Facebook Patents Granted

Patents granted to Facebook by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11144099
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media can present landscape content through a display screen of the computing device, the landscape content being presented in a landscape viewing mode. A rotation of the display screen to transition to a portrait viewing mode can be determined. The landscape content can be scaled based on the rotation of the display screen, wherein the scaled landscape content is presented through the display screen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Ian McIntyre Silber, Thomas Frederick Dimson, Ryan Keenan Olson
  • Patent number: 11146646
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes launching, by a client system of a first user, a video-call session to enable a video stream for display in a small-overlay-window on a display of the client system of the first user; receiving, by the client system of the first user, a video stream comprising video from a client system of a second user; determining at least one property for the small-overlay-window based on information associated with the second user; and displaying the video stream in the small-overlay-window, wherein the small-overlay-window is customized based on the determined at least one property, and wherein the small-overlay-window is positioned directly over an interface of an active application running on the client system of the first user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Stephane Taine, Edward Young Zhang, Dwayne B. Mercredi, Michael Leggett, Brendan Benjamin Aronoff, Peter Henry Martinazzi, Evan Patrick Noon, Duckjin Kang, John Randall Ehrhardt
  • Patent number: 11144826
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes accessing an input vector representing an input post, wherein: the vector space comprises clusters each associated with a topic; each cluster was determined based on a clustering of training-page vectors corresponding to training pages that each comprise training posts, each training post submitted by a user to a training page and comprises content selected by the user; and each training-page vector was generated by an ANN that was trained, based on the training posts of training pages associated with the ANN, to receive a post and then output a probability that the received post is related to the training posts of the training pages; determining that the input vector is located within a particular cluster in the vector space; and determining a topic of the input post based on the topic associated with the particular cluster that the input vector is located within.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Ying Zhang, Wenhai Yang, Ou Jin
  • Patent number: 11145242
    Abstract: An apparatus for efficiently driving visual displays via light-emitting devices may include (1) at least one light-emitting device, (2) a buck driver circuit electrically coupled to the light-emitting device, wherein the buck driver circuit includes an inductor, and (3) a boost circuit electrically coupled between the buck driver circuit and a power source, wherein the boost circuit includes an additional inductor. Various other apparatuses, systems, and methods are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Yuming Liu, Xiaobei Li, Lawrence Chang-Yung Wang, Sam Sarmast, Phillip Freeman King, Benjamin Nicholas Jones
  • Patent number: 11143221
    Abstract: A device housing comprises a front panel, a back panel, and a support structure. The front panel further comprises at least one threaded interface position on an edge of the front panel. The back panel further comprises at least one securing interface positioned on an edge of the back panel. The support structure is configured to mount the front panel and the back panel. The support structure further comprises a slot configured to couple the threaded interface on the front panel and a securing to configured to couple the securing interface on the back panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Joshua Davies, Way Chet Lim
  • Patent number: 11143873
    Abstract: A compact light projection system is described for use in artificial reality systems, and which outputs patterned interferometric illumination that may be dynamically adjustable. The light projection systems are Integrated Circuits (IC)s, which are compact and easily added to other electronic devices in an artificial reality device. The IC illumination sources described herein provide flexibility by incorporating dynamically adjustable components as well as static components, such as phase delay devices, coupling controllers, switch-able light sources, and output gratings, which may each be adjusted to control the resulting pattern of interferometric illumination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Qing Chao, Zhaoming Zhu, Michael Hall
  • Patent number: 11146511
    Abstract: Exemplary embodiments relate to improvements in the design of a messaging inbox. The inbox may display different units or “modules” for providing a user with quick access to different inbox functionalities. After a number of recent or unread messages are shown in the inbox's initial interface, the messages end and are replaced with modules. In some embodiments, promotional material may be integrated into a module, or may be integrated as a module. For example, a new message thread may be created to indicate a store in which a discount is offered. The message may appear in a module, or may stand in the place of a module. The promotional material may be selected based on proximity. The messaging service may differentiate between sponsored materials advertising a product or service, and purely beneficial materials such as coupons.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: FACEBOOK, INC.
