunotherapy. RNA-modified T cells are also used for the generation of enhanced effector populations for use in adoptive immunotherapy. Genes whose transient expression may significantly enhance the in vivo function of T cells (i.e., migratory receptors, anti-apoptotic genes or cytokines enhancing T cell proliferation/differentiation) are used in this modality.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 23, 2008
    Publication date: January 1, 2009
    Applicant: Duke University
    Inventors: Duane A. Mitchell, John Sampson
  • Publication number: 20080294760
    Abstract: Embodiments of the invention are directed to identifying topics that are of interest to users belonging to a selected online community, across multiple online communities visited by the users. Online communities include blogs, websites, wikis, etc. For each online community, click activity or other client behaviors are tracked and analyzed to determine statistical metrics about community activity, such as which articles, links, services, or other network resources are popular in the online community. At least some of the analysis can be performed by clients that access the online communities, by a server of each online community, and/or by a central tracking system. The results for each community may be further analyzed relative to each other. The results are filtered for the selected community and provided for the selected community. For example, a list of the most popular links for all users belonging to the authored community may be provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 22, 2007
    Publication date: November 27, 2008
    Applicant: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventors: Todd Sampson, John Sampson, Steve Ho, Eric Marcoullier, Neil Scott Rafer
  • Publication number: 20080294768
    Abstract: Embodiments of the invention are directed to identifying network resources or other topics that are of interest to members of multiple online communities to which a user belongs. Online communities include blogs, websites, games, e-commerce systems, messaging systems, wikis, etc. For each online community, click activity or other client behaviors are tracked and analyzed to determine statistical metrics about community activity, such as which articles, links, services, or other network resources are popular in the online community. At least some of the tracking or analysis can be performed by clients that access the online communities, by a server of each online community, and/or by a central tracking system. The results for each community may be further analyzed relative to each other. The results are provided for all communities with which a given user is associated. For example, a list of the most popular links in the user's selected online communities.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 22, 2007
    Publication date: November 27, 2008
    Applicant: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventors: Todd Sampson, John Sampson, Steve Ho, Eric Marcoullier, Neil Scott Rafer
  • Publication number: 20080270586
    Abstract: A system and method are directed towards managing affiliation to community sites and making such affiliations visible to visitors to the community sites, and/or a member's affiliation site. A visitor may register centrally to a plurality of community sites, and receive a member affiliation webpage. The member affiliation webpage may display community sites that the registered visitor may author, and/or community sites for which the registered visitor is affiliated. A visitor may also visit an affiliation webpage(s) for a community site that may display each visitor that is currently affiliated with that community site. By displaying members of the community site, other visitors might be able to quickly identify more interesting community sites, community sites popular to one of their friends, neighbors, family members, or the like. When a registered visitor visits a community site they may select to become affiliated or may become automatically affiliated based on a criteria.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 30, 2007
    Publication date: October 30, 2008
    Applicant: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventors: Todd Sampson, John Sampson, Steve Ho, Eric Marcoullier, Neil Scott Rafer
  • Publication number: 20080244413
    Abstract: A system and method are directed towards enabling centralized registration for managing a selective display of visitor information to distributed social networking websites. A visitor may enter selective personal information, and determine what information is made available on a social networking webpage. The visitor may then return to the social networking website to view selective visitor information, such as within a reader roll. A visitor to a social networking website may select to not have their information displayed at selective a social networking website, while still being displayed at another social networking website. In one embodiment, selecting to not display their information may be performed by ‘mousing’ over their information and selecting a display option. Social networking websites may look to a centralized registration system to determine whether to display the visitor information, while still being able to obtain information about the visitor, and/or provide benefits to the visitor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2007
    Publication date: October 2, 2008
    Applicant: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventors: Todd Sampson, John Sampson, Steve Ho, Eric Marcoullier, Neil Scott Rafer
  • Publication number: 20080244414
