Patents Examined by Paul A Thatcher
  • Patent number: 10248438
    Abstract: The present invention relates to interface control systems and methods, for use with consumer electronic devices. User Interfaces, which are normally predefined at the time of manufacture, are entirely specific to the appliance by virtue of the underlying kernel or operating system. The present system includes means for providing information to and receiving information from a user to establish control over the user interface. The means for providing and receiving the information may be controlled, at least in part, by an alterable database that is separate from both the operating system and applications. This allows the database to be changed without making any changes to the underlying operating system or applications. The alterable database may be in a script form, and may be configured by the user at any time during normal operation of the apparatus. The system may invoke or modify the information contained in the alterable database in response to stimuli external to the alterable database.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: FLUFFY SPIDER TECHNOLOGIES PTY. LTD.
    Inventors: Brett S. Nash, Robert J. Karp
  • Patent number: 10235462
    Abstract: Systems, methods and articles of manufacture are disclosed for generating a webpage. In one embodiment, a request may be received from a user to view the webpage that includes portlets. A time of the request may be identified. The portlets may be provided. Based on an interaction history of the user and the identified time of the request, the portlets may be arranged on the webpage. The webpage may be output for display, in response to the request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2019
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Lisa Seacat DeLuca, Steven M. Miller
  • Patent number: 9817436
    Abstract: A portable multifunction device identifies a plurality of user interface objects. If the user interface objects meet a first predefined condition, the device then displays at least two of the user interface objects on a touch screen display. If the user interface objects meet a second predefined condition, the device then divides the user interface objects into at least first and second groups of user interface objects and then displays a first group icon corresponding to the first group and at least one user interface object from the second group on the touch screen display. If the user interface objects meet a third predefined condition, the device divides the user interface objects into at least third and fourth groups of user interface objects. The device then displays a third group icon corresponding to the third group and a fourth group icon corresponding to the fourth group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Greg Christie, Imran Chaudhri, Scott Forstall, Stephen O. Lemay
  • Patent number: 9733818
    Abstract: A commitment-based GUI is provided. In one example embodiment, a system to provide commitment-based GUI comprises a menu activation module, an actions monitor, a commitment detector, and a presentation control module. The menu activation module may be configured to activate a multi-panel media interface on a display device, the multi-panel media interface presenting one or more menu panels. The actions monitor may be configured to monitor activity of a user with respect to the multi-panel media interface. The commitment detector may be configured to determine a commitment level of the user, the commitment level indicating the user's interest level in navigating a menu structure associated with the multi-panel media interface. The presentation control module may be configured to adjust presentation of the multi-panel media interface based on the determined commitment level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignee: OPENTV, INC.
    Inventors: Crx K. Chai, Alex Fishman
  • Patent number: 9612708
    Abstract: A computer system, and underlying methodologies, provides a content management system including a page editor. The page editor provides authoring tools to allow not only a developer/designer, but also an end user, to design, create, edit, store, organize and/or publish content. Different levels of permissions may be assigned to different end users. Preferably, the page editor includes a graphical user interface (GUI), which is presented to the end user by the computer system via a client device. The GUI presents development tools to the user to allow the user to design, create, edit, store, organize and/or publish, dynamically generated content that is presented as part of existing applications or pages. Further, the content management system allows the user to expose the page editor, including the GUI and development tools, as part of the user(s) content and to adjust the content-generation experience presented to other users of the application or page.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignee: Benefitfocus.com, Inc.
    Inventor: John M. Lunsford
  • Patent number: 9250787
    Abstract: A playback control method of a multimedia device is provided for setting playback position and repetitive playback section of a multimedia file playing on the multimedia device intuitively with multi-touch behaviors on a touchscreen. The method includes sensing a multi-touch event on the touchscreen, extracting two contact points of the multi-touch event, determining coordinates of the contact points, calculating a distance between the coordinates, monitoring a variation of the distance, moving a playback position of a current playing multimedia file according to the variation of the distance, and restarting playback of the current playing multimedia file from the playback position when the contact points are released from the touchscreen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2016
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kwang Soo Jung
  • Patent number: 9152298
    Abstract: A display apparatus and a displaying method thereof are provided. A storage unit stores installed items, a UI generator generates a UI including a first area to display the installed items and a second area to display installable items, a display unit displays the generated UI, and, if one of the items displayed on the second area is selected, a controller displays a process of moving the selected item moved to the first area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2015
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hye-young Seong, Bo-kyung Shim, Jong-chan Park, Jin-ho Yim
  • Patent number: 9043722
    Abstract: User interfaces for displaying relationships between cells in a grid. In one example embodiment, a user interface includes a grid including rows and columns and a plurality of cells each having a specific position in the grid. A first one of the cells is related to a second one of the cells. The grid is configured to display, upon selection of the first cell or second cell, a visual representation of the relationship between the first cell and the second cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2015
    Assignee: SURFWAX, INC.
    Inventor: Thomas D. Holt
  • Patent number: 8910050
    Abstract: A manipulation-monitoring device may include a storage unit that stores page image data, the page image data being used for displaying a manipulation-monitoring-page, the manipulation-monitoring-page being displayed on a display unit based on data collected from a control device of a plant, the manipulation-monitoring-page being used for controlling operation of the plant, and a display control unit that controls the display unit to display a pseudo-manipulation-monitoring-page instead of the manipulation-monitoring-page, displaying the pseudo-manipulation-monitoring-page being performed by using the page image data without using data from the control device until data collection from the control device is completed, the pseudo-manipulation-monitoring-page showing a summary of the manipulation-monitoring-page.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2014
    Assignee: Yokogawa Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Norikatsu Kataoka, Miyu Nakagawa
  • Patent number: 8510664
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for discerning and displaying an email-thread chart of senders and recipients (“senders/recipients”) included in an email thread, are disclosed. The email-thread chart may include the senders/recipients arranged in chronological order matching the order in which individual related emails, included in the email thread, were sent and received (the sending/receiving of related emails is hereinafter referred to as “transactions”). The email-thread chart may further include the date-and-time-stamp of the transactions and the labeling of the transactions by transaction type (e.g. “Cced”, “forwarded”, “replied”, etc.) The senders/recipients may be discerned from the body of the email. The body of the email may contain quoted text containing the email thread. The email-thread chart may be displayed automatically in response to a user's attempt to send the email to a remote user, or in automatic response to any other user action.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2013
    Inventors: Steven L. Rueben, Gabriel Jakobson