Facebook Patents

Facebook, Inc. operates a social media website and mobile app that enables people to connect, share and discover opinions, ideas, photos and videos. The company also owns Instagram, a mobile application for sharing photos and videos, as well as WhatsApp, a mobile messaging application.

Facebook Patents by Type
  • Facebook Patents Granted: Facebook patents that have been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
  • Facebook Patent Applications: Facebook patent applications that are pending before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
  • Patent number: 10321143
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer readable media can obtain a first plurality of frames of a video having a first resolution. For each frame of the first plurality of frames, a portion of a corresponding frame of a version of the video having a second resolution that is higher than the first resolution can be sampled to generate a bias for the frame. A second plurality of frames of the video including the respective bias can be generated, wherein the second plurality of frames corresponds to the first plurality of frames. A second plurality of frames of the video including the respective bias can be generated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Douglas Michael Mayle
  • Patent number: 10320768
    Abstract: Techniques for multi-protocol peer-to-peer connection are described. An apparatus may comprise a discovery component to discover a remote device using a first protocol, and receive discovery information from the remote device, the discovery information including protocol information. The apparatus may comprise an authentication component to authenticate the remote device. The apparatus may comprise a connection component to establish a peer-to-peer connection with the remote device using a second protocol based on the protocol information. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: FACEBOOK, INC.
    Inventors: Yael Maguire, Damian Kowalewski, Bin Liu, Wai Davidgeolim Lim, Caitlin Elizabeth Kalinowski
  • Patent number: 10318473
    Abstract: A method of operating a data transport system on a computing device is disclosed. The method comprises: writing outgoing data in a first memory space on a memory module of a computing device; detecting the outgoing data on the first memory space by a data channel component coupled to the memory module, wherein the first memory space is designated for external data transmission; and generating a transmission signal encoding the outgoing data, via the data channel component, for transmission from the memory module through an inter-device interconnect to an external memory module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Narsing Vijayrao, Jason Taylor
  • Patent number: 10318652
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a server receives a search query; determines search terms based on the received search query, each search term including a prefix and a suffix, both of which correspond to elements of a social graph; and sends search results matching the prefix and suffix of a search term.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Tudor Bosman, Soren Bogh Lassen
  • Patent number: 10318597
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer readable media configured to detect access by a user to an original content item relating to a story. At least one of a comments based technique, a token based technique, and a tag based technique is performed on content items. Constraints are applied to identify at least one follow up content item from the content items relating to a development of the story.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Holly Marie Ormseth, Elad Gerson, Guy Dassa, Khalid Bakry El-Arini, Gaurav Shankar, Yuanxuan Wang, Varun Kacholia, Prasoon Mishra, David Vickrey, Sanjeet Uday Hajarnis, Sahil P. Thaker
  • Patent number: 10318107
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media can receive a set of information presentation rules, and receive a user interaction with a social network content post. User interaction information is displayed on a user interface for a current user based on the user interaction and the set of information presentation rules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Andrew Michael Chung
  • Patent number: 10318982
    Abstract: For ad campaigns that have multiple advertisements, each associated with an ad creative, which are automatically selected, an online system may bias selection of advertisements away from underestimated advertisements and towards early-selected advertisements with positive user interactions. To increase the likelihood of various advertisements in an ad campaign being evaluated for presentation to users, the online system may: associate a relatively high performance score with each advertisement in an ad campaign, randomly select advertisements from an ad campaign, modify bid amounts associated with advertisements in the ad campaign, or allocate a portion of the ad campaign's budget for allocation across advertisements in the ad campaign. After presenting a threshold number of advertisements in an ad campaign or receiving an instruction from an advertiser, advertisements from the ad campaign may be selected using conventional methods.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Chinmay Deepak Karande, Joaquin Ignacio Quinonero Candela, Yaron Greif
  • Patent number: 10318538
    Abstract: There are provided means for implementing an interface to view and explore socially relevant concepts of an entity graph including, for example, means of a social network system to perform operations including retrieving contextually relevant data for a plurality of concepts within an entity graph of the social network system; retrieving socially relevant data for a user's node within a social graph of the social network system; identifying intersects between the plurality of concepts within the entity graph and the social relevant data for the user's node within the social graph; selecting one of the plurality of concepts within the entity graph based on the intersects identified; and displaying the one of the plurality of concepts within the entity graph at a user interface associated with the user's node.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: FACEBOOK, INC.
