Patents by Inventor William L. Thomas

William L. Thomas 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: 10757461
    Abstract: Systems and methods are described herein such that, a media guidance application presents, in an interactive program guide, a virtual content source for binge watching a program series. The media guidance application may determine a program series a user is currently watching. The media guidance application may receive a user selection of a media asset. The media guidance application may determine a length of time between a current time and a start time of the media asset. The media guidance application may determine the next episodes of the program series the user can watch before the start time of the media asset and present them using a virtual content source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
    Inventors: William L. Thomas, Margret B. Schmidt, Alexander W. Liston, Jonathan A. Logan, Gabriel C. Dalbec, Mathew C. Burns, Ajay Kumar Gupta
  • Patent number: 10757109
    Abstract: Systems and methods for providing access to media content by connecting, to a public device, a private device that has an installed application associated with the media content. A media guidance application may receive a communication from a private device, running a private interface application, requesting to access content using the public device. In response, the media guidance application may retrieve, at the public device, a public interface application associated with the private interface application, from a content provider of the content. The private interface application may be configured to control a graphical user interface of the public interface application. Accordingly, the user may be able to access content via the public device when the private device is within a predetermined proximity to the public device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
    Inventor: William L. Thomas
  • Patent number: 10749852
    Abstract: Systems and methods for connecting a private device to a public device based on various connection parameters. For example, a media guidance application may receive a communication requesting to use the public device from a private device that is implementing a private interface application (e.g., Netflix™ a streaming media application). In response, the media guidance application may generate an authorization key that is unique to the private device and comprises connection parameters. The media guidance application may transmit the authorization key to the private interface application to initiate a session between the public device and the private device. Whenever a command is received from the private device, the media guidance application may verify the authorization key and determine whether the connection parameters are satisfied. In response to verifying the authorization key and the connection parameters, the public device may execute the received command.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
    Inventor: William L. Thomas
  • Publication number: 20200250236
    Abstract: Systems and methods are described herein for updating search results based on a user's comment or a conversation among users using a media guidance application. A set of search results may be presented to a user or users. Comments or a conversation about the search results may be analyzed by the media guidance application. Selected comments by a user determined to have a greater weight may be used to update the search results.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 3, 2020
    Publication date: August 6, 2020
    Inventors: John Blake, Paul Stathacopoulos, William L. Thomas
  • Patent number: 10735810
    Abstract: Systems and methods for disambiguation of an ambiguous entity in a search query based on the gaze of a user. These systems and methods may be implemented by a media guidance application (e.g., executed by user equipment associated with the user). In some aspects, the media guidance application may monitor the gaze of the user and attempt to disambiguate the ambiguous entity based on an area of the screen the user viewed while issuing the search query. If the media guidance application receives an indication that it did not disambiguate the ambiguous entity in the search query correctly, the media guidance application may increase the area of the screen that the user viewed in order to find an additional entity. This may allow the media guidance application to quickly and accurately find the correct answer to the user's search query.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
    Inventors: Ajay Kumar Gupta, William L. Thomas, Mathew C. Burns, Gabriel C. Dalbec, Alexander W. Liston, Jonathan A. Logan, Margret B. Schmidt
  • Publication number: 20200245028
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided herein for recommending a media asset based on a geographic location at which that media asset was frequently consumed. For example, the system may monitor a location, such as New York City or Times Square, to determine popular media assets watched there, such as “The Avengers,” and when another user visits New York City, the system may then notify the user that the movie, such as “The Avengers,” is associated with New York City. The system stores the geographic locations associated with the media asset in the database based on the consumption of the media asset so that other users may be notified which media assets are associated with each geographic location.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2020
    Publication date: July 30, 2020
    Inventors: Gabriel C. Dalbec, Jonathan A. Logan, Ajay Kumar Gupta, Alexander W. Liston, William L. Thomas, Margret B. Schmidt, Mathew C. Burns
  • Patent number: 10721536
    Abstract: Systems and methods for presenting custom navigation options are described herein. In some embodiments, the media guidance application displays a first portion of a media asset, and receives a user selection of an entity depicted within the portion. The media guidance application identifies a playlist of media asset portions associated with the entity, and generates for display a transport bar associated with the entity comprising an indicator identifying the entity and only one or more regions associated with the playlist of media asset portions. The media guidance application then receives a second user selection, and generates for display a second portion of the media asset associated with the entity in response. In some embodiments, the media guidance application identifies the playlist by searching a custom presentation database for entries associated with the entity, and retrieves the playlist from the identified entry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2020
    Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
    Inventors: William L. Thomas, Margret B. Schmidt, Ajay Kumar Gupta, Alexander W. Liston, Jonathan A. Logan, Mathew C. Burns, Gabriel C. Dalbec
  • Patent number: 10715870
    Abstract: Methods and systems are described herein for providing streamlined access to media assets of interest to a user. The method includes determining that a supplemental viewing device, through which a user views a field of view, is directed at a first field of view. The method further involves detecting that the supplemental viewing device is now directed at a second field of view, and determining that a media consumption device is within the second field of view. A first media asset of interest to the user that is available for consumption via the media consumption device is identified, and the supplemental viewing device generates a visual indication in the second field of view. The visual indication indicates that the first media asset is available for consumption via the media consumption device, and the visual indication tracks a location of the media consumption device in the second field of view.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: ROVI GUIDES, INC.
