Patents by Inventor Nicholas T. Sullivan

Nicholas T. Sullivan 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: 11976498
    Abstract: A container having a base and a lid is provided. The lid may be rotatable about a hinge from a closed configuration to an open configuration and may be secured, via one or more latching assemblies. The latching assembly may comprise a latch body, a locking member, a biasing member, and an activating member. Additional features of the container may include handles and strength increasing features. The base and lid may also feature attachment points for various accessories. A carry strap may attach to the base of the container to allow a user to lift and carry the container. The container may also have a wheels attached to the bottom portion and/or across the bottom portion to one side of the sidewall structure. In addition, in exemplary containers with wheels, a pull handle may be attached to a side opposite the wheels. The lid may include a lid support member that can act as a molle board to releasably secure items to the lid support member while also providing structural support to the lid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: YETI Coolers, LLC
    Inventors: Roy Joseph Seiders, Steve Charles Nichols, Kyle Ellison, Andy Bondhus, Tobias Hotchkiss, Liza Morris, Dennis Zuck, Ryan Nixon, Mark Carlson Rane, Walter T. Blanchard, Nicholas James Lombardi, Dustin Bullock, Michael Christopher Cieszko, Derek G. Sullivan
  • Patent number: 11475106
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media for enforcing application usage policies. As part of an application purchase transaction, the application distributor creates a unique proof of purchase receipt. This receipt can be bundled with the application and delivered to the purchaser. Each machine can maintain an authorization file that lists the users authorized to use applications on that machine. A system configured to practice the method verifies that a user is authorized to use an application on a machine based on an application proof of purchase receipt and the authorization file. If the application proof of purchase receipt and the authorization file are both valid, the system checks if the user account identifier in the receipt is contained in the authorization file. If so, the user can be considered authorized to use the application on the machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jean-Pierre Ciudad, Augustin J. Farrugia, David M'Raihi, Bertrand Mollinier Toublet, Gianpaolo Fasoli, Nicholas T. Sullivan
  • Publication number: 20190114399
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media for enforcing application usage policies. As part of an application purchase transaction, the application distributor creates a unique proof of purchase receipt. This receipt can be bundled with the application and delivered to the purchaser. Each machine can maintain an authorization file that lists the users authorized to use applications on that machine. A system configured to practice the method verifies that a user is authorized to use an application on a machine based on an application proof of purchase receipt and the authorization file. If the application proof of purchase receipt and the authorization file are both valid, the system checks if the user account identifier in the receipt is contained in the authorization file. If so, the user can be considered authorized to use the application on the machine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 31, 2018
    Publication date: April 18, 2019
    Inventors: Jean-Pierre CIUDAD, Augustin J. FARRUGIA, David M'RAIHI, Bertrand Mollinier TOUBLET, Gianpaolo FASOLI, Nicholas T. SULLIVAN
  • Patent number: 9530133
    Abstract: An authentication challenge system for performing secondary authentication for an account associated with an online store is described. In one embodiment, the authentication challenge system includes a question generation engine, which can derive a series of questions based upon activity associated with a user account of an online store; a network interface, which can transport the series of one or more questions derived by the question generation engine to authenticate the user to the online store; a confidence engine, which can determine a required confidence level for a successful authentication, and can compute a confidence score of the user identity; and a quality engine, which can adjust the question generation engine and the confidence engine based upon an analysis of question and answer metrics across multiple accounts of the online store. The online store can include digital media, such as music, movies, books or applications for electronic computing devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2016
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan G. McLachlan, Augustin J. Farrugia, Nicholas T. Sullivan
  • Publication number: 20150220926
    Abstract: An authentication challenge system for performing secondary authentication for an account associated with an online store is described. In one embodiment, the authentication challenge system includes a question generation engine, which can derive a series of questions based upon activity associated with a user account of an online store; a network interface, which can transport the series of one or more questions derived by the question generation engine to authenticate the user to the online store; a confidence engine, which can determine a required confidence level for a successful authentication, and can compute a confidence score of the user identity; and a quality engine, which can adjust the question generation engine and the confidence engine based upon an analysis of question and answer metrics across multiple accounts of the online store. The online store can include digital media, such as music, movies, books or applications for electronic computing devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 13, 2015
