Patents by Inventor Keith M. Alfano
Keith M. Alfano 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).
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Patent number: 11841785Abstract: Embodiments of systems and methods are provided for managing system configuration settings during an active system session, and for managing session retainment, based on user presence detected within a field of view (FOV) of an information handling system (IHS) and policy. The systems and methods described herein improve system security in an IHS operated within a multi-user environment by managing system configuration and session retainment when a trusted user or an unknown user is present within a FOV of the authenticated user's system during an active system session.Type: GrantFiled: January 18, 2023Date of Patent: December 12, 2023Assignee: Dell Products L.P.Inventors: Karun P. Reddy, Mandy C. Phelps, Daniel L. Hamlin, Keith M. Alfano, Banu Alpay Waldman
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Patent number: 11379333Abstract: Notifications can be managed across ecosystems. A centralized hub can implement a learning engine that uses an algorithm to evaluate incoming notifications that are intended for a user that uses multiple computing devices having different ecosystems. The algorithm can be configured to determine on which of the user's computing devices the notifications should be presented given a particular context. Agents executing on the user's computing devices can monitor how the user interacts with the notifications and provide indications of such interactions to the learning engine. The learning engine can then update its algorithm based on the user's interactions to cause future notifications to be delivered to the user via the ecosystem that is most appropriate for a given context in which each notification is received.Type: GrantFiled: September 11, 2020Date of Patent: July 5, 2022Assignee: Dell Products L.P.Inventors: Vishal Varshney, Keith M. Alfano
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Publication number: 20220083440Abstract: Notifications can be managed across ecosystems. A centralized hub can implement a learning engine that uses an algorithm to evaluate incoming notifications that are intended for a user that uses multiple computing devices having different ecosystems. The algorithm can be configured to determine on which of the user's computing devices the notifications should be presented given a particular context. Agents executing on the user's computing devices can monitor how the user interacts with the notifications and provide indications of such interactions to the learning engine. The learning engine can then update its algorithm based on the user's interactions to cause future notifications to be delivered to the user via the ecosystem that is most appropriate for a given context in which each notification is received.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 11, 2020Publication date: March 17, 2022Inventors: Vishal Varshney, Keith M. Alfano
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Patent number: 11086415Abstract: A method for emulating writing devices using a haptic pen is disclosed herein. The method may include receiving, by a first microcontroller unit of the haptic pen, a device configuration indicating a writing device to be emulated. The first microcontroller unit may cause transmitters of the haptic pen to transmit a beacon to a second microcontroller unit of a display. The first microcontroller unit may receive contextual inputs from the second microcontroller unit that indicate an orientation of the haptic pen in relation to the display. The first microcontroller unit may apply a respective weight to each of the contextual inputs based on the device configuration and may cause a haptic response based on the respective weights applied to each of the contextual inputs. The haptic response causes the haptic pen to emulate the writing device.Type: GrantFiled: January 24, 2020Date of Patent: August 10, 2021Assignee: Dell Products L.P.Inventors: Keith M. Alfano, Michael S. Gatson, Thomas Lanzoni
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Publication number: 20210232237Abstract: A method for emulating writing devices using a haptic pen is disclosed herein. The method may include receiving, by a first microcontroller unit of the haptic pen, a device configuration indicating a writing device to be emulated. The first microcontroller unit may cause transmitters of the haptic pen to transmit a beacon to a second microcontroller unit of a display. The first microcontroller unit may receive contextual inputs from the second microcontroller unit that indicate an orientation of the haptic pen in relation to the display. The first microcontroller unit may apply a respective weight to each of the contextual inputs based on the device configuration and may cause a haptic response based on the respective weights applied to each of the contextual inputs. The haptic response causes the haptic pen to emulate the writing device.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 24, 2020Publication date: July 29, 2021Inventors: Keith M. Alfano, Michael S. Gatson, Thomas Lanzoni
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Patent number: 10732919Abstract: An information handling system includes first and second displays, and a display controller. The display controller provides a visual output to the first and second display based on a display mode. A processor selects a mask display mode as a default display mode, determines a content type of the visual output, selects a split display mode when the content type is a first content type, determines a physical flatness of the information handling system when the content type is a second content type, and selects the split display mode when the physical flatness is greater than a flatness threshold.Type: GrantFiled: June 19, 2018Date of Patent: August 4, 2020Assignee: Dell Products, L.P.Inventors: Deeder M. Aurongzeb, Keith M. Alfano
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Publication number: 20190384558Abstract: An information handling system includes first and second displays, and a display controller. The display controller provides a visual output to the first and second display based on a display mode. A processor selects a mask display mode as a default display mode, determines a content type of the visual output, selects a split display mode when the content type is a first content type, determines a physical flatness of the information handling system when the content type is a second content type, and selects the split display mode when the physical flatness is greater than a flatness threshold.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 19, 2018Publication date: December 19, 2019Inventors: Deeder M. Aurongzeb, Keith M. Alfano
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Patent number: 10496193Abstract: A pen device includes a battery, a logic unit and a wireless transceiver configured to transmit detected pen device inputs by a user to an IHS (Information Handling System). A touchpad extending around a circumference of the pen device includes capacitive layers configured to detect the user contacting the touchpad. The touchpad also includes pressure-sensitive layers configured to detect a force applied by the user in contacting the touchpad. The combination of inputs from the layers of the touchpad provides the location and pressure of the user's contact with the touchpad. These touchpad inputs in combination with the detected movement of the pen device support detection of inputs such as taps, squeezes and gestures that may serve as inputs to an application operating on the IHS. Utilizing the pen device in this manner, a user may provide various types of application inputs without interruption from the user's current workflow.Type: GrantFiled: June 28, 2018Date of Patent: December 3, 2019Assignee: Dell Products, L.P.Inventors: Keith M. Alfano, Michiel Sebastiaan Emanuel Petrus Knoppert, Deeder M. Aurongzeb
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Publication number: 20180321731Abstract: An information handling system operating a heuristic user presence based power management system may comprise a video display and a processor operatively connected to a memory, operating an information handling system according to a full power protocol. The processor may execute machine readable executable code instructions of the heuristic user presence based power management system to receive one or more inputs indicating user absence determined based on information gathered by one or more of a plurality of sensor devices, identify a user absence confidence level associated with the one or more inputs indicating user absence in a human absence confidence table stored in the memory, and to initiate a low power protocol after a first preset time period, if the identified user absence confidence level meets a preset low power threshold value.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 4, 2017Publication date: November 8, 2018Applicant: Dell Products, LPInventors: Keith M. Alfano, Karun P. Reddy
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Patent number: 10009598Abstract: A system, method, and computer-readable medium are disclosed for dynamically controlling a multi-modal camera system to take advantage of the benefits of sensing gestures with a 2D camera, while overcoming the challenges associated with 2D cameras for performing gesture detection. In certain embodiments, the multi-modal camera system includes an RGB camera and a depth camera, thus providing both a 2D and a 3D capture mode.Type: GrantFiled: May 1, 2015Date of Patent: June 26, 2018Assignee: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.Inventors: Roman J. Pacheco, Keith M. Alfano
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Publication number: 20160323564Abstract: A system, method, and computer-readable medium are disclosed for dynamically controlling a multi-modal camera system to take advantage of the benefits of sensing gestures with a 2D camera, while overcoming the challenges associated with 2D cameras for performing gesture detection. In certain embodiments, the multi-modal camera system includes an RGB camera and a depth camera, thus providing both a 2D and a 3D capture mode.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 1, 2015Publication date: November 3, 2016Applicant: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.Inventors: Roman J. Pacheco, Keith M. Alfano