    Inventors: Jeffrey Dunn, Cameron Marlow, Venkataramanan Nandagopal, Philip Bohannon
  • Patent number: 10321283
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a computing system accesses current usage information of a mobile device associated with a user. The computing system then determine a future user state of the user based on multiple predictor functions. The multiple predictor functions calculate a probability of the future user state based on multiple weights and multiple decay factors. The multiple decay factors are determined from past user states. The computing system further sends instructions to the mobile device for adapting the operation of the mobile device corresponding to the determined future user state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Dudley Johnson, Joshua Williams
  • Patent number: 10318502
    Abstract: An intelligent synchronization tool ensures access to desired content in a manner that automatically keeps the content current on the portable media device. A variation threshold or user-specified degree of content variation may be introduced among content downloaded to a user's mobile device to prevent the user from becoming bored. Furthermore, intelligent synchronization may automatically populate the portable media device with popular content to save a user time and/or use passive monitoring techniques to ascertain a user's preferences for subsequent population.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: FACEBOOK, INC.
    Inventor: David L. Biderman
  • Patent number: 10317772
    Abstract: A Pancharatnam Berry Phase (PBP) color corrected structure is presented that comprises a plurality of switchable gratings and a plurality of PBP active elements. Each switchable grating has an inactive mode when reflects light of a specific color channel, of a set of color channels, and transmits light of other color channels in the set of color channels, wherein the specific color channel is different for each of the plurality of switchable gratings, and to have an active mode to transmit light that is inclusive of the set of color channels. The PBP active elements receive light output from at least one of the plurality of switchable gratings. Each of the PBP active elements is configured to adjust light of a different color channel of the set of color channels by a same amount to output light corrected for chromatic aberration for the set of color channels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Lu Lu, Scott Charles McEldowney, Nada O'Brien, Pasi Saarikko
  • Patent number: 10320762
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes receiving from a requesting network node identifying information, and accessing registration information of previously registered network nodes of a multi-hop wireless network. The registration information includes a firmware hash or a serial number of the previously registered network node. The registration information may have been extracted from the previously registered network node and communicated to the network-management system as cipher text encoded with a public key and decoded at the network-management system with a private key. The method may further include comparing the identifying information of the requesting network node with the registration information of the previously registered network nodes to determine whether the requesting network node is one of the previously registered network nodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: David Thiel
  • Patent number: 10321261
    Abstract: Techniques for wireless transmitter location detection are described. An apparatus may comprise a processor circuit and a location database generator component. The location database generator component may comprise: a logging component operative on the processor circuit to receive a plurality of location data packages, the location data packages comprising locations and associated wireless transmitter identifiers, and to log the location data packages into a location database, the location database comprising a plurality of tuples of the locations and the wireless transmitter identifiers; and an analysis component operative on the processor circuit to construct a transmitter mapping from wireless transmitter identifiers to locations based on the plurality of tuples of the location database. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: FACEBOOK, INC.
    Inventors: Aude Hofleitner, Pierre Moreels
  • Patent number: 10319266
    Abstract: A display panel for concurrent video output and eye position tracking. The display panel includes a substrate, a plurality of visible light emitting diodes (LEDs) positioned on a side of the substrate, and a plurality of light detectors positioned on the side of the substrate. The visible LEDs transmit quasi-collimated visible light propagating away from the side of the substrate. The light detectors capture invisible light propagating toward the side of the substrate, reflected from an eye of the user. In some embodiments, non-visible LEDs are formed on the side of the substrate. The visible LEDs, light detectors, and non-visible LEDs may be arranged to form pixels of the display panel. The quasi-collimated light emitted from the visible LEDs reduces spread into beam paths of the invisible light between the non-visible LEDs and the light detectors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Christopher Percival, Robin Sharma
  • Patent number: 10319045
    Abstract: A social networking system identifies relationships between friends of a target user that are likely to be unexpected to the target user. To identify an unexpected relationship among a user's friends, the social networking system determines a measure of unexpectedness for pairs of connections of the target user and selects pairs of connections for presentation to the user based on the measure of unexpectedness. The measure of unexpectedness of a relationship between a pair of friends is inversely related to a number of connections between each of the pair of friends and the target user. Information describing the pair of unexpected friends may be presented to a target user along with content relating the two friends, such as photos in which both friends are tagged, events attended by the unexpected friends together, or places both unexpected friends checked-in at the same time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Jonathan H. Frank
  • Patent number: 10318231
    Abstract: One or more embodiments of the disclosure provide systems and methods for providing media presentations to users of a media presentation system. A media presentation generally includes a plurality of media segments provided by multiple users of the media presentation system. In one or more embodiments, a user of the media presentation system may share a media presentation with a co-user. The media presentation system can enable the co-user, if authorized by the user, to contribute (e.g., add a media segment) to a media presentation shared with the co-user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: FACEBOOK, INC.
