Patents Examined by Dmitry Suhol
  • Patent number: 9911274
    Abstract: A secure distributed gambling system and method is described. The system includes a plurality of mobile computing devices and a plurality of secure gambling microprocessors. Each of the plurality of secure gambling microprocessors is coupled with a different one of the plurality of mobile computing devices to provide a plurality of secure stand-alone gambling platforms. A gambling management system is communicatively coupled with one or more of the plurality of secure stand-alone gambling platforms to maintain gambling integrity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: Tapcentive, Inc.
    Inventors: Gavin Shenker, David Wentker, Mike Lindelsee, Gabriel Wachob
  • Patent number: 9908050
    Abstract: There is provided a system and method for image recognized content creation. There is provided a method comprising capturing an image from a camera, analyzing the image to recognize a plurality of elements, converting the plurality of elements into custom content data, and executing an interactive application using the custom content data. In one embodiment, the interactive application may comprise a racing video game, and the image may comprise a racetrack layout for use in the racing video game. Thus, a user can provide a racetrack by drawing simple lines and curves on a piece of paper, which are detected by the camera and converted into valid data assets for the video game. In this manner, even young children can leverage common drawing skills using familiar physical drawing implements for quick and simplified content creation, bypassing the need to use complex, tedious, and proprietary conventional on-screen user interfaces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventor: Robert Kohout
  • Patent number: 9908186
    Abstract: A die set adapted to remove an end of a substantially flat lug of an electrical connector. The die set includes a first die and a second die. The first die includes a first frame and a spring loaded member connected to the first frame. The first frame includes a first contact surface adapted to directly contact a first side of the lug. The second die includes a second frame having a second contact surface adapted to contact a second side of the lug at a position offset from the first contact surface. The spring loaded member is adapted to contact the first side of the lug directly opposite the second contact surface. The first and second contact surfaces are adapted to shear off the end of the lug from the electrical connector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: Hubbell Incorporated
    Inventors: Thomas E. Robinson, Alan D. Beck, Mark A. Chiasson, Clayton W. Mack, Thomas R. Faucher
  • Patent number: 9908166
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a sheet metal blank, in particular a tailored blank, in which at least two metal sheets are connected to one another at their respective connecting edges, the two metal sheets displaying differing thickness is provided herein and allows in a simple manner an application-specific configuration of the region of transition from one metal sheet thickness to another metal sheet thickness. The method includes a step in which, prior to the connecting of the two metal sheets, at least the region of the connecting edge of the thicker of the two metal sheets is pressed to a predefinable thickness in a forming tool in such a way that the connecting edges of the metal sheets display substantially the same thickness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG
    Inventor: Thomas Flehmig
  • Patent number: 9908037
    Abstract: An electronic gaming die includes an enclosure, a flexible substrate, a number of light emitting diodes, a sensor, a processor and a battery. The enclosure has N sides where N is equal to or greater than 4. The flexible substrate folds into N sides and fits into an interior of the enclosure, wherein each side has an inner face, an outer face and is assigned an integer from 1 to N. The light emitting diodes are disposed on the outer face of each side of the flexible substrate, wherein the number of light emitting diodes equals the integer assigned to the side of the flexible substrate. The sensor, processor and battery are disposed on one of the inner faces of the flexible substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Inventors: Danny W. Muse, Ryan Wicker, Eric MacDonald, Rodolfo Salas, Francisco Medina
  • Patent number: 9901823
    Abstract: An approach to facilitating battle-attribute-based arrangement of map areas is provided. Battle-related records that indicate battle attribute values associated with users of a game space may be maintained. Responsive to the battle attribute values associated with individual ones of the users corresponding to the battle attribute values associated with other ones of the users, generation of one or more secondary maps having secondary areas associated with the individual users that are arranged together with secondary areas associated with the other users may be initiated. For example, the secondary area associated with a first user and the secondary area associated with a second user may be arranged together in one of the secondary maps responsive to a first battle attribute value associated with the first user corresponding to a second battle attribute value associated with the second user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: Aftershock Services, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael Sellers
  • Patent number: 9895601
