Patents Examined by Sara England
  • Patent number: 8370765
    Abstract: A computer system and method inhibit interruption of a user that is actively using the computer system. A user is actively using the computer system if the user has provided defined input within a time period specified in a “do not disturb” specification. For example, if the time period in the “do not disturb” specification is set to ten seconds, a user will not be interrupted by a potential interrupting event if the user has, for example, pressed a keyboard key or clicked a mouse key within ten seconds of the potential interrupting event. In this manner a user that is actively using a computer system will not be interrupted by potential interrupting events. In a first embodiment, the do not disturb mechanism is defined globally in the operating system. In a second embodiment, each software application may include a “do not disturb” specification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2013
    Inventor: Derek P. Martin
  • Patent number: 8359535
    Abstract: According to one embodiment an order taking apparatus includes a storage processing section, a display processing section, an enlargement processing section. The storage processing section configured to read information on the order for the menu item the input of which has been accepted by the order taking section, and to store the information in a predetermined order information storage region. The display processing section configured to read an image of the menu item the input of which has been accepted by the order taking section, and to allow a display device to display the image. The enlargement processing section configured such that when the menu item image is enlarged, the enlargement processing section rewrites the information on the order for the menu item which is of the same type as that of the current menu item but has a serving size larger than that of the current menu item.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2013
    Assignee: Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Naoki Watanabe, Mika Hirama, Masaki Narahashi, Sou Miyazaki, Shuichi Tsujimoto
  • Patent number: 8341554
    Abstract: A system and method is described for editing, in its native application, a source file of an object or image in a first application, wherein the source file includes computer-readable code or script associated with the source file and editable in either the first or native applications. The first application graphically displays an edit option selectable by the user to launch the source file's native application. The native application opens the source file and code or script associated with the object or image in the first application. Within the workspace of the native application edit session, an end function or button is displayed to the user. Upon selection of the end function in the native application, the native application automatically saves the edited source file and associated code or script, sends the edited data to the first or calling application which then automatically reintegrates the edited source file and any edited script or code into the object or image associated therewith.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated
    Inventors: Douglas S. Benson, Alain M. Dumesny
  • Patent number: 8327267
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is an image data processing method for processing image data forming a video material includes, an obtaining step of obtaining image data at a plurality of points in time forming the video material, from the video material, and a generating step of generating image data for display to display the image data at the plurality of points in time obtained in the obtaining step in a grouped state in a display area corresponding to the video material within a story board display area in which a plurality of materials are arranged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Fumio Shimizu, Hirotsugu Sato
  • Patent number: 8307301
    Abstract: The invention makes it possible to select an element from a list of elements represented by icons. A first element is selected by affixing a graphics distinction on its icon. When the user activates and holds a command, said graphics distinction moves from the first icon to a second icon. A second element is selected when the graphics distinction occupies at least one determined area of the second icon representing this second element. According to an improvement, the graphics distinction moves from icon to icon, totally overlapping only a single icon at a time. The invention also relates to a device able to execute the method of selecting an element by moving a graphics distinction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2012
    Assignee: Thomson Licensing
    Inventors: Jérôme Martin, Hervé Dartigues
  • Patent number: 8296678
    Abstract: A method and system is provided for analyzing potential repeatable values for placement into a data field based on user-defined criteria and includes analyzing relationships between documents for the purpose of correlating sender and receiver information into a context to more accurately populate type-ahead functions in repeatable data fields. Threaded messages are typically limited to those messages that are responses to responses or responses to an original message and are usually denoted by terms such as, for example, “forwarded” or “reply to” and where the history of the previous related message is included in the most recent message. However, the invention now expands correlation into non-thread related documents to achieve a higher correlation rate. The expanded documents may be any previous email or associated documents of a sender or receiver, including any documents defined by user criteria.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Gregory J. Boss, Rick A. Hamilton, II, Kevin C. McConnell, James W. Seaman
  • Patent number: 8291336
