Patents Examined by Andrea Leggett
  • Patent number: 9304652
    Abstract: A system and method for providing a virtual space determines a representation of the virtual space based on information defining a personality of a character within the virtual space and/or information indicating a user's personality. The system and method may also determine the information defining the character's personality based on information regarding the user and/or information regarding the character. In some examples, the system and method may further determine information to facilitate a development of the user based on the information describing the user's personality. The system and method may also determine the user's personality based on information indicating user's personality. In some examples, the user's personality may be determined based on user's experiences within the virtual space. In some other examples, the user's personality may be determined based on information regarding the user that is acquired from sources external to the virtual space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: INTELLIFECT INCORPORATED
    Inventors: John A. Lundin, Daniel Westfall
  • Patent number: 9306763
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a custom user interface (UI) is provided for a plurality of devices of a home automation system within a structure. A configuration database is constructed that stores logical representations. The logical representations stored in the configuration database to include components, services, rooms, and zones. A mobile application (app) finds and connects to the configuration database. The mobile app then queries the configuration database. Based on the querying, the mobile app presents a custom user interface (UI) to the user on a display screen, wherein the custom UI is usable to control one or more of the plurality of devices of the home automation system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: Savant Systems, LLC
    Inventors: David W. Tatzel, Arthur A. Jacobson, Nicholas J. Cipollo, Jose J. Ronquillo Rodriguez
  • Patent number: 9298823
    Abstract: Techniques for identifying and conveying core sections of a specified document. Reference documents are identified that each includes a respective citation to a distinct portion of the specified document. The core sections are determined based on the citations of the reference documents. The core sections are output in a manner that emphasizes the core sections over non-core sections of the specified document.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2016
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Brian J. Cragun, Michael J. Fork
  • Patent number: 9298338
    Abstract: A first workspace, which may include one or more windows, may be associated with a first display device. A second workspace, which may also include one or more windows, may be associated with a second display device. The first and second workspaces may be provided for display to the first and second display devices, respectively. The first and second display devices may be independent such that manipulation a window of the first workspace across a coordinate location of the second display device does not affect the second display device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2016
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Philip J. Holland, Assana M. Fard, John O. Louch, Kristin M. Forster
  • Patent number: 9294588
    Abstract: A graphical user interface for rendering hosted services is provided. The user interface includes a set of hosted service identifiers associated with a domain name. The set of hosted service identifiers is further broken down into a first subset of service identifiers and a second subset of service identifiers. Each identifier in the first subset corresponds to a service provided by a first service provider and each identifier in the second subset corresponds to a service provided by a second service provider. One of the services provided by the first service provider is rendered in response to a user selection of one of the first subset of service identifiers. One of the services provided by the second service provider is rendered in response to a user selection of one of the second subset of service identifiers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2016
    Assignee: GOOGLE INC.
    Inventors: Derek Parham, Stephanie K. Hannon, Braden Kowitz, Jonathan Yu
  • Patent number: 9292151
    Abstract: A user interface for a mobile computing device includes three distinct display areas, one for presentation of an image and one or more interactive elements, a second for display of a linearly scrollable sequence of content elements, each of which is associated with a corresponding one of the interactive elements, and a third for display of soft keys, each of which corresponds to a respective one of the interactive elements. The soft keys and the interactive elements are responsive to user input so as to cause the image displayed in the first display area to feature prominently a portion thereof corresponding to the interactive element associated with the user input and the content element displayed within the second display area to be that associated with the same interactive element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2016
    Assignee: Inkling Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Chatree Campiranon, Peter S. Cho, Emily Ann Short, Jeffrey Robert Wear
  • Patent number: 9285952
    Abstract: A method and computing device are provided for showing affordance of list scroll-ability within a display of a computing device. As part of the rendering process of the graphical user interface a user is prompted through the provision of additional data to that ultimately displayed to consider that the final displayed list is a subset of data which may be accessed through the graphical user interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Nils Roger Andersson Reimer, Tim Kjell Jeppsson
  • Patent number: 9286898
    Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for providing tangible control of sound are provided and described as embodied in a system that includes a sound transducer array along with a touch surface-enabled display table. The array may include a group of transducers (multiple speakers and/or microphones) configured to perform spatial processing of signals for the group of transducers so that sound rendering (in configurations where the array includes multiple speakers), or sound pick-up (in configurations where the array includes multiple microphones), have spatial patterns (or sound projection patterns) that are focused in certain directions while reducing disturbances from other directions. Users may directly adjust parameters related to sound projection patterns by interacting with the touch surface while receiving visual feedback by exercising one or more commands on the touch surface. The commands may be adjusted according to visual feedback received from the change of the display on the touch surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Pei Xiang, Kexi Liu
  • Patent number: 9280285
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provides for adjusting focus during a desktop reveal. A window has focus before the desktop is revealed. After the window is returned and the desktop hidden, the focus is again placed on the window. Further, a configurable area associated with the screen that displays the window is maintained during the desktop reveal and the return of the window.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2016
    Assignee: Z124
    Inventors: Sanjiv Sirpal, Paul Edward Reeves, Alexander de Paz, Rodney Wayne Schrock
  • Patent number: 9274691
    Abstract: One or more messages may be selected and grouped and one or more group-level actions may be initiated for the group, such that the group-level action is performed on each message in the group. Each message in a group shares the at least one attribute value. A messaging user interface may comprise a listing of the set of messages and a message group display portion that displays one or more message groups and a group-level toolbar comprising a selectable indicator for each group-level action. A message, or messages, shown in a message list portion of the user interface may be selected from the message list based on similarity of the message(s) to previously selected messages, and the selected message(s) may be grouping based on shared attribute values. The messages belonging to a group may be modified in the same way via a single action taken on the group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2016
    Assignee: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventors: Brian Coe, Alicia Korn
  • Patent number: 9274674
    Abstract: An apparatus and method provide a companion application via a companion application corresponding to a host window provided by a host application, the companion window providing information or metadata descriptive of data in the host window. The host application and companion applications may be separate applications such that the host application is unaware of the companion application. The companion application may hook into the host application (e.g., via an application programming interface) and may monitor host application activities and/or data. Based on identification of data or events in the host application, the companion application may obtain information characterizing or providing a context for data provided by the host application. The host window and companion window may be attached to each other, the host window providing host application data and the companion window providing data describing the host application data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2016
    Assignee: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
    Inventors: George P. Moromisato, Noah B. Edelstein, Aditya G. Bhandarkar, Raymond E. Ozzie, Abhay V. Parasnis
  • Patent number: 9274671
    Abstract: A method, apparatus and computer program is disclosed for managing a user interface (UI) for an application program in which a plurality of user interface methods are provided for a given application program function, one or more of the more frequently used UI options being maintained in the UI while one or more of the less frequently used UI options are removed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2016
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Michael R. Croft, Philip Jones, Adam R. Rice, Matthew Whitbourne
  • Patent number: 9275055
    Abstract: A device is provided for visually indicating a replay status of media items on a media device. Aspects of the device include displaying in a graphical user interface (GUI) of the media device a representation of a first media item; displaying a profile score of the first media item that is based on user preferences; and displaying a replay score for the first media item.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2016
    Assignee: NAPO Enterprises, LLC
    Inventors: Waymen J. Askey, Hugh Svendsen
  • Patent number: 9268847
    Abstract: An information processing device includes: a storage unit; a first display control unit; and a demanding unit. The storage unit that stores attribute data representing specified attribute of contents and category data representing a category of the attribute correlated to each other. The first display control unit that provides controls for displaying information for a selected attribute and for displaying, in a categorized state, information for related attributes correlated to the same category as that of the attribute on a correlation display screen. The demanding unit that demands data search by referring to the correlated attribute selected corresponding to information selected from among those displayed on the correlation display screen to an information provision device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2016
    Assignee: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Shirai, Toshihiro Morita, Susumu Morita, Taku Sugawara
  • Patent number: 9250854
    Abstract: User interface virtualization describes a technique for providing a user with access to one computing device from another computing device, while translating the ergonomics of one computer's user interface style into the ergonomics of the other's. An agent running on a remote desktop collaborates with a corresponding client running on a client machine that accepts a “touch and swipe” style input. The agent and client exchange user interface metadata and user interface input events and translate the exchanged information to provide native graphical user interface elements (at the client machine) and simulated user actions (at the remote desktop). The agent running on the remote desktop may use an interface interaction API or library to programmatically manipulate the user interface of the remote desktop responsive and act as a proxy for the corresponding client.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2016
    Assignee: VMware, Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel James Beveridge, Charles Andrew Hirstius, Andre Leibovici
  • Patent number: 9250775
    Abstract: A method and device for executing an object on a display. The method of executing an object includes receiving a user input to an object displayed on a display; gradually enlarging and displaying the object; and executing the application corresponding to the object as the object is enlarged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2016
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Se-hee Han, Jun-hyung Kim, Jack Lee, Joo-yeol Lee, Ji-hye Lee
  • Patent number: 9246771
    Abstract: A Graphical User Interface (GUI) for a user device provides an interface for communicating data with nodes in a cloud computing network. The GUI has a communication layer for establishing a dedicated communications session with the cloud computing network, and a cloud interface layer that displays data and information received from the cloud computing network to the user on a display of the device. The GUI usually remains off the visible display screen, but is moved onto the visible display screen over a current user workspace responsive to detecting a first user event. The contents of the GUI may be generated dynamically based on a context of the user workspace. The GUI is moved back to its “out-of-view” position responsive to detecting a subsequent user event, and is translucent to allow the user to see the workspace through the GUI.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Mobile Communications AB
    Inventors: Lars-Gunnar Lundgren, Erik Greisson, Linda Tolj
  • Patent number: 9245259
    Abstract: Messages are presented so as to make effective use of the display area to convey information to the user. For example, message content of primary interest to the user (e.g., new content) can be distinguished from secondary content (e.g., content quoted from a previous message), and the message can be initially displayed with the secondary content hidden using an expandable visual indicator that the user can expand to reveal the secondary content. Different elements within a message, such as textual content and graphical content elements, can be scaled independently using magnification factors optimized for each element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Simon I. Bovet, Cristobal Baray, Stephen O. Lemay
  • Patent number: 9230032
    Abstract: Described is a poll-based networking system. The system provides an on-line network of friends that are determined through polling each of the users. This system polls a user with a variety of questions. After providing an answer to each question, the system compares, in real-time, the current user's responses with all other users' responses to identify those users that most similarly answered the questions to that of the current user. As the current user progressively answers additional questions, the system progressively updates the matching and presentation of similar users. As such, as the current user navigates the website by answering polling questions, the selected answers are compared against the selected answers of other users to generate a likelihood of match between the user and each of the other users. The user profiles of other users that have a likelihood of match within a predetermined threshold are then presented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: TRINITY INTEL MEDIA, LLC
    Inventors: Timothy Beggy, David Shaun Neal
  • Patent number: 9225756
    Abstract: According to a general aspect, a method can include receiving a request, triggered via a consumer account, to access, using a social media application, a plurality of sharer content. The sharer content can be associated with a sharer account using the social media application. The method can include retrieving, in response to the request, a consumer value and a relationship value. The consumer value can represent an interaction with the social media application via the consumer account and the relationship value can characterize a relationship between a consumer identifier of the consumer account and a sharer identifier of the sharer account. The method can include selecting a subset of sharer content from the plurality of sharer content based on a combination of the consumer value and the relationship value, and can include defining a portion of a presentation customized for the consumer account using the selected subset of sharer content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2015
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventor: Ryan Hickman