    Inventors: Jonathan A. Logan, Alexander W. Liston, William L. Thomas, Gabriel C. Dalbec, Margret B. Schmidt, Mathew C. Burns, Ajay Kumar Gupta
  • Publication number: 20200221186
    Abstract: Various embodiments of a system includes receiving a request to display a content and employing an antenna system to receive content data that is representative of the content. The antenna system includes a first antenna, a second antenna, and a third antenna. The system further utilizing at least three arrangements to collect the content, wherein a first arrangement includes receiving the content data broadcasted over the air to extract the content from the content data, a second arrangement includes establishing a wireless communication connection with a network node device operated by a first telecommunication service provider to collect the content data from a server, and a third arrangement includes connecting to a hot-spot having a connection to a second network node device operated by a second telecommunication service provider to collect the content data from the server. The system further transfers the content to the display component, which is collected utilizing the three arrangements.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 31, 2019
    Publication date: July 9, 2020
    Applicant: APPLIED DIGITAL RESEARCH CORP.
    Inventors: Robert Francis SHAMBRO, JR., Fred Richard NIEDRICH, William L. THOMAS, Milan PATEL
  • Patent number: 10708674
    Abstract: Systems and methods for enabling and rewarding collaborative content creation are described. The method comprises, playing back live video provided by an over-the-top (OTT) provider to a user, receiving, from the user, a command to crop and modify a portion of the video comprising a subject, generating user-generated content based on the command, publishing the user-generated content to a plurality of users, determining whether the user-generated content is republished a threshold number of times during a republication period, and in response to determining that the user-generated content is republished the threshold number of times during the republication period, unlocking access to content from the OTT provider for the user that relates to the subject.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
    Inventors: Dylan Matthew Wondra, Jean Michelle Somlo, Michaela Schlocker Logan, Mario Miguel Sanchez, William L. Thomas
  • Publication number: 20200186893
    Abstract: Systems and methods for providing a viewer with relevant commentary for a live video. For example, a media guidance application may receive, during playback of a live video, a request for clarification regarding an aspect (e.g., a play, a score, a player, a strategy, etc.) of the live video. In response to receiving the request, the media guidance application may identify the aspect and identify videos generated by other viewers explaining the aspect. The media guidance application may further select one of the videos based on a preference of the viewer, and cause a user device to play back the selected video to the viewer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 12, 2020
    Publication date: June 11, 2020
    Inventors: Mario Miguel Sanchez, Dylan Matthew Wondra, Jean Michelle Somlo, Michaela Schlocker Logan, William L. Thomas
  • Patent number: 10674208
    Abstract: Methods and systems for automatically evaluating an audio description track of a media asset include initializing a rating of an audio description track of a media asset to a default value; receiving a first video frame and a second video frame of the media asset; detecting an object in the first video frame and the second video frame; determining that a difference in a characteristic of the object between the first video frame and the second video frame exceeds a threshold difference; determining that an audio characteristic in a portion of the audio description track that corresponds to the first video frame and the second video frame exceeds a threshold audio characteristic; and increasing the rating of the audio description track by a unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2020
    Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
    Inventors: William L. Thomas, Ajit Shanware
  • Patent number: 10666662
    Abstract: Systems and methods for providing access to media content by connecting, to a public device, a private device that does not have an installed application associated with the media content. A media guidance application may receive a communication from a private device requesting to access content using the public device. In response, the media guidance application may retrieve, at the public device, a public interface application and private interface application from a content provider of the content. The private interface application, which may be configured to control a graphical user interface of the public interface application, may then be transmitted to the private device. Accordingly, the user may be able to access content via the public device when the private device is within a predetermined proximity to the public device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
    Inventor: William L. Thomas
  • Publication number: 20200154238
    Abstract: Methods and systems are disclosed herein for encouraging particular behavior while occupying vehicles. For example, by granting and restricting access to media and other user comfort devices based on whether or not a user is conforming to a predetermined rule set, the media guidance application may encourage a user to adhere to the rule set.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 11, 2019
    Publication date: May 14, 2020
    Inventors: William L. Thomas, Paul T. Stathacopoulos, Danielle Gonzalez
  • Patent number: 10650054
