Patents Examined by William L. Bashore
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Patent number: 8060829Abstract: A method and system provides arrangements creating a relationship between a real-world entity and a virtual world environment. A participant or player can participate in various virtual world activities including transactions to acquire virtual products, virtual services, and/or virtual items of value. Feedback may be provided and records kept regarding the virtual world activities and transactions. The participant or player may also have an opportunity of engaging in related real-world activities and transactions. In some implementations, multiple players at different locations can be involved in the virtual world and real-world activities and transactions. Some embodiments include arrangements for real-world informational data to be made available in the virtual world environment to a participant or player, based on virtual world activities related to a topic of interest to a real-world entity.Type: GrantFiled: April 15, 2005Date of Patent: November 15, 2011Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, LLCInventors: Edward K.Y. Jung, Royce A. Levien, Mark A. Malamud, John D. Rinaldo, Jr.
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Patent number: 8060833Abstract: Disclosed are a method and system for managing groups of folders on a computer. The method comprises the step of presenting a graphical user interface (GUI) view to a user, said view identifying a multitude of folders, wherein some of said folders are empty, and in said view, the empty folders are designated in a defined manner. The user chooses a group of said folders by interacting with the GUI, and the user selects one of a group of given actions. In response to the user selecting that one action, the computer applies the selected action to all of said group of folders as a single operation.Type: GrantFiled: February 21, 2007Date of Patent: November 15, 2011Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventor: Michael C. Zagorski
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Patent number: 8060837Abstract: An information processing device includes: a receiving unit configured to receive an instruction input by a user; a display control unit configured to control a display unit to display a plurality of windows in a display area of the display unit; and a window control unit configured to control a size or position of a window displayed on the display unit in response to the instruction received, the window control unit being configured to control, if the receiving unit receives an instruction to expand a first window and the expanded first window overlaps a second window, a size or position of the second window in response to a positional relationship between the first window and the second window.Type: GrantFiled: July 24, 2008Date of Patent: November 15, 2011Assignee: NTT DoCoMo, Inc.Inventors: Izua Kano, Eiju Yamada, Keiichi Murakami, Yasushi Onda, Kazuhiro Yamada, Dai Kamiya
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Patent number: 8060821Abstract: An item in a user interface is visually enhanced in response to an interaction with the item or in response to a request. In some implementations, the item (e.g., an icon, button, text, etc.) is visually enhanced and displayed in the user interface at a conspicuous location (e.g., the center of the user interface). Optionally, the user interface can be altered (e.g., darkened) to improve the visibility of the enhanced item. In some implementations, visual enhancement includes displaying enhanced feedback (e.g., text, data, graphical objects or images, etc.) associated with the item in a caption panel. The caption panel can display enhanced feedback associated with any items in the user interface and not just the item associated with a current user interaction. In some implementations, the user can interact with items (e.g., launch an application) from within an interaction panel.Type: GrantFiled: December 9, 2005Date of Patent: November 15, 2011Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Eric Seymour, Kevin B. Aitken
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Patent number: 8051380Abstract: A shared electronic calendar modification notice provides calendar users accessing the calendar with notification that a calendar modification has been made by another calendar user. A shared electronic calendar user accessing the shared calendar is identified. Upon identifying a shared electronic calendar user, calendar modifications that are new to the shared electronic calendar user are identified. Modification notices are then output to communicate the new calendar modifications to the calendar user.Type: GrantFiled: February 28, 2007Date of Patent: November 1, 2011Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: John Eugene Knapp, Doreen Nelson Grieb, Todd Haugen
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Patent number: 8046694Abstract: Some embodiments of the invention provide a graphical user interface for receiving a server configuration (e.g., receiving a new configuration or a modification to an existing configuration). The graphical user interface (UI) includes several UI control elements for defining components of the server configuration. It also includes a display area for displaying graphical representations of the defined components of the server configuration. Examples of control elements in some embodiments include control elements for adding, deleting, and modifying servers. In some embodiments, at least one control element is displayed when a cursor control operation is performed on the UI. The cursor control operation (e.g., a right hand click operation) in some embodiments opens a display area that shows the control element. In some embodiments, at least two different components in the server configuration correspond to two different layers (e.g., a web server layer and a data storage layer) in the server configuration.Type: GrantFiled: August 7, 2007Date of Patent: October 25, 2011Assignee: Gogrid, LLCInventors: Paul Lappas, John Martin Keagy, Nicholas F. Peterson