    Inventors: Vinodh Jayaram, Andrew Yaoshu Song, Jonathan David Perlow
  • Patent number: 11144812
    Abstract: A preprocessing module of a neural network has a first input and second input. The module generates multiple, different first latent vector representations of its first input, and multiple, different second latent vector representations of its second input. The module then models pairwise interactions between every unique pairwise combination of the first and second latent vector representations. The module then produces an intermediate output by combining the results of the modeled pairwise interactions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Xianjie Chen, Wenlin Chen, Liang Xiong, Tianshi Gao
  • Patent number: 11145107
    Abstract: This disclosure describes efficient communication of surface texture data between system on a chip (SOC) integrated circuits. An example system includes a first integrated circuit and a second integrated circuit communicatively coupled to the first integrated circuit by a video communication interface. The first integrated generates a superframe in a video frame of the video communication interface for transmission to the second integrated circuit. The superframe includes multiple subframe payloads that carry surface texture data to be updated in the frame and corresponding subframe headers that include parameters of the subframe payloads. The second integrated circuit includes a direct access memory (DMA) controller. The DMA upon receipt of the superframe, writes the surface texture data within each of the subframe payloads directly to an allocated location in memory based on the parameters included in the corresponding one of the subframe headers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Richard Lawrence Greene, Steve John Clohset, Benjamin Charles Constable
  • Patent number: 11144115
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are related to a system and a method for porting a physical object in a physical space into a virtual reality. In one approach, the method includes detecting an input device in a physical space relative to a user of the input device. In one approach, the method includes presenting, by a display device to the user, a virtual model of the detected input device in a virtual space at a location and an orientation. The location and the orientation of the virtual model in the virtual space may correspond to a location and an orientation of the input device in the physical space relative to the user. In one approach, the method includes visually providing relative to the virtual model in the virtual space, through the display device, spatial feedback on the user's interaction with the input device in the physical space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: FACEBOOK TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Jan Herling, Adrian Brian Ratter
  • Patent number: 11143866
    Abstract: A waveguide is provided for conveying image light. The waveguide includes an input port for receiving a first beam of image light carrying an image in a wavelength band. A first diffraction grating of the waveguide includes a plurality of volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) configured to expand the first beam along a first axis and to redirect the first beam towards a second diffraction grating of the waveguide. The second diffraction grating includes a plurality of VBGs configured to receive the first beam from the first diffraction grating and to out-couple different portions of the first wavelength band of the first beam along a second axis, thereby expanding the first beam along the second axis for observation of the image by a user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: FACEBOOK TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Wanli Chi, Hee Yoon Lee, Pasi Saarikko
  • Patent number: 11137655
    Abstract: A tunable liquid crystal (LC) device includes an LC layer between a pair of reflectors forming an optical cavity. The reflectors include conductive layers for applying an electrical signal to the LC layer. One of the conductive layers may include an array of conductive pixels for spatially selective control of the effective refractive index of the LC layer. The phase delay introduced by the LC layer may be greatly increased or magnified by placing the LC layer into the optical cavity. This enables a substantial reduction of the LC layer thickness, which in its turn enables very tight pitches of the LC pixels, with a reduced inter-pixel crosstalk caused by fringing electric fields, as well as faster switching times. A tight-pitch, fast LC device may be used as a configurable hologram or a spatial light modulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: FACEBOOK TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Maxwell Parsons, Shane Colburn, Yingfei Jiang, Andrew Maimone, Erik Shipton, Guohua Wei, Oleg Yaroshchuk
  • Patent number: 11138292
    Abstract: An electronic circuit performs depthwise convolution of an input matrix with a kernel matrix to generate an output matrix. In each of a plurality of rounds of operations, a row of kernel matrix elements is selected for the round of operations, and applied to the input matrix to obtain an intermediate data array corresponding to the selected row of kernel elements. The electronic circuit includes a plurality of subcircuits operable in parallel to generate, in each operation, a set of intermediate data elements in the intermediate data array. Each subcircuit generates a respective intermediate data element that is the sum of a respective row of the input matrix elements weighted by a set of weight elements including the selected row of kernel elements and at least one zero element. The selected row of kernel elements is successively shifted among the set of weight elements in the round of operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: FACEBOOK, INC.