    Abstract: Systems and methods are described herein for updating search results based on a user's comment or a conversation among users using a media guidance application. A set of search results may be presented to a user or users. Comments or a conversation about the search results may be analyzed by the media guidance application. Selected comments by a user determined to have a greater weight may be used to update the search results.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2020
    Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
    Inventors: John Blake, Paul Stathacopoulos, William L. Thomas
  • Patent number: 10652250
    Abstract: Systems and methods for providing access to media content by connecting, to a public device, a private device that has installed a mirror-capable application associated with the media content. A media guidance application may receive a communication from a private device, with a private interface application and a public interface application, wherein the communication is a request to access content using the public device. In response, the media guidance application may request, at the public device, the public interface application from the private device. The private device may thus transmit the public interface application with user authorization information to the public device. The private interface application may be configured to mirror the graphical user interface of the public interface application. Accordingly, the user may be able to access content via the public device and mirror the content on the private device, when the private device is within a predetermined proximity to the public device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2020
    Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
    Inventor: William L. Thomas
  • Patent number: 10630692
    Abstract: Systems and methods for providing access to media content by connecting, to a private device, a public device that does not have an installed application associated with the media content. A media guidance application may receive a communication from a private device, with a private interface application and a public interface application, wherein the communication is a request to access content using the public device. In response, the media guidance application may request, at the public device, the public interface application from the private device. The private device may thus transmit the public interface application with user authorization information to the public device. The private interface application may be configured to control a graphical user interface of the public interface application. Accordingly, the user may be able to access content via the public device when the private device is within a predetermined proximity to the public device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2020
    Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
    Inventor: William L. Thomas
  • Publication number: 20200117324
    Abstract: Systems and methods for enabling quick access to media options are provided. A display of a plurality of icons is generated, wherein each of the plurality of icons represents a different one of a plurality of applications. A user input is detected that identifies a first of the plurality of icons associated with a first of the plurality of applications. In response to determining that the user input corresponds to a quick access operation, first and second media asset identifiers and corresponding media options are retrieved from each of second and third applications. A menu that includes the retrieved first and second media asset identifiers is generated for display with the plurality of icons.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2019
    Publication date: April 16, 2020
    Inventor: William L. Thomas
  • Publication number: 20200097840
    Abstract: Methods and systems are described herein for calculating a predicted time when a first user will be exposed to a spoiler of a first media asset. A media guidance application may retrieve an initial transmission time of the first media asset and a transmission time of a second media asset that precedes the transmission time of the first media asset. The media guidance application may retrieve electronic communications from a second user whose electronic communications the first user has viewed, and determine a subset of the electronic communications that correspond to the second media asset. The media guidance application may calculate a length of time from the transmission time of the second media asset to the earliest availability time of an electronic communication in the subset. The media guidance application may calculate the predicted time based on the transmission time of the first media asset and the length of time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2017
    Publication date: March 26, 2020
    Inventors: Mathew C. Burns, Jonathan A. Logan, Gabriel C. Dalbec, Ajay Kumar Gupta, Alexander W. Liston, Margret B. Schmidt, William L. Thomas
  • Patent number: 10602234
    Abstract: Systems and methods for providing a viewer with relevant commentary for a live video. For example, a media guidance application may receive, during playback of a live video, a request for clarification regarding an aspect (e.g., a play, a score, a player, a strategy, etc.) of the live video. In response to receiving the request, the media guidance application may identify the aspect and identify videos generated by other viewers explaining the aspect. The media guidance application may further select one of the videos based on a preference of the viewer, and cause a user device to play back the selected video to the viewer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2020
    Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
    Inventors: Mario Miguel Sanchez, Dylan Matthew Wondra, Jean Michelle Somlo, Michaela Schlocker Logan, William L. Thomas