Patents Examined by Creighton Smith
  • Patent number: 9699406
    Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for establishing a video connection between a mobile device and a support terminal while enabling the support terminal to concurrently push display elements to the mobile device through a separate connection. In particular, in one or more embodiments, the disclosed systems and methods establish a first connection between the support terminal and the mobile device and conduct a video chat between the devices transmitted through the first connection. The disclosed systems and methods enable the support terminal to push a display element to the mobile device through a second connection. In response to receiving the display element, the disclosed systems and methods divide the display screen of the mobile device into at least a first pane and a second pane, providing the video chat for display on the first pane and the display element for display on the second pane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2017
    Assignee: Alexander MacKenzie & Pranger
    Inventors: Eugene Patrick Pranger, Timothy Eugene Pranger, Robert Eric Roy
  • Patent number: 9699414
    Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes an imaging unit, a voice input unit, a cutting-out unit, a transmitting unit, an acquiring unit, and a cutting-out control unit. The voice input unit switches a sound pickup direction for voice. The cutting-out unit cuts out, as a cut-out image, a cutting-out area which is at least a part of an image captured by the imaging unit. The transmitting unit transmits video information including the cut-out image and voice data of voice input to the voice input unit. The acquiring unit acquires setting information including layout information indicating arrangement of seat areas at a time of a conference and priority information indicating a priority of each of the seat areas indicated by the layout information. The cutting-out control unit controls the sound pickup direction of the voice input unit and the cutting-out area of the cutting-out unit in accordance with the acquired setting information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2017
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuki Kitazawa, Kiyoto Igarashi, Hiroaki Uchiyama, Koji Kuwata, Masato Takahashi, Tomoyuki Goto, Nobumasa Gingawa
  • Patent number: 9699409
    Abstract: Conference recording is carried out by identifying a virtual conference operated by a conferencing system connected to a communications network. A virtual participant process executing in a processor is registered with the conferencing system as a co-participant in the virtual conference. Information streams produced by the human participants are recorded and distributed with the virtual participant process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2017
    Assignee: GONG I.O LTD.
    Inventors: Eilon Reshef, Amit Bendov
  • Patent number: 9686392
    Abstract: An expandable or all-in-one telephone system is designed for seniors suffering from Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia as well as other cognitively challenged individuals. The features and settings are managed by their caregivers through a web browser or a smartphone application. This phone system provides caregivers with peace of mind and care-receivers with an easy-to-use safe system customized to fit their individual abilities and adaptable as their needs change. Accordingly, the system may help seniors retain dignity and independence, while reducing daily stress points for caregivers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: teleCalm, Inc.
    Inventor: Tavis Dion Schriefer
  • Patent number: 9685193
    Abstract: In an approach to determining a pre-recorded video for use in place of a video feed of a user in a video conference, a computer determines a sentiment of the video conference and determines a first video of one or more pre-recorded videos of a user that corresponds to the sentiment. The computer displays the first video in the video conference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Hernan A. Cunico, Asima Silva
  • Patent number: 9686506
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a video call method, including: sending, by a first video terminal associated with a first account, a video call connection request to a video call control apparatus, to request to establish a video call connection with a second video terminal associated with a second account; receiving, by the first video terminal, video call preview information of the second account returned by the video call control apparatus; and displaying, in a video call interface of the first video terminal, the video call preview information of the second account, while the video call connection is being established. As such, video call preview information of a user may be displayed in advance when establishing a video call connection. The present disclosure further provides a video call apparatus, a video call control method and apparatus, a video call system, and a storage medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventors: Fei Wang, Qing Yang
  • Patent number: 9681096
    Abstract: This disclosure pertains to operations, systems, and computer readable media to capture images of a scene using a camera array and process the captured images based on a viewer's point of view (POV) for immersive augmented reality, live display wall, head mounted display, video conferencing, and similar applications. In one implementation, the disclosed subject matter provides a complete view to a viewer by combining images captured by a camera array. In another implementation, the disclosed subject matter tracks the viewer's POV as he moves from one location to another and displays images in accordance with his varying POV. The change of the viewer's POV is inclusive of movements in the X, Y, and Z dimensions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Ricardo J. Motta, Gary L. Vondran, Jr., Manohar B. Srikanth, Brett D. Miller