    Inventors: Krishnakumar Nair, Abdulkadir Utku Diril, Dheevatsa Mudigere, Ehsan Khish Ardestani Zadeh, Olivia Wu, Yuchen Hao
  • Patent number: 11138993
    Abstract: One or more write efficiency metrics are determined. The one or more write efficiency metrics are associated with a tape storage drive while the tape storage drive is operating on one or more tape storage media cartridges to write data sets to the one or more tape storage media cartridges. It is predicted whether the tape storage drive would be able to write an entire set of data sets to a current tape storage media cartridge based on the one or more write efficiency metrics. It is determined whether a different tape storage drive is to be utilized to complete writing of the entire set of data sets to the current tape storage media cartridge based on the prediction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Yu Cai, Chengyan Fu, Haoci Zhang, John Mah
  • Patent number: 11137869
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a cover feed interaction history from a device associated with a user of a social-networking system. An order for a plurality of content boards may be determined based on the cover feed interaction history (e.g., viewing history, download status, the current order of content boards in the cover feed, user interaction history, whether the user bookmarked or pinned a particular content board), user information related to the user, and device information about device-based events and device status. Finally, the order for the content boards may be sent to the device. The determination of the order for the content boards may be based on the cover feed interaction history, recency of content included in the content boards, popularity of the content, relevance of content to the user, or device-based events.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Luke St. Clair, Daniel Weaver, Joshua Van Dyke Watzman, Daniel Schafer
  • Patent number: 11138747
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes, by a computing system, determining a sample point within a texture. The sample point corresponds to a specified output position in a display system. The method includes accessing texels in the texture that are used for determining properties of the sample point. Each identified texel includes a color and a transparency level. The method includes determining an interpolation optimization by comparing the colors and transparency levels of the identified texels. The method includes determining, according to the determined interpolation optimization, a pixel color and a pixel transparency level for the sample point using the identified texels. At least one of the pixel color or the pixel transparency level is determined by copying the colors or transparency levels of the texels, respectively, without performing interpolation. The method includes providing the determined pixel color and the determined pixel transparency level for the sample point for display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Larry Seiler
  • Patent number: 11140188
    Abstract: An online system determines the likelihood of an interaction between a user and a content item being an invalid interaction. The online system receives an indication of an interaction of a client device with a content item. The online system identifies a device ID for the client device and determines whether the device ID is associated with one or more browser IDs. If the device ID is not associated with any browser ID, the received interaction is likely an invalid interaction. The online system may further determine the likelihood of an online publisher manufacturing interactions. The online system determines a number of invalid interactions and a number of valid interactions associated with the online publisher. The online system determines a ratio between the number of invalid and valid interactions. If the ratio is larger than a threshold value, the online system determines that the online publisher is likely manufacturing interactions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Tobias Henry Wooldridge, Chaochao Cai
  • Patent number: 11139756
    Abstract: In some embodiments, a device, such as a transducer, includes a polymer element disposed between electrodes, and a control circuit configured to apply electrical potentials having the same polarity to the electrodes. A separation distance between the electrodes may be increased by an electrostatic repulsion between the electrodes. Various other devices, systems, methods, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Yigit Mengue, Andrew John Ouderkirk, Christopher Yuan Ting Liao, Katherine Marie Smyth, Thomas John Farrell Wallin, Jack Lindsay, Austin Lane, Tanya Malhotra, Kenneth Diest
  • Patent number: 11138255
    Abstract: The present disclosure is directed toward systems, computer-readable media, and methods for providing customized media effects for use in media communications. For example, systems and methods described herein utilize search terms along with contextual information associated with a client-computing device and characteristic information associated with a digital media item to identify pre-generated media effects and to generate dynamic media effects. Systems and methods described herein score and rank the identified and generated media effects to as to provide listings of media effects that are most likely to appeal to a user of the client-computing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Peter Henry Martinazzi, Christian Xavier Dalonzo, Jennifer A. Burge, Xiaobin Wu, Chih Shao Lee, Puneet Sethi, Jennifer Terra Hansen
  • Patent number: 11140381