    Publication date: August 6, 2015
    Inventors: Jonathan G. McLachlan, Augustin J. Farrugia, Nicholas T. Sullivan
  • Patent number: 9069656
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a system wide static global stack pool in a contiguous range of random access memory is generated, a block of memory in the system global pool is assigned to a thread of a running process, and the thread stores local variable information in static global stack pool, such that the local variable is hidden from a stack frame back-trace. In one embodiment, a dynamically allocated data structure in system heap memory is generated, the data structure is locked to ensure atomic access, a block of memory in the data structure is assigned to a thread of a process, the data structure is unlocked, and the thread stores local variable information in static global stack pool, such that the local variable is hidden from a stack frame back-trace.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2015
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan G. McLachlan, Julien Lerouge, Nicholas T. Sullivan
  • Patent number: 9043887
    Abstract: An authentication challenge system for performing secondary authentication for an account associated with an online store is described. In one embodiment, the authentication challenge system includes a question generation engine, which can derive a series of questions based upon activity associated with a user account of an online store; a network interface, which can transport the series of one or more questions derived by the question generation engine to authenticate the user to the online store; a confidence engine, which can determine a required confidence level for a successful authentication, and can compute a confidence score of the user identity; and a quality engine, which can adjust the question generation engine and the confidence engine based upon an analysis of question and answer metrics across multiple accounts of the online store. The online store can include digital media, such as music, movies, books or applications for electronic computing devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2015
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan G. McLachlan, Augustin J. Farrugia, Nicholas T. Sullivan
  • Patent number: 8949935
    Abstract: In one embodiment, non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions for establishing a trusted two-way communications session for account creation for an online store, which include instructions for causing a processor to perform operations comprising retrieving and verifying a signed configuration file from a server, requesting a communication session using the configuration file, receiving a payload of account creation forms from a network client, signing the payload according to the server configuration file, and sending the signed payload containing account creation information to the server. In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method comprises analyzing timestamps for requests for data forms for supplying account creation information for evidence of automated account creation activity and rejecting the request for the locator of the second account creation form if evidence of automated account creation activity is detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas Alsina, Michael K. Chu, Augustin J. Farrugia, Gianpaolo Fasoli, Sean B. Kelly, Delfin Jorge Rojas, Nicholas T. Sullivan, Zhiyuan Zhao
  • Patent number: 8887140
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for obfuscating using inlined functions. A system configured to practice the method receives a program listing including annotated functions for obfuscation, identifies an annotated function called more than once in the program listing, and creates an inline control flow structure in the program listing for the identified annotated function, the control flow structure being computationally equivalent to inlining the identified annotated function into the program listing for each occurrence of the identified annotated function. The program listing can include tiers of annotated functions. The system can identify annotated functions called more than once based on an optionally generated callgraph. The system can create inline control flow structures in the program listing in order of annotation importance. The system can identify how many times each annotated function is called in the program listing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Julien Lerouge, Nicholas T. Sullivan, Gideon M. Myles, Jon McLachlan, Augustin J. Farrugia
  • Publication number: 20140189829
    Abstract: An authentication challenge system for performing secondary authentication for an account associated with an online store is described. In one embodiment, the authentication challenge system includes a question generation engine, which can derive a series of questions based upon activity associated with a user account of an online store; a network interface, which can transport the series of one or more questions derived by the question generation engine to authenticate the user to the online store; a confidence engine, which can determine a required confidence level for a successful authentication, and can compute a confidence score of the user identity; and a quality engine, which can adjust the question generation engine and the confidence engine based upon an analysis of question and answer metrics across multiple accounts of the online store. The online store can include digital media, such as music, movies, books or applications for electronic computing devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 31, 2012
