Patents by Inventor Reed L. Townsend

Reed L. Townsend 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: 11868609
    Abstract: In accordance with one or more aspects of a dynamic soft keyboard, a user input is received via a soft keyboard having multiple keys. Information describing a current input environment for the soft keyboard is obtained, and a determination is made as to which one or more keys of the multiple keys was intended to be selected by the user input. This determination is made based at least in part on the current input environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC.
    Inventors: Erik M. Geidl, Shawn R. LeProwse, Ian C. LeGrow, Reed L. Townsend
  • Publication number: 20220342539
    Abstract: In accordance with one or more aspects of a dynamic soft keyboard, a user input is received via a soft keyboard having multiple keys. Information describing a current input environment for the soft keyboard is obtained, and a determination is made as to which one or more keys of the multiple keys was intended to be selected by the user input. This determination is made based at least in part on the current input environment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 6, 2022
    Publication date: October 27, 2022
    Inventors: Erik M. GEIDL, Shawn R. LePROWSE, Ian C. LeGROW, Reed L. TOWNSEND
  • Patent number: 11416142
    Abstract: In accordance with one or more aspects of a dynamic soft keyboard, a user input is received via a soft keyboard having multiple keys. Information describing a current input environment for the soft keyboard is obtained, and a determination is made as to which one or more keys of the multiple keys was intended to be selected by the user input. This determination is made based at least in part on the current input environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Erik M. Geidl, Shawn R. LeProwse, Ian C. LeGrow, Reed L. Townsend
  • Publication number: 20220083219
    Abstract: In accordance with one or more aspects of a dynamic soft keyboard, a user input is received via a soft keyboard having multiple keys. Information describing a current input environment for the soft keyboard is obtained, and a determination is made as to which one or more keys of the multiple keys was intended to be selected by the user input. This determination is made based at least in part on the current input environment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 23, 2021
    Publication date: March 17, 2022
    Inventors: Erik M. GEIDL, Shawn R. LePROWSE, Ian C. LeGROW, Reed L. TOWNSEND
  • Patent number: 11275497
    Abstract: Methods of controlling the display and use of a UI element are disclosed. In an embodiment, the UI element may configured so that it initially maintains a topmost position but eventually allows other applications to assume the topmost position. In an embodiment, the display of the element may be adjusted in response to an input so that the UI element is not visible on the display. In an embodiment, the use of the UI element may allow for seamless dragging of the UI element even if the user inadvertently fails to make consistent contact with the touch-sensitive display while dragging the UI element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Reed L. Townsend, Steven P. Dodge, Bryan D. Scott, Alexander J. Kolmykov-Zotov
  • Patent number: 11199966
    Abstract: In accordance with one or more aspects of a dynamic soft keyboard, a user input is received via a soft keyboard having multiple keys. Information describing a current input environment for the soft keyboard is obtained, and a determination is made as to which one or more keys of the multiple keys was intended to be selected by the user input. This determination is made based at least in part on the current input environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Erik M. Geidl, Shawn R. LeProwse, Ian C. LeGrow, Reed L. Townsend
  • Patent number: 10817080
    Abstract: A method for rejecting an unintentional palm touch is disclosed. In at least some embodiments, a touch is detected by a touch-sensitive surface associated with a display. Characteristics of the touch may be used to generate a set of parameters related to the touch. In an embodiment, firmware is used to determine a reliability value for the touch. The reliability value and the location of the touch is provided to a software module. The software module uses the reliability value and an activity context to determine a confidence level of the touch. In an embodiment, the confidence level may include an evaluation of changes in the reliability value over time. If the confidence level for the touch is too low, it may be rejected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2020
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Reed L. Townsend, Alexander J. Kolmykov-Zotov, Steven P. Dodge, Bryan D. Scott
  • Patent number: 10733710
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatuses for beautifying raw drawing data include a beautification engine having a raw data processor that receives the drawing data and identifies a set of segments in the data. A beautification director constructs a structural representation of the set of segments data that specifies a topological relationship between the segments. A single primitive beautifier identifies a segment in the structural representation to be beautified and a single primitive beautification action is applied to the segment to generate beautified raw drawing data. A multiple primitive beautifier identifies adjacent segments in the structural representation to be beautified and a multiple beautification action is applied to the adjacent segments to generate further beautified drawing data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Tianyi Chen, Xiao Tu, Sheng Yi, Kyle Thomas Beck, Reed L. Townsend, Megan L. Fu
  • Patent number: 10503395