    Abstract: A method of operating a VR or AR head mounted display (HMD) system includes obtaining a video performance parameter for a video signal, selecting a clock frequency for video data transfer within the HMD system based on the video performance parameter, detecting one or more available frequency bands for a wireless data connection between a host device and the HMD system, and selecting a frequency band from the one or more available frequency bands for the wireless data connection, based on a predetermined connection suitability parameter for the one or more available frequency bands and based on the selected clock frequency for video data transfer within the HMD system. The method further includes establishing a wireless connection between the host device and the HMD system over the selected frequency band.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Rui Zhang, Dong Yang
  • Patent number: 11140232
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes accessing a location history of a user of a social-networking system. The social-networking system includes a social graph that includes multiple nodes and edges connecting the nodes. At least node corresponds to the user. The method includes accessing a data set from a third-party source independent of the social-networking system. The data set references one or more locations. The method includes comparing the location history of the user with the locations referenced by the data set to determine an overlap between the location history and the data set and determining based on the comparison one or more labels to assign to the user or to one or more locations where the location history and the data set overlap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Scott J. Bratsman, Aude Hofleitner, Jacob Perkowski, Tsuwei Chen
  • Patent number: 11137603
    Abstract: Techniques disclosed herein relate generally to surface-relief structures. In one embodiment, a surface-relief grating includes a plurality of grating ridges. The plurality of grating ridges includes a first set of grating ridges characterized by a first refractive index, and a second set of grating ridges interleaved with the first set of grating ridges and characterized by a second refractive index different from the first refractive index. The plurality of grating ridges is imprinted in a polymer layer by a nanoimprint lithography process and is exposed to a light pattern to form the first set of grating ridges and the second set of grating ridges that have different refractive indices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: FACEBOOK TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventor: Bo Zhang
  • Patent number: 11140100
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media can receive an indication that a first user is interested in participating in a topic-based messaging session pertaining to a first topic. A second user to match with the first user is identified based on user matching criteria. A topic-based messaging session within which the first user and the second user can exchange messages is generated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Mike M. Yaghmai, Alireza Bitaraf Haghighi
  • Patent number: 11137536
    Abstract: Techniques for fabricating a slanted structure are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method for fabricating a slanted structure on a material layer includes forming a mask layer on the material layer, and implanting ions into a plurality of regions of the material layer at a slant angle greater than zero using an ion beam and the mask layer. The slant angle is measured with respect to a surface normal of the material layer. Implanting the ions into the plurality of regions of the material layer changes a refractive index or an etch rate of the plurality of regions of the material layer. In some embodiments, the method further includes wet-etching the material layer using an etchant to remove materials in the plurality of regions of the material layer. In some embodiments, the method includes either simultaneous or post-implantation etching of modified material through a dry etching process using reactive etchants in feed gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: FACEBOOK TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Matthew E. Colburn, Nihar Ranjan Mohanty
  • Patent number: 11138440
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media can receive a set of video frames associated with a video. For each video frame of the set of video frames, a plurality of interest points are identified based on an interest point detector. For each video frame of the set of video frames, it is determined whether the video frame depicts the same static image as a next video frame in the set of video frames based on the plurality of interest points identified in each video frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Jianyu Wang, Lei Huang, Guangshuo Liu, Renbin Peng, Ziheng Wang, Di Liu
  • Patent number: 11140240
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to systems, non-transitory computer-readable media, and methods for dynamically providing a activity dashboard for display within a graphical user interface. In particular, the disclosed systems can intelligently display, within the activity dashboard, insights of digital activity within an application of a child account. For example, the disclosed systems can monitor digital activity associated with recent contacts and groups, contact updates, and digital media items exchanged in messaging chat threads. In turn, the disclosed system can selectively surface one or more portions (and/or indications) of the monitored digital activity in the activity dashboard along with corresponding actionable options available for user selection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: FACEBOOK, INC.
