Patents Assigned to Amazon Technologies
  • Peak traffic management
    Patent number: 9118722
    Abstract: Users are allowed to communicate with a server via a local client even when the server experiences an abnormal peak of traffic. The local client is configured to send a new connection request only after a specified time interval passes from a previous connection. The local client presents content, such as a game, that makes it appear to the user as if the user is interacting with the server while the local client is waiting for reconnection to the server. The user interactions during the time interval are locally stored and later provided to the server for further process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Alexander Gershon, Allen Brady Montz, Owen D. Hay, Wade Kiyoshi Wakashige, Karen Hwei M. Quek
  • Invariant referencing in digital works
    Patent number: 9116657
    Abstract: A method of presenting a digital work includes displaying a portion of the digital work on a display screen under a set of display conditions, and providing one or more invariant location reference identifiers corresponding to the portion of the digital work on the display screen. The invariant location reference identifiers are separate from the digital work, and each invariant location reference identifier is provided along with the corresponding portion of the digital work, regardless of the display conditions under which the portion of the digital work is displayed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas A. Ryan, Robert L. Goodwin, John Lattyak
  • Establishing communication based on item interest
    Patent number: 9117236
    Abstract: Interactions between an item and an online shopper may be used to determine interest in an item or a category of items. Once interest has been determined, the online shopper may be presented with an option to initiate communication with other users. This communication may be between a plurality of users including shoppers, owners, experts, item representatives, and so forth. Communication may include text chat, video chat, audio chat, telephone, and so forth. Rewards may be provided to some or all users to encourage communication.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Brian J. Feinstein
  • Reduced bandwidth data uploading in data systems
    Patent number: 9116909
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for uploading data from a sender to a receiver. A data deduplication technique is described that may reduce the bandwidth used in uploading data from the sender to the receiver. In the technique, the receiver, rather than the sender, maintains a fingerprint dictionary for previously uploaded data. When a sender has additional data to be uploaded, the sender extracts fingerprints for units of the data and sends the fingerprints to the receiver. The receiver checks its fingerprint dictionary to determine the data units to be uploaded and notifies the sender of the identified units, which then sends the identified units of data to the receiver. The technique may, for example, be applied in virtualized data store systems to reduce bandwidth usage in uploading data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: James Christopher Sorenson, III
  • Browser-based retrieval and display of content associated with a link that matches a link signature
    Patent number: 9117232
    Abstract: A page update handler, which may be loaded by a web browser as part of a web page, adds functionality for dynamically updating the web page with content supplied by a content server. The content may be related to a particular item detected on the web page by the page update handler, such as a link that matches a link signature. The content server may operate in a different Internet domain from the server that servers the original web page, and may supply content for display on web pages of many different independent web sites. In one embodiment, an operator of a web site that is separate from the content server can enable the display of content from the content server on the site's web pages by adding an update handler tag to one or more corresponding HTML documents.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Nigel Green, Scott A. Mongrain
  • POWER ROUTING ASSEMBLY FOR DATA CENTER
    Publication number: 20150234440
    Abstract: A power routing rack can be used to provide various power support redundancies to one or more computing racks in a data center. Power feeds are supplied to bus bars in a power bus bar array extending through the rack, and power routing assemblies positioned in the rack route power from one or more of the bus bars to a computing rack. Each assembly includes circuit breakers that couple to separate bus bars and a routing module that routes power from one or more of the circuit breakers to one or more computing racks. The routing module can include a transfer switch that selectively routes power. The routing module can include an electrical bridge that concurrently routes power. Each assembly can be positioned within the rack to couple the circuit breakers to various power bus bars to adjust the power support redundancy provided to one or more computing racks.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2014
    Publication date: August 20, 2015
    Applicant: AMAZON TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventors: BROCK ROBERT GARDNER, JOHN WILLIAM EICHELBERG, MICHAEL PHILLIP CZAMARA, NIGEL MCGEE, PETER GEORGE ROSS
  • ELECTRONIC DEVICE DISPLAY STACK
    Publication number: 20150234430
    Abstract: This disclosure describes electronic devices that include displays for rendering content, touch sensors disposed beneath the displays for detecting touch inputs, and antiglare components for reducing glare caused by ambient light. In some embodiments, the displays include a single transparent substrate, a thin film transistor array connected to a bottom surface of the transparent substrate, a conductive substrate, and a front plane laminate connected to the conductive substrate. In such embodiments, the front plane laminate is connected to the thin film transistor array, and the array comprises a plurality of transparent electrodes. This disclosure also describes techniques for manufacturing displays utilized with electronic devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 20, 2014
    Publication date: August 20, 2015
    Applicant: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Siddharth Gupta, Jerry Yee-Ming Chung
  • Avoiding or deferring data copies
    Patent number: 9110680
    Abstract: Methods and systems for avoiding or deferring data copies are disclosed. Using a virtual machine, it is determined whether a set of program code comprises references to a data object after an operation to generate a copy of the data object. If not, a set of optimized program code is generated in which the operation to copy the data object is replaced with an operation to update a reference. Using the virtual machine, it is determined whether the set of program code comprises an operation to generate a copy of a buffer object. If so, a set of further optimized program code is generated, comprising an allocation of one or more memory pages to store the buffer object with a copy-on-write parameter instead of the operation to generate the copy of the buffer object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Jeremy Boynes
  • Proxy for injecting configuration information
    Patent number: 9110732
    Abstract: A proxy operating inside of a virtual machine that is responsible for receiving user-specified configuration information, such as credentials, and updating the configuration of the virtual machine with the user-specified values at the time of assigning the virtual machine to a user. Once the proxy updates the configuration of the virtual machine, the virtual machine is assigned the user that provided the user configuration information and the proxy can deactivate or uninstall itself from the virtual machine, such as by deleting all files, registry entries and other traces of execution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Kent David Forschmiedt, George Oliver Jenkins, Deepak Suryanarayanan, David Everard Brown
  • Linear induction motor-driven divert mechanisms
    Patent number: 9108807
    Abstract: Linear induction motor-driven divert mechanisms may be installed or associated with conveying systems and may cause a change in velocity of one or more objects (i.e., a change in direction and/or a change in speed) to passing through the conveying systems. The divert mechanisms may include one or more spherical rotors including magnetizable slugs, and the spherical rotors may be rotatably positioned above positioned above one or more stator plates. Energizing one or more of the stator plates causes the corresponding spherical rotors to rotate in a given direction. Therefore, the divert mechanism may be used to transport or direct objects within conveying systems by controlling the rotation and angular velocity of one or more of the spherical rotors, which may impart motion to the objects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: David Arthur Ogle, II
  • Keyword determinations from voice data
    Patent number: 9111294
    Abstract: Topics of potential interest to a user, useful for purposes such as targeted advertising and product recommendations, can be extracted from voice content produced by a user. A computing device can capture voice content, such as when a user speaks into or near the device. One or more sniffer algorithms or processes can attempt to identify trigger words in the voice content, which can indicate a level of interest of the user. For each identified potential trigger word, the device can capture adjacent audio that can be analyzed, on the device or remotely, to attempt to determine one or more keywords associated with that trigger word. The identified keywords can be stored and/or transmitted to an appropriate location accessible to entities such as advertisers or content providers who can use the keywords to attempt to select or customize content that is likely relevant to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Kiran K. Edara
  • Secure communication between applications on untrusted platforms
    Patent number: 9112854
    Abstract: Disclosed are various embodiments for facilitating secure communication between applications on an untrusted computing platform. It is verified that a first application installed in a computing device has permission to communicate with a second application also installed in the computing device based at least in part on a secure key associated with the first application. The verification may include determining that the secure key has been signed by a predetermined certificate and determining that the secure key includes a platform-specific, tamper-proof identifier of the first application. Alternatively, the verification may include determining that the first application is signed by a predetermined certificate. Communication between the first and second applications is facilitated when the first application has permission to communicate with the second application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Bharath Kumar Bhimanaik
  • Appliance backnets in dedicated resource environment
    Patent number: 9112841
    Abstract: A backnet can be created within a dedicated private network of a customer that enables a distinct party to access and/or control a portion of the resources within the private network. In one example, a backnet includes a separate virtual interface for an appliance or other such resource that is not visible or accessible to the customer owning the customer cloud, but can be accessed by another appliance or component in the customer cloud, or an appliance vendor external to the customer cloud. While the customer can control the permission for the backnet, the vendor can control or implement the resources within the backnet in a way that is isolated from the customer. Usage of the backnet can be separately monitored and billed to the vendor, even though the resources are part of the dedicated customer cloud.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric Jason Brandwine, Marvin M. Theimer, Don Johnson
  • Selective audio canceling
    Patent number: 9111522
    Abstract: The implementations described include an audio canceling device that receives and audio signal from within an environment, identifies desired and undesired audio from the received audio signal and generates an attenuation-signal for use in canceling out or reducing the volume of the undesired audio at a canceling location. In addition, the audio canceling device, may determine a time delay before the attenuation-signal should be transmitted from an output based on a distance between the undesired audio source location and the canceling location and a distance between the output and the canceling location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: William Spencer Worley, III
  • Rule builder for data processing
    Patent number: 9111014
    Abstract: Disclosed are various embodiments for a rule builder for data processing. A proper subset of a set of strings is selected. A first user interface is generated that is configured to present the proper subset of the set of strings. The first user interface is further configured to obtain multiple substring selections corresponding to each one of the proper subset of the set of strings. One or more selection patterns are identified based at least in part on the corresponding substring selections. A second user interface is generated that is configured to present the selection patterns for user verification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael G. Brown, Yu Pan, Abhijit S. Tambe, Joanna K. Wiebe, Anne M. Siddall
  • Reactive auto-scaling of capacity
    Patent number: 9112782
    Abstract: Examples of systems and methods are described for managing computing capacity by a provider of computing resources. The computing resources may include program execution capabilities, data storage or management capabilities, network bandwidth, etc. Multiple user programs can consume a single computing resource, and a single user program can consume multiple computing resources. Changes in usage and other environmental factors can require scaling of the computing resources to reduce or prevent a negative impact on performance. In some implementations, a fuzzy logic engine can be used to determine the appropriate adjustments to make to the computing resources associated with a program in order to keep a system metric within a desired operating range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Muhammad Ali Siddiqui, Kendra A. Yourtee, Alexander S. Borst, Sanjeev K. Verma, Gregory Suhyun Kang, Josh M. Goodspeed, Thomas L. Keller
  • Performance based recommendations
    Patent number: 9111219
    Abstract: Systems and associated processes are disclosed for generating recommendations for users based on the computing device likely to be utilized by the user to execute an application, among other things. These systems and processes are described in the context of an interactive computing system that enables users to download applications for mobile devices or for other computing devices. The performance of applications running on the user's computing device can be monitored with the performance data being collected and provided to the interactive computing system. The interactive computing system can include a recommendation system or service that processes the performance data and using the performance data, among possibly other data, the recommendation system can recommend alternative applications to the user for download.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Dave Mohla, Mihir Devraj Bhanot, Mitchell Kim, James Newton Adkins, III, Sridhar Chellappa, Devesh Khare, Vinod Kannan
  • Personal remote storage for purchased electronic content items
    Patent number: 9111305
    Abstract: Architectures and techniques are described to provide personal remote storage space for electronic content items acquired (e.g., purchased) by a user of a client device. In some cases, as part of a transaction to acquire the electronic content item, an individual may receive an option that is selectable to indicate a preference to send electronic content items acquired by the individual to a personal remote storage space of the individual. When the option to store the electronic content item in the personal remote storage space is not selected by the individual, the electronic content item may be provided directly to a designated computing device of the individual.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: James H. Wood, Korwin J. Smith, Christopher G. Emery, Wenlin Ma, Lucas B. Dickey, Piragash Velummylum, Johanna S. Olson, William D. Carr
  • Tag-based resource configuration control
    Patent number: 9112777
    Abstract: In a system that provides network-based infrastructure services, customer resources are tagged in accordance with policies provided by the customers. Resources may be automatically tagged upon creation based on the provided policies. In addition, existing resources may be analyzed and automatically tagged to indicate characteristics of the resources that may be of interest to the customer. The customers may also specify configuration policies in terms of resource tags, and the system may be configured to apply and/or enforce the configuration policies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: AMAZON TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventors: Christopher B. Barclay, Nicholas Alexander Allen, William T. Shelton
  • Time-of-flight of light calibration
    Patent number: 9109886
    Abstract: Calibration of devices may be performed to determine a relative location of the devices. The devices may be used to determine distances of surfaces within an environment. The calibration may be performed at different times and/or in response to triggering events to determine a relative location of each of the devices in an environment. After the relative location of the devices is known, the devices may be used to determine a distance of a surface within the environment. In various embodiments, a light sensor may identify a light emitter based on characteristics of the light emitted by the light emitter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Menashe Haskin, Edward Dietz Crump