    Publication date: July 3, 2014
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan G. McLachlan, Augustin J. Farrugia, Nicholas T. Sullivan
  • Patent number: 8699703
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for obfuscating data via a pseudo-random polymorphic tree. A server, using a seed value shared with a client device, generates a tag stream according to a byte-string algorithm. The server passes the tag stream and the data to be transmitted to the client device through a pseudo-random polymorphic tree serializer to generate a pseudo-random polymorphic tree, which the server transmits to the client device. The client device, using the same seed and byte-string algorithm, generates the same tag stream as on the server. The client passes that tag stream and the received pseudo-random polymorphic tree through a pseudo-random polymorphic tree parser to extract the data. Data to be transmitted from the server to the client device is hidden in a block of seemingly random data, which changes for different seed values. This approach obfuscates data and has low processing overhead.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas T. Sullivan, Bertrand Mollinier Toublet, Gianpaolo Fasoli, Jon McLachlan
  • Publication number: 20140095812
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a system wide static global stack pool in a contiguous range of random access memory is generated, a block of memory in the system global pool is assigned to a thread of a running process, and the thread stores local variable information in static global stack pool, such that the local variable is hidden from a stack frame back-trace. In one embodiment, a dynamically allocated data structure in system heap memory is generated, the data structure is locked to ensure atomic access, a block of memory in the data structure is assigned to a thread of a process, the data structure is unlocked, and the thread stores local variable information in static global stack pool, such that the local variable is hidden from a stack frame back-trace.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2012
    Publication date: April 3, 2014
    Applicant: Appli Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan G. McLachan, Julien Lerouge, Nicholas T. Sullivan
  • Publication number: 20140082695
    Abstract: In one embodiment, non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions for establishing a trusted two-way communications session for account creation for an online store, which include instructions for causing a processor to perform operations comprising retrieving and verifying a signed configuration file from a server, requesting a communication session using the configuration file, receiving a payload of account creation forms from a network client, signing the payload according to the server configuration file, and sending the signed payload containing account creation information to the server. In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method comprises analyzing timestamps for requests for data forms for supplying account creation information for evidence of automated account creation activity and rejecting the request for the locator of the second account creation form if evidence of automated account creation activity is detected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 31, 2012
    Publication date: March 20, 2014
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas Alsina, Michael K. Chu, Augustin J. Farrugia, Gianpaolo Fasoli, Sean B. Kelly, Delfin Jorge Rojas, Nicholas T. Sullivan, Zhiyuan Zhao
  • Patent number: 8656363
    Abstract: Disclosed are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for detecting changes in a source of entropy. A system configured to practice the method generates a cyclic graph based at least in part on the values in the entropy pool. Using the cyclic graph and one or more starting points, the system establishes one or more baseline properties for the cyclic graph. These properties can include the number of steps required to identify a cycle in the graph or the number of steps required to traverse the graph from one or more starting points to a selected end point. The computed properties are then stored for later use. As execution progresses, the system monitors the entropy pool to detect a change by regenerating the cyclic graph and using the stored properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2014
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jon McLachlan, Julien Lerouge, Nicholas T. Sullivan, Ganna Zaks, Augustin J. Farrugia
  • Patent number: 8638935
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for key space division and sub-key derivation for mixed media digital rights management content and secure digital asset distribution. A system practicing the exemplary method derives a set of family keys from a master key associated with an encrypted media asset using a one-way function, wherein each family key is uniquely associated with a respective client platform type, wherein the master key is received from a server account database, and identifies a client platform type for a client device and a corresponding family key from the set of family keys. The system encrypts an encrypted media asset with the corresponding family key to yield a platform-specific encrypted media asset, and transmits the platform-specific encrypted media asset to the client device. Thus, different client devices receive device-specific encrypted assets which can be all derived based on the same master key.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2014
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Gianpaolo Fasoli, Augustin J. Farrugia, Bertrand Mollinier Toublet, Gelareh Taban, Nicholas T. Sullivan, Srinivas Vedula
  • Publication number: 20130182842