    Inventors: Philip Morgan Brown, Reem Helou, Adam Vicent Cristobal, Hadi Abou El Kheir, Ashu Khaitan, Jeremy Taylor Barton, Katarina Ling
  • Patent number: 11138800
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes accessing a first distortion definition for a first color component of a collection of pixels and a second distortion definition for a second color component of the collection of pixels; casting, from a viewpoint in a 3D space, a first bundle of rays for the first color component in accordance with the first distortion definition; computing a first set of intersection locations between the cast first bundle of rays and an object in the 3D space; determining, based on the first and second distortion definitions, that a difference between distortions of the first and second color components satisfies a predetermined threshold; estimating, using the first set of intersection locations, a second set of intersection locations on the object for the second color component; and determining color values for the collection of pixels based on the first and second sets of intersection locations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Larry Seiler
  • Patent number: 11140118
    Abstract: The disclosed computer-implemented method may include receiving, via a user interface of a social networking system (SNS) (1) a request to include a user of the SNS in a set of users of the SNS, and (2) a time frame associated with an event The method may also include including the user in the set of users based on receiving the request to include the user in the set of users. The method may also include tracking, via a location tracking feature of a mobile device associated with a target user of the SNS, a physical location of the target user during the time frame, and sharing, via the SNS during the time frame, the physical location of the target user with the set of users. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Jordan Springstroh
  • Patent number: 11140111
    Abstract: Techniques to configure the network distribution of media compositions for transmission are described. An apparatus may comprise a user interface component of a messaging client on a client device operative to receive a media composition via a composition interface, the messaging client associated with a user account with a messaging system; and receive a transmission command via the composition interface; and a messaging component operative to transmit a media composition package from the client device to the messaging system in response to the transmission command, the media composition package comprising the media composition, the media composition package addressed to a media composition distribution group for the user account, the media composition distribution group determined based on, at least in part, a messaging history for the user account with the messaging system. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: FACEBOOK, INC.
    Inventors: Peter Henry Martinazzi, Richard Kenneth Zadorozny, Jennifer A Burge, Christian Xavier Dalonzo
  • Patent number: 11137605
    Abstract: A near-eye display assembly presented herein includes an electronic display, an optical assembly, and scanning assembly. The electronic display has a first resolution. The optical assembly controls a field of view at an eye box and directs a plurality of light rays emitting from the electronic display toward the eye box. The scanning assembly shifts a direction of at least one of the light rays in accordance with emission instructions such that a virtual display is presented to the eye box, the virtual display having a second resolution greater than the first resolution. The display assembly can be implemented as a component of a head-mounted display of an artificial reality system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Stephen John Holmes, Wanli Chi, Maxwell Parsons, Jasmine Soria Sears
  • Patent number: 11138782
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a computing system may determine an orientation in a three-dimensional (3D) space and generate a plurality of coordinates in the 3D space based on the determined orientation. The system may access pre-determined ray trajectory definitions associated with the plurality of coordinates. The system may determine visibility information of one or more objects defined within the 3D space by projecting rays through the plurality of coordinates, wherein trajectories of the rays from the plurality of coordinates are determined based on the pre-determined ray trajectory definitions. The system may then generate an image of the one or more objects based on the determined visibility information of the one or more objects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Warren Andrew Hunt, Anton S. Kaplanyan, Michael Mara, Alexander Nankervis
  • Patent number: 11138799
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a computer implemented method for rendering virtual environments is disclosed. The method includes associating by a computing system, virtual object with a container effect, by receiving information regarding an object category for the object and matching the object category to a category associated with the container effect, where the container effect defines virtual effects for objects associated therewith. The method also includes generating by the computing system a virtual environment including the virtual object by retrieving a model of the object and utilizing the model and the container effect to render a virtual object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: FACEBOOK TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Srilatha P. Raghavan, Nikhil Vijay Chandhok