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Patent number: 8046682Abstract: A method and system for integrating business application elements of an external business application into an internal business application where the integration system maps the output of external business applications to a Extensible Markup Language (“XML”) format. The XML format defines a standard format for the business application elements generated by the external business applications and provided to the internal business applications by the integration system. When developing a new internal business application, developers can work with the XML formatted elements provided by the integration system without having to learn the different formats provided by the various external business applications. The integration system is responsible for converting the data generated by the external business application to the XML format.Type: GrantFiled: November 17, 2003Date of Patent: October 25, 2011Assignee: Siebel Systems, Inc.Inventors: King-Hwa Lee, Nicholas J. Brown
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Patent number: 8046676Abstract: A Sheet Set Manager for a computer-implemented graphics program allows drawings to be organized logically as a Sheet Set comprising a collection of Sheets and Subsets of Sheets, wherein each Sheet comprises a drawing, layout or view. The Sheet Set Manager is a graphical user interface for displaying, accessing and managing the Sheet Sets, Subsets and Sheets, as well as editing components of the Sheet Sets, Subsets and Sheets.Type: GrantFiled: March 15, 2004Date of Patent: October 25, 2011Assignee: Autodesk, Inc.Inventors: Jose Madeira De Freitas Garcia, John Giraud Ford, III, Jay Allan Behr, Chaffee Khanh-Truong Vo-Vu, Stephen Joseph Mighetto, Karen Elaine Mason
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Patent number: 8042044Abstract: The invention relates to a data processing system comprising a display screen (102), a graphical user interface for displaying objects on the display screen, and detection means (102) for detecting a touch position of a pointing object (103) on the display screen. The detection means (102) is capable of measuring a distance between the pointing object and the display screen. A property of the displayed objects is dependent on the measured distance between the pointing object and the display screen.Type: GrantFiled: November 26, 2003Date of Patent: October 18, 2011Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.Inventor: Marco Van Leeuwen
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Patent number: 8042065Abstract: When using graphical diagrams, cutting and pasting operations may take advantage of predefined relationships to intelligently insert and remove items from the diagram. A text data model may be interpreted sequentially or hierarchically to construct various diagrams. Pasting operations will bring new data into the diagram and data model while conforming the new data to the diagram definition. Cutting operations may cause the data model and diagram to be healed to conform to the diagram definition.Type: GrantFiled: November 17, 2005Date of Patent: October 18, 2011Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Karen K. Wong, Andrew J. Howe, Brent Gilbert, Crystal L. Hoyer, Matthew J. Kotler, Mikko T. Mannisto
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Patent number: 8042059Abstract: Disclosed is a system for providing multiple window environments in a mobile computing system and a method thereof, which enables a user to conveniently and selectively use a window system suitable for the use environment. A plurality of sub-window systems having different user interfaces and application programs are installed in separate user partitions provided in a non-volatile memory. If a predetermined event occurs, a currently executing sub-window system, from among the plurality of sub-window systems, is terminated, and a user partition corresponding to the terminated sub-window system is dismounted. Then, a user partition from among the separate user partitions, designated corresponding to the predetermined event is mounted so that the sub-window system of the mounted user partition is executed.Type: GrantFiled: September 22, 2004Date of Patent: October 18, 2011Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., LtdInventor: Ju-Young Park
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Patent number: 8042035Abstract: A method and system to rapidly access frequently used objects and/or items is provided. More particularly, the method and system is designed to rapidly access frequently used or search objects and/or items using a placeholders (e.g., Memory Indicators) in a graphical user interface. a method of retrieving items is provided. The method includes detecting one or more selected items from a list of items; creating placeholders representing each of the selected one or more items in a graphical user interface; and continuously updating the placeholders in the graphical user interface upon detecting of newly selected items in the list of items. The placeholders are configured to eliminate subsequent searches for the one or more items in the list.Type: GrantFiled: September 10, 2007Date of Patent: October 18, 2011Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Gautham Pamu, Richard W. Ragan, Jr.