    Abstract: The inertia system provides a common platform and application-programming interface (API) for applications to extend the input received from various multi-touch hardware devices to simulate real-world behavior of application objects. To move naturally, application objects should exhibit physical characteristics such as elasticity and deceleration. When a user lifts all contacts from an object, the inertia system provides additional manipulation events to the application so that the application can handle the events as if the user was still moving the object with touch. The inertia system generates the events based on a simulation of the behavior of the objects. If the user moves an object into another object, the inertia system simulates the boundary characteristics of the objects. Thus, the inertia system provides more realistic movement for application objects manipulated using multi-touch hardware and the API provides a consistent feel to manipulations across applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2019
    Assignee: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY, LLC
    Inventors: Reed L. Townsend, Xiao Tu, Bryan Scott, Todd A. Torset, Kenneth W. Sykes, Samir S. Pradhan, Jennifer A. Teed
  • Publication number: 20190278476
    Abstract: In accordance with one or more aspects of a dynamic soft keyboard, a user input is received via a soft keyboard having multiple keys. Information describing a current input environment for the soft keyboard is obtained, and a determination is made as to which one or more keys of the multiple keys was intended to be selected by the user input. This determination is made based at least in part on the current input environment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 24, 2019
    Publication date: September 12, 2019
    Inventors: Erik M. GEIDL, Shawn R. LePROWSE, Ian C. LeGROW, Reed L. TOWNSEND
  • Patent number: 10394446
    Abstract: In accordance with one or more aspects of a dynamic soft keyboard, a user input is received via a soft keyboard having multiple keys. Information describing a current input environment for the soft keyboard is obtained, and a determination is made as to which one or more keys of the multiple keys was intended to be selected by the user input. This determination is made based at least in part on the current input environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2019
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Erik M. Geidl, Shawn R. LeProwse, Ian C. LeGrow, Reed L. Townsend
  • Publication number: 20190188831
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatuses for beautifying raw drawing data include a beautification engine having a raw data processor that receives the drawing data and identifies a set of segments in the data. A beautification director constructs a structural representation of the set of segments data that specifies a topological relationship between the segments. A single primitive beautifier identifies a segment in the structural representation to be beautified and a single primitive beautification action is applied to the segment to generate beautified raw drawing data. A multiple primitive beautifier identifies adjacent segments in the structural representation to be beautified and a multiple beautification action is applied to the adjacent segments to generate further beautified drawing data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2017
    Publication date: June 20, 2019
    Inventors: Tianyi Chen, Xiao Tu, Sheng Yi, Kyle Thomas Beck, Reed L. Townsend, Megan L. Fu
  • Publication number: 20190113997
    Abstract: The manipulation system described herein provides a common platform and application-programming interface (API) for applications to communicate with various multi-touch hardware devices, and facilitates the interpretation of multi-touch input as one or more manipulations. Manipulations map more directly to user intentions than do individual touch inputs and add support for basic transformation of objects using multiple touch contacts. An application can use manipulations to support rotating, resizing, and translating multiple objects at the same time. The manipulation system outputs two-dimensional (2D) affine transforms that contain rotation, scale, and translation information. Thus, using the manipulation system the application author can focus more on building touch-capable applications and let the manipulation system handle the underlying transformations and communication with the multi-touch hardware.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2018
    Publication date: April 18, 2019
    Applicant: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Reed L. TOWNSEND, Xiao TU, Bryan SCOTT, Todd A. TORSET, Erik M. GEIDL, Samir S. PRADHAN, Jennifer A. TEED
  • Patent number: 10198101
    Abstract: The manipulation system described herein provides a common platform and application-programming interface (API) for applications to communicate with various multi-touch hardware devices, and facilitates the interpretation of multi-touch input as one or more manipulations. Manipulations map more directly to user intentions than do individual touch inputs and add support for basic transformation of objects using multiple touch contacts. An application can use manipulations to support rotating, resizing, and translating multiple objects at the same time. The manipulation system outputs two-dimensional (2D) affine transforms that contain rotation, scale, and translation information. Thus, using the manipulation system the application author can focus more on building touch-capable applications and let the manipulation system handle the underlying transformations and communication with the multi-touch hardware.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2019
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Reed L. Townsend, Xiao Tu, Bryan Scott, Todd A. Torset, Erik M. Geidl, Samir S. Pradhan, Jennifer A. Teed