    Abstract: In a medical system architecture having a modality for the acquisition of examination images, a device allocated to the modality for processing the examination images, a device for the transmission of data and the examination images and a device for storing the data and examination images, the device for processing the examination images is fashioned as an RIS client for the exchange of text messages as well as for the display of an RIS client window and for the creation of RIS interaction masks, and is connected via a network connection of the devices to an RIS server for communication with the RIS client on the devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Siegfried Bocionek, Heiderose Pfaff, Detlef Becker, Karlheinz Dorn, Gerold Herold
  • Patent number: 8250483
    Abstract: A method of configuring a programmable pump for delivering an agent to a patient. The method comprises generating a user interface having a plurality of pages, at least one of the pages being a home page; retrieving at least one banner from memory; and displaying the retrieved at least one banner in the home page.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: Smiths Medical ASD, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael L. Blomquist
  • Patent number: 8250493
    Abstract: A user interface method, medium, and apparatus with gesture-recognition. The user interface method may include measuring acceleration of a gesture-recognition based input device while a writing gesture is performed, e.g., in the air, using the gesture-recognition based input device to generate acceleration signals, and determining whether the gesture-recognition based input device is operated in a predetermined gesture range from a time period when the writing gesture is made, or the acceleration signals, to generate warnings when the gesture-recognition based input device deviates the predetermined gesture range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jing Yang, Dongyoon Kim
  • Patent number: 8205172
    Abstract: The present subject matter describes a graphical web browser toolbar the stores visual representations of user-selected web pages. A saved page is included in the toolbar as a tile that shows a thumbnail image of at least a portion of the page. A user may customize the thumbnail image by zooming onto an area of the page. The user selects a tile from the toolbar to show an enlarged version of the thumbnail image with data from the web page, such as a link to the web page. A comments section allows a user to enter comments related to the web page into the tile. Tiles may be arranged according to groups as configured by the user. The toolbar may be stored and transmitted to a remote location. Using the described techniques, a web shopper can save images in a graphical toolbar and send items saved therein to an acquaintance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2012
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Curtis G. Wong, Steve C. Glenner, Steven M. Drucker
  • Patent number: 8136040
    Abstract: Systems and methods for varying the audio of multiple windows on a personal computer are provided. The windows may overlap in various configurations. These configurations may cause the audio associated with media playing in each media window that is overlapped to be varied in a number of different ways. The audios may be scaled in response to a set of user preferences.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2012
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Hoyt Fleming
  • Patent number: 8051383
    Abstract: The graphical controller provides a graphic user interface for monitoring and managing multiple chemical feed constituents, and displays a breakpoint curve specific to water being treated and a given ammonia set point, based on operator input and data from measurement of total chlorine, free chlorine, monochloramine, combined chlorine, ammonia residual, and the like. The graphical interface determines where on the curve the process is, provides immediate visual feedback to the water treatment operator and allows control of chlorine and ammonia feed rates to a fixed or new chloramination and ammonia set point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2011
    Assignee: Integrity Municipal Services LLC
    Inventors: Christopher T. McCampbell, Steven M. Dishon, Martin T. Scanlan
  • Patent number: 8046704
    Abstract: A system and method for determining compliance for one or more information technology services may generate on the spot compliance reports based on real-time data. Compliance data may be retrieved or received from a variety of sources including incident diagnostic utilities, manual data entry and third-party software or applications. A compliance system and method may monitor the data being generated from each of the various sources in a real-time fashion, generating compliance information based thereon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2011
    Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited
    Inventors: Ricardo Santos, James F. Fus, Jr., Amit Banerji, Pushpak Bhattacharjee
  • Patent number: 8024668
    Abstract: A method for receiving page-specific user feedback concerning a particular web page of a website includes using a comment icon viewable on the page to solicit one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the page from a user. In one embodiment, the method includes using software associated with the comment icon to automatically communicate a request for a comment window to a remote computer system that is separate from a computer system hosting the website in response to the user selecting the comment icon, receive the comment window from the remote computer system, present the comment window to the user, and receive one or more or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the page from the user provided using the comment window for reporting to a website owner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2011
    Assignee: OpinionLab, Inc.