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Patent number: 8037423Abstract: A method, system and computer-readable medium are provided for enabling the organization, presentation and selection of icons related to information technology processes. In a first version, icons related to individual information technology processes are associated with an enclosing icon displayed by a computer. The user may direct the computer to display or cease displaying the icons by selecting the enclosing icon. In a second version the enclosing icon may be associated with another enclosing icon, wherein icons are organized into a presentation hierarchy. In a third version, the icons may be personalized by associating textual, graphical and/or photographic data as provided by the user.Type: GrantFiled: September 27, 2006Date of Patent: October 11, 2011Inventors: Harold Lee Peterson, Nick Labosky
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Patent number: 8037422Abstract: A system and method are provided for a context menu pop-up interface. In one embodiment, the context menu interface may be activated in relation to a second interface, and may include a plurality of selection areas organized around a central selection area. In a preferred embodiment, the sizes of each of the plurality of selection areas increase as a distance to each selection area increases from the central selection area, and the sizes are selected such that the plurality of selection areas can be selected in approximately the same time.Type: GrantFiled: April 29, 2009Date of Patent: October 11, 2011Assignee: Trading Technologies International, Inc.Inventor: Brian J. Buck
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Patent number: 8032831Abstract: Systems and methods for replaying historical workflow information. Workflow information is collected while tasks and documents are being processed. The collected workflow information is stored in a database so that at a later point in time, the historical workflow information may be retrieved and provided to a user. Through computer-human interfaces, the user can move forwards and/or backwards while replaying the collected historical workflow information.Type: GrantFiled: September 29, 2004Date of Patent: October 4, 2011Assignee: Hyland Software, Inc.Inventor: Miguel A. Zubizarreta
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Patent number: 8028240Abstract: A screen reader feature is described that enables end users to assign their own descriptions to forms and navigational elements in electronic documents such as web pages, word processing documents and portable document formats. The form or navigational element is identified by the end user. A dialog box provides a text entry box for accepting a user-defined description. The description is saved in association with the document and its particular form or navigational element.Type: GrantFiled: December 14, 2005Date of Patent: September 27, 2011Assignee: Freedom Scientific, Inc.Inventors: Joseph Stephen, Eric Damery
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Patent number: 8020111Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and methodology to assist users with data access activities and that includes such activities as routine web browsing and/or data access applications. A coalesced display or montage of aggregated information is provided that is focused from a plurality of sources to achieve substantially one-button access to user's desired web or data source information/destinations in order to mitigate efforts in retrieving and viewing such information. Past web or other type data access patterns can be mined to predict future browsing sites or desired access locations. A system is provided that builds personalized web portals for associated users based on models mined from past data access patterns. The portals can provide links to web resources as well as embed content from distal (remote) pages or sites producing a montage of web or other type data content. Automated topic classification is employed to create multiple topic-centric views that can be invoked by a user.Type: GrantFiled: July 27, 2005Date of Patent: September 13, 2011Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Eric Horvitz, Corin Ross Anderson
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Patent number: 8020097Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for allowing a user to capture and edit electronic media on a single computing device. In one example, one or more features allow a user to simultaneously remove and recover segments of media without entering a complex editing stage. In one such example, the user may only be required to enter a single user input to remove and/or recover segments. In another example, one a feature allows a user to efficiently add a section of media to another section of media. For example, the user may add an audio track over a video track in a more efficient manner. In one illustrative example, the features are provided through a single user interface.Type: GrantFiled: March 21, 2006Date of Patent: September 13, 2011Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventor: Neema M. Moraveji
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Patent number: 8006173Abstract: A BD-ROM has recorded therein an AV Clip generated by multiplexing a video stream and a graphics stream. The graphics stream represents an interactive display to be overlayed with the video stream, and includes a sequence of three Button State groups. The interactive display includes a plurality of buttons, each of which changes from a normal state to a selected state, and from the selected state to an active state, according to a user operation. In the three Button State groups in the graphics stream, the first-order group (N-ODSs) is made of a plurality of pieces of graphics data, which represent normal states of the buttons, the second-order group (S-ODSs) is made of a plurality of pieces of graphics data, which represent selected states of the buttons, and the third-order group (A-ODSs) is made of a plurality of pieces of graphics data, which represent active states of the buttons.Type: GrantFiled: February 1, 2008Date of Patent: August 23, 2011Assignee: Panasonic CorporationInventors: Hiroshi Yahata, Joseph McCrossan, Tomoyuki Okada, Wataru Ikeda
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Patent number: 8006191Abstract: A method, system and graphical user interface for a chat room system is disclosed. One aspect of certain embodiments includes sending messages that originate from a user's current chat room as well as messages that originate from nearby chat rooms to the user. Both types of messages are displayed in a single context to the user.Type: GrantFiled: March 21, 2007Date of Patent: August 23, 2011Assignee: Google Inc.Inventor: Monica Anderson