  • Publication number: 20180239450
    Abstract: A method for rejecting an unintentional palm touch is disclosed. In at least some embodiments, a touch is detected by a touch-sensitive surface associated with a display. Characteristics of the touch may be used to generate a set of parameters related to the touch. In an embodiment, firmware is used to determine a reliability value for the touch. The reliability value and the location of the touch is provided to a software module. The software module uses the reliability value and an activity context to determine a confidence level of the touch. In an embodiment, the confidence level may include an evaluation of changes in the reliability value over time. If the confidence level for the touch is too low, it may be rejected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2018
    Publication date: August 23, 2018
    Applicant: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Reed L. TOWNSEND, Alexander J. KOLMYKOV-ZOTOV, Steven P. DODGE, Bryan D. SCOTT
  • Patent number: 10019080
    Abstract: A method for rejecting an unintentional palm touch is disclosed. In at least some embodiments, a touch is detected by a touch-sensitive surface associated with a display. Characteristics of the touch may be used to generate a set of parameters related to the touch. In an embodiment, firmware is used to determine a reliability value for the touch. The reliability value and the location of the touch is provided to a software module. The software module uses the reliability value and an activity context to determine a confidence level of the touch. In an embodiment, the confidence level may include an evaluation of changes in the reliability value over time. If the confidence level for the touch is too low, it may be rejected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2018
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Reed L. Townsend, Alexander J. Kolmykov-Zotov, Steven P. Dodge, Bryan D. Scott
  • Patent number: 9996176
    Abstract: A tablet PC having an interactive display, which is touchscreen enabled, may be enhanced to provide a user with superior usability and efficiency. A touchscreen device may be configured to receive multiple concurrent touchscreen contacts. The attributes of the multiple concurrent touchscreen contracts may be mapped to operations performed on the computing device. As a result, a user can trigger the execution of the toggle accessibility aid operation and the screen rotation operation with greater convenience. Moreover, the tablet PC may be configured to map an operation to a hand gesture or input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Alexander J. Zotov, Bryan D. Scott, Reed L. Townsend, Steven P. Dodge
  • Publication number: 20180129410
    Abstract: The inertia system provides a common platform and application-programming interface (API) for applications to extend the input received from various multi-touch hardware devices to simulate real-world behavior of application objects. To move naturally, application objects should exhibit physical characteristics such as elasticity and deceleration. When a user lifts all contacts from an object, the inertia system provides additional manipulation events to the application so that the application can handle the events as if the user was still moving the object with touch. The inertia system generates the events based on a simulation of the behavior of the objects. If the user moves an object into another object, the inertia system simulates the boundary characteristics of the objects. Thus, the inertia system provides more realistic movement for application objects manipulated using multi-touch hardware and the API provides a consistent feel to manipulations across applications.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 4, 2018
    Publication date: May 10, 2018
    Inventors: Reed L. Townsend, Xiao Tu, Bryan Scott, Todd A. Torset, Kenneth W. Sykes, Samir S. Pradhan, Jennifer A. Teed
  • Patent number: 9952718
    Abstract: A method for rejecting an unintentional palm touch is disclosed. In at least some embodiments, a touch is detected by a touch-sensitive surface associated with a display. Characteristics of the touch may be used to generate a set of parameters related to the touch. In an embodiment, firmware is used to determine a reliability value for the touch. The reliability value and the location of the touch is provided to a software module. The software module uses the reliability value and an activity context to determine a confidence level of the touch. In an embodiment, the confidence level may include an evaluation of changes in the reliability value over time. If the confidence level for the touch is too low, it may be rejected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Reed L. Townsend, Alexander J. Kolmykov-Zotov, Steven P. Dodge, Bryan D. Scott
  • Patent number: 9946370
    Abstract: A method for rejecting an unintentional palm touch is disclosed. In at least some embodiments, a touch is detected by a touch-sensitive surface associated with a display. Characteristics of the touch may be used to generate a set of parameters related to the touch. In an embodiment, firmware is used to determine a reliability value for the touch. The reliability value and the location of the touch is provided to a software module. The software module uses the reliability value and an activity context to determine a confidence level of the touch. In an embodiment, the confidence level may include an evaluation of changes in the reliability value over time. If the confidence level for the touch is too low, it may be rejected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2018
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Reed L. Townsend, Alexander J. Kolmykov-Zotov, Steven P. Dodge, Bryan D. Scott