    Abstract: A word game apparatus and method of play involving each player being represented by a set of square tiles of uniform color having various indicia imprinted thereon. Players in turn play these tiles to a game board having a grid pattern of squares. One color is declared the winner when a path of contiguous tiles of that color is formed between two end zones in accordance with the rules of the game. In some embodiments the game components are rendered using physical objects, and in other embodiments the game is implemented on computers with the game components appearing as images on electronic displays.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Inventor: Michael Wilk
  • Patent number: 9895607
    Abstract: An electronic gaming machine (EGM) for providing haptic feedback to a player is provided. The EGM includes a touchscreen having a touchscreen surface and an ultrasonic actuator coupled to the touchscreen surface to vibrate the touchscreen surface. The EGM also includes a processor coupled to the touchscreen and the ultrasonic actuator. The processor is configured to identify a location of a player feature on the touchscreen surface and control the ultrasonic actuator based on at least one of the identified location and a game state associated with the game to provide a friction feedback effect to the player.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: IGT CANADA SOLUTIONS ULC
    Inventor: David Froy
  • Patent number: 9891741
    Abstract: A controller for interfacing with an interactive application includes an interface region disposed on a surface of a body of the controller. The interface region includes a plurality of interface elements for providing input to the interactive application. One of the interface elements is an input surface that is defined by an indentation and is configured to receive touch input. Plurality of sensors disposed under the input surface detects movement of a finger of a user. Processing circuitry is used to analyze the movement of the finger of the user over the input surface and transmit signals that are used by the interactive application to drive interaction in the interactive application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Ennin Huang, Anton Mikhailov
  • Patent number: 9889379
    Abstract: An example information processing system includes a display controller configured to display a screen that includes a plurality of subjects and at least one content generated by a user, the at least one content satisfying a predetermined timing condition for each subject in a display, at least one content for a subject being included in a plurality of contents posted with regard to the subject.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: NINTENDO CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hisashi Nogami, Kiyoshi Mizuki, Kouichi Kawamoto, Ryota Oiwa, Ichiro Suzuki, Wataru Tanaka, Hideto Yuzawa, Shunsaku Kato
  • Patent number: 9892658
    Abstract: Tutorial assets may be dynamically integrated into a mobile application at different locations in game play in a staged manner such that individual tutorial assets can be integrated into the mobile application without requiring a wholesale update of the mobile application. The staged updating may be effected without requiring users to access an updated version of the application from an “app store” or other similar online marketplace for mobile applications. This may be accomplished by implementing the mobile application as an “app” including compiled code that implements game assets and tutorial assets to provide a view of the game to the user. The game assets and tutorial assets may be non-compiled information objects, such as images, scripts, and/or other non-compiled information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: Aftershock Services, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew Curtis, Michael C. Caldarone, Quynh Phan, Nathan Forget
  • Patent number: 9892759
    Abstract: Various embodiments are generally directed to use of ancillary information related to play of a game event in which actions in the game are timestamped to enable synchronized presentation alongside an audio/visual program of the game event. An apparatus includes logic to receive a program data comprising a video recording of a game event, receive ancillary data including an indication of an action related to play of the game event, a first timestamp indicating a first time for start of the video recording, and a second timestamp indicating a second time for the action; visually present the video recording in a first portion of the display; and use the first and second timestamps to synchronize a visual presentation of the action in a second portion of the display with a depiction of the action in the visual presentation of the video recording. Other embodiments are described and claimed herein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: CBS Interactive Inc.
    Inventor: Brett Marcus Crossley
  • Patent number: 9892592
    Abstract: Unidentified player tracking systems and related methods of tracking an unidentified player are disclosed herein. According to one method, an unidentified player initiates a first gaming session on a first networked gaming machine, and the gaming activity data during the first gaming session is accumulated. A printed voucher that includes an identification number is issued in response to input from the unidentified player to terminate the first gaming session. The accumulated gaming activity data is then associated with the identification number of the printed voucher, and the identification number of the printed voucher and the associated gaming activity of the unidentified player is stored for future analysis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: Bally Gaming, Inc.