    Inventors: Rand B. Nickerson, Mark A. Treschl, Jay S. Rudman, Mark D. Krebs
  • Patent number: 8015492
    Abstract: To improve the art of graphical user interfaces, the present invention introduces a system that displays iconic resource representations having a salient dimension in a manner that provides the user with an indication of where the user is within that resource. The system of the present invention achieves this goal with the use of a novel system of icon label placement for that resource icon. Specifically, the system of the present invention uses the position of a label on an iconic resource representation that extends beyond at least one edge of a window to convey a proportional position within than iconic resource representation. Thus, a user is given an understanding of the current proportional location within an iconic resource representation from where the graphical interface system renders the label on the iconic resource representation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Glenn Reid
  • Patent number: 8001481
    Abstract: A computer-implementable method, system and computer-readable medium for implementing an interactive progress bar that is associated with an executing test program are presented. In a preferred embodiment, the computer-implementable method includes linking each of multiple sectors in a progress bar to a corresponding section of a test program. The progress bar is displayed while the test program is being executed, such that test program code is not displayed with the progress bar on the same User Interface (UI). In response to the system detecting a signal that a specific sector of the progress bar has been selected, the computer displays, on the UI, an underlying log of activities for the corresponding section of the test program, such that the test program continues to be executed while the underlying log is displayed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2011
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Al Chakra, Robert Kainz, John F. Sefler
  • Patent number: 7987426
    Abstract: A method for personalizing content such as user interface items provided to a user during a session of an interactive application is disclosed. One or more environmental context attribute values for the session are determined. Responsive to a request for content, for at least one item of the content, each of the environmental context attribute values ate mapped to respective values indicating a users level of interest in the item for the environmental context attribute values. Content is retrieved from a content database and the content is personalized as a function of the users level of interest in the item for the environmental context attribute values before being returned to the application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2011
    Assignee: Amdocs Software Systems Limited
    Inventors: Paul Cotter, Barry Joseph Smyth, Nigel David Hanby
  • Patent number: 7941766
    Abstract: An improved method and system for record selection. Specifically, one embodiment of the present invention interprets the “gesture” of swiping the pen, from left to right, across a line-item of a record entry as a command to highlight the line-item and to select the entire record. Furthermore, a contiguous group of multiple records are highlighted and selected by selecting the first record, as above, and then continuing to swipe the pen down through the records, in accordance with another embodiment. Lastly, discontiguous records are selected by repeating the above sequence for two or more discontiguous groups of records. Previous selections are maintained until the user executes any other non-selection action.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Assignee: Access Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jeff W. Parrish, E. Michael Lunsford
  • Patent number: 7941761
    Abstract: A graphical user interface allows users to access multiple third party services (e.g., online media services) and enables the services to provide functionality within the GUI adjacent to core functionality of a host application (e.g., a media player application, operating system shell, etc.). The GUI provides an interface region for third party service functionality that is distinct from, but equal in exposure and prominence to, the core functionality provided by the application hosting the GUI. The GUI enables seamless switching between a list of available services provided in a service menu. Switching between services replaces service function buttons and service branding according to particular service customizations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Judson Craig Hally, Richard S. Goade, W. Michael Anderson, Jonathan M. Cain
  • Patent number: 7930649
    Abstract: A method and system for managing the presentation or display of information items or context are described. In one aspect of the invention, the method comprises the steps of selecting an entity of a context type associated with a first display, determining at least one second display associated with the context of the selected entity; and making available information associated with the selected entity to each of the determined associated at least one second display. In another aspect of the invention, the method further provides for inhibiting the availability of information associated with the selected entity to a selected one of said determined associated second displays when the selected second display is the same as the first display. An “activate/deactivate” capability is provided such that a display (or window) can be configured to listen to selected context or to stop listening dynamically.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: EMC Corporation
    Inventors: Sangeeta Mysore, Charles R. Rich, Ron Even