    Inventors: Joshua Alexander Miller, Leo Litterello Mancini, Michael Slater
  • Patent number: 10320479
    Abstract: Optical systems and methods for transmission of multiple beams and direct detection of those beams are described. One transmitter for use in a free space optical communication system includes a broad spectrum light source and an optical component including a plurality of sections positioned to receive an optical beam produced by the broad spectrum light source. The sections of the optical component are formed to introduce optical path differences into portions of the optical beam that impinge on the optical component such that each section introduces a delay into a corresponding portion of the optical beam. The introduced delays cause each portion of the optical beam to lack coherence with other portions of the optical beam. A direct detection receiver detects the intensity of the aggregate beams and produces a signal with improved signal-to-noise ratio. The disclosed technology can be used with modulated optical beams such as intensity modulated beams.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Kevin Michael Birnbaum
  • Patent number: 10319136
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media can detect a trigger to initiate at least one of a pixelation animation or a depixelation animation for a media content item. A set of pixelated images can be generated based on a source image associated with the media content item. Variable durations for presenting the set of pixelated images can be determined. The set of pixelated images can be presented, based on the variable durations, to produce the at least one of the pixelation animation or the depixelation animation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Nilesh Vinubhai Patel, William M. Ruben, William Joseph Flynn, III, Daniel James Smith, II
  • Patent number: 10318638
    Abstract: Techniques for graph based natural language processing are described. In one embodiment an apparatus may comprise a client service component operative on the processor circuit to receive a natural language user request from a device and to execute the natural language user request based on matched one or more objects and a social object relation component operative on the processor circuit to match the natural language user request to the one or more objects in an object graph, the object graph comprising token mappings for objects within the object graph, the token mappings based on data extracted from a plurality of interactions by a plurality of users of the network system, wherein the one or more objects are matched with the natural language user request based on the token mappings. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: FACEBOOK, INC.
    Inventors: Robert Franklin Daniel, Akash Guarav Gupta
  • Patent number: 10321408
    Abstract: An online system receives an advertisement (“ad”) request identifying an objective for presenting the ad request. The objective specifies a type of interaction with the presented ad request. A threshold battery level is associated with the type of interaction in the ad request that specifies a minimum battery level of a client device to complete the type of interaction. When selecting content for presentation to a user, the online system obtains a battery level of a client device associated with the user and compares the obtained battery level to the threshold battery level. Based on the comparison, the online system determines if to present the ad request to the user. For example, the comparison may prevent presentation of the ad request or penalize a value associated with the ad request if the obtained battery level does not satisfy the threshold battery level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Calvin Patrick Grunewald, Greg Schechter, Owen H. Coutts
  • Patent number: 10317999
    Abstract: A haptic device comprises a wearable material configured to a portion of a user. A vibrotactile actuator is coupled to the wearable material and provides haptic feedback in accordance with a drive signal. A driver circuit is electrically coupled to the vibrotactile actuator and provides the drive signal to the vibrotactile actuator. The driver circuit includes an alternating current (AC) voltage source assembly that has a first AC voltage source and a second AC voltage source, each having a terminal. The terminal of the first AC voltage source is electrically coupled to the vibrotactile actuator. A capacitive element electrically is coupled to the terminal of the negative AC voltage source and a regulating element. The regulating element includes a first coupling point and a second coupling point. The first coupling point is electrically coupled to the capacitive element and the vibrotactile actuator, and the second coupling point is grounded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Adam Ahne, David R. Perek
  • Patent number: 10311611
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes rendering an image comprising a plurality of tags, wherein each tag is associated with a particular location within the image, and wherein at least two tags of the plurality of tags are aggregated into an aggregated tag, calculating for each tag the distance of the location of the tag from the location of every other tag of the image responsive to the first user changing a zoom level for the image, and updating the aggregated tag based on the calculated distance of the locations of the tags to each other such that if the change in zoom level is zooming in, then the updated aggregated tag is aggregated with at least one fewer tag, and if the change in zoom level is zooming out, then the updated aggregated tag is aggregated with at least one more tag.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Dirk John Stoop, Liu Liu