  • Patent number: 9674453
    Abstract: At a video conference endpoint including a microphone array and a camera, different camera framings are established to frame different views of a talker based on different sets of pan, tilt, and focal length settings of the camera. Different video frames of the different views are captured using the different camera framings, respectively. A sound source direction of the talker relative to the microphone array in a fixed three-dimensional (3D) global coordinate system is determined for the different views based on sound from the talker detected by the microphone array. The sound source direction relative to the microphone array is converted to different sound source positions in planar coordinates relative to the different video frames based on the different sets of pan, tilt, and focal length settings, respectively. The different video frames, the sound, and the different sound source positions in planar coordinates are transmitted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Kristian Tangeland, Glenn R. G. Aarrestad, Johan Ludvig Nielsen, Øivind Stuan
  • Patent number: 9674325
    Abstract: Systems and methods of providing a mobile phone cover are described. In some embodiments, the mobile phone cover may include, for example, a processor and lighting devices. The lighting devices may be operatively coupled to the processor. The processor may be configured, for example, to receive first signals based on second signals in which the second signals are generated by the mobile phone. The second signals may be indicative of an incoming call, an incoming message, a pending message, and/or a calendar alert (e.g., an upcoming appointment), for example. The processor may be configured to cause lighting of one or more of the lighting devices based on the first signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: STAR CO SCIENTIFIC TECHNOLOGIES ADVANCED RESEARCH CO, LLC
    Inventors: Thomas E. Coverstone, Evan J. Thompson
  • Patent number: 9661269
    Abstract: In one general embodiment, a system for enabling communications and conferencing between dissimilar computing devices including mobile computing devices. In another embodiment a method for enabling communications and conferencing between dissimilar computing devices including mobile computing devices. In a further embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions to cause one or more processors to enable communications and conferencing between dissimilar computing devices including mobile computing devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignee: Polycom, Inc.
    Inventors: Arnaud Le Devehat, Puneet Singh, Vaibhav Pande
  • Patent number: 9647978
    Abstract: The present invention provides flexible call processing. For example, a call processor system can receive an inbound call intended for a called party and place an outbound call to the called party. The call processing system can provide the called party with a call transfer option.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignee: Callwave Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Leland W. Kirchhoff, David S. Trandal, Colin Kelley, David J. Brahm, Robert F. Smith, David Frank Hofstatter, Robert A. Dolan
  • Patent number: 9648289
    Abstract: A doorbell-triggering method first controls the doorbell trigger to switch to a hardware shutdown status when detecting the doorbell trigger is idle; controls the doorbell trigger to switch to an operating booting status to connect to a relay host when receiving a doorbell signal from a button unit of the doorbell trigger under the hardware shutdown status; sends a visiting message to a remote electronic device via the relay host; receives a return image/text message from the relay host and displaying the return image/text message on a display unit of the doorbell trigger. The present disclosed example can substantially reduce the power consumption and the requirement of network bandwidth via automatically switching to the hardware shutdown status when idle and using the image/text message having smaller data size to respond the visitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignee: BRAINCHILD ELECTRONIC CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Tsu-Yi Peng
  • Patent number: 9648276
    Abstract: A transmission management apparatus for managing a session performing transmission/reception of content data via a relay apparatus includes a service information management unit configured to manage service management information in which service identification information identifying service content provided to each of a plurality of transmission terminals, and service content corresponding to the service identification information are stored preliminarily; a service identification information acquisition unit configured to acquire service identification information of each of the transmission terminals participating in the session; a service content determination unit configured to determine the service content of the session, based on the service identification information acquired by the service identification information acquisition unit and the service management information; and a session control unit configured to report session information based on the service content of the session determined by the
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Takeshi Horiuchi, Takahiro Asai
  • Patent number: 9635174
