Patents by Inventor Thomas Neil Richards

Thomas Neil Richards 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: 5692205
    Abstract: A method and system are disclosed for integrating multimedia presentations into an object oriented user interface which includes multiple polymorphic objects which each have associated encapsulated data and functionality. Multiple separate user selectable data views are defined for each object which provide different views of the data associated with an object. Selection by a user of an audio or video data view for an object results in the provision of a multimedia presentation by automatically coupling audio or video data to an appropriate device. Audio data may be directly associated with an object or derived in response to selection of an audio data view, by means of a text-to-speech process, or other similar technique. Encapsulating multimedia data within an object integrates multimedia presentation capability within an object without requiring separate audio or video objects which must be manipulated by the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 25, 1997
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Richard E. Berry, Thomas Neil Richards