  • Patent number: 10311117
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes identifying one or more entity candidates matching one or more n-grams in a character string, wherein each entity candidate corresponds to an entity associated with the online social network, each entity candidate being associated with one or more entity features and one or more type features, and wherein each entity candidate is of a particular entity type; calculating, for each entity candidate, a confidence score representing a likelihood that the entity candidate is intended to match the corresponding n-gram, wherein the confidence score is based on: an entity-score based on the one or more entity features and a type-score based on the one or more type features; and assigning an entity candidate to one or more of the n-grams based on the calculated confidence scores corresponding to the n-grams.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Veselin S. Stoyanov
  • Patent number: 10313320
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes providing for presentation to a user a number of content objects. At least one of the presented content objects is socially relevant to the user. wherein at least one of presented content objects is socially irrelevant to the user. The presented content objects are socially relevant or socially irrelevant to the user based on whether in a social graph a node corresponding to the user is connected by an edge to a node associated with the content object. The edge represents a social relationship between the content object and the user. The method also includes receiving an input indicating a selection of a number of the presented content objects by the user; and authenticating the user based on a determination of whether the selected content objects are socially irrelevant to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Neel Ishwar Murarka
  • Patent number: 10313280
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for increasing messaging activity in a messaging system. Using the interactions of users with each other and/or with the messaging system, the disclosed systems and methods can predict how likely a pairing of two or more users are to engage in a highly active messaging thread. Based on this prediction, the disclosed methods and systems can, for example, more effectively organize contact lists and conduct promotional efforts associated with messaging features.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: FACEBOOK, INC.
    Inventors: Ariel Benjamin Evnine, Lada Ariana Adamic, Peter Henry Martinazzi, Ojus Abhimanyu Patil
  • Patent number: 10313953
    Abstract: Apparatuses, methods, and systems for charactering and selecting micro-routes between nodes of a wireless network are disclosed. One method includes wirelessly communicating between a first node and a second node through a wireless link formed by at least one micro-route, determining a condition of the at least one micro-route, and selecting at least one other micro-route for communication between the first node and the second node based on a level of correlation between the at least one micro-route and the at least one other micro-route, after determining the condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Krishna Gomadam, Djordje Tujkovic, Sanjai Kohli
  • Patent number: 10311493
    Abstract: The present disclosure is directed toward systems and methods for managing commerce-related communications within a social networking system. For example, systems and methods described herein can identify a particular social networking system post and can generate an optimized version of that particular post. In one or more embodiments, systems and methods described herein can also identify additional social networking system posts that are related to the particular social networking system post.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: FACEBOOK, INC.
    Inventors: Bowen Pan, Derek Chirk Yin Cheng, Oliver Shijie Zheng
  • Patent number: 10313297
    Abstract: A system and method supporting instant messaging which removes many of the problems and barriers to the use of instant messaging through the use of universally unique identifiers to web pages for instant messaging sessions, with recipients invited to the instant messaging session via email.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: FACEBOOK, INC.
    Inventors: Keith Bernstein, Alan Chung
  • Patent number: 10310850
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and/or devices for determining relevant changes to an API are described herein. In one aspect, a server system receives a request from a client to compare two versions of an API. A comparison of the two versions, and any intervening versions, of the API is performed by a server, which may then rank the comparison results based on the call volume or other criteria and will return the ranked results to a client for display to a user. Options include restricting the list of changes to just changes impacting a specific client application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: FACEBOOK, INC.
    Inventors: Mark Ginga Misawa Duppenthaler, Pin Xu, David Scoville, Carpus Gain Chang, Reagan Boyd Williams
  • Patent number: 10310272
    Abstract: A source assembly for providing light. The source assembly comprises a source element array, and a scanning mirror assembly. The source element array includes a super luminous diode (SLED) array of SLEDs that are configured to emit light. The SLED array is on a single chip. Each SLED in the SLED array may emit light in the same color channel (e.g., green). There may be multiple SLED arrays that each are on respective chips and each are associated with a different color channel (e.g., one is red, one is blue, and one is green). The scanning mirror assembly is configured to scan light emitted from the SLED array (and/or multiple SLED arrays) to an entrance location of an output waveguide (e.g., of a waveguide display) as scanned image light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Maxwell Parsons
  • Patent number: 10311244
    Abstract: An online system maintains characteristics for its users and may access characteristics of users maintained by a third party system. The online system may select content for a user of the third party system based on characteristics maintained by the third party system. If the third party system does not maintain a characteristic for its users, the generates a model predicting the characteristic for third party system users based on a set of online system users identified based on characteristics of third party system users. The online system clusters third party system users based on the predicted characteristic for other third party system users connected to the third party system user. Using verified characteristics for third party system users from a trusted third party system, the online system determines an accuracy of the predicted characteristic for third party system users in a cluster.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Weidong Wang, Erjie Ang, Yongfeng Liu, Liang Xu, Chaochao Cai
  • Patent number: 10311487
    Abstract: To select content for presentation to a viewing user, an online system maintains multiple bid amounts associated with various content items. Content items are each associated with multiple bid amounts, with each bid amount specifying an amount of compensation to the online system and identifying a user, so the bid amount identifies an amount of compensation to the online system for selecting the content item in place of content items associated with the identified user. Based on users identified by bid amounts in various content items, the online system generates connections between content items and determines a group of content items including content items connected to each other content item in the group. Using connections between content items in the group, the online system selects a content item and determines a price charged to a user associated with the selected content item.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Seungwong Jeong
  • Patent number: 10311619
    Abstract: An online system customizes video conversations between users of the online system by providing graphics that are likely to interest the users. The online system may present composite views overlaying selected graphics on a video stream, which may be part of an augmented reality (AR) environment. The graphics include, for example, background graphics, masks, props, visual or particular effects, frames or borders, etc. The online system may use a machine learning model to predict whether a user is likely to select or interact with a particular graphic. The online system can also filter or rank graphics according to user affinities or user connections on the online system. Users may be encouraged to interact with the graphics that are customized to their specific interests, which can promote an engaging video conversation or AR experience.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Crystal Rhan-Tsor Chen, Lydia Han, Aigerim Shorman, Tanner Cotant Christensen, Noah Bradley Blecher, Daniil Burdakov, Karthik Narayan, Harshdeep Singh, Pradeep George Mathias, Deepa Diwakar, Tamar Bar Lev, Christopher Jon Lang, Shupin Mao
  • Patent number: 10313452
    Abstract: A chat messaging service provided for a chat user is migrated. At a second chat server from a first chat server, static information associated with a chat user is received. At the second chat server from the first chat server, dynamic information associated with the chat user is received. At least a portion of the dynamic information is received after the chat user is indicated as being associated with the migration state. After the chat user is no longer indicated as being associated with the migration state, a chat message for the chat user is received at the second chat server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Hongzhong Jia, Xiaojun Liang, Li Hua, Goranka Bjedov
  • Patent number: 10313456
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes identifying a first set of candidate-users. Each candidate-user corresponds to a second user within a threshold degree of separation of a first user within a social graph. The method includes filtering, using a first-stage filtering model, the first set of candidate-users to generate a second set of candidate-users using edge-features. The method includes filtering, using a second-stage filtering model, the second set of candidate-users to generate a third-set of candidate-users using the edge-features and user-features. The method includes ranking, using a user-engagement model, the third set of candidate-users using a feature superset based on a probability of the first user connecting with the respective candidate-user. The method includes sending, to a client system of the first user, instructions for generating a suggested-friends interface for display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Xingyu Ma, Tin Shing Ma, Xiaofan Yang
  • Patent number: 10311824
    Abstract: A display device that includes a liquid crystal (LC) panel, a back light unit (BLU), a first data driver, and a second data driver. The back light unit (BLU) emits light during an illumination portion of a frame period and does not emit light during a remaining portion of the frame period. A first data driver writes data to a first portion of the pixels of the LC panel. A second data driver writes data to a second portion of the pixels of the LC panel. The first and second data drivers write data at an overlapping time during a write portion of the frame period. The write portion overlaps in time with the remaining portion of the frame period during which the BLU does not emit light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Evan M. Richards, Nirav Rajendra Patel
  • Patent number: 10311500
    Abstract: A server system determines an adoption state for a first software-development product of a plurality of software-development products offered to software developers by a provider associated with the server system. The adoption state indicates an extent to which the first product has been implemented by a software developer for use in connection with a first application. In accordance with the determined adoption state for the first product, the server system performs at least one of: providing a reminder to the software developer to implement the first product in connection with the first application; and providing a notification of availability of a second product of the plurality of products in connection with the first application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc
    Inventors: Reagan Williams, Benjamin Golub, Eric Osgood, Austin Dobrik
  • Patent number: 10313296
    Abstract: A first instance of a messenger application having a plug-in communicates with a second instance of the messenger application lacking the plug-in. The plug-in provides enhanced functionality to the first instance of the messenger application, while also providing corresponding functionality to the second instance, which lacks the plug-in. For example, the plug-in may provide rich, non-thread-native content to the first instance, while also providing corresponding thread-native content to the second instance. As another example, the plug-in may obtain data from the second instance and provide tailored advertisements to the second instance based upon that data. An another example, the plug-in may obtain location data from one or more of the instances and provide access to location-specific services that take the location data into account.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Jason Duane Clark, Benjamin Kyle Padget, Christopher Jon Lang
  • Patent number: 10311525
    Abstract: A social networking system classifies content items according to their qualities for ranking and selection of content items to present to users within, for example, a newsfeed. Low-quality content items that are unlikely to be interesting or relevant to a user may be distinguished though they may appear to be popular among users in the social networking system. The social networking system identifies within the content items one or more features that are indicators of the quality of the content items. The social networking system can use one or more classifiers to evaluate the content items based on the features, and it can compute a quality metric indicating the quality of a content item based on the result obtained from the classifiers. The quality metric can be used in the ranking and selection of a set of content items to provide to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Erich James Owens, David Vickrey
  • Patent number: 10310608
    Abstract: A wearable actuation device allows a user to interact with virtual objects in an AR or VR environment by providing force or haptic feedback. The wearable actuation device includes one or more actuator assemblies anchored to each of the user's fingers and a controller configured to communicate with a head mounted display. Embodiments of the actuator assembly include an electrorheological actuator, an optically driven actuator, and a piezo actuator sandwich assembly each of which is configured to undergo a reversible change in stiffness in response to an applied voltage or current. In one or more embodiments, the actuator assembly is configured to stiffen, elongate, compress in response to the application of a current or voltage waveform. In still other embodiments, the actuator assembly determines a measures of the current stress or strain being applied by the user on the virtual object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Sean Jason Keller, Tristan Thomas Trutna, David R. Perek
  • Patent number: 10311090
    Abstract: In particular embodiments, a method includes receiving a query for a specified place or a type of place, receiving an identification of a location of the computing device within a first map tile, identifying first places that are located at least partially within the first map tile and correspond to the query, the first places being identified in an index by records that correspond to the first map tile, and identifying second places that correspond to the query and are each located at least partially within second map tiles that include a parent map tile associated with the first map tile. The second places are identified in the index by one or more records that correspond to the second map tiles. The method further includes determining scores for places that include the first and second places based on one or more relevance factors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Stanislav Basovnik, Abhinav A. Vora
  • Patent number: 10311063
    Abstract: Embodiments improve the ability of users of a social networking system to search for information that is likely to be relevant to them by learning and/or applying a search context associated with selector components used to search for objects of the social networking system. The search context is specific to the use of an individual selector and thus need not be as general as the context of an entire page or set of pages in which selectors can be embedded. The social networking system may learn the context of a selector by monitoring user selections from prior search results performed using the selector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Cameron Alexander Marlow, Robert William Cathcart, Jeffrey Scott Dunn, Rafael Linden Sagula, Venkataramanan Iyer Nandagopal, Siddharth Kar, Eric Sun
  • Patent number: 10311808
    Abstract: A system for calibrating a liquid crystal display (LCD) includes a plurality of temperature sensors, a storage medium, and a controller. Each temperature sensor measures a current temperature of at least one pixel in the LCD. The storage medium stores information about latencies for any LC-based pixel, wherein each latency corresponds to a time period for transition from a starting to an ending illumination state for one temperature of the LC-based pixel. The controller determines, based on the current temperature, the transition information and frame information, a time for each pixel in at least a portion of the LCD to transition from a first to a second illumination state. The controller computes, based on transition times, an LC transition time for at least the portion of the LCD and performs calibration of at least the portion of the LCD based on the LC transition time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Evan M. Richards, Matthew Robert Fulghum
  • Patent number: 10310825
    Abstract: A server system obtains markup code for a native application for client devices. The markup code is agnostic regarding types of client devices. The server system translates the markup code into a set of primitives. Client devices of multiple types running a native application send a request for content for the native application to the server system. The server system provides the set of primitives to the client devices of multiple types, and the client devices render the set of primitives in the native application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Maxwell Meyer Segan, Henry Zheng Zhang, Rohan Mehta
  • Patent number: 10313292
    Abstract: Exemplary embodiments relate to techniques for notifying existing users when a new user joins a messaging service (or returns from a period of inactivity). A top n number of existing users acquainted with the new user may be selected and may be encouraged to message the new user. The existing users may be selected using a messaging coefficient that indicates a likelihood that a message will result in a meaningful conversation, and a number of other factors that prevent the existing users from becoming inundated with notifications. The number n may be selected based on an amount of display space available to the new user in a messaging application. When inviting the existing users to contact the new user, a new thread may be automatically created and bumped to the top of the new user's thread list.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: FACEBOOK, INC.
    Inventors: Akhil Nambiar, Kunal Nikhil Modi, Brian Kimball
  • Patent number: 10311465
    Abstract: An online system estimates a lift in foot traffic at a store in response to an advertisement campaign at the online system. The online system identifies a physical location for the store and obtains location data for a base group of users and a lifted group of users, where the lifted group of users receives advertisements associated with the store and the base group of users does not. The online system computes a distance between the location of the store and the user's location to create a base distance array for the base group and a lifted distance array for the lifted group. The online system then determines an aggregate value that represents a measure of a number of users visiting the store for each of the base distance array and the lifted distance array, and estimates a lift in foot traffic by comparing the two aggregate values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Patrick Brendan Maginnis
  • Patent number: 10310721
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media can provide one or more options to adjust, in a virtual three-dimensional space, an image in an initial perspective. At least a first command, provided based on the one or more options, to adjust the image from the initial perspective into an adjusted perspective can be detected. The image can be adjusted, based on at least the first command, into the adjusted perspective in the virtual three-dimensional space to produce an adjusted image. A second command to modify a viewable area of the adjusted image can be detected. At least a portion of the adjusted image can be automatically fitted, when the second command has ceased, within a specified display area while one or more empty regions can be minimized in the specified display area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Ronnachai Jaroensri, Li Tan, John Pottebaum, Christopher James Connolly, John Samuel Barnett, Udeepta Dutta Bordoloi, Georges Edouard Maurice Berenger, Alex Restrepo, Alexandre Karpenko
  • Patent number: 10313378
    Abstract: A method of monitoring email use is performed at a server system by monitoring email use in a first email application at a first device distinct from the server system and monitoring email use in a second email application at a second device distinct from the server system. An inconsistency in the monitored email use is detected for a first email that is received by the second device and appears to have been sent from the first device. In response to detecting the inconsistency, the first email is identified as being potentially malicious. At least one of the first and second devices may be notified that the first email is potentially malicious.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: FACEBOOK, INC.
    Inventor: Noam Makavy
  • Patent number: 10310598
    Abstract: A head-mounted display (HMD) includes an electronic display configured to emit image light, an optical assembly that provides optical correction to the image light, an eye tracking system, and a varifocal module. The optical assembly includes a back optical element configured to receive the image light from the electronic display, and a coupling assembly configured to couple a front optical element to a location within the optical assembly such that the front optical element receives light transmitted by the back optical element. The optical correction is determined in part by an optical characteristic of the front optical element that is replaceable. The eye tracking system determines eye tracking information for a first eye of a user of the HMD. A varifocal module adjusts focus of images displayed on the electronic display, based on the eye tracking information and the optical correction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Nicholas Daniel Trail, Douglas Robert Lanman
  • Patent number: D851086
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Yi-yaun Chen, Peter Wesley Bristol, Quintin Morris