Patents Examined by Benjamin R Bruckart
  • Patent number: 11089371
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides systems and methods for estimating audience member engagement with content, or distinguishing between users consuming content and users who have become distracted or have left. User presence or attention may be estimated from user interactions with or skipping of content, with the user interactions either compared to high quality engagement data from small audience measurement panels, or extrapolated based on a temporal-engagement curve. An attention gap may be estimated, representing users that were not present for or not engaged with or paying attention to a presentation of content at a client device. This allows the measurement system to distinguish between users who consumed and potentially enjoyed the content, and users who did not, even as client devices of both sets of users receive and present the content items.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: Google LLC
    Inventors: Eyal Oren, Farzan Rohani
  • Patent number: 11089383
    Abstract: A method, device, and system for prioritizing insertion of targeted advertisements within advertisement time slots of a video program are provided. CPE detects whether or not an electronic personal device of a viewer of the video program is within a pre-defined viewing range of a display of the video program while the video program is being played and thereafter determines whether or not a detected electronic personal device remains within the viewing range during an advertisement time slot within the video program during the playing of a targeted advertisement. The CPE is configured to increase a priority of insertion of a previously played targeted advertisement within a next or subsequent advertisement time slot within the video program if the electronic personal device of the viewer is determined not to remain within the viewing range during the previous playing of the targeted advertisement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: ARRIS Enterprises LLC
    Inventors: Sudeepta Bhuyan, Epari Aurovind Sagar
  • Patent number: 11076203
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for delivering, uploading, and storing content for users of a network so that the user has “virtual” ownership of and access to the content, thereby obviating the need for additional storage space at the client premises and offering seamless compliance with copyright laws. In an exemplary embodiment, the network comprises a hybrid fiber coax (HFC) network, and sessions are used to deliver content to the requesting owner and then back to storage space associated with the head-end where the content remains available for future subscriber requests. Various other complementary features for enhancing the user's virtual ownership experience are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2021
    Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC
    Inventor: Michael L. LaJoie
  • Patent number: 11064240
    Abstract: The present invention proposes a method for transmitting a broadcasting signal. The method for transmitting a broadcasting signal according to the present invention proposes a system which can support a next generation broadcasting service in an environment that supports next generation hybrid broadcasting using a terrestrial broadcasting network and an Internet network. Further, in the environment that supports the next generation hybrid broadcasting, the present invention proposes an efficient signaling scheme which can cover both the terrestrial broadcasting network and the Internet network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Seungryul Yang, Jinwon Lee, Kyoungsoo Moon, Woosuk Ko, Sungryong Hong
  • Patent number: 11064239
    Abstract: Centralized storage and playback of user-recorded television programming eliminates the need for expensive DVR devices to be deployed in the field. Further, the methods used to initiate storage and provide playback of stored media respect copyright principles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: CSC Holdings, LLC
    Inventors: Richard W. Neill, Stephanie Mitchko, Peter Caramanica
  • Patent number: 11063856
    Abstract: The subject disclosure relates to methods for monitoring virtual network functions (VNFs) using mirror-ports provided on a virtual switch. A method of the technology can include steps for detecting an instantiation of a virtual network function (VNF), receiving a plurality of operating parameters for the VNF, connecting the VNF with a virtual switch, and automatically discovering an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the VNF. In some aspects, the method can further include operations for instantiating a mirror-port on the virtual switch, the mirror-port configured to provide a communications interface for monitoring the VNF based on a monitoring parameter. Systems and computer-readable media are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: CISCO TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventors: Dinesh Ranjit, Jim French, Nagi Swaminathan
  • Patent number: 10999632
    Abstract: Systems and associated methods are described for providing content recommendations. The system accesses content item consumption data for a plurality of users subscribed to a media service. Then, the system determines that a first subset of the plurality of users has unsubscribed from the media service and that a second subset of the plurality of users has not unsubscribed from the media service. The system identifies a time slot typical for the first subset of users and atypical for the second subset of users based on content item consumption data of the first subset of users and content item consumption data of the second subset of users. In response to determining that a user is consuming a first content item at the identified time slot, the system generates for display a recommendation for a second content item that is scheduled for a different time slot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael Hoffman
  • Patent number: 10986405
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus to detect user attentiveness to handheld computing devices are disclosed. Example systems include a data collection facility to distribute an exposure measurement application to handheld computing devices via a network, and a first handheld computing device of the handheld computing devices. In some examples, the first handheld device is to execute the exposure measurement application to detect at least one of a first orientation change of the first handheld computing device or a first position change between the first handheld computing device and a user, compare the at least one of the first orientation change or the first position change to a plurality of spatial condition change combinations associated with respective likelihoods indicative of user attentiveness related to the first handheld computing device to determine user attentiveness data, and transmit the user attentiveness data to the data collection facility via the network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2021
    Assignee: THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC
    Inventor: Jan Besehanic
  • Patent number: 10986376
    Abstract: A first networked device may perform operations including receiving, from a media source device, a first media stream and a first media stream identifier. The first networked device may receive the first media stream via a wireless network connection. Operations may further include receiving, from a second networked device, a second media stream identifier that corresponds to a second media stream the second networked device is receiving from the media source device. Operations may further include determining a common stream characteristic between the first media stream and the second media stream and, in response to determining the common stream characteristic, grouping the second networked device with the first networked device. Operations may further include transmitting, to a controller device, an indication that the first networked device and second networked device are grouped.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2021
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventors: Arthur L. Coburn, IV, Jeffrey Torgerson
  • Patent number: 10972798
    Abstract: This application discloses a media information display method performed at a computing device. While rendering main media information on the display, the computing device detects a first user input operation, determines a first position of a progress bar on the display corresponding to the first user input operation, and renders additional media information at the first position. After detecting a second user input operation, the computing device moves the progress bar from the first position to a second position of the progress bar on the display corresponding to the second user input operation. The computing device renders the additional media information at the second position of the progress bar on the display and then removes the additional media information from display after a preset time period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventor: Bin Zhou
  • Patent number: 10965973
    Abstract: A content management apparatus manages a content display schedule specifying a time frame for displaying content on a display device. The content management apparatus can reserve to-be-displayed content in an available time frame of the content display schedule. At this time, it is determined whether an attribute of the to-be-reserved content overlaps an attribute of other content in a time frame before or after the time frame where the content is reserved. When the two attributes do not overlap each other, reservation of the content is acceptable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kohji Kumetani
  • Patent number: 10958956
    Abstract: An intelligent television is provided that can collect viewer information for use by a rating service.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: Flextronics AP, LLC
    Inventor: Christopher P. Ricci
  • Patent number: 10939165
    Abstract: Video analysis may be used to determine who is watching television and their level of interest in the current programming Lists of favorite programs may be derived for each of a plurality of viewers of programming on the same television receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Wenlong Li, Xiaofeng Tong, Yangzhou Du, Jianguo Li, Peng Wang
  • Patent number: 10932009
    Abstract: A method according to one embodiment includes automatically transcoding a video file to generate a plurality of transcoded files, wherein the plurality of transcoded files includes a compressed video file, selecting at least one computer vision system to annotate the compressed video file for searching, transmitting the compressed video file to each computer vision system of the selected at least one computer vision system, and storing a plurality of annotations generated by the selected at least one computer system to a central database in response to transmittal of the compressed video file, wherein each annotation of the plurality of annotations identifies at least one visual characteristic of the compressed video file.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: FCB Worldwide, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Fassnacht, Mark Jungwirth, Kerry Hill, Fernando Espejel
  • Patent number: 10924772
    Abstract: A method and device for live video broadcast is disclosed. The method includes: acquiring first live broadcast configuration information corresponding to a first process, and live broadcasting video streaming corresponding to the first process according to the first live broadcast configuration information; when it is detected that a running state of a second process is an activated state, acquiring second live broadcast configuration information corresponding to the second process, and detecting a relationship between the first process and the second process according to the first live broadcast configuration information and the second live broadcast configuration information; and when it is detected that the relationship between the first process and the second process is an association relationship, switching the live broadcasted video streaming corresponding to the first process for video streaming corresponding to the second process according to the second live broadcast configuration information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: GUANGZHOU HUADUO NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Hao Wu
  • Patent number: 10915350
    Abstract: A system and method of migrating a first module to a second module in a data center are disclosed. In certain aspects, a method includes instantiating a migration of the first module to the second module, wherein the first module operating with a configuration in a data center. The method also includes retrieving results of a compatibility check performed by a migration coordinator to determine potential incompatibilities between the configuration of the first module and the second module, the results including a first set of incompatibilities to be resolved. The method further includes requesting user input relating to the first set of incompatibilities. The method also includes periodically determining whether user input relating to the first set of incompatibilities has been received until a time threshold is reached.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2021
    Assignee: VMware, Inc.
    Inventor: Suman Chandra Shil
  • Patent number: 10917697
    Abstract: Techniques of providing an interactive programming guide with a personalized lineup are disclosed. In some embodiments, a profile is accessed, and a personalized lineup is determined based on the profile. The personalized lineup may include a corresponding media content identification assigned to each one of a plurality of sequential time slots, where each media content identification identifies media content for the corresponding time slot. A first interactive programming guide may be caused to be displayed on a first media content device associated with the profile, where the first interactive programming guide includes the personalized lineup.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2021
    Assignee: Gracenote, Inc.
    Inventors: Wilson Harron, Oscar Celma Herrada, Irene Zhu, Markus K. Cremer
  • Patent number: 10917674
    Abstract: Methods and systems are described for providing media content for continuous watching. A rewind command is received while a first episode of a series is generated for display. In response, and without detecting a further command to skip a portion of an episode, the first episode of the series is rewound. Then, in response to rewinding the first episode to the beginning, title credits of the first episode and end credits of a previous episode of the series are automatically skipped; and the previous episode of the series is automatically rewound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2021
    Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
    Inventor: Daniel Robideaux
  • Patent number: 10911833
    Abstract: Provided is a method of providing information about content, performed by a mobile device, the method including detecting an electronic device displaying the content, determining whether at least one search application is executed on the mobile device, as the electronic device is detected, transmitting a request for recognition information indicating at least one object related to the content to the electronic device, as the at least one search application is executed, and receiving the requested recognition information from the electronic device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tae-kwon Chang, Min-soo Kim, Hyon-sok Lee, Ji-woong Choi, Jong-youb Ryu, Hae-in Chun
  • Patent number: 10911821
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and non-transitory computer readable storage media are disclosed for utilizing a plurality of recurrent neural networks to generate media consumption predictions and providing media content to a target audience. For example, the disclosed system can train a plurality of long short-term memory neural networks for a plurality of users based on historical media consumption data over a plurality of time periods. In one or more embodiments, the disclosed system identifies a target audience including a subset of users and the corresponding neural networks. The disclosed system can then utilize the neural networks of the subset of users to generate a plurality of predictions for a future time period for the users. In some embodiments, the disclosed system then combines the predictions for the users to generate a media consumption prediction for the target audience for the future time period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: ADOBE INC.
    Inventors: Jason Lopatecki, Julie Lee