Patents by Inventor William T. Parks
William T. Parks 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: 9576434Abstract: A computer activity-based challenge may be posted by a computer system to a social network associated with a user of the computer system. A notification may be received from the social network by the computer system indicating acceptance of the challenge for each subscriber of the social network who accepts the challenge. A result obtained by each subscriber who accepted the challenge may be recorded by the computer system after receiving the result from the social network. In some implementations a value associated with the challenge may be updated using dynamic scoring.Type: GrantFiled: July 25, 2011Date of Patent: February 21, 2017Assignee: SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT INC.Inventors: William T. Parks, Jonathan Warren Webb, James Wang
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Patent number: 9043589Abstract: One aspect of the invention is a method for providing restricted access to confidential services without impacting the security of a network. The method includes using a gateway to isolate one or more components providing confidential services from one or more other portions of an enterprise network. A first communication directed to a selected one of the one or more components may be received at the gateway. A determination may be made as to whether the first communication is user traffic or management traffic. The first communication may then be authenticated. If the first communication is user traffic, the first communication is forwarded to a component providing the confidential services. If the first communication is management traffic, the first communication is encrypted and forwarded to a component providing the confidential services. Additionally, components of the sub-network may be monitored to identify malicious changes.Type: GrantFiled: November 14, 2007Date of Patent: May 26, 2015Assignee: HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P.Inventors: Robert R. Vail, Mary Jo Billings, Robert D. Bohrer, Robert D. Brooks, II, Mary M. Emmighausen, Howard M. Fannin, Edward R. Jaroch, Tonya L. Justice, Alan L. Kelkenberg, Scott R. Morris, William T. Parks, Jr., Hayes I. Saxon, William L. Weaver
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Publication number: 20150018103Abstract: A world may be partitioned into a set of regions and sub-regions by the computer game system in a hierarchical manner, wherein the regions and sub-regions are arranged according to a hierarchy, each sub-region being encompassed by a higher-level sub-region or region, and two or more highest-level sub-regions being encompassed by a region. A location of a user of the computer game system along with one or more statistics associated with the user may be assigned to a smallest sub-region created in the hierarchical manner. A rank of the user may then be determined within a region or sub-region encompassing the smallest sub-region to which the user's location was assigned, wherein the rank is determined using the one or more statistics associated with the user. One or more users may then be notified of the rank.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 21, 2014Publication date: January 15, 2015Inventors: William T. Parks, Luke Bond, Mark Petty
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Patent number: 8784214Abstract: Methods for establishing a location-based leaderboard by a computer game system are disclosed. The world may be partitioned into a set of regions and sub-regions by the computer game system using a hierarchical spatial data structure, wherein the regions and sub-regions are arranged according to a hierarchy, each sub-region being encompassed by a higher-level sub-region or region, and two or more highest-level sub-regions being encompassed by a region. A location of a user of the computer game system along with one or more statistics associated with the user may be assigned to a smallest sub-region created by the hierarchical spatial data structure. A rank of the user may then be determined within a region or sub-region encompassing the smallest sub-region to which the user's location was assigned, wherein the rank is determined using the one or more statistics associated with the user. One or more users may then be notified of the rank.Type: GrantFiled: July 5, 2011Date of Patent: July 22, 2014Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.Inventors: William T. Parks, Luke Bond, Mark Petty
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Publication number: 20130029765Abstract: A computer activity-based challenge may be posted by a computer system to a social network associated with a user of the computer system. A notification may be received from the social network by the computer system indicating acceptance of the challenge for each subscriber of the social network who accepts the challenge. A result obtained by each subscriber who accepted the challenge may be recorded by the computer system after receiving the result from the social network. In some implementations a value associated with the challenge may be updated using dynamic scoring.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 25, 2011Publication date: January 31, 2013Applicant: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.Inventors: William T. Parks, Jonathan Warren Webb, James Wang
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Publication number: 20130017872Abstract: Method and system for tag-based grouping of online communities are disclosed. One or more tags associated with a user of a computer game system may be obtained by the computer system. One or more groups compatible with the user's one or more tags may be identified by the computer system. The user may then be prompted to join the one or more clans located by the computer game system.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 12, 2011Publication date: January 17, 2013Applicant: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.Inventor: WILLIAM T. PARKS
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Publication number: 20130013094Abstract: Methods for establishing a location-based leaderboard by a computer game system are disclosed. The world may be partitioned into a set of regions and sub-regions by the computer game system using a hierarchical spatial data structure, wherein the regions and sub-regions are arranged according to a hierarchy, each sub-region being encompassed by a higher-level sub-region or region, and two or more highest-level sub-regions being encompassed by a region. A location of a user of the computer game system along with one or more statistics associated with the user may be assigned to a smallest sub-region created by the hierarchical spatial data structure. A rank of the user may then be determined within a region or sub-region encompassing the smallest sub-region to which the user's location was assigned, wherein the rank is determined using the one or more statistics associated with the user. One or more users may then be notified of the rank.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 5, 2011Publication date: January 10, 2013Applicant: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.Inventors: William T. Parks, Luke Bond, Mark Petty
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Publication number: 20090126002Abstract: One aspect of the invention is a method for providing restricted access to confidential services without impacting the security of a network. The method includes using a gateway to isolate one or more components providing confidential services from one or more other portions of an enterprise network. A first communication directed to a selected one of the one or more components may be received at the gateway. A determination may be made as to whether the first communication is user traffic or management traffic. The first communication may then be authenticated. If the first communication is user traffic, the first communication is forwarded to a component providing the confidential services. If the first communication is management traffic, the first communication is encrypted and forwarded to a component providing the confidential services. Additionally, components of the sub-network may be monitored to identify malicious changes.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 14, 2007Publication date: May 14, 2009Inventors: Robert R. Vail, Mary Jo Billings, Robert D. Bohrer, Robert D. Brooks, II, Mary M. Emmighausen, Howard M. Fannin, Edward R. Jaroch, Tonya L. Justice, Alan L. Kelkenberg, Scott R. Morris, William T. Parks, JR., Hayes I. Saxon, William L. Weaver