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for key space division and sub-key derivation for mixed media digital rights management content and secure digital asset distribution. A system practicing the exemplary method derives a set of family keys from a master key associated with an encrypted media asset using a one-way function, wherein each family key is uniquely associated with a respective client platform type, wherein the master key is received from a server account database, and identifies a client platform type for a client device and a corresponding family key from the set of family keys. The system encrypts an encrypted media asset with the corresponding family key to yield a platform-specific encrypted media asset, and transmits the platform-specific encrypted media asset to the client device. Thus, different client devices receive device-specific encrypted assets which can be all derived based on the same master key.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 12, 2012
    Publication date: July 18, 2013
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Gianpaolo Fasoli, Augustin J. Farrugia, Bertrand Mollinier Toublet, Gelareh Taban, Nicholas T. Sullivan, Srinivas Vedula
  • Publication number: 20130103942
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for obfuscating data via a pseudo-random polymorphic tree. A server, using a seed value shared with a client device, generates a tag stream according to a byte-string algorithm. The server passes the tag stream and the data to be transmitted to the client device through a pseudo-random polymorphic tree serializer to generate a pseudo-random polymorphic tree, which the server transmits to the client device. The client device, using the same seed and byte-string algorithm, generates the same tag stream as on the server. The client passes that tag stream and the received pseudo-random polymorphic tree through a pseudo-random polymorphic tree parser to extract the data. Data to be transmitted from the server to the client device is hidden in a block of seemingly random data, which changes for different seed values. This approach obfuscates data and has low processing overhead.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2011
    Publication date: April 25, 2013
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas T. Sullivan, Bertrand Mollinier Toublet, Gianpaolo Fasoli, Jon McLachlan
  • Patent number: 8325913
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, methods and computer readable media for performing authentication. The proposed scheme utilizes new algorithms that introduce randomness using a physical value for authentication. An exemplary method includes sharing an initial state value S(0) with a sender and a receiver, generating a sender S(t, v) based on a parameter t and an identifier v and based at least in part on the value S(0). The method includes generating a receiver S(t, v) from S(0) based on the parameter t and the identifier v wherein the parameter t is related to a physical value in authenticating the identifier v based on a comparison of the sender S(t, v) and the receiver S(t, v). The process of generating the sender S(t, v) and the receiver S(t, v) includes a random variable generated by a process such as by a random number generator, the Brownian Motion or Wiener Process. Other embodiments do not use the physical value for authentication.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Mathieu Ciet, Augustin Farrugia, Jean-Francois Riendeau, Nicholas T. Sullivan
  • Patent number: 8300809
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods for obfuscating data via a modulus operation. A client device receives input data, stores an operation value, performs a modulus obfuscation on the operation value, performs a modulus operation on the operation value and the input data, performs a modulus transformation on the operation value and the input data to obtain client output data, and checks if the client output data matches corresponding server output data. A corresponding server device receives input data, performs a modulus transformation on the input data to obtain a result, performs a plain operation on the result and an operation value to obtain server output data, and checks if the server output data matches corresponding client output data from the client device. The client and/or server can optionally authenticate the client input data and the server input data if the server output data matches the client output data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2012
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Mathieu Ciet, Augustin J. Farrugia, Nicholas T. Sullivan
  • Patent number: 8225100
    Abstract: Aspects relate to systems and methods for implementing a hash function using a stochastic and recurrent process, and performing arithmetic operations during the recurrence on portions of a message being hashed. In an example method, the stochastic process is a Galton-Watson process, the message is decomposed into blocks, and the method involves looping for a number of blocks in the message. In each loop, a current hash value is determined based on arithmetic performed on a previous hash value and some aspect of a current block. The arithmetic performed can involve modular arithmetic, such as modular addition and exponentiation. The algorithm can be adjusted to achieve qualities including a variable length output, or to perform fewer or more computations for a given hash. Also, randomizing elements can be introduced into the arithmetic, avoiding a modular reduction until final hash output production.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2012
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Mathieu Ciet, Michael L. Crogan, Augustin J. Farrugia, Nicholas T. Sullivan