    Abstract: A system and method are directed towards enabling control of widgets using on-widget data controls. A visitor may enter selective personal information and determine what information is made available on a social networking webpage. A visitor to a social networking website may select to not have their information displayed at a social networking website, while still being displayed at another social networking website. A visitor's information may be displayed within a reader roll, an association listing, a visitor comment page, or the like. An owner of a social networking website may also select not to have a visitor's information displayed on the website. In one embodiment, selecting not to display information may be performed by ‘mousing’ over the information and selecting a display option. Social networking websites may look to a centralized registration system to determine whether to display the visitor information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 31, 2007
    Publication date: October 2, 2008
    Applicant: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventors: Eric Marcoullier, Todd Sampson, John Sampson, Steve Ho, Neil Scott Rafer
  • Publication number: 20080244053
    Abstract: A client device, system, and method are directed towards determining data on network site visits, and providing the data based on a geographical relationship of visitors to the network sites. A tracker tracks visits to, and outbound link click activity on a network site. If the click is associated with a URI, information is collected related to the click, including a network address associated with a source of the click. A geographic region may be determined based on the network address of the click source. Statistics may then be collected over time, including, what network sites, are visited for a given geographic region. Such statistics may be displayable in a variety of formats, and geographic regions, including by country, state, province, city, town, district, county, or the like. The tracker may be on the network site or on a client device of the visitor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2007
    Publication date: October 2, 2008
    Applicant: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventors: Todd Sampson, John Sampson, Steve Ho, Eric Marcoullier, Neil Scott Rafer
  • Publication number: 20070204869
    Abstract: A smoking article, and a method and apparatus for producing a smoking article, in which a web material containing an adsorbent material such as activated carbon and a stabilised flavourant such as menthol is positioned adjacent an interior surface of a cigarette wrapper to deliver flavour to a smoker with minimal/insignificant migration of flavour to other parts of the smoking article or packaging. The web material may be a section that extends over only a portion of the smoking article to deliver flavour to a smoker at a specific point during smoking and if positioned at the mouth end of a smoking article will be able to deliver a flavour sensation in the final puff(s).
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2005
    Publication date: September 6, 2007
    Inventors: John Sampson, Richard Oliver, Gordon Grierson, Domonic Woodcock
  • Publication number: 20070113233
    Abstract: The present invention is a method of and system for program thread synchronization. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a method of synchronizing program threads for one or more processors is provided. An address for data for each of a plurality of program threads to be synchronized is determined. For each processor executing one or more of the threads to be synchronized, execution of the thread is halted at a barrier by attempting a data operation to the determined address and the address being unavailable. Execution of the threads is resumed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2005
    Publication date: May 17, 2007
    Inventors: Jean-Francois Collard, Norman Jouppi, John Sampson
  • Publication number: 20060097502
    Abstract: With reference to FIG. 1, the present invention provides a method of manufacture of an automobile structure comprising the steps of: forming in a die a plurality of castings (10) each having at least one socket (14); forming a plurality of metallic rails (12, 13) and fixing the metallic rails (13, 14) in the socket of the castings (10) in order to construct the automobile structure. The present invention also provides a method of manufacture of a plurality of different automobile structures, the method comprising: fixing metallic rails of a first plurality into sockets of a first plurality of the castings to form a first type of automobile structure; a fixing metallic rails of a second plurality into sockets of a second plurality of castings to form a second type of automobile structure. The invention also relates to automobile structures made by the methods.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 7, 2003
    Publication date: May 11, 2006
    Inventors: John Bingham, Robert McQuire, John Sampson
  • Patent number: 4094919
    Abstract: Isomerization of alkylbenzene hydrocarbons, for example xylenes, using a silica/alumina catalyst whose alumina content has been reduced by at least 1% of the original alumina content, from an original alumina content in the range 2 to 40% by weight to a content of at least 1% by weight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 1976
    Date of Patent: June 13, 1978
    Assignee: Imperial Chemical Industries Limited
    Inventors: Ivan James Samuel Lake, Roy John Sampson
  • Patent number: 4007135
    Abstract: Alkylene oxides are produced by oxidizing olefines with oxygen in the presence of promoted silver containing catalysts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 1974
    Date of Patent: February 8, 1977
    Assignee: Imperial Chemical Industries Limited
    Inventors: Percy Hayden, Roy John Sampson, Christopher Buxton Spencer, Harry Pinnegar