    Inventor: Ian P. Finnimore
  • Patent number: 9886822
    Abstract: A gaming system is provided, the gaming system including a plurality of reels, each reel having a plurality of display positions at which symbols can be positioned for display. The gaming system further includes a reel display controller arranged so as to reveal symbols that are positioned at display positions of at least one reel to a player, or to hide symbols that are positioned at the display positions of the at least one reel from the player. The gaming system is arranged to spin the reels in an initial spin, during which symbols positioned at the display positions of the at least one reel are revealed. The gaming system is then arranged to reposition the at least one reel after the initial spin and while symbols positioned at the display positions of the at least one reel are hidden and to reveal symbols displayed at the display positions of the at least one reel after the at least one reel has been repositioned.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignee: Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Limited
    Inventors: Gary Joseph Penacho, Tricia Tylman, Scott Monroe Stewart
  • Patent number: 9878235
    Abstract: A method for transitioning gameplay is provided, the method including: receiving a signal to interrupt gameplay of a video game, the gameplay being presented on a head-mounted display; in response to receiving the signal, transitioning the gameplay from an active state to a paused state; wherein transitioning the gameplay includes identifying an intensity of a gameplay aspect, and progressively reducing the intensity of the gameplay aspect before entering the paused state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Steven Osman, Xiadong Mao
  • Patent number: 9875606
    Abstract: An apparatus, method, and system to present at least one game offering on a display of a gaming machine may include a portable electronic device having a processor operative with a spontaneous interest data application to acquire spontaneous interest data. A memory may store the spontaneous interest data and the spontaneous interest data application. The spontaneous interest data application may save the spontaneous interest data to the memory, and a data transfer interface can transfer the spontaneous interest data to a second device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2018
    Assignee: Nguyen Gaming LLC
    Inventor: Binh T. Nguyen
  • Patent number: 9874964
    Abstract: A controller device to interface with a computer gaming system includes a body having a handle and an object disposed at one end of the handle. A touch surface is disposed on one side of the handle. The touch surface has an indicator that is identified by a surface characteristic on the touch surface. The touch surface provides an area for receiving directionality control in response to interfacing by a finger of a user. In addition to the touch surface, a plurality of buttons are disposed on the body. A circuitry is disposed in the body of the controller. The circuitry is configured to receive data indicative of a directionality control and transmit the data to a game console for impacting an action by a program executing on the computer gaming system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2018
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Ennin Huang, Anton Mikhailov
  • Patent number: 9873043
    Abstract: Mechanisms for enhancing multiplayer games are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2018
    Assignee: Google LLC
    Inventors: Travis Jon Heppe, Jeff Foster Fry
  • Patent number: 9861891
    Abstract: When a particular game stage is selected by the player from the multiple game stages configured in the game stage information, the inventive information processing device extracts, from multiple game content objects configured in the game content information, those game content objects that are associated with the game content objects, which are associated with the selected game stage as fusion source material, and, prior to initiation of game play in the selected game stage, generates screen data providing on-screen display indicating that the extracted game content objects are the original pre-fusion game content objects that can be fused with the game content objects, which are associated with the selected game stage as fusion source material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: DeNA Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Mitsuharu Kunugi
  • Patent number: 9855495
    Abstract: A game machine acquires predetermined information used to reproduce a image of character during a game from a character card, and uses the image of character for a progress of the game. The game machine includes a Bar code reader adapted and configured to acquire from the character card, information of player name that is associated with a image of character as information used to identify each player playing the game. And, the game machine reproduces a plurality of images of characters during the game based on the predetermined information of each character card, and classifies each image of character reproduced during the game based on the information of player name associated with each image of character into classifications which are dealt with differently from each other in the game.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2018
    Assignee: KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Eiri Mikoshiba, Hiroshi Asato, Akihiro Takatoku