  • Patent number: 11138921
    Abstract: A display device provides for row based brightness uniformity compensation. The display device includes a display panel and a row driver connected to the display panel. The display panel includes a first pixel row and a second pixel row. The row driver provides first signals to the first pixel row to drive the first pixel row using a first time interval for a first subframe of a first pulse width modulation (PWM) frame of the first pixel row. The row driver provides second signals to the second pixel row to drive the second pixel row using a second time interval for a second subframe of a second PWM frame of the second pixel row. The first time interval may be different from the second timer interval, such as to provide for uniform brightness of light emission across the first and second pixel rows.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Michael Yee
  • Patent number: 11139417
    Abstract: In a flip-chip LED assembly having an array of LEDs formed on the same substrate, different LEDs of the array have different distances to the n-contacts of the assembly. This may cause current crowding as current has to spread from the n-contacts through the substrate to each the farthest LEDs of the LED array, requiring LEDs that are farther away to be driven with a higher voltage in order to receive a desired amount of current. To spread current more evenly through the LED assembly and reduce a voltage difference between the closest and farthest LEDs of the array, one or more additional n-contacts are formed within the LED array. In some embodiments, the n-contacts may replace a pixel of the LED array. In other embodiments, one or more p-contacts of the LED array are resized or repositioned to accommodate the additional n-contacts without sacrificing pixels of the LED array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Christophe Antoine Hurni, John Michael Goward, Chloe Astrid Marie Fabien
  • Patent number: 11138920
    Abstract: A display device provides pulse width modulation (PWM) control of pixels using comparator circuits within each pixel. The display device includes a display panel and a row driver connected to the display panel. The row driver includes a counter configured to generate count bit values for subframes of a pulse width modulation (PWM) frame. The display panel includes pixels, each pixel including a comparator circuit and a light emitting diode. The comparator circuit includes a dynamic comparison node. The comparator circuit is configured to generate comparison results at the dynamic comparison node by comparing the count bit values of the subframes and data bit values of a control word defining a brightness level of the pixel for the PWM frame. The LED is configured to turn on or off responsive to the comparison results at the dynamic comparison node.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Michael Yee
  • Patent number: 11133693
    Abstract: An apparatus may include a power rail, a subassembly, an additional subassembly, and an interface coupling the subassembly to the additional subassembly. The subassembly may include a load, an energy-storing component, a charger having an output coupled to the energy-storing component, and a reverse-current limiter having a first terminal coupled to the energy-storing component. The additional subassembly may include an additional energy-storing component, an additional charger having an output coupled to the additional energy-storing component, and an additional reverse-current limiter having a first terminal coupled to the additional energy-storing component. The power rail may cross the interface and may couple the load, an input of the charger, a second terminal of the reverse-current limiter, an input of the additional charger, and a second terminal of the additional reverse-current limiter. Various other apparatuses, systems, and methods are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Gene R. Obie, Xiaobei Li, Sam Sarmast, Karthik Kadirvel, Jason Howard
  • Patent number: 11132061
    Abstract: A fluidic haptic device includes a chamber, a compressible or incompressible fluid disposed within the chamber, and an actuatable element in hydraulic or pneumatic contact with the fluid. The actuatable element is adapted to be displaced by movement of a user of the device, which can apply pressure to the fluid. The haptic device may interact directly with one or more body parts of a user, including the user's skin, and may be operable without an external pressure source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Andrew Arthur Stanley, Nathan Scot Usevitch, Amirhossein Hajiagha Memar, Nicholas Colonnese
  • Patent number: 11132805
    Abstract: A depth measurement assembly (DMA) includes an illumination source that projects pulses of light (e.g., structured light) at a temporal pulsing frequency into a local area. The DMA includes a sensor that capture images of the pulses of light reflected from the local area and determines, using one or more of the captured images, one or more TOF phase shifts for the pulses of light. The DMA includes a controller coupled to the sensor and configured to determine a first set of estimated radial distances to an object in the local area based on the one or more TOF phase shifts. The controller determines a second estimated radial distance to the object based on an encoding of structured light and at least one of the captured images. The controller selects an estimated radial distance from the first set of radial distances.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Michael Hall
  • Patent number: 11132056
    Abstract: Various aspects of the subject technology relate to prediction of eye movements of a user of a head-mountable display device. Predictive foveated display systems and methods, using the predicted eye movements are also disclosed. Predictive variable focus display systems and methods using the predicted eye movements are also disclosed. Predicting eye movements may include predicting a future gaze location and/or predicting a future vergence plane for the user's eyes, based on the current motion of one or both of the user's eyes. The predicted gaze location may be used to pre-render a foveated display image frame with a high-resolution region at the predicted gaze location. The predicted vergence plane may be used to modify an image plane of a display assembly to mitigate or avoid a vergence/accommodation conflict for the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Sebastian Sztuk, Javier San Agustin Lopez, Steven Paul Lansel
  • Patent number: 11132058
    Abstract: The disclosed system may include (1) a processor that generates an artificial environment that includes a virtual object, (2) a display that presents the artificial environment, (3) an input subsystem that detects tracks positioning of a body, and (4) a plurality of haptic actuators that are arranged to apply haptic feedback to a first plurality of locations on the body, where the processor (a) determines, based on the positioning of the body, a virtual contact of one of a second plurality of locations on the body with the virtual object, where the second plurality of locations is different from the first plurality of locations, and (b) activates, in response to the virtual contact, at least one of the plurality of haptic actuators based on a mapping of the second plurality of locations to the plurality of haptic actuators. Various other systems and methods are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Aakar Gupta, Majed Jamal Samad, Hrvoje Benko
  • Patent number: 11132719
    Abstract: As components of an advertisement are received by an online system, the online system determines whether the received components satisfy one or more policies of the online system. If a component does not satisfy a policy of the online system, the user providing the components is notified when the component is provided, allowing the user to modify the component. Additionally, stored data describing previously analyzed components are compared to received components, and the stored data is used if the received component matches a previously analyzed component This process expedites approval of advertisements by the online system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Mathew Varghese, Nuwan Senaratna
  • Patent number: 11132604
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes a preprocessing stage of a neural network model, where the preprocessing stage includes first and second preprocessing modules. Each of the two modules has first input that may receive a dense input and a second input that may receive a sparse input. Each module generates latent vector representations of their respective first and second inputs, and combine the latent vectors with the original first input to define an intermediate output. The intermediate output of the first module is fed into the first input of the second module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Xianjie Chen, Wenlin Chen, Liang Xiong, Tianshi Gao
  • Patent number: 11132369
    Abstract: An online system identifies a candidate content item eligible for presentation to a viewing user of the online system, in which the candidate content item includes media (e.g., an image, a video, etc.). The online system identifies one or more media attributes for the media, such as color saturation, tone, brightness, sharpness, contrast, etc. The online system also predicts a value of a performance metric for the candidate content item that indicates a likelihood of user engagement with the candidate content item by the viewing user. For each modification that may be made to a media attribute, the online system predicts a change to the value of the performance metric. Based on the predicted change, the online system determines an optimal set of media attributes associated with a maximum predicted value of the performance metric. The online system modifies the media based on the optimal set of media attributes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Elizabeth Patton Boles, Yining Wu, Cassidy Jake Beeve-Morris, Chin Lung Fong
  • Patent number: 11132348
    Abstract: Techniques to configure media packages are described. In one embodiment, an apparatus may comprise a client support component operative to receive search term information from a client device at a server device; and configure the client device with a selected one or more high-priority media items; a media server search component operative to transmit the search term information to a plurality of media servers; receive a plurality of media items from the plurality of media servers in response to the transmitting of the search term information to the plurality of media servers; and select the one or more high-priority media items from the plurality of media items based on priority weights; and a media item evaluation component operative to assign the priority weights to each of the plurality of media items. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: FACEBOOK, INC.
    Inventors: Alexander Salem Franklin, Matthew Steiner, Seth Garrett Steinberg Rosenberg
  • Patent number: 11132841
    Abstract: The disclosed computer-implemented method may include acquiring, from a client device within a real-world environment, information representative of the real-world environment, and transmitting the information representative of the real-world environment to a relocalization service. The method may further include receiving, from the relocalization service, (1) an anchor point that may include a mapped position within the real-world environment, and (2) a determined position within the real-world environment of a client device relative to the mapped position of the anchor point. The method may further include sending an identifier of the anchor point to an asset management service, and obtaining, from the asset management service, a digital asset. The method may further include presenting the digital asset at a position within an artificial environment relative to the mapped position of the anchor point. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Alvaro Collet Romea, Jingming Dong, Xiaoyang Gao, Jiawen Zhang, Yuheng Ren, Raul Mur Artal, Christopher Sweeney, Jakob Julian Engel
  • Patent number: 11132834
    Abstract: The disclosed computer-implemented method may include receiving, from a first device in an environment, real-time data associated with the environment and generating map data for the environment based on the real-time data received from the first device. The method may include creating, by merging the map data of the first device with aggregate map data associated with at least one other device, a joint anchor graph that is free of identifiable information, and hosting the joint anchor graph for a shared artificial reality session between the first device and the at least one other device. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Richard Andrew Newcombe, Yuheng Ren, Yajie Yan
  • Patent number: 11133455
    Abstract: An example device includes a nanovoided polymer element, which may be located at least in part between the electrodes. In some examples, the nanovoided polymer element may include anisotropic voids, including a gas, and separated from each other by polymer walls. The device may be an electroactive device, such as an actuator having a response time for a transition between actuation states. The gas may have a characteristic diffusion time (e.g., to diffuse half the mean wall thickness through the polymer walls) that is less than the response time. The nanovoids may be sufficiently small (e.g., below 1 micron in diameter or an analogous dimension), and/or the polymer walls may be sufficiently thin, such that the gas interchange between gas in the voids and gas absorbed by the polymer walls may occur faster than the response time, and in some examples, effectively instantaneously.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Andrew Spann, Eric Schmitt, Nagi Elabbasi, Kenneth Diest, Katherine Marie Smyth, Renate Eva Klementine Landig, Andrew John Ouderkirk
  • Patent number: 11133708
    Abstract: The disclosed apparatus may include (1) a mount of an infrastructure component, where the mount includes an installation surface that contacts an installed electronic device, and (2) a coupling mechanism that (a) provides a force causing a corresponding installation surface of the installed electronic device to maintain contact with the installation device, and (b) delivers electrical power via the installation surface to the installed electronic device. Various other apparatuses, devices, and methods are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Jay Parikh, Yael Maguire
  • Patent number: 11132118
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method performed by one or more computing devices including defining a hierarchical structure for a user interface (UI) that includes defining one or more layers of the hierarchical structure, adding one or more objects at each layer, and specifying one or more relationships among particular objects. The method further including associating metadata with each object at each layer, the metadata describing how the corresponding object is presented in the user interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Matas, Kimon Tsinteris, Austin Sarner, Charles Melcher
  • Patent number: 11132711
    Abstract: A client device receives advertisement content associated with an entity having a physical location and one or more instructions that, when executed, present information identifying the physical location. The client device displays an ad unit including the received advertisement content and a link associated with the instructions to present the information identifying the physical location. If a user selects the link, the client device presents information identifying the physical location, such as a map, within the ad unit. Additional instruction may be included in the advertisement that, when executed by the client device, execute an application installed on the client device to provide directions to the physical location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Erick Tseng