    Abstract: Video relay services, communication systems, and methods are disclosed connecting users with N11 services in a video relay service environment. A video relay service may comprise at least one server configured to manage a customer database including customer records for audibly-impaired users of the video relay service, manage an N11 database including alternate numbers corresponding to N11 codes for a plurality of different locations defined by political boundaries, receive incoming video calls including an N11 code from a calling party, resolve the N11 code to an appropriate alternate number for an N11 service based on a political boundary for the calling party responsive to a query of the N11 database, establish a first connection between a video communication device associated with the calling party and a call assistant station associated with a sign language interpreter, and establish a second connection between the call assistant station and the N11 service.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: SORENSON IP HOLDINGS, LLC
    Inventors: Adam Montero, Janet Lynn Esposito, Scot L. Brooksby, Grant A. Beckmann
  • Patent number: 9635311
    Abstract: Disclosed is an image processing device including a face information detection unit that detects face position information and face size information of a subject from an inputted image, a line-of-sight information calculation unit that calculates line-of-sight information of the subject, a face model generation unit that generates a face model of the subject using the face position information, the face size information, and three-dimensional facial shape template information representing a three-dimensional shape of a face, and an image generation unit that generates an image by correcting a line-of-sight direction of the subject to be directed to an imaging unit on the basis of the line-of-sight information and the face model. The line-of-sight information calculation unit calculates the line-of-sight information of the subject from the face position information and the face size information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Nao Tokui
  • Patent number: 9621490
    Abstract: Methods, systems and programs for instant voice messaging over a packet-switched network are provided. A method for instant voice messaging may comprise receiving an instant voice message having one or more recipients, delivering the instant voice message to the one or more recipients over a packet-switched network, temporarily storing the instant voice message if a recipient is unavailable; and delivering the stored instant voice message to the recipient once the recipient becomes available.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: Uniloc Luxembourg S.A.
    Inventor: Michael J. Rojas
  • Patent number: 9602772
    Abstract: A videoconferencing system includes a hybrid MCU configured to act as a hybrid mesh participant in a videoconference. The hybrid MCU may include a processing module to mix videoconference media data received by the hybrid MCU in data streams transmitted from mesh and non-mesh endpoints. The hybrid MCU may further include a forking module to fork combined video/audio data streams received by the hybrid MCU to provide separate video and audio data streams to each mesh endpoint. The hybrid MCU may be configured to provide a mixed video/audio data steam to each non-mesh endpoint of the videoconference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: CafeX Communications Inc.
    Inventors: Kevin Glass, Kris Hopkins, John Holvey, Sean O'Loughlin
  • Patent number: 9596433
    Abstract: Examples hybrid topologies of a conferencing system are disclosed. An example of a hybrid topology may comprise a plurality of endpoints and a central entity. Each of said plurality of endpoints may provide its primary video stream and audio stream to said centralized entity. The centralized entity provides the primary speaker stream and the mixed audio stream to each of said plurality of endpoint participants. In addition, some of plurality of endpoint establishes low bandwidth/low resolution media streams with other of said plurality of endpoint participants for non-speaker video.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2017
    Assignee: Polycom, Inc.
    Inventor: Eran Decker
  • Patent number: 9596282
    Abstract: A delivery managing device to which a plurality of terminals are connected through a network includes a creating unit that creates display information based on operation information indicating an operation input accepted by a terminal; a converting unit that converts the display information into video information; and a delivery unit that delivers the video information to a terminal. When non-public operation information is received from a terminal, the non-public operation information indicating operation information not to be published to another terminal, the delivery unit delivers video information that is converted from display information not based on the non-public operation information, to the other terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2017
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Masahiro Kuwata, Kiyoshi Kasatani
  • Patent number: 9584174
    Abstract: Systems and methods of providing a mobile device cover are described. In some embodiments, the mobile device cover may include, for example, an acoustic sensor, a processor, and lighting devices. The processor can be operatively coupled to the acoustic sensor and the lighting devices. The acoustic sensor can be configured to receive sound generated by the mobile phone and to convert the sound into an acoustic signal. The processor can be configured to receive the acoustic signal and to determine whether the acoustic signal is similar to one of a plurality of acoustic signals previously stored on the mobile phone cover. Each of the previously stored acoustic signals can be indicative of, for example, a particular caller, a particular message sender, or a particular alert. Based on the acoustic signal determination, the processor is configured to cause lighting of the one or more lighting devices corresponding to the indicated caller, indicated message sender, or indicated alert.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2017
    Assignee: STAR CO SCIENTIFIC TECHNOLOGIES ADVANCED RESEARCH CO, LLC
    Inventor: Thomas E. Coverstone