Patents Assigned to Zillow, Inc.
  • Patent number: 11532057
    Abstract: A system for updating a database comprises an input interface and a processor. The input interface is configured to receive image data. The processor is configured to determine from the image data one or more attributes of a database entry for real estate property and update the database entry for the real estate property.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
    Inventors: Shourabh Rawat, Jeff McConathy, Todd Holloway, Sriram Gopalakrishnan, Abhinav Kulkarni
  • Patent number: 11514674
    Abstract: Techniques are described for using computing devices to perform automated operations for determining the acquisition location of an image using an analysis of the image's visual contents. In at least some situations, images to be analyzed include panorama images acquired at acquisition locations in an interior of a multi-room building, and the determined acquisition location information includes a location on a floor plan of the building and in some cases orientation direction information—in at least some such situations, the acquisition location determination is performed without having or using information from any distance-measuring devices about distances from an image's acquisition location to objects in the surrounding building. The acquisition location information may be used in various automated manners, including for controlling navigation of devices (e.g., autonomous vehicles), for display on one or more client devices in corresponding graphical user interfaces, etc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
    Inventors: Pierre Moulon, Naji Khosravan, Yuguang Li, Yujie Li, Ivaylo Boyadzhiev
  • Patent number: 11501492
    Abstract: Techniques are described for automated operations to analyze visual data combined from multiple images captured in a room to determine the room shape, such as by iteratively refining alignment of the multiple images' visual data into a common coordinate system until alignment differences satisfy one or more defined criteria, and for subsequently using the determined room shape information in further automated manners. The images may be panorama images in an equirectangular or other spherical format, and determined room shapes for one or more rooms of a building may be fully closed three-dimensional shapes and used to improve navigation of the building (e.g., as part of a generated building floor plan)—the automated room shape determination may be further performed without having or using information from any distance-measuring devices about distances from an image's acquisition location to walls or other objects in the surrounding room.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
    Inventors: Yuguang Li, Will Adrian Hutchcroft, Ivaylo Boyadzhiev, Christopher Buehler
  • Patent number: 11494047
    Abstract: Systems and methods facilitating electronic signatures (E-Signatures) are provided. Multiple E-Signatures can be provided to electronic documents through a simple command, such as a selection of a single graphical element. A user's signatures, initials, or other identifier can be added to the electronic document in the appropriate fields upon receipt of the appropriate command or command set from the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
    Inventors: G. Austin Allison, Justin Y. Hu
  • Patent number: 11494973
    Abstract: Techniques are described for using computing devices to perform automated operations for analyzing video (or other image sequences) acquired in a defined area, as part of generating mapping information of the defined area for subsequent use (e.g., for controlling navigation of devices, for display on client devices in corresponding GUIs, etc.). The defined area may include an interior of a multi-room building, and the generated information may include a floor map of the building, such as from an analysis of some or all image frames of the video (e.g., 360° image frames from 360° video) using structure-from-motion techniques to identify objects with associated plane and normal orthogonal information, and then clustering detected planes and/or normals from multiple analyzed images to determine likely wall locations. The generating may be further performed without using acquired depth information about distances from the video capture locations to objects in the surrounding building.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
    Inventors: Ivaylo Boyadzhiev, Pierre Moulon
  • Patent number: 11494794
    Abstract: A facility for estimating the cost of a remodeling project is described. The facility accesses a project cost model that predicts project costs determined from a photograph based upon project characteristics. The facility applies the access project cost model to characteristics of a distinguished project to obtain an estimated cost. The facility causes the obtained estimated cost to be displayed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew Bruce, Kristin Acker, Luis Enrique Poggi, Chunyi Wang, Alexander Kutner, Ben Schielke
  • Patent number: 11481925
    Abstract: Techniques are described for computing devices to perform automated operations to determine the acquisition locations of images, such as within a building interior based on automatically determined shapes of rooms of the building, and for using the determined image acquisition location information in further automated manners. The image may be a panorama image or of another type (e.g., a rectilinear perspective image) and acquired at an acquisition location in a multi-room building's interior, and the determined acquisition location for such an image may be at least a location on the building's floor plan and optionally an orientation/direction for at least a part of the image—in addition, the automated image acquisition location determination may be further performed without having or using information from any depth sensors or other distance-measuring devices about distances from an image's acquisition location to walls or other objects in the surrounding building.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
    Inventors: Yuguang Li, Will Adrian Hutchcroft, Naji Khosravan, Ivaylo Boyadzhiev
  • Patent number: 11480433
    Abstract: Techniques are described for using computing devices to perform automated operations to generate mapping information using inter-connected images of a defined area, and for using the generated mapping information in further automated manners. In at least some situations, the defined area includes an interior of a multi-room building, and the generated information includes a floor map of the building, such as from an automated analysis of multiple panorama images or other images acquired at various viewing locations within the building—in at least some such situations, the generating is further performed without having detailed information about distances from the images' viewing locations to walls or other objects in the surrounding building. The generated floor map and other mapping-related information may be used in various manners, including for controlling navigation of devices (e.g., autonomous vehicles), for display on one or more client devices in corresponding graphical user interfaces, etc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
    Inventors: Alex Colburn, Qi Shan, Ramin Mehran, Li Guan
  • Patent number: 11449958
    Abstract: A facility for valuing a distinguished home located in a distinguished geographic area is described. The facility receives home attributes for the distinguished home. For each of a plurality of valuation sub-models, the facility applies the valuation sub-model to the received home attributes to obtain a sub-model valuation for the distinguished home. The facility further applies a meta-model to the record home attributes to obtain a relative weighting factor for each sub-model. The facility then uses the obtained relative weighting factors to combine the sub-model valuations to obtain an overall valuation for the distinguished home. The facility reports the obtained valuation for the distinguished home.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2022
    Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
    Inventors: Stanley B. Humphries, Dong Xiang, Jonathan Lee Burstein, Yeng Bun, Jonathan A. Ultis
  • Patent number: 11430076
    Abstract: A home view data structure is described. The home view data structure is made up of multiple entries. Each entry contains information identifying a home; and a quantitative value scoring the view available from the identified home, such that the contents of the data structure are usable to compare the identified homes on the basis of the views available from them.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew Martin, Benjamin Hudson
  • Patent number: 11408738
    Abstract: Techniques are described for using computing devices to perform automated operations to generate mapping information using inter-connected images of a defined area, and for using the generated mapping information in further automated manners. In at least some situations, the defined area includes an interior of a multi-room building, and the generated information includes a floor map of the building, such as from an automated analysis of multiple panorama images or other images acquired at various viewing locations within the building—in at least some such situations, the generating is further performed without having detailed information about distances from the images' viewing locations to walls or other objects in the surrounding building. The generated floor map and other mapping-related information may be used in various manners, including for controlling navigation of devices (e.g., autonomous vehicles), for display on one or more client devices in corresponding graphical user interfaces, etc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
    Inventors: Alex Colburn, Qi Shan, Ramin Mehran, Li Guan
  • Patent number: 11405549
    Abstract: Techniques are described for using a smart phone or other mobile device to perform automated operations for generating panorama images of building environments and for subsequently using the generated panorama images in further automated manners. In at least some situations, the generation of a panorama image by a mobile device is based at least in part on automatically acquiring multiple constituent images on the mobile device in multiple directions from an acquisition location and on concurrently combining acquired constituent images on the mobile device, such as in a real-time manner relative to the constituent image capture, to generate a panorama image with 360° of horizontal coverage of the view from that acquisition location. Information about such identified building floor plans may be used in various automated manners, including for controlling navigation of devices (e.g., autonomous vehicles), for display on client devices in corresponding graphical user interfaces, etc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
    Inventors: Sean P. Cier, Sing Bing Kang, Mitchell David Dawson
  • Patent number: 11405558
    Abstract: Techniques are described for using computing devices to perform automated operations to control acquisition of images in a defined area, including obtaining and using data from one or more hardware sensors on a mobile device that is acquiring the images, analyzing the sensor data (e.g., in a real-time manner) to determine the geometric orientation of the mobile device in three-dimensional (3D) space, and using that determined orientation to control the acquisition of further images by the mobile device. In some situations, the determined orientation information may be used in part to automatically generate and display a corresponding GUI (graphical user interface) that is overlaid on and augments displayed images of the environment surrounding the mobile device during the image acquisition process, so as to control the mobile device's geometric orientation in 3D space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
    Inventors: Mitchell David Dawson, Li Guan, Andrew H. Otwell, Dun-Yu Hsiao
  • Patent number: 11393057
    Abstract: Term negotiation can utilize centralized systems accessed via web interfaces for purposes such as mediation of communications between buyers and sellers, maintenance of a history of negotiations, and notification of parties regarding changes suggested during negotiation. Changes to terms proposed by parties using centralized systems can be stored in a data warehouse, potentially along with timestamp and identification information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
    Inventors: Gregory Austin Allison, Matthew Allan Vorst
  • Patent number: 11354701
    Abstract: A facility for presenting advertising messages on behalf of multiple advertisers is described. The facility determines allocations that each specify a share for an advertiser, the specified shares all being different. The facility causes advertising messages to be presented on behalf of the advertisers in accordance with the shares specified by their allocations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
    Inventors: Yiqing Wang, Stanley B. Humphries, Chloe Linden Harford
  • Patent number: 11315202
    Abstract: A facility for representing home attribute values for a plurality of homes and a plurality of home attributes is described. The facility incorporates a data structure comprising, for each of the plurality of homes, for each of the plurality of attribute value sources, the capacity to store values for any of the plurality of home attributes obtained from the attribute value source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2022
    Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
    Inventors: Timothy VanderMey, Fred Farhad Sadaghiani, Stephen Martin McNamee, Marcin Szuster, Chloe Linden Harford, Jeffrey Thomas Brinker, Randy Winston Puttick
  • Patent number: 11288756
    Abstract: A facility for determining a market rental rate for a distinguished home located in a distinguished geographic area is described. The facility receives home attributes for the distinguished home. The facility obtains a market rental rate for the distinguished home by applying to the received home attributes a valuation model for homes in the distinguished geographic area that has been trained using rental listing price and home attribute data from homes recently listed for rental in the distinguished geographic area. The facility reports the obtained market rental rate for the distinguished home.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2022
    Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
    Inventors: Stanley B. Humphries, Dong Xiang, Yeng Bun
  • Patent number: 11284006
    Abstract: Techniques are described for using computing devices to perform automated operations to control acquisition of images in a defined area, including obtaining and using data from one or more hardware sensors on a mobile device that is acquiring the images, analyzing the sensor data (e.g., in a real-time manner) to determine the geometric orientation of the mobile device in three-dimensional (3D) space, and using that determined orientation to control the acquisition of further images by the mobile device. In some situations, the determined orientation information may be used in part to automatically generate and display a corresponding GUI (graphical user interface) that is overlaid on and augments displayed images of the environment surrounding the mobile device during the image acquisition process, so as to control the mobile device's geometric orientation in 3D space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
    Inventors: Mitchell David Dawson, Li Guan, Andrew H. Otwell, Dun-Yu Hsiao
  • Patent number: 11256725
    Abstract: A system for displaying crime data comprises an input interface, a processor, and an output interface. The input interface is configured to receive a crime data and receive a foot traffic density data. The processor is configured to determine a normalized crime data based at least in part on the crime data and the foot traffic density data. The output interface configured to provide display information of the normalized crime data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
    Inventors: Sha Hwang, Talin Salway, Eric Wu
  • Patent number: 11258837
    Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for sharing electronic content between a plurality of users. The electronic content can be accessed by the users through interactions with a virtual collaborative workspace. The members of a virtual collaborative workspace can be dependent upon the shared electronic content. Certain actions can be asked of various users with regard to the electronic content. Once the action has been performed, the electronic content can be routed to various other users in an automated fashion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
    Inventors: Gregory Austin Allison, Justin Y. Hu